When the Spirit Falls on You

IIdfasdfasdfIdfasdfIn InIn a world full of moral relativism, cultural decadence, and spiritual apathy, there exists good news: the Holy Spirit still moves. He still convicts, still reveals Jesus, and still works to help us grow in Jesus.

When God’s Spirit descends, everything changes.

When the spirit fell, Joseph stood recognized and came out of his pit, causing Pharaoh to ask, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

When the Spirit fell, the Israelites listened to Joshua—enabling them to conquer.

When the Spirit fell, Saul became a different person.

When the Spirit falls on you, he empowers you to come out of the pit, prophesy, and become a new person.

Ask for the Spirit to fall on you this week, and get ready! You will function under your anointing, you will win the battle, and all things that have held you back will be broken.

Rise up! Walk in the power of God’s Spirit… walk like Enoch, believe like Abraham, dress like Joseph, stretch like Moses, shout like Joshua, dance like David, fight like Gideon, pray like Daniel, build like Nehemiah… and live like Jesus!

… “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts…” (Zechariah 4:6).

Patience, My Son

Patience is not my virtue. It's a virtue, but it seems to have alluded me.

It seems like I used to have more of it. Dad once complimented me as I dutifully helped grandpa when we went to a restaurant together. I remember it was just the three of us, and in Texas when guys go eat together, it's usually for Mexican food. That day it was Pancho's (about all there was in Tyler at the time). Grandpa was in a wheelchair, and before that couldn't walk very fast. I would stroll along with him, help him with his order, etc. Dad told me right then and there how amazed he was at my patience (something he may have less of than I do even).

As I've gotten older, it seems like I've gotten less patient. Not good. Yesterday I snapped at my son when he was being, in my estimation, to whiny. Maybe he was being too whiny, but that's no reason to snap the way I did. It hurt his feelings. He seemed to get over it pretty quickly and went back to playing, but I still don't like what I did at all.

I hope I haven't done that to God. Psalm 37:7 says, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." But I want to fret and worry for some dumb reason! I want justice and I want it now! Is there a reason to wait?

How about this one: "For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering" (Romans 8:16-17, NLT). Well, that means wait again. Waiting will bring about suffering, because the world doesn't like who we are allied with in Christ. So, wait and share in the suffering so you share in the glory as well. To avoid the suffering (taking matters into my own hands rather than focusing on Jesus and leaving the justice to him) is to avoid the glory. There's nothing I can do that's worth glorifying in anyway... it has to be Him!

Why wait? Why be patient?

"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

Perhaps the most important thing about waiting... being patient with God... is that it gives us the opportunity to show the goodness of God. Really, that's why we exist as Christ-followers anyway. To take matters into our own hands, if it succeeds, highlights our goodness. To follow Jesus, even if we have to wait for Him to move, highlights His goodness. Who are we called to highlight anyway?

I love this, from Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young:

"Sit quietly in my Presence while I bless you... Rest in My sufficiency as you consider the challenges this day presents. Do not wear yourself out by worrying about whether you can cope with the pressures. Keep looking to Me and communicating with Me as we walk through this day together.
"Take time to rest by the wayside, for I am not in a hurry... When you rush, you forget who you are and Whose you are. Remember that you are royalty in My kingdom."

What are the pressures you are facing? What harm could come from you "taking over" where God should be in charge? Conversely, what benefits could result from waiting and patience?

What does it mean to you that Jesus "is not in a hurry"?

What will it take for you to slow down today?

Father, make me to slow down. Make me to rest by Your still waters and bask in Your Presence. Open my mind to receive whatever you want to place there. Renew my strength, Lord. Amen.

For All to See

Distracted drivers are dangerous.

It doesn't matter what the distraction is. If you are looking at something other than the road, you're looking at the wrong thing! This isn't a write-out to cell phone users and text fiends of the road, however. This is a confession of sorts. I have come close from being distracted before, close to hitting something. Actually, just as I was thinking about something I had to do one day, I rear-ended someone. No damage, but I felt pretty stupid. Just a few months ago, I got nailed by a nurse who had a rough day in the ICU at the hospital.

Distracted driving takes many forms. Have you ever driven through Orlando and looked up to see the sky writers? I don't know of anything much more distracting than that. Those letters get written out slowly, so you keep looking up from time to time to see what's being written. Years ago, it was just an advertisement for "Rosie's." But as you're driving, that's a pretty big distraction! Yes, I've come close from looking at that stuff!

Sky writers are doing a pretty good job of getting your attention, though. There is nothing more visible than a word or two in big letters in the middle of the blue sky for hundreds of thousands to see at the same time.

