Bible Readers

December 31 – Today’s Readings – Revelations 21-22 and Proverbs 31

Chapter 22:17 reads “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”
Here, at the end of this book, we find a pure Revelation of the heart of God towards mankind. He simply wants people to come to Him – to walk with Him – to love and to be loved by Him – to drink the water of life. What incredible living water this is – “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” [Revelation 22:1]

This “water” flowing from the throne of God brings nourishment to a special tree that only God’s children can eat from – “the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” [Revelation 22:2]

Adam and Eve could have eaten of this tree at the beginning of recorded time but they chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead. [Genesis 2:9 &17 and 3:6]

We have this privilege now! We drink of the river of life when we “drink” Jesus! We have the ability to dispense healing to the nations now! We can change the eternal destiny of people now! They don’t have to go to a Christ-less eternity because we still have a little time left to cooperate with the Spirit of the Bride and bid them “come”. It is a “free gift” – an eternal gift. Now is the time, for very soon there will be an eternal shift of seasons and God will speak the words – “Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong – let him who is holy continue to be holy”. [Revelation 22:11]

The season of grace and the gift of repentance will end on the Earth and people’s eternal destiny will be fixed. 2Peter 3:10 reads; “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought we to be? We ought to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to the day of the Lord and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”

While it is still “daylight” we should be at work. While it is still “harvest season” we should be laborers in the harvest. While there is still time to invest our “talents” we should invest into people’s lives! “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” [Revelation 22:20]

Assignment:

1. According to this passage both “the Spirit” [the Holy Spirit living in you] and “the Bride” [the Church you are part of] say, “come” to all the people of earth. This is obviously the attitude we must have in approaching people – we must be harvesters for the Lord. Make a “New Year’s Resolution” to invite people to Church and to a relationship with Jesus Christ throughout this coming year!

December 30 – Today’s Readings – Revelations 19-21 and Proverbs 30

Here, in these three chapters, we have visions of hell, of heaven, of the second coming, of the final judgment, and of the bride of Christ.

All of these visions are written the way John saw them. He had no words that could describe all that his eyes took in except in the language of the day. The symbolism in this passage is nothing short of spectacular. We can be certain, however, that all these visions will come to pass or have already come to pass.Exactly how they will all be fulfilled , we cannot tell except to say that Jesus’ second coming is close at hand – so is a raging Devil – so is eternity!
In the course of a busy year we often lose track of the spiritual realities we are a part of. It is easy to see only the temporal and not the unseen world. We lose spiritual motivation when we lose track of heaven or the second coming of Christ. We are apt to drift along, forgetting that we are collectively the pure Bride of Christ. We dare not fall asleep spiritually, however – not now – not ever – for we know that we must be alert – ever vigilant if we are to be over-comers. We can never for a minute lose focus concerning the enemy of our souls – above all, we must ever keep in step with Jesus our Lord and Savior.

Remember when Peter walked on the water? – “When the disciples saw him [Jesus] walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’ And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.” [Matthew 14:26-33]

Did you notice that the storm, the wind and the waves only overwhelmed Peter when he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on “the wind”? The best news about all that we have read today is that we really don’t have to fight any great wars or battle any “beasts”. All we need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus – following Him closely – walking with Him daily – listening to His voice. Jesus is not afraid of the Devil or the “boogeyman” or the storms of life. We are at peace in all these things when we are at peace with God.

Questions:

1. What “spiritual disciplines” can you incorporate into your life this coming year so that you will keep your eyes on Jesus and not the storms of life?
2. Imagine the Church – the “Bride of Christ” – what will she look like when the Lord comes for her? 3. How can we position ourselves so as to be “beautiful” in the Lord’s sight?

December 29 – Today’s Readings – Revelations 16-18 and Proverbs 29

According to these chapters in the Book of Revelation, there is no question that strange, and terrible things are about to happen to this planet of ours. The destruction of this world is clearly indicated – there will be no planet Earth, as we know it.

It is also obvious from these passages that the spiritual happenings on Earth will be astounding in their grandeur – great angels – great beasts and great demonstrations of spiritual power.

How will we ever cope with such trauma? Have you ever seen a baby kangaroo jump out of harms way into its mother’s pouch? Perhaps you’ve seen a film of a baby penguin crawl under the insulation of a parent when the extreme cold hits. Maybe you have observed a herd of muskoxen encircle a group of young and face down a pack of attacking ravenous wolves. When trouble comes, our response as Christians will be like this – “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” [Psalms 18:2]

This “end of the world” season will be our greatest hour on Earth as Saints of God! Just before God calls His Church up higher – just when all judgment is coming to the Earth – the Saints will be safe and secure in the hands of Jesus. His power will be a shield to us – He will be our strong tower – He will be our peace in the midst of the storm [Luke 8:24] – “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” [Psalms 46:1]

Christians are the only people who can proudly proclaim that they have “no fear” of what the enemy can throw at them. Even death itself is no cause for fear in our lives. By reading this Book of the Revelation we gain supreme confidence that we will be “delivered from evil” by the power of God Himself.

