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Revelation

03 Jul

Dear God, I have a question: Should I care about Revelation? If so, what should I care about? I was listening to a video by N.T. Wright last night, and…well, let me back up really quickly.

Monday night at the Christian Men’s Life Skills Bible study, the ice-breaker question was, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Several people asked about the end times and Revelation. One of the leaders got up and started talking a lot about the end times possibly being now. I remained silent throughout the discussion, but then when I got up and had my turn to talk to start my Bible study on David’s ascent to the throne over all of Israel I found myself telling the men, “I don’t care about Revelation.” The same leader who talked about end times also made a great statement when he was asked for his question of you. He basically said, “I don’t have any questions of God. My job is just to serve him.” I wholeheartedly agree, so I leaned into that. I told them that, for me, I don’t care about the end times because you have given me work to do today. I also try not to care about what’s in it for me because I “consider my life worth nothing to me.” (Acts 20:24) Then I went into your exchange with Job in Job 38-42. I found my voice getting really passionate about it as I said it all. I could feel it happening in real time. I thought I hadn’t been that animated during most of the Samuel/Saul/Jonathan/David stuff, but I apparently had something to say about this. It was interesting.

Fast forward to last night, and I am listening to the N.T. Wright talk. Someone had put up a video comparing his theology on this issue with John MacArthur’s. MacArthur has a much more rapture/tribulation/second coming view of the end. First, isn’t it fascinating to see how we can read the same things and disagree?

One thing Wright said that I’d never heard before in a second video I listened to was that the imagery John used in Revelation was commonly understood by readers of the day and that the whole part about you winning and Jesus on the throne has already happened. All we are waiting for is your second coming, but even that won’t be something where we are taken away from earth. You will return to earth and rule here. We will meet you in the sky because people go out to greet their king, but then we will return with you to earth.

So back to my initial question. And I really mean this. Am I missing something that you want to use to develop me by ignoring Revelation. The thoughts that are coming to me right now is that I am missing the warnings to the churches. Those are important for anyone to heed. It makes me wonder if John were writing Revelation today, what would your words be to the church in the United States? What would it be to the different denominations? What would it be to me?

Father, I think over the next few days I am going to go to the parts of Revelation that are the letters to the churches. I want to see what you said to them and what I need to understand from them. Oh, how I love you. Oh, how I love to sit and do things like this with you. When I sat down this morning, I had zero idea what I would pray about, and then I let your Holy Spirit guide me into this wonderful thought process and discussion with you. Help me to not become so into it that I lose my salt for the earth. And thank you for teaching me new skills for this Christian Men’s Life Skills class. You are stretching me and growing me through it. Thank you for stretching me and growing me in such a gentle and delightful way. And thank you, Father, for the good news for a couple of relatives yesterday. And for good news for other prayers as well. I don’t thank you enough for the answers to prayers. But I am grateful for your movement in my life and in the lives around me. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 3, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories, Revelation

 

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“Would you still follow Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

29 Nov

Dear God, I was listened to the Holy Post Podcast yesterday that interviewed a friend of Tony Campolo’s, Shane Claiborne. They were discussing Tony’s recent passing, and there were several good parts of it. I expect to listen to it again, but as I sat down this morning and thought about it, I think this is my favorite part. Claiborne mentioned this as one of Tony’s core messages when he would speak to groups, and it is something I trace back in my own life to when I used to say the same things to kids at camp when I was a counselor 35 years ago.

I remember a couple of years later when I was sharing that philosophy (theology?) with a Christian friend who was older than me, and he scolded me for it. He pointed to Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” This caught me flat-footed and I remember not having much to say in return. That conversation was 32 years ago, and it’s amazing how much it still haunts me now.

If I were to have another shot at that conversation, I would want to point out the context of that verse:

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

In my opinion, and perhaps my friend would still have disagreed, for Paul, the idea of afterlife with you is part of the argument for Jesus’s resurrection. You can’t separate them. If no afterlife, no resurrection. If no resurrection, no afterlife. As I sit and think o this now, I just had a thought that takes what Paul taught one step further. If no afterlife, then no reason for us to even care about you. No reason for the incarnation in the first place. No reason, honestly for you to care about us any more than we care for our pets. Our lives would be so unbelievably insignificant in your presence as specks of dust that are here and gone (Psalm 103:14-15), then what would be the point. No, afterlife is truly the lynch pin to everything I believe in about you.

