“And they have conquered him [the accuser of the brothers] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,” Revelation 12:11
Sorry folks, I’ve got nothin’ today. My brain is spent from these last two days! I’m going to go take a nap now. See ya tomorrow!
“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14
OK, of all times to be reading Revelation, I would NOT have chosen it to be now. But it wasn’t my choice as to when we would read these books, it was God’s. Some of you may be familiar with the lunar events set to happen starting this week, but some of you may not. I am not entirely familiar with them, but I am familiar with the word of God, and the times, they are a-changin’.
On April 15th, of all dates, there will be the first of four blood moons over the next 18 months. Each of these moon will be visible in Jerusalem and will appear on Jewish holidays (this first one is Passover). Now while this has happened before with somewhat unpleasant results, there have never been four in eighteen months with a solar eclipse in the center. In today’s reading we saw:
“When He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that it being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.” (Revelation 6:12-14)
Matthew 24:29 says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” [Read Matthew 24 & 25 for more.]
Next in Revelation and the events that take place after the signs in the heavens, we read in chapter seven about an “angel descending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:” (Revelation 7:2-4)
At this point revelation rolled over me in a wave of hopelessness. “Lord, 144,000 are so few in comparison to the entire population of the world! I want to be one of those sealed… but there is absolutely no way I could ever earn something like that.” I was crushed because I knew I was right. There is absolutely positively nothing that I can say or do to earn the privilege of being sealed and protected from the trouble that is to befall our planet.
Verse 5-8 is a list; the list of how many people from each of the tribes of Israel will be sealed. There will be 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes. The seals are for the Jews, the pure bloodline of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And there goes the last of my hope for a seal of salvation from tribulation. I’m not Jewish.
Buuuut, verse 9-10 says: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'”
Who is this great multitude that no one could number, from EVERY tribe, people and nation? “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14
IT’S THE CHURCH!
While I know a good deal about the Bible, I certainly do NOT claim to be an expert of any kind. Especially when it comes to the book I avoid the most – Revelation. However, according to what I recall David Jeremiah preaching about this passage of scripture, from this point forward there is no mention of the church on Earth.
There are MANY speculations of “The Rapture” as most refer to it. But, in Matthew 24 Jesus explains it like this, “Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.” Wouldn’t the “unexplainable” sudden disappearance of a “great multitude” of people from all over the globe cause the greatest tribulation imaginable? There’s no detective alive that would be able to come up with any natural clue as to how it happened or why.
In Luke 21:36 (NKJV) we read the words of Jesus, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
There is hope my friend.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and He will guide them to springs of Living Water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:15-17
“He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.” We may not have His seal on our foreheads, but we’ve got something MUCH better. We’ve got His blood on our hearts. We have His Holy Spirit as a seal IN us. At this very moment, we are being protected in the best and most complete way possible, from whatever tribulation comes our way, colossal or minute.
We’re covered by the blood of the Lamb!
Hosanna to our crucified and risen King! 😀
Happy Palm Sunday.
“the one who conquers…” Revelation 2:7, 11, 17 & 26; 3:5, 12 & 21
Throughout today’s reading the phrase, “the one who conquers” kept popping up. And by the end I wanted to be one of “the ones who conquered” because they are rewarded with some pretty great stuff!
“To the one who conquers…
*Revelation 2:7 … I will grant to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.” – Yes please!
*Revelation 2:11 … will not be hurt by the send death.” – Yup, definitely want that!
*Revelation 2:17 … I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” – Cool! Yeah!
*Revelation 2:26-28 … and keeps My words to the end, to him I will give authority over nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star.” – Wow! Seriously?
*Revelation 3:5 … will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life. I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” – Hee! Hee! Hee! Hee!
*Revelation 3:12 … I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from My God out of heaven, and My own new name.” – Eternally in close physical proximity with the Father? Oh my!
*Revelation 3:21 … I will grant him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.” – OK, seriously, where do I sign up!?! How do I become one who conquers? What does that mean?
Well, if you’ve heard of Nike shoes you’re already semi-familiar with this word. It’s the Greek word “nee-kay” and it means: to conquer, to carry off the victory, come off victorious; for example 1) Christ’s victory over His foes 2) Christians that hold fast to their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions 3) when one is arraigned or goes to law, to win the case, maintain one’s cause.
