
Wednesday 11/01 James 1
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - James: "Growing up with Jesus was tough...mom and dad were always talking about His special birth and His special calling.. He was a good Big brother, but it's hard to live up to that kind of standard! Then as an adult He started saying crazy things, bringing shame on the family.. I didn't believe His claims, not for a minute (Jn 7:5)...but then, after He had been executed, I saw Him! Alive! My brother who was dead is now alive (1Cor15:7)! Heh heh, I sure changed my tune... I believe in Him now!"
Jesus' half-brother James, in chapter 1, begins this VERY practical letter with some very practical practices to practice...patience, faith, wisdom, "swift to hear" and "slow to speak", long-suffering, self-control, and to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only."
See you tomorrow at James 2.
Thursday 11/02 James 2 : 14-26
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - James 2:14-26...
"Faith without works is dead!" (James)
"It is as impossible to separate works from faith as it is to separate burning and shining from fire." (Martin Luther)
"The child of God works not FOR life, but FROM life; he does not work TO BE saved, he works BECAUSE he is saved." (Charles Spurgeon)
In other words, "Godly faith results in godly works...no works, no God."
See you at James 3!
Friday 11/03 James 3
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - James 3 confronts the South's joking approval of saying, "Bless his heart," so we can gossip and criticize with impunity, lol! Verses 2-12 are all about carefully choosing our words, keeping our "opinions" to ourselves, and controlling the small but powerful tongue which has potential for deadly evil...both for it's owner and it's object of criticism! I stand convicted, corrected and challenged before God's Word...how many times I "run my mouth" when I should stay quiet...how many times criticism rather than encouragement flies from my tongue...gossip clothed as concern...the list goes on and on...how bout you, my friends? And to make matters worse, I fit under the warning of verse 1! I have never knowingly misinterpreted God's Word, but I've sure misrepresented His Will and Working in my own life, thus misleading others..."the preacher does it"..."the pastor said it"...
"Lord God, I'm sorry...forgive me and take control of my tongue...PLEASE!"
See you Monday at James 4.
Monday 11/06 James 4
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - James 4 begins with personal pride and conflict within and with others, and the resulting unanswered prayers and pleasures (1-5)... then gives the solution to our dilemma in verses 6-10. We're told in verse 6, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble"....so, lose the pride and solve the problem! "Submit to God...resist the devil...draw near to God...cleanse your (sinning) hands...purify your (double-minded) hearts...humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and HE WILL LIFT you UP!"
Pretty simple and straightforward, aye?
See you tomorrow for the wrap up of James at chapter 5.
Wednesday 11/08 1 Peter 1
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Peter addressed his first letter, not to a specific local church, but to all the believers in a particular area, and down through the ages to believers such as you and I. 1 Peter 1 begins with the introduction to "the pilgrims of the Dispersion in (part of modern day Turkey), elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." Wow, so much to "unpack" just in the intro, but what I want us to see is how Peter's "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" practical warnings and challenges apply to us...you and me (or is it "I"?)...today....in our lives and circumstances... Christ followers following Christ while scattered throughout the world! Peter, true to form, is all about the "doing" and not just the talking, although he does a fair job of some "fine talking," with some BIG words filled with BIG meaning and practical application!
See you at 1 Peter 2.
Thursday 11/09 1 Peter 2
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1 Peter 2...verses 1&2 give us the formula for growth in The Faith...put out the "world" and put in the Word! Now, NOT "laying aside ALL malice, ALL deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and ALL evil speaking"...and NOT "desiring the pure milk of the word" doesn't mean, necessarily, that you're not truly saved, but it definitely means, necessarily, you're backslidden and out of God's Will for your life...and you shore ain't growing up in maturity...something for us to think about...and DO something about...huh?!
See you tomorrow at 1 Peter 3.
Friday 11/10 1 Peter 3
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1 Peter 3 continues chapter 2's topic of living out our faith submissively to others under the authority of God... citizens to government, slaves to masters, wives to husbands, believers to believers, all following the example of Christ's suffering and submission for our benefit and under the authority of the Father..."pretty big shoes (or sandals) to fill" and the way to right relations with God and Man!
1 Peter 4 is next...see you Monday!
Monday 11/13 1 Peter 4
"God's Word for me in 2023" from Pastor David - Good Monday morning! Join me at 1 Peter 4. Since Jesus suffered (and died) for us, to bring us to God (3:18), we too should be willing, rather, to rejoice in our suffering in His Name and for His sake! "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind... Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."
