Genesis 1-5 [The Message]

Let’s work through the Old Testament with The Message Bible.

The King James says, “Sin crouches, even lies at the door,” about the challenge Cain would endure his entire life. He was the carnal one whose offering was without faith. This take-care-of-me-first existence is the norm of most of the world. Sin HAS them.

Not so with Christians. Yes, sin is always there to take you down if you give in to it. You don’t have to live that way. Each time you give in to a carnal temptation, it becomes a stronger pull. RESIST the Devil and he will flee from you.

Life can be like a football game. When we are on offense, we are advancing God’s Kingdom here on earth … evangelism, service, Bible teaching etc. When we are on defense, we resist the advances of our enemy. He wants to destroy you. Block him out of your mind. Fill it with God’s Word.

Rev. 22 [The Message]

When we ultimately see what John saw in Heaven, we too will fall on our faces in submission and worship. God is worthy, but do we fully realize yet what He has done for us? Not really. Yet, we have these precious days here on earth to worship Him and do His Will.

Yes, the Psalmist declared, “Give Him the glory DUE unto His name.” One reason; when we do so, He gives us a glimpse of His glory and greatness and thereby changes our lives with a more Heavenly perspective on things. David learned that early when he was doing the mundane chore of caring for sheep. Probably much of the content of his later Psalms was formed in his spirit there on the hillsides of Bethlehem. He sang to the Lord NOT because God was in Heaven demanding it … he poured out musical worship to the Lord because he loved Him and received His love and faithfulness. [Ps. 23]

Rev. 21 [The Message]

When hearing the description of New Jerusalem, one is awed by the lavish details of the value and beauty of it. Yes, the finest of gold and precious gems and metals will be present in its construction, but all will pale compared to the light and glory of seeing Christ.

In this life we have a foretaste of the glory to come. We know what gold is and we value it. We are given glimpses of this city’s beauty and quality because we have precious gems in our jewelry to tease us of what is to come. We have occasional moments of God’s Holiness through worship. These all point to a reward for those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life. [1 Cor. 2:9]

Our earthly goal – bring people to Christ so they can be there with us.

Rev. 20 [The Message]

After the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth, the devil will be released for a brief period before he is cast into the Lake of Fire to be in torment forever and ever.

We don’t understand the word torment. Back when I experienced the “blue light” treatment at the skin cancer doctor, I wrote a devotion on the pain of that procedure. It was pure torment. I sat there, in this painful torture, for only 16 minutes on ONLY the skin of my face. It was nearly unbearable. I began thinking … all of the skin of the bodies of those cast into the Lake of Fire will suffer this pain … FOREVER.

We must get busy and bring those we care about to Christ. If we love them, we will make haste to see them find forgiveness through the blood of Jesus.

Rev, 19 [The Message]

I have given a good part of my life to working with choirs. I love them, especially when they sing well and sing to the Lord. I studied at BGSU for Music Education with Choral Emphasis. I am presently a member of a community choir called Masterworks Chorale. (We have a upcoming concert as detailed on poster below)

There is something very powerful and moving about human voices singing together. It’s too bad that church choirs aren’t in vogue right now. I guess the choral experience in Heaven will make up for what we missed here on earth.

If I had to do it over again … who knows? … I would give more teen aged energy and time to music rather than sports which only break up your body and cause you orthopedic surgery challenges with accompanying arthritis in old age.

Hindsight.

Rev. 18 [The Massage]

I’ve never been to Babylon (in Iraq), but I have been to New York City on several occasions. When you hear of the great city described in this chapter, you KNOW who it’s talking about .. NYC.

Here is another case of God’s judgement coming to rest upon those who deserve it. Only time will tell how corrupting the influence and greed of this city has been. Thank God for the Brooklyn Tabernacle and Times Square Church (started by David Wilkerson) who have been preaching to this whore of a city. When you read The Cross and the Switchblade, you begin to pick up God’s pulse of compassion for NYC. He clearly sent David Wilkerson there to give his life of ministry to warn them.

By the way, that is a book every Christian should read.

Rev. 18 [The Message]

Parents often defer their displeasure in their children until they get to the tipping point. Then, the child seems to get punished for the accumulation of wrongs. God is somewhat similar except for different reasons. God is waiting for them to turn in repentance.

God’s wrath is often described as a cup. When it gets full, He acts. Just because offending parties don’t get quickly disciplined doesn’t mean they don’t have a day of judgement coming. For us, we have extended time to pray for change.

Pray for New York City. Pray for our leaders. Pray for Hollywood. Pray for our schools. WE KEEP PRAYING.

Rev. 13-14 [The Message]

We’ve all no doubt heard of the mark of the beast. We are warned here that to take it exempts us from God’s salvation. Actually, the Saints may have already left in the Rapture, thereby being spared the pressure to take the mark. Regardless, this is nothing to be feared, because God always leads us in paths of righteousness for HIS NAME’S SAKE.

The faith walk we”re called to can help us overcome. Everyday, I pray, ‘Lead us NOT into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Rev. 13 [The Message]

The book of Revelation speaks of many fearful and traumatic events yet to occur on the earth. It’s the description of how God wraps everything up and gives us our entrance into Eternal Life with Him in Heaven. (O Hallelujah!)

In spite of all the scary things described there, the saints whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life are encouraged to stand their ground, hold firmly to their faith in Christ, and wait for God to gloriously redeem them. We are to have NO FEAR. In fact, this is probably one of the main reasons God had John record what he saw … so that we would identify these calamities and trials when they occur. We have the benefit of reading about how it all turns out. It will be worth it!

Rev. 12 [The Message]

We are giving place to WRONG THINKING when we doubt the power and authority we have through Christ. In this chapter it is mentioned that war broke out in Heaven, but the dragon and his angels were NO MATCH for Michael and his angelic troops. The devil and his followers were cast out of Heaven and sent to earth. Still, they are no match for God’s Heavenly Host.

The authority we have is in the Name and sanction of Christ Jesus. He bought us with His blood and sacrifice. We don’t conduct ourselves here in fear. We are told, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he (the devil, the dragon) that is in the world.” [1 Jn 4:4]