Thursday, December 31, 2015

Come, Lord Jesus! December 31, Readings: Malachi 3-4, Revelation 22, Psalm 150, Proverbs 31:29–31

Link to Today's Readings

It's New Year's Eve. Think for a moment about what is going to be happening across our land. People are going to be going out to "have a good time." Nothing wrong with enjoying yourself, of course, but think of all the ways that people are going to be seeking happiness and fun tonight.

More than a few will seek their joy from a bottle - they will look to alcohol or perhaps some form of drugs to provide them a feeling of exhilaration. Many will seek pleasure through sexual immorality. There will be wild parties and games and activities - all sorts of fun things to participate in. Some are sinful. Some are harmless. But our manic search for fun reveals the fact that we still have not grasped one of life's great truths.

We spend a lot of time trying to find life, to find fun and contentment and pleasure and peace. But in Revelation 22, the last chapter of the Bible, we see a truth that helps us in the search for real life. Observe verses 1 and 2.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Coming from the throne of God is a river of living water that feeds the tree of life and brings healing to the nations. Life flows from the throne of God - and nowhere else.

This world can offer us some fun (again, fun does not always mean sin). It is full of beauty and pleasure - things created by God and blessed if enjoyed within proper boundaries. People can be a great blessing. This world has a lot to offer.

But God is life. Real life, true life - it flows from his throne to us. Don't look for, from this world, what only God can offer. Eternal life, abundant life, joy, contentment and fulfillment, these flow from heaven in streams of living water. He alone satisfies the soul with everlasting joy.

The Bible begins with God, speaking the world into existence. Now, the Bible ends with God's words again.
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

First Jesus gives us a blessed promise. He's coming quickly. Oh, of course, quickly is defined by the One to whom a day is as a thousand years. But he is coming. One day. Soon or in the distant future, he will come and consummate this world in his glory. 

And so, we say with the Apostle John, "Come, Lord Jesus." Life can be hard, or it can be good, But come, Lord Jesus. When everything is coming up roses or when its stinking like fertilizer, come Lord Jesus. 

Come, Lord Jesus, Come! We long for your appearing and the display of your glory. In the meantime, may our lives serve your kingdom and display your glory in this earth. 

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Heaven! December 30, Readings: Malachi 1-2, Revelation 21, Psalm 149, Proverbs 31:27–28

Link to Today's Readings

Theologians and preachers have speculated about heaven for a long time. The New Testament is clear about how we get there - we ride the coattails of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to eternal glory. None of us is worthy of heaven or fit for it. Since sin cannot dwell there, and we are all sinners, we are excluded until the blood of Christ cleanses us and the power of Christ makes us new. Clothed in the righteousness of Christ we who deserve hell can become fit for heaven.

That much is clear, but what will heaven be like? On that there is a wide divergence of opinion. The description given in Revelation 21 is not all that helpful. Look at verses 19-21.
The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone:the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.The 12 gates are 12 pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The broad street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

My guess is that John was doing the best he can to describe the glory he saw, but that heaven is so far above and beyond human experience that he did the best he could to write down what he saw. The problem is that I'm not really sure what chrysolite, chrysoprase or jacinth are. How about you? What does it mean that each of the gates was made of a single pearl, or that the street is made of a pure gold that looks like transparent glass? I just don't have a good sense of what that means. Pure gold like transparent glass?  Not visualizing that.

Heaven is beyond our existence. I cannot envision a sinless, perfect world, one that sin has never and will never touch, one that is unaffected by time, where death and decay have no place. In fact, that leads me to my point. When John describes heaven, he spends most of his time describing what isn't there.

  • There's no sea (21:1). This may refer to the sinful nations of the world. The roiling and political machination is gone and Jesus reigns supreme. 
  • Death no longer exists (21:4). Jesus has once and for all defeated the enemy of humanity and it is no longer a threat. 
  • There's no tears, grief, crying or pain (21:4). All the "former things" have passed away as the new order of things has taken over. God is now in charge and all is well. Every trace of sin, of the curse and all of its effects has been forever banished. 
  • There's no sanctuary (21:22). No sacrifice or place of worship is needed. God is there personally. 
  • There's no source of light - sun or moon (21:23). It's not needed because the glory of God provides all the light that is needed. 
  • There's no closing time (21:25). The gates are open eternally. 
  • There's nothing profane (21:27). Sin has been banished once and for all. 

I can't tell you exactly what heaven is going to be like, but I can tell you this, everything that is wrong, evil, awful, hurtful and bad about life here on earth - it won't be there. God will. Jesus will. Those who believe in Jesus will be there - redeemed and transformed. But all the mess of this world will be gone.

I can't tell you exactly what heaven will be like, but it's going to be wonderful!

Father, I thank you that Christ prepared a place for me in glory by his blood shed on the cross. I thank you that all the evil, grief and pain of this world will only last a time, but that your glory is eternal. 




Tuesday, December 29, 2015

When the Books Are Opened - December 29 Readings: Zechariah 13-14, Revelation 20, Psalm 148:9–14, Proverbs 31:24–26

Link to Today's Readings

Why do people go to hell?

No one wants to talk about it or think about it, but when we arrive at Revelation 20:11-15, we can no longer pretend the final judgment does not exist. There is a Great White Throne and seated on it is the Judge of all the earth. Every man and woman who has ever lived and died is brought to stand before this throne and is judged.

Here is where my eschatological viewpoint comes in - I believe that the believing dead have already been raised prior to this and that all those who face this judgment are lost. It's not an issue that needs to be fought to the end, of course.

But the key is that we see hints as to how the final judgment of sinners is made. John describes two different sets of books being opened. In verse 12, it says, "the books were opened." This implies that the dead are judged according to their works, and that is something that no human being wants. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Every one of us who is judged according to the works we have done in this life will be found wanting.

The first set of books is opened and every man and woman standing before the throne of God stands guilty, without excuse. No one offers an appeal or justification. Guilty as charged.

But there is another book that is opened, mentioned in verse 12 as well, the "book of life." This has also been called the Lamb's book of life. In this book is written the names of those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Why do people go to hell? Because their name is not written in that book! Because as sinners they have not repented of their sin and turned to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. John put it about as clearly as one could in his first epistle.
"He who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son does not have life." (1 John 5:12)
Eternity is about Jesus. What did you do with him? There's not a single one of us who can stand when God opens the books and judges our lives. We are sinners. But those who have placed their faith in Jesus have a secure hope in heaven for all eternity, a hope for glory.