See you tomorrow at 1 Peter 5.
Tuesday 11/14 1 Peter 5
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1 Peter 5 displays a strain of responsibility which the world doesn't practice or understand...it starts with leaders' call to properly, graciously, and unselfishly care for and lead their people...then the younger generation respectfully submitting the older, while everyone humbly submitting to one another, including the leaders to God and the people... the people to God, the leaders, and to one another in order to be prepared for the onslaught of Satan attacking God's people!...and all this connects back to chapter 4's call to and explanation of our serving and suffering for God's glory and Jesus' sake.
"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
See you tomorrow at 2 Peter 1.
Wednesday 11/15 2 Peter 1
"God's Word for me in 2023" - with Pastor David - 2 Peter 1. Most people are interested in cars and trucks... especially "hot rods" or older vehicles, restored or not! With "fixed up vehicles, there's various levels of "perfection." Some are "ten-footers" or "twenty-footers," meaning if you get any closer, you can see the "imperfections," whereas you can only truly appreciate others "up close and personal," seeing all the attention to detail and nearly "perfect" finished product. That's what Peter speaks of here...that in order to get the full benefit of God's Word, to truly appreciate the Work of Christ in our lives, we MUST get "up close and personal" with God's Word, His Work, His Will, and His Worship! Peter reminds us of God's PERFECT Provision for us in Jesus, granting to us eternal life, everlasting life, abundant life, His life ...plus EVERYTHING needed to live out the Life He has called and created us to!... ALL and EVERYTHING
is available to us...we must get "up close and personal" with our Savior God to discover and make use and make sense of it all!
See you tomorrow at 2 Peter 2.
Thursday 11/16 2 Peter 2
" God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Wow! 2 Peter 2 is loud and clear! Beware of false teachers and their hell-originated teachings...AND be IN The Word of God for your defensive AND offensive weapons! Peter covers every category of false teachers from those with evil intent to those who are blinded themselves, but the results and our recourse are the same...they are leading people AWAY from Truth and we are to reveal their deception and lead people TO the Truth found ONLY in relation to God's Son and God's Word! Here's a "false teachers identification" list from David Jeremiah.
See you tomorrow at 2 Peter 3Wow! 2 Peter 2 is loud and clear! Beware of false teachers and their hell-originated teachings...AND be IN The Word of God for your defensive AND offensive weapons! Peter covers every category of false teachers from those with evil intent to those who are blinded themselves, but the results and our recourse are the same...they are leading people AWAY from Truth and we are to reveal their deception and lead people TO the Truth found ONLY in relation to God's Son and God's Word! Here's a "false teachers identification" list from David Jeremiah.
Friday 11/17 2 Peter 3
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - "I want what I want, and I want it right now!" Human impatience may sometimes cause us to doubt God's program ..."where is the promise of His coming?" (3:4). God reminds us, through Peter, that His "ways are not our ways," and that He, not being bound by time, is on a far different "schedule" than we can imagine or understand..."but, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Just as it took longer, much longer than anticipated, for Christ to come the the first time (+/- 4,000 years!), we are to be content and confident in in His coming in His time, and to be busily taking advantage of this "extended" opportunity of God's Grace to bring lost souls through Jesus before the allotted time is spent! "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation!"
See you Monday at 1 John 1
Monday 11/20 1 John 1
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - "Joy to the world the Lord has come!" John makes it clear from the "git go" in his first letter that Jesus IS exactly who He claims, that the only Way to the Father is through Jesus, and that John, himself, who knew Jesus personally and physically, also KNOWS Him deeper and more intimately by faith, and wants to pass along his "knowledge"...."And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
John makes the Believer's life simple: to live in joy, walk with Jesus, in the Light, in the Faith, readily confessing to God when you fail, and "keep walking!" Not complicated, huh?! But we Christ followers often have so much trouble doing it...KEEP TRUSTING, KEEP FOLLOWING, KEEP CONFESSING, KEEP GROWING, KEEP WALKING...JOYFULLY!
See you tomorrow at 1 John 2.
Tuesday 11/21 1 John 2
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1 John 2:3&5 completes yesterday's reading in that those who truly belong to Christ WILL habitually live in the Light and not in the darkness! And if and when we do slip over into sin, we have the Advocate, Jesus who forgives us and restores us!
See you at 1 John 3!
Wednesday 11/22 1 John 3
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1John 3.
