This is my Omega for writing in the Daily Bible Reading Blog. My Alpha began at the beginning of this year. When we started the blog, I wrote, “we have just finished 40 Days of Prayer at our church. During this time, someone stated that we ought do something associated with Bible Study. We decided to read through the Bible in 2010. Then, someone suggested we send out emails with thoughts on the verses we are to read and this idea evolved into creating this blog. Our goal is to read through the Bible in 2010 and write an article related to the text we are reading that day. We hope this glorifies God and the articles will be stimulating and helpful in our growth as Christians.” It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be the last day. I think we met our goal for the most part. I want to thank all of our writers and all of our readers. Most of all, I want to thank the real Alpha and Omega. Thank you Lord for your Word! Thank you for our salvation! Thank you for the vision of the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-7). Thank you for wanting to be with us, for wiping away the tears, for taking away death, for making everything new, for giving us a drink from the water of life, for an inheritance, and for making us sons. May God be blessed and glorified by our reading and commenting on His Word in 2010!
Archive for the ‘New Testament’ Category
Day 364: Revelation 21:1-27 — The Alpha and the Omega
Thursday, December 30th, 2010Day 360: Sometimes I Forget
Sunday, December 26th, 2010The reading for today is Revelation 16:1-17:6 if you want to get technical. If reading about the Seven Bowls of Wrath is your mood today, by all means, give it a go. I don’t mean to trivialize this passage, but today I hope you will allow me to write more from the heart.
On Christmas Eve my family journeyed to Bender Terrace Nursing Home in Lubbock, Texas to visit a few folks. Those of you that read this blog with regularity (Bob has assured me that you exist) know that my Grandmother passed away the night before Thanksgiving this year. She lived her last few months at Bender Terrace and we were so grateful for the care and love she received from the residents there. Gigi (as she was lovingly called) was very fortunate to have family close that would come spend time with her on a daily basis. She knew that she wasn’t forgotten. She knew she was loved.
Driving home from her funeral I had an idea. Day before yesterday that idea became a reality. At 3:30PM on Christmas Eve, my entire family (parents, sisters, brother-in-laws, nephews, daughters) showed up with handmade gifts from the kids. We walked every hallway. We went into every room. We hugged. We listened. We smiled. We laughed. We sang for two dining halls. Every person there was given a gift of love. When we left, we all agreed that there was no greater gift than the feeling of sharing the love of Christ with people who feel forgotten.
Sometimes I forget that being a Christian is far more than mere believing. It is living that belief. 2 Corinthians 9:7
May God bless you and keep you!
Matt Wilson
Day 359: Micah 7:16-19; Revelation 15:4 — Glad Tidings of Great Joy!
Saturday, December 25th, 2010Merry Christmas, church! I hope you met the day with gladness in your heart and recognition that today is the day when the whole world stops to consider Jesus. The sights and sounds of the season permeate even the lives of atheists and agnostics. And for Christians, this is a day to remember that God gave the world the best heaven had to offer—the Savior, Christ Jesus.
What a journey Jesus took on that first Christmas day! He left the glory of Heaven and stepped down into our world—not as royalty born to kings and queens, but as a servant born to peasants. Born not in a pristine hospital room, but in a barn where the first odors to enter His holy nostrils were animal manure and urine. I am convinced that one of the first things we’ll say when we walk through the Pearly Gates will be, “Jesus left all THIS up here … for THAT down there? What a Savior!”
His coming had been predicted by the great Hebrew prophets for thousands of years. Yet, He was not welcomed by government dignitaries and celebrities. There was no worldwide fanfare. Instead, He was greeted by smelly shepherds and astrologers who were guided to the stable by a divinely-placed star. The Savior came to seek and save … yet He was never exalted. Instead, He was rejected—and ultimately, killed.
The journey that began in Bethlehem’s barn ended on Calvary’s cross.
Why did my Savior come to earth and to the humble go? How many times have we sung the answer—because He loved me so.
Jesus came. And the readings today point out that He is coming again. Today’s passages share a common thought about how Jesus will be received at His second coming. It will be much different from the first time. This time, He will not be coming as a servant—He will be coming as King and Judge.
Micah 7:16-17 says,
16 Nations will see and be ashamed,
deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
and their ears will become deaf.
17 They will lick dust like a snake,
like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
they will turn in fear to the LORD our God
and will be afraid of you.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.
The Messiah is coming back. And He’s not coming back quietly. In fact, it will be quite noisy. Trumpets will sound! Angels will shout! And no one will miss it. “Every eye shall see” (Rev. 1:7) and “every knee shall bow.” And “every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).
