HE KNOWS US

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.”

Revelation 2:18-19

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Do you know anyone in your life who knows every single thing about you?

I mean everything.

There isn’t anyone on this earth who has this power but as we see in today’s scripture verses, we learn that Jesus isn’t like any typical person who has been in the flesh and in human form. Through His very words, He tells us that He knows all that a person does.

“To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” Revelation 2:18-19

The first thing I want you to see here is that Jesus is addressing the fourth of seven churches specifically addressed in the early chapters of the Book of Revelation. So far in chapter 2, we have looked at his letters to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum. Today, we move to the church in Thyatira, also located in the Roman province of Asia, today modern day Turkey. As we have seen, these churches formed a quasi-circle and the letters have followed this circle in a clockwise fashion.

Now, with this we turn to the words of our Savior as He identifies Himself as the Messenger right away, “the Son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze”, references to the power, might, and majesty that Jesus held. As the One who God had granted authority over all things. With this, when He spoke, the churches and their believers were to take notice and pay heed to everything He had to say.

So what did He have to say to the Christians in Thyatira?

The message was pretty clear right from the start for Jesus made sure that the believers there were fully aware that He knew everything about them. This included:

1. Their deeds.

Not one thing that the believers in Thyratira did was unknown, nothing in public and nothing in private. Jesus knew every single action, every single deed.

2. Their love.

When asked about the greatest commandment, you’ll remember that Jesus said it was to love god with every fiber of one’s being, mind and heart and soul. He then called on His followers to love their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Love was central to who Jesus was and He expected that it would at the center of all His disciples as well. He is always watching to see that this is happening.

3. Their faith.

Jesus expected His followers to be dedicated to Him and Him alone, trusting Him in every way and in every circumstance. Their faith was to be steadfast and He if it wavered, He wanted His followers to know.

4. Their perseverance.

We have seen that persecution of the early Christian church was a main theme in these letters and here we find Jesus touching on the matter of standing strong in the midst of those who would stand against the Gospel and mistreat those who followed it. Jesus would know if the church failed to stay strong against its opposition and encouraged believers to persevere.

As Jesus finishes this first section of this letter, He validates the fact that He knew what the Christians of Thyatira were doing because He commends them for “now doing more than you did at first.” To this point, it appears Jesus somewhat pleased with this church but as we’ll see in tomorrow’s message, all was not well in Thyatira and Jesus will show that He knew all about it. But before we turn that corner, some self reflection questions:

1. As Christians, do we live our lives as if Jesus is watching our every move? How does this change the dynamics when it comes to how we choose to behave within every day we’re blessed with?

2. Since Jesus knows your every action, how would He grade the way that you behave, love, show faith, and persevere?

Jesus gives us His words so we can grow more in our knowledge of Him and this in turn helps us know how we’re to live because to be Christian is to be Christ-like. Let us all use this message today to examine ourselves and change whatever is needed to ensure our life glorifies and honors our Savior.

Remember, He’ll know whether we do or not.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GIFTS FOR THE VICTORS

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Revelation 2:17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I watching a football game the other night and the cameras flashed to someone attending the game who was allowed field access. This person just so happened to be an American athlete who competed in the Summer Olympics this year in Paris and won a gold medal, the medal traditionally given to the first place finisher in the event. This prize earned by the athlete had major significance because it showed that they had triumphed and gained a reward for their victory.

This imagery lends itself to the closing words of Jesus’ letter to the church in Pergamum, the third letter of its type found in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation, preceded by ones to the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna.

Prior to the verse we will be looking at today, you will recall that this letter had good news and bad news from Jesus to the Pergamum Christians.

The good news was that they were remaining true to His name, not renouncing their faith in Him despite being in a place where persecution was running rampant, a place where Jesus said Satan lived and had his throne established.

And as we saw in yesterday’s message, the bad news was that there were some within the church who were holding to pagan beliefs and teachings similar to the sinful Old Testament prophet Balaam and the Nicolaitans, an influential ungodly group in first century A.D. If the Pergamum believers didn’t repent and turn back to Him, Jesus promised to come and fight against them with the sword of His mouth (verse 16).

This brings us to verse 17 and our text for today as Jesus shifts His words toward those who are victorious, those who placed their belief in Him as Savior and gifts He would ensure they have. Let’s look again at His words here:

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Here, we find Jesus sending a message that applied to all the churches and we can broadly apply this to Him speaking to the church today as well. This message makes a promise and we know Jesus has never broken a promise nor is He capable of doing so as He is perfectly honest and true in every way. This assurance is centered on two gifts for the victors and let’s look at each of them now.

