Do You Have a Reservation?

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11–15

One day you will stand before God and be judged for what you have done in life. But nothing you say or do is as important as this one detail that fixes your eternal destiny. That detail is whether your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life or not. 

Scripture tells us that those whose name is not written in the Book of Life, those who never placed their faith in Jesus, will be cast into the Lake of Fire. But all who have believed in Jesus have their names written in this book, and on Judgement Day they will be declared innocent on account of His atoning death and will ushered into eternal life. 

Revelation chapters 21 and 22 tell us that this world will pass away. And God will make a new heaven and a new earth. And the Heavenly City, Jerusalem, will come down from heaven to this new earth. And that is where Jesus’ throne will be. Believers won’t spend eternity in some spiritual place, sitting on clouds and playing harps. No! Our great hope is a physical resurrection and eternal life lived on this new heaven and new earth. Our great hope is dwelling with the Lord in paradise… in a place with no mourning, no crying, no pain, no poverty and no death. There we will have an eternity to spend with Jesus, reigning over God’s creation for His glory.

The question I have for you is this: Are you sure you will be there? Do you believe in Jesus? Have you accepted Him as Lord of your life? Are you certain that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? If not, then confess your sins; put your faith in Jesus' atoning death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins; and make Him Lord of your life today.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

Lukewarm Laodicea

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:15–16

You may not know this, but if you drink enough water at a certain temperature, roughly 95-100 degrees Fehrenheit, it can make you nauseous and actually induce vomiting.* I imagine the residents of Laodicea did know this. Laodicea didn’t have a source of clean, drinking water. Their water had to be piped in by means of an aqueduct. Cold water was piped in from Colossae. Hot water was piped in from the hot springs at Hierapolis. Either way by the time the water got to Laodicea, it was lukewarm.**

Jesus tells this church that their lukewarm Christianity makes Him feel the same way. It makes Him sick to His stomach. It makes Him want to vomit. And because of this Jesus threatens to spew this church out of His mouth.

Now, it’s not exactly clear if that would mean this church would cease to exist or not. But what is clear is that this church was dangerously close to being rejecting by it’s Lord. If the church at Laodicea continued to be lukewarm in their commitment to Jesus, then He would have nothing to do with them.*** They were in grave danger of losing Jesus’ blessing on their church. And what is a church without Jesus’ blessing?! If Jesus rejects us, what hope do we have? None.

It’s easy for a church to lose it’s passion over time and grow lukewarm. It’s easy for us to get to a place where we’re really just going through the motions. Where church stops being about about Jesus or about love or about the gospel and it’s just something we do... out of habit. That is a very dangerous place to be. We can’t let that happen to our churches, or to us as individuals, for fear of being rejected by our Lord.

If your faith has grown a little cold, then stir it up today. Don’t just go through the motions. Don’t play pretend. Either you’re all in or you’re all out. Jesus hates apathy. He hates lukewarm commitment. So, decide right now to be all in for Jesus. Fan the flames of your faith. And with God’s help, you will never be lukewarm in your commitment to Him again.

*Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 562). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

**Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 3:15). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

***Schreiner, Thomas R. “Revelation.” In Hebrews–Revelation, edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, XII:525–754. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018.

Awake and Clothed

“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Revelation 16:15

Even with all the Bible reveals to us about Jesus' second coming, people will still be caught off guard. Jesus says He will come like a thief, so He warns us to make sure that we are ready

How do you make sure you’re ready for Jesus’ return? Well, according to this verse, part of being ready is staying awake. Be careful not to allow yourself to be lulled to “sleep” by the enemy or by our world. You must keep your eyes open if you are going to see the signs that Scripture tells us will signal the end. If you want to avoid being caught off guard by Jesus' coming, the first thing you must do is stay “awake.”

The second thing Jesus mentions is keeping your clothes with you. “In the ancient Near East, conquering armies often paraded prisoners of war naked to expose them to as much shame as possible”* Can you imagine? Wanting to hide so badly but being completely exposed with no way to cover or hide anything from anyone. It would be awful!

So, being properly clothed in case of an attack was important. It could help you fend off your attackers. (It's difficult to fight for your life in your pajamas.) It could help you outrun them. (It’s hard to run for your life without shoes on.) At the very least being properly clothed when you were captured ensured that you weren’t embarrassed until and if they stripped you naked to parade you.