"He looks like his daddy!" "She looks so much like her momma!" There is this family resemblance that we see in people...they "favor" their parents and/or other family to varying degree in physical appearance, thought processes, actions, propensities....we generally "take after" our people in some way or another. 1 John 2 wraps up and moves into chapter 3 with this very concept ..that we, as children of God, ought to look and think and act and move like our Heavenly Father! This transition in John's original "chapterless" and "verseless" very personal letter, leads us into a discussion of "love" led by the "Disciple of Love".. "he whom Jesus loved"... John! "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"...because the Father has loved us with His great love, and has given us His great love with which to love Him and others, we ought
to love God and others with God's great love!....we ought to "look just like our Daddy!"
"My little children (beloved of God), let us not love in word or tongue, but in DEED and in TRUTH. And by this we know that we are OF the Truth, and shall assure our hearts (that He abides in us and us in Him) before Him (our Father)."
See you tomorrow for Thanksgiving Morning at 1 John 4.
Thursday 11/22 1 John 4
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Happy Thanksgiving friends! I'm thankful for the Truth of God's Word! Through the Word of God, given to us, we can hear the voice of God leading us, through His Spirit, to His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ! We will be drawn to Him by God Himself or we would never find Him....hear God speaking to us in 1 John 3:24-4:3 through the Apostle John:
"Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God."
I'm thankful that because He abides in me and i in Him, I now have the great love of God IN me, and the privilege of sharing it with others...my family, my friends, complete strangers...those who are saved and those who are lost...
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
See you tomorrow at 1 John 5.
Friday 11/24 1 John 5
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 1 John 5. Thanksgiving Day is done and we know "Christmas time's a comin'!", and we know that Christmas isn't about lights and gifts and tinsel and trees... it's not even ultimately about the fact that a baby was born 2,000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem...the point of Christmas, the PROOF of Christmas is found in just Who that manger baby was and is! In the words of God Himself, John reminds us of WHO Jesus IS and who we are IN Him by grace through faith! What we believe, how we live, how and whom we love, how we grow spiritually, and how we sin (am i comfortable with and in my sin, or am I convicted when i sin, and I strive to NOT sin?)....these are all sure signs of whether we belong to Him or not! Those who have God's love in them love others...those who believe God's Word live it out, obeying His commands...those who belong to Him flee from sin...those who belong to Him "grow
up" in His Word and Will and Way!
See you tomorrow at John's very brief second letter.
Monday 11/27 2 John
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - 2 John is more of a short note than a letter...kind of like jotted down on a scrap of paper or a napkin kind of note, lol! After the greeting, John mentions two important points briefly...hold on to the TRUE Faith in the TRUE Jesus, and watch out for false teachers...in fact, don't even associate with them! John must have gotten word of something going on in a local church or very influential family (likely the former), and sent a concise warning straightaway!
See you tomorrow at 3 John...another "note on a scrap of paper"...!
Wednesday 11/29 Jude
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Friends, we live in a day where sexual perversions of all types are celebrated and encouraged, disregarding God's obvious contempt for these perversions! If anyone has doubts about God's stance on man's deviation from God's standard of one man and one woman for life sexuality, Jude gives ample proof in a very unique way...by including the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah for sexual perversion in the same grouping as two of the most momentous accounts in scripture: the destruction of Egypt for Israel's 400 year captivity, and the fall of satan and his
angelic followers... pretty big stuff, friends! How do we live righteously in a world such as ours? This is when the "love the person, hate the sin" comes in to play.
See you tomorrow at Revelation 1.
Thursday 11/30 Revelation 1
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - All the fear of the Revelation is misplaced and all the supposed mystery is misconstrued as "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" is the One book of all in the Bible focused on clarity and explanation! In the opening words of the first chapter we are told (if we rightly define the words) that the express purpose of this letter is to "reveal, disclose or uncover"...REVEAL Jesus Christ! With such a purpose it's no wonder the reader and hearer of The Revelation is promised God's blessings on them for simply hearing and/or reading it's words! The purpose and promotion of this book is why we must follow the literal and "plain sense" method of understanding this precious book...some great preacher one said, "if the plain sense of scripture makes sense, then look for no other." The problem lies not with God's ability to tell us plainly but in our ability to simply accept that plain sense which God has plainly shared!
See you tomorrow at Revelation 2.
Friday 12/01 Revelation 2
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - The vision, in chapter 1, of Christ walking among the churches, present IN them and WITH them, leads into His personal letters to seven very real, vert literal churches. Here, in Revelation 2, letters to the "lost your first love" church at Ephesus, the much persecuted church at Smyrna, the faithful but false teaching compromised church at Pergamos, and the morally corrupt yet filled with good works church at Thyatira. Local churches of 2,000 years ago with issues and accomplishments which sound familiar to our 2023 church-going ears, huh?! But never forget that Jesus is present with us and He has us in His hand!
