Earth

A New Heaven and A New Earth {Rev. 21-22}

12:00 AM



Do you ever wonder how we as believers will spend eternity? In these last chapters of Revelation, John answers that question when he reveals what is known as the “eternal state”, or the eternal destiny of believers. And the picture he paints is one of such peace, joy, and love, that I too can’t help but cry, “Maranatha!” Come Lord Jesus!

“I saw a new heaven and a new earth.” (vs. 21:1) In 2 Peter 3:10-13, we are told that the world we know, with all of its filth and pollution, is burned away by God, creating a new heaven and a new earth, “in which righteousness dwells.” This new earth will be restored to the beauty and perfection that God originally created before the fall of man. It is on this new earth that we will spend eternity with the Lord.

Upon this new earth, we will live in the glorious city of the new Jerusalem. It will be a city with a foundation of precious stones, gates of giant pearls, and streets of pure gold. A city that, “has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (vs. 21:23) Imagine that! Never again will we experience night, for the spectacular Shekinah glory of God will be illuminating every inch! There, where God establishes His throne, we will be with the Father and the Son forever, serving and glorifying Him in all we do. “He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.” (vs. 21:3) 

And, in one of the most beautiful promises of the Bible, God says that He will, “wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (vs. 21:4) I love Dr. Charles Stanley’s thoughts when he says, “Our eternal home is like nothing we’ve ever experienced before because it is a place that is free from sin, death, fear, guilt, and sorrow. Never again will we experience the consequences of our fallen nature; separation from our loved ones, loss, worry, sickness, crime, pain, or injustice. Rather, we’ll be absolutely free to become all God created us to be, to His praise and glory. And best of all, we will enjoy full, wonderful fellowship with our Lord and Savior forever.”

“Yes, I am coming quickly.” (vs. 22:20) With these final words, Jesus warns us that His return soon approaches. And in His return He brings with Him the fulfillment of all the wonderful promises of Revelation. “He who overcomes will inherent these things, and I will be His God and he will be My son.” (vs. 21:7) Who is an overcomer? 1 John 5:1-5 tells us that an overcomer is one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 

“Brethren, Jesus is coming! He is even now on the way. You have heard our tidings till you scarcely credit us, but the Word of God is true and it will surely be fulfilled before long. The Lord is coming, indeed! He promised to come to die and He kept His Word—He now promises to come to reign and you may be sure that He will keep His tryst with His people. He is coming! Ears of faith can hear the sound of His chariot wheels! Every moment of time, every event of Providence is bringing Him nearer. Blessed are those servants who shall not be sleeping when He comes, nor wandering from their posts of duty! Happy shall they be whom their Lord shall find faithfully watching and standing fast in that great day!”....Charles Spurgeon 
So how about you? Time is running out. Have you received Jesus as your Savior? Have you laid hold of His wonderful promises? One day soon we will each see Him face to face. And when He comes will He find you serving Him with abandon while eagerly and joyfully awaiting His return?



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discipline

SoulSearching Sunday~The Language of Heaven

12:00 AM

Sunday, December 23, 2018



Week Fifty-two...

Welcome!  We pray that you have all had a precious time worshipping the Lord this morning!  Below you will find some thought provoking questions that will provide you a starting point to your journal writing to complete this week.  We hope that you will find this time soul satisfying!

 I personally want to thank you for your commitment to all the reading, studying, and journalling you have done this year! To God be the Glory!

Our reading this week was Revelation 1 - 22 (22 will be read on December 31)

 1. Examine your heart today. How welcome is Christ in every part of your life? He wants to be central in your thoughts. He wants to be your closest friend. Are you letting Him? Today in worship, invite Him into the areas you have been guarding behind closed doors.

 Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. (Revelation 3:20)

 2. How can you develop the discipline of communing with the LORD moment by moment? Make it your practice to mix prayer with a life sacrificed to the glory of God.

 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great quantity of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people, to be offered on the gold altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of the saints, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. (Revelation 8:3-4)

 3. What is your favorite hymn or praise song? What makes it so meaningful to you? Write a few lines of praise that you could sing to God.

