Bourland Family Blog

“So call to mind the lessons you received and heard; continually lay them to heart and obey them, and repent. In case you will not rouse yourselves and keep awake and watch, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not know or suspect at what hour I will come.” Revelation 3:3 ->me: This is the following verse to yesterday and I think encompasses, again, an application to our comfy lives here in the US. WE HAVE IT SO GOOD!…TOO GOOD. One of the scariest prayers I pray is for God to help me see how much I need Him. Am I ready for what that might mean? Am I ready for God to put me in a circumstance where it is clear that all I can do is lean on Him? So, what do I do so that this is not a necessary avenue that the Lord must take with me? I must remember and hold fast to the teachings of His word through not only the reading the bible but also through the instruction of my pastors and spiritual leaders. It’s not good enough that I just remember…I must also obey and continually repent. Tonight before my quiet time I got down on my knees next to my bed and let the Lord know how thankful I am for the gift of His Son, that I feel the cleansing power of His blood, that I recognize that He chose to give up everything in heaven to come down, suffer, and be my sin bearer by dying on a tree and having all of God’s wrath laid down on Him…yet, I still sin. So…I must confess and repent…everyday. The coming of Christ as a thief is used to denote ‘unexpectedness’. The last thing I would want is to be in a valley of sin, a period of faith without works, or in a mindset of apathy when my Savior returns. What a devastating state of embarrassment that would be knowing all that He has done for me.

“I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead. Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.” Revelation 3:1b-2 ->me: This is the sharp condemnation of Sardis and I think this might be how God sees most of us American Christians who have become slack in our walk; we are too comfy. This was me for 33 years! Sardis had been overthrown twice before the birth of Jesus. The city was built on a hill so steep that its defenses seemed impregnable. On both occasions enemy troops scaled the walls by night and found that the overconfident Sardians had set no guard. So Jesus’ words here to ‘rouse yourselves and keep awake’ would mean something to this church. The church in Sardis may have pleased men but it did not please God. Nothing it did was complete in the sight of “My God”; its works were not brought to fulfilment. Why did both Jews and Romans leave this church undisturbed (unlike some of its neighbors [Pergamum and Thyatira])? The answer is probably its lack of aggressive and positive Christianity. The church didn’t do anything with conviction that would draw attention to itself and therefore not worth persecuting. I can’t allow myself to ever get here again – that place where I am so secure and comfortable where I am lulled into living a life that bears no fruit for His Kingdom. Lord, please help me to never be called out by you like this.

“But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not explored and known the depths of Satan, as they say—I tell you that I do not lay upon you any other [fresh] burden: Only hold fast to what you have until I come.” Revelation 2:24-25 ->me: In John’s vision, Jesus takes the church of Thyatira to task over succumbing to the pressures of their environment by listening to false teaching that was saying that it was ok to sin in certain circumstances (send me a note if you want to hear more about what this was…took some study). Here is a current day example -> it would be like working someplace where it was part of your job to lie to and get drunk with customers to win their business. This teaching was saying things like “God doesn’t want you to lose your job so it is ok to do these things…”. Jesus had some real tough words for these believers and even worse for the false teacher. Jesus also gives everyone a chance to repent…and to those that stayed true to his word and did not go with the false teaching He says to hang on. We all have a will, we must live in this world, and be subject to the environments we exist in. We must also stay present in our spheres of influence: if we hide ourselves away into communes, shutting ourselves off from the world who desperately needs to hear the gospel, then we are not fulfilling our mission. I must be a witness at work or with my unbelieving friends, but God does not condone dabbling in the sinful acts of world I live in order to reach the lost. I must always remember this passage to keep my guard up against the evil one who wants to trip me up.

“Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. [Dismiss your dread and your fears!] Behold, the devil is indeed about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested and proved and critically appraised, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be loyally faithful unto death [even if you must die for it], and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10 ->me:  These are the words to the church of Smyrna – In verse 9, Jesus acknowledges the local atmospheric circumstances of the church there.  Smyrna was known as a city where being a believer was not only unlawful but the Jews and pagans took advantage of the illegality of Christianity and would use it to take action against the Church.  Jesus even goes as far to call the Jews who slander and perpetrate these acts as belonging to the ‘Synagogue of Satan”. Yeesh!  Jesus, as our intercessor, knows the earthly life and pain that accompanies living in this ungodly world.  I don’t know about you but one of the most comforting things about my Savior (Who sits, right now, at right hand of the Father in heaven) is that He knows exactly what betrayal, slander, persecution, pain, hopelessness and sorrow feel like.  So here, even in the face of imprisonment and maybe even death, Jesus is reassuring them that pain, affliction and even death in this world does not hold a candle to the crown of life He has in store for those who are loyal to His name….to the end.  Oh that I would have this kind of loyalty; this kind of fortitude in affliction.  This is why I need to be in His word everyday; building up the knowledge I have in Him so when the day comes, I will withstand the test and be proved and critically appraised.

“He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes (is victorious), I will grant to eat [of the fruit] of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7->me:  With the close of each of these messages to each of the churches, Jesus closes with this phrase ‘He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches)’.  Sometimes He has a follow-up like He does here – an exhortation.  I like how this lets me know that this note to Ephesus is also for me…because I am able to hear…so now, I am to listen and take action.  The Spirit here is the Word, and the Word is Jesus.  Jesus is promising that if I am able, with His help, to overcome and be victorious, He will give me the tree of life (which will be in the New Jerusalem).  How do I overcome and have victory?  Verse 22:14 tells me -> “Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life”.  I cleanse my garments by being cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Whom I have accepted.  The Blood is there but I must accept and use it on a daily basis to keep my life clean and upright.  The Blood is also a reminder of what He has done for me which helps me to keep in perspective the focused desire I have to represent Him in the greatest light.  It is He Who lives IN me…Here He is telling me what I need to do, I just need to listen and heed.

“But I have this [one charge to make] against you (church at Ephesus): that you have left (abandoned) the love that you had at first [you have deserted Me, your first love].  Remember then from what heights you have fallen. Repent (change the inner man to meet God’s will) and do the works you did previously [when first you knew the Lord], or else I will visit you and remove your lamp stand from its place, unless you change your mind and repent.” Revelation 2:4-5 ->me: In John’s vision, after Jesus lays His hand on Him and tells him not to be afraid, Jesus asks John to write down His words as a message to the seven churches mentioned earlier.  These words He has for Ephesus are tragic but I have found myself here.  Going day to day being a good Christian, standing up for what is right, doing lots of good works…but, my heart is not doing it out of a love for my Savior…it is just doing it.  Jesus gives 3 ways for the Ephesians to turn this around, 1) Repent – turn 180 degrees and fall with my arms wrapped around His legs. 2) Remember – hearken back to the way it felt the first time I realized the gravity of what He had done for me, and keep that memory on the forefront of my mind moving forward.  3) Do the things you did at first – those things I did that were birthed out of the this new love I had for Him.  The consequences for the church are dire if they don’t turn things around…their lamp stand will be removed (the church destroyed?).  I think of all the churches that are leaving aspects of the word of God behind to placate to the lost world they exist in; these churches are at risk.  My call here is to love my God and then do what I can in my own church to nurture the spirit of “First Love”.