You’ve heard me say before, the Bible defines the Bible. So to better answer my question of how to be a conqueror I pulled up all the other instances of this word in the New Testament, all 28 of them. Most of them simply helped explain the meaning of the word: Luke 11:22, Romans 3:4 & 12:21, 1 John 2:13-14. But then there were others that really delved deep into the heart of my quest.
1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
When we are from God, His children, we are able to overcome and conquer because God is in us and helping us along the way.
1 John 5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world – our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
So to be one who conquers, you must be born again by believing in your heart – which justifies you, and confessing that belief in Jesus with your mouth – which saves you. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Romans 10:9-13)
Revelation 12:11 “They conquered [the accuser of the brothers] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”
Our testimony of how the blood of the Lamb has changed and saved our lives conquers Satan.
But the big key I found was in the interesting fact that John used the word nee-kay more than anyone else in the New Testament, 21 of the 24 verses that contain nee-kay are John’s. Why is that an important fact? John is known as the beloved disciple, he understood the power of the Truth that God first loved us, not the other way around. He discovered that while there is power in our love for Him, our real strength is in the knowledge of how much Jesus loves us! And when we’re expressing that love that we first experienced for ourselves, Satan’s power is destroyed in our lives.
Romans 8:37 is a really fun verse for nee-kay, because it’s not actually just nee-kay alone. It’s hooper-nee-kay. Just like hyper in English, the word hooper is often used as a prefix to words to add emphasis to their meaning. Sensitive – hypersensitive, active – hyperactive, conquerer – more than conquers.
“In all these things we are more than conquerors (hooper-nee-kay) through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39
So while choosing to trust Christ with our salvation and voicing that choice makes us conquerors; receiving God’s amazing and abundant love for us makes us hyperconquerers!
Praise God we are loved!!!
“Let them praise the name of the LORD! For He commanded and they were created.” Psalm 148:5
I had a great conversation with my son Gabe the other day that I’ve been wanting to share with you. We were making dinner together, he was working on cutting the potatoes for his Fitz Fries and I was putting everything else together for dinner. As he chopped we started talking about science and God and Gabe mentioned the Big Bang theory and how he believes that God must have been the one to have caused that first big bang.
You know when something goes the speed of sound (343 meters per second) it creates a sonic boom right? And we know that the vibrations from a sonic boom are so loud that they can shake a house and break windows. Well, think about this. The speed of light (299,792,458 meters per second) is waaaay faster than the speed of sound. So if something was going at the speed of light and that’s faster than the speed of sound wouldn’t it stand to reason that it would make a big boom too? Like, oh, I don’t know, a particularly “big bang” that might cause things to be flung throughout space and time.
The Bible says that when God started creating He said, “Light be” and it was. Think about who spoke those words and just how booming His thunderous voice could be. And then think about how tremendous the reverberation of the creation of the very first light, going at 299,792,458 meters per second must have been! My guess is that there was quite possibly a very “big bang” as the light exploded into existence dissipating the darkness in the very same instant. Sure, I’ll agree that there may have been a Big Bang that exploded the universe into motion. But if a Big Bang created the universe, then it was my God that created that Big Bang.
But you know what, that’s not even the really awesome part of the story. The really awesome part is that the very same voice that boomed the universe into existence, whispers YOUR name in the still of the night bringing light to the darkest places of your soul. Yes, the very same hands that formed Adam from the dust of the earth (Genesis 1-2) are the very same hands that fearfully and wonderfully knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139).
Sure, creation is AWESOME, but it’s not nearly as awesome as YOU. You my friend are the crowning achievement of God’s creation. He made the sun, the moon, the stars, the sea, and dry land, plants, trees, animals, but He spoke each of them into existence. Mmmmm…. but humanity was formed with intimate detail and the TOUCH of a Savior, filled with life-breath through a kiss (Genesis 2:7). While God cares for His creation, He LOVES you! You are special to Him. After the creation of everything else God said, “it is good”, but after He put the finishing touches on woman and saw man and woman together for the first time He said, “it is VERY good”. Then He dusted off His holy hands and sat down because He was finished. You my friend, complete with your frailties and faults, are the masterpiece of creation. You’re the icing on His creation cake. You’re the cherry at the top of the ice cream Sunday, not the melted goo at the bottom. God created you with such care and intimate detail, how could you ever think you were a mistake or an accident? God doesn’t make mistakes, He makes miracles and you’re one of them!
