Category: Good Life Journal

Scripture:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138:7-8

Observation:

1. Even believers walk through trouble. 
2. God preserves our life in trouble.
3. God’s purposes will be fufilled. This is a promise.

Application:

There is this really preverse thinking and teaching out in the church today that says,

“God will save you from trouble.”
“God wants you to be blessed & highly favored.”
“If you speak it out, God will do wonderful things for you!”

It is called the Prosperity Gospel. It is truly the thorn in the side of the American church today. This teaching is coming from the biggest churches in America. So we need to be careful & sober.

They say, God wants to make you rich. 
Healthy.
Wealthy.
Successful.

But unfortunately, this teaching fails to grasp passages like this: though I walk in the midst of trouble…

We will walk through trouble in this life. There is no special prayer that can protect us. There is no special incantation or worship style or thing we can say that will make sure life is easy sailing. Look at Paul’s life! 

God’s promise is never for life to be good or easy, He doesn’t promise us our “Best Life Now!” even though some pastors do. Instead he assures us, “I will keep you. Preserve you. Carry you THROUGH the trouble.”

He doesn’t promise we won’t go through trouble, he promises to carry us through the trouble. That is what these prosperity teachers don’t like or understand about our God or Bible. Trouble is a good thing. Trouble is from God. Trouble is God ordained to teach & grow & make us into the people God is creating us to be. 

Believe in this God, run from those teachers. 

Prayer:

God, give me eyes to see what you are really like. Not who I want you to be. Not who these pastors are telling me you are like. Do a work in me to trust you in the midst of struggle, not to always complain and grumble but rather trust that you are doing a work in the struggle. Give me perserverance. 

Scripture:

For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses… Psalm 134:5-7

Observation:

God does whatever he pleases. There has never been a time that something happened and God wasn’t able to do as he wished or wanted. Nothing stands in his way. Nothing holds back his hand. 

Application: 

This is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible. It is like a big boulder that is too heavy to lift. To heavy to move or to carry. This heavy rock of a truth is not something we can maneuver to fit what we want it to fit. It is. This truth is very simple & yet extremely complex. 

God does what he wants. When he wants. How he wants. 

God does whatever he pleases. There is nothing in the universe that can stop him from doing what he pleases. 

This truth is the thing that we can rest our head on each night knowing that this day happened as God wanted it to happen. God did whatever he pleased today. God did not desire to do something and couldn’t because of us, or sin, or free will, or some other factor. 

Nothing can stand in God’s way. He does whatever he pleases. 

This God… This God, who can do whatever he pleases, he is FOR those who have trusted in him. The God who does whatever he pleases, he is doing whatever is necessary to get his people of faith to the finish line. 

This is the hope. We never have to worry that the God of the Universe is stuck or can’t do something to save us. We cannot get in his way. He does whatever he pleases. 

Prayer:

Thank you God for your Sovereignty. I pray that I would get it, deep in my bones that you do whatever your please. Help me understand this truth. Help me not make excuses or try to explain away this verse. Give me the grace to let this sink into my bones. 

Scripture:

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. v17

Observation:

The thirsty can come. Those who desire can come to Jesus without any price to pay. It is an open door.

Application:

Here we are at the end of Revelation. And with all the craziness & scariness & confusion of Revelation we are left with this beautiful nugget of truth to send us out: Come. 

If you are thirsty, come!
If you desire the water of life, come!

It can feel like, especially with the weight of Revelation that the Gospel is somehow altered, or works become more valuable when we come up against the weight of God’s holiness. But that isn’t what Jesus wants to leave us with. 

Instead, He says “Come.”

If you feel dirty & wicked & far away, Come! Jesus is welcoming you. Until the end of time, he will never stop calling you to come. The end will come & when it does He will stop saying it, but now, until the very last second he will be calling the world to him to get living water for free.

Prayer:

I pray I would never forget that you welcome me. And that you are calling the whole world to your side. I pray I would go out with that gospel while I drink it down myself. May we always rejoice in you!

Scripture: 

John: “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying “Behold!  The dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them and they will be His people and God himself will be with them as their God.”

Then came one of the seven angels…saying: “Come!  I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  And he (the angel) carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down from heaven from God—having the Glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.”  Excerpts from Rev 21:2-3; 9-11

Observation:  Hot dog!!  All the stuff that has come before in the Revelation of John was awesome, soberly awesome, dry up the mouth awesome.  It catches me in the deep part of my soul.  But now: the vision of all that God has planned through the Gospel is being presented: the Gospel is to prepare the Bride, the Church for the Groom, our Lord Jesus.  AMEN and AMEN!
 