1. The hidden manna.

The first clue to what Jesus is talking about here is the physical manna that His Father God sent to the Israelites as they traveled from their deliverance from Egypt to the Promised Land. We read about this in chapter 16 of the Book of Exodus as God sent “bread from Heaven” six days of the week to ensure they were fed and able to finish their journey to Canaan.

So how does this manna relate to Jesus?

We find the answer in the Gospel of John and one of the seven “I am” statements made by our Savior.

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from Heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.”

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” John 6:32-35

Here we find the concept of manna, the bread from Heaven, being applied to a spiritual truth. For just as sure as the manna sustained the Israelites across their long journey to God’s Promised Land of Canaan so too does Jesus, the true Bread of Heaven sent by God the Father, the Bread of life, sustain ever single person who places their belief and faith in Him for salvation, those who are counted among the victorious. He and He alone is the One who can get someone to the eternal promised Kingdom of Heaven and a life forever with God (John 14:6).

2. The white stone with the believer’s name written on it.

The meaning of this gift is less clear but the larger belief is that it is derived from athletic games that the Romans were so famous for. During those competitions, when someone won a particular event, the victor would receive a white stone with their name written on it and it was that stone which served as the proof of victory needed to get into the grand celebration and banquet thrown for all the winners.  

Like the manna prior, the white stone with the believer’s name written on it is a metaphor for what awaits the Christian when Jesus returns. For it’s then that we know the Book of Life will be checked to see the names that are written in it and only those will gain access to the ultimate victory party, the everlasting splendor and glory of the Kingdom of Heaven that every believer will call home.

Today and every day, let us remember this single verse, a verse which reminds us that through Jesus Christ, we have guaranteed gifts as victors over sin, death, and the grave, all because of our belief in Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?
 
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”

Revelation 2:14-16 NLT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we look at Jesus’ letter to the church in Pergamum in Revelation, chapter 2, we find that He was happy with the believers there on some things, not so much in others, and through His words dictated through John, we see a classic good news/bad news scenario play out.

Yesterday, we saw where Christ Jesus was happy that the Christians in Pergamum were remaining true to His name and not renouncing their faith in Him despite the persecution instituted by Satan who was alive and present in their midst. We learned that the persecution was severe enough that one believer, Antipas, actually was killed for the cause of the Gospel.

So one hand, Jesus was happy but as we see in today’s message, there were also things going on in the church that brought on His rebuke. Look again at these words found in verses 14 through 16:

“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching. Repent of your sin, or I will come to you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”

One of the main concerns that has been in play since the very advent of the Christian church is that believers in any one congregation would allow their actions and doctrine to stray away from the Lord’s will and toward the ways of the world. We certainly see this in play as Jesus speaks to the Christians in Pergamum, declaring “a few complaints” that He had “against” them, the bad news He didn’t hesitate to deliver.

As we see in these verses, the Pergamum church had allowed sinful, pagan behaviors to creep in, behaviors that included tolerating some in the church who were teaching like Balaam, an Old Testament prophet from Mesopotamia, who used his God-given gifts for sinful, self serving purposes. After trying to profit from Balak, the Moabite king who Balaam knew was an enemy of God, Balaam advised Balak on the best way to get the Israelite people to compromise their faith, therefore putting them in a place of enmity with their God and subject to His judgment and punishment.

And so we know the teaching (some translations use the word “doctrine”) of Balaam was all about compromising oneself for selfish gain. Rather than espousing devotion to God, the teaching based on Balaam, a teaching also promoted by some Nicolaitans in the church, would be one that would encourage someone to chase after and seek to fulfill their own desires, no matter if it was against God’s expectations or not. This is what Jesus was railing about in this portion of the letter.

As we see in the final verse of this passage, Jesus gave firm direction as to what He expected. The Christians in Pergamum were commanded to repent or face the consequences of disobedience and sin against their God and His Son who was speaking to them, a Son who promised to come on them “suddenly” and “fight against them with the sword” of His mouth, a metaphor for the full extent of His power.

You know, as I write this message today, I can’t help but wonder what Jesus might say if He was to write a letter to any Christian church in practice today. Would He have only good news to share, news that He was pleased with the Gospel work being done, work that was honoring Him in every way possible? Or, would He express displeasure about what was happening within the congregation, detailing what He saw was wrong and threatening punishment if there wasn’t an immediate confession of sinful wrongs with an accompanying, genuine, heartfelt desire to change direction towards becoming the church He would be proud of, a church who once again established Him as the Head.

Friends, within our Christian congregations today, we had better keep these words of Jesus at the forefront of our minds as we go about our work in His name. I pray they would be the driving force toward complete, uncompromising compliance with the scriptures and His will and way, a will and way ever revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

Revelation 2:12-13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In today’s message, we begin to look at the third letter Jesus dictates to John, a letter to the church Pergamum. This follows the previous two letters to the churches in Ephesus and Smyrna and you’ll recall that all of these churches fell in the Roman province of Asia and today would be considered part of modern day Turkey.

