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With grateful hearts, we share our thoughts on redemption through Jesus Christ and His saving blood and what it looks like in our daily walk.

We gladly welcome your comments and input.
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AND since we hold our conservative values dear, we might have a thing or two to say about politics... and we can almost guarantee it won't be politically correct.



Monday, May 19, 2008

There IS a Bigger Plan

How easy it is to get focused on the small things of life like, well... my own small little world. Is anyone else plagued with the tendency to get burdened under the 'everydayness syndrome'? That's my very own made up phrase. Hey! Sometimes you have to do that.

And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,
WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME." Rev. 4:8
"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power;
for You created all things,
and because of Your will they existed, and were created." Rev. 4:11

We go about our daily routines loaded down with our current stresses. We are all caught up in trying to 'get it all done' in the 24 hours we've been given. It is so easy to be consumed with our own affairs, our own troubles, our own ideas, our own families, our own jobs, our own desires... you get the picture.

After that I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse [appeared]!
The One Who was riding it is called
Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True, and
He passes judgment and wages war in righteousness (holiness, justice, and uprightness).
His eyes [blaze] like a flame of fire,
and on His head are many kingly crowns (diadems);
and He has a title (name) inscribed
which He alone knows or can understand. Rev. 19: 11-12

I can so clearly remember when my three children were growing up and it seemed like every minute of my day was consumed with their needs. It felt like it was all I could do to get to the end of each day with some semblance of sanity. Even in those intense days I felt the tug of the Holy Spirit in my heart leading me to begin praying for God to broaden my vision. I wanted to be able to see beyond my own needs which seemed so great at the time. It was my desire to have more capacity for the bigger plan of God. I wanted to have God's heart for the world, for the nations, for the church, for His people, for His kingdom and just what was my part in all of this?

He is dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood, and the title by which
He is called is The Word of God.
And the troops of heaven, clothed in fine linen, dazzling and clean,
followed Him on white horses.
From His mouth goes forth a sharp sword with which He can smite (afflict, strike) the nations;
and He will shepherd and control them with a staff (scepter, rod) of iron.
He will tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath and indignation of God the All-Ruler
(the Almighty, the Omnipotent).
And on His garment (robe) and on His thigh He has a name (title) inscribed,
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Rev. 19:13-16

One of the ways God began to answer this prayer was by leading me to read the book of Revelation. I won't go into the sequence of how this came about for the sake of time but suffice to say that to this day - so many years later - when I find myself caught up in my own troubles, my own agenda, the requirements of life, my own small world ... it never fails that I hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit leading me back to those same passages in the book of Revelation.

THEN I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth,
for the former sky and the former earth
had passed away (vanished),
and there no longer existed any sea.
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God,
all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband;
Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words,
saying,
See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them;
and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more,
for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.
And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new.
Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are
faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).
And He [further] said to me, It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.
To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price
from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life. Rev. 21:1-6

Now, mind you, I don't even begin to understand all this book offers. But there is something about the visions given to John of Jesus and heaven and the worship that takes place in heaven and the way the book ends that puts me in a completely different frame of mind. It transports me instantly out of my small world and its supposed issues and reminds me of God's big plan, of His love for the WHOLE world, of the price Jesus paid, of His soon coming return, of kingdom business, of what is most important in life.

I, Jesus, have sent My messenger (angel) to you to witness and
to give you assurance of these things for the churches (assemblies).
I am the Root (the Source) and the Offspring of David,
the radiant and brilliant Morning Star.
The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come!
And let him who is listening say, Come!
And let everyone come who is thirsty
[who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which
the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened];
and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come,
take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost. Rev. 22: 16-17

I've had my nose in this book of late.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. I, too, go to Revelation when I'm feeling lost in or overwhelmed by life. Must be because you suggested it, way back when.

You're not alone in your syndrome. Remember the saying: Anyone can get through a crisis. It's the everdayness that wears me out!

:o)

Nathan Talbot said...

I really needed this post. I think the H.S. prompted you to write it just for me.

MLM that is a great saying. There is a lot of truth in it.

Jane said...

Thanks for the perspective. I'll confess that Revelation is not one of the books that I turn to often. However, if I can ever get through Psalm, I'll have to head that direction.

Meems said...

mlm: ... way back when... hmmm that reminds me of the scripture... Jesus --the same yesterday, today and forever.

It is so true that in a crisis we gear up with everything we're made of and more. We cry out to Jesus expecting Him to rescue. Just the mere fact of steadying ourselves in this way gets us past some of the more severe times in life. But I truly believe it is how we gird up in the "everydayness" of life that eventually tells what we are really made of. When we are young we can get by on sheer youthful ambition but as we get older and the signs of age and life's trials can begin to weigh us down we can be tempted to lean toward our own experiences and understanding to dictate rather than the Holy Spirit and all His freshness. Anyhoo... sounds like I'm writing another post. Thanks for the comment.

NT: NOT just for you... but for me too. Although I'm very glad it helped you in some way. When I get overloaded with care the Holy Spirit never fails to gently nudge my heart and remind me how very fragile this "earth-time" is and how it is but a vapor. Jesus will return and even though I sense the time is short... He tells us to occupy until He does. I want with all my heart to do that with a deeper sense of His heart for the world. His heart for HIS PEOPLE. I can't keep that fire burning when I'm consumed with ME and MY little world. For me, the only way I can stir the embers of that fire HE put on the inside of me is through prayer and the word. AND keeping my heart fixed on HIM... not my circumstances. I'm thinking of Heb. 6:7 as I write: For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God

NOthing we've been given from God is just for our own consumption... it is always to give away! And if we keep that cycle going there's no way we can get so caught up in our own little worlds that we get muddled down in them for long.

Jane: Love the book of Psalms as well and it too can put some really good perspective on the majesty and splendor of our Lord! I don't try to understand all that written in Rev. Most of it I just put on a shelf in my heart and figure someday I'll get it in parts... but as I read it through even with little understanding it really helps me focus on the future and how glorious heaven really is and will be for those of us who will join the ranks of just men departed before us. Oh glorious DAY!

Anonymous said...

This is the thing about the book of Revelation ~ in order to comprehend it even a little bit, you must believe in a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. In order to believe in heaven, you must believe there is an afterlife. In order to believe in an afterlife, you must believe in an eternal life. In order to believe in an eternal life, you must believe in the giver/creator of life, God. In order to know God, you must believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. In order to believe in His Son, you must believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that God has raised Him from the dead. In order to believe He was raised from the dead, you must believe in the resurrection power which God exerted in Jesus when He was seated at God's right hand in the heavenly places. And that this power will be in you to give you the resurrection also by virtue of your being born again through your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the plan and purpose of the Bible, in a nutshell. The writer John, states that blessed is the one who reads, hears and heeds the things written in Revelation, so that as believers we will be prepared for the events disclosed therein. Our eyes are to be on the Kingdom of Heaven, where our hope comes from. This book is not a fairy tale ending, it is a true and faithful prophecy of what we can expect in the end of the church age. And it certainly does put things into a God point of view, rather than our little finite mind's limitation. This is an afterlife that one must firmly believe is the future of everyone who has put their faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the first-born from the dead. Wow, I am fired up and ready to depart!

Anonymous said...

Meems and Pilgrim are getting their preach on. I love it!!!