It is my guess that most of those who read this devotional "have the Son." You have repented of your sin and put your faith in him. If you haven't, do so now. But if your name is written in the book of life by the grace of God, by the blood of Christ, then give thanks today. Give thanks that your eternity does not depend on you, but on Jesus Christ. Give thanks that Jesus paid with his blood so that your name could be written in the Book of Life. Give thanks that though your works could never earn righteousness, his was imputed to you.

Father, I thank you for your Son, our Savior. Because of him, I have hope for all eternity. I have life I didn't serve and a place in heaven I couldn't earn. 

Monday, December 28, 2015

He Wins! We Win! - December 28, Readings: Zechariah 11-12, Revelation 19, Psalm 148:1–8, Proverbs 31:22–23

Link to Today's Readings

Do you ever feel like there is no hope for the future in this world?

There is nothing in sports more thrilling than a come-from-behind victory, when one team seems to have surefire victory and the team that seems destined to lose mounts a heroic effort to win. My favorite season as a Yankee fan was 1978 when my guys in pinstripes came from 14 games behind to win the AL East and then eventually the World Series. Almost as wonderful was the 1996 Series, in which the Yankees lost the first two games of the Series, at home, to the Atlanta Braves and headed south for what seemed like certain defeat. Four games later, they hoisted the trophy while I jumped, danced and shouted in my living room.

Revelation 19 is the moment when the apparent victory of evil in this world comes crashing to a halt. Right now, the wickedness seems to be getting its way, doesn't it? The moral foundations are crumbling and people are abandoning truth and righteousness to embrace evil. Even in the church our values are more shaped by the culture of the world than the revelation of the world. I've talked to more than one skeptic who has gloated that Christianity is fading and the church is dying. Sometimes, it seems like they are right.

But they are wrong. At least in the long run they are. I don't know what is going to happen here in America - we may continue in the course we have set, following the European path of spiritual and moral decay. But this much we know - Jesus is going to win it all. If you think he's losing right now, it's all an illusion.

I love to go back in the video archives and watch old baseball games, when I know how they came out. Okay, let's face it - I'm talking about games the Yankees won, especially ones it looked like they were going to lose. I watch the video and feel the tension, but I do so with an assurance that in the end one of the guys on my side is going to get a hit and all will be well.

That is the attitude we need as we face this world. Yes, things look bad and it can be tough to be positive and faith-filled. But remember what the score will be at the end.
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

From this moment until the end, mankind will marshal his strength to continue the war begun in the Garden, when Adam and Eve chose the other side. Most will continue on the wide path and stand in rebellion against the Lord who paid for the sins of the world. That war isn't going to cease, or even lessen. It will intensify until that climactic battle. But at that moment Jesus will ride out of heaven in glory and he will establish his authority over all the world. Jesus is Lord and he will stand supreme. 

Don't forget that. Yes, the world is evil. The god of this age has blinded minds and hearts are bound in sin. We live in a world with loyalties to the kingdom of darkness and we serve the light. It is going to be hard. But as we face hardships, as we see things going badly, we can rest in this hope - that Jesus Christ's ultimate victory is guaranteed. 

The end is written and Jesus wins. Don't forget that during those times when things seem bad right now. 

Father, help me never to forget, when I see the specter of the victory of evil, that your Son will one day stand in glory and defeat all of your foes. He wins, and we win with him - those of us who have been born by your grace. Thank you Lord.  

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Southern Hills Bible Reading Challenge - 2016 Version - Read the NT Chronologically

Reading your Bible regularly is still the most important indicator of spiritual growth, still the most important spiritual discipline in your life. So, I want to continue this process of Bible reading. However, for 2016 we are going to change it up. Instead of reading the whole Bible in one year as we have the last two years, we are going to focus on the New Testament, and we are going to read it chronologically.

We will start with a gospel harmony, reading the four gospels as one story. Then we will read Acts. When we come to the places where various books of Paul were written (and James), we will read those books. Then, when we finish acts we will read the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus) then the General Letters (Hebrews to Jude) and, as always, we will wrap up with Revelation.

By content, this is about a fourth of the Bible, though for us it is the heart and soul of the message of Jesus. It means that there will be a little bit less to read each day, allowing you a little bit more time to read it, to read various commentaries or other books, and to meditate on the truths you learn. If you fall behind a few days, catching up won't be so hard.

Currently, my plan to take half the year to go through the New Testament. Those plans can change as I work through this. We will see.

In It, Not of It - December 27 Readings: Zechariah 9-10, Revelation 18, Psalm 147:15–20, Proverbs 31:19–21

Link to Today's Readings

As I write this, I've seen the new Star Wars movie twice. By the time you read this, that number may have gone up! (I'm working ahead because of travel plans and because I'm setting up next year's readings -  reading the New Testament chronologically, a plan I'm devising from several others.) I enjoyed it immensely. There are a few bowl games I'm deeply interested in and the NFL playoffs are getting ready to gear up. If you know me, you know I care about sports. This is a political season and the caucuses are around the corner. I have a few political opinions as well. I care about a lot of things that go on in this world.

In yesterday's readings we were introduced to "Babylon the Great." She is not great in any good sense. She is the world's system of evil which stands in opposition to God and his kingdom. God works to bring that system down. In Revelation 18 we see the ultimate downfall of system as God brings her crashing to nothing. All of man's power, his wealth, his wisdom, his armies, and his greatness is brought low in an instant.

Then, John gives this admonition, in Revelation 18:4
Come out of her, my people,      lest you take part in her sins,lest you share in her plagues
That is the eternal struggle for us as believers. We must "come out of her" and yet we still live right here, smack dab in the middle of Babylon. Some have tried to take this command literally. In the post-apostolic days, monastic monks went into the wilderness to "come out of" the wicked world. They left it behind and engaged in prayer and other spiritual pursuits, totally disconnected from the world. Today, some Christians try to cut the world out of their lives completely. The problem is that we are supposed to make disciples and it is hard to do if we treat the world like an Ebola virus we are trying to avoid.

The old saw says that we are to be "in the world but not of the world." Okay, I think that pretty well sums it up. Amen. I will agree. But I have found that very hard to do. How do I balance my loyalty to the kingdom of God and my interests in what is going on in Babylon? Was I wrong to watch Star Wars? (Twice?) Should I disconnect my cable and internet and seek a modern version of the monastic life? How do I love the Yankees without that love becoming idolatrous? Can I hate the Red Sox and the Patriots and the Alabama Crimson Tide without sinning? How engaged in Babylonian politics should I be as a citizen of heaven? There are more questions to ask than I can answer.

The key, of course, is in my heart (and yours). Where is my first love? What is my highest passion. I do not believe God minds me enjoying my life. A good meal. A fun time. A good book or a good movie. But he must be my passion, my ambition, my desire. When my heart turns to Babylon, I must heed verse 4 and "come out of her."