What makes these series of letters fascinating to me is when you look at these seven churches geographically, you will see that they form a rough circle and the order of the letters follows this, beginning with the church in Ephesus and moving clockwise to the church of Philadelphia. There was a defined order to them.

On the map, Pergamum sat north of Smyrna and as we will see in this letter, Jesus has some good news and some bad news for the Christian believers there. I’m going to cover this in a two part series, looking at the good news first. Let’s read again from verses 12 through 14 of Revelation, chapter 2:

“To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of Him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to My name. You did not renounce your faith in Me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

Here, we find John identifying Jesus as the true author of the letter, ensuring the Christian readers in Pergamum know the words were spoken by the One “who has the sharp, double-edged sword”. Go back to chapter one of this book and we found these words about Jesus written there:

In His right hand, He held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. v.16

In physical form, a sharp, double-edged sword was a valuable, deadly weapon in the hand of whoever wielded it. Here, it is used as a metaphor to underscore the power and sovereignty of Jesus, the One who God had delegated all authority to rule over all things in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). 

So Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who was the head of the church, was giving these words that John wrote and initially these were words of commendation. For as we read, the area that the Pergamum church was operating in wasn’t the best. In fact, Jesus proclaimed it as the place “where Satan” had “his throne.

Yikes!

But note that despite this and the danger it posed, Jesus praises the Pergamum believers for remaining “true to” His name, refusing to “renounce” their “faith in” Him, even when harsh persecution happened, persecution that led to the martyring of a Christian named “Antipas” who was “put to death” in the city, the place where Satan lived.

Today, we Christian believers are still living in places where Satan lives and find ourselves persecuted for what we believe with people in many parts of the world still being killed for the cause of Jesus. In the midst of all this, let us follow the lead of the church of Pergamum, remaining strong and steadfast in our faith while never refusing to deny our faith in Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PERSEVERE THROUGH PERSECUTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to Me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.

“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.”

Revelation 2:9b-11 GNT

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Christian church of Smyrna, like many other first century churches trying to establish themselves among cultures with more established religious systems, face persecution. We know this through the words of Jesus Himself as He speaks through John in a letter found in the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. Here’s what we read in second half of verse 9 through verse 11:

“I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan! Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to Me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.”

“If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.”

The matter of being mistreated for believing in Jesus wasn’t something new. Our Savior made it clear that it was coming while He walked the earth during His ministry in the flesh. Here’s what He said in the Gospel of John:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” 15:18-20a

Satan hates that He has already been defeated by Jesus but He really hates that this victory ends up extending to anyone who places their belief in Jesus. This is why he works so hard to persecute the church with the goal of eliminating any Gospel spreading, disciple making work. It happened in the day of the church of Smyrna and it has continued to our present times.

Who were the perpetrators of the Satan-driven persecution Jesus speaks of in our passage, those who spoke “evil things” against the church and its members?

We read where He identifies them as “those who claim to be Jews but are not”, a group that belonged to Satan himself.  Through them, Jesus promised that the devil would put the Smyrna church “to the test” with some members of the body even “thrown into prison”, a finite trouble that would “last ten days”. But note that Jesus assures that this momentary hardship and persecution would lead to a blessing. For we find Him making the following promise of encouragement:

“Be faithful to Me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory”...and...“Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.”

The call here is to persevere through persecution by keeping one’s eye on the cross and the saving, redeeming work Jesus did there to bring the victory to anyone who places their trust in Him as the Savior of the world. This meant victory for the Christians in Smyrna and it means victory for all Christian believers today. Through Christ, His disciples “will not be hurt by the second death” (aka Hell) which we read about at the end of this book in chapter 20:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Vv. 11-15

All Jesus followers will have their names found in the very book of life which validates them as a true child of God and a co-heir with Christ to the very Kingdom of Heaven (Romans 8:14-17). Yes, in this worldly existence, Christians can expect to face persecution from Satan and those who prescribe to his will and way but in the end, they win and gain the ultimate prize of victory where they will live with their Creator God and the Son He sent to bring salvation, forever.

As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, thanks be to God for the indescribable gift of His Son Jesus (9:15).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

RICH IN JESUS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of Him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!

Revelation 2:8-9a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

These words from Jesus speak volumes about our life, first in this world and then in Him. First, let’s look at our life in the world.

The words from Jesus, "I know your poverty and suffering" addressed the plight of the people of the church in Smyrna. Affluency wasn’t their superpower for sure, anymore than it is for a multitude of Christian believers today here on earth. Indeed, Jesus disciples through the ages since John wrote down these words have gone through a similar plight than their Christ-focused ancestors of first century A.D. and this is why this verse and a half of scripture is so important for we find our Savior speaking two important truths to His followers.

