QT 29 Jul 14, To those who know God, we are always loved

Ps 73:21-26 (ESV) When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22 I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

25  Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26  My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

NOTE: This is so true -- when we are in those dark periods, where emotions control our thoughts, where pricks dig painfully at our souls, we act like fools toward God, forgetting who God is and whom we serve. And yet, our response to God does not change his love for us. Yes, it can change his actions and even our rewards, but he does not love us any less. Because, for God, love is a commitment. It never changes. It gives us hope and frees us from fear. Perfect love casts out fear. We can never not be loved -- how amazing! But we can trigger his discipline (because he loves us so much). "It is fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10:31)." That verse was written to believers who were falling away. God is like a parent, who will do whatever it takes to bring us back to him. A good parent knows that discipline, while painful, is for our best. And so God acts in love for his children, but he never ever stops loving us. No matter how ugly we are to him. Thank you Lord for you immeasurable grace and kindness toward me.

QT 24 Jul 14, Live what you teach

Ex 14:13-16 (ESV) And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

15 The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16  Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

NOTE: The statement of God to Moses is difficult at first glance. So, a number of things must be remembered first. God does not ask questions to gain information but for the purpose of the hearer to think. Second, God is not exasperated in a human emotion way. Third, the scripture does not record all that was said or is going on at this stage, but Moses does feel compelled to quote God completely (as I would too). Finally, in context, Moses has told the people, "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

So, it would appear that Moses does not follow his advice. Also, if Moses can cry out to God, why should not the people do the same. The passage does not show Moses crying out, but God's question makes it clear that he was crying out. But crying out to God is a good thing, so why does Moses tell the people not to cry out. And maybe that is the point of the question. God wants us to cry out to him but Moses told the people not to cry out.

Lord, help me to see where I say one thing, but then I don't follow my own advice. Also, I pray that the things that I say are the right things to say and not just statements that sound good but are unbiblical. Help me to stay biblical.

QT 14 Jul 14, Everything will be restored according to the original plan (including work)

Rev 22:1-5 (ESV) 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 2 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. 3  No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Note: And so everything is returned to how God originally intended it before the rebellion. Once again, we have access

to the tree of life. The curse is gone and the earth is no longer in decay. The fruit of the tree of life shows diversity, a special characteristic of God, as there is a different fruit for  each month of the year. The leaves provide  healing for the nations, which tells us  that there are still people groups (representing diversity in people). This is heaven, the way God originally intended the garden of Eden before there was death. There is worship, but we do not sit on clouds strumming harps all day long. We will live in a city with a variety of fruit, people, and seasons. We will probably work as well since God intended for us to work before the fall. Life will have meaning and fruition. In our fallen world, we rebel against diversity and work, and yet they are part of God's design for eternity. We need to repent of our attitude and see the reason for work. Life without work is demeaning and crushing to our spirits. Satan knows that and he had done all he can to destroy our culture. Lord, help me to see the good things in work. I know it is frustrating (weeds) as a result of the fall, but it is still a part of your original creation.

QT 10 Jul 14, Faith in Jesus guarantees our future

Rev 20:4-6 (ESV) Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

NOTE: The first resurrection occurs in stages. Jesus is the first fruit, having already been resurrected. At the rapture, the next stage of the first resurrection occurs.  Living believers will be translated and believers in Christ who have died will be resurrected (both groups represent the entirety of the church, the bride of Christ). In essence, the home that Jesus said he went to build is ready. Also, the Father determines when the home is ready, so the Son must wait for the Father's permission to fetch the bride (this is the rapture). At the end of the seven year tribulation (Daniel refers to it as seven days), before the wedding banquet, the last stage of the first resurrection is complete with the resurrection of tribulation saints and Old Testament believers (they are the guests of the bride). The banquet occurs on earth (where the bride's family is from). The seven day marriage custom occurs in heaven (at the Groom's home during the seven "day" tribulation period).

The second resurrection involves all non-believers (Old Testament times, New Testament times, Tribulation period, and all else) and occurs at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ (Rev 20:11-15). One does not want to be a part of the second resurrection.

The exciting aspect is that we can be guaranteed to be part of the first resurrection by placing our belief in Jesus Christ as our savior. The second resurrection is for those who refuse to believe and their destiny in the lake of fire, also called the second death. A noted author has tried to argue, "love wins." Which sounds nice, but doesn't agree with scripture. "Love wins" only if we place our faith in our savior, Jesus.

