Category: Books of the Bible

The Theme of Revelation

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Theme: Behold the Coming of Our Triumphant King

Behold: Behold the visions John saw and recorded.
Coming: Jesus is coming soon.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
King: Jesus reigns as king over all.
Triumphant King: Jesus will defeat all his enemies when he returns.
Our Triumphant King: No matter how bad things look, we are on the winning side.  Because Jesus wins, so will we.

So let us live with courageous hope.  No matter what we face, we can have courage today because we have a sure hope for the future.

So let us live with faithful endurance.  In the face of persecution, temptations, and suffering, let us endure faithfully for our King.

So let us live with awe-filled worship.  We have a great King who is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor, so let us worship him in awe.

Beloved

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.
– Ephesians 5:1

God calls us beloved children.  You are God’s beloved child – his dearly loved son or daughter.  You are dearly loved by God.

The Creator and Sustainer and Sovereign King of the entire universe dearly loves you.  Let that sink in.  God dearly loves you.  Oh that you might grasp this incredible truth that God loves you.  Who cares what others think of you, if God of universe loves you.

This word “beloved” occurs three times in Ephesians.  Once is here.  The first time was back in 1:6 where Paul referred to Jesus as the Father’s beloved.  At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.”  And here in our text, the Father says the same thing to you: “You are my beloved son.  You are my beloved daughter.  You are my beloved child.  I dearly love you.”

You are beloved by God.

May that truth sink into your heart, and may you live each day out of this glorious reality.

Father of Glory

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Habit of Prayer1 Comment

In Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:16-20, he approaches God as the Father of glory. God is our Father, and yet at the same time he is the God of all glory. In the Old Testament, God is often referred to as the God of glory or the King of glory. Now we can call him our Father, but he is still the Father of glory. Or as Jesus teaches us, he is our Father in heaven. Calling him our Father means we can come boldly into his presence through Jesus as his children. “In heaven” and “of glory” means we must approach him with reverence and humility.

Is this how we approach God when we come before him in prayer or to worship? Boldly before our Father? Reverently and humbly before our glorious God? Do we mindlessly come into his presence, or do we consider into whose presence we come? He is the Father of glory.

A Prayer

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Father, you have opened our blinded eyes that we might see you and know you, but too often our eyes are sleepy when it comes to your spiritual blessings. So open our eyes that we might grasp the ramifications of your great salvation for us. Open our eyes that we might live out the blessings that we have in Christ. May your Spirit enlighten the eyes of our hearts with wisdom to understand and live out the revelation of the gospel that you have given to us.

Open our eyes to know you in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way. To grow in our personal relationship with you. To commune with you more and more – listening to you as you speak to us in your Word, and responding to you in prayer. Open our eyes to know you better.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the hope of your calling to us. To grasp the incredible inheritance that you have for your children. To cling to the hope of our own resurrection that we might dwell with you forever and ever. And to live in response to this hope in the midst of the struggles of life. Open our eyes to this great hope.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the riches of your inheritance in us. To grasp the wonder of being your own people, your own inheritance. To cling to the reality of your delight in us, desire for us, love for us, care for us – not because we are so great, but because of your incredible love. And to live each day in response to your amazing love for us no matter what others may think of us. Open our eyes to your great love.

Open our eyes to know in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way the greatness of your power toward us. To grasp the immeasurable greatness of your power, your great might working in us. To cling to this same power toward us that raised Jesus from the dead and placed him above every other power. And to live each day in response to your mighty power toward us which is greater than anything that can come against us. Open our eyes to your great power.

Open our eyes to know you, to know this hope, to know this love, to know this power in an intimate, experiential, life-impacting way. Open our eyes, O God, open our eyes.

(Inspired by Ephesians 1:16-20)

You Were Chosen

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

You were chosen.

Before the foundation of the world. Before time and space existed. Before all of creation. You were on God’s mind. He was thinking about you.

You were chosen.

According to the purpose of his will. His purpose. His will. It was his purpose, his good pleasure, to choose you. It was his desire to choose you. It was his delight to choose you.

You were chosen.

To be holy and blameless before him. To have your sin and guilt and shame removed. To be declared righteous in his sight. To live as one set apart unto God. To live for Him. To one day stand before him holy and blameless forever.

You were chosen.

For adoption as sons. To be God’s beloved child. To be part of God’s family. To receive an inheritance forever.

You were chosen.

In Christ. Through Jesus Christ. All because of Christ. As we are united to Christ.

You were chosen.

To the praise of his glorious grace. That God might be praised, exalted, lifted up, worshiped, glorified. For his grace toward us, his underserved favor, his unearned blessing, his glorious gift of salvation for us.

You were chosen.

Behold the Works of the Lord

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible

Psalm 111 calls us to behold the works of the Lord:

His works are great
His works are full of splendor and majesty
His works are righteous
His works are wondrous
His works are gracious and merciful
His works are powerful
His works are faithful and just

His work of provision
His work of revelation
His work of redemption

Delight in these works
Study these works
Give thanks for these works
Individually and with God’s people
Today and forevermore
Amen.

