365 Reflections

Psalm 4 has a specific structure that centers the Psalm on verse 4: Psalm 4:4  (ESV)   Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.  The first verse is a cry of distress based on the goodness of God from the past. The second verse is a renunciation of all who come against him in godlessness. The third verse is a reminder of God's promise and protection. The fifth verse is another call for trust in God. The sixth verse denounces those who question God. The seventh verse is reminiscent of God's goodness in the past. The eight verse is confident assurance of God's peace. But in the middle, the fourth verse is what we do when we pray. We refuse to let our emotions get the best of us. We don't let our feelings control our actions. Be angry, sure that's a feeling, an emotion. Do not act on it. Remember who God is, ponder this in your heart and mind. Think about God and stop talking for a few moments. Let His presence...

Psalm 3 was written by David when he fled from his son Absalom who undermined David's authority and throne turning the hearts of the people after himself.  How hard it is to be turned on.  How especially hard when it's your own son. This had to be a dark dark time for David. He cries out to God about his enemies and the many who are coming against him. They are scary, they are vast, they are treacherous. But David doesn't let what other people say to him stop him from reminding himself who God is to him. Psalm 3:3–4 (ESV) But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. 4 I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah We need to learn who God is for us and then we need to learn how to remind ourselves who God is for us.  Then David says in verse 4 that God answered him. How? How did God chose to care for David from this dark time? One answer: Sleep. Notice the next verse. Psalm 3:5–6  (ESV)...

Tonight is a State of the Union address from one of the most secular Presidents in US history. Honestly, I didn't watch. I don't have to. I know what it will be... more promises, more aggrandizing, more posturing for a better results in the midterm elections due this fall. But no matter what happens in Washington DC. God has the same response. Laughter. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 2. It's a Royal Psalm, written about David, the King of Israel. The Lord has established his anointed King. Who can stand against him? Well, that was before Jesus. And today we understand Jesus is the Lord's anointed King who shall never lose His throne. But the enthronement of Jesus is not the disappearance of those who rebel. Psalm 2:1–3 (ESV)  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away th...

On to the Psalms. Psalm 1:1–2 (ESV) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. The first Psalm lays the groundwork for the entire Bible. The Bible consistently portrays two opposite paths. The path of God's Word and every other option. From Cain and Abel to Lot and Abraham, to Jacob and Esau, and on to Peter and Judas. One path consistently yields blessing, the other path only harm and destruction.  The first word in the Psalm is "Blessed." It's the Bible's word for "happiness" I love how God gives us the path of happiness.  The Lord wants us to find the right kind of happiness.  God doesn't withhold it, God doesn't dangle it before us like a carrot. But He gives one clear statement here about how to find true and lasting happiness.  The first key to finding h...

390 days ago I set out on a journey to read and journal on the Bible's New Testament chapter by chapter to deepen my time with the Lord each day. I have come to the end of my journey through the New Testament.  It has been wonderful.  Of course, Revelation was a challenge.  We come to the last verse:  Revelation 22:21 (ESV)   The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Grace.   That's how the Bible ends. What a strange way to end this book filled with judgments, thunders, dragons, blood, famine, pestilence and death. Grace? Now? Why? The hardest book in the New Testament brings us through some tough reading and some harsh realities. The purification and renewal of all things is going to be a terrifying reality. But the end brings us back to grace. I think about how much GRACE we all really need. Justice will be done, but GRACE is on the table.  We are to be warned - yes. Our God is absolutely holy and just and evil will ...

Revelation 22:10–11 (ESV) And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” This is a strange verse in the last chapter of the Bible.  It is not saying we should just continue in evil. No. That would be to miss the entire message of the Bible! It is referring to the time of Christ's return. That Christ will return so quickly, there will be no chance for repentance and change. The funny thing about Christ's return is simply this: When it happens, it's over. There's no going back and trying to fix it. He's coming and justice is coming with Him. He will reward each one and judge each one accordingly. What are we to do? We are to make certain now that we are walking in the righteousness and holiness of Christ. We are to aim for holy and righteous living because of His soon return....