 

For believers “keeping our clothes with us” probably refers to making sure we are clothed with righteousness. Jesus is warning you to be careful not to sully yourself with the sins of the world. You don't want to end up ashamed when Jesus returns. Because when he returns we will all be exposed for what we really are. He will see what you have been doing, and there will be nowhere to hide.

So, are you ready? Are you staying awake? Are your eyes open to what's going on in the world? And are you keeping your clothes with you? Are you clothed with righteous deeds or will you be embarrassed when Jesus returns? Take Jesus' advice: "stay awake and remain clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

*John D. Barry, Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Re 16:15.

Prayer Incense

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

Revelation 5:8

In Revelation chapters 4 and 5 we are caught up in a vision with the Apostle John and are taken up into Heaven where we are given a glimpse inside the throne room. We see lots of interesting things there. We see God on His throne surrounded by four living creatures and by 24 elders on smaller thrones. These creatures and these elders praise God and declare His glory day and night without ceasing. 

But in Revelation 5:8 we are given this interesting little detail that the incense of heaven is the prayers of the saints. You remember what incense are don't you? The sweet smelling stuff you burn. Just as the aroma of incense wafts upward and gives off a pleasing aroma as it burns, so too your prayers waft upward to heaven and are pleasing to God. Our prayers are treasured up in Heaven to be used to bring God glory!

If your prayers were replayed and poured out in Heaven, would they bring glory to God? If not, then you should change the way you pray. Don't just pray "give me, give me, give me" all the time. Sometimes you should pray "forgive me." Take the time to confess specific sins. Often you should pray "thank you." Take the time to consider how much God has blessed you and thank Him for it. And specifically in light of this passage of Scripture, you should make every effort to pray prayers of praise and adoration. You should pray "I love you" prayers and "You are awesome" prayers. Prayer should be a form of worship not just requests. So take time to worship God in prayer. Tell Him how great He is. Tell Him how much you love Him. Glorify God in prayer!

Are You Alive?

To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Revelation 3:1

The church at Sardis had a reputation of being spiritually alive, but their reputation didn't match their reality. Jesus saw past their false reputation and pronounced them dead!

I can’t help but wonder how many churches that have a great reputation are actually dead?! How many churches whose pews may be full of people, whose worship services may be the envy of many smaller churches around them, are really spiritually dead?

And I can’t help but wonder how many of the people in our churches who have a reputation for being spiritually alive are actually dead? How many people enter your church week after week just to play a part. They can dress for church with the best of them. They can sing hymns and praise choruses with the best of them. They can pray and read their Bible in Sunday School with the best of them. But on the inside, in their heart of hearts…they are DEAD! There is no spiritual fire, no obedience, no faith, no Holy Spirit, no salvation.

And I can’t help but wonder, are you one of those people? Are you dead? You may have a reputation for being spiritually alive. But are you really dead? You may have been able to fool many people into thinking you’re a Christian. You may have even fooled yourself into thinking you are saved. But you haven’t fooled God. And right now in your spirit you hear Him saying, you are dead!

Stop playing the part. Stop trying to fool everyone else. Stop fooling yourself and you can experience real spiritual life today. Ask Jesus right now to forgive of your sins. By praying something like this in your heart… 

Dear Heavenly Father, I know I am dead inside. I have sinned against You and I need Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus took the punishment for my sin on the cross. I believe He rose from the grave to give me new life. I confess Him as Lord of my life right now. Forgive me. Save me. Change me. Fill me up with your Spirit right now. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When You Can't Be At Church

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet...

Revelation 1:9-10

The first thing we find is that this letter is written by John. This is, of course, the Apostle John. One of Jesus’ disciples and the author of the Gospel of John as well as books of the Bible known as I,II, and III John. Church history tells us that the wicked Roman Emperor Domitian had tried to kill John by boiling him alive, but John had survived. So Domitian exiled John to the island of Patmos to put him out of the way. It was on this island around the year 95 AD when John received this vision and wrote his book of Revelation.

What I want you to notice is this…look what John is doing. John was cut off from the people of God. He couldn’t gather with them on the Lord’s Day. He couldn’t go to church, but he didn’t let that stop him from communing with God. If you look again at vs 9 and 10 you will see that John was exiled on the island of Patmos but He was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.” 

