Rv22

"The one who keeps the prophetic words of this book is blessed." Both James and John reiterate that the blessing is not in reading God's word, it is in doing what it says! Only two days left in 2013 and we have finished our reading of the New Testament. The goal should never be, "how much did we read" but rather, "how much did we obeyed".

My dad once said, "It is not how many times you go through the bible, it is how much the bible goes through you!" As we conclude 2013 and prepared for 2014, let's focus on reading AND obeying God's word.

It has been a blessed year. I pray your are encouraged.

Rv21

It is hard to imagine a place where nothing is vile or false. Heaven will be amazing! It seems as though our world keeps getting farther and farther from anything pure, holy and right. Almost everything is polluted and corrupt in some way. 

How long will it continue? How long will God's mercy be restrained? Our souls long for a place where everything is made new; a place where everything is right; where everyone can be trusted; where Jesus is the ruling King! I can't wait to live in this place. Wow.

Come Lord Jesus.

Rv20

The "Great White Throne of Judgement" will be the last judgement at the end of the age! Everyone will give an account of themselves to God! There will be much fear on that day.

Are you ready to face God? Have you prepared yourself by faith to stand in His presence? Will you be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, or will you seek to stand on your own good works? I choose Jesus! My hope is in His life, His righteousness, His works. He is the One who conquered sin and death for all who believe.

John says in his gospel, "I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life." I am putting all of my trust in Jesus. Live for HIm today.

Rv18

There is a day in which God's wrath will be poured out on this earth! Today is not that day. It's Christmas eve. A time to celebrate God's pouring out His love on earth in sending His Son Jesus! The day of wrath IS coming. It will be violent and gruesome for all those who have refused to call on the name of Jesus.

Celebrate Christmas today! Rejoice that God has saved us from His coming judgement.

Rv17

Merry Christmas Eve's Eve! Reading revelation makes me want to quickly turn my heart and mind to the Advent Blog! It is a must read. Check it out on at Cornerstonlife.com.

Rv16

When God pours out His judgement at the end of time it will be unlike anything this earth has ever seen! And STILL people will blaspheme God rather than repent! Unbelievable.

Our God is rich in mercy and abounding in grace. His love endures for generations. His mercies are new every morning and His kindness is evident to all. When His judgement comes it will be fierce.

I am grateful for Jesus' life, death and resurrection which saves us from God's judgement.

Rv15

The songs of heaven will be all about the greatness of God! We will sing, "Great and awe-inspiring are Your works, Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the Nations. Lord, who will not fear and glorify Your name? Because You alone are holy, for all the nations will come and worship before You because Your righteous acts have been revealed."

Practice worshiping with all your heart this Advent. He is coming. He has come.

Rv14

A day is coming when an angel will announce the eternal gospel to all the inhabitants of the earth. Until then, it is our job to make this announcement clear to everyone we know. The gospel is "good news" to all who embrace it by faith. It removes the sting of death and puts judgement in the past tense! It enables all of life to only be an introduction to eternity. There is nothing better than the gospel!

This is the season we celebrate christmas. The gospel becoming flesh and living among man. Jesus came so that we could personally experience christmas. Think about these things. Tell everyone who will listen.

Rv13

Who is the "antichrist"? Anyone who refuses to worship and acknowledge Jesus as God. In the midst of end time prophesy don't get distracted from the focus of all eternity. It is Jesus. Worship Him today. This beast of Revelation 13 will have his day (or 42 months), but we all know who the victor is and will be.

Celebrate Advent. Jesus has come for us. He will come again!

Rv12

This world is only a small part of all that is going on. To get captured by its daily realities is to miss the most important things! Focus your heart on something more eternal, more significant, more enduring.

Nothing gives us a clearer picture of the cosmic reality than Revelation. So much is going on that is beyond our ability to see and comprehend. The angelic realm is in a constant battle for the lives of people. That battle has raged since Adam and Eve and will continue until Jesus returns.

As we focus on Advent, let us draw near to Jesus and seek to keep the big picture in our hearts and minds.

Rv11

If you think you got it all figured out, read Rev. 11! Regardless of your thoughts, you have to say, "I really don't know what that is talking about". The more you read scholars, the more you will see they don't know for sure either. Really. Still it is good to study and search the scripture for its meaning and to discover helpful insight.

I personally love the worship song of the elders. Rather than thanking the "God who is, who was and is to come", they refer to God as the "one who is and was." The fact is, He now has come and begun to reign! Even if we don't understand the details of these verses, we can know that Jesus will return.

