Rev 22:7 "Shalom: Everything As It Should Be" (December 31)

"Shalom! Everything as it should be."  66LL

"Behold! I am coming soon." Rev 22:7

"Demand nothing now.
Endure everything now.
He has come.
He is coming right now.
He will come again, soon.
Wait. Persevere. Hope.
Your destiny, eternal bliss, your every dream forever satisfied." 66LL

So grateful to have walked through 2011 with women like you
who are "gripped" by a very Good God, "The Sovereign-Strong".
Things are not as they seem for each of us as we have faced reality,
our children pursuing other goals, illness stretching us beyond belief,
even our own "addictive attractions" to relief from all the pain. 
You have wrestled well with The Living Word.
He is here now in each of our lives and
we will keep falling forward on His Goodness and Grace.

You've made this place a safe haven for me and many.
God bless every page of being caught up in Him.
My prayer for you on the last day of this year:
May The Sovereign Strong fulfill every thought, every desire
you have for righteousness
that He may be glorified in you.  2 Thes 1:11-12

"Nothing will change you more deeply or sustain you with more hope than hearing God speak to you in the Bible." 66LL. He did, He truly did!  He spoke!  May we listen long.

"As the biblical ax breaks the frozen sea within us and releases the warm current that flows from our God-invaded center, we become the persons we were meant to be."  66LL

Come, Lord Jesus! Today.  ~ Rev 22:20

Rev 21:4-5 "My Thinking Is Upside Down" (December 30)

Rev 21:4 ~ "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain."

In the midst of overwhelming pain, these are welcomed words.
My flesh does not want to suffer.

But I am reminded of the words of Acts 21:13 that Paul penned:
I am ready for [anything] for His Name.

Your thinking is upside down.
If I could just see into the Invisible Hands that control my life.

All pain, all sorrow, all mourning is arranged, allowed, assigned.
Rev 21:5 ~ "He will make everything new."

I must live fully alive in this present hour longing for His Return.
"You will not sing til you shudder." 66LL

"Woe is me! A person of unclean lips." Isaiah 6:5
You will not stand strong til you fall helpless before God. 66LL

Rev 20:10 ""Taken Up Into My Life" (December 29)

Rev 20:10
John was in his mid-80's when God showed him this Invisible World that no one sees.  Wonder if he freaked out?  Doesn't seem like it.  John was a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, condemned to die for refusing to acknowledge Caesar as his lord.  A "seditious atheist" shipped off to sea to scorch in the sun.  And look what he witnesses to shine on to us.  Oh my! "Things are not as they seem.  Evil, though widespread, is not winning.  Faithfulness, though costly, is not futile.  Affliction, though continuing, will end.  The Lion's Roar will soon be heard.  Until then, reign with the Lamb.  Live to love, not control."66LL.  Oh, that so speaks to me. God is arranging my history and yours according to His Plan.  The Deceiver will be hurled into the lake of fire.  No more deception.  It's over.  We'll kneel before The Great White Throne. Will our names be found in the Book of Life?  Oh, yes they will.  Oh, yes, praise God!  May our eyes see beyond what is visible to us this day.  May we peer into that which is Invisible.  Larry touched something in me deeply when he wrote about the words of Kierkegaard, "to be taken up into my life." "For all that I've learned and have yet to learn [may it] be taken up into my life by the Holy Spirit...I want to love well no matter how tired I am.  I want to love more like your Son whether I'm crying or I'm fighting another battle."  66LL

Rev 19:7 "Wishing Forward" (December 28)

We groan inwardly (in this world) and wait eagerly (for the next world) ~ Romans 8:23~ and One Day, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will appear like lightning. On that Fine Day, we will rejoice and exult and give Him The Glory.  "The Bride has made herself ready...blessed are those who are invited to the Marriage Supper of The Lamb."  Rev 19:7-9.  So, how do we make ourselves ready for this day?  Live a life of repentance and longing.  Groan inwardly/ Wait eagerly.  "Wishing Forward" ~ Wonder what that looks like today?  What is my next step of faith?