See you Monday at Revelation 3.
Monday 12/04 Revelation 3
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Good Monday morning! Revelation 3 continues the work of chapter 2...sharing in His letters to seven local churches, His presence and power and provision and purpose in and through them, and us, some 2,000 years later! The letters continue with the reputable in appearance but actually dead church at Sardis, the faithful yet self-reliant church at Philadelphia, and the superficial, "fence-straddling" church at Laodicea...perhaps the most applicable letter to the average modern-day "Christian" church. John Stott shares, "It describes vividly the respectable, sentimental, nominal, skin - deep religiosity which is so widespread among us today. Our Christianity is flabby and anemic. We appear to have taken a lukewarm bath of religion."
Notice how this section concludes: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent... to him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
See you tomorrow at chapter 4.
Tuesday 12/05 Revelation 4
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 4. So the plain reading of plain scriptures tell us that John began this "revelation encounter" while standing on planet Earth (1:9), and then, in chapter 4, his location is changed and he finds himself in Heaven! Many arguments have ensued through the centuries over the details of this "movement" and just exactly "what" it all means, but there is no debate over the amazingly beautiful worship scene we read of! In fact, go back and read Revelation 4 again, from the viewpoint of God's worthiness and our worship of He Who is High and Holy!
See you tomorrow at Revelation 5.
Wednesday 12/06 Revelation 5
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - "It's hopeless! All is lost!" So it would seem as Revelation 5 opens...no one worthy to open the scroll...no one powerful enough to vanquish the enemy and right the wrongs...then we read verse 5: "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tride of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and loose it's seven seals." One was found!... in fact, the ONLY One who COULD be the One stepped forward, and in authority and power took the scroll...and worship for the Lamb burst forth in the Throne Room of God's Heaven!
Revelation 6 for Thursday.
Thursday 12/07 Revelation 6
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 6 moves us from worship to wrath as the Lamb begins to open the seals on the scroll and God begins to "reclaim" His property and People. The opening of the first four seals (a world conquer, a world war, a world famine, and worldwide death) leads to the fifth seal (viciously murdered and martyred tribulation saints), to which Almighty God responds with the judgement of seal number 6! "The great day of His wrath has come (begun), who (of His enemies) shall be able to stand?"
See you Friday at Rev 7.
Friday 12/08 Revelation 7
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - The Bible clearly teaches that those who physically die without Christ are eternally lost..no second chance. Here, in Revelation 7, we have a group of people, "a great multitude which no one could number," who have come to faith in Christ DURING the Great Tribulation... perhaps the greatest single soul harvest in history, which is only fitting when we consider our God and Savior who "is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." Some believe these are those who had never heard the Gospel before, while some believe a person's first and only chance isn't over as long as physical life continues...either way, each man, woman, boy or girl, Jew or gentile, MUST be saved the same and only way..."confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, (and) you will be saved."
See you Monday at Rev 8.
Monday 12/11 Revelation 8
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Good Monday morning friends! Last week, in chapter 6, we saw 6 of the 7 seals opened on the title deed scroll...in Revelation 8, the seventh seal is opened. The 7th seal is of a different nature than the previous six, as rather than judgement, it brings a "pause" as well as the subsequent seven separate judgements delivered by seven angels armed with trumpets (vs 2&6). One third of all vegetation, oceans, rivers, and astrological bodies are destroyed or dimmed, along with the death of many people, and creatures!
Ladies and men, even if you see all this in a spiritualized fulfillment it ought to drive you to your knees before our high and holy God before it's too late! However you read it, the Revelation reminds us that there's a Day of justice and judgement coming...we had best be ready to meet our Savior, and must be about the work of getting others ready to meet Him as well!
Revelation 9 for Tuesday.
Tuesday 12/12 Revelation 9
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 9 continues the "woes" or "plagues" or "judgements" initiated by the sounding of the 7 trumpets. "Then the fifth angel sounded" (his trumpet), resulting in the release of a supernatural hoard of supernatural locusts for the express purpose of torturing (for five months duration) all of humanity "who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads" (The 144,000 Jewish evangelists from chapter 7, along with anyone they have led to salvation in Christ)....the torture is so severe, people will seek death, but cannot find it! Then a third of mankind will be killed by a great "army of horsemen" numbering 200,000,000!... but those who are not killed, refuse to repent of their wickedness!