It makes me think about a passage I'm preaching on this weekend… Revelation 14:6-7. "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

This is a message that has to be seen by all. It's sky writing on steroids. It's not just to be seen, but heard by everyone. Imagine if those airplanes with the wispy letters trailing behind them also had bullhorns that you could hear on the ground (OK, that would be kind of scary). But it's not an advertisement hawking a product or a service or a restaurant in town. It's the most important news the world could possibly hear.

It's the gospel.

"Fear God." Is this to be afraid of or in awe of? Depends on who you are allied with. To be with God is to be in awe. To be away from Him is to be afraid of. The word can mean either thing, actually.

"Give Him glory." Shine the light on God. Illuminate Him. The most important attention in the most important message is to that which we place on God.

"The hour of His judgment…" The word for judgment is "krisis" in the Greek. It means to separate right from wrong, to set things right. It is related to "justice." This is a great word for God's people. In the Bible, God's justice and judgments are seen as a great thing to His people, something to be happy about.

"Worship." Literally, this means to "kiss the hand of," or "bow down to," or "pay homage to." Why?
"… who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." Because He is Creator!

Strangely enough, and not coincidentally I think, this kind of language that John uses is a bit familiar.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

OK, I don't want to get lost in this, but John was writing to some of the first Christian churches in existence. They were scattered about throughout the Roman Empire. Many in the church were Jews who would have known the Scriptures, which to them would correlate to what we call the Old Testament today. This was a church that, when they got together, they were under some serious risk. Christianity was considered a threat to the Empire. One of their distinguishing marks was when they gathered. Now, earlier in the New Testament (Acts especially), we get the impression they gathered every day. Later, Paul would tell them to set aside an offering on the first day of the week so that when got there it would be ready, but that wasn't telling them anything about their worship gatherings that I can see (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Acts 20 talks about the disciples coming together to break bread on the first day… still not addressing any change in their worship practices (Jews were used to gathering on the Sabbath for worship and study in the synagogues). Acts 17 shows Paul getting together in a synagogue with Jews on three consecutive Sabbaths to reason with them about the truth of Jesus. I can only assume from all of what I see that followers of Jesus celebrated Jesus every day and fellowshipped with each other, including the first day, but that they were still used to keeping the Sabbath holy as a day of worship. I can only assume that the church was still doing this when John wrote The Revelation of Jesus Christ to them. I can only assume that to do so was to put themselves at risk. I can only assume that if John had directly mentioned Sabbath in Revelation 14:7, he might as well have told the Empire when they could find the largest concentration of Christians to persecute.

Again, not wanting to miss the forest for the trees… but worship is a pretty big tree! Worship is not something we really have the right to just make up our own paradigm for in every respect. Worship is based in Biblical principle. When we do it. What we do. To some degree at least, how we do it. We read and teach the Word. We sing. We lift up God and His greatness and love, especially as it is seen in Jesus. We exhort and admonish in love. We give testimony. In the Bible, it is even appropriate to speak in tongues (if there's an interpreter and if it's done in an orderly manner).

Most importantly, we do this because of Him. He created everything we need for existence itself. He created us in His image. Jesus died for us, the righteous lamb who takes away our sins. He rose again, showing the way for another resurrection day. Even now, He is seen by the Father, covering the sins of those who have taken on the garment of His righteousness.

What makes you most in awe of God today?

How can you put the spotlight on Him (and not yourself), highlighting what makes you so in awe of Him?

In your personal life, how can you venerate (worship) God today?

When you gather, what can you do (yourself and as a group) to worship God with gusto and enthusiasm? In spirit and in truth?

What difference does this angel's message make to you?

Not Finished, Yet Complete

It's always that one fork.

You know what it's like to get everything in the kitchen clean, put away, and you're just about to get out of there when you see it. The fork. It's still dirty. The dishwasher is full and started, the dishwater is drained, but that fork!

What do you do? Do you leave it for the next washing? Put a whole bunch of soap onto it and wash it off? Stop the dishwasher and jam it in there where it really doesn't fit? Look around to see if anyone's watching, runs it off, dry it aggressively, and throw it back into the drawer (ew!)?

When I start the job, when I determine to get something done, I hate to find something that reminds me that I'm not done yet (especially when I thought I was).

Paul is determined to leave nothing incomplete. OK, I know that may seem a lame comparison. The stakes are much higher with the Church. But if there was one left incomplete that could have been complete, Paul would have a hard time with that.

As I read and considered Ephesian 3:14-19, I was struck by a man who did not want anything left incomplete. The passage is a revealing to the Church what Paul is praying for them about.