Father, may your Son be my driving passion every day. May the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 





Saturday, December 26, 2015

Crashing Babylon - December 26, Readings: Zechariah 7-8, Revelation 17, Psalm 147:8–14, Proverbs 31:17–18

Link to Today's Readings

Find 20 commentaries on the book of Revelation and you might find 2 dozen different explanations for  the identity of "Babylon the Great." The Roman empire was an historical favorite and so was the Roman Catholic church (still is). Some point the finger at the revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation period. In my younger years many tried to find a way to fit America into the prophecies of the end times and some managed to make Revelation 17 apply to the good ole USA. But perhaps the best thing to do in a short (well, for me anyway) devotional is to just let Babylon represent what it often represents in Scripture - the sinful world system that stands in rebellion against God. It is an economic system that values financial gain over the true wealth of God's glory. It is a political system that seeks to establish human power and authority instead of yielding to God's. It is a religious system that turns to human truth, human rules, human rituals, human endeavors, and human merit instead of relying on the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ. Babylon. Since the Tower was built so many years ago to reach to heaven man has been seeking his own way, doing his own thing and walking in opposition to the will and way of God.

And one day that will all come crashing down. "Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the Great." When the time is right, when Jesus is ready, he will bring this rebellious world system crashing to the ground so that he can establish his kingdom and authority over this earth.

I have strong views about Revelation, but I am afraid that we have missed the overall message, the great truths of Revelation, because we've gotten so bogged down in the minutiae - arguing over the identity of the Antichrist, or the timing of this or that. The ultimate truth is that God wins. This wicked world and all its evil men cannot and will not stand against the awesome power of the great God who created it all and sent his Son to redeem a people for himself. Jesus always has been Lord. He is Lord today. And one day the entire earth will know it. He rose from the dead and one day he will be physically and visibly enthroned on this earth.

This is the absurdity of our lives. If I saw a burning home, I would not gather all my valuables and run into that house and deposit my precious things. I would certainly not lead my family into that home. I'd get anything of value out! And yet that is exactly what we are doing in the spiritual realm. This world and the system that runs it is doomed to destruction. Babylon will fall. But so often I invest all of my time, energy, enthusiasm, and passion into the things that will burn. I sacrifice the eternal for the temporal.

It is hard to figure all the details out, but it appears that God works by his sovereign hand in the future to sow discord between the Antichrist and Babylon (whatever specifically that means). God brings down Babylon by creating hostility within itself.

Maybe that should be our prayer as one year ends and another year begins.

Father, as one day you will bring discord in Babylon, give us a heart that cares more about your kingdom than this world. Drive a wedge between us and this world. May we be so heavenly minded that we can be of some earthly good. 

Friday, December 25, 2015

A Psalm for Christmas - December 25, Readings: Zechariah 5-6, Revelation 15–16, Psalm 147:1–7, Proverbs 31:14–16

Link to Today's Readings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I'm going to keep this short today, since you and I both have a lot to do. There are presents to open and gooses to cook (if you are the Cratchit family) and families to enjoy. If our plans work out, we will be on the road to Ohio to see our daughter, connecting to points east to see the rest of our family over the next week.

Christmas has become about so many things in America. It's about Santa and elves and blockbuster movies (Star Wars is GREAT!) and parties. We try at Southern Hills to keep the focus where it needs to be, on Jesus Christ, his birth, and what that really means in the long term. But lets face it, Christmas is about presents. "What do you want for Christmas?" Been to the mall? Sam's? Or, horror of horror, Walmart? We are bankrupting ourselves to buy gifts for our kids (and grandkids!).

But as I read the seven verses of Psalm 147, I was reminded of a very important truth. The greatest gifts in life are not ones you can wrap and put under a tree! They are not gifts you can open, play with and break. No, the greatest gifts are those that God gave to us through Jesus Christ. God heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds (verse 3). He is great and worthy of praise because of his abundant power (verse 5) and he lifts up the humble. This psalm goes on to recount the goodness of God and his love and mercy.

It ends with the simple Hebrew command, "hallelujah." Praise the Lord. Do it! Remember on this day of family and presents and food and festivity that the greatest blessing you have is Jesus and the eternal work of grace he has done in your life.

Father, I thank you that Christmas is more than a fairy tale used as an excuse for festivities. It is your work of grace begun. Thank you for Jesus. May his name be praised. 

Thursday, December 24, 2015

The Carols of Christmas - What Child Is This?

Imagine the awe Mary felt as she held her son, the amazement of the shepherds upon seeing the baby in the manger, the wonder of the Magi when the star led them to Jesus’ house.  Imagine Anna and Simeon holding the baby at the temple.  They saw a child, and they knew he was no ordinary child.  But could they process the truth?.  Maybe they asked the question that others would ask, as they gazed at him.  What child is this?  Can this really be the One foretold by the ancients, the Seed that would crush the serpent’s head, the fulfillment of all the prophet’s hopes? 
  
Other than “Silent Night,” which is in a class all by itself, this is my favorite Christmas carol.  The minor key is a haunting setting for the song’s message. It asks the crucial question of Christmas.   Who was the baby sleeping on Mary’s lap?  It is the question that each of us must answer, and that answer will not only define our lives, but also our eternity. 

The question is answered in the chorus.  This is, indeed, the promised Messiah, Christ the King.  His life of obedience, righteousness, and miraculous power forever settled the question.  It is right that we “bring him laud,” that we praise the babe, the Son of Mary.

Then, the second verse asks another question:  Why is he here?  Why lies he in such mean estate?
The answer to that question is the second line.  For sinners here the silent Word is pleading.  The baby was in the manger so that salvation could come to the world.  He was the Word of God, who would declare God’s love with unmistakable clarity.  He may have been snuggled quietly in Mary’s arms that night, but his life, his perfection, his sacrifice, would communicate God’s love in a voice no force on earth could silence. 

The third verse answers a third question.  What do I do about it?  The Child is Christ, the King, and he is come as God’s Word of love to sinners.  Now, how am I supposed to respond?  What is the answer?  Let loving hearts enthrone him

That, my friend, is really the only question left in the Christmas story.  Jesus answered all the questions asked at his birth.  He lived a perfect life, fulfilling all God’s righteousness.  He offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins.  He died for us, was buried, and rose again on the third day.  He broke the chains of death and hell, triumphing over them.  And God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name above all names. 

The questions of the first two verses of this carol are forever settled.  Who is he?  Why did he come?  Jesus is seated on the throne at God’s right hand.  He is King of kings and Lord of lords.  Of that there can be no doubt. 