 This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. And no one could learn this song except those 144,000 who had bee redeemed from the earth. (Revelations 14:3)

Almonds

Cinnamon Vanilla Candied Almonds

9:13 AM



Cinnamon Vanilla Candied Almonds

1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 egg white
1 lb whole, raw almonds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside. In a small bowl, combine both sugars, cinnamon, salt and ginger. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat egg white until frothy. Add vanilla and beat again to combine. Add almonds to bowl with the egg whites and stir to combine.  Add sugar mixture and stir again to combine. Spread almonds out in a single, even layer on prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring almonds every 15 minutes. Let almonds cool, uncovered. Nuts can be served warm or at room temperature.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.

Angie Benjamin

Guilt Free Life {Revelations 12:1-14:20}

1:35 AM





Revelation 12:10 New International Version (NIV)


Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:“Now have come the salvation and the power    and the kingdom of our God,    and the authority of his Messiah.For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,    who accuses them before our God day and night,    has been hurled down.



Has it happened to you? Do you often fall into the trap of thinking you are the worst person on the face of the earth and that nobody else does the things that you do?

Romans 3:23 says that WE HAVE ALL fallen short of the glory of God (excellence). This means that every man, woman or child that was ever born or will ever be has a problem with sin. But the GOOD NEWS is that God provided and answer to our problem.

Just as we have all sinned, we have been justified and made righteous through the redemption provided through Christ, as a result, as believers in Jesus we now have the "rightness" instead of the "wrongness".

Satan wants us to feel wrong, unworthy and like helpless messes. He knows that without confidence we will never step out in faith to fulfull God destinies for our lives. He wants to keep us captives in the prison of self-hatred, self-rejection to prevent us from making progress or even being a thread to him and his kingdom of darkness.

We must believe we have made righteous in God's eyes, so we may actually start behave rightly. Believe it first, so you can live it. For we cannot produce the fruit of something for which no seed as been sown.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New International Version (NIV)
God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.



Satan is called "the accuser". He tries to make us feel guilty and condemned. When we feel like that we must remember that God does not make us feel that way, instead, God wants us to experience His love and feel the freeing power of His forgiveness.
Guilt depresses us and makes us feel as we're under a heavy burden. But Jesus came to lift us up and to bring the good news that our sins... all of them have been forgiven and forgotten!
Resist the guilt and condemnation by embracing the salvation and authority of Christ in your life!!


Becky Austin

Prayers and Praise (Revelation 8-11)

11:53 PM


Do our prayers have power? Do they really matter to God? And what about our praises? Just how important in the end times will Prayers and Praises to God really be?
In the end times, God will pass judgement on the wickedness of the Earth. Interestingly, the collective voice of those who believe in God and desire for His will to prevail will factor into those judgements.  The Bible emphasizes the importance of our prayers and often pairs them with references to incense. 
“Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” Psalms 141:2 

Prayer is important to God. He cares about what His people have to say.  Our prayers are like a sweet aroma that rises before Him. 
“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.  Revelation 8:1-4

Before the judgements of the 7th seal are put into motion, God considers the prayers of His people and those prayers become empowered by Him. “More potent, more powerful than all the dark and mighty powers let loose in the world, more powerful than anything else, is the power of prayer set ablaze by the fire of God and cast upon the earth.” (Torrance)

The judgements that come will seem harsh and terrible but they serve a purpose and they do not come without warning. As Mattew Henry says, 
“Where the gospel comes to a people, and is but coldly received, and has not its proper effects upon their hearts and lives, it is usually followed with dreadful judgments. God gives warning to men of his judgments before he sends them; he sounds an alarm by the written word, by ministers, by men’s own consciences, and by the signs of the times; so that, if a people be surprised, it is their own fault. The anger of God against a people makes dreadful work among them; it embitters all their comforts, and makes even life itself bitter and burdensome. God does not in this world stir up all his wrath, but sets bounds to the most terrible judgments.”