There is context. Ephesians 3:1-13 tells us what Paul is thinking about ("When I think of all this…" in verse 14). This tells us two things (in summary): (1) God's plan to extend grace to all, Jew and Gentile; (2) God's purpose to use the church to reveal His plan and wisdom… grace to all, and His accessibility in Christ.

Then, in verse 14-19, the desire is for the plan and purpose to be complete. If you go back to John 10:10, you'll read what I like to call Jesus' personal mission statement: "My purpose is to give them (My sheep) a rich and satisfying life" (NLT). Other versions say "life to the fullest." Paul, in Ephesians 3:19, writes, "Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life."

And what is completeness?

(1) Grow in God's love. Paul writes his wish, that "Your roots will grow down into God's love." Roots allow trees to grow and to stand against all kinds of weather. Roots bring nourishment from soil and water. Roots anchor the tree in the soil. The soil has to carry quality of nourishment and be solid itself. Lots of trees topple if the topsoil they are anchored in slide away.

To grow in anything other than the love of God is to grow into sloppy, shoddy soil. One of the big messages of the three angels has to do with who you worship… who your roots are growing in, as it were. If your roots are growing high, wide, deep, and long in His love, you are going to be solid… complete. If your roots grow in anything that diverts your attention from God's love, even things that appear to be good and worthy and "Godly," you're bound for a fall.

(2) Understand the dimensions of God's love. Paul is pretty clear that no one can completely understand the love itself, but we can understand its dimension--heigh, depth, length, width--the solid soil for our roots.

It's more than what feels good. It's what makes us live to the fullest. It's seeing God's love in the entirety of Scripture, even those things that seem boring, that seem cruel, that seems difficult (or even legalistic on the surface). God's love is in all of it, and it's in everything He created.

(3) Experience God's love. It's the first time you give yourself over entirely to Christ. It's the first time you get a glimpse of His sacrifice. It's the first time you lead someone to Christ. It's the first time you understand His love in the midst of the most trying of circumstances (see: Paul in prison, John on Patmos, the Church in persecution that sticks it out anyway…). Are you able to experience the love of God in Christ in anything? Do you look for it at all times and in all circumstances?

God's love is for all! His grace is for all! And all can grow, understand the dimensions of, and experience God's love!

How is this real in life? (This is where chiming in with discussion can really help someone, by the way.)

How do you picture God?

If you know rejection and pain in your relationships, how can you come to understand God's love in a personal way?

If you know injustice at work, how can you grow your roots in God's love?

If you know bullying at school, how can experience God's love? If it's your child being bullied, how can you help your child experience God's love in a personal way? OK, let's make that one tougher yet… how can you help the bully experience God's love?

What do you pay attention to (or worship) in your life? The difficulty, or God's love? The rules, or the love the rules are there for? Are you paying attention to anything but the cross?

Praying today that you grow, understand (as best you can), and experience the great love of God in Christ today!

Not Alone

"I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." (John 1:9)

No one likes to be by themselves.

I was helping out with the training for the youth and collegiate staff at Camp Kulaqua (in Gainesville, Florida) for the Southern Union Academy Prayer Conference (a Seventh-day Adventist gathering of high school students for the purpose of learning about prayer and how to be servant leaders in their lives). My parents were there helping out too. We were in a "chalet," while they were in their RV right next to us. One day, I put my young kids down to take a nap. I told them that while they were doing this, I would be going to Gran and Grandpa's RV to get something. I went over, got something to drink, chatted for no more than 5 minutes with them, and headed back. Literally, we were less than 50 feet away. As I approached the chalet, I heard the familiar little voice of my daughter pitifully talking to two high school students they had never met: "Daddy left us here! Will you take care of us?" My son, only about 3 at the time, was crying.

After explaining what was going on to the high schoolers, they laughed and went on their way. The kids calmed down and felt a bit silly for being so upset. But the truth was obvious... they did not want to be alone for even a moment!

Neither do I. I read about what people across the globe are going through for the sake of the gospel... for the sake of Jesus and God's Word... and I shudder. I shudder to consider dads separated from their wives and kids and thrown into jail and tortured for not letting go of Jesus. I shudder as I think of children ripped away from moms and dads. I shudder to consider the heads of Christians being cut off in places where to worship anything other than the local religious deity is punishable by death.

Yet we are not alone.

John wrote as one being persecuted to a church being persecuted. He was in exile, His eyewitness of Jesus and His faith in and adherence to God's Word being seen as a threat to the Jewish religious institution and the Roman Empire. The church was being viciously attacked because of the same, Christians being tortured, burned, thrown to lions, etc.

If I was in a church in the middle of the Empire, several days walk from the next place, and I was being beaten up for my faith, I might feel discouraged and alone. But here comes this message from John, a founding father in The Way. He says they are not alone.

