December 3 - To the Church in Sardis

YIKES! I would so not want to be a member of Sardis right about now!!! Jesus does not have much good to commend them for here.

It strikes me that this church has a reputation for being a good, healthy, alive group of believers - but God sees through the outward appearance to their hearts, and it's not good (remember how He described Himself having "eyes like blazing fire"?). And yet even in that, He gives a glimmer of hope - "Strengthen what remains and is about to die." How? Hear the Word, be in the Word,  repent and turn to Him for forgiveness!

 And then such a picture He gives for those who remain in Him in verses 4-6!

The church at Sardis couldn't blame a false doctrine or religious persecution for their troubles. They "suffered from internal spiritual decay that had reached advanced stages. They responded to external peace with internal apathy." (People's Bible on Revelation, pg 47)

Profound, isn't it? It makes me recall a workshop I attended at the 2013 LWMS convention in LaCrosse, WI. I was listening to a missionary who had served in Indonesia and I wrote these words:

How do I describe seeing a picture of the decapitated heads of teen Christian girls murdered on their way to school - A story no newspaper or tv reported on or a crime that was never prosecuted. There are no apathetic, lukewarm Christian in Indonesia and other Muslim dominated countries because frankly, they can’t afford to be. They either boldly declare Christ as their Saviour or they don’t at all. 

The enemy of persecution is pretty in your face there. But apathy can be just as insidious in it's destruction. A good warning for today too. As we celebrate our Saviour's birth, we are encouraged and built up in our faith with the message it brings! "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come!" 

December 2 - To the Church in Thyatira

Do Not Tolerate Sin!

Isn't the theme song of our culture "Be Tolerant!"?  "What's right for you may not be right for me".  "If it feels good, do it."

Canadians have a worldwide reputation for being a people who don't want to step on any toes. This last Canada Day I saw some people proudly wearing the red and white colours on their t-shirts that had printed one word: Sorry. It took me a minute but then I laughed by head off and wondered how I could get my hands on one of those shirts for myself! Sorry says it all  - don't hurt anyone's feelings!

Can this same attitude creep into our own churches when we're dealing with spiritual matters? It did in Thyatira. And Jesus couldn't have been clearer in his letter to them - "Stop tolerating this sin and hold onto what you have until I come!" Love does not equal permissiveness as the devotion says. Makes me think of the phrase " tough love".

The words written to this church are encouraging us to "hold on"and overcome to the end. It's time to call sin what it is - sin.  Love expressed from the heart of one who cares more for the individual's soul than their feelings will find strength in Christ through His Word to boldly proclaim law and gospel! Makes for pretty interesting office parties, family reunions and Christmas dinners, eh? After all, sin damns eternally and souls are at stake! 

December 1 - To the Church in Pergamum

I love the picture Jesus uses here to describe Himself as having "the sharp double-edged sword" of the Word that we too hold on to!
Again, He starts with good things to say to this group of believers who lived in the ancient capital of Asia. Satan's throne was found in the emperor worship that had it's centre here. Mention of Antipas being martyred for his faith sends shivers even now, especially if the legend is true that * he was slowly roasted to death in a bronze kettle. Yikes.
Yet He still comes down hard on them and rightly so! Jesus had said in John 8:31, 32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Not only does there seem to be a group within this church that was following false teachings, but the rest of the church was allowing them!
I found it interesting the devotion for today brought out that "Jesus not only called on the guilty to repent of their sinful ways but he also called on the rest of the congregation to repent of their inaction toward those who were straying." Both played a role and neither was innocent.
Jesus calls them and us to repentance and forgiveness and offers us the promise of salvation in a "white stone with a new name written on it" - our "not guilty" verdict!

*Concordia Self-Study notes

November 30 - To the Church in Smyrna

Notice how Jesus introduces Himself in this letter to Smyrna? Attributes of Christ Himself from the one and only Alpha and Omega! He is the First and the Last, who died and rose again. Our Saviour speaks!!

"I know your affliction and your poverty. I know the slander ..." Rev 2:9  He can say this because He became one of us! And He know everything - including our troubles.

He has nothing critical to say here, only encouragement and eternal perspective. This section includes one of my favourite passages, "Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you eternal life."Rev 2:10b Such encouragement from our Lord to them and us!

Christians are still being persecuted in varying degrees. Voice of the Martyrs report:

It is impossible to know with absolute certainty the exact number of Christians killed for their faith each year. However, according to the World Evangelical Alliance, more than 200 million Christians in at least 60 countries are denied fundamental human rights solely because of their faith.

Much of today's persecution still takes place in remote areas of countries often cut off from or with restricted access to modern communications. Most martyrs suffer and die anonymously - unknown and forgotten - their deaths unrecorded except in heaven. What is reported often occurs weeks, months and even years after the fact. Persecution is often such a part of life that it hardly dawns on the afflicted to tell the world. Even then, many are nervous about sharing what they know for fear of retribution.