The only question left is, will you enthrone him in your heart?  Will you recognize Jesus’ rightful place as not only the Lord of all, but the Lord of your life?  Will you submit to him and live life by his Spirit?  Who is going to hold the reigns of authority in your life? 

The King of kings salvation brings; let loving hearts enthrone him.


Guilty! Defended! December 24, Readings: Zechariah 3-4, Revelation 14, Psalm 146, Proverbs 31:12–13

Link to Today's Readings

What a powerful vision Zechariah had - not really a vision but an insight into reality. In Zechariah 3:1-5 we see a man named Joshua, a priest, the chief priest in fact who was standing before the Angel of the Lord. The identity of the "Angel of the Lord" is difficult to discern in the OT - is it just an angel, or Jesus himself? We will likely not know for sure until we are in heaven. Joshua is standing before this representation of the divine presence.

And Satan, the accuser of the brethren, is right there beside him doing his thing. He is accusing him. He is unworthy to stand in your presence God. He has no right to be here. Look how filthy he is, how unclean, how compromised. He has not done right, has not followed the law adequately, has not earned the right to be in the presence of the Lord. The accuser is accusing!

The problem is that every accusation he is lodging is absolutely correct. According to verse 3 Joshua was clothed in filthy garments. He was unclean. The accuser was absolutely right. Dirty. Fallen. Wicked. Unworthy to stand in the presence of God.

Just like me. Joshua is me! A sinner whose sin makes him unworthy to be in the eternal presence of God. Here is the hard, cold truth - the truth I want to ignore, deny, and pretend is not so. Whatever accusations Satan wants to lodge against me to the Father are probably true. Oh, maybe I haven't broken every one of the commandments in body, but in mind, in heart, in spirit, I have broken them all. I am guilty.

But God does not respond to Satan's accusations as we might expect.
The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!
Satan spoke true accusations against Joshua but he was rebuked. Why? Because God had chosen Jerusalem. God chose them and therefore he would redeem them.
Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.
God takes his chosen people, cleanses them, and clothes them in pure clothes. We know now how that happens - it is the righteousness of Christ that is our robe. I am Joshua. Stained and dirty, God chose me. He sent his Son for me to take away my iniquity and clothe me in righteousness. I know have "pure vestments" - spiritual garments of holiness given to me by the work of Christ.

Though I am guilty of every accusation Satan can level against me, in Christ I am innocent!

Thank you, Father, for the grace I have in Christ, for clothing me in Christ's righteousness instead listening to the accusations of Satan against me. 

May your Christmas be blessed in every way tomorrow!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Carols of Christmas - Infant Holy, Infant Lowly

It was one of redemptive history’s strangest moments.  When the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, God was conceived in human flesh.   The baby in the manger was no ordinary child; he was the Son of God, God incarnate. 
           
The irony is that the Son of God, the Eternal King, the Prince of Peace, was not born to a king, but to a carpenter.  His bedding was straw, not satin.  The One of whom the seraphim had cried “Holy, holy, holy” was now attended by donkeys.  There were no nurses or nannies, only the shepherds from the hillside.  I would not have wanted one of my children to be born in the kind of filth that accompanied the birth of the Christ child.  And yet that is how a sovereign God sent his only son to earth.

Why?  Why would God subject Jesus to this?  There are at least two reasons.  First, we know that it was part of God’s plan to redeem sinners.  Jesus came to be our Savior and our Lord.  But why did he come in poverty, in obscurity, in squalor?  I believe he did this as an example of the life that pleases God.  Jesus came to this earth to walk the way of the cross.  Those who would follow him must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him on that path. 

Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus, in his very nature God, did not grasp his divine privilege, but emptied himself to come to earth as a man.  He came, the first time, “to seek and to save that which was lost.”  He walked in humility and obedience to the Father, even to the point of offering himself as the Lamb of God to be sacrificed for the sins of the world.  In Gethsemane, Jesus made it clear that the idea of becoming sin horrified him.  He sweated drops of blood in anticipation of bearing our sins in his body.  Yet, in humility, he obeyed the Father’s plan.  “Not my will, but your will be done.” 

We are called to the “fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  The Christian life is not a means to attaining our ambitions, or getting ahead, or getting what we want from life.  It is a way of humility, of crucifixion.  I must follow Jesus on the walk to the cross.  I must die to self, to my ambitions, my dreams, my goals, my plans.  My life no longer belongs to me, it is his.  My plans are not my own, they are his.  We are crucified with Christ. 

But Jesus’ humility, his sacrifice, his death, was not the end of the story.  Philippians 2 goes on to tell us that God exalted Jesus to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.  The “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly” of the Christmas story is now the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” 

You and I will never be King of kings.  We are not meant to be.  But when we walk the way of the cross, when we humble ourselves, we receive more from God than we ever give up.  He infuses our lives with his glory.  He exalts us to the heavenly places and seats us there with Christ.  He has place the Holy Spirit in us, and fills us with his presence and power. 


The Christmas story bids us to walk the path Jesus walked; the path of humility, the way of the cross.  Those that do this come to know the real joy of Christmas.  

Loving the Antichrist - December 23, Readings: Zechariah 1-2, Revelation 13, Psalm 145:17–21, Proverbs 31:10–11

Link to Today's Readings

In these devotionals, I've not focused much on eschatology - the doctrine of the end times - because it is a source of disagreement among believers and that isn't the purpose of these devotionals. But a thought hit me today as I read Revelation 13, based on something a friend of mine said a couple of days ago.

Mike Bergman, a pastor in Missouri and one of the writers on SBC Voices, said this:

In Genesis, God gave us the world. We chose a tiny piece of fruit instead. In the future, God promises once again to give us the world. Each time we sin, we're saying to him: "No thanks, I'd rather have this tiny bite of fruit instead." Heirs of everything shouldn't sell it for a tiny bite of fruit that doesn't satisfy beyond the moment.
What a powerful statement. Hold onto that thought as we reflect on Revelation 13. In verse 1 we are introduced to a being of infinite evil that we call the Antichrist, or the Beast. He is empowered by Satan himself (verse 2) and is enabled by him to recover from some sort of fatal wound (the exact nature of this is much-debated). But what comes next, in verses 3 and 4, is what I'd like you to take notice of. 
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. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”
We often labor under the idea that Satan gains power by forcing people to sin against their wills or that the Antichrist will rise to power by a coup and seize power by force. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Adam and Eve were deceived, but they chose the fruit of sin over the Paradise of God, and people have willfully chosen sin ever since. In this passage, the enemy of God rises to power as a hero. People worship him as their savior, their deliverer. He does not force his way to the throne, he is carried on the shoulders of the people - those he will later brutally oppress. 