Application:   This is what the Gospel is about at the eternal macro level—the Bride, the Church.

It is absolutely appropriate to relate the Gospel to individuals, but it is the accumulation of the Elect over the ages that comprises the Church.  It is the Church that is the Bride, it is the Church that has the radiance of the Glory of God clothing her like a rare jewel.

While the Bride/Church in this context is a factual theorem (a convoluted phrase) our practical application is the Local Church (a shadow of the actual Church).  It is the Local Church where we get to practice and apply the lessons of becoming the Image of the Son (Ro 8:29).  It is the Local Church that is the testimony of the reality of our Lord Jesus to a lost, dying, and needy world.  It is the Local Church that becomes the crucible, being brother and sister sandpaper, on route to the human responsibility of pursuing holiness (by His Grace in His Sovereignty).

So what is that to the man in the mirror?  A couple of things:

1.       Studying the Gospel is a lifelong pursuit.  I study the Gospel so I can apply every nuance the Holy Spirit reveals for the construction of the Body, the Local Church.

2.       Fellowship.  Fellowship, hospitality, phone calls, contact of any sort with Christians is important and maybe imperative…imperative for our growth in Him towards maturity.  I don’t do well here.  Selfishness reigns.  Phooey.

3.       Encouragement, daily encouragement.  Here is a strange thing: Heb 3 on encouragement looks to be the only place in the Scriptures where I can take an active approach to helping others avoid temptation and sin.  But what do I do?  I whine about nobody encouraging me.  So what comes first: the chicken or the egg?  Get out there and look for evidences of Grace in others to point out and encourage on, selfish and self-absorbed person that I am…

4.       Catch and cultivate the image of the Church that is the Bride of Jesus to put oomph in my life for and in the Local Church. 

Prayer:

How can I praise you more, O God?  You have done what would be considered the impossible to just about anybody.  You have made a way for the Defiled to become the Beloved through the terrible price of the Cross.  I can only be in the dirt kind of humbled for that.  You, who I have been a traitor to, makes me a son—inconceivable but awesome.  Keep me persevering to the End, Father.  I look to You Lord Jesus, AMEN.

Scripture:

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. v12

Observation:

We will be judged based on what we have done which is written in books. 

Application:

This text can be a scary one if we don’t read it in context of the whole Bible & the Gospel. 

Wait, I thought I was going to be accepted because of Jesus’ works? I have no shot if they look at my actions! 

This is true. We have ZERO hope if God judges us based on what we have done. ZERO. NADA. NOTHING. We will be found lacking & wanting & will not be accepted into the Kingdom if God judges us based on what we have actually done. 

So what do we do with this passage?

See, in the Gospel, when Jesus saves us there is this special word called imputation. This word means that when we place our hope & faith in Jesus his life is imputed to us. It becomes ours. Our sin & brokeness is imputed to his. 

It’s like our accounts were switched at the bank. You & I were broke, and he wasn’t. His account became ours, like we owned them, like we made that money. His account became nothing, like it was his, like he himself was bankrupt.

So… When God looks at the book for us, for his people, what will he see? 

PERFECT.
ACCEPTED.
WORTHY.
ADOPTED.
MINE.

Jesus needed to be obedient in this life, so that his obedience would become ours in faith. When John says in Revelation that we will be judged on our actions we need not worry, because Jesus’ obedience has become ours if we are his. Praise God!

Prayer:

Thank you Lord for becoming sin in my place, so that I could become your righteousness. I don’t deserve this. You don’t owe it to me. I am totally unworthy but thank God, you are worthy. I am humbled Lord. 

Scripture:

 Vs 1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

Vs 2  for his judgments are true and just;

 Vs 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God …

Vs 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,

 Vs 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Vs 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.”

Observation: 

John see the angels rejoicing from heaven and the elders and creatures worshiping God for His “true and just judgment” and “salvation and glory and power”.

The messenger of God then tells John the “true words of God” that those invited to the marriage will be blessed.

John then begins to worship the messenger of this Good News.

But the messenger stops John and declares himself a fellow servant of Jesus.

He tells John to only “Worship God”.

Application:

I will be tempted to worship good things.

It’s easy to think I will worship God when I am thinking rightly, but to “worship” “bad things” when I am sinning.

John shows how flawed this thinking is. He has just seen and heard the greatest news in the world.

His immediate reaction is to worship the messenger … the deliverer of that great news.

I must caution myself of the same inclination.

