Thought for November 20, 2023

I am having surgery this morning. I'm not sure if I will be able to send out a Thought tomorrow. If I can, it will likely be later in the day. Hope to be back to normal on Wednesday. 

•  303: With prisons full, Diocletian offers amnesty to Christians who will worship Roman gods
• 1789: New Jersey is the first State to ratify the Bill of Rights
• 1850: Fanny Crosby accepts Christ at a Methodist revival following a dream in which a friend makes her promise to meet in heaven--at the altar, she shouts "Hallelujah"
• 1866: Howard University founded
• 1902: Tour de France created
• 1914: Photographs required for passports
• 1917: First successful use of a tank in combat
• 1928: The original Boston Garden opens
• 1945: Nuremberg trials begin
• 1962: Russia agrees to remove rockets from Cuba
• 1984: SETI formed [Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence]. We need a new institute to search for terrestrial intelligence.
• Born: William Painter [invented crown cork bottle cap and opener], Kennesaw Mountain Landis, Edwin Hubble, Chester Gould [cartoonist for Dick Tracy], Alistair Cooke [Masterpiece Theater], Robert Kennedy, Estelle Parsons, Kenneth Schermerhorn, Richard Dawson, Dick Smothers, Joe Biden, Duane Allman, Dierks Bentley, Dominique Dawes, Josh Turner
• Died: Isaac Backus [Baptist preacher and advocate for religious freedom], Tom Horn, Leo Tolstoy, Clyde Cessna, Fransisco Franco, Robert Altman [directed "Nashville" and "MASH"]

Thought:

Turned to Revelation this morning. I admit that I find the first 4 chapters and the last 6 chapters are the ones I read. The middle chapters are very difficult. But I am going to look at all the passages I have marked over the years. Today,  1:1-3.

Think about the word "revelation." It is a translation of the word "apokalipsis" meaning "unveiling." John, on the island of Patmos , was given a vision by the Holy Spirit of the ultimate unveiling of Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus will be revealed and all will admit that He alone is the Christ to the glory of the Father. Takes you back to the "love chapter"--now we see dimly, but then face to face." Now think about how Jesus reveals Himself to you today. We get glimpses of His coming glory, glimpses of His love and mercy, glimpses of His majesty and power, glimpses of His grace. Where? In His creation. In His word. In His followers. In His church. Sometimes in a dream or vision. Sometimes in a still small voice. Don't miss the glimpses. As some of you natives of Nashville know, there is a house near Percy Warner Park named "Glimpse of Glory." Perched on a hill, majestic, beautiful--but the glory does not compare to the coming glory of our Lord.

Think about the word "shortly." Verse 1 says God is revealing things that MUST shortly take place. This was written about 100 A.D. 2200 years have past--but shortly these things will occur. Reminds me that His time is not my time. He exists outside time. So we wait patiently and expectantly for His coming.

Now think about verse 3--we are blessed if we read and hear this prophesy--NO--we are blessed if we read, hear and obey/heed this prophesy. What do we do to obey/heed---we live in light of what is coming. This means we strengthen our relationship with the coming Christ. We proclaim His coming so that all are prepared. We live each moment as if this is the day and this is the time when He appears. We obey His word until the Word returns to call us home. 

Blessings

Larry