Yes! YOU!
Psalm 139:1-145:21
“Seasons change. And old situation creeping up in a new season of our life can be more complicated than ever. We can think we’ve murdered that monster once and for all, and then it rises from the dead and its grown another head.” – Beth Moore, So Long, Insecurity You’ve Been a Bad Friend to Us
I have been looking for this book for months now! Ever since I realized that God wanted me focusing on Identity in Christ during this season of my life. When I had only just begun down that path God showed me with brilliant clarity that many of our fears, doubts, struggles and even our insecurities find their roots in how we identify ourselves with Christ. So I knew I just HAD to get my hands on this book because Beth Moore is one of my all time FAVORITE people on this planet! God has used her to teach me so much!
Anyway, yesterday I walked over to a free book table and whose sweet face did I see? On not one but TWO book covers of books that are both on my search list! Talk about excited! Hee hee!
It was a pretty big day at our house yesterday; Tuesday is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. night! For the last six months I’ve missed Agents of SHIELD due to Greek class, but last week was our graduation, so last night was a BIG deal. We have not only been to every Marvel movie, we own them and watch them regularly too. This past Friday was our first day of Spring Break. What did we do? Sean took the day off work and we went to the very first showing of Captain America: The Winter Soldier!
Last night we had Sloppy Simmons, Fitz Fries, Coulson Corn and Skye Strawberries for dinner. We sat down and watched clips of each of the Agents of Shield characters online then pulled up last week’s episode on the DVR. Then we watched the new episode, it did NOT disappoint! I am so in awe of the genius that is Stan Lee and the people at Marvel. Their ability to create not just one compelling storyline, but several that ALL fit together seamlessly across several different modes of media! It’s storytelling at it’s best in my opinion.
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
Anyway, in both the Winter Soldier and Agents of Shield you find out that the Hydra organization from the original Captain America movie has returned and is wreaking havoc like never before. And as Agents of Shield finished last night we were talking about the Hydra and the way it works. When you cut one head off two will replace it. The way to kill the Hydra is NOT to cut off its head, but to kill its heart. Like a dandelion, you can’t just pull off the top and expect it to go away; you have to kill the root.
And so it is, I’m finding, with our Fears, Doubts and Struggles. They are all heads of the Hydra of Insecurity in our Identity in Christ. While all of them are a big deal and need cutting off – cause boy do they have TEETH! None of them are the heart, or root, of the matter. How you view your identity in Christ is the heart of it all. And how you receive His love for you is the blood, the life force that fuels everything.
If we’re seeing our identity in Christ as something that it’s not, then Fear, Doubt and Struggles will bloom in our lives and grow into heads with teeth, fangs, that will shred our souls if we let them. However, when we see ourselves the way we really are, IN Christ, well that’s the way to really kill the Hydra.
According to Psalm 91 (and many others) Jesus is our shield and refuge. 2 Corinthians 3:20 tells us that “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.” That means that we’re His agents, here to do the work of furthering the Kingdom. So, if He is our shield and we are His agents, then we’re the Agents of Shield! And now this nerdy girl is very happy to have reached that conclusion and taken you there with me!
Hee hee! I know, I’m such a dork, but you love me anyway, right? 😉
So am I alone? Does anyone else out there just love everything Marvel? Does anyone want to join me in reading (and conquering) So Long, Insecurity You’ve Been a Bad Friend to Me? I’d love to have company in reading it!!!!
“Your right hand delivers me.” Psalm 138:7
At first glance I was smitten with the message of this verse and just the simple Truth that Jesus delivers us, praise God! But then I looked at it again. He delivers us with His own hand. And what’s more, He delivers us SINGLE HANDEDLY! He doesn’t even need both hands to deliver us from Evil, just one will do. Seriously, how AWESOME is our God!?! I mean really?
“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” Psalm 126:5-6
As I read this verse today I could almost feel the heat form a fat wet tear sliding down my cheek. The sensation is all too familiar to me. I have had no shortage of tears in my life. And yet as I recalled those tears an image came to my mind. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in shouts of joy!”