Initially, the world will be severely shaken but not all will be destroyed. Sadly, even though these trials are meant to get the attention of the wicked and give them the opportunity to change, the truly wicked hearts will remain hardened and unrelenting. 
“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”Revelation 9:20-21

God has given mankind much grace, and undeserved opportunity to choose righteousness over wickedness. Every man to walk the Earth will choose a ruler of his heart. He will either choose the Lord God or he will choose to worship Satan and the powers of darkness and corruption. But, thankfully, there will come an end to the reign of Satan. The spirit of antichrist will be dethroned.  God will then reign eternal and heaven will be filled with His praises. 

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”” Revelation 11:15-18

So, yes, our prayers and our praises really do matter...today and for eternity.


God

Why is Jesus Worthy of Our Worship? {Rev 6-8:5}

8:30 PM


 
One of my all-time favorite traditions at Christmas is to read through the Book of Revelations!  While the rest of the world celebrates His coming to earth as a baby, I love to look ahead to all we have to look for to, and this being the day after our Christmas celebration, I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on just why Jesus is worthy of all our worship!

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:
“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” – Revelations 7:9-12
Yesterday, in Revelation 5 we discovered that Jesus was the only…the ONLY One who was found worthy to open the scroll and break the seven seals. Now today we’re invited to look on what John saw happening in heaven. We’re actually being called to join with the multitude of angels and other creatures in worshiping our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I pray we each will pause for just a few moments as we wrap up our study and Christmas celebration, to reflect on just a few reason why He is so worthy of all our worship!  

Jesus is ...

__Our Creator:
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”- (Genesis 1:26)
We owe every breath to the One who has made us.
__God the Son, who laid aside His divinity to come rescue us
Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
 rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. – (Philippians 2:6-7)

__The Savior who took on human-form and died to save us.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)
__The only One who revealed God the Father to us.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father” – (John 14:9)
__The Son of Man, who chose to identify with us and die for us because of He loved us:
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”- (John 1:14)
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to willingly give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a good man [one who is noble and selfless and worthy] someone might even dare to die.  But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8 emphasis mine)
__The Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world
The next day he [John] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29)
__The Lion of Judah, who will return as the judge, the ruler, and the authority over all.
“Then one of the [twenty-four] elders said to me, “Stop weeping! Look closely, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and [break] its seven seals”. (Revelations 5:5)
These are but a few of His attributes. I can echo John’s words in John 21:25, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”
 But any and all of these attributes should be enough to motivate us to praise and worship the King of kings and Lord of lords! The Great I AM! Who set aside all His heavenly rights to come down to earth to be born as a babe, so that He could save us all from our own sins, in order that we would one day be able to be with Him in paradise for all eternity!

Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 
 for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice, 
 “Do not harden your hearts... (Psalm 95:6-7)

Hearts

Standing at the Door {Revelation 3:1 - 5:14}

12:00 AM


Tuesday, December 25, 2018


Image result for revelation 3:30

As I sat here thinking about what Christmas morning will be like, I know it is different.  A lot different than when the kids were younger – it will be quieter.  And begin much later in the morning.  The excitement is much less – I miss that.  Except I’m still so very excited.  Jesus is coming!  Jesus is coming!  And today He’s knocking at our door.  (3:20).  I sat here pondering about the “reason” for this season.  We just completed the “Advent Season” -  Advent is Latin for “Coming”.  We just observed a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the coming of the Nativity of Jesus.  But we are also celebrating the Second Coming of Jesus.  Yet, are we truly prepared? 

“Sometimes we marginalize Christ, even on this day as we celebrate His birth.  Seeing Him as a helpless baby, we leave Him in the manger instead of worshiping Him as Lord of Lords and King of kings.” (iworship Bible)

