Chapter 3 -- The Book of Revelation

Read Revelation Chapter 3!!

The Message to the Church in Sardis Verses 1-6

1. Verse 1: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Sardis.

2. Verse 2-3: Criticism/what they are doing wrong, also direction/what they need to do.

3. Verses 4-6: Recognizing that there are some people who have not fallen.

This church reminds us that we can still fall away from God.  We need to be careful not to follow the world's version of acceptable...  We need to constantly remember to go back to the basic truth of salvation.  We don't need to add stipulations or rules, we just need to follow God's Word.


The Message to the Church in Philadelphia Verses 7-13

1. Verse 7: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Philadelphia.

2. Verses 8-13: Encouragement and reward!  Reward for being obedient/persevering.  Warning to keep up the good work; and what will happen if they do.

I always wanted to be a part of this church, for it says, "I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world."  I don't believe the Church of Philadelphia is referring to Pennsylvania!  However, I do believe we will be rewarded for being obedient just like this church.  This church also shows that perseverance will be very important!  God will open doors for us that no one can close; we just have to keep an eye out for those doors, and walk through them when the time is right.


The Message to the Church in Laodicea Verses 14-22

1. Verse 14: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Laodicea.

2. Verses 15-22: "I know the things that you do, that you are neither hot nor cold... I will spit you out of my mouth!" "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."

Through this church we learn to be all in our all out for Christ.  We don't want to just be drifting along.  There is no compromise when we follow Him; either we follow all of God's Word or none of it.  There is no middle ground here.  When we are all in fro God, and we do our absolute best to follow Him, He will recognize that.  We are still human, we ill still mess up, but "I correct and discipline everyone I love." We need to open the door to our hearts and let him in.  We serve a loving and merciful God.  A few mistakes won't separate you from Him if you truly repent and turn away from it.

All in all these church teach us to be obedient, attentive, and that the end is near.  We need to stay alert and focused on God and His Plan for our lives!  Then we will be prepared when the storms come!

What did you learn from these churches?  I'd love to hear you thoughts below!!

Blessings!

~ S*

Chapter 2 -- The Book of Revelation

Okay, before we get started today, please read Revelation chapter 2!

Revelation Chapter 2 (I'm using the NLT)


The Message to the Church in Ephesus Verses 1-7

1. Verse 1: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Ephesus.

2. Verses 2-3, and 6: Praise

3. Verses 4-5: Criticism, "I will remove you as one of the seven churches (lamp-stands) if you don't repent."

4. Verse 7: A command with a blessing.

This church reminds us to stay focused and excited in the Lord!   Don't let the original excitement fade away!   Let your boldness/passion for Christ grow stronger with each passing day.


The Message to the Church in Smyrna Verses 8-11

1. Verse 8: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Smyrna.

2. Verses 9-11: God explains that He sees their suffering, but promises a true reward/blessing in the end.

This church reminds us all to stay faithful to the very end!  We will be blessed because of the persecution we have endured.


The Message to the Church in Pergamum Verses 12-17

1. Verse 12: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Pergamum.

2.  Verse 13: Praise! And it also shows how difricult it is to stay loyal in "Satan's City".

3. Verses 14-16: Complaint, warning, instruction and consequences.

4. Verse 17: Huge blessing.

This church reminds us that even God's chosen people were led astray.  It shows that even-though we live in a difficult time (or "Satan's City"), we are expected to stay strong in tour faith and not give into temptation. (Ephesians 6:13) The reward for this is pretty Awesome!


The Message to the Church in Thyatira Verses 18-29

1. Verse 18: Explains who the letter is to: the angel/star/messenger of the church in Thyatira.

2. Verse 19: Praise

3. Verses 20-23: Criticism and punishment... Jezebel (2 Kings 9.22; 1 Kings 16:31)

4. Verses 24-29: For those who didn't stray, and their reward because of it.

This church reminds us to watch out for false prophets.  We need to learn to test everything with God's Word.  A true prophet will not have a problem with you if you challenge what he says with God's Word.  If God's Word backs it up, then you will know the prophet is true.