What if those tears are seeds? What if each single teardrop is a seed that produces a crop of joy?
David says, in one of his Psalms, that God collects our tears in His bottle. (Psalm 56) What if He is collecting them because they’re valuable to Him; like seeds to a gardener?
It’s spring and for the last week or so every store I’ve walked into I’ve walked out with a packet or ten of seeds. Each packet has a big picture on the front of what those seeds inside will grow up to be. And I have been collecting those seeds, not for what they are but for what they will become once I plant them and water them and tend their precious fruit. My collection of seeds is precious to me because I know that given the proper conditions they will produce healthy food for my family and friends. But that’s not the end of my plans for them. I plan on collecting the seeds from their produce to plant next year too! These packets of seeds will produce fruit that will produce more seeds, with more fruit, with more seeds…
Do you see where I’m going with this?
God collects our tears because they’re precious to Him. Not because of what they are, but because of what they produce in us! Each tear is a seed that produces a healthy fruit that is good for us and our family and our friends. Yes, we may sow tears, but we reap joy! Your tears are not the end, they’re the beginning.
“Your testimonies are my meditation. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:99&105
Satan used Jealousy and Pride to rattle the Pharisees and Scribes against Jesus. He had even managed to convince Judas (with 30 pieces of silver) to betray Jesus and turn Him over to the high priest for questioning. And now there’s Jesus, beaten beyond any recognition. He’s being spit on and taunted by on lookers as He hangs naked on a cross. He dies and is buried in a tomb and according to all signs it really looks like Satan has won the war. Talk about dark and hopeless places! The grave is pretty dark and hopeless wouldn’t you say?
BUT GOD HAD A PLAN!
His plan didn’t end on the cross, it started there! While Satan’s scheme had been to eliminate the threat and kill Jesus, Satan’s plan was as flawed as flawed could be! Did he not know what was really going on? Did he not understand the reality of the situation and what Jesus was doing? He must not have because Satan fell right into his own trap! Satan set a trap for Jesus that would spill His blood and kill Him. What Satan didn’t plan on was the VERY thing God DID plan on, because being God, He knew! Satan never thought of Jesus being the true atoning sacrifice for Passover. He couldn’t have thought of that, because if he had, he never would’ve had Jesus crucified.
Satan, while a powerful pain in our patoots, is NO MATCH for our God! Period! He simply can not compete in this match we call life. In the game of wits against God Almighty he doesn’t even hold a candle to the light of the Son!
Sure, Satan schemes against God by firing arrows in our direction. But the blood of Jesus is our shield that extinguishes all those fiery arrows. And what’s more is that not only is Satan no match for our God, he’s no match for us either!
We have been made more than conquerors through Jesus who LOVES US! (Romans 8:37) And the One who started a good work in you WILL be faithful to finish it. Right now you may feel like you’re in a pit or that your only hope is dead in a tomb, but the reality of the situation is that you’re in the cleft of a rock (Exodus 33), protected on three sides by God’s rock solid love and covered by His faithful hand as He walks before you pronouncing His name. And eventually He will remove His hand from over your eyes and you will look and you will find the footprints of His provision and protection in the sand at your feet.
Yes, Satan may have schemes, but God has plans. He has plans for your good and not your harm. He has plans for your future and your hope. And no matter what lies Satan tries to feed you, there is NOTHING that can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus and His faithfulness to His plans for you. You may be pressed but you’re NOT crushed. You may be persecuted but you’re NOT abandoned. You may have been struck down but you are NOT destroyed! In Jesus’ name, GET UP!
“Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 117
Reading this Psalm I was intrigued by these two qualities of God being smooshed together. His steadfast love and His faithfulness, what could one attribute have with the other? It sparked something in me that I wanted to investigate further. His love and His faithfulness connect. How? At what point? And to what end?
From day one I have been head-over-heels in love with my husband. The sun rose in his hair and the stars shone in his eyes. His arms have always been protective bands of iron wrapped around me and keeping me from all harm. He has always been my everything. My love for him kept me faithful to my promises to him and to God, because there were times when I wanted to bail on them, for sure. But I couldn’t do it because no matter how hurt or angry or betrayed I felt, it never changed the Truth. God put us together. We were made for each other. Knit together in mother’s wombs, formed to be united for eternity and no scheme of the Enemy could succeed against the plans God has for us. (Genesis 50:20)
God’s love for you keeps Him faithful to you. He has said, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
For we know according to Romans 8:28 that for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (or plan), all things will work together for their good.