How easy it is to make “good” things into “ultimate” things … Or even “good” people into “idols”.

I have thought of much of life as a sort of “Truth Quest”.

And then when I find or hear a nugget of “truth”, I can “exult” or “give glory” to the revealer of this truth.

This has been the case from the beginning of the church … “I follow Paul … I follow Apollos … I follow Cephas.”

I must never start to think more highly of any person’s words than I do God’s words.

God is the creator truth … He is Truth. If anyone has truth, it is from Him.

When Paul found himself in this position, he did the same thing the angle does to John … point people back to God!

“Worship God”

And then beyond exulting God, the angel (as Paul often did) humbled himself … “I am a fellow servant with you”.

When I receive “praise” or “compliments” for my “true words”, I must do that same thing.

Humble myself as a “fellow servant” and point people to exult the revealer of truth … “Worship God”. 

Prayer:

Thank you God for your Word and Truth.

Help me to hear it and see and praise you as a result

Help me to point others toward it

Help me to humble myself as a fellow servant

In Jesus name

Amen

Scripture:

[3] For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”

[4] “ ‘Come out of her, my people,’ so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

[21] Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and  said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

Observation:

Rev 18 Babylon is a symbolic depiction of the world chasing after materialistic worldly things in place of chasing after God – a city full of greed, corruption and self-indulgence.

God warns his people to come away from the worldly trap.

For those who do not remove themselves from Babylon, the end of the story is simple –  The wrath on those who deceive and persecute the saints (God’s people) will be very serious.

Application:

The sorcery used in Babylon depicts a society filled with deception – deceptive advertising, deceptive politicians, deceptive “friends”, corruption, addiction, false idles, and so on, that permeates world societies today.

As Christ followers we are God’s people – we are the saints.  Even we saints can be fooled by the deception of the world if we are not constantly vigilant. 

We must be wary of the deception of this world as it comes in many forms – politics, advertising, false prophets, and other people in our social circles.

We must invest in our present and future with Jesus Christ, not in a future of materialistic things and worldly power.

Prayer:

Let us always be wary of chasing false teachers and deceptive people.  Let us not be preoccupied or addicted to things of this world.  Lord keep us grounded in You, with hearts filled with Your Spirit, chasing after what pleases You.

Scripture:

They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

Observation:

War against the lamb is a guarantee.
The lamb conquers.
Those with the lamb, the chosen, the called, the faithful, they conquer with him.

Application:

Revelation can be read a few different ways, but the worst way to do it is to try and decipher and decode every little word and think you know what it actually means and stands for. There is so much symbolism in here, that we can easily, and many have before us, gotten sucked into the weeds. 

There was a whole book series that did this and made a mess of things by trying to define things that aren’t meant to be defined. Sometimes, we have to be OK with the mystery and dive into it only to see the BIG truths that stand out. 

This is how I read Revelation. What are the big truths we see? The things we learn about God and his character and how the translates into real life today. 

We see in this passage that war is coming against the lamb. For sure. Definitey. It reads, “they will make war…” 

But the best part is this next line, “the Lamb will conquer.” Not maybe. Not hopefully. Not if… Will. 

The lamb will conquer.
The lamb will conquer.

The lamb will conquer. 

We already know how this all ends, no matter what happens, Jesus conquers all. And those who are called, chosen & faithful will conquer with him. 

Trust him. Set your sights on him that you would conquer with him. The conquering we experience in this life isn’t complete. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

Jesus doesn’t make you rich.
He doesn’t promise you will be comfortable.
Jesus doesn’t make sure you conquer in such a way that everything is comfortable & OK and blessed. 

But we can be assured that we will conquer. 

When you look at your life today, remember to keep going, keep pressing in, keep fighting, keep trusting, why? Because you conquer in the end through Jesus. He conquers. Abide in him. Hide in him. He conquers.

Prayer:

Thank you Lord that you conquer. Give me trust. Call me. Let me be faithful. Do this work in me. Do the impossible in me that I would trust you in the midst of the war. When it feels like you aren’t going to conquer may I trust your word that promises you do, no matter what you do. If you can conquer all of evil in the end, how can I not trust you to conquer it in me?

Scripture:

v7 – “Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true & just are your judgements!”

v9 – “They did not repent and him glory.”

v11 – “…cursed the God of heaven for their pain & sores. They did not repent of their deeds.”

v15 – “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeps his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”

Observaton:

God is good & just in his judgements. In judgement, some repent, others do not. Some see God’s judgement & repent, other’s ramp up their rebellion and curse & scream at God. Regardless, Jesus is coming. He comes swiftly & we need to be ready.