That is the way of sin. We choose it - willfully, even gleefully. We like it. We want it. It is only after we have eaten the fruit that we realize what it will cost. It is only after we have embraced the evil that we realize what a cruel tyrant it is. Sin always takes us farther than we want to go, costs us more than we want to pay, and keeps us longer than we want to stay. 

Jesus is a loving Lord. He gives joy and peace to those who follow him. Why do we choose the measly fruit of sin when we can have the full blessing of God? Why do we embrace the ways of the enemy of God when the yoke of Jesus is easy and his burden is light? 

Father, I want what you have, not the false promises of the enemy. I thank you that you have freed me eternally from sin. Help me to walk daily in freedom from his lies. 



Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Carols of Christmas - O Little Town of Bethlehem

A cursory reading of scripture reinforces one clear point:  God thinks and acts in ways very different than we mortals.  God always seems to act contrary to the ways that are obvious and intuitive to us.  The Christmas story illustrates this principle.   Phillips Brooks’ carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” explores the unusual ways of God. 

If you were God, sending the Savior to earth, how might you do it?  A press release to all the media outlets.  A promotional campaign, a press conference, advertising to let everyone know exactly what is going on?  God chose another path.  He did not send Jesus into the political center of the empire, Rome.  He did not choose Alexandria, an academic hotspot, or the cultural hub of Athens.  He sent his son to Bethlehem, a sleepy little town in a sleepy little country in a sleepy part of the world.  Israel was hardly the focus of world attention in those days.  God just doesn’t understand the importance of marketing.  He shined his “everlasting light” in the “dark streets” of downtown nowhere. 

For Christ is born of Mary.”  His son was not born to a princess, but to a peasant.  It is sad that so many have tried to deify Mary.  The whole point of the Christmas story is that God chose an insignificant, normal peasant girl to be the mother of the Son of God.  There was no merit, so special qualities, no outstanding talents in Mary that merited God’s work.  He works by grace, choosing the insignificant to do his extraordinary work.  Mary was not immaculate, or miraculous; she was normal.   Just another Galilean peasant girl.  Her only significant quality was obedience, a willingness to do whatever God asked of her. 

There was no fanfare in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus.  “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given.”  The only people who heard of the birth were socially unacceptable shepherds on the hillside.   God did not send his angels to mayors, governors, philosophers or any other cultural illuminati.  The angels appeared to shepherds, the unwashed and undesired. 

It was no accident.  God works in humanity to redeem people and to glorify himself.  He uses the insignificant, the ordinary, and does extraordinary things through them so that there can be no mistake:  God did it and he alone deserves the glory for it. 

What do you think might have happened in Bethlehem that night if people had known Messiah was born?  Life would have come to a screeching halt and everyone would have appeared at the manger to pay respects.  The wealthy and influential would have fallen over themselves to make the most luxurious accommodations available to the Christ child.  But there was no such fuss.  “While mortals sleep,” Christ is born.  “In the dark streets shineth the everlasting light,” but the Bethlehemites never saw it. 

God is still at work today, though many are oblivious to it.  He descends to “cast out our sin and enter in,” to “Be born in us today.”  Immanuel still works in this world by God’s sovereign grace to enter hearts, change lives and settle our eternal destiny. 

Many, even some who claim to believe, glide blissfully through life unaware of the powerful work of God.  May we not be like them. 


May we be like Mary, like the shepherds; ordinary folks willing to obey God and be tools in his redemptive work; ordinary folks through whom God does extraordinary things.  

The Curse of Misplaced Priorities - December 22, Readings: Haggai 1-2, Jonah 1–3, Revelation 12, Psalm 145:10–16, Proverbs 31:7–9

Link to Today's Readings

As we read the little book of Haggai, we are also reading the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible is argued about and debated, but it teaches a couple of indisputable truths. It reminds us that this world and everything in it has an expiration date and that in spite of what we may see and feel, God wins and this world will end with Jesus as Lord and evil utterly defeated. Haggai reminds us to live today with priorities that recognize the reality of those truths. It makes no sense to invest our lives in that which is doomed to destruction.

If you see a house on fire, you don't run into it hide all your valuables there, do you? You remove them! You try to salvage what you can. In the same way, as Jesus said, we ought to store up treasures in heaven because whatever we invest in here on earth is going to rust, mold or burn.

A youth pastor I knew gave the best illustration of life I ever heard. He rented a limousine and took his small youth group out for a night on the town (in Cedar Rapids). He took them to a fancy restaurant, to museums, to all kinds of expensive places. Finally, he took them to the gates of Mt. Trashmore, Cedar Rapids' dump. He said, "Everything you saw today ends up here." Wow.

That's how we live our lives, isn't it? We devote ourselves to this world, which is destined to be destroyed, while we ignore the things of God. It is the worst investment decision any of us could ever make.

Haggai was a prophet to the people of Israel who had returned from exile in Babylon. They had come back to the land with the intent of rebuilding the Temple and reestablishing the worship of Yahweh. But, of course, they first had to erect places that they could live in and walls to protect them. Suddenly, it was many years later and they were living in comfort while the Temple still lay in ruins. They continually procrastinated. "The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt." (Haggai 1:2).

God's patience with this procrastination was at an end, and he sent Haggai to warn the people, "Think carefully about your ways." They were living with (borrowing from Revelation 18) Babylonian priorities. There minds were on their own comfort and convenience and they cared little for the things of God.

There are consequences to that. We could call it the Curse of Misplaced Priorities. When we invest ourselves in this world, we bring certain natural consequences, designed by God, upon our lives. Look at what God said through Haggai in 1:6.
You have planted much but harvested little.
You eat but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink but never have enough to become drunk.
You put on clothes but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages into a bag with a hole in it.”
There is an inverse proportion principle at work in the kingdom of God. Jesus mentioned it often. "He who saves his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will save it." What you seek is not what you get. "Seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you as well. Here, the more you invest in your own life, the less you will have of peace, satisfaction and  contentment.
The  less you focus on your own things and give attention the things of God, the more you receive of peace, satisfaction and contentment.

