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Tag: John

  • The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    The Scrolls of Dr. Luke

    Revelation 5:1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

    Imagine having been given a tremendous responsibility to write the Holy Scrolls of God! Imagine Christ Jesus, risen King of all creation having instructed you to record the Gospel of the Cross and Resurrection for God’s Holy Church.

    Why was a Scribe so highly regarded? Few men (and only the learned) could read and write the Holy Word of God.

    Jesus had spoken with the authority of a Scribe, even as learned one teaching from a Higher Authority.  Perhaps less than five men in one hundred of those who heard Jesus teach could read. And perhaps only a dozen among a thousand could write down the words of Jesus in any language.

    For the Apostle John to have been given by Christ the very Word of Revelation (above); for the Apostle Matthew, a lowly (but literate) tax collector to have been given the charge to record the Gospel; for Luke, a doctor to the Apostles and follower of the Way to be given the charge to write down the Gospel being preached to all the world and in his most literate meticulous medical way to record the record of the Acts of the Apostles: these from the Throne of the Lord carry tremendous responsibility and eternal consequence of getting it right.

    In the Name of God, the Gospel Truth must be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    By witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit the Gospel truth is Good News we can take to the bank of eternity.

    The first Scroll of Luke (the Gospel of Luke) begins in this way from the witness given to him at many different times, by eye witnesses of Jesus:

    Luke 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

    Dr. Luke has recorded the events leading up to the Cross and resurrection.  Now in the Acts of the Apostles Luke will relate the journey and witness of the Apostles taking the Gospel into all the world.

    To be continued…

     

  • A Flicker of Faith

    A Flicker of Faith

    Proverbs 24:20 For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.

    Beloved brother; dearly beloved sister:

    I know you have been ‘lukewarm‘ in your belief in Christ. You have been lukewarm in your faith in Jesus. You have been cold in your heart for His church and unthankful in your daily life.

    Your offering has been stingy (if you have even returned any of what is already His).

    And your prayer?  … Probably as infrequent as my prayers so often become.

    The flame of His light dimly flickers in the fruit of your witness. You resist the fire of His Holiness each time the Lord calls you to repentance.

    Yes… at times, we are lukewarm for the risen Lord, Christ Jesus. At times, we fail miserably in our Christian… our christian… our not-so-Christlike mortal life.

    The Light in You

    Luke 11:33 “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

    34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.

    36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

    John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

    5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

    Has the Lord’s light left your heart?

    OR do you answer our risen Lord’s voice at the door of your heart saying: ‘Repent, beloved?’

    Jesus seeks the lost. He welcomes the return of the prodigal christian.

    For to the church at Ephesus, the risen Christ also revealed through John:

    Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent…

    7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

    To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

  • Who Is It?

    Who Is It?

    A knock at the door:

    What is your first thought?

    ‘Who is it?’ your mind rapidly asks. “Who is it?’ your voice may even inquire loudly?

    Perhaps you know who to expect and will just open the door to welcome your guest. Or in a more hostile environment you might even ask, ‘Friend or foe?’

    The door stands as the remaining barrier between you and the unseen ‘friend or foe,’ the known guest or unknown visitor who has come to meet you face to face in the place where you live.

     “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” invites the painting which does grace the walls of many homes and houses of worship.

    The friendly guest is none other than the Lord, Jesus.

    I have heard a sermon or two using the illustration of Jesus at the door – some based on the actual scripture; other messages from the pulpit using the picture to illustrate other applications of other scriptures.

    (Personally, I had forgotten for a moment the source of this scene.) The author, through the Spirit, is not an unexpected guest to the Apostle. The context, perhaps a bit unexpected for this tranquil scene, is the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John.

    The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John…

    3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

    Greeting to the Seven Churches

    4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

    Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

    To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

    7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

    8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

     

    The Apostle John then describes his vision and prophesy from the Risen Christ Jesus and continues with Christ’s word to each of seven churches.

    STOP. Do not be deceived for an instant that this Revelation of Christ Jesus does not apply to you and me (even though addressed to ‘seven churches of Asia’ in the first century).

    We are the church – the churches of Christ Jesus in this day.  The Revelation is timely to Christ’s Church worldwide (catholic, universal, orthodox, protestant, Greek, Roman, etc.): ALL who are true Christians, faithful to our One Lord, who IS faithful and true.

    Behold, it is Christ who knocks at the door.

    Look! See the Word of scripture. Listen to the Voice of Jesus.

    What is your answer to His word to each of the seven churches? [See Revelation 2-3]

    To the Church in Laodicea

    [He has kept this Revelation until last for the seven churches.]

    14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

    15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot.

    Is Jesus (at the door of your heart) a friend?

    OR is Jesus, the Amen and final Judge of all souls, a foe?

     “I know your works,” says the Lord.

    He knows our love. (OR He knows our lack of love.)

    He knows our faith or lack of faith.

    He knows our service for Him or our lack of fruit for His Kingdom.

    Imagine that our risen Lord Jesus comes to your door and confronts you with this:

    Would that you were either cold or hot!

    16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold,

    I will spit you out of my mouth.

     

     To be continued…