Over the past year and a half it has been more difficult to attend church than at any other point in my lifetime. Even as I write the numbers of COVID cases are on the rise again and church attendance is plummeting as many believers feel that it is unsafe for them to attend. My point isn’t to make you feel guilty about that. Sure, I had hoped that all of this was over, but it obviously isn’t. And now I am hoping that it will end soon and we will be able to get back to normal but what if it doesn’t? What if there are more Sundays that we can’t gather together Or what if your age or preexisting medical conditions put you at a high risk for COVID and you don't feel comfortable gathering in large groups? What should you do then? 

You should follow John’s example. When John couldn’t gather with other believers for worship, he worshipped alone. He wasn’t going to let little things like not having a song leader, or a choir, or pews, or a church building, or even someone to preach to him stop him from worshipping God. John just went right on worshipping God alone. He preached to himself. I imagine he sang songs and prayed prayers by Himself. He drew near to the Lord.

I hope our churches do everything they can to preserve our ability to gather in person, but if for some reason you can’t be with other believers right now, then don’t let that prevent you from being with God. We have technology now that John didn’t have. If you can’t be at church in person, then be there via livestream. And if at some point in the future you can’t even gather with your church by livestream then worship God alone, but don’t let a single Sunday pass without worshipping your God.

Spiritual Amnesia

Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

Exodus 6:6-7

In these verses God tells Moses that His purpose for the plagues is so that Israel may know that He is the LORD. After more than 400 years in slavery Israel has spiritual amnesia. They have forgotten who God is. Either they have stopped telling the stories of His mighty deeds that He performed on behalf of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or else they have become only stories to them and they have forgotten that a real God of power stands behind them. So, through the ten plagues God is going to remind His people who He is.

The ten plagues, the exodus, all of it is designed to be a special revelation of who God is for His people. His actions in the Exodus will prove that He is the LORD. In the plagues He reveals His love, His power, His wisdom, His provision, His faithfulness and so much more to this people who have forgotten who He is. 

I’m convinced that just like Israel we are all prone to spiritual amnesia. We are prone to forget who God really is! Over time our human brains grow weary of straining to comprehend a God who is beyond comprehension. So they shrink Him down to a more manageable size and we forget who God really is. We forget the mighty deeds He has performed in the past. We forget what He has revealed to us about Himself. And as we forget these things we slowly drift away from Him. This is the human condition, the spiritual amnesia, that plagues us all as humans. 

But just like He did for Israel, God battles our spiritual amnesia by revealing Himself to us. I am convinced that God reveals Himself to you every day. He reveals His power and beauty and creativity every day, morning and evening in the sunrise and the sunset. His wisdom and order are displayed in the intricacies of the natural world. His power is revealed by wind and storm and sea. His goodness is made known by all the pleasures He makes available to us in our world. He reveals all this and more about Himself every day so that you might know that He is the LORD. 

Yet, sadly, for the most part, you are blind and deaf to all of this revelation of who God is. You rush from one place to the next consumed by the things of this world and you miss this amazing revelation of who God is. Open your eyes! Pay attention to what God is doing in our day and know who He is. Open your Bible and read what He has done in days gone by and know who He is. Open your ears and hear the birds singing, the crickets chirping, the cattle lowing, and the dogs barking as they all sing His praise. He has done all this so you might know Him. Open your eyes and remember who your God is!

How to Read the Bible

Many believers don't enjoy reading their Bible because they read it the wrong way. I don't mean that they read it upside down, but that they don't really know how to feed on God's Word (Matt. 4:4). If you read just to get through a set amount, then you will race to be finished instead of savoring every bite. It's hard to enjoy a meal you are rushing to get it over with. If you read only for content, then you will learn a lot of truth, but it may not stir your heart or change your life in any way. You can be wise and still have a cold, dead faith. If you read solely for application, then you will be convicted of your sin and feel a burden to make corrections in your life, but you may begin to think of Christianity as merely a self-improvement plan. All of these ways of reading God's Word are good in their own right, but they are all insufficient in and of themselves and should be subordinate to the main way that we read the Bible.

Read the Bible to find out who God is! We can't forget that Scripture is the second greatest revelation of our God (Jesus Christ being the first and most perfect revelation) (Heb. 1:1-3 & 2 Cor. 3:14-18). So when we read Scripture it is fitting that we should ask of the text what it reveals to us about God. What is He like? Then once we have gotten a clear view of the greatness of God, all of the sudden praise becomes a part of our Bible reading regimen. Awe returns to our faith and we begin to worship at the throne of God every time we open His Word. All the other appropriate ways to read Scripture flow naturally from this starting point. Once Scripture has reminded us of God's greatness, then we will want to understand His plans for our lives. We will want to follow His commands meticulously and we will know that our only hope of doing that is through the indwelling power of His Spirit in us. We will want to meditate on His Word and think deeply about all its treasures so we can harvest them and call them our own.

