Revelation 19: The Rider on a White Horse

The Rider on a White Horse

Revelation 19:11-16 reveals the rider on the white horse who was understand as Jesus. These verses describe the clothes he wears and that he was followed by the armies of heaven. There is something written on the robe on his thigh that reads "King of kings and Lord of lords." If you look at the word King and Lord the word are capitalized and singular. The other words kings and lords are lowercase and plural. That further solidifies that Jesus is the ONE and not one of. The plurality and lower cased lettering displays less significance in authority to the real King and Lord. No matter what nation you rule or army you lead, Jesus stands taller.
 

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!

Revelation 18: Babylon Falls, Kings Weep

Babylon Falls, Kings Weep

This a probably a different Babylon in this chapter than the one mentioned in Chapter 17. The Babylon in Chapter 18 has some characteristics that are not contained within the Babylon of Chapter 18, such as great city, port city (coastal), habitation, marketplace, guilty of greed and self-indulgence and destroyed by sudden act of God (Dave Guzik). In verse 9 we read "and the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning." That means the leaders (not all necessarily will be kings) who were connected to her and benefiting from her (power, greed, ungodly things) will lose the influence and power they had with Babylon as it will fall. As I stated in yesterday's post, the Lamb wins again.

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!

Revelation 17: The Lamb Wins

The Lamb Wins

I may have mentioned this before, but in reading through the Book of Revelation it is easy to fear the end of days with all of the visions that are reported through the writing. But, the visions are not necessarily to be taken as the images that are represented. So, when you read  through chapter 17 and read of the prostitute and the beast and all of these different images, these more than likely are representations of ideas and events that have or have yet to take place. Regardless of the image and turmoil and tribulation, remember this as stated in Revelation 17:14 "They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." Jesus wins in the end. The power of Jesus, bestowed unto him by God will prevail over evil. On a small scale, look at being loving and how that can change your heart from being hateful toward someone. Love like Jesus. Overcoming temptation through the power of Jesus and receiving the self-control can keep you away from bad decisions. The Lamb wins.

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!

Friday Focus #22

God's Power is Bigger Than Your Biggest Problem

Do you know the story of David and Goliath? Not the claymation cartoon from the 1960s (as us old people may remember) but the boy who slay a giant that struck fear into the Israelites. There are some points to take home from 1 Samuel 17.These points were taken from a message by Pastor Kerry Shook from Woodlands Church (link at the end of the blog).

First, we you must attack the giant in your life. We do not do this with reckless abandon, but with God's power and direction (1 Samuel 17:45). How do we know what God wants from us? We must read His word. We must talk to Him. We also have to look at who we are and how we are designed in order to carry out the plans God has for us. David did not cower in fear or pretend like it wasn't there. He faced it head on. What is your biggest fear right now? Is it a relationship? Is it health? Money? Job? 

David's instinct after knocking Goliath down was to cut his head off (1 Samuel 17:51). He did not celebrate and pat himself on the back. He wanted to be rid of the Goliath and the fear he was causing in the battle. David didn't want the giant to only be knocked down, but wanted to be rid of the fear and problems Goliath caused. How can you cut off your giant's head? Are you spending too much money? Cut up the credit cards! Are you always getting drunk with your friends? Find new friends that can keep you accountable. There is something major in your life that is causing a problem that needs to be severed from your life. Extreme measures are needed for extreme problems.

David also had an expectation of more giants to come. Life has issues that will not always be the same thing over and over again. But what do we learn by doing the same thing over and over again. 1 Samuel 17:40 tells us that David selected 5 stones from the stream. Why 5 stones? We learn in 2 Samuel 21:15-22 that there were 4 more giants that were related to Goliath. David may have known this before hand which is why he could have selected 5 stones in stead of just one. He was preparing for what else may be around the corner. Once one giant is destroyed we must be ready to face more in the future.

If you would like to see the message from Kerry Shook on David and Goliath in a message called "Giant Killers" please click here.

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS!

Acts 25: Paul Before King Agrippa

Paul Before King Agrippa

The plot to kill Paul had not ceased. Festus knew that the Jews were still after Paul and told them to come with him and they could accuse Paul of whatever charges they had against him. Paul defended himself once again in verse 8 stating "Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense." Still not being defensive nor accusing them of anything, Paul stands his ground again, not giving up.

 

 

Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor and have Paul tried in front of Caesar (since Festus himself was new at his job and didn't free Paul who could not be charged with any wrong doing). Paul had the right to appeal to Caesar, which he did exercise since Festus would not free him. Paul has stayed strong while fighting for his good name in the Holy Spirit. Festus stood before King Agrippa and told why they were there in regard to Paul's charges. Agrippa agreed to hear Paul out himself the next day. If you read through the chapter there is no mention of complaining or whining or verbally attacking others who were in the wrong. This man's soul has been in tune with God. 

Saturday we will continue with Acts 26.

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS! 

Mark 15:16-20- Mocking Jesus

Mocking Jesus

While reading I thought to myself, "Is Jesus still mocked today?" The answer is yes and it is done often. But this is not something that is new. People who do not follow Christ and insult him and mock him have been around for over 2000 years.

In Mark 15:16-20 as Jesus was arrested it was customary for Pilate (the Roman governor of Judea) to release one prisoner back into the population. The choices were Barrabas and the was Jesus. Pilate had a feeling that the chief priests had Jesus arrested out of their envy. Instead the crowd chose "The King of the Jews." This was the name people used to mock Jesus as many did not believe in Jesus and hated him as he went against man's religious traditions in favor of God's will.

The crowd was adamant to have Jesus crucified (see verses 13-14). Kings during that day wore purple robes and a gilded wreath of leaves. Jesus was draped in a purple cloth rag and was given a crown of thorns in order to mock royalty of the time. The people shouted "Hail, King of the Jews" in mocking efforts of praising Caesar. They gave him reed in place of scepter and instead of kissing him out of respect as they would do a king, the bowed on their knees and spat on him.

Today, there are parades and contests that are held where people dress up as Jesus and wear the same garb that he was dressed on when he was mocked before he was hung on the cross. There was a parade held to compare the struggle for rights of gay people to what Christ physically went through. The contest is called "Hunky Jesus" and judges which person is the best looking and actually dressed like Jesus. These are not done out of respect for Christ and him dying for our sins, but in order to make fun and have fun at the expense of our Lord and Savior. Galations 6:7 says "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." People need to remember that.

PLEASE SEE THE LOGOS AND LINKS BELOW TO SHARE THIS VIA EMAIL, TWITTER, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, AND GOOGLE PLUS. THANKS.