Continue on.

Rv10

The mysteries in Revelation will all become clear in time! God's agenda will be evident from the beginning to the end. When I read this chapter, and study what scholars have written, I am left still looking for that answer from God Himself. The mystery will be solved and we will all be caught up in worship.

Rv9

Two names given to Satan are Abaddon & Apollyon, which mean "destruction & destroyer". His intentions are never good and his desire is to harm every person who claims to be a "christian". 

Spiritual warfare is always raging for the lives of God's children. At the end of time there will be an increased intensity to the battle as we can see in this chapter. Don't be fooled. The battle rages today for your life! All of the writers of the New Testament have warned us to daily fight for our lives!

Fight the good fight today. It is the fight for faith and purity.

Rv8

God's judgement is as sure as His love! His love endures forever. His mercy delays His judgement, but His judgement is a sure as His love.

Often in conversation I seek to draw attention to how little we think about God. Most every decision I make has either myself or someone else as the focus of that decision. What if all my decisions were based on God's desires? What if I truly lived to please Him in every way in every day? How much would my life change?

In light of the certainty of God's judgement, we should live each moment to please Him. Easy to say. Easy to believe. Hard to live.

Rv6

Are we willing to stand for truth against poplar opinion? In our world today christians are dying for their faith! To stand for truth costs them their life. In our culture, "truth" is no longer in vogue. Truth to most is "whatever I think in the moment." If I feel strongly about something, it is true.

In this chapter we see martyrs who stood for truth. They were crying out for God's righteous judgment. And they will get it! Faith is rooted in the confidence that God's word is true. Faith is being able to stand for that truth at all times; especially when it is difficult. As our culture continues to race toward an absence of "truth", let us be among those who stand strong for it.

Be courageous today. Stand for truth.

Rv5

The worship in heaven will be AWESOME! It will be loud.  Over 100 million people singing with full voices! Along with every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea and everything in them! It will be amazing.

Today we worship in a piddly way compared to that! Nothing can compare. Nothing will ever compare. We can only get tastes of this kind of "all in" worship. We only experience brief moments of this kind of exaltation. Yet in those moments I have experienced, I am overwhelmed by God.

Jesus is the "slaughtered lamb" who made worship possible for sinful people like me. As we continue to celebrate Advent this month, let us fully enter in to the worship of Jesus every opportunity we get. He is worthy of our worship.

Rv4

Heaven is the picture of true worship! With God as the focus, everything and everyone is giving honor and glory to Him. The "creatures" there are only feasible in our imagination because nothing exists like this on earth. To be led in worship by angels and creatures created for that purpose will be amazing.

It makes me wonder what God thinks of my worship today. We too were created to worship God. It is also our primary purpose. Why is it so difficult? 

Choose to worship today.

troy

Rv3

If you are never rebuked or disciplined by God, you are not loved by Him. He promises to rebuke and discipline everyone He loves. His love for us requires that He challenges our wayward choices and calls us to follow Him. The only way to have relationship with God is to be daily committed to His ways and to be daily repentant from my own way.

Every morning I wake up with fresh ideas as to how to "do my own thing". A night's sleep, or even a nap, can reorient my world around my wants, desires and needs. My selfish heart constantly beats to draw me away from a life of service, submission and sacrifice. I am the one who contends with God for first place in my own heart.

In this chapter we see clearly God's daily invitation to believers like myself. He says, "Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me." Too often I hear His voice, yet refuse to open the door. I know what He is like. I know what He will call me to do. His desires are often not what I desire. Yet when I open the door, we have sweet fellowship.

Don't keep God on the outside today. Even if you know that to let Him in is to receive discipline and rebuke. It is the loving thing for Him to do. It demonstrates His love. Nothing could be more unloving than to let me continue in my own way. My way leads to self destruction.

Rv2

Anyone who has ears to hear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! Scary stuff! Self deception has always been and continues to be a tool Satan uses to draw people away from God and into sin. Unfortunately, even in the church individuals and even whole groups can get caught up in Satan's schemes.

In every case, the Spirit is calling individuals and churches to "repent" and do what they know is right. The fear of God's coming is to give us pause and cause us to walk in His ways. His justice is sure and He will execute righteousness among the nations. His mercy and grace are never grounds to walk in godless ways.

If I were to get a personal letter from God today, I wonder what it would say?