Day 362: Rev 7:1 - 12:17

As I mentioned yesterday, reading and then writing a commentary on the book of Revelation is not an easy task. After reading this group of Scriptures, I realize even more the fact that I'm not nearly "educated" enough in end-times prophecy to be able to say anything coherent about what the trumpets are, and the angel and the little scroll, and the 2 witnesses, and the lady and the dragon. I'm not at all saying that those things aren't important, but what I am saying is that I, unfortunately, don't even know where to begin to discuss such a subject. What I can talk about is the fact that This entire book of the Bible is such great evidence of the fact that we serve a God Who is truly concerned about His children and what happens to them. It would have been easy for God to just let the human race continue on its own without any knowledge of what was to come, but our Father in Heaven is so in love with His children that He has issued us this prophecy showing us exactly what He plans to do. We would be fools not to take this book seriously and read and know it because whether we like it or not, the end is near and we all have to be ready for what God is planning to do.

- Lord, thank You for loving Your children enough to issue us this warning and let us know exactly what You plan to do. Help us to stay faithful to You and keep this book of prophecy always in our hearts so that we will be ready when the time comes for You to take Your bride back to Heaven with You. -

Day 361: Rev 1:1 - 6:17

I have to be completely honest and admit that the book of Revelation was the one book that I was most nervous about writing a commentary for. I mean seriously, I've read this book more times than I can remember and I still have such a hard time understanding any of it. But while I was reading the first part of this book, God brought my attention not to all of the doom and gloom and scary stuff but rather He brought my attention to the fact that He was willing to do all of this and reveal everything to a fragile, imperfect human being. Oftentimes we read this book and we take into consideration all of the end times prophecy and doom and gloom but fail to think about the fact that God was willing to get that close to a human and reveal that much to him simply because He wanted to. And the amazing thing is that God wants to have that sort of open communication and relationship with each and every one of us. I don't necessarily think that John was somehow a super special person that was created better than all of the rest just so he could be shown this incredible awe-inspiring spectacle. I think God was simply looking for someone to speak to about this and John was there ready to listen. I encourage you to open up your heart and really find a way to listen to what God has to say because you never know what He may reveal to you.

- Lord, show me how to get my heart in the right condition so that I can hear Your voice like John did. I want to make myself available to You to hear and see everything You want me to hear and see so that I, like John, can bring it to the rest of the world and help reveal Who You really are to them! -

Day 360: II John 1:1 - Jude 1:24

In the book of Jude, the church is reminded to keep a watchful eye out for those who would sneak into the body of believers with the sole purpose of corruption. It's sad that this is even a problem, but it's no secret that while many churches and ministries are out there trying to take care of others and make changes in their world, there are people trying to sneak in through the back door to gain anything and everything that they can from those ministries. God knows that one of the quickest and easiest ways for the devil to keep his grasp on our society is by polluting the very thing that has been called and commissioned to save this world - the church. We as believers and ministers need to learn how to always be prepared and always be armed and ready for attack from all fronts. Just like the men of Gideon who went to the brook and took a drink while constantly looking around ready for action, we too should be ready to defend the work of God at any moment from any side.

- Father, help us all to be watchful of those who would try to attack the work that You have called us to do from the inside. Help us to know how to deal with them in love and give them the help that they need to join with us rather than work against us. Also help me to keep my heart right and pure so that I am always working out of love and so that I never find myself working against the very thing that You have created me for. -

Day 359: I John 1:1 - 5:21

John has often been referred to as the "Beloved Disciple" or the "Disciple of Love," and after reading I John, it's easy to understand why. John put such a huge focus on the subject of love and the fact that God is love and for good reason. Even back then, nearly 2000 years ago, the church was struggling with the fact that unless they learn to love as God loves, they don't belong to God. Too often, believers get caught up in their own ministries and their own efforts to placate God and forget about the 2 primary commandments that we were given - love God and love people. If we really dig down and find out what love really is and what it really means to love another, we find out that it is truly impossible for us as humans to truly and completely love one another. We see that the only way to truly love one another is to allow God's love to flow through us. We can all take joy in the fact that if we have given our lives to Christ and abide in Him, we too can love as God loves.

- Lord, thank You for the love that You have given me. Thank You for not only loving me personally, but also for giving me the ability and strength to love others with a love that doesn't come from me, but comes straight from You. -

Day 358: II Peter 1:1 - 3:18

As Christians, we sometime tend to develop this mentality that it's somehow our job to keep tabs on the false teachers and ones responsible for misleading God's children and that somehow we should see to it that they're taken care of. In this passage, Peter reminds us that although there definitely is a problem with those sort of people and we should be aware of who they are and what they're doing, it's not our job to see to it that they "get what they deserve." Peter cites specific examples of times when God took care of situations like that and pulled men and women of God out of horrible situations because they turned to Him and put their faith in Him. It's easy today to look at our society and get hung up on all of the horrible things that people are preaching and doing, but God wants us to remember that vengeance is His and they our job is to simply continue on with the job that He has given us. If we will put our focus on loving God and loving people, He will see to it that the rest is taken care of.

- Lord help me to not get hung up on the false teachers and prophets trying to lead this generation astray. I know that if I will just stay the course and trust in You, You will see to it that everything is taken care of. -

Day 357: I Peter 1:1 - 5:14

This passage, similar to Philippians, provides a good deal of encouragement for believers who are going through difficult times. It's easy when we go through something difficult to lose faith and feel like perhaps we've made the wrong decisions or done something wrong, but we are encouraged in these passages to take joy whenever we go through difficult times. Peter reminds us that the devil wouldn't be attacking us if we weren't a threat to him so that fact alone is a good indication that we are on the right track doing what God has called us to do. We have to learn to take the correct perspective when it comes to dealing with difficult times and remember that as long as we give Him control, God can take care of anything that comes our way. Nobody ever promised us that the Christian life would be without difficulties and trials, We've just been guaranteed support from the One who created life and Who can turn any situation around if we will put our faith in Him.

- Lord, thank You for holding my hand throughout all of the trials and tribulations that have come my way. I pray that I will remain encouraged all the way through the difficulties knowing that You are there and You will give me the strength to overcome any and all of the attacks by the enemy. -

Day 356: James 1:1 - 5:20

I think the book of James is an important one to read after Hebrews because he reminds us that although faith is incredibly important, it's absolutely worthless if we don't add any works to it. I can't even count how many times I have told someone that I have complete faith in God and that I believe that He can take care of any problem no matter how big and then I've turned around and ignored what He told me to do because I thought I saw a better way. We can say that we have complete trust in God until we're blue in the face, but until we actually act on what God has told us to do, we have absolutely nothing. God doesn't just want our support or our mental assent that He is God and He loves us, God wants us to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak, and prove our faith and reliance upon Him.

- Lord, help me to add action to the faith that I have in You. Help me not to just sit around saying that I have faith, but give me the strength to stand firm and act on what You have told me not because I have faith in my own ability to hear or even in the act of faith itself, but because I have complete and total faith in You.