On Judgment Day, there will be no atheists or agnostics. All will believe. Every person shall behold Him in all his Shekinah glory. The glory He left in heaven the first time will not be absent the second time and all will worship the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Today, as you contemplate the meaning of Christmas, consider Micah’s words from chapter 7, verses 18 and 19:
18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Our God pardons, forgives and is delighted to show His mercy. And He has such compassion for His children that He will take their sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west … hurling them into the depths of the sea.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
What a gift! What a God! Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Day 357: Revelation 12:1-6 – Two Signs
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010Revelation 12:1-6 opens with the display of two signs. The first is a wondrous sign from the sky. A woman appears who is clothed with the sun, crowned with twelve stars, and the moon is under her feet. This woman gives birth to the Messiah. Early church history interprets this as the messianic community (God’s faithful people) and not the literal mother of Jesus. Medieval traditions misguidedly begin to interpret her as Mary. It is out of God’s faithful people that the Messiah would come. This radiant woman cries out in pain as Israel had done in the past when placed in bondage (Isaiah 26:17; Isaiah 66:7; Micah 4:10). Israel cries out in her struggle of expectation of the coming Messiah. A second sign appears in the sky. John sees an enormous red dragon with seven heads. The Old Testament is complete with allusions to dragons that often are associated with God’s and Israel’s enemies. The dragon stands ready to devour the child as a great drama unfolds. I can’t help but wonder what condition we would all be in if the dragon ultimately wins. This is our story throughout history, the great dragon battles to destroy us in this past and present danger. Yet, the proclamation of the church in history and today is that the great dragon cannot defeat our Lord. In fact, our Lord has already won in the resurrection. However, until our Lord returns, the church must flee to the desert (like Israel and the Exodus) where we depend on God to provide and we develop an intimate relationship with Him. While we live on earth, we may face many struggles but the ultimate end is learning to live faithfully through it all. We have two signs — who really is our Lord, Christ or Satan? Maybe the answer can be seen in our journey through the wilderness.
Day 355: Amos 3-6; Revelation 9 — By the Light of the Slivery Moon
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010Right now as I write this it is 1:30 AM on the winter solstice and I have awoken to partake in the viewing of the lunar eclipse. Unfortunately it is very cloudy and there are only brief glimpses of the slivery moon. Mildly disappointing. Like someone promised me a grand event and didn’t follow through (at least not with the grand part).
Fortunately God is not like that. He always follows through. Today’s reading in Amos 3-6 is replete with messages from God listing out the warnings and chances he has given Israel to repent. And since they have chosen not to follow him but rather the ways of the nations around him, he will soon destroy them utterly.
Yet just like the small break in the clouds for me tonight, there is a glimmer of hope as there is with every message from the Lord “Seek the LORD and live” (Amos 5:6). God never warns us just to let us know what is coming. He always gives the opportunity to repent and be made right with him.
If we choose not to repent, our fate will be the same as those in Revelation 9. If we do repent, well, you’ll have to read the rest of Revelation to find out how that turns out.
For now, I’m going to head outside one more time and hope for a break in the clouds and then back to bed with the sane people.
Day 354: Joel 2:18-Amos 2:16; Revelation 7:13-8:13 — Redemptive cycles
Monday, December 20th, 2010God punishes the vile idolatry of the people sending extraordinary “natural” disasters. Afterward He will return the fortunes of the people. The planned outpouring of the Spirit of God demonstrates His next step to redeem man, to adopt people as His children, beautiful apocalyptic, revealing, language, Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:14-21. Israel was led by Spirit filled people chosen of God, but these covenant people as a whole were not related to God in the Spirit as those today are, Romans 8:9-11. The dramatic antithesis of Isaiah 2:4 tells His people that they will defeat their enemies. The cycles of “the day of Lord” say He will repay the evil and extract the faithful from doom.
Amos, the fig nipper of the Tekoa, declares the end of the nations throughout Palestine. The intense number language, for three — for four offenses, tells us God is done with them. But these words, again, speak of the global reign of God, not just a God of Hebrews, but of all mankind. As you read these passages in Amos get out a map and swirl your finger from place to place, Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, Israel, a swirling storm of fury and destruction.
The context of Revelation shows the intention of God to preserve His people, the church, and expunge the rebellious from heaven and earth. The cycles of judgment and deliverance are nearly dizzying. The Lamb receives the scroll, one who shall reveal and lead the destiny of His people. As the seals break cycles of punishment and time to repent are given to the offending powers, one fourth destruction. In the trumpets, one third destruction. By the time the bowls of wrath are poured out, it’s all over. Those who persevere in spite of the pressures of the evil culture will pass into the throne room of the Holy One, to an eternal, blissful life in His presence, Revelation 7:13-17.
What do we take away from this?