READ THE BIBLE CHRONOLOGICALLY IN 2012

We invite you to Read Through the Bible chronologically with us in 2012.  Every day, we will offer a 15-minute ESV selection from the Old Testament and the New Testament and ask you to ponder what lingers with you as your read God's Word. You may choose your own version but we will read chronologically from the OT and NT simultaneously. Each day, you will have an opportunity to comment on one thing that lingers, that stirs inside of you as you read chronologically.  And you may comment on other's comments too (a new feature for us---if I can figure that one out).  Irenaeus wrote:  "The Glory of God is man fully alive."  We are asking God to awaken our hearts in 2012 to His Whispers, His Words.  May we wrestle well with The Living Word and become more alive in Him than ever before.  Sign up right here on this post if you would like to join a few beautiful yet broken friends longing for a better place than where we are.  Longing to draw near to a very Good God.  We would so love for you to make a commitment and join us.  Leave a comment ...

Rev. 18:17 "Laid To Waste" (December 27)

Rev 18:17 ~ "In a single hour, all this great wealth has been laid to waste."  Not laid to rest but to waste.  Steve Jobs amassed millions in his short lifetime.  All laid to waste for him.  Gone to his children and their children.  Have I worked too hard to "hold on" to things that will be laid to waste?  Wondering this day what I need to let go of? 

Rev 17:8 "Surprised & Staggered" (December 26)

There are stories in the Bible that disrupt my thinking.

Rev 17:8  ^{~ "}The dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast."  That verse unnerves me.  So disturbs me to know that there are names not in that book. 

All I can deal with is myself.  And pray that God use me to draw out of those in my life the men and women that God wants them to be.  Again, I must deal with my own failures, my own lack of love. 

But as I read a quote from Larry yesterday on another blog, am I staggered at my God's Response to me over how I treat Him and His world?  Surprised and staggered not by my sin but by His Response to me.  He is stirring up Hope in me in the midst of my battle. 

I think I'm more of a mess than ever.  But, there is Something going on inside of me that I cannot explain.  Courage standing up to my Fears, my Aloneness, my Anger. 

As I crawl under the Christmas covers to end a difficult day, there is a glimmer on the horizon of tomorrows that I am going to be okay because it is a Good God Who penned my name in That Book and promises me His Power to find Him in all of this mess and help me draw near to Him.

Rev 16:15 "Stay Awake" (December 25)

Rev 16:9 ~ They did not repent and give Him Glory.

Rev 16:15 ~ "Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!” ... And they assembled at the place called Armageddon.  I stood on that hill one year ago witnessing the past Bethlehem days, the present moment of Jerusalem journeys, and the future battle that will be fought at that spot.  Only one place in the world where you can stand in the past, the present, and the future.

Am I truly awake this Christmas morn?  There are ways I am more awake than ever.  Awake to see the control I wield on my life.  Awake to see what pierces my heart and yours.  Awake to sin but alive to God.  My eyes sometimes see things that people gloss over.  What will I do with that?  Repent and give Him Glory

Dead to sin.  Alive to God.  No other way this Christmas Day.  Awake, o my soul, and learn from the past, live in the present, and long for the future.  Groan inward. Hope forward. 

Rev 15:3 "King of The Nations" (December 24, 2011)

Rev 15:3-4
The Song of the Lamb:

Great and amazing are your Deeds
O LORD God the Almighty
Just and True are Your Ways
O King of The Nations
Who will not fear, O LORD
and Glorify Your Name?
For You Alone are Holy.

We fall on our knees
This Day before You
King of This Nation,
King of My Heart

 

Rev 14:15 "Swung on A Sickle" (December 23)

THIS HOUR
Rev 14:15-16 Judgment is coming and it's so hard for me to comprehend where I sit overwhelmed with life today.  I'm trying to deal with this hour---Christmas, cancer, cancellations, current circumstances---not with Eternity.  Can I find the Eternal One in this present hour?

THAT HOUR
Rev 14:15-16 "Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So He who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. I know I'll be swung on the sickle and so will you.  Will those we dearly love be sideswiped? 

Praying for all our Christmas guests.  Fall on our knees and hear the angels sing this present hour, Hosanna~

Rev 13:10 "A Call for the Endurance and Faith of The Saints" (December 22)

Rev 13:7 ~
The Beast was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. 
Oh my, oh my!  We do live in a war for our very souls. 

Rev 13:9-10 ~ If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 
If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes...
Here is a call for the Endurance and Faith of the saints. 

