Month: December 2024

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12.4.24. Jesus is the LIGHT

Psalm 139 tells us a truth that we need to attend to. Examine me Lord. Show me just as You showed John to the 7 churches. You see all, nothing is hidden from your sight just as a lighthouse has a beam of light to alert the sailor to the shoals and dangerous rocks as it swivels around. As God’s light swivels around he reveals to us our lack of holiness, our lack of understanding, our pride in thinking we can navigate this life apart from him. But as His light swivels around and reveals the rocks that are before us that are dangerous , rocks like untamed words, untamed motives, untamed directions and yet God knows what we will do with what we see. Some men see but refuse to acknowledge. Some men see and reroute to avoid the catastrophe that could take their life. And yet in His loving way he allows us to choose which route we will take. 

Paul told the captain and the centurion to not set out from the safe harbor but they refused. the result was the Perfect Storm to show them that Paul was His servant. Again they thought just emptying the cargo would save them but it only caused the ship to drift ever closer to the rocks. In the end, the ship was lost but the men were saved. God allows the Perfect storms to come into our lives so we may set our course towards a safe harbor and when there to remain there until the weather changes. What lessons did those 276 persons learn …not one was lost…did they then realize that God is the one who ordered that storm to show His power, His presence, His perfect understanding of men’s hearts?

What about me? Am I looking at the Lighthouse which is Christ? Am i navigating the perilous waters around me which hold the rocks of destruction?

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12.3.24. How is your hearing?

Revelation 3 Listening? 

God has spoken
Are we listening?

To each church, Jesus has said: he who has an ear had better listen. What should they listen for and what are we to be listening for? 

To the church at Sardis they should listen to the warning Jesus has for them. The society around them thinks they are alive in their Christian faith, but Jesus says they are dead. What is dead in that church? It is their deeds. They look like they are serving God but in reality they are grumbling, backbiting, lying and other sins. Jesus says wake up! Make your deeds worth something in my eyes. All is not lost however as there are some there who are dressed in white symbolizing purity. 

In contrast the church at Philadelphia has no condemnation. Jesus had given them an open door to go and minister and no one can shut it. One of the marks of this church is their steadfastness under duress. But,Jesus reminds them to persevere lest they lose that purity and their crown. 

And then there is the church at Laodicea which is dead dead dead. However, they don’t realize that this their case. They think they have done all they need to do and have all the requirements necessary. Jesus says, come and buy gold from me so you can stand strong in times of persecution. Are they listening? Seems not! Jesus reminds them that He is coming soon and they need to be ready when He knocks at their door. 

Are we listening? Are we prepared? 

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Christ Knows…

Who is Jesus?
God has provided all you need to know …it’s in the Bible.

 Revelation 2 The Risen Christ Knows…

What does He know but the good we have done but He also knows where we are failing. As He sits on his throne in heaven He looks down and sees the good along with the bad. He knows when we are successful in our witness and where we are failing. What secret am I/are you hiding from earthly peoples but is seen in heaven? As I walked along the street in Ephesus I wondered those thoughts and wondered what John saw and what he was thinking. How about Paul who also walked there? What was Ephesus like in their day? Was it like our cities today where there is hustle and bustle but little to speak of when it comes to the risen Christ?  As I walk along on the street in front of my home what does Jesus see and hear? Does He see that my neighbors know that we attend church each Sunday but then all is silent the rest of the week? Do they know that I pray for them house by house and want them to know Jesus as their Savior? Over and over Jesus is reminding us that he who has an ear better listen. Am I listening? Am I conquering the sins of this world? Am I witnessing to my neighbors who are quiet but lost because I have not prayed enough or served enough or loved them enough? 


	


	





		

		
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12.1.24. Preparing for Advent
	


	
	

		

Revelation 1 Behold He is coming soon










Over and over Jesus prepared his disciples with wisdom and knowledge that they might tell the good news: Jesus Christ has risen from the dead. All of these precious disciples suffered and died but John alone has remained and it is he that has received this vision to share with us, the reader.





John begins by reminding us of this: to be blessed is to take this Word and share it with those who have not heard. John writes: Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Are we watching for His return knowing that with God a day on our calendar is like a thousand years in His sight. Are we just reading these words to fill our minds or are we reading it so we know the plan of God for us? 





As this book begins we are given a glimpse into our Lord in all of His majesty. What will you do with this vision? Will you meditate on the beauty and glory of our risen Savior? 





Challenge for December: read and choose one thought to meditate on for that day. Share that thought with someone so they might receive a blessing too because behold, He, our risen Savior is coming soon. 

	


	



	
		

	

	





		


		
	









	





























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