With that said, following Jesus and what he taught us is not about picking the lesser of two evils: It’s a pain to follow you, but it’s better than hell! It’s about the opportunity to follow you and live a victorious, sacrificial life here on earth that grows the fruit of your Holy Spirit within me regardless of what it physically costs me. It’s about the peace I get here. The love. The joy. The patience. The goodness. The kindness. The gentleness. The faithfulness. The self-control. Knowing you. Loving you. Serving you by serving others. That’s what it all is about. That’s what I’m offering others when I talk to them about you. It’s not a guillotine over their head and a threat that they better follow you or else. It’s an invitation into true life.

Father, I have got to be better about offering this life to others! I am sorry that I’m not. I’m sorry to you, but I’m sorry to them as well. Help me to really get this concept and compel me to live it out. Thank you that you taught it to me. Help me to teach it to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2024 in 1 Corinthians

 

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“I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe

26 Feb

“I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe

I can only imagine what it will be like
When I walk, by your side
I can only imagine what my eyes will see
When you face is before me
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

Surrounded by You glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

I can only imagine when that day comes
When I find myself standing in the Son
I can only imagine when all I would do is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for You, Jesus
Or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine hey ya ah
I can only imagine yeah yeah
I can only imagine
I can only imagine ey ey ey
I can only imagine

I can only imagine when all I will do
Is forever, forever worship You
I can only imagine

Written by Bart Marshall Millard

 

Dear God, I was really having a hard time finding a scripture to spend some time with this morning, so I finally decided to see if I could just find a song and spend some time with it, both worshiping you and thinking about a piece of you perhaps a little differently because of what an artist/poet wrote down and shared.

This last weekend, at a retreat my wife and I attended for other couples, we watched a movie that was loosely based on how this song came to be. It took me back to the first time I remember hearing this song. I think it was the fall of 2001 and I was at church. We sang it, and it overwhelmed me. The idea of actually being in your presence and having zero idea of how I would respond to you. Will I stand? Will I fall? Will I sing? Will I dance? Will I be able to even move? My guess is that I would collapse with the revelation of how much greater you are than I could ever have imagined. I think I would wish I had never existed, collapse into a ball and then hide my face. And my faith gives me the hope that you would grab me, hug me in some celestial way, and tell me it’s okay, be not afraid.

Then there is the idea of seeing those who have gone before me. My daughter lost during pregnancy. My grandparents. My friends. My mother-in-law. I can only imagine what that will be like.

Father, thank you for this hope. Honestly, I don’t do what I do for this. I don’t pray to you today with Heaven as my motivation. It’s about relationship with you now and becoming the man you want me to be, need me to be, and know I can be. It’s about knowing you so well that your Spirit lives through me. Heaven is great, and it will be what happens for the vast majority of my existence, but for now my eyes are fixed on my time here on Earth. Walk with me this day.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 

 
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Posted by on February 26, 2019 in Hymns and Songs

 

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1 Peter 1:3-7

01 Jan

1 Peter 1:3-7
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Dear God, as I look at what Peter wanted to communicate to these early members of the church, it seems like his lead-off hitter is to tell them to endure the trials because there is a great reward coming one day. Of course, this makes sense in this context because there was a persecution happening to them that the church today in America (including me) could never understand or appreciate.

As for me, I have never focused on the reward of the afterlife in my relationship with you. First, my reality isn’t really that bad so I am fortunate to not need to focus on heaven in order to emotionally survive my day. There are plenty of people out there in my own community that live with that kind of pain. Yes, one day this struggle will be over. One day, those that live in regions around the world that are experiencing persecution for their faith (I’m thinking about any number of countries including Syria, North Korea, China, etc.) will be free from that persecution. One day, my neighbors who are living in terrible daily situations (from sex trafficking to domestic violence situations) will be able to rest and be at peace, worshipping you in person and in your full glory. And one day my race will be run and I will be home. I think I’m at peace for whenever you have that scheduled for me—whether it is today or 40 years from now. The question is, will I have run my race well? Will I have learned what you needed me to learn and used the talents you gave me to maximum effect for your glory.

Father, thank you that there is something to look forward to when this is all said and done, but thank you also for the course you have laid out for all of us. Thank you for teaching me through struggles. As I think about starting 2019 and how I pray for myself, my wife, and my own children, I pray not that you will make this a good, stress-free year, but that you will make it a year that continues to lead all of us closer to the Center of your heart.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

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