Remember friends, The Revelation is given to uncover and reveal the FULL picture of Jesus the Christ, and thus "drive" us to the urgent work of bringing the lost to Christ before it's too late!
See you tomorrow at Revelation 10 for Wednesday.
Wednesday 12/13 Revelation 10
"God's Word for me in 2022" with Pastor David - All of Revelation 10 and through verse 14 of chapter 11 forms a "pause" in the releasing of justice and judgement upon planet Earth and her remaining occupants...this "intermission" serves as a reminder to us that even in the midst of God's righteous judgement , His mercy still shines through! The scene, in 10:8-11, of John eating the "Little Book," is a terrific yet terrible picture of the bittersweet work of proclaiming God's Truth...the joyful privilege of taking in all the Word possible so you can rightly divide and correctly proclaim the wonder and power of God's Truth, while acknowledging a certain sadness in knowing that many will reject the message God sends!...sweet yet bitter...
See you Thursday at Rev 11.
Thursday 12/14 Revelation 11
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 11. Who are the two witnesses? Are they real men? Are they Moses and Elijah returned? Shrouded in mystery these two suddenly appear in the End Times account, complete their task, and then go back "home!" Notice until their job is done, they are invincible...you realize that the same is true for us!?...not as dramatic perhaps as their immunity, but just as true! We also see how the lost world really feels about God's workers, as they kill the two witnesses, desecrate their bodies and have a "holiday" celebrating their deaths...much like how the ungodly antichrist world hates us because it hated Him first! But as always, God has the upper hand and gets the world's attention, and the "last laugh!"
See you Friday for Revelation 12.
Friday 12/15 Revelation 12
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - It's Friday folks!...and time for Revelation 12...a condensed and concise history and prophecy of satan, Israel, and God's purpose in and protection of His People! Chosen Israel, her Son (Jesus), satan's revolt and subsequent removal, God's Plan and power over all, the wickedness established on earth, the perseverance and persecution of Christ-witnesses, antisemitism in history and to come, and God's power and preservation in action....not all necessarily in chronological order perhaps, but a very clear overview from start to finish, with a couple of references to specific time frames recorded earlier by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 9:27 here shown 12:14: "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent."
(A "time" + "times" + "half a time" = 3 1/2 "times" ....in Daniel, a "week" equals 7 "days" divided in half = 3 1/2 "days"...a connection? Yup, i think so!) (Also, 12:6...1,260 days equal 3 1/2 years on Jewish calendar)
See you Monday at Revelation 13
Tuesday 12/19 Revelation 14
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 14 is a series of "previews" of the culmination of things made "right" as satan's designs are crushed and God's Program accomplished. First, a recap of the 144,000 sealed evangelists we "met" back in chapter 7, then we are told, not necessarily in chronological order, of GOD's chosen ones being saved, the fall and destruction of wicked-beyond-belief "Babylon," the final fate of those who follow the "beast" and receive his mark, a picture of Christ reaping a harvest of souls for Himself, and finally, the final battle and destruction of rebellious humanity. Chapter 14 ultimately gives us what we long for... Justice!
See you Wed at Revelation 15.
Wednesday 12/20 Revelation 15
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 15 serves as the "prequel" to the full and righteous wrath of God to be served up in the next few chapters...by our reckoning, for the more than 6,000 years of human history mankind has been "doing it MY way," living in direct rebellion of the God of the Universe, spurning His love, and ultimately receiving His just wrath which has been "piling up" behind the"wall" of His great Mercy... building and growing until the time of its release! After centuries upon centuries of rejecting God's offered Cup of Salvation, unrepentant mankind must now drink the vials or bowls of His Wrath!
In tomorrow's Revelation 16, the wait is over and with no more reprieve, the "Hammer falls!"
Thursday 12/21 Revelation 16
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Reading Revelation 16 reminds me of Moses, Pharaoh, and the Plagues on Egypt back in Exodus...except here, judgement falls on the entire earth and all living things, and THIS judgement is full and complete...even Pharaoh's reaction is mimicked by those on the receiving end of God's wrath..."and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give him glory." That same spirit of rebellion is alive today in the lost, and in you and me...only the Spirit of God living in us as believers is able to overcome it, and that's why it is imperative AND urgent that we preach and teach Jesus, and Him crucified, resurrected, and coming again!
See you tomorrow to wrap up the week with Revelation 17.