Application:

As we live our lives, bad things happen. Suffering. Wrath. Calamity. Here in this passage, we see these horrible plagues and wrath being poured out on the world in the final moments of all creation. 

As you read it, it seems like the world will be in chaos, and the craziest part is that as the world sees all the chaos they do this:

They look up to heaven & curse God. 

They don’t see God doesn’t exist. They don’t doubt God’s existence, NO! They know God is real, they see him in all these big events. But they hate him in the midst of them. 

They could have turned to him, but they curse him.

For us, even now, as we experience difficult and overwhelming situaitons, we must not look up at God & be frustrated but rather, let us use that difficult situation to look to God for help, for care, for his grace. 

That is what suffering is meant to do! It is meant to be a way for us to turn back to God, to be reminded we need God, not to look at him & curse him! 

They just doubled down. Their sin caused God to send his wrath and then in his wrath they doubled down, they cursed God even further. 

I pray that we would be a people that experience difficulty & suffering and turn to God for his help & receive it well knowing that he uses all things to draw us back to him because he is a good God, who cares enough about us to not simply give us an easy life, or a blessed life or a comfortable life.

Rather, he wants to give us a life that pushes & draws us back to him. So when we see difficulty let us use it to return back to God, to remember HE IS WHAT WE NEED. Not an easy life, but him. 

Prayer:

Lord we need you! This passage and this entire book is a big scary book, but I pray that it would make sense & teach us who you are more clearly. Speak to us. Be gracious with us. 

Scripture:

…seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. v1

And they sing…’Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!’ v3

Observation:

God’s wrath will all be finalized. 

God will be celebrated when it is all finished and His enemies are destroyed.

Application:

Seems pretty morbid, huh? Why are they celebrating God as the angels throw down plagues and wrath against God’s enemies?

See – God has told us from the beginning that he will destroy evil. Even in the garden, right after Eve & Adam eat the fruit, God talks about this one day when Eve’s seed will crush the serpent. 

God’s plan from the beginning of time was to crush evil through the son, the seed, Jesus. God crushed Jesus, so that through this crushing the enemy would be crushed. 

God’s plan was always to finish the job one day & destroy evil for good and all those who align themselves with it. But this same God went on a rescue mission for those who were deceived, confused, and broken. He beckons, begs even, come, come to me & be saved!

Why will you stay here, with this enemy only to die with him one day?

This God of grace will one day make an end to evil and all those who stick by it’s side. That day will be a terrible day, but it will also be a day to rejoice. 

No more death ever.
No more gossip ever.
No more addiction ever.
No more fighting ever.
No more of that thing inside of you that you have to fight everyday.

No more evil desires ever.
No more killing ever.
No more sexual abuse ever.
No more bullying ever.
No more.
No more.

NO MORE.

That will be a day to rejoice. 

Prayer:

Thank you Jesus for coming to save & also for one day coming to destroy all the evil that has stood up against you. All the evil that has clung to me & my soul and all the people I love and care about. Thank you for coming to destroy it. Thank you for promising it & for one day fulfilling it. You are an awesome God. You are an awesome Savior. You are wholly different. You are holy. I am undeserving but you make a way. Thank you. I look forward to that day. 

Scripture:

John: “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people.  And he (the angel) said with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory because the hour of judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water…”

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints: those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus…” (Rev 14:6 and 7; v12)

Observation: 

More unfolding of the mystery of the Revelation; point by point; event by event; proclamation by proclamation.  I think we are seeing a shift in circumstances and events by seeing God’s Grace in Judgment.

Application:

By thinking about this section of scripture I am reminded again that the Gospel is not only the good news for the lost, it is also the good news of the new Heavens and new Earth; of God’s total Grace and Goodness in His Holiness by executing Judgment and subsequent righteous Wrath upon the wicked.

Boy that reads so judgmental and bleak.   But looking at Rev 14 clinically it is true.  The extrapolation of the Gospel is that someday God will execute His Righteous Judgment on the Earth and expend His Holy Wrath.  But the angel has it right: “Fear God and give Him Glory.” 

This is the part of preaching the Gospel to myself that I am reluctant to review.  I like the good stuff.  I don’t like to be reminded that because of Adam I wholly deserve God’s Wrath in Judgment.  It is because of God’s Goodness and Mercy that the Son became the Atonement for my sin. 