God’s plans are perfect. How do I know this? Ummm… because he’s GOD. He knows EVERYTHING, past, present and future. If you knew everything there was to know in the universe don’t you think you’re plans would be pretty successful? If you created humanity to be weak and in need of a savior, wouldn’t you make sure to take those weaknesses into account when you made your plans for them? If you were omnipotent and able to know your enemy’s moves before he made them, don’t you think your plans would be pretty fail proof?
Right now you may feel like your situation is hopeless. You may feel like you’re in a very dark place with no future, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Take a look at the story of Joseph. His brothers threw him in a dark pit, hopeless and alone. They pulled him out only to sell him as a slave in Egypt – any hope of a prosperous future had been whipped out of him by the time he got there. The wife of his master lied about him and he got thrown into prison – back in the dark with even less hope of a future. You can see how at this point those plans God had for Joseph, you know the dreams about everyone in his family bowing to him, yeah, those plans looked deader than a doornail at this point. His family was nowhere near him how could those dreams ever come true?
But no scheme of hell is able to prevail over the plans of God and His steadfast love spurring on His faithfulness. The next part of Joseph’s journey was nothing short of an amazing miracle. Pharaoh had a dream, Joseph was the only one to interpret it and bodabing bodaboom Joseph is not only released from prison he’s promoted to the highest position in all of Egypt, save that of Pharaoh.
Not proof enough for you that Satan doesn’t get to win? Then how about I share another example with you, like a second witness in a trial against Satan’s schemes.
-Tomorrow. 😉
“For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” Psalm 107:9
Oh Lord, how my soul longs!
It longs for peace in my world. It longs for the fulfillment of things promised. But most of all it longs for this right here; time in Your presence, time spent with You, time focusing on Your word and the beauty of it all. I sit in amazement at the complexity in the simplicity of Your Word.
Lord, I love how simple it all truly is. We love to dig deep and relish in the details, but so often we can lose the forest in all the trees. The simple truth is, You’re in love with us. I’ve spent the last four years studying and praying, fasting and searching for answers in Your word while they were there the whole time staring me in the face. On every page, in every line, in every word, they all boil down to one simple Truth. You love me.
You love me enough to die for me. But even more than that, You love me enough to LIVE for me! You live to intercede for me. You live to pray for me and the things I’m going through that no one else even knows about, even me. You love me enough to tell me, “No” when I want things that aren’t good for me. And You love me enough to tell me, “Yes” even when I forget to ask for the things I need. You love me enough to keep a close eye on me and keep me from all harm… even if that means I’m inconvenienced and complain about it later because I don’t realize what You’ve saved me from.
Papa, I’m sorry I complain so much. I really am a spoiled brat sometimes. I truly have NOTHING to complain about. I have a safe, warm and loving home; a LOT of people around here don’t have that. We always have food on the table, it’s not gourmet and it may not always be exactly what I’m in the mood for, but it’s a lot more than those starving kids down the street have.
My car may not be the latest greatest model but it runs, and stops and gets me to where I need to go. Only 2% of the people in the WORLD have even one car, and we have TWO! (Not to mention the derby cars!)
My clothes may not be the height of fashion, but they’re clean and comfortable, they fit and cover me… that’s more than some people in Africa can say.
Lord, I thank You for meeting my needs in such a tremendous and abundant way. Lord, I thank You that Your provision is so consistently abundant that I have become accustomed to these finer things in life. I’m sorry that I’ve complained when things haven’t always gone my way. You are always looking out for my BEST interest. I forget that way too often.
You are SO GOOD to me! Thank You for being the One who is able (and willing) to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine. Thank You that not only are You able and willing to provide for my physical needs, but my spiritual and emotional needs too. You are Always here for me and I can’t explain how awesome that is. To know that You are there, holding my hand when it’s hard; squeezing it for reassurance when I doubt, You are SO GOOD!
Lord, thank You for being faithful to Your promises! Even when I’m not. There is such comfort in knowing it’s not about me.
Click to print the full 365 days
Click pic to download
Click here for more info!