I want to share something I found here


Christmas is the perfect time to open our hearts when Christ "stands at the door and knocks"–as he promises to come into the life of anyone who opens the door to him!
The Christmas holidays remind me of that time when God "knocked on the door" of his only Son to give him a unique mission to come to earth. The mission would begin in a common stable, in a small country under the domination of the Roman Empire. There would be no great national celebration of the birth of King Jesus. In fact, for the first 30 of his 33 years on earth, people in the marketplace weren't even aware they were rubbing shoulders with the Creator of the universe!
Jesus didn't go on a campaign trail to secure this mission. He didn't raise his hand wildly, saying "Pick me, pick me!" He knew from the very beginning that his mission would be coming to earth as a baby boy, born to a virgin. During his time on earth there would be humiliation, unbelief, opposition, and finally, crucifixion. But he came. He came because his Father opened the door of opportunity for him to save the world. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17).
The incarnation—God the Son taking on humanity—would not be a lucrative career move for Jesus. It was not for something bigger and better. It actually was a huge step down to the role of a humble man. In fact, the Bible says that though he was in the form of God, he made himself nothing, "taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:6-7).
When Jesus Christ opened the door to receive his Father's plan, he literally changed the course of history. Over time, his coming would be used to separate history in two—BC ("Before Christ") and AD ("Anno domini"—in the year of our Lord). That's because of the amazing nature of his mission. He didn't come "to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45), making it possible for sinner like us to be forgiven of our sins and to receive eternal life from God!
Knowing that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), Jesus Christ completed his mission by taking the punishment for our sins with his own life. God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all" (Romans 8:32). Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree....the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 2:24; 3:18). Once justice had been done, God could forgive us so that "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
From his own testimony, Jesus declared his mission by saying, "The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me....He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives" (Isaiah 61:1). Jesus's birth, life, death, resurrection, and return to heaven completed his mission (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Since then he has set free countless prisoners of sin who otherwise would face eternal judgment. He has brought spiritual sight to men and women who were blindly headed for eternal destruction. His "mission accomplished" has released millions from the oppression of sin and its consequences.
Just as God knocked on the door of Christ's heart, now Christ stands at the door and knocks on every human heart. His arms are loaded with packages that he has carefully prepared to deliver to anyone who opens the door. Christ says, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20).

Image result for happy birthday jesus

Churches of Asia Minor

The Glorious Unveiling {Rev. 1}

11:00 PM



Revelation1


When the apostle John was around 95 years old, he was exiled by the Roman Emperor Domitian for his Christian beliefs. It was there at a penal colony on the island of Patmos, that an angel came to John, delivering to him God’s visions of things that are, things that will be, and most wonderful of all, the glorious revealing of Jesus Christ.  Told to, “write In a book what you see”, John did just that; writing a letter to the seven local churches in Asia Minor. A letter that is known today as the book of Revelation. 


“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (vs. 1:3) Revelation both begins and ends with promises of blessings when we hear and obey the messages it contains. God revealed to John amazing things. Wonderful things. Things John had never seen before. Because of this, John struggled with putting into words all that he saw. As a result, Revelation is filled not only with prophecies, but metaphors and apocalyptic imagery. To many, this makes the book intimidating or difficult to understand. But John warns that Jesus is coming again very soon, so we need to be ready. And part of getting ready means reading and learning about all God has to say; from beginning to end.


John begins by saying that he was, “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet”. (vs. 1:10) This voice instructed John to get a book, write down everything he saw, and send it to the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. When John turned around to see who was speaking he, “saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man.” (vs. 1:12-13) And so begins John’s glorious description of Jesus Christ. 


The Lamb has now been replaced with the Lion. For Christ is clothed in a robe with a golden sash. His head and hair are as white as snow, and His eyes are aflame. His face shines as bright as the sun, his feet are as glowing bronze, and His voice sounds like rushing water. In His hands He holds seven stars, and from His mouth comes forth a two edged sword. (vs. 13-14) Is it any wonder when beholding Jesus in all of His majesty, John fell at the feet of the Lord as if dead? Yet in the most loving response, the great Lion of the tribe of Judah, places His right hand on John and says, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.” (vs. 1:17-18)


Jesus then goes on to explain to John all He was witnessing. The lampstands represent the seven churches, (vs. 1:20) and the son of man is the glorified Jesus who, while holding seven stars, (the angels of the seven churches), walks among the churches as Savior, Comforter, and Mediator to all who believe in Him. 


The letters of warning Jesus gave to John not only apply to the seven churches, but to us as well. “He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen” (vs. 1:7) At any moment Christ could return. There is no prophecy that has to be fulfilled, no event that has to happen for the Rapture to occur. Knowing this should motivate us to walk in obedience, do all things for His glory, love our neighbors, practice good works, and share the gospel with the world.