Time for a bit of a Geography Lesson First

We have all seen the many depictions of what some might imagine Jesus to look like, but isn't it interesting that out of the writers in the New Testament, not one of them happened to mention what Jesus looked like? NOT ONE! Except in the Book of Revelation in Chapter 1.

It is here we get the only description written as to what Jesus looks like. The Bible tells us more than 500 times in the Bible that Jesus is coming back again and that in 1 out of every 25 verses in the New Testament refer to the Second Coming of Jesus. This gives us hope in a hopeless world, that Jesus is who He said He is, and He will be coming back to us in his glorious Second Coming.

So what does it mean that Jesus is coming in the clouds from verse 7, in Revelation 1? "Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him." It means He is coming again in the sky and the air. Jesus also said in Matthew 24:27, ~ "For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man." (NIV).

The description we see of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation is s culmination of  all the rest of the books of the Bible in their unveiling of who Jesus Christ is. It is at this stage we see Jesus in His glory, in His resurrected state and strength, as the Son of God, in his righteousness. That when we see Him, his face is like the sun, in full strength.

Now that it is summer it is easy to understand the strength and power of the sun. How it can get extremely hot. The interesting thing to note is that for Christians, this is as hot as it will ever get for us. Heaven will be perfect. It's hot because the sun is shining in its full strength. The Scriptures state that when we attempt to look upon the face of Jesus, it will be in its full strength, brighter, and stronger than if we were to attempt to look at our own sun.

The scriptures tell us that looking into His eyes, they are like flames of fire, speaking of his righteousness. He has a brilliant white beard, shining, draped in white linen with bands of gold across his chest and His feet are polished like brass. He is awesome!!! This is the Jesus Christ in His resurrected glory.

In Revelation 1:4, "John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne." (NIV).

This is taking place from God's view. We have John, Christ, God and angels referenced in this verse alone. We must first consider God's accounting. When it states, "John, to the seven churches" we know that there were more than 7 churches during 70 A.D. So why is the letter written to only 7 churches. When you look at those 7 churches geographically, it is encompassing the region of Christianity at that time. These are the 7 in an oval, the bulk of the churches that existed at that time remained in that circle. The number 7 appears in the Bible more than any other number. In the Book of Revelation, the number 7 appears 54 times. The number 7 in both Greek and Hebrew has a numerical value. It has spoken of God's completion or totality. The number 8 according to God is the number of new beginnings and there is a long list of those numbers and what they mean according to those who study those things in relation to the Bible.

We are confronted with the number 7 in relationship to the churches and it grabs our attention because there were more than seven churches at that time. Not only does the number 7 represent the number of real churches at that time, because each of the churches mentioned were real in that time, but there are a reference to the types of heart of those that are religious who have a relationship with God. These churches relate to the churches of the church age. We can see some of these qualities in the lives of believers, but we will save that for when we get into the letters to the seven churches later in our study.

So back to the number 7, and this is referring to the completion or totality of the churches from God's accounting. It is interesting that it is addressed to the churches seven times beginning in Revelation 2:7, ~"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the seven churches."  You can find all seven references in Revelation 2:11, 17, 29, 3:6, 3:13, and 3:22. The Spirit here is the Holy Spirit, don't approach the Bible with a gunshot mentality, like Russian roulette, we can't get anything out of the Bible like that. We need to pray that when we open for example John 1, we ask God to speak to us while we read. Write down in your Bible or notebook what He has revealed to You in your daily reading. You know what the Spirit is saying to you, because You are the Church. If you have never heard God speak, you aren't waiting on Him with your Bible open. Ask God, "Lord, speak to me." The Holy Spirit, speaks to those who have ears, so ask for God to give you ears to hear.

God's geography, Asia isn't the continent of Asia but Asia Minor. The churches are found in what is today, as Turkey in modern times. It once had a strong Christian base before the spread of Islam but it does still retain Christian foundations and it will be prominent in the end times as Turkey has a role to play.

In John 10:16 ~ "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." (NIV).

We know that the one shepherd referred to here is Jesus Christ. He was speaking to the Jewish nation first, to the nation of Israel first, but they rejected it. It wasn't until Acts that we learn that they turned to the Gentiles to preach the Word of Christ. We were grafted in. Gentiles simply mean non Jewish. If you are not Jewish, you are Gentiles. But because the Jewish people rejected the gospel, in Romans, it was offered to the Gentiles. We were grafted in like wild olive branches, we were aliens in this world, grafted into the root of Christ. But let us not get cocky like Gentiles trying to rub it in the Jew's faces that they rejected it. See Romans 9-11. Israel is the tree, and we humbly accept Jesus' sacrifice to us, otherwise we would be left out. Be thankful for that.