There are five statements there that describe the dissatisfaction, frustration and futility of the life with misplaced priorities. 
  • No matter how much work you do, there is little return (eternally) on your investment. In the kingdom, a grain of mustard seed moves mountain. With misplaced priorities, we can barely move the mustard seed!
  • The next three speak to satisfaction and contentment. When you invest in this world, it's never enough. Ever eaten a meal so good that you didn't want to eat again for a month? Of course not. The things of this world never satisfy for more than a moment. You eat, but its not enough. You drink, but you want more. You put on clothes, but you are still cold. This world offers fun and good times, but not satisfaction. 
  • Finally, misplaced priorities produce lost opportunity - what might have been. You stick money in a bag, but the bag has a hole. The money goes away and you don't get to enjoy it. You had it all, but you squandered it. I hate writing this, because boy-oh-boy have I been there! But it is a marker of misplaced priorities that you squander the opportunities and blessings that God gives you. 
There is a solution, though. Build the house of God. In the OT, that was a building on a hill just above the City of David to the north. But we are the Temple of the Living God today - both individually and as a church. We need to build the church and we need to build our lives as sanctuaries of God's presence. Cleanse it. Honor God's presence. Make the sacrifice (well, honor the one Christ made) and devote yourself to the service of God. 



Father, I have seen so much of the Curse of Misplaced Priorities in my life - work without return, dissatisfaction and lost opportunity. Cleanse my heart as your sacrifice. I thank you for the sacrifice made for me once for all by Christ. Consecrate me, Lord, for your service. 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Carols of Christmas - Joy to the World

I love to sing the carols of Christmas.  They are familiar old friends, telling the story of the birth of the Savior.  There is, however, a danger in their familiarity.  Sometimes can sing them heartily and feel the emotion of the songs without considering the message of the words.  In the next few days, leading up to Christmas, I would like to look at a few of my favorite carols and meditate for a few seconds on the message behind them.   I hope they might help you in some small way in the celebration of the incarnation. 

Joy to the Word!  The Lord Is Come

Unique among the carols of Christmas, “Joy to the World” has no mention of the manger, or the baby, or Mary, or Joseph, or the shepherds.  In fact, the focus of this carol is not so much the first coming of Christ, but his redemptive work, and even his second coming, his glorious return to set up his kingdom here on earth. 

Look at the affirmations of the song.  “He rules the world with truth and grace.”  Certainly, Jesus is sovereign over the affairs of man today, but the world is not in submission to him.   In his first coming, Jesus came to give himself as the sacrifice for sin.  Now, he is working in his church to bring the gospel to this world.  One day, though, when he comes again, he will rule the world with truth and grace.  All will bow down.  All will submit.  Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! 

On that day, sins and sorrows will grow no more.  Thorns will not infest the ground, remade in the absence of the curse of sin.  His glorious blessings will flow throughout the world.  All the nations will serve him, proving the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love.  All of that is coming one day. 

In the meantime, Jesus rules and reigns in the hearts of those who worship him.  He has come to us, offering salvation by faith, forgiveness of sin, and a new life in him. 

Remember the busy folks staying at the inn?  They were going about their business and never realized that Messiah had been born in the manger out back.  Surely, if the innkeeper knew who the pregnant woman was who knocked at door he would have made room.  But, as we all know, there was no room at the inn.  These busy people had no room in their hearts for Jesus. 

Remember the exhortation of the hymn.  “Let every heart prepare him room.”  Are you ever like the people of Bethlehem?  So busy that there is just no time for Jesus, no time for the Savior?  You are not hostile to him, you are just unwilling to rearrange your life to make room for him. 

What a sad irony that Christmas is often so busy that it crowds worship out.  How can we celebrate the birth of Christ if we ignore him?


One day, earth will receive her King.  Now, for us, the issue is individual.  Will you receive your King?   Will you prepare room for him in your heart?  When you give Jesus his rightful place in your heart, when you submit to him as King of your life, then you learn the meaning of true joy and experience the wonders of his love.    

Unsearchable Depths - December 21, Readings: Zephaniah 3, Revelation 10–11, Psalm 145:1–9, Proverbs 31:5–6

Link to Today's Readings

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop?

Remember that old commercial from long ago? A kid would start licking and counting but after a while, he'd bite the lollipop and so he'd never know. That was the catch. No one knew because you'd lose patience and finally take a bite. But the fact is, you could find out if you had the patience. There was a finite number of licks that would take all the candy off the Tootsie Roll at the center. Pretty everything in our world is finite.

How many hairs are on your head? It's a huge number, but it's finite.
How many drops of water in the ocean? I can't count them, but it's finite.
How many stars in the sky?  Beyond my ability to number, but there is a number.

But the greatness of God? That is truly infinite. Look at Psalm 145:3.
His greatness is unsearchable. 
It is too great to be measured by any calculation. If you spent the rest of your life considering the greatness of God, exploring the Scriptures and meditating on every aspect of God's goodness, when you reached the end of days you would not have exhausted the storehouse of his greatness. Someone else could download your knowledge, start there and spend another lifetime plumbing the depths of God's character and greatness and still not understand it all.

Psalm 145 catalogs many of the great acts of God and his works on our behalf, but there is one item that strikes this sinner as the greatest of the greats. Verse 8 says,
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love
We must never presume on God's grace or treat his forgiveness as if it is nothing. But the fact is that God is merciful to sinners. I would be doomed forever if it were not for that. He is slow to anger and his love overflows like a tsunami, and that is my only hope now and in all eternity. Of all the great qualities God has, that is the greatest>

For all your greatness, Lord, I thank you. But for your redeeming love and forgiveness, I praise you now and forevermore.





Sunday, December 20, 2015

No Excuse - December 20, Readings: Zephaniah 1-2, Revelation 9, Psalm 144:12–15, Proverbs 31:3-4

Link to Today's Readings

What more could God do?

Since the beginning of time, since Adam and Eve took that fateful bite of that fruit and turned their backs on God and his ways, choosing sin instead of obedience, God has been at work to display his love and to draw people back to himself in grace. He gave a law to Moses, but before Moses came down off the mountain with the tablets the people had already put other gods before Yahweh. They broke the law before they had it. Israel's history is one of constant rebellion, judgment, restoration, and then renewed rebellion. God was faithful and loving but Israel continued in sin.

Then God sent his Son to a little village south of Jerusalem, born of peasants from Nazareth. He came to show the love of God and to be the sacrifice for sin - willingly giving himself on our behalf. It is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done. Having lived a perfect life Jesus gave himself to die for us. He took the judgment of our sins on his shoulders that we might be clothed in eternal righteousness. And yet, the vast majority of humans choose to reject Jesus and his gift and embrace the sin that damns them.

God gave a law and man broke it. God sent his son and man rejected him. What more could God do? Some might say that what God needed to do was show just how awful sin is in his eyes. That is what the Tribulation period is about. Jesus, in Revelation 5, takes the scroll and begins to break the seals to reveal the judgment of God on the world. God hates sin. God makes it clear that he will not put up with humanity's wickedness. Does God's demonstration of wrath move mankind to repentance? No, no more than his amazing love did. Revelation 9:20-21 makes this clear
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
They did not repent of their evil, their idolatry. They refused to acknowledge their sin before God. The problem is depravity, the utter sinfulness of the human heart. Our hearts are not only wicked, but stubborn. We cherish the sin that destroys us. 