"I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus..." 

He calls himself their brother. He is one of them. Not above. Not below. But one of them, of the same lineage. He is part of this "priesthood of all believers" where there are no Jews, Gentiles, slave, free, male, female... no distinction of rank or order... for they are one in Jesus.

He is a participant with them in the same terrible sufferings they were going through. But he is one who suffers with hope. He is one who says, "Press together in the face of this suffering! Put up with it with me, your brother! I've seen Jesus! I know what He can do and Who He is! I know He keeps His promises and that He is Messiah, King of the Universe! This will pass, and something much better... the Kingdom!... is just around the corner!"

I am not alone.

I may suffer insult and condescension from within the church. I am not alone.

I may be unfairly criticized, but I am not alone.

I may have to do things I'd rather not do, confront people I'd rather not confront, but I am not alone.

I may be called old fashioned if I try to be faithful to the sufficiency of God's Word, but I am not alone.

I may one day not be able to buy or sell, but I am not alone.

I may miss out on stuff when Sabbath rolls around and I choose to follow God rather than my own inclinations, but I am not alone.

I may be beaten one day, persecuted, or God-forbid, have my own family snatched away from me because of my faith... but I am not alone.

We cannot think of ourselves as believers on an island (not in the sense that John put it, but doing life and worship by ourselves). We need each other. We need to connect with each other, develop each other and with each other into the transformed people God wants us to be. We need each other if we'll ever last in this faith. The early church proved that to us already.

Don't hesitate to connect with someone today, a fellow believer perhaps. Pray with them. Do something with them to serve others. Read the Bible together and hold each other accountable.

We are not alone. Let's not act as though we are. Let's find each other and connect and pray and serve and study and grow. I'd hate to think that if trouble really comes that we'd ask the wrong people to take care of us.

You Do Know What Happy Means, Don't You?

There's a song out right now that gets in your head and won't get out. It's called, simply enough, "Happy," by Pharrell Williams. It's pretty catchy, upbeat, simple, and even a bit refreshing. I love the lines in there, "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof... Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth!" My kids love that song.

Having been a musician most of my life, I can also see why it would be easy enough to be critical of it. It is pretty simple, musically speaking. Duple meter. F, B-flat, C, B-flat, and back to F. C sharp, C minor, D sharp, then F on the chorus. There's a bridge in there too, but I'm getting bored explaining this. And most anyone reading this have now completely lost interest in my explanation of the song and are thinking, "Just enjoy the song!" Or, if you're a musician yourself, you are checking out the song to see if I'm right. You're no longer happy listening to Happy.

Which leads me to Revelation (huh?)... especially 1:1-3 again. Three days now, three verses. Might set a land speed record here soon!

At times, I've been tempted to boycott most of the presentations on this book for a couple of reasons. First, it seems like a lot of people seem to forget the very first part of the book, that it's supposed to be a "Revelation of Jesus Christ." It's about His victory, accomplished, experienced, and already real. It's not about figuring out dates and numbers. That plays into understanding the revelation, but it's not the ultimate purpose of the book.

Second, it's supposed to make you happy. I bet many have never thought of it this way, but it says it right there in verse 3. "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." The word there for happy is "makarios" in Greek, which is what John wrote this in. We like to say "blessed" in church world. Blessed usually conjures up images of success in our minds, or we get a blessing at church. We may even say people can be blessed but not happy. Wrong. That's not what the word means. It means "blessed, happy."


Now, happiness isn't biblically something that just makes you giddy and smiley. It's deeper than that. It's purpose and direction and peace. It's intimacy with God. It's not just a feeling of euphoria. It's a state of being. But happy is still happy!

Too often I feel like the conversations in the church, or among church members, turn into diatribes about the woes of the world, and how we can tell we're near the end because of how awful things are. People speak about it and bemoan it and talk about how we're being persecuted all over the world (and we haven't seen anything yet!).

Can this possibly be right? Are we supposed to have a sense of impending doom or impending victory?
Happy. If you look closely at the language of verse 3, it's telling. You're happy if you intimately know, understand, and proclaim this prophecy. You're happy if you hear and understand this prophecy. Why? Because, Jesus' final victory is imminent.

It's imminent to us. It was imminent from John's too. What's the deal with that anyway? He wrote this stuff down nearly 2,000 years ago!

Maybe we can't see it clearly, but we have to remember it's reality to Jesus, and it's His revelation. Why can we be happy? Because Jesus' final victory is reality. It has been since it was written down. It was before then. To a Kingdom where time does not exist (as we understand time to exist at least), victory is now! It is achieved!