Revelation 20 brings us to the Millenium. Some people deny it, some people radically defend it, others spiritualize it. I always wondered one thing: What is the point of it? Why doesn't Jesus simply come back, wipe out the wicked and establish the New Heavens and New Earth and be done with things? A-millenium people believe that's how it will happen. But there are valid arguments for it's reality. For instance, why does John describe the resurrection and who these people are so vividly in Revelation 20 if this is a spiritual idea? Surely these people do not "spiritually" resurrect but truly come to life again. So assuming the Millenium is a prophesied reality, why does it happen? Why will the Lord have 1000 years where He reigns on this Earth only then to release Satan for a time to deceive the nations? I think I have an answer: The Millenium proves that even perfect conditions do not change the human heart. Look at what happens when Satan is released: ...

Revelation 21:21 (ESV)   And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. They are often the baseline for a joke. But they are far more than a joke. They are the gates of the City of God! And they will be beautiful. The story of a pearl is a clue to this beautiful picture John gives us. A Pearl is made from a mollusk in a very ordinary oyster. A piece of sand gets under the membrane and causes the oyster pain. Eventually the mollusk secrets a nacre that rounds off the piercing edges of that foreign object and over time a pearl is produced. Is this not a picture of heaven? Our lives are filled with foreign objects that invade us. Yet we have the Holy Spirit in us rounding off the rough spots in our lives to produce something beautiful. Eventually, in the sanctification process we have beauty from our pains. Earlier in the chapter, John records this reality in the new...

Revelation 19:6–8 (ESV)   Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Did you notice what happened in this verse? The voice commands rejoicing and glorification to the LORD for something the Bride did. Does that make sense? Absolutely. Because we know apart from Him we can do nothing. On the surface, it seems John is saying our righteous acts have made us worthy to partake in the new culminated life in Christ at the end of the age. But of course, he is not. The Bride (the body of Christ) makes herself ready because it was granted her to do so. Our...

It is well known in Bible circles the phrase, "It is God's to avenge." It comes from Romans 12:19 which quotes it from Deuteronomy 32:35. God has been saying this to us for a long time. The reason why we are not to take revenge is because when God does it - we will be commanded to rejoice: In Revelation, when harlot Babylon is destroyed, this is God's command to his martyred saints: Revelation 18:20 (ESV) 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” It may seem strange to rejoice over the collapse of anything. But to feel uncomfortable about it is proof you might not be aware of the damage sexual immorality and overabundance of prideful wealth can do to a nation...  Revelation 18:3 (ESV)   For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth hav...

Revelation 17 presents the secular government and false religion mixed together in the end times to form a dysfunctional yet powerful union. John sees the prostitute of Babylon (false religion) seated on a beast with 7 heads and 10 horns (political power). This combination of religion and world domination in the end will lay a heavy burden on those who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Martyrdom will result and a final battle will ensue in which Jesus Christ will conquer. But John notes an interesting detail of this relationship between false religion and secular government. It seems their happy union will end destructively after all: Revelation 17:16–17 (ESV)   And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the w...

The depravity of mankind is overtly evident in Revelation 16. Judgment after judgment from God upon the Earth and all the inhabitants keep doing is turning away from Him or cursing Him in anger. These people who hated God's prophets and saints are getting what God deems appropriate. So records John: Revelation 16:5–7 (ESV) And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, “Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!” 7 And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!” God is just. He is not going to let the murderers and destroyers get away with their abominable acts. We can take comfort from Revelation in this fact. The Bible is a long story of the sad state of sin brought upon the world by Adam and Eve. But the end is sweet redemption and justice. The justice of God is the...

There's a lot of singing in Revelation. I never saw it before, but this long trek through this odd and confusion book seems to keep repeating a theme: Trouble for the saints, seeming domination by the powers of the world, God's swift unstoppable judgment, deliverance for God's people, and finally a song. In Revelation, God's people are at it again... Revelation 15:2–4 (ESV) And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses , the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Moses ha...

Revelation 14:1–3 (ESV)   Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. In this midst of these difficult chapters in Revelation, a song is sung! The 144,000 of God's saints who come through the tribulation, having endured the climax of human wickedness and stayed the course have a song that unites them and no one else can sing. Warren Wiersbe writes about this verse saying, " It is encouraging to know that one day our sorrows will be transformed into songs!" Where do the most popular songs ori...

They have never found a culture that didn't worship. And even atheists and agnostics ascribe worth, like that of religious people, to science and the wonder of our universe. The bottom line is - we are beings who worship. We are creatures who love things. St. Augustine said that people are defined not by what they believe but by what they love. If that is the case that a good question for all of us is, what do you worship? Revelation 13 presents a dichotomy of people. Those who love God, and those who love anything but God. Revelation 13:2 (ESV) And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, ...