It is sad. God cannot do more than he has done, than he is doing, to love us. He has shown infinite, unlimited love, and yet our hardened and sin-loving hearts reject him. This is true of the lost person you pray and grieve for. Pray that he or she will be softened by the Spirit, that God will till the soil in that person's heart to receive the word. But it is also true even in our redeemed hearts. We are far too susceptible to holding on to sin, to resisting repentance and loving the sin that distances us from intimacy with God. 

Father, may no sin harden my heart or drive a wedge between us. May your Spirit break down the walls in my heart to make me sensitive to you. 








Saturday, December 19, 2015

Woe! December 19, Readings: Habakkuk 2:6-3:19, Revelation 8, Psalm 144:5–11, Proverbs 31:1-2

Link to Today's Readings

I love it when our readings come together like I planned it, or as if, perhaps, there were some kind of Holy Spirit working in the word of God to bring things together in perfect harmony. All four of our readings today have a common theme. Unfortunately, it is not a theme of joy, or encouragement, or victory. It is a theme of woe. Judgment. God's wrath against sin.

We spoke of Habakkuk's message yesterday, but here he pronounces the "woe" of God on the Babylonians, those God used to punish his people. God may use evil for his purposes, but he still punishes it as surely as earth revolves around the sun.

In Revelation 8, we see the continuation of God's plan of wrath being poured out on the earth as the seventh seal of Jesus' scroll is opened and seven angels step forward to blow trumpets announcing escalating judgments on the world in which a third of all the earth is destroyed.

Our Psalm (144) calls for God to come down from heaven in awesome power and glory, to deliver David and to destroy the enemies of his people.

Finally, Proverbs 31 begins with a question from King Lemuel to his son. "What are you doing?" More than one father has asked his son such a question. Why, son, why? He is obviously dismayed at his choices - it seems he was giving himself over to wine, women and song - and Lemuel wanted to steer him away from the terrible consequences of these choices.

Four readings, four tales of sin, woe, judgment and the hand of God. The common themes?


  1. Sin brings terrible consequences into the lives of those who choose it. Life is choices and choices have consequences. We are free to reject God's ways but we cannot do so with impunity. Sin brings with it it's own pain and suffering. 
  2. God will surely deal with and defeat his enemies. Evil men abound in this world and strike terror in our hearts, but they have sealed their own fate! When they stand against the reign of Christ in this world they are without hope. Jesus stands supreme in the end. 

So, while this world can be depressing, fearful, and challenging, but our Lord is supreme. He is glorious and powerful and will overcome all foes. I need fear nothing in this world, not even my own death, because Jesus defeated sin, death, hell, Satan, and anything else that can destroy me.

So, in this world of woe we can rejoice that we have been included in Christ and blessed in him.

Father, I thank you for my salvation, my blessings, and the confidence I have in your eternal victory. 

Friday, December 18, 2015

Like Deer in the Heights - December 18, Readings: Habakkuk 1:1-2:5, Revelation 6–7, Psalm 144:1–4, Proverbs 30:32-33

Links to Today's Reading

Every day you watch the news and you ask the same question. Why, Lord, why? Why do you permit things like that to happen. An evil man firebombs a young girl's car and her life is forever changed. Why would the loving God who sent his Son into this world allow such insensate evil to prevail?

Prophets asked questions like that throughout the Old Testament era. They observed the sin, the wickedness and the wretched consequences of that sin in the world and wondered where God was. They knew two things about God - he was sovereign and he was good - and they couldn't make sense of it all. So they too their concerns to God and asked him why.

Habakkuk was one of those prophets. His book is a journey in discovery of the purposes of God. In chapter 1, verses 1-4, Habakkuk confronts God with his sense of injustice.
How long, Lord, must I call for help and You do not listen or cry out to You about violence and You do not save?Why do You force me to look at injustice? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing?

How could a righteous and holy God watch the evil that was going on in Israel and not step in? How could he allow evil men to oppress the innocent? How long was he going to sit back and let this happen?

Habakkuk had a rare privilege. God answered him, but it was not the answer Habakkuk expected. He wanted a soft hand of correction but God was going to do something more. In Habakkuk 1:5-11, God explains himself. Look at verse 6.

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
    that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,

    to seize dwellings not their own.
Say what? That wasn't a little corrective discipline. That was a nuclear response. Whatever problems there were in Israel, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) were only worse. Wicked. Violent. Cruel. And Habakkuk couldn't understand why God would use them to punish his people. He responded to God in 1:12-17, and in verses 12-13, said this: 

Are you not from everlasting,
    O Lord my God, my Holy One?
    We shall not die.
O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment,
    and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof.
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
    and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
    and remain silent when the wicked swallows up

    the man more righteous than he?
He understood what God was doing, that he was using Babylon to execute judgment on his people for their sins, but he could not understand why he was doing that. How could God tolerate people who were even more evil and use them again his own people? 

In chapter 2, God answered Habakkuk - with both barrels. He let him know in no uncertain terms that he had things well in hand. He was going to deal with evildoers - both in Israel and in Babylon. Verse 20 (we'll have to dip into tomorrow's reading!) sums it up. 
But the Lord is in His holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him. 
That is a very dignified way of saying, "I'm in charge here, Habakkuk. Why don't you settle down and let me handle things?" Be quiet, trust God and watch him work. 

And that is exactly what Habakkuk did. In chapter 3, he expresses his newfound trust in God's purposes. Verse 2 expresses it well. 
O Lord, I have heard the report of you,
    and your work, O Lord, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
    in the midst of the years make it known;

    in wrath remember mercy.
He had heard of the awesome power of this God, but now he knew it firsthand, and he stood in awe of God's glory. He was content now to stop telling God what to do and to simply trust God to do his work. He called out for God to renew his work of power, but now it was in a spirit of absolute trust. 

The book ends, in verses 17-19, with an affirmation of that faith. Habakkuk realized that hard times were coming to Israel, but he would trust God through them. Whatever happened, God would bring him through. He could trust in the good God to see him and his people through whatever came. 
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places.
In Israel, I saw a type of small deer walking near En Gedi on a rocky mountain paths. I could never walk there without falling, but these  small creatures walked sure-footed on the worst terrain. When we trust in God, when we give ourselves fully to him, we stand like those deer, in the power of God, whatever harsh terrain we encounter. In faith, we walk confidently where in the flesh we would fail and fall. 