So, do I read and speak of Revelation as though I'm happy about it? Or scared?

Am I worried about a future with scary beasts and plagues and abuse, as one without hope might be? Or am I excited about the victory?

Do I get worked up over identifying the beast and his mark, knowing who the image and the dragon and all those crazy things are? Understand I don't dismiss this as unimportant, but what about this perspective: Do I see these things and know who the vanquished foe is and cling with eagerness to the anticipation of Jesus' victory?

Do I see impending pain as a follower of Jesus, or am I more like the church John wrote to (who was experiencing abuse even as they heard of this Revelation)... do I see imminent victory?

Do I live my life fretting over behaviors, deeds and misdeeds, and whose mark I'll receive? Or do I live my life happy in Jesus?

Lord Jesus... I want to be so happy in You that even this atmosphere and earth I inhabit cannot contain it! Show me and lead me to celebrate Your victory: the cross, the empty tomb, the ascended Christ, the poured out Holy Spirit, and Your return. It is reality! May I live as though it is true!

Present (Not Past or Future)

OK, so Revelation is going to take me awhile if I keep getting sucked into it the way it's currently going... 2 verses in 2 days!

Revelation 2:1-3 I'll quote (for context)... especially looking at verse 2 today:

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (NASB)

I started by identifying the "who" in this verse. It's John. He's the one the angel of Jesus is giving this message to. There's a striking thing to this if you read it in context of verse 1. That word bond-servant comes back to mind, the one who has given up his or her own interests for the interests of Jesus Christ. Really, even the angel in verse one is a bond-servant of Jesus, right? So are many others (the church), and especially in this case, John.

Does it occur to us very often how dignifying that is? To be co-servants of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe with angels? Do we even believe this is possible (or even act like it)? I wonder... if I truly believed this to be true, would the Bible actually make more sense? If my place as a human is just a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5), yet at the same time above them in terms of how I was supposed to be created (think Eden there and being made in God's image), would reading the Scriptures seem different if I kept that in mind? That God is communicating something to me as I am supposed to be?

Then there's this. John testified. He bore witness to something he saw and experienced. That's pretty mind-blowing when you realize what he's about to write out for the church. I'm not really sure how you sleep after that, but I digress. The real point I'm getting to is that Jesus did this in the same verse. The word "testimony" from "the testimony of Jesus Christ..." is the same word used for John.

I know I'm not supposed to get ahead of myself when I'm studying the Bible, but I cannot help it right now, because the ultimate thing about the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of His final and glorious victory. The whole book builds up to it... it's the process of the victory of the Lamb and the re-uniting of God with humanity. God Himself will dwell with people again.

This is the testimony of Jesus Christ. You cannot testify to something that has not happened. If you haven't experienced it, you cannot testify to it. If you testify in court to something you did not actually see, you know what they call that? Perjury. Or, in the Bible, "bearing false witness." Lying.

We see in a mirror dimly. We are limited by time and space. Jesus Christ is not so limited. From His perspective, everything is in the present. It's not about Jesus' victory in the past (even if it is so from where we stand). It's not about Jesus' victory in the future (even if that's all we can grasp). It's all about the victory that He has seen, accomplished, and experienced, or that is seen, accomplished, and experienced.

How would you live differently today if you believed this?

If God gives me something big to do, would it change my outlook on doing that something if I knew victory in that something is already accomplished?

• Save my marriage...
• Disciple my kids...
• Get out of debt...
• Improve my health...
• Be generous with my time and resources...

In the church, I am given the task of leadership in two places of worship right now. Both places have been through struggle and triumph. When struggle seems evident, and God gives us a vision and purpose and direction, would it not actually be distrustful of Him to think, "We're not up to it..." or "I'm not up to it..."? Do we believe that He is victorious or don't we?

Is Jesus a testifier of truth, or is He a liar? Which do I treat Him more like in my own life?

Lord Jesus, rearrange me! Transform me so that I see my task on earth through the lens of the dignity You have given me as Your child, and through the lens of Your accomplished victory!

Full Disclosure to Sell-outs

So, this morning, I started re-studying Revelation. That's right... just starting over, trying to get it even after I've been through Revelation seminars, read the thing over and over again, even taken a whole Seminary class on it. It seems like I always manage to miss or forget stuff that I feel like I should know.

Right off the bat, something got to me... I mean like verse 1.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John..."