Join me in prayer "For Those Who Suffer for the Sake of Truth" (Lutheran Book of Prayer)

Lord God, revealed in the Christ as the One whose foolishness is wiser than men and whose weakness is stronger than men:
Help those who suffer for the sake of truth, to find Your strength in their weakness, to see Your glory in what is despised, to feel Your presence in what is desolate.
Help them to understand that in Your gentleness there is power, that in Your grace there is strength, that in Your forgiveness there is life.
Relieve them from torture and pain, from strain of the emotions, from temptation, danger and agony of soul.
Use their suffering for the conversion of those who torment them, for the strengthening of those who love them, for the welfare of Your people everywhere.
Keep them in Your steadfast love in Christ, our Lord, for His sake. Amen 

The end of the devotion for today says, "Through His Word, God promises to strengthen you and keep you faithful. Make that Word then, the centerpiece of your holiday preparations."

What are ways you "make the Word a centrepiece" in your home during the Advent/Christmas season - individually or in your family? 

November 29 - To the Church in Ephesus

Here we start with the first of seven letters written to specific congregations - from Jesus himself! Wow.  And while the letters are addressed to these very real congregations, there is much we can learn from them to.

One thing I noticed while reading the seven letters is how Jesus introduces himself in a different way each time that is directly related to what's going on in that church. The effect for them is that it certainly speaks directly to them and their situation and makes a strong point!  The effect for me is that I get a really insightful picture of who Jesus is and what He's done through the very words He uses to describe Himself!

He always starts His letters with the positive (assuming there are some) to build them up and encourage them. Isn't this how we too should deal with matters?

"The truth of Scripture is readily available to us. Many of us have known it all our lives. Yet for us too, there exists the danger of taking it for granted and losing it." *
Baptized as an infant and brought up by my parents in the faith, I have never known "not knowing Jesus". I was recently reminded of how precious a gift this is by a fellow sister-in-Christ who related her own story of having fallen away for 10 years of her life.  She says it didn't happen overnight - it was insidious. She tearfully recounted having been brought to her knees in repentance to the Lord after this 10 year period and found forgiveness and restoration through Jesus!

May we all find our strength in Jesus' gracious promise, "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." Rev 2:7b

*words written in italics are taken from our devotional book, "Behold, I am Coming Soon!" by Bruce McKenney, Jonathan Meyer and James Rath. Published by Northwestern Publishing House.

November 28 - Introduction

Let's begin with a prayer, shall we?

Lord God, we praise You that You comforted Your people with the promise of a Redeemer. We praise You that in the fullness of time You sent Your Son as the Redeemer. We praise You that You give promise that You will send Him to us again to judge the world in righteousness.
Open our hearts to receive our Redeemer now as He comes to us in Word and Sacrament. Open our eyes in awareness of His rule in our lives by His grace. 
Make Advent a blessing to us as we welcome our King in faith and love. We lift up our heads to welcome Him anew. Fill us with gladness as He comes to us. Amen.  (Lutheran Book of Prayer)

True confessions: I have tried my best to avoid Revelation for as long as possible on my Christian journey here on earth, overwhelmed by its complexity and my confusion. Please tell me I'm not the only one?!!

There is a link here that does a great job explaining in a nutshell what makes Revelation so unique from the other books and also what it has in common with all the Bible, namely - that at the centre is Jesus and His defeat of sin, death and the devil.

I was forced to get over my avoidance of Revelation when we studied it in Adult Bible Class about 5 years ago or so. Don't get me wrong - it felt like a high level university course at times, but through it I was able to see the comfort that it offered. And I was particularly struck by how necessary it was to be very familiar with the rest of Scripture in order to understand Revelation properly. "Scripture interprets Scripture" and in this book especially it is needed to understand many concepts. "Scripture does not contradict Scripture" is another key point that makes it vital to understanding this book.

I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into for this Advent/Christmas season by tackling this book! And so I go at it with a fervent prayer for wisdom given, an acute awareness of my own limitations and a desire to seek understanding through wise council found in the guidance of our devotion book, The People's Bible, Concordia Self-Study Bible and my pastor (who I happen to be married to).

"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." Revelation 1:3 

What are your thoughts of Revelation going into it? Feel free to share what your experience has been.

Christ the King Sunday

Anyone else sing this song in worship today on this Christ the King Sunday? I've started my study in Revelation in preparation for the Advent study that starts this Friday! As a result, my appreciation of these last "end times" focus in our liturgy has meant more than ever before. Imagine - we future citizens of heaven will spend eternity worshipping God our King! We're the ones who "...lay their crowns before the throne and say, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." Rev.4:10, 11. 

Just a few notes for those who plan on joining in on the Advent study and specifically to those who are new:

I would suggest reading the text in Revelation first, followed by the corresponding devotion in Behold, I am Coming Soon and then reading here. Stew and Chew on the reading even if it's confusing, read your self-study notes if you have them in your bible and then read the devotion. They really do a great job in explaining what you just read and you'll appreciate it all the more if you've just sat there confused for a few minutes - haha! Then after you've read the devotion and maybe made some notes in your bible to remember the next time you read through Revelation and you've stewed and chewed some more, come see what we're saying here. There. It's that's easy! 

I'm not going to lie to ya'll - this can get confusing. But I'll say this to you to give you encouragement because I'm well into the study myself now - this is a great way to get the big picture, to gain clarity in the craziness of life but particularly Christmas and to grow in faith. What God has revealed to us in this book is a gift - I hope you will see that for yourself soon through the power of the Holy Spirit! 

See you soon:)