Revelation 12:11 (ESV)   And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death . The persecution in the end times upon Christians will bring great difficulties for those who want to honor God. It will be a war! But Revelation holds a key to victory.  First, knowing that our Savior died for us. God is for us not against us. The blood of the Lamb remembered in communion is a covenant enacted by God on our behalf. When you are under the attack of Satan, the best thing you can remind him of is the fact that this transaction for your soul has been finalized in Jesus Christ. Second, the Word of their Testimony. There is no doubt when you share something you know it better even after you share it. Explaining to someone how to play the piano makes you more in tune with the rudiments necessary for playing the piano. So too, the more we share our faith, the more internal and real our fa...

God sends John to measure the Temple during the height of the Tribulation in Revelation 11. Revelation 11:1–2 (ESV)   Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. God measures.  I find that interesting.  He already knows the size. Why does He ask John to go through the trouble of measuring the temple int he midst of this great trouble for the church?  Well, its not for His sake. It's for ours. When we are in the midst of pain and terror, God is not leaving us on our own even though it can feel like that. When trouble is right outside your door or coming close, you need to remember that God has marked you off from what the World will experience at His judgment. Yes, we will have trouble. B...

Ministry is sweet and sour. Being a follower of Christ in the truest sense of the word brings about a gigantic dichotomy of experience in life. The sweet and the sour. John experiences this having received the revelation of Jesus Christ to a world hopelessly in love with itself. Revelation 10:8–11 (ESV) Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” John hears the voice from heaven. It tells him to eat t...

Listen to this verse and see if it doesn't make you think for a few moments about the Sovereignty of God in a fresh way: Revelation 9:15 (ESV) So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. God releases four angels who then issue 200,000,000 troops to destroy 1/3 of mankind. In the exact HOUR, day and month for which they had been prepared. A terrible force that would level humanity is serious business to God. So serious, in fact, He prepared and planned the exact moment for which it was to happen. So God's sovereign control the history of the world comes to new life. Whatever it is, no matter how bad it may seem, how horrible it may feel, how devastating it leaves you, it is not outside of the purposes of God. I'm not saying God plans evil for you. Revelation 9:15 is judgment upon a people who will refuse to listen to Him and worship the created things, the beast and false pr...

Do we realize how often our prayers or one-way non-stop conversations with a God who is worthy of our awe and reverence? Revelation 8:1 (ESV) When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. I like this moment. The great tribulation has happened and the saints have been brought home and clothed in white. Now the terrible judgment of God on the world is about to happen. But this moment is not flippant or celebratory. It is awe-filled and serious. God never judges off hand or "just because." His judgements are true, right, and holy. And we must stand before Him in awe and wonder. There are many places in the Bible where silence was commended. Ecclesiastes 5:1–2 (ESV) Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. 2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for...

I love Palm trees. I always have. My parents and family lives in Florida and I live in the frozen Northeast. Each year we come down for a 2 1/2 week excursion to avoid the deep chill sometime between December 25 and March 31. I'm writing this entry from florida now. A palm tree sits just outside their window taunting me of our soon departure. Revelation 7 recounts the great multitude who come out of the great tribulation. Saints who stood opposed to the anti-christ system of the world. They were martyred and stayed strong in faith. This has happened in every generation. From the lion's in the Coliseum of Rome (Revelations's first audience) to Corrie Ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoeffer under Nazi persecution... to the Bamboo Curtain's Chinese Christians underground suffering for Christ to the Christians in Muslim dominated countries being tortured and killed for their faith, every generation has had those who have stayed strong against Babylon. This is how John sees...

We talk about His love, compassion and mercy. But Revation is clear that His wrath is immense and intimidating beyond compare. No matter what your view of Revelation, the wrath of Jesus is one of the major components of this incredible book. Revelation 6:14-17 (ESV)  The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” Dis you see the list of people in this crowd? The a-listers and he powerful, the great ones and kings saw the wrath of Jesus (the Lamb) and could not stand. Jesus is awesome and holy. He is completely perfect and total...

What do you put in your finest dish or platter? For whom do you bring out the fine china? The answer will tell you what you value and who you value. The 5th chapter of Recelation takes us to the Throne room of heaven to see Jesus and the 24 elders around the Throne of God. In the midst of these 24 elders and the power and prestige of God himself, this is what it says: Revelation 5:8-10 (ESV)  And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Did you see what was in the Golden bowls before the thorn of God? The prayers of His peop...