I started breaking this down. First, that big word at the beginning, which titles the whole book. "Revelation." It's a pretty deep word, from a Greek word: "apocalypses." In English world, we get this totally wrong. Sports Illustrated used to do a little blurb each week about weird stuff athletes were doing. They called it "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse." We see that word and think about the end being near. Well, if Revelation is the association we make with this word, I can see why. But ultimately, it doesn't just mean this. By definition, it means "laying bare, naked; disclosing of truth or instruction." It's full disclosure, and in this case it's full disclosure of things that haven't happened yet. Most importantly, it's full disclosure of Jesus Christ. There were things His servants didn't know about Him yet.

That wasn't bad stuff to see. Here was a small group of churches throughout Asia Minor, many of whom were being intensely persecuted, even killed. John himself was exiled because of his testimony of Jesus Christ. He had spent time with Jesus face-to-face, but there was apparently something he and the rest of Jesus' servants did not know about Him, and it was all about what hadn't yet happened.

But it got more intense when I looked into a different word: servant. Or bond-servant. Ultimately, Revelation was for Jesus Christ's servants. The word for this is "doulos." it can mean servant, bond-servant, or slave... one in servile condition. It's deeper though: it is a person who has totally sacrificed his own self-interests for the interests of another. It's a person devoted to another, with total disregard for his or her own desires.

In this context, it's a complete and absolute sell-out for Jesus.

This is where it starts to sting a little. Verse one teaches that the "Full Disclosure" of Jesus Christ is for those who are complete sell-outs for Jesus. They have sacrificed and now disregard their own interests and desires for the sake of whatever Jesus reveals to them. They obey no matter what they have to give up to do so, and they don't even think twice about it.

Intense stuff for an intense church!

So, here's my takeaway from this. I am writing this because I need accountability. I know people who put stuff out there on Facebook or on their blogs, asking for friends to hold them accountable to better diet, exercise, spending habits, whatever. I think I need something similar. I need to be accountable to being a sell-out for Jesus.

Here are a few questions I have asked myself... feel free to consider them yourself.

• Have I totally sold out to Jesus?
• What keeps me from obeying and following Him fully? What are my “self-interests” that get in the way?

Is it possible that many of us... that I... have not "gotten" Revelation in previous studies because of this? I'm not trying to beat myself or anyone else up over this, but if the Revelation of Jesus is given for those who have absolutely sold themselves entirely out for Jesus and what He wants in our lives and in this world, and it's not given for the half-hearted... could it be that it's necessary to be challenged with those questions?

Do I have breath and life? Yes! I still have a purpose then. Today is always the day to start! So here's my prayer today...

Lord Jesus, forgive me for not fully devoting myself to You. I’m trying, but I don’t seem to do very well far too often. I devote myself to You today, entirely. Help me to be ready to sacrifice my own interests for the sake of Jesus. May I be wrapped up in Your will and desires for humanity. “Fall me” in love with You entirely, so that it will be my first thought and desire to follow and obey You as Your bond-servant today. I want full-disclosure of You in my life.

Peace

• Which memory is harder to shake: Rejection or guilt?

For me, it's guilt. I've had to deal with rejection before, and while it's not fun, you can at least attribute that to the actions of someone else. It's much harder to deal with when I am the one who screwed up! That's the kind of stuff that keeps me awake at night and causes me to lose weight (the wrong way--I tend to lose my appetite when I'm stressed).

• Which is harder to accept: Mercy or judgment?

Wow! That's quite a question! I must admit that judgment may be easier to accept. Humans tend to be able to take what they deserve (good or bad). What we struggle with is getting what we don't deserve. If we are treated unfairly, our hackles raise. If we are treated well when we should have been treated badly... well, we often don't know how to react or process it.

Read Genesis 50:15-21. It's the story of Joseph reassuring his brothers (after their father's death) that he wasn't going to pay them back for the wrongs they did. It's the story of undeserved mercy.

The brothers were afraid. "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" (verse 15).

What do we do when we're really afraid? Pretty much anything we can to escape that which we're afraid of.

"Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." (verse 16-17).

Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like an act of desperation. Genesis 45 paints a picture of a brother that already forgave them and even welcomed them to Egypt. You could read into the whole story a spirit of revenge if you wanted to I suppose, but I just don't see anything very obvious from Genesis 45 onward.

• What do you make of the brothers' fear? Is it justified?
• How does Joseph's story reveal the truth of verses 19-21?

Here's what Sarah Young writes in Jesus Calling.

"If you learn to trust Me--really trust Me--with your whole being, then nothing can separate you from My Peace. Everything you endure can be put to good use by allowing it o train you in trusting Me. This is how you foil the works of evil, growing in grace through the very adversity that was meant to harm you. Joseph was a prime example of this divine reversal, declaring to his brothers: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

"Do not fear what this day, or any day, may bring your way. Concentrate on trusting Me and on doing what needs to be done. Relax in My sovereignty, remembering that I go before you, as well as with you, into each day. Fear no evil, for I can bring good out of every situation you will ever encounter."