First, Jesus knows us and what we’re going through.

He’s fully with us, for us, and caring for us. There isn’t anything that happens to us that is out of His sight. Anytime the enemy tries to sow the lie that He is distant, we need to remember that He told us that He would be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). The truth is that He stands by us, ever ready to assist so we can carry out His will.

All this reminds me of the famous writing titled "Footprints in the Sand". You may recall that the narrator speaks about walking through his life with Jesus on the beach, each of them leaving their set of footprints in the sand. Then, during a particularly difficult time, the man notices that there is only one set of footprints in the sand and he questions Jesus as to how He could have abandoned him when he needed Him most. You may know the end of this story for Jesus calmly explains that the single set of footprints in the sand was not the man’s but rather His for it was during the period of hardship that Jesus was carrying him through.

As afflictions and poverties fall on us in life, let’s remember that Jesus never lets us go through it alone.

The second important point in this passage is that Jesus testifies as to how much He loves and cares for us. For by not turning a blind eye to our circumstances, He lets us know we count, that He values us greatly and I don’t think I have ever met a person who doesn’t want to feel this.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, our Savior isn’t indifferent to what we go through. Rather, He knows our troubles and is ever working to help us in the midst of them, all out of compassion and genuine concern for our well being.

So in this world, we may face difficulty but Jesus is aware and present, always with us in a spirit of love and support. In Him, we will always be rich, in this life and in the eternal one yet to come, no matter what our worldly circumstances bring. This richness is found not in the wealth of the world but rather the very divine prosperity of the Kingdom of Heaven of which every single Christian is a co-heir of with Jesus (Romans 8:14-17).

This is what Jesus wanted the believers of the Smyrna church, and us today, to remember. For through the blessed assurance of victory over death, the grave, evil, and sin, we have an abundance of riches that no one can steal from us, riches made possible by the One who came to give true life and give it to the full (John 10:10).

Let us rejoice and be glad over this good news today and every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE BIGGEST WIN

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.

Revelation 2:7 CEV

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Everyone likes to be a winner, at least pretty much everyone I have ever known, and there are plenty of opportunities in life where we have a chance to finish number one, some good and some not so much.

Maybe a person like to play individual or team sports. When they become good at what they do or are a part of a team that is a collective of good players, then just winning isn’t enough. One wants to be considered the best of all winners, a victorious champion who often receives a special recognition and reward for their achievement.

Then there are those who maybe play online games against others with the goal of winning. Whether one who plays video systems and their associated games well (like my brother) or possibly play lower level games via apps, we have virtual opportunities to compete against others with a hope of winning. I always try to take a break every day and get away from my work, engaging in apps like Scrabble or Major League Baseball where I am vying for supremacy against others. The goal is always to win and I am proud to say I do so far more than I lose.

Unfortunately, there are money traps out there that prey on a person’s desire to feel victorious. For example, state lottery programs or casinos for example offer a person to play and win, for a price. The problem with this is that a majority of people lose far more than they win and that’s the point of the business, right? They want to make money off the backs of those who are willing to lay down their earnings for the chance to win, even though the odds of winning anything significant are astronomical.

With all this in mind, here’s a question for you.

Would you be interested in a way where you are guaranteed to be a winner and gain the greatest valued prize in human history, a prize that will not cost you a penny (or whatever the lowest monetary unit is within your country’s system)?

I hope your answer is a resounding “Yes!” for as we see in today’s scripture passage, Jesus reminds all who reads His words of the eternal rewards found by anyone who simply believes in Him and turns their ears to the Holy Spirit who dwells within every believer. Here’s what he said at the end of His letter to the church in Ephesus:

If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will let everyone who wins the victory eat from the life-giving tree in God's wonderful garden.

Here we learn that the ultimate win in life comes the moment anyone places their belief and trust in Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them to walk in His ways and truth. This ultimate win brings the eternal reward of the Kingdom of Heaven, a place we read about at the end of this book. Look at these words from chapters 21-22:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!””

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.”

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 21:1-5, 22-13; 22:1-5

Friends, this is a glimpse of the glory that every victorious Christian will experience as they live in the presence of the Father and Son forever, serving them and worshiping day after day after day while basking in their majesty and light, and eating from the “life-giving tree in God’s wonderful garden”.

The bottom line is that no matter how good any one day has been, no matter how many worldly triumphs you may have in life, everything is going to pale in comparison to the amazing blessing of everlasting life a Christian believer will experience through their belief in Jesus.

My prayer today is that you are counted in that number. If not, please make the day of your salvation and gain the divine, immeasurable riches found through believing in Jesus as Savior.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