God Loves Us

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, God & His Glory1 Comment

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love….
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us….
But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him….
– Psalm 103:8, 11-12, 17

His love shines forth in his mercy and grace and patience toward us.
His love is higher than the heavens.
His love removes our sin.
His love lasts forever.

To those who fear Him.
Toward His people.

Not because we are great,
But because His love is great.
We are sinners; we are dust.
But he loves us anyway.

God loves us!

Rejoice in the Lord

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue of Joy

Where can we find a lasting joy? We find it first and foremost in the Lord. Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord (Philippians 3:1). Lest we miss it, he says it again in the next chapter – twice (4:4). Paul is clear: we should find our joy in the Lord.

Keep in mind the context in which he is writing. He isn’t at the beach soaking in the sun in 80 degree weather (some of us northerners would like that about now). No, he is in prison chained to a guard. And he writes, rejoice in the Lord. And he isn’t just saying it but not living it either. He was thrown in jail when he was in Philippi too, and what was he doing? Praying and singing hymns to God – rejoicing in the Lord (Acts 16). In his suffering, he was still rejoicing in the Lord. Where can we find lasting joy even in the midst of suffering? We find lasting joy in the Lord.

So how can we grow in this joy? Three thoughts:

First, treasure the Lord above all. If Christ is our life (1:21), then that is where we will find our joy. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21 that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. If Jesus is our treasure, then he is where our heart will be, he is where we will find our joy. And no one and nothing can steal that joy from you because no one and nothing can steal Him from you. Treasure the Lord above all.

Second, press on to know the Lord more. This is exactly what we find Paul doing (3:8-14). He wants to know Christ more and more. And as we know him more, as we draw near to him, as we “taste” of him, we find that he is good (Psalm 34:8). Always good. And so we can always rejoice in him. Psalm 100 begins with a call to rejoice in the Lord and ends with the reasons: his goodness, his love, and his faithfulness. The more you draw near and know his goodness, love, and faithfulness in your life, the more you will rejoice in him. So press on to know the Lord more.

Third, remember his blessings to you. We are to pray with thanksgiving (4:7). Consider his many blessings to you. He is the source of every blessing. All the good things you rightly rejoice in come from him, so rejoice in him. As you rejoice in his blessings, rejoice even more in the source.

Rejoice in the Lord. I will say it again: rejoice!

 

Are You a Joyful Person?

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue of Joy

Philippians is often referred to as the epistle of joy. Fourteen times in this short book we find the words “joy” and “rejoice.” Paul rejoices and he calls his readers to rejoice. Which raises the question:

Are you a joyful person?

I’ve been wrestling with that question for the past week, and I invite you to wrestle with it now: Are you a joyful person? If someone asked your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, the driver in front of you, and anyone else who has been around you lately, would they say that you are a joyful person?

And then here is a second question:

Where do you find your joy?

There are lots of places that people find joy: in family, in work, in activities, in the presents under the tree. And there is nothing wrong with finding joy in these places. But if those are the only places you find joy, you won’t be a joyful person. Because your family can be a wreck, you can have a bad day at work, that activity might be cancelled, and soon all those gifts will be unwrapped – and then where is your joy? If you find your joy in comfort, what happens when life is no longer comfortable? If you find your joy in your health, what happens when your health is gone? We can find joy in many places, but not lasting joy.

God calls us to be joyful people with a lasting joy that continues even in the midst of the trials and struggles of life. In the next few days we will look at where we can find lasting joy. But in the meantime:

Are you a joyful person?

Where do you find your joy?

 

We Can Have Great Peace in a World of Things

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

Paul tells us that he is content whether he faces plenty or hunger, abundance or need (Philippians 4:11-13). He is at peace with a lot or a little. And we too are called to be at peace whether we have a lot or a little. We too are called to be content in a world where there is always more to have. God wants us to be content with what he gives us instead of always chasing, craving, and seeking more and more.

Of course this flies in the face of our culture and our entire economy built on chasing material things. In our country money is god – it is what we trust and what we treasure. Our coins say: “In God we trust.” But for many the god they trust is the coin in their hand, and it is also what they treasure. How can we overcome? How can we find peace in a world filled with things? The answer is that we must learn to trust in and treasure something other than material things. In short, we must learn to trust in and treasure the Lord above all.

First, we must trust in the Lord. Verse 13 is essentially a statement of trust. I can be at peace in all circumstances as I look to him to give me strength. I’m not going to trust in my wealth for security. I’m not going to worry about my lack of wealth. I have a God who is mighty, who is powerful, who is strong to get me through, whether I have a lot or a little. He will give me what I need. I will trust him.

Second, we must treasure the Lord above all. This is found in the entire context of the book of Philippians. To live is Christ (1:21). Life is all about Christ. Knowing Christ is the number one priority – everything else is like rubbish (3:7-11). Christ is the greatest treasure. And if Christ is your greatest treasure than material things won’t mean so much to you. We can be at peace with a little or a lot because we already have the greatest treasure – we have Jesus.

We can have great peace in a world filled with things as we trust in the Lord and treasure him above all.