1. Beauty and meaning in prophetic language need not be confusing. It speaks of the justice, mercy, and love of God to move us to faithful living, waiting the last great “day of the Lord.” 2 Peter 3:8-13
2. Our Faithful Creator means what He says. It may or may not seem that way to us as the world appears to ignore Him or twist His holiness into covenants He did not write. He wants all of His creation to turn to Him, but He will wait only so long. Those cycles of judgment and reward may come in the very personal death of someone, passing them into the Ultimate Reality, in the building up of a “good” nation or destruction of one that is vile, Psalm 33:12, yet certainly will come in the end of all things temporal.
Prayer: Almighty God, Holy, Righteous, Merciful: In this day please help us see Your judgments and blessing, patiently to wait the wonders not yet known, and by Your Spirit to live holy and endure. In Jesus name, Amen.
Day 353: Revelation 6:1-7:12 — My Mind Can’t Comprehend
Sunday, December 19th, 2010Revelation is a daunting book for most people. At times it can be awe-inspiring, difficult to read or hard to comprehend. What I’ve realized over time is that my mind is far too small to fully comprehend God’s majesty and his power. Once you can realize that, once you can step back and say, “It’s okay…it will all be revealed to me soon enough,” the easier it is to make it through Revelation.
The passage I would like to concentrate on today is one that I sometimes close my eyes and try to imagine. Turn with me to Revelation 7:9-12
“before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
I’ve been to some concerts where there was a few thousand people and have marveled when the band would let the crowd would sing along. It is indescribably powerful to hear thousands of people singing the same thing. To be so passionate about something that they instantly fall in sync with one another. Now…close your eyes and try to imagine a multitude so large that you couldn’t begin to count them. Going further, imagine them singing praises to God in their loudest voices. The heavens would shake. Won’t that be wonderful? Won’t that be something that we can’t possibly describe?
That is the goal, isn’t it? Isn’t that where you want to be? Me too! All power and praise belongs to our God!
May God bless you and keep you!
Matt
Day 352: Hosea 9 & Revelation 4 — Holy Worship vs. Unholy Harlotry
Saturday, December 18th, 2010The Old Testament reading from Hosea 9 and the New Testament reading from Revelation 4 present an interesting contrast in worship.
God sends Hosea to judge the sin of Israel. They have played the harlot (v. 1)—in effect, they have cheated on God. God had saved them from the oppression of Egypt and led them to a land flowing with milk and honey. And in return, Israel nestled in with the native Canaanites and adopted their Baal gods as their own.
There is always a price to be paid for spiritual adultery and Hosea runs down a laundry list of punishments that Israel will suffer because of their infidelity.
1. They will lose their joy (v. 1-2). In another 250 years, Nehemiah will tell Israel, “The joy of the Lord is your strength!” But Israel’s unfaithfulness to God in places like Baal Peor and Gilgal will rob them of any joy at this time.
What about us? We lose our joy when we live for ourselves instead of living for God and others. Selfishness produces only bitter cynicism in the end. But selflessness is the greatest way to live because it was the way of our Savior.
Our faith in Christ produces in us an “inexpressible and glorious joy” because the end result is the salvation of our souls (1 Peter 1:8-9). James says that we can even be joyful when we go through dark times and deep valleys, because hard times produce in us perseverance and maturity (James 1:2-3).
2. They will be cast into exile (v. 3-6) and will be abandoned by God (v. 17). The Assyrian army is coming. And they are going to take Israel captive and exert their will into their lives. It’s like Egypt all over again! And while in exile, they will not be allowed to offer sacrifice … they will be forced to eat food they considered unclean … it’s not going to be a pleasant experience.
Have you ever felt exiled from God—felt “separated” from Him? Have you ever felt like God was far, far away? The wonderful thing about God is that He is never far away. If we will just take one small step toward Him, He will run to meet us (Luke 15:20). He loves us that much!
When we came to Jesus, we were provided with a great promise—that we would never again be separated from God’s love. Nothing can come between us—for we are “MORE THAN conquerors through Jesus Christ, who loves us” (Romans 8:37-39).
3. They will lose spiritual discernment (v. 7-9). Their prophets will be fools. Their spirituality will be insanity.
It’s very easy for us to lose sight of what’s truly spiritual, too, isn’t it? We are enticed by the wily ways of Satan and we fall prey to his cleverly designed traps. We trip over our own sins. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time. It felt right. Our spiritual eyesight has been blindfolded.
The only way for us to stay on the right path—the spiritual path—is to play follow-the-leader. We must “fix our eyes on Jesus” and “set our hearts on things above”.
Israel did a great job of showing us what not to do and we must learn from their mistakes.