 God has done this all around the world. Where the gospel is preached, people accept it and a church is formed and it flourishes. It began in Asia Minor however. Now we look at God's nature, who he is at all times. " who is, and who was, and who is to come." God never changes. He is the same forever. "Grace to you", is the good news for us.

God's grace in the Greek means charis or khar'ece, which means the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life, making one acceptable, bestowing benefits, applying favor, the giving of gifts, having pleasure in, favoring someone = to the divine degree.

God does all of this for us that believe in Him. Being the object of God's affection, like you are the only one! He loves us all the same, despite what we might think. It's because of His grace upon us, He has targeted us with His favor. But he speaks to us, like we are the only one. He has put His favor and divine grace upon you. Don't you want to be the object of God's affection? If we do that, it will be white knuckle ride until God calls us home. When God is allowed to do His work in our life, things work perfectly but too often WE get in the way. We are a lot like Pepe LePew affection for the cat, we are the cat with the strip down our back. God is like that love, and we keep pushing him away.

Tomorrow we will continue our study into the Book of Revelation a bit more in-depth with more of Revelation 1:4. I hope this study is blessing you and you have a desire to know more. Remember, ask God to speak to You as you read through this with me and hope that you can a much deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is.  I am taking this book slow because there is so much more than simply reading through 22 chapters in this book. I hope you'll stay with me and it blesses your life immensely!

Are YOU Living on the Right Side of History?

( Photo: America's Providential History)

Growing up one of my least favorite subjects in school was History. Didn't matter if it was American History or World History, I couldn't get understand why we needed to even remember all this stuff that happened so long ago, much less how that might be relevant even today many, many thousands of years later. In fact, I failed some of my history classes in high school. Perhaps it was the teacher who didn't inspire a love of the past, but whatever the reason, if you know me today, it is one of my favorite subjects to study.

It has been said that those who don't remember our pasts are bound to repeat it (George Santayana 1905) and I fear that may be happening very soon. America has been reported to be on the same scale as Ancient Rome and we all know how that turned out. But did you know that there is recorded history that is applicable to all nations? It's called the Cycle of A Nation. The average life cycle for most nations is around 210 years. There are 7 different ages to a nation.

1. The Age of a Pioneer ( Vision, Passion, Simplicity of Self Rule)
     This is the beginnings or birth of a nation. It contains the vision for what it may become and laws are established to help it grow.

2. The Age of Conquest ( Expansion, Development, Growth)
     As a nation begins to grow, it needs to expand as the population grows. Cities are built that all fall under the growth of this new nation.

3. The Age of Commerce (Wealth and Influence)
     As a nation grows it begins to prosper and others are drawn to it.

4. The Age of Affluence ( Leisure and Pleasure)
     The nation now begins to ensure some of the fruits of all the hard labor. We begin to realize how profitable we have become and realize how much we have done for ourselves.

5. The Age of Intellect (Self Reliance and Arrogance)
     The nation now has no need of God. They begin to self justify all that they have done for themselves. They begin to push God out of the equation.

6. The Age of Decadence ( Tolerance and Acceptance)
     The nation now has compromised on some of the laws in order to accommodate the needs of others that don't necessarily believe along the same lines as they had in the past. New generations have risen up that don't accept the beliefs of those before them. They make concessions so that everyone is happy don't whatever is right to them.

7. The Age of Decline and Collapse (Greatest Amount of Rule and Law). 
     Because the nation is now struggling in economic, political or judicial ways, they decide that the only way to make things better is by changing existing laws or making new ones in order to fix things. People are slowly getting out of control as they struggle to find ways to fix what is broken.

This is now when a nation will fall and be taken military by another nation. When it will go into captivity of another nation.

Do you see where America might fall in any of these cycles? Are our current leaders not pushing for more government control, more laws or even changing the very laws our nation was founded on because they are out dated? Is America on the brink of falling into the captivity of another nation?

I believe we are. We have grown too apathetic as a nation. We have slowly fallen into these very same paths and have now gotten ourselves in such a fix, we are scrambling to find ways to fix things before it's too late. We have enemies that have a sworn hatred towards America, once a very blessed nation. We have removed God from the equation at every stage and now wonder why things are broken.

We have shaken our fists at God and said "We're fine thanks, we've got this! We don't need YOU or your outdated laws from the Bible to order us around anymore."

I mean what laws don't people agree with? No murdering, not lying, not stealing, not cheating, not worshiping God?

Yeah I think it is that one right there. We don't want to be told what to do and we have forgotten our Creator. The Great I AM!

Our nation wants Kings and gods of our own choosing. They want a god on their terms, their own selfish desires. They will simply reject God if He doesn't respond the way they want him to.

But they fail to realize that God is not a product. He is not a genie that answers to the whims of the people. What happened to Israel prior to its destruction in 70 A.D. is exactly what is happening in America today.