What does this chapter say to you?  How would you interpret these messages to the churches?  I encourage you to write down in your own words a summary of each church, and what it is teaching you!  I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Blessings!

~ S* 

Chapter 1 -- The book of Revelation

Wow! It's been a while!  Maybe you're glad, or maybe you missed me! :)  Anyway, I feel like God has led me to start this up again, so my current commitment is going to be a post every 15th of the month!  I'm going to begin going through books of the Bible chapter by chapter.  Starting with Revelation!

Let me start this series by saying I never used to like reading Revelation!  I have read through the Bible many times in my life, and I always dreaded getting to this book.  I usually saved it until the very last one.  Why?  It made me think about the end times!  It made me think about persecution... Am I willing to suffer for Christ?  A lot of bad things happen in this book, and it is all prophecy!  One of the only reasons I used to read this book was because of verse 3...  

Since then, I have developed a new desire to read it... As I said above, it is all prophecy!  Each and every day we are getting closer to the fulfillment of this prophecy.  I don't know about you, but I want to be prepared!  So I have begun to read a chapter a day!  Isaiah 55:11 says, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. (NAS)" In other words, no matter what, I'm going to reap benefits for reading and rereading God's Word!  Some days I don't feel like I am getting anything out of what I'm reading, but a few days later I will have a scripture ready at just the perfect moment!  God will reward us for being stewards of His Word!

Revelation Chapter 1 (I'm using the NLT "New Living Translation")

Prologue Verses 1-3

Verses 1-2 tell us where the book came from: Jesus Christ!  Though John wrote the book, it was inspired by God.  I recently heard someone say, "There were 40 writers of the Bible, but only 1 Author!" 

Verse 3: "God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near."  We are blessed when we read, listen to, and obey this prophecy!  Isn't that great!?! 


John's Greetings to the Seven Churches  Verses 4-8

Verse 4: He was told to write this book (verse 11) to the seven churches in the province of Asia.  Back then, this was a Roman province... Now it is western Turkey!

Verses 5-8: John goes into detail about God and how Awesome He is (see also Amos 4:13 and Exodus 3:14)


Vision of the Son of Man Verses 9-20

Verses 9-10: John explains the when, where, what, and who!  When he had the vision, What he was doing, Where he was, and Who was there/gave it to him!

12-16: These verses describe the Son of Man!  Jesus used the phrase "Son of Man" to describe Himself when he was on earth!  A pretty Awesome sight if you ask me!  

17-18: Jesus reiterates what John said about Him at the beginning of the chapter!  It's always cool when God confirms what you say!

19: God tells John to write the book of Revelation!

20: The meaning of the Seven Stars and Seven Gold Lamp stands is given! Stars = Angels/Messengers of the seven churches... Lamp stands = the seven churches!


What are your thoughts on this book of the Bible?  What things has God pointed out to you about his book or chapter?  I'd love to hear them in the comments below!!  

Blessings!

~ S*

I Will See You Again

Isn't is Awesome to know that when we die, or when a loved one who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior passes on...  We will see them again!  Heaven is a way better place than here on earth, and I can hardly wait to never feel pain, depression, hurt, anxiety, fear, etc... ever again!

This is what God tells us in His Word:

Luke 24:50-53, "Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God."

Mark 13:26-27, "Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven."

 Acts 1:6-11, "So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?'

He replied, 'The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'

After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!'”

And my favorite!

John 14:1-7. "'Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.'

'No, we don’t know, Lord,' Thomas said. 'We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?'

Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!'"

Isn't that great!?! God has room for us in heaven!  He has a place just for you and me! The death of a loved one is hard.  We miss them.  We don't want to give them up.  But I am encouraged that I will see them again in eternity!  There's nothing the devil can do about that.  