Rev 12:14 "Nourished In The Wilderness For A Time, And Times, and a Half" (December 21)

We all know there will be suffering on Earth but how much do we have to go through and can we embrace it?  Have I really read Revelations before---never out loud.  A woman who just gave birth flees into the wilderness with empty arms---where she has a place prepared by God for 1,260 days.  Four years!  God prepared nourishment for her body but she must struggle with aloneness and safety and horror and meaning.  The loss of her husband and children.  So hard to understand this picture but the scene that follows in Revelations 12 touches deep places within:

My Accuser,
The Deceiver of the Whole World,
The Great Dragon,
That Ancient Serpent,
The One We Call Both Satan and The Devil...
WAIT, there is no place for him in Heaven
and he is thrown down to the earth with his angels.
NOW,
The Salvation and Power and Kingdom of Our God
The Authority of Our Christ has come and
The One Who Accuses Me Day and Night
before our God----HE HAS BEEN THROWN DOWN.

We have conquered him by
The Blood of The Lamb and by
The Word of our Testimony
so keep on keeping on, o my soul.
WE ARE STILL HERE AND WE HAVE WON!
Yet we must face our defeated Tormenter,
Who knows his time on earth is s-h-o-r-t.

REJOICE this day if you dwell in heavenly places.
BEWARE this day for The Dragon sees
the Woman Who Gave Birth, the one who trusts
and The Serpent pursues her in her wilderness.
But even The Earth comes to the help of the woman.
Furious!---The Dragon goes after her children on Earth
back on the sands of the sea.

So much of this text is beyond me.
But there is something to be said about God's Provision.
If a Good God steps in to bring us childless to a wilderness
to protect us there----will we trust Him in this?
Will we trust Him in how much we have to suffer?

Rev 11:18 "Both Small & Great" (December 20)

They fell on their faces and worshipped God saying:

Rev 11:17 ~ We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
Who Is and Who Was
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.

Rev 11:18 ~ It is the Time for rewarding your servants
all those both Small and Great
who Fear Your Name.

We live in such a celebrity society.
Thousands upon Thousands know about the death today
of Miss Venzuela who lost her battle with cancer.
Only a handful know about the death of my friend
who Slipped into God's Very Presence last week
fighting cancer to the very last day.
Both Small and Great will be rewarded
Not just The Beautiful, The Popular, The Successful.
His Eye is on you. Nothing escapes His Gaze.

Rev 10:7 "Meet You Inside The Eastern Gate" (December 19)

Rev. 10:7 In the days of the trumpet call, the Mystery of God will be fulfilled. 

Rev 10:9 Take and eat the little scroll, sweet as honey to taste but bitter to hold. 
You must prophesy about peoples and nations and languages and kings.

Today, the ruler of North Korea died. 
All good and bad kings must pass the Eastern Gate that never closes,
Where no night falls.  Isaiah 60:11. 
And they will be conquered forevermore. 

So, keep your lamps all trimmed and burning
For the Bridegroom watch and wait.
He’ll be with us at That Meeting
Just inside the Eastern Gate.

When the trumpet calls for me, for you,
Linger near that Eastern Gate.
I'll Meet You in That Mystery Morning.
Just Inside the Eastern Gate.
(Based on the hymn, I'll Meet You in the Morning)

Rev 9:16 "200 Million Mounted Troops Won't Change My Mind" (December 18)

Rev 9:1 ~ A star falls and he is given the Key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.  Oh my, oh my! Horror unleashed.
Rev 9:16 ~ And the number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand---200 million!  So frightening as I sit in my own temptations this day.  A third of mankind killed by troops on horses with heads like famished fire-filled lions.  Is this enough to convince anyone of God's Power and Plan?  But the rest of mankind did not repent of worshiping idols which cannot see or walk.  What am I doing on automatic pilot, coasting.  What am I doing?  Whom do I worship this day?  Idols of my own making---wanting to be somebody, wanting to make an impact, wanting to say something of value, wanting to be used by God...do I want Him More?

Rev 8:10 "Wormwood, A Bitter Pill to Swallow" (December 17)

Revelation 8:3 The prayers of all the saints

are on the Golden Altar before The Throne. 

Are my prayers there in the offering?

 Revelation 8:10 When the third angel blew his trumpet,

a great star named Wormwood fell from heaven. 

I wonder if this is why C.S. Lewis,

in his epistolary novel The Screwtape Letters, 

named the junior demon Wormwood (Screwtape's nephew). 

Wormwood's mission was to deter The Patient from Eternity with God. 

