December 6 - The Throne in Heaven

*Just an update before we move on to today. My family and I have just been traveling approximately 40 hours in the car in the last 10 days so I was able to listen to quite a few podcasts, Vinyl Cafe stories, Sirius XM radio and Christmas CD's.  My favourite new Christmas music for this year is definitely Keith and Kristyn Getty, An Irish Christmas.  They've authored several new hymns found in the supplement like "In Christ Alone". Anyway, I'm loving this CD! And there are a handful of Issues, etc podcasts that have been helpful in our study here, if you have the time to listen to them maybe while you're traveling around this season? "The Smalcald Articles: The Office of the Keys and Confession" , "The Season of Advent" and "Myths about Lutheranism: Lutherans Don't Have an End-Times Teaching" . 

The Throne in Heaven

Or as my husband says, "It's like John saying I went and saw God in heaven and it was pretty awesome." 

So this is where it starts to get challenging. I really enjoyed the letters to the churches and thought their meanings were pretty straightforward, more or less. I laughed at the words of the devotion when they start a paragraph "So here we go." Because that's how I felt!

They did a really good job explaining the word pictures here and their meanings and in the significance of the numbers mentioned. It's important to remember that we're going to get different snapshots of the future. For instance, when there's a car accident and there are different witnesses to interview, each witness will have his own perspective. That doesn't mean that only one witness has the right account. Put them all together and you can have a pretty well-rounded "look" at what actually happened!

That's the basic idea of what's going on here - only perfectly done because Jesus is giving the various perspectives on the future of Christ's church! 

What struck me particularly about the throne in heaven is all the worshipping that's going on and that I am included in those that are "dressed in white" and wearing "crowns of gold". This is a future picture of you and me!! This is a snapshot of how we will spend eternity with Jesus. If the holy beings in heaven praise God, certainly we'll want to do the same on earth - with our worship, our offerings, and our time and talents. Worship means "ascribing worth" that Jesus truly is worthy of our adoration. We will grow in our desire to live that out on earth as we grow in faith through hearing the Word and receiving the Sacrament.

As the Holy Spirit grows this desire in us, what ideas might you have in incorporating worship in your daily life? 

December 5 - To the Church in Laodicea

I love how Christ identifies Himself to this congregation! "...Amen, faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Rev 3:14b

Lukewarm:
"In a sense, complete coldness might have been better; then they might have welcomed the warmth of the gospel." 
How might that be true?

"Those who forget their daily need for forgiveness are running the same risk." (of growing lukewarm)
Living out our baptism by daily repentance and a renewed awareness of our need for a Saviour! This is contradictory to the idea that this is only for those first coming to faith. Even for those of us who have spent many, many years as a child of God, we too need to hear and listen to this so that we might not turn lukewarm in our faith!

I really liked how the authors applied this section to today and to our Christmas celebration and focus. While I may have sat in the same pew, in the same church, hearing the same Christmas message from the same pastor (love ya, honey!) every Christmas Day service for the last 12 years, may daily repentance, reflection and forgiveness give me a renewed spirit of thanksgiving and awe of the love of my Saviour!

Modern Christmas traditions in our secular culture draw attention away from the manger (as opposed to away in a manger).  Spend some time looking specifically at the traditions you've adopted into your home in the light of God's word.  Do they enhance your focus on Jesus or distract? Is there anything that can be "neutral"?  

December 4 - To the Church in Philadelphia

Sign me up for membership of this church! Don't we all want to bask in God's compliments? This is the only church that doesn't bring rebuke but is not without trouble! They have:

• kept my Word
• not denied my name

What a great reminder to our churches to remain faithful! The success of a church in God's eyes are not found only in a big building, growing numbers or the money in the plate, but that they stay true to His Word! They faithfully continue to preach Law and Gospel and distribute the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. That is a Biblically defined purpose driven church! Amen!

An interesting note: according to the People's Bible, the city of Philadelphia exists today and has a number of Christian congregations.

I really liked how the devotion "keyed" off (did you catch that?) on the "Ministry of the Keys" defined in Luther's Catechism. I encourage you to look that up and remind yourself what you most likely had touched upon in confirmation class.

There can be no greater compliment to a Lutheran pastor than to thank him for his faithful preaching and teaching and consistent use of the Sacraments. There can be a lot of outside pressure from the mission board on reporting stats, popular books that promote the "right activities or programs" or even the sinful nature's "means to an end" attitude that believes man knows better than God how to build a church family. Looking for a Christmas present for your pastor this year? Now you have one - and it's free! 

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?