I will leave you with one more verse:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance."

I will see you again!  It is so Awesome to know that when we die here on earth... "this is not where it ends!" Today's post was inspired by the recent loss of my grandma.  The video below is a tribute song to her. 

Blessings!
~ S*

Today is the Day...

The Lord has made!  I choose to rejoice and be glad in it!

Hello everyone, in "Jesus Calling" this month the theme seems to be trusting God through trials or hard circumstances...

Today's entry said to thank God for my problems...  Whenever I get distracted with something hard, I should bring it to God with thanksgiving... 

I don't know about you, but that is not an easy pill to swallow...  I don't want to thank God for my problems... That just doesn't seem right.  God loves me.  He shouldn't want me to have problems, so why should I thank Him for them?...  I don't truly mean it, if I thank Him for a problem... Cause I'm obviously not happy that I have the problem... Right?!

Well, after a little bit of family discussion, this is my new way of thinking...  I am going to thank God for the opportunity(s) that the problem is bringing into my life.  For instance, someone makes you mad/upset and talks down to you like you don't have feelings...  I can thank God for the new opportunity to walk in love, the opportunity to be humble, and thank Him for being here for me because I cannot handle this on my own.  Problems, trials, etc... they all bring us out of our comfort zone.  Out of our little bubble of "self".  In order to survive we need to trust in God and lean on Him more.  This keeps us grounded.  We need things like this so that we don't become like the men at the Tower of Babel(Genesis 11:1-9).  They felt like they were as great as God because everything was going so well for them, they were united, no one could stop them...  We don't want to be like that... Look where it got them! 

Staying grounded and understanding that we couldn't do anything without God's help is a very important life lesson.  Pride goes before a fall(Proverbs 16:18)...

So even-though I want to quit, or throw something back in someone's face, I'm not going to.  God told us that the greatest (and really the only commandment) is to LOVE. I'm trying hard to love others, and to treat them the way I want to be treated.  What are you doing?  Are you looking at things from their perspective? Or yours?  Is it all about me, me, me?  Or am I willing to sacrifice my time and energy for someone else?  I'm not just talking to you here, I am talking to myself too.  I have a lot to learn and apply to my life, but I am going to continue to ask God for wisdom on how to grow in His LOVE.  What are you going to do???

Blessings!
~ S*

What Has God Been Teaching You Lately?

I know it has been forever since I have posted, but I was writing a letter to a friend about the blessing God has been in my life... And I thought I would share part of it with you!

My family started this Bible study thing, where we all read a chapter of a book on our own, then watch a pastor talk about it, and then we discuss it with a study guide that is at the end of each chapter.  Last night one of the questions was what do you need to improve on... I said prayer...  I don't feel like I'm good at praying, or that I do it enough.  I have been working on trusting God no matter what, and my biggest thoughts right now are about not forgetting God in my everyday activities.  I want to keep Him as a main focus 24/7... A specific verse stuck out to me the other night when I was reading "Jesus Calling"... I even wrote about it in my letter to my future husband that night...  It was a verse I've heard hundreds of times, and I even know a song that has the verse in it. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)  For some reason that just struck a cord with me.  I have never really thought about what that verse meant before.  But this time I interpreted it this way:

God's mercies are new every day.  His grace is sufficient for me.  Even when I mess up He still loves me!  Even if I'm not adequate He still loves me.  No matter what, my name is written in the Lamb's book of Life!  I am "in Christ Jesus".  I am not going to be condemned.  Jesus broke the power of sin and death when He died on the cross(Romans 8:2)!  I don't have to be afraid that He is going to punish me somehow, or that something bad is going to happen because I have been redeemed from the curse of the law. 'Cause Jesus became the curse for us! "Cursed is any man who hangs on a tree." (Galatians 3:13) Jesus did that for me! I don't have to suffer now, no matter how much I deserve to, I DON'T HAVE TO! Isn't that Awesome!?!