“In His right hand He held seven stars, and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full power at midday.  When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last,” Revelation 1:16-17 ->me: I can say a lot about the sharp double-edged sword from the mouth of Jesus and the brilliance (strength) of the light of His face but today my focus was drawn to “In His right hand He held seven stars (the messengers of the seven churches)” and “He laid His right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid'”.  Here Jesus holds the 7 stars representing the messengers…who by the way get some strong criticisms urged against some of them in the next couple of chapters -> They have their defects, but the Strong Son of God has not abandoned them.  Rather He holds them still in His hand.  Thank you God for this image!  Even though I am such an idiot sometimes you still hold me still in your hand; a place nothing can be picked from.  Then, with the same hand, He comforts John who has fallen down at Jesus’ feet out of the physical effects of the tremendous vision…so, not only can Jesus hold the entire church in His hand, but at the same time and with same hand He takes action for the needs of the individual.  Both truths are important.  God is never too busy to come to my side, lay his right hand (favor and protection) on me and comfort me.

“His feet glowed like burnished (bright) bronze as it is refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.” Revelation 1:15 ->me: This verse might seem random but of the 3 verses I spent time on today (each verse has so much to be studied!) this one helped me to see an application that the Lord has for me to move forward with.  As I was looking up explanations of the ‘feet…like burnished (bright)bronze as refined in a furnace’ there were many theories and tries at explanation of this Greek word ‘chalkolibanon’.  It is never used before this point in scripture and the only other time is in 2:18.  In both places the context given is not enough for us to confidently arrive at an interpretation.  CHALKOS = copper | LIBANON = frankincense…hardly any alloy that we can think of (even though most interpretations of the bible give us Burnished Bronze.  The only clue we have is that ‘it is refined in a furnace’ meaning that it is likely metallic.  At this point you are probably saying the same thing I am…”why does it matter?”  Through my study today I felt the Lord telling me that I didn’t need to know and it is not pivotal to defining my theology…at least not yet.  So I learned today that it is ok not to understand everything that John writes in this book.  He not only is trying to recount what he saw using human and earthly descriptions but also, in some cases, he might have been writing down verbatim what God or an angel told Him to.  I will have all eternity to ask for the meaning of various symbolisms and words used in God’s book.  Until then I will rest in the leanings of the Spirit within me and not get bogged down in the mysteries.

“I was in the Spirit [rapt in His power] on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet,” Revelation 1:10 ->me:  In the three verses I studied today (1:9-11), John recounts the experience of being called to write down what he was about to see and instructed send it in letter form to the seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea).  In verse 9 John talks about the fact that he is no different than all of those he is surrounded by; he takes no superior position and even talks about suffering right along side his ‘brothers’.  I picked verse 10 today because it struck me that this is the only time the expression ‘the Lord’s Day’ is used in all the New Testament.  Most think it is the same day we use – the weekly celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.  Also the fact that he was in a state ‘in the spirit’ where he was open to the vision the Holy Spirit gave him.  I’d like to think that when I keep the Sabbath holy and allow myself to fall into the Lord’s presence (through worship and prayer), this is when I might be most open to hear from Him…now that I think about it, it was in deep prayer on a Sunday afternoon with Marianne when she received a vision from the Lord about our church, a day I won’t forget.  It was so vivid to her and to this day I can even remember almost every detail of what she recounted.  I’ll have to ask her again but I think it was so vivid it might not be a hard throw to say it was as startling as a trumpet behind her.

“Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so [must it be]. Amen (so be it).  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all).” Revelation 1:7-8 ->me: Clouds are often mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with divine activity.  This is Jesus returning in triumph.  When this happens, everyone who scoffed at His name, did not take to heart the truth of why Jesus came, or especially the Israelites (Jews) who killed him; will realize at that moment the mistake they made by discounting Him.  Reading John here, when he says ‘Even so, Amen’ – can sound harsh at first – not very Christian.  However, the over throw of the wicked means the triumph of good and the vindication of Christians who had suffered so much.  So, I don’t see it as much as a slam down on those who will mourn as much as it is the final stamp of the victory that Jesus completed on cross.  Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.  God was before all things and will outlast all things.  God is called ‘the Almighty’ 9 times in Revelation but only 1 other time in all the rest of the New Testament.  This verse gives expression early in the book to the conviction that God IS sovereign.