Victory is ours because of the saving power of the Blood and the seal of the Holy Spirit!

“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)” [Revelation 19:6-8]

Questions:

1. Make a list of things or people you should no longer fear.
2. Make a list of “things” you hold dear that will soon be destroyed with the rest of the Earth.
3. What can you actually take with you when you meet the Lord in the air?
4. Is there anything at all that you should fear as you see the day of judgment approaching?

December 28 – Today’s Readings – Revelations 13-15 and Proverbs 28

What are we actually seeing here in these Chapters? There are negative spiritual “powers” at work – shaping the politics and power structures of this world. There are also “principalities” shaping the spiritual climate of the earth. The whole earth is under a tyranny of the Devil – except for those submitted to Christ!

Remember to balance this thought with the Scripture declaring “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” [Psalms 24:1-2]

The truth of Scripture is that the Devil was cast down to Earth and really messed things up – but Earth rightfully belongs to Christ and the day is coming soon when we will no longer hear of “the Enemy of our Souls”.

In this spiritually dark world we live in, it is our job to keep ourselves very close to Jesus. We must constantly guard ourselves from being fearful of the enemy because one of his most powerful weapons is to instill terror in people. We must keep watch so that our focus is not one of fear but on being at peace with God. Remember, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” [John 4:18].

Our enemy, the Devil, will use all means at his disposal to keep people in bondage to sin and to influence Christians negatively. What are key issues that threaten us the most?

Pear pressure and propaganda – being squeezed into the world’s mold – “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” [Romans 12:2]
Being in awe of the Devil and his powers instead of being in awe of God – “He [Jesus] replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” [Luke 10:18]
Focusing on the material world instead of focusing on the spiritual world – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” [1Timothy 6:10]
Not seeing the big picture – the fact that God is everything to us and in Him we will always be stable and spiritually fulfilled – “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” [Ephesians 2:6]
Actively turning away from all sin and living in an attitude of humility, repentance and victory.
Notice that we should never be consumed or in awe of what the Devil is doing – we should be consumed by what God is doing – His will and purposes in our lives. ALSO notice that we need to focus on following Jesus, not on when we will be taken to heaven! Let’s never let “prophetic” books like Daniel and Revelation make us lose perspective – after all – remember that this is a Revelation of Jesus Christ – not of the beast. We are created to do good works now, not be waiting for the future to happen.

Questions:

1. What “signs” do we see indicating that evil spiritual powers are at work in our world?
2. What should our general attitude be towards the enemy of our souls? – Towards God?

December 27 – Today’s Readings – Revelations 10-12 and Proverbs 27

It’s amazing how this book jumps back and forth in time and space as though time does not exist. We “time travel” from the fall of Satan, to the birth of Jesus, to the persecuted Church as though it was all just one happening. This is indeed how God must see time and space. It’s all such a small portion of eternity that it becomes one “event” in the light of the workings of God. We must always remember this as we read Scripture. God is not bound in any way by the “rules” of how and when things happen. After all, Peter reminds us; “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” [2 Peter 3:8]

This is also why we can’t place this Book of Revelation in a time-ordered continuum. The enemy has been there since the beginning – so has anti-Christ – so has persecution – so has salvation – so has the New Jerusalem – etc. These things have all existed in the mind of God since before creation.

This should give us great comfort as we realize that God is in control. His intention from before the beginning was to have a family of sons and daughters who, of their own free will, would forsake the enemy and all the world’s substitutes and turn their heart’s desire toward God Almighty. He gave every provision for mankind to make this choice but never imposed His Almighty power to rule in our hearts until we asked Him to. All of this will come to a sudden end when the Lord returns.

Philippians 2:9-11 reads, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

He provided the way, gave us the gift of repentance, gave us grace to overcome, gave us the Holy Spirit in order to live in victory. He provided all these things but we had to continually respond to the invitation – “follow Me”.

We must never doubt that Jesus is Lord – There aren’t two equal spiritual forces doing battle in the cosmos. There is one Almighty God and a defeated enemy who stirs up trouble on earth till his time is done – “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 Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” [Revelation 12:10]

This is indeed the summation of the book of Revelation. We are over-comers! We are Sons of God! We win!

Questions:

1. If God is in control, and the enemy has been defeated, is it possible that WE are sometimes our own worst enemy?
2. How so?