I am having to remind myself almost hourly.  Holiday season brings out so much tension and anxiety I just wish I could skip the last 6 weeks of the year.  I am having a horrible time with my spirit right now.  The Fruit of the Spirit in me looks dried up and rotten.  My hands are shaking even as I write this.

But I am reminded of my Hope and I look to my Lord Jesus, remembering that I am not forgotten or forsaken, He is right there helping me through this by His active power in my life.  I am able to talk to my heart like David: “Why are you in despair O my soul—Hope again in God!” (Ps  43:5) 

I will get through this by God’s Grace.  For I have a Hope, an enduring Hope.  Until then I will press into endurance and persevere, by Faith in Jesus’ work of Atonement on the Cross. 

Prayer:

Lord God, I know that endurance and perseverance is more than just gritting my teeth and having a stiff upper lip—there are active application of biblical effort I must engage in.  This is so tough because when times are good I don’t train for the valleys of life.  Two things I ask You for today: 1) Grace for this time; to get through this anxiousness and stuff, and; 2) Grace to apply myself to training when times are good—training in a disciplined manner, adding lines, precepts, and doctrine to exercise with—hiding your Words of Life in my heart.  I want to please You in all things, Lord Jesus.  AMEN.

Scripture:

v.4 “Who is like the beast & who can fight against it?”

Observation:

In the end there will be this beast who is worshipped by the world and the world will say, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

Application:

Whoa, this chapter! This entire book from John is intense and crazy and confusing. But there are little nuggets of gold that we can find if we dig and are intentional. 

The world, during this crazy time, worships this beast because it is so powerful that they think, “Who can fight against this?” They see the power of it and think, “Man, this is it. This is the thing we need to worship.”

Yet, they missed Jesus for all of eternity He was this thing they have been looking for. The very thing they were supposed to be worshipping each and every day. 

In this life, with sin and the enemy, it is easy to get sucked into thinking, this or that is the thing we need to be worshipping. But it isn’t. Jesus is. Don’t settle for anything less, no matter how powerful, big, or worth it, Jesus is better. 

Prayer:

I pray that we wouldn’t settle or be enticed by other things that don’t even compare. Give us eyes for you Lord. Let us catch a glimpse. 

Scripture:
[3] And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy.. 
[4] They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”11:4 See Zech. 4:3,11,14. 
[5] If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies..  
[6] They have power to shut up the heavens..
..and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
[7] Now when they have finished their testimony..

Observation:
The two have been appointed by God.

The appointed ones have something to witness – their personal story of salvation and encounter with Jesus Christ, the power of God, the Gospel and love of Christ.

The two witnesses are fed continually by the Holy Spirit – lampstands fed by olive trees.

They have been given power by God to finish their testimony.

Application:
We have been appointed by the Lord and are called as witnesses for Him. Our action step is to give testimony – to those in your social circles and beyond.  At the very least, we should be sharing our own story of salvation and encounters with Jesus. 

As we give our testimony, we may not always have the words, actions, or energy, but if we follow the Spirit within us, He will give us what we need, when we need it.  

If we look to Christ, we will be continually fed by Him.  

He gives us power to overcome trials, and any haters who may speak against us. We are expected and given the power to finish our testimony.

Prayer:
Lord let me be like the two witnesses, continually fed by Your Spirit giving testimony to my sphere of influence; spreading the Gospel until You, and only You, say my testimony is complete.

Scripture:

“…the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.” v.7

Observation:

God’s plan of Jesus, the Savior of the world, the One who reconciles us to God the Father, will be fulfilled. No doubt about it. No question. Just as God told us it would.

Application:

As we read through Revelation it can be overwhelming. So much information that doesn’t make a ton of sense. But here is what we know for sure: Jesus wins. Jesus conquers. And not in any sort of way, but in the exact way that God ordained it and planned it and told us how it would go. 

Our God doesn’t lose. His plan gets done. So what does that mean for us? You can’t lose. 

But wait, “I lose all the time. How can you say I don’t lose?”

It feels like we “lose”, hard things happen, suffering happens, but we see in this verse, this whole book, that what God has planned, he accomplishes. God doesn’t get beat. God doesn’t lose, so the plans God has for you won’t be thwarted, won’t be messed with. 

So in all those hard things that we go through we can trust that God is working all of them out for His glory and our good. He can’t get beat. His plan can’t be overcome in your life. 

Trust him. 

Prayer:

I pray that I trust your plan, even when it is hard, even when it is overwhelming, even when it feels like it isn’t your plan. Carry me Lord, be gracious with me. Humble me to see that you are God, and I am not. Your plan is better and you always overcome.