The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 6 (day four)

There was joy in heaven…the Lion of Judah was worthy to break the seals and open the scroll.  You might expect that good things were going to happen.  As each seal was broken, tragedy came upon the earth…war, famine, death, martyrs, terror.  The people of the earth tried to run and hide, but there was nowhere to hide.  They even wanted the mountains and rocks to fall on them to hide them from the presence of God.  The great day of wrath had come…they had put it off for too long.  “I still have time to follow Christ.  I’ll maybe do it after I have done all that I want to do.”  Is this the reasoning that you have been making?  We do not know when the Day of the Lord will come, but when it does…like a thief in the night…it will be too late to repent.

Will you have joy like the angels in heaven or will you be looking for a deep cave to collapse upon you?  What will you do with Jesus?

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 6 (day three)

“They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!”  Sound familiar?  We’ve heard this before–in Genesis.  Those who want to keep on thinking about the universe in the same way will always attempt to hide themselves from God. The underside of a rock or the interior of a cave now becomes preferred real estate. The intimacy of the echo chamber holds greater appeal than the intimacy of the confessional.  Which place do you seek?

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 6 (day two) “And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer…” vs. 11a

The voices of the martyrs cried out to the Lord for justice, and they were told to wait because their number would continue to increase before the end. One of the comforts that we have in the American church is that we do not live under any constant threat of persecution. There are indeed examples of pressure placed on the body, but we, as a group, are not under the kind of oppression that our Myanmar brothers and sisters have faced. We do not know and understand radical persecution like other parts of the world. For this we are thankful, but this passage serves as a warning that the church has not seen the end of persecution.

We, then, are forced to examine ourselves and ask if we are willing to die for our faith. Perhaps a better way to look at it is – are we living like we are willing to die? When it all comes to a close, what will really matter about our journey? LIVE FOR HIM

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 6 (day one)

There are seven seals on the scroll. And only Jesus is worthy to open them and set in motion the last events.  Lion AND Lamb, Alpha AND Omega, only He has the authority.

There are also (we will see in the next chapters) seven trumpets and seven bowls of wrath to be poured out on a world of rebellious men.  In every case (the seals and the trumpets and the bowls) the seventh involves an earthquake.  See 8:5, 11:19, 16:18.  Are these three separate and successive events?  (Some say yes)  Are they different symbols for one reality (the progressive and terrible judgement of God)?  (Others put their confidence here)

Whatever else we conclude, these are frightful symbols and warnings.  “But because of your stubbornness and the unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of God’s righteous judgement.”–Romans 2:5

Please, Lord, use your word to prepare your people.

 

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day seven)

“Behold, a door standing open in heaven.”–v 4:1.

How long had the door been open?  I wonder.  John didn’t see it opening.  It was open when he saw it.  Maybe the symbolism is that heaven always is!

The Bible tells of a God who is light.  He shines!  Wants to be noticed and known.  From eternity, the great and good and glorious One has made ways to communicate Himself to the creation.  He invites us to know Him.  Calls us.

It gives new meaning to Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  What if (now and always) the lock on the door is on our side rather than His?  What if we don’t know because we don’t want to know, stubbornly unwilling to meet God’s conditions?

Ever hear of an “open book”?  God is an “open door”.

“Ask. . .receive, seek. . .find, knock, and it (the door) will be opened.”–Matthew 7:7

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day six)

“And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying,’To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and dominion forever and ever.” Revelation 5:13

There will come a time when the Great Commission becomes totally obsolete. The church will no longer do missions; Gospel proclamation will no longer be an act of missions, but an act of worship. This is a good reminder of the truest purpose of Christ’s bride, the church-worship! Pastor John Piper said it like this, “Missions happens because worship doesn’t.” We were made for worship, that eternal and sweet fellowship with God the Father, through the Son, and by the power of the Spirit.

When that days come there will no longer be brokenness, and sin, there will no longer be war and opposition, there will only be worship from every created thing.

I can’t wait! How about you? In the meantime worship…and be on mission. Oh, and by the way, worship and mission are never mutually exclusive; one flows out of the other.

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day five)

It’s the same picture we see in Revelation 1. Remember the description of the Glorified Christ? Strong, Wise, Holy, Powerful, Intimidating, and Magnificent!! Yet the same person comes to John and demonstrates love, compassion, and kindness by placing His hand on John’s shoulder and speaking words of encouragement. Same thing is found in Revelation 5. He is BOTH the Lion (Conqueror, Strong, Majestic, Ferocious) AND the Lamb (Gentle, Humble, Approachable, and Innocent).

There is danger in only seeing and acknowledging one or the other of these characteristics of Jesus. Relating only to Him as the Lamb, could make a human heart overconfident, arrogant, and prideful. But relating to Him as only the Lion could cause unhealthy and oversensitive fear, panic and separation, and an unwillingness to approach or trust Him.

We must see and sense Jesus in all his glory and mercy!! He is BOTH the Lamb that we can love and trust AND the Lion that we can submit to and serve!!

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day four)

Israel was looking for a lion!  Their concept of the coming Messiah was a military leader and conqueror who would lead a rebellion against Rome and overthrow their government.  Jesus was none of that.  The Jews crucified Jesus because they did not recognize Him as the messiah.  What they did not understand was that before there could be a ‘Lion of Judah’, there had to be a ‘Lamb of God’.  The picture that John sees in heaven when he looks for the Lion is a small Lamb, standing as if it were slain.  The Lion of Judah was worthy to open the scroll because He had given His life as a sacrificial lamb on the cross in obedience to the Father.

What are you looking for?  Are you looking for a deliverer who can conquer all your enemies and provide you all the comforts of life?  Are you wanting to share in the rewards of victory without the discipline of obedience?  Don’t miss God’s plan for your life because you are looking for your own self-defined Savior!

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day three)

“There before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.”  “There is no there there,” Gertrude Stein famously said after visiting her childhood home and discovering it was no more.  Such a phrase taps into the common human anxiety that what should be permanent actually decays or fades away or perhaps didn’t really ever exist in the way you thought it did.  When a man contemplates God, that old anxiety again surfaces: What if God does not exist?  What if I have nowhere to go?  What if there is no there there?  In our sin-dimmed thinking, we have forgotten God, and we have lost the way to find him.  Into that twilight, John speaks a word of revelation: Someone occupies the place of sovereignty.  How will you live when you understand that God reigns?

Re:Verse reading–Revelation 4:1-7, 5:1-14 (day two) “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” 5:12

Who or what in our lives is worthy (to receive honor and glory)? I mean someone or something that is so deserving of honor and respect that there can be no dispute of their worthiness. The more pluralistic our society comes, and the more man-centric we are it seems there can be no consensus. No matter the figure it seems some group can’t reconcile some part of their story, and therefore refuses to bestow respect.

While this is sad, there are some great people throughout history who have done great things, it is also accurate. In its truest sense the only one truly WORTHY is Jesus. Even those who condemned him found no fault in him. He laid down his life to be lifted up and exalted.

Next time you find yourself disappointed in another flawed creature, consider looking higher. This Jesus never sought power, riches, wisdom, might, honor, or glory, yet by his obedient nature that submitted his will totally to the father is faultless and truly WORTHY of all honor we can give.