If history repeats itself, will America not suffer the same fate as Israel, God's chosen land and His people? What makes us think we are above it all?

We need to simply realize that what is happening in America today is not a political problem, an economic problem, or one that the government can fix, but it's a spiritual problem. I believe it's time to clean house, and get right with God again.

No matter what has happened in your past, perhaps God didn't save your loved one despite your prayers, perhaps God took away all you had, and now you have nothing or are on the threat of losing everything. remember this. God is a God of restoration. If your loved one is dead, if they were a believer is Jesus, you WILL see them again. This is just a temporary absence. They are waiting in heaven on the other side. Stop blaming God and start living for Him.

God is a wonderful loving father who wants only the very best for you. You might be losing everything so when you get to rock bottom, you have nothing left but trusting God. All YOUR efforts have failed up to this point. Now it's time to turn to God who has been patiently waiting for you to look up and let Him help.

Won't you consider what God offers instead of what the world does?

Trust me God's retirement plan is way better than anything Wall Street or your 401K plan offers!!!

Eternal life awaits. But it won't wait forever for you to make that choice to follow Him.

The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Don't you want to spend an eternity with God over being eternally tormented in judgment? I'm sorry but those are the only two options waiting for you when you die. Choose life, eternal life. It's a decision you will NEVER regret.

It's really simple. Say the prayer below and believe it in your heart. You may not feel anything different after you do, but trust me, the Holy Spirit coming to live in your life after this prayer will begin to work in your life. Your former life will now try to battle the ground it lost when you made this decision. That's how you can tell Your a child of God's now, but it's one with the best benefits ever!

Father, I come to You, confessing my sin and asking for Your forgiveness. I thank you, Lord, for You have promised that if I will confess my sins, You will be faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I want to turn from my sins and live in Your will. I ask that You give me the power through Your Holy Spirit to live the right way.

I thank You that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paying the price for my sins, and then rose from the dead. I accept Him now as my Savior, my Lord, and my Friend. Thank You for giving me new life in Christ. I surrender myself to You; make me what You want me to be. In Jesus' name. Amen!

Father, I come to You, confessing my sin and asking for Your forgiveness. I thank you, Lord, for You have promised that if I will confess my sins, You will be faithful to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I want to turn from my sins and live in Your will. I ask that You give me the power through Your Holy Spirit to live the right way.

I thank You that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paying the price for my sins, and then rose from the dead. I accept Him now as my Savior, my Lord, and my Friend. Thank You for giving me new life in Christ. I surrender myself to You; make me what You want me to be. In Jesus' name. Amen!

The Meaning Behind Memorial Day

Memorial Day is more than just a holiday to celebrate a day off from work, to gather with friends and family to enjoy a great picnic or bar-b-que, watch a parade or to raise a flag in memory of those who served in the war. I found some amazing facts regarding this historical day and wanted to share it with you.

The custom of honoring ancestors by cleaning cemeteries and decorating graves is an ancient and worldwide tradition, but the specific origin of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first known, are unclear.

In early rural America, this duty was usually performed in late summer and was an occasion for family reunions and picnics. After the Civil War, America's need for a secular, patriotic ceremony to honor its military dead became prominent, as monuments to fallen soldiers were erected and dedicated, and ceremonies centering on the decoration of soldiers' graves were held in towns and cities throughout the nation.

No less than 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, and for many years, states observed the holiday on different dates. By federal law, however, Memorial Day is now celebrated on the last Monday in May.

Since World War I, poppies have been a symbol of remembrance on Memorial Day, honoring those who died in service to their countries. Red poppies are also a symbol of consolation.

The idea started in 1918 when American Moina Michael read the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written by Canadian John McCrae in 1915 during World War I. She began wearing and selling poppies to support veterans. Today, donations to veterans’ groups are often marked with a token paper red poppy.

Traditional observances at Memorial Day have diminished over the years. This day is for honoring those who have fallen in service (not all who have died). In honor, we raise the flag.

Let us not forget those who have died today as a way of remembering what the true price of freedom is. It's found in the cemetery's of those who have past away. It is in the lost abandoned fields of the grounds in which they have fallen, it's in the hospitals and hospice facilities where many are still recovering from the war, and in the hearts of those that still live and breath that came home because of something someone did to ensure that they would return home; most of all let us not forget those Missing In Action that have never returned home and have been denied their most basic right to freedom. As you can see, freedom does have its cost and it's worth remembering not just today but every single day.

As a honor to service men and women all over the world, whenever you see them, stop and say a simple thank you. It truly does mean so much to them. They are a true heroes and forever will be.

Thank you for all of you that have served this great country of ours for the freedom we still enjoy!