Contrast that to the beautiful picture John paints in Revelation 4.
You want to talk about Spiritual discernment! John said he was “at once in the Spirit”! Immediately! Suddenly he found himself in the very presence of Almighty God with trumpets and angels and multiple thrones. White robes, golden crowns. Thunder, lightning and the very Spirit of God.
And then John sees four creatures whose only job in heaven is to praise God’s name endlessly. And when these creatures praised God, the twenty-four elders seated on the thrones would fall down and cast their crowns at the feet of the True King!
And praises flowed! Shouts of, “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty who was, is and is to come! You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power—for You created all things and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Now that’s a worship service I want to be a part of! Amen? Wow! By the way, you know who the twenty-four elders represent? US! You and me! God’s church! I can’t wait!
Playing the harlot and cheating on God is a cheap, short-lived, thrill of the moment way to live. There’s no joy there—only exile and sadness and loss of spirituality.
But when we give ourselves completely to God, he will reward us with things that last—eternal things like joy and peace and love. And one day, we will take part in an eternal worship that will go beyond our wildest imagination!
Grace and peace, church. Deborah and I are praying for you. See you soon, Lord willing.
Day 351: Hosea 5:1-8:14 and Revelation 3:1-22 — We’ve Heard This Before
Friday, December 17th, 2010God is patient. God is kind. God shows mercy abundantly. God did this over and over with Israel and then, after the kingdom divided, with Israel and Judah. However, God finally lost the patience, lost his kindness, and lost the mercy for a number of reasons but mostly because they arrogantly defied God, prostituted themselves to man-made gods, and were unrepentant. We’ve heard God through other prophets, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, saying the same condemnations to Israel and Judah that we now hear in this reading in Hosea. Why didn’t the Israelites and Judahities listen to God prior to this before it was too late? From my studies, it appears that they wanted what they saw others around them doing and having. They didn’t care to be set aside for God — they wanted to be like the other nations around them. Then their pride took over and they wouldn’t do it God’s way and they couldn’t return to Him (Hosea 5:4-5). Their worship and way of life even became a stench to other worldly nations around them. When other nations around them began to tear away at their nation, who did they turn to? Not God. Instead they turned to Assyria and Egypt for help. For this, God said that Ephraim (Israel) and Judah would be torn up and carried off (Hosea 5:14)
And what was God saying in the reading in Revelation 3 to the churches in Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea? Essentially the same thing. You think you are doing the right thing, but you are not (Revelation 3:1). To Laodicea, He states that because they are neither hot nor cold, he was going to spit them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). However, just as God did in dealing with Israel and Judah, in Revelation he tells these churches that a few will be spared. To these Jesus talks about overcoming Satan, that they will walk with Him and God and his angels, and that their names will never be blotted from the book of life.
I don’t know about you, but after reading today’s Old Testament and New Testament readings, these words come as a joy to me. They help me see past the troubles to give me hope for the future. God is patient and kind and merciful to those who follow His plan. We ALL mess up, but being repentant and keeping our eyes and hearts toward God brings us toward Him.
Day 349: Revelation 1:1-20 — Lord Come Quickly
Wednesday, December 15th, 2010It is December 15, and my world is so busy right now. Ava and I will be traveling this week to be with our daughter and son-in-law on a special occasion for them. After a funeral this last Saturday, and a ton of work dropped in my lap last week, I was rushing around this morning trying to get loose ends tied up and looked up my text for today. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Of all the books in the Bible, none have been mangled in interpretation more consistently than Revelation. I can remember as a teenager listening to a preacher expound on this book, and believe me, it was really frightening. Not sure the man meant for it to be so, but it was, none-the-less.
One of the greatest events for me and this wonderful book was to see Richard Rogers’ title for his class at Sunset “Hallelujah Anyway”. That title set the stage for an understanding of the book that erases fear rather than fosters it.
There are some keys in the first twenty verses that clue us in to the fact that most understandings of the book are lacking. Maybe the best way to start a study of Revelation is by reading every Old Testament prophet and seeing just how prophetic language is used and applied in those books.
Revelation 1:1 – key phrase is “things which must soon take place”. Soon in this instance is defined as speed or quickly. Verse 3 “for the time is near” – near would be defined as near, of place and position. These definitions come from Strong’s enhanced lexicon. These words speak about an future near to John, not some distant day thousands of years into the future. In the first nine verses of Revelation, John was speaking not in prophetic language, but in ordinary everyday language to be understood in ordinary terms.
As you progress through the book keep in mind that the events were future to John and the people of the first century. To us they are in the past. The great message of this book is no matter what happens in life, if we are a part of the family of God, we win in the end. Hallelujah, Lord come quickly!