Something HUGE is going to happen in my life in the next ten days!  I have been praying about it a ton, and I just want to be ready for it.  I want to be ready the way God wants me to be ready.  I want to be selfless.  That is something I am trying to work on here lately.  Being selfless.  The two greatest commandments in the Bible were the same thing: LOVE.  If you love God, you'll love other people.  If you love people, you will be a selfless person.  It's that simple...but it is also that complicated!  It is so much easier to say that, than it is to do it!  Especially when an extremely rude and grumpy customer yells at you and tells you to "FIX IT" when they don't even know what they are talking about... But I am supposed to love that person anyways!?!  What!?!  If I think about it, that is what God does with me every day! I mess up, I get mad, I want to punch the wall, I don't pray, I get frustrated, and the list goes on and on...  But God Loves me anyway... With no condemnation...  Isn't our God just the most Awesome and romantic person ever?  Why do I need an earthly husband when I have Him?  The truth is... I don't... (Don't get me wrong here, I still really want an earthly husband!)  But that isn't what's most important.  GOD is!

I love what she said in her letter to me, "I'm getting an ever-growing urgency in seeking His plans and claiming His victory-- not just for myself, but for... everyone around me."  I want that urgency too.  Bottom line, I want to do God's will over my own... Even if that means getting out of my comfort zone, which, believe me... I do NOT like to do!  :) God has just been so real/present to me lately.  It has been really cool.  I am the happiest when I am talking about what God is doing in my life; when I am talking about what I am learning from Him.  Like typing this message right now! :)  It just makes me so happy when I can "tell of the works of the Lord!" (Psalm 118:17) A couple weeks ago, at church, we were singing for praise and worship, and at the second song... The anointing just hit me!  I was shaking/trembling all over through out three songs!  When we got home my dad said, "Yeah, I could tell something was going on with you."  And something else you need to understand about this particular Saturday night... We have been out of the sanctuary the last three weeks because of maintenance, and the praise and worship hasn't been an "free and easy" for us (as the worship team).  We have had to do it without a piano(normally the main instrument)! It has been all acoustic guitars, and very interesting.  So the fact that I felt the anointing during a service where that was all going on!!!  Well, that was even more Awesome!



What has God been doing in your life lately?  What has He been teaching you?  I would love to hear about it!  Please leave a comment below sharing the blessings God has bestowed on your life!


Blessings! 
~ S*

Haunted by Fear?

 

Have you ever been to a haunted house, spooky night at a theme park, or a horror film? Why did you go? Do you enjoy being terrorized? Did you get pressured into going because all your friends went? Did you regret it? Or did you stand against the peer pressures and stay home, or go to see "The Wilds" with your little siblings instead?

Why do people want to do things or go places that will make them afraid? Fear is not of God. The Bible says, "God hasn't given you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, power, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) Why would you want to expose yourself (or others) to things that will make them afraid?

Fear is not of God, so let's avoid things that will make us afraid...

Please check out these verses on fear:

Psalms 56:11

Psalms 91

Proverbs 3:24

Isaiah 12:2

Philippians 4:4-8

James 4:7

These verses have helped me through a lot when it has come to battling fear.  We do not have to live in fear.  God has sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us so that we may be His children forever.  Children of God have no need to fear: "What can man do to me? The Lord is with me; He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies!" (Psalm 118:6-7)

What verses do you use when battling fear?  What other tactics have you come up with to defeat the devil?

I have found that praising God is a great way to get the devil to leave you alone.  Every time you think of that thing that scares you, or every time you think about that sickness or disease in your body, give thanks and praise to God for what He has done for you.  He is our Healer; He hasn't given us a spirit of fear!  We don't have to live with these things, for God has sent the ultimate Redeemer, Jesus Christ!  Let's choose not to live in fear anymore!!

Blessings!

~ S*