Never Noticed This Before

I think most of us remember this story but how many knew that it was foretold in the Old Testament?

Mark 4:35-41(NKJV)

35On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 

36Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 

37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 

38But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 

40But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How£ is it that you have no faith?” 

41And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

It's one of these stories I remember from way back in children's Sunday School.  I just had never noticed before that it was a fulfillment of prophecy.  Take a look.

Psalms 89:8-9(NKJV)

8    O Lord God of hosts,     Who is mighty like You, O Lord?     Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

9    You rule the raging of the sea;     When its waves rise, You still them.

Pretty cool!

I thought they might stone me! :)

I remember doing a Bible study on Revelation one time.  After reading the following passage I made the off hand comment that if that was really what Heaven is like it sounds pretty boring.  From the looks I got I thought they might stone me.  :)
 

Revelation 4:6-11(NKJV)

6Before the throne there  £was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 

7The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 

8The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:      “Holy,£ holy, holy,     Lord God Almighty,     Who was and is and is to come!”

9Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 

10the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

11    “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.”

So let me see if I have this right.  The creatures say their thing 24/7, they never take a break.  When the elders hear the creatures the elders then fall to the floor worshipping and saying their thing.  So it is basically stand up, sit down 24/7. 

So here is my question.  How the heck does anything ever get done in Heaven?  :)

Sounds Christian But…..

Not sure if I have written about this before or not.  This is one of those things that bugs me.  On Facebook we often see memes that sound "Christian" but when you examine them they aren't. 

On of those goes something like this.  "If you are using the Bible to hurt people you are using it wrong."  The person who posts it a lot of times it trying to deflect some criticism of theirs or others behavior.  Their belief being that if you are correcting someone then you are hurting their feelings and that isn't very loving and God is all about love don't you know?

Take a look at this Scripture.

Revelation 3:19-20(NKJV)

19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 

20Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 

Here we have Jesus himself saying that all of those He loves he also rebukes and chastens.  Scripture tells us that God's Word is there to guide us and discipline us.  Few people like to be disciplined and it usually hurts their feelings, but to call that unChristian just isn't true. 

To Him Who Overcomes

Now this is interesting.  Never caught this nuance before.  I am reading Revelation, one of the most cryptic books of the Bible in my opinion.  You have Jesus revealing a vision or prophecy to the Apostle John. 

Here is what I never noticed before.  Look at what is highlighted. 

Revelation 2:7(NKJV)

7“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Revelation 2:11(NKJV)

11“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Revelation 2:17(NKJV)

17“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Revelation 2:26(NKJV)

26And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—

What caught my eye about that was the word overcome.  Overcome is a verb.  It caught my eye for a couple of reasons.  First, here we have Scripture telling us in general that people who are overcomers are rewarded and I think we can safely conclude from this that people who give up aren't rewarded. 
 

More importantly though is here we have Jesus describing our salvation as something admirable that we do.  Our salvation would be impossible without Jesus but Jesus seems to be pointing out that our salvation would be equally impossible without us making a decision and asking Jesus to come into our lives.  He will never force it on us.  It's that whole free will thing.

But what exactly does overcome mean?

overcome

1. to get the better of in a struggle or conflict; conquer; defeat:

to overcome the enemy.

2.  to prevail over (opposition, a debility, temptations, etc.); surmount:

to overcome one's weaknesses.

3.  to overpower or overwhelm in body or mind, as does liquor, a drug, exertion, or emotion:

I was overcome with grief.

4.  Archaic. to overspread or overrun.

verb (used without object), overcame, overcome, overcoming.

5.  to gain the victory; win; conquer:

a plan to overcome by any means possible.

Pasted from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/overcome>

Why would accepting Jesus be described as overcoming?  Isn't that a bit of a stretch?  I mean all you have to do is ask.  While that is true I would suggest that many people encounter a lot of opposition before they accept Christ.  Look at definition number one.  Overcoming the enemy.  Doesn't that say it all?  When you ask Jesus into your life you are defeating or overcoming Satan.  That's pretty awesome. 

Have you asked Jesus into your life yet?  If not why not?  What is holding you back?  Isn't it time to become an overcomer?  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

One last thing.  I think that asking Jesus into your life is just the beginning of being an overcomer.  I believe that is an attitude we are supposed to live out for Jesus the rest of our lives!

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!

Not where you want to be in life?  Maybe it is time for a new song.

Psalms 96:1-3(NKJV)

1    Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!      Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2    Sing to the Lord, bless His name;     Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

3    Declare His glory among the nations,     His wonders among all peoples.

As I've written before, attitude seems to be very, very important to God.  And again, my belief is that a great attitude is an outward demonstration of our faith which we know is another really big deal to God. 

So here is something to just take note of now and then.  What is your communication with God like?  Is it continually "oh woe is me!"?  If so, that is not a demonstration of much faith.  Maybe it's time for a new song. 

"Oh come on!"  I can hear you saying.  "It can't be that simple!" 

Actually it can!  How do I know?  Because Scripture tells me so.  Romans 5:3-5 is one of my favorites (and one of my foundational verses).  Let's take a look. 