Thank you, Lord, that you make my feet stand firm in the mountain heights. May I trust in you always. 

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Worthy is the Lamb - December 17, Readings: Nahum 1-3, Revelation 5, Psalm 143:4–12, Proverbs 30:29-31

Link to Today's Reading

There are few passages more glorious, more majestic, than Revelation 4 and 5, in which true, heavenly worship is modeled. 

In chapter 4, John is transported to heaven in a vision, and he is allowed to see how things take place before God's glorious throne. He sees what we will see and experiences what we will experience one day when we are in the presence of God. 

First, John saw a throne in heaven, one Isaiah told us was high and exalted. Everyone and everything was focused toward it.  We can only imagine the beauty and the glory of the heavenly throne room, though John tries to give us what information he can. But, in spite of all the beauty in the place, his focus was not on the throne or its beauty, but on the One seated on the throne. God is seated on the throne.  He is not running for office or fighting to protect that throne.  He is seated, at rest.  His rule over the world is settled, his sovereignty is secure. He has no rival for his kingdom, for no one can challenge his power and authority. 

John noticed that there were other thrones in heaven, lesser thrones but awesome nonetheless, and these 24 thrones encircled the great throne. On these were seated twenty-four elders, who represent the redeemed of the ages, perhaps the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. In the world, they faced hardships and persecution, but in heaven they are seated in places of honor and authority.  They are clothed in white robes, sinless and righteous, having all their sins washed away, and they wear gold crowns on their heads, signifying that they have received all the rewards of their labor.  They served faithfully on earth, many gave their very lives for the cause of Christ, and now they rule in heaven under the authority of the Great One on the great throne. 

John saw that lightning flashed from the throne, and peals of thunder rumbled through heaven.  Even those who are welcome in heaven cannot escape the fact that this is an awesome God, a God who inspires awe among his people and terror in his enemies.  Before the throne were seven burning torches, but this was no normal fire.  They were spiritual creatures, perhaps the Cherubim of the Old Testament, beings of light and glory.  Surrounding the throne is a sea of glass, shining like crystal. 

Around the throne, on each of its sides, he saw four living creatures with eyes in front and behind.  One looked like a lion, another like an ox, the third looked human and the fourth like an eagle in flight.  What do they signify?  No one really knows, but perhaps they speak of God’s authority and power.  In Isaiah 6, they are called Seraphim. Two of their wings cover their eyes, two cover their feet and with two they fly. These are creatures more amazing that you could ever imagine, but they humble themselves in the presence of the Almighty. Day and night these creatures continue to speak words. 
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!
They never cease to speak these words of praise. Day and night, month after month, year after year they give honor and glory to the God of Heaven. They are the heavenly ministers of worship.  

Their ceaseless worship moves the 24 Elders, those who have experience God's redemption, the heroes of the faith, to join in the praise. They know that they unworthy sinners made holy by the grace of God.  So they get off their thrones, their places of honor, and they fall down before the one seated on the Great White Throne. They remove their crowns and cast them on the floor before the throne. They know that the only reason they rule in heaven is because of the mercy and power of the Lord of Hosts. 

They express their worship in powerful words, focusing on God’s character and glory. 
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” 
We are not worthy, you are worthy.  We should not receive glory, you should receive glory.  All of heaven gives glory to the Father, the greatest of the great, seated on the throne, high and exalted, glorious and powerful – the awesome King of kings.  It is my belief that one day each of us will mimic the actions of the 24 Elders.  Whatever crowns, whatever rewards we receive will be laid at the feet of the Father in heaven, in recognition of our total dependence on Him and His grace for all things, especially our successes here on earth. 

The Scroll and the Lamb

When chapter 5 opens, John sees something he has not seen before, a scroll in the hand of God, sealed with seven seals, containing the judgments of God on the sin of humanity. It is time, in the vision John was about to see, for the judgments of God to be poured out on earth.  A powerful angel inquired in a voice that all in heaven could hear, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
           
Everyone looked around, hoping one would step forward who was worthy to pour out God’s judgment on earth, but no one came forward.  No one was worthy to take the scroll.   John broke down in tears because there was no one in all of heaven worthy to pronounce and pour out God’s righteous judgment.  But one of the elders looked at him and told him not to weep.  There was one who was worthy.  
“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”  
That is when John saw him for the first time.  Between the throne and the four living creatures, among the 24 Elders, there he was.  A Lamb – the Lamb of God, looking as if he had been slain.  All of these glorious, heavenly creatures, awesome and powerful; yet the only one worthy to open the scroll of God was a crucified lamb, the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the earth.  In that room were mighty angels, living creatures, Cherubim and Seraphim, and the greatest servants of God that history could offer, but none of them were worthy to take the scroll.  The only one worthy was a Lamb, the one who humbled himself and died for the sins of the world.  He stood before the throne and took the scroll.  He was the one, the one worthy to carry out the eternal plan of God.  As he had carried out God’s plan of redemption, now He would carry out the plan of judgment. 

The Elders, along with the four living creatures, fell down before the Lamb.  They presented him bowls, filled with the prayers of believers.  And then, heaven broke out in song.  It is interesting to note that it was only when the Crucified and Risen Lamb stepped forward that the song of heaven began.  The truest music is the music of the Cross.  The Elders, the redeemed, those whose place in heaven was purchased by the blood of that crucified Lamb; they sang this new song,
“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.”
As the angels had worshiped the character of God, the elders worshiped the work of redemption that had purchased their place in heaven. 

Suddenly, all of heaven joined the worship.  All the heavenly hosts surrounding the throne, and the living creatures and the elders and myriads of angels, thousands upon thousands of angels began this chant of praise to the Lamb.  The words thundered throughout heaven.  
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”
All of creation joined the refrain.  Praise swelled not only from heaven, but also from every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea.  All of creation joined to praise the Lamb who was slain, saying 
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
This is how the world should be; every creature looking at the Creator giving praise; every redeemed heart thinking about the Lamb who brought redemption through his blood.  This is how life was meant to be.  Not the rat race of activity, materialism and immorality that we live in.  This is how all of creation was meant to live, and so the four living creatures said, “Amen.”  So be it. It is as it should be. 

And the Elders, the redeemed fell down before the one seated on the throne and the Lamb who now held the scroll of God, and they worshiped him.  Forever and forever their praise will swell.  One day, each of us, redeemed by the blood of Christ, will join that choir and sing,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.  The whole earth is full of His glory.”  “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.  The whole earth is full of His glory.” “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Lord, may I today, and every day, praise you as I one day will forever!