Point well made. Joseph had already learned to lean on God. He had already learned to take whatever came his way... judgment or mercy... and "roll with it" in the arms of God. His brothers? Lesson still to be learned. But who better to teach them than the one who already had such experience? In Joseph, the one they persecuted, they saw a man who trusted in God's sovereignty. Now, they could learn to do the same.

• What low lights and highlights come to mind for you when you think of Genesis 50:19-21?
• When have you been tempted to replace God in judging others? In judging yourself?
• What could keep you from walking in God's peace today?

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

Strength or Fear?

"The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)

FEAR: (verb) to be afraid; to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant); (noun) an unpleasant emotion due to be anticipation or awareness of danger; an anxious concern.

STRENGTH: the quality or state of being physically strong; the ability to resist being moved or being broken by force; the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined and effective way.

Typically, these two words don't work together. They combat each other. Strength overcomes fear, or fear is too much for strength (meaning strength is no longer really a strength). Sometimes, fear can give a person strength, usually due to an adrenaline rush. How else could average human beings lift a car that was about to crush a child (one of the miraculous stories you hear about from time to time)?

Each day we face something that we do not have the strength to overcome. It's the world. More specifically, it's sin, thrown at us by a devil who hates us and is much more powerful than we are. He may not physically beat you up, but he knows your weaknesses and takes advantage of them whenever it's possible to do so.

I dont' know about you, but I don't have the strength within myself to fight the devil... alone. Left to myself, I have reason to have a lot of fear.

Here's what Sarah Young wrote in Jesus Calling...

"Don't be afraid. I am your Strength and your Song. I am your Power and your Joy.

"What does it mean to have Me as your Strength? I simply spoke and the universe was created! Mountains soared up out of the earth! The sun and stars lit up the sky! My Power is absolutely unlimited. And I am able to take that same Power and make you strong.
"Think of it: I am on your side. I will guide you, protect you, and even fight for you if necessary. So don't let yourself bcome filled up with fear. Fear only blocks My Strength. Instead of being afraid, trust Me--remember that I am your Strength!

"I am also your Song. I want you to grab hold of My Joy. Celebrate! Shout for joy because I am right beside you!"

How well does your joy match your walk and your talk for God?

When have you most keenly felt God's goodness? His love? His strength?

Waiting

"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me." (John 14:1)

"Waiting, trusting, and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain. Trusting is the central strand because it is the response from My children that I desire most. Waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects you to Me. Waiting for Me to work, with your eyes on Me, is evidence that you really do trust Me. If you mouth the words 'I trust You' while anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow. Hoping is future-directed, connecting you to your inheritance in heaven. However, the benefits of hope fall fully on you in the present.

"Because you are Mine, you don't just pass time in your waiting. You can wait expectantly, in hopeful trust. Keep you 'antennae' out to pick up even the faintest glimmer of My Presence."

(From Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young)

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall give you the desires of your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

I did not do a lot of dating as a teenager. I was more into playing basketball and music, and I wasn't what you would call the most smooth guy around (awkward teenage boy would best have described me). I got a little flak for it at times, how I was missing out and what I should do differently. Early on in college I attempted to do a bit more, seeing as I was closing in on 20 and some of my friends were already getting pretty serious in their romantic lives. More to the point, the guys and girls were snatching each other up, and I was starting to feel like a third wheel more and more! I also attended a school affectionately nicknamed "Southern Matrimonial College," and was a pastor-in-training to boot (there's a bit of a stigma attached to unattached pastors even to this day).

It was after my sophomore  year that I finally decided to quit trying. If it was going to happen, it would happen in God's time, not because of my efforts (which were sometimes directed toward women that would have probably been terrible matches for me anyway, and I wouldn't have been any better for them).

Funny thing... when I actually started waiting on the Lord in my relational life, the pressure went away! Even funnier, it was that summer, while working at a summer camp in California, that I fell in love with the woman who would be my wife four years later! The cheesy thing to say is that it was a "match made in heaven," but in actuality I know that was a true statement, cheesy though it may sound.

There just isn't a substitute for Jesus. When we wait on Him, the best is yet to come. When we do not, then we wind up accepting something less than the best. Now, that's not to say He cannot recreate and redeem something. There are people who have great marriages and friendships out there who went about it in all the wrong ways. The point I am making is that waiting on God brings about contentment with who you are and what is going on around you. Why? Because you know the best is yet to come! It strengthens hope, which is a crucial thing for those who follow Jesus.