Romans 5:3-5(NKJV)

3And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

4and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Scripture tells us that we will go through struggles and Romans 5:3-5 tells us the purpose for the struggles and the progression the struggles are designed to produce.  What is the very first step?  Take joy in your tribulations!

Do you think "Oh woe is me" sounds like taking joy to God?

But how do you do that?  If you are in a spot in life that kind of sucks, how do you take joy in that?  I hate to sound simplistic but it is a decision.  God told you to do it so you decide to do it and you ask Gods to help you make that transition.

And then once you have asked His help in making that transition it's time for a new song.  What should that new song sound like?  Psalm 96:1-3 gives us some great guidance.

Bless His name, share the good news with others, constantly thank Him for all of the progress you have made so far and for all the progress you will continue to make.  Thank Him for all the blessings He has given you AND thank Him for whatever lesson He wants you to learn from the crap you are going through right now.  Doesn't that sound more like taking glory in your tribulations?

Now how do I know that will change your situation for the better?  From Scripture again.  Ever hear of the Parable of the Talents?  (Matthew 25:14-30 or Luke 19:12-28) Of course you have!  Those who do more with their talents and make forward progress so to speak, are rewarded with more opportunities and responsibilities. 

When God sees you make that change from Woe is Me to Thank You God!, I believe the principals of the Parable of the Talents comes into play and He will reward you with a step or to forward.  Will it get better right away and all at once?  Not necessarily.  God has to see that it is a heartfelt, true change and that takes time.  In fact things might even get a little worse before they get better just to see if you are really serious.

But it will get better.  Don't trust me on this, trust God!  He's the one who said it and I believe him.  Do you?  Then sing that new song! 

Rise Up!

 

Psalms 94:16(NKJV)

16    Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?      Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

Here is an interesting verse.  Well what if the evildoer is an authority figure who is over me such as an elected official?  Here is a verse from the New Testament. 
 

1 Peter 2:13-14(NKJV)

13Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, 

14or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. 

I've always found this NT verse to be strange.  Let's take it to the extreme.  It's telling us we should have supported Hitler, Stalin, Ghengas Khan, or any other number of evil rulers.  Knowing that we serve a just God, that just never made sense to me. 

Could it be that the OT verse above is a qualifier to the NT verse?  Or is that just a justification?  The OT verse clearly tells us that we should rise up against evildoers.  But wait, that would require a judgment wouldn't it?  Interesting questions aren't they?

This is why I continually say that the Bible is a book of balance.  It has to be taken in it's entirety.  And even then it isn't a slam dunk to understand.  God had a very specific reason for giving us the Holy Spirit.  To help provide discernment as we study and grow in God's word. 

How do you get the Holy Spirit?  By asking Jesus, God's son, to come into your life and lead you.  If you feel that little tug deep inside you than respond and have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

The questions that I asked above have answers.  The answers are in the Bible.  You just have to really want to find them.  Ever notice that people have different depths of understanding of the Bible?  I believe that is because those same people have different depths of study of God's word. 

God tells us in Scripture that we have to really dig to get to the truth.  A casual read will give you just that, a casual understanding.  So if you want to really have some fun, roll up your sleeves and dig.  I'm sure you will find that it was well worth it!

Just As Your Soul Prospers!

This is one of my very favorite verses of all time.  You want to know the secret to life?  Here it is.

3 John 1:2(NKJV)

2Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 

First of all notice that we have one of the apostles, John, praying for prosperity  for the followers of Jesus.  What is another word that describes prosperity?  Wealth.  What areas of their lives did John want them to prosper in?  ALL areas.  Notice it doesn't say in all areas except material things.  It doesn't say all things except monetary things.  It says ALL things.

But what is the catch?  And this is my favorite part.  It is predicated on how well your soul is prospering.  Soul prospering?  How exactly does that work? 

Here is my understanding of it.  I believe that your soul prospers as your relationship with God and Jesus grows and deepens.  The more you dig into Scripture to learn what God has in store for your life the more your soul prospers.  The more you are in prayer, in communication with God, the more your soul prospers.  And the more you take what you have learned from your relationship with God and Jesus, AND apply it to your everyday life, the more your soul prospers. 

A logical question might be why are there so many Christians that believe but aren't prospering.  In my opinion it is a disconnect between their spirituality and their everyday life.  They simply fail to implement what they have learned into their lives.       

Let me give just one example.  The Parable of the Talents.  How many of us have read it, nodded our heads and said "neat story"?  Now how many of us have actually sat down and plumbed the depths of the meaning of that parable and actually implemented the lesson into our lives.

I'll make you a guarantee.  If you study that one Parable and put the principles into practice in your own life, a year from now you will be more prosperous than you are today.  How can I make that guarantee?  Because it is based on a Biblical principle.

Would you not agree that if you are taking the lessons that you learn from God and actually applying them to your life, you are prospering spiritually more than a person who simply hears but doesn't implement?  Of course you would.    So by logical extension, you will be prospering more spiritually a year from now and that leads to you prospering in all areas, even as your soul prospers!

Now where does it all start?  It starts by accepting Jesus.  Have you done that yet?  If not, why not?  Do you feel that tug deep inside you?  That tug that you have fought for a long time?  Why not give in and surrender to the tug this time.  Have a talk with Jesus.  Let Him know where you want and need His help.  "Dear Jesus…."