Friday 12/22 Revelation 17
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - It's Friday...and Revelation 17! John sees this great mysterious vision, then an angel "explains" it to John which seems to not clarify much at all, lol! Bottom line: a one-world religion and a one-world government, which mankind has been striving for since Genesis 11, are finally attained...this is a condensed picture of their rise and fall! Even today, world political leaders, billionaires, religious leaders are working towards this goal and we saw a hint in 2020's "pandemic" just how much sway they have over the world's populations already. The thing is, while they are "spinning their webs" like scurvy little spiders, God has already crushed them and pulled down their webs...they are finished before they get full control... Praise God Almighty on His throne of Righteousness and Justice!
See you Monday at Revelation 18...
Monday 12/25 Revelation 18
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - It's Merry CHRISTmas Day AND Monday! Revelation 18 reminds us that this satan-run world system under which humanity groans WILL NOT stand! The "stuff and things" humanity so highly values...the riches we strive to attain...the positions and privilege and power...all gone..."for in one hour she is made desolate." Christmas is not just about spiritual salvation (as amazing and wonderful THAT is), but also the physical...to ALL that Christ has created He will bring justice...to those who believe on Him, everlasting life with Him, ultimately, in a new Heavens and a new Earth...for those who reject Him, eternal dying, ultimately in the Lake of Fire, separated from all that is good, ... It's "the rest of the story," as radio commentator Paul Harvey famously said.
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given"....this part, we've seen, we've heard, we've tasted, we have experienced and are now experiencing it...but what about the rest of this much quoted "Christmas" passage?
"And the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever."
Jesus is about to "wrap things up" and "make all things new," so "sit down, strap in, and hold on!"
See you tomorrow with Tuesday's Revelation 19.
Tuesday 12/26 Revelation 19
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Revelation 19 gives us a Worship of God service which is also a celebration of the final and complete destruction of Man's 6,000-plus year (at THIS point) rejection of and rebellion against the One who created them! Compare the first Coming of Jesus in Luke 2:1-7 as that little helpless human baby to Revelation 19's Righteous Judge and Conquering King (verses 11-16) at His Second Coming! By the end of Revelation 19 we see the end of satan's false world religion and government, the end of the false world-ruling Antichrist and his satanic sidekick, the end of all the world's armies and kings and "what all" that stand against the God of Eternity...all overcome by Jesus!
Woohoo! See you Wed for Revelation 20!
Wednesday 12/26 Revelation 20
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - It was 1974-5, I was freshly saved and everyone was talking about The End Times, so I asked my dad, who was a very smart man, and this is what he said as he handed me a bible, "Go read this chapter, then come back and tell me what it says." That chapter was Revelation 20. I read it, as most any 13-14 year old would, and took it at "face value!"...it simply says what God meant to say...plainly, clearly, without any worry or wiggle...just plain and simple. How we "interpret" Revelation 20, actually, how we, with our superior knowledge and intellect, regard God's Word determines how we view the End Times, and all times! Either God is capable of saying what He means how He means it, and does, or we're left to flounder and figure and fret our way through the "mystery" of God speaking to us. I believed then, and believe today, that if the plain sense makes sense, then look for no other sense even if i don't understand it completely...you see, I believe God tells us plainly what it is He wants us to know and any unclarity results from my lack of understanding, not God's lack of clear speaking!
Following that logic, Revelation 20 very clearly speaks of two resurrections, separated by a 1,000 year period of time...the first resurrection is of the saved, the second of the lost...roughly corresponding to the timing of the resurrections is the future binding and then releasing of satan, and finally, his final doom....all literal, all real, all plainly spoken by our plain speaking God! Go back and read it again and see what God is saying...
See you Thursday at Revelation 21.
Thursday 12/28 Revelation 21
" God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - FINALLY! As Revelation 21:5-7 proclaims: "Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful.' And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of Life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.'"
See you tomorrow for Friday's wrap up of The Revelation, the week, the year and it's "God's Word for Me in 2023!" Bible Reading journey....hope you'll join us for 2024's daily reading of God's Word, chronologically..."The Bible and Nothing More in 2024!"
Friday 12/29 Revelation 22
"God's Word for me in 2023" with Pastor David - Thanks for traveling through 2023 with me! Here's the reading list for 2024.
As we close out with Revelation 22, I'm thinking about that which WON'T be part of our Eternal Life in Heaven...no sin, no curse, no satan, no death, no pain, NO FEAR! Once we understand what our God has in store for us, there's no need to fear tomorrow or today! God really does have everything "well in hand".. HIS Mighty Hand!
See you next year with Luke 1 on Monday!