We wait for Jesus to come and claim His bride... His people... the Church! That's anyone who is a follower of Jesus. It stinks sometimes. It's hard, awkward, and frustrating. The whole creation, according to Paul, waits like a woman in labor. If we don't wait on Jesus, however, we wind up grasping for substitutes even for His kingdom. Here is a bold statement to go with it: anything less than the Kingdom God has planned for us is a demonic fraud! Not trusting in Christ, not waiting for Him, not hoping for Him... it all leads to something far less than the best.

Have you ever suffered for settling?

When have you experienced "delayed gratification"?

What have you learned in your life from waiting on the Lord?

Greater Than the Force

The cultures and religions surrounding the stories and writers of the Bible fascinate me. Just a basic, working knowledge of that stuff can really open up your eyes to why writers wrote the way they wrote, taking truths God inspired them with and writing them out in ways God's people, and the people around them, could grasp. Like any great preacher or author today, they just knew how to do it.

John, the disciple Jesus loved, is a pretty cool example of this. He wrote about things that Jews would understand from their history in order to explain present reality--such as all the sanctuary imagery you find in The Revelation of Jesus Christ (I try and use the whole title there so as not to forget what the intention of the book was). But he did pretty well at capturing the imagery of the surrounding cultures and religions outside Judaism as well. John 1 is a good example of this. In brief, as I've been studying it this week, here's how I am seeing this. I admit that Wikipedia has helped out with this some, so it bears noting that it's a good idea to look into this for yourself and broaden the research a bit, but here goes...

Stoic philosophy was something that developed in Athens in the 3rd century, BC. Stoicism taught the errors in judgment led to destructive emotions. A person of moral and intellectual perfection (or a "sage") would not put up with such destructive emotions. They were very concerned with the relationship between "cosmic determination" (fate) and human behavior. They were one in a long line of philosophies that placed a lot of emphasis on "logos.." This is a word that is literally translated as "word," or "knowledge." They defined it a step further as "reason." So, logos had to do with the reasons why people do what they do, and how it relates to "cosmic fate" (sort of).

The Stoics had this thing called "logos spermatikos," which was to them the generative principle of the universe (the creative reason that generated matter and life). This would one day heavily influence Neoplatonism, which taught that God is "supra rational," and could only be reached through ecstasy (not a drug) and perfection. He is the primeval source of being, the formless One, the cosmic force from which life and being flows.

The philosophies of the age also taught that darkness was but the absence of light, and that darkness, in and of itself, did not exist.

Sounds to me like George Lucas borrowed a bit of material for "Star Wars, but that's just my opinion. Of course, the "dark side" of the force was in opposition to the good side of the force, but I digress...

You might say that John knew something about this stuff too, but His departure from other philosophies was pretty dramatic.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5)

John was great at this. His "son of thunder" reputation came out sometimes in his writings too. What he does here is say, to the Jews and to the prevailing and developing philosophies of his day, "JESUS IS WAY BETTER than that rot!"

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:6-13)

You philosophers who know so much, you people who founded this Stoic movement or Platonism (or Neoplatonism)... there was this guy who preached in the desert and ate honey and tree-beans ("locusts" probably doesn't actually refer to bugs) and wore camel-skin clothes... he knew something you didn't even conceive of!

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

Greek philosophies didn't teach about the "life-generating force" becoming a human being. They didn't talk about God coming down. They didn't believe in the "supra rational" taking on a visible form! All they could think of was a formless God-force emanating life (might as well have been the "big bang" if you're going to buy that) and human beings working toward ecstasy and perfection to reach Him (or it... or whatever).

Jews taught of a the One true God. They knew of a coming Messiah. But they could but conceive of a savior that returned to them their earthly rule and riches, not the One that would bring peace between created people and a mysterious and perfect God.

Considering all he was surrounded by in his life, and his experience with Jesus, I can only come to the conclusion that John was writing something radical here. He knew the ancient Jewish teachings and the philosophies of pagans that were taking hold in his days. Rather than shouting them down, he showed how Jesus was greater.

Greater than the force. Greater than any other created human being. Greater than an earthly king. Greater than ecstasy and "achieved" perfection.

And get this... if you are to believe John, they actually were eyewitnesses of all of it... "we beheld His glory..."

Know that when you experience Jesus, you experience the greatest thing there ever was. Creator. Personal (not just a force). Fully God. The reason for existence.

Jesus. ALL.

Have you experienced Jesus in any of these ways?

I don't believe any of it changes the fundamental truths about God and His plan, but just how the writers approached communicating inspired truth. However, is there any other insight (new or corrective) you have on the relationship of culture, religion, history, and philosophy, and how it impacted the way Bible writers wrote?