Take a moment to read these three verses from Psalm 40 and as you do seek to answer the question "What is God like?" But don't just make a list of attributes, pause and praise God for each attribute you find. Take time to turn your Bible reading into bible-fueled worship! For your edification I am including the list of attributes that God revealed to me from these verses in my personal quiet time this morning.

I waited patiently for the Lord;he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire;he set my feet on a rockand gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fear the Lordand put their trust in him.                               Psalm 40:1-3

• God is worth waiting for
• God hears our cries. He listens to me!
• He turns toward us. He is eager to draw near.
• He is our Savior in every sense of the word!
• He is not afraid to get dirty in order to save His children. (Consider this in light of Jesus' willingness to take our sins on Himself in order to save us from God's wrath.)
• He lifts up.
• He turns lives around dramatically.
• He gives us a firm foundation for life. He is our firm foundation for life. 
• He is the reason we sing. He inspires us to praise and He is worthy of all praise.
• He is trustworthy!

Praise the LORD!

Face-to-Face

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And [God] said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you... But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 

Exodus 33:18-20

Can you imagine how glorious it must have been to get a glimpse of God? How amazing to have all of God's goodness pass before you. How is that even possible? God's goodness is without measure. How long did that take for all of His goodness to pass in front of Moses? What did it look like? What was Moses feeling? Did he get goosebumps? Because I do just thinking about it!

How unimaginably blessed Moses was, but I have something even better to tell you if you can dare to believe it. One day, believer, you will see more of God than Moses did on that day. Even Moses, wasn't allowed to see God's face and live. He only got a glimpse. But Scripture says that every believer will get not just a glimpse of God, but that we will stare long and hard into the very face of God (Revelation 22:4). In heaven you will see God face-to-face. 

This is what Heaven is all about. It isn't about clouds or harps or anything you've seen in a child's cartoon. It is God and man, living with one another without barriers. What a privilege. What a joy. What a thing to look forward to. God wants you to be close to Him. He wants you to know Him. He promises that one day the knowledge of Him will cover this earth like water covers the sea (Isaiah 11:9). That is what heaven is.

Even now, as we look forward to and long for that day, God gives us glimpses too. His Word reveals His character to us. If we will spend time gazing into the truth of the Bible we will know Him better. And His Spirit meets us in our times of prayer so that we may at least feel His glory until that day when we can finally see it. Don't take these gifts for granted. Stare deeply at God's revelation of Himself today and drink deeply of His spiritual presence. The Word and the Spirit will cause His goodness to pass before you and you will be blessed because of it.     

First Love Faith

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands [i.e. Jesus]. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Revelation 2:1-5

A letter from home while a child is away at camp is a life saver. A well-written love letter can completely change a relationship. Yep. There is no doubt about it. Letters can be truly powerful things. So if Jesus were going to sit down and write a letter to you or your church today, what do you think He would say? Would He commend you or challenge you? Chances are He would do both because that's exactly what He did with the church at Ephesus.

First Jesus encourages the believers at Ephesus with all they are doing right. A pretty long list! They are living out their faith in good deeds. They are persevering in the faith through persecution. They're effectively refuting bad doctrine and all without growing weary! What an encouragement that Jesus knows. Jesus sees. He has not forgotten about us or our struggles. He is intimately aware and involved in His church, constantly tending to His lampstand (in this passage a metaphor for the church) to ensure it continues to shine brightly in a dark world. Jesus knows you, your successes, and your struggles.

Second, Jesus confronts His followers with the charge that they have forsaken their first love. The terms used here are the same used of a husband putting his wife away or divorcing her. Jesus is saying the believer's in Ephesus over time has grown cold towards Him and in their hearts have forsaken Him. Have you grown cold in your love for Jesus over time? Does your passion burn as brightly as it ever did? I know that in many ways I have lost that first love type of faith and worship.

Jesus, forgive me for growing cold. Reignite that flame in my heart. Help me to give you "first love" faith and worship. Be glorified in me in every way.

For further reading...

• Revelation 1-3:22- Read the intro to Revelation and the letters to the seven churches.