QT 9 Jul 14, Babylon, a way of living that does not require God

Rev 17:1-6, 18 (ESV) Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2  with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations."

…

18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth."

NOTE: Revelation 17 describes figurative Babylon and Rev. 18 describes physical Babylon. Why is chapter 17 figurative and not literal? One, John is carried away in the Spirit, suggesting a vision. Two, the description, a woman sitting on a strange scarlet beast defies common sense. Three, the remaining chapter tells us it is a vision, and explains in verse 18 that the woman is a city. Typically, a woman in scripture is referred to as a belief system. Israel and Judah were described as sisters and prostitutes because of their idol worship. The church is described as a bride and a woman. I would extend the figure of a woman as a philosophical view of life, or in other words, a worldview. It can be religious or decidedly non-religious, but it is still what a person believes whether it is theistic or not. This worldview is strongly anti-Christian as evidenced by her drunkenness with the blood of the saints (verse 6). Other verses even suggest atheistic as seen in the blasphemous words of the Antichrist (earlier in Revelation).

But why use the figurative image of a prostitute? A prostitute is a means of enjoying physical pleasure without a covenantal relationship, that is, there is no commitment or sense of responsibility, except a payment of cash. A prostitute is a way of getting around God's law to satisfy one's sexual desire. Additionally, a prostitute in scripture is often associated with idol worship. An idol is a physical representation of your god that you can control (as illustrated by the ability to move or shape as desired) and is not based on scripture. Subtly, Christians create idols when, in response to a difficult section of scripture, they say "… well, my god is not like that …." As opposed to accepting what the scripture says, they create their own version of who God is and what truth is--they create idols. Anything not based exclusively on the revealed word of God is just that, an idol. Therefore, the great prostitute is anything that pulls us away from our commitment to God and his rules of life to pursue our own satisfaction and control our own destinies.

This has always been Satan's plan. From the beginning of the rebellion until the end. Satan does not want God worshiped. Satan offers the world the lie of being your own gods and controlling your own lives without the interference of God. And up until the second return of Christ, God has allowed it to go on. We wonder why there is evil and suffering in a world with a loving God. And yet, that is the only reminder of the rebellion--the only thing for us to see that life is not as God intended it in the garden. When will we wake up? How terrible must things get before we finally repent of our rebellion?

QT 8 Jul 2014, The seven bowls finish the wrath of God

Rev 15:1, 5-8 (ESV) Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

…

After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

NOTE:  Chapter 15 picks up where Revelation 11:14-19 had left us -- in the middle of the tribulation and the blowing of the seventh trumpet, also described as the third woe, which contains the last seven judgments, the bowl judgments. The bowl judgments finish God's wrath upon the unbelieving world. Jesus, while on the cross, said "it is finished," referring to his mission on earth, and his death to pay for the world's sin. And while Jesus death provided "propitiation" (the satisfying of God's wrath) for our sins, it did not obviate the need for a physical manifestation of God's wrath upon the world. Why does God still need to show his wrath? One reason is that not all believed, and Jesus' death does not cover a refusal to believe. Another reason, is that God's wrath judges an evil worldview. Jesus' death paid our penalty for sin, but it did little about the prevailing worldview. This worldview started in the garden with the rebellion where God's word was questioned, and God's plan was rejected. Instead we chose to be our own gods. God allowed it and allowed us to experience the consequences of our rebellion -- a decaying world, growing evil, and rampant unbelief. In chapters 17 and 18, God will judge Babylon, a worldview of rebellion against God (chapter 17), and a physical city representing the center of man's rebellion against God (chapter 18). And so the bowl judgments pour out the remaining judgments and wrath against a worldview that refuses to acknowledge God as King and Lord.

But are we, as believers, so different? We buy into this worldview that God's wrath is coming against. We believe the lies of sexual immorality and perverseness. And even worse, we give this lost world no alternative. We show unkindness to those we disagree. We passively refuse to lovingly share the gospel to our lost neighbor or coworker. We hide our faith to those who most need it. We don't identify with Jesus or the truth of God's word. Why? Is Babylon's worldview so compelling or have we grown to love the wrong things?

God have mercy on us. If we are living near the last days, our witness may be the very thing that brings someone to Christ during those dark days. May we not shrink back.