Eternal damnation.  Am I listening this day to the tempter of my soul?

Revelation 8:13 Woe, Woe, Woe

to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts that are about to blow! 

Do I hear what God hears?

If it matters so much to read the Word of God, am I really listening back?

Rev 7:17 "Every Tear Wiped Away on That Day" (December 16)

Revelation 7:9 Behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice... "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of Living Water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

This world was not meant to meet every need, every longing we have.  One day, God will guide us to Springs of Living Water where every tear will be wiped away.  But in this life, real tears fall, even this day.  We will stand on that day before the Throne, before the Lamb.  What will we say? 

Rev 6:9 "No Hiding ~ Deal with your Dreams" (December 15)

Revelation 6:9 ~ The souls of those who were slain for the Word of God and for the Witness they had borne.  And they cry out:  "O Sovereign LORD, holy and true, how long before you will judge those who dwell on earth?"

Rev 6:13 One day the full moon will become like blood and the stars of the sky will fall to the earth and the sky will vanish like a scroll being rolled up and every mountain and island will be removed.  And some will hide themselves in caves and among the rocks.  Who can stand in that Great Day of wrath.  We will not hide that day so let's not hide this day either.  Let's confront what deters and disrupts and disturbs us.  Let's deal with the innermost dreams of our heart. 

   

Rev 5:5 "The Lion Has Roared" (December 14)

*The Lion Has Roared*  Revelation 5:5 ~ "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered..."

*The Golden Bowls are Full*  Revelation 5:8 ~ And the elders fell before Him holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.  Will The Mighty One hear from me this day prayers of dependence, prayers of worship.

*The Sovereign One Bends His Ear * Revelation 4:12 ~ Will the Sovereign One hear "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." 

 

Rev 4:11 "Grasped By God" (December 13)

Rev 4:1 "There was a door standing open...Come up here... ." 
At once, I was in the Spirit.
There they were, casting their crowns down, honoring
"Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty
Who Was and Is and is to Come!"
Rev 4:11 ~ "Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive Glory and Honor and Power,
for You created all things,
and by your Will they existed and were created."

We can't package it not even in a sermon.
At once, the Spirit descends.
Bonhoeffer wrote:  The success of the sermon
is utterly dependent on the God Who breaks through
and grasps us, or we cannot be grasped.
Am I grasped in the clutch of His Hand
this circumstance, this Word, this moment?

Rev 3:2 "Wake Up!" (December 12)

Sardis, I know your works.

You have the reputation of being alive but you are dead

WAKE UP! ~ Rev. 3:2

Philadelphia, I have set before you an Open Door

which no man is able to shut. 

You may have little power yet you have kept my word. 

HOLD FAST!  Rev 3:8

Laodicea - You are neither hot or cold.  

Those whom I love, I discipline.

SO BE ZEALOUS!  Rev 3:15

Behold, I stand at your door and knock this day.

If you hear Me, Welcome the Divine One in.

This verse is translated in progressive tense meaning:

This is for you this moment.

"In the whole of World History, there is always only one

really significant hour---the present."    Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

"

Rev 2:4 "Abandoned Love" (December 11)

Ephesus,
I see your works and your patient endurance
But I have this against you,
Revelations 2:4
You have abandoned the love you had at first.
Remember therefore from where you have fallen
Repent, and do the works you did at first.

Rev 1:17 "Flame of Fire" (December 10)

Some say John was 70-years-old --- it was 70AD ---
When he wrote the Book of Revelations.
Some say it was 92AD
and the man who had seen so much was 92-year-olds.
Held captive of sorts on the Isle of Patmos. 
GUILTY of preaching the Gospel.
Some say waiting wearily.

John says: John 1:17 ~ When I saw God\\\
I fell at His Feet as though dead*****
But HE *laid* his RIGHT HAND on me,
Sayinhg: "~Fear not~, I AM
The First & the Last,
I AM the Living One.

His Eyes as a ^Flame of Fire^
"May represent his Knowledge
of the secrets of ALL hearts,
and of the most distant events."
                                        Matthew Henry

A severe depression hit me in 2006.
Doesn't matter what caused it as much as
the tsunami that overflowed
the banks of my soul.
Doesn't matter what it appeared
that people did to my family as much as
the tornado of thoughts and actions
that I must repent of.
I was about half dead,
not functioning well physically. My Fault.
God brought this very story to mind
as I lay helpless for weeks ...
John was old, weary, weak, captive.
God laid His Right Hand on John's shoulders
I don't espouse to know a whole lot about such Mystery.

But this I know: 
My God raised me back up from the dead, the lifeless.
He knows the Secrets of my heart
The most distant events of my past that haunt 
The most distant events of my future that terrify.
Fear Not
The Flaming Fire, The Living One is white hot here.
And this isn't about Works Righteousness.
No, it's all about His Righteousness that stood me back on my feet. 

Jude 1:1 "Called and Kept" (December 9)

Jude 1:1,2 ~ To those who are called and kept...
May Mercy, Peace, and Love be multiplied to you.

 Keep yourself in the Love of God.

Jude 1:24 ~ Now to Him Who is able
to keep you from stumbling and
to present you blameless before
The Presence of His Glory with Great Joy.
To the Only God, our Savior
Be Glory, Majesty, Dominion, Authority
Before all time and now and Forever.  Amen

3 John 1:5 "Health of My Soul Trumps Body" (December 8)

3 John 1:2 ~ I pray that all may go well with you
and that you may be in good health,
as it goes well with your soul.
The health of my soul trumps the health of my body.
May it go well with all of us
but may we be far more concerned about
what stirs within.  For His Glory!

2 John 1:5 "Nothing New Under the Sun---LOVE!" (December 7)

2 John 1:5 ~ This is not a new command for you and for me.
This command has been around since the very beginning.
Love One Another.
You know where you've been today.
You don't know what your face looked like.
Listen to your world saying:
This is not a new command, Love One Another!
So what would it look like to love this morning.   

I John 5:9 "God's Testimony Trumps It All" (December 6)

I John 5:9 The testimony of God is greater than the testimony of men And this is the testimony---God gave us Life.
God's Testimony trumps it all.
We can have Confidence toward Him that He Hears Us.

I John 5:15 We will have the requests
That we have asked of Him that are His Will.

I John 5:19 The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.


But...
I John 5:20 The Son of God gives us Understanding so that
We may Know Him Who Is True. Amen!
No matter what health scares I face today
No matter what harsh words fall on my ears,
God's Testimony means Life for me...
will I find Life this day?

I John 4:18 "The Health of My Soul" (December 5)

Dealing with immense fear
as I face deeper places in my heart
where I have no control. 

My oncologist called and wants to see me right away.
Tomorrow!

Falling Forward on a very Good God!
What stirs in my heart concerns me way more than
what sits in my body.

Nothing, no Nothing trumps the Health of My Soul.
Sorrows like sea billows roll.
Teach me to say,
All manner is well with my soul.
The Health of My Soul.

I John 4:18 "There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear."

I John 3:19 "Reassure Your Heart Before Him" (December 4)

I John 3:17 ~ If you have stuff
and see your brother in need and close your heart against him,
how is that Love?

 Love in Deed and Truth not in word or talk. 

We can tell someone that we love them but if we
Keep our distance,
Show our disdain,
Rehearse how they bother us,
Refuse to enjoy just who they are,
Then there is something stronger in me than the Love of God.

One disrespectful word spoken to me yesterday tied me in knots.
And now the table is turned.
And my heart condemns me this morning, yes it does,
Verse 19 says: Know that we are of the Truth and
Reassure your heart before Him. 
God is greater than my heart, and He knows everything. 
He knows my good intentions, my unnoticed deeds,
He knows why I am so upset in the relationship that sours.
I am going to Him to reassure my Heart!
God is Greater!

I John 2:15 "We Have An Advocate" (December 3)

1 John 2 ~ But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the Righteous.

I John 2:15 ~ Do not love the world or the things in the world..
The *desires of the eyes* and *pride in possessions*---
it's not from the Father but is from the world. 

So, what do I love more than the Love of my God? 
Oh Righteous One, visit us this day.
Be my Advocate for I am weak but you are Strong.
Be my Strong Voice for my helpless ways. 
Be my Strong Arm for my weary days. 

 

I John 1:10 "His Word Is In Us" (December 2)

I John 1:1, 10 ~

They saw Him with their eyes. 

They touched Him with their hands. 

The Word of Life. 

His Word is in us. 

The God of Light. 

In Him there is no darkness. 

Forgiveness and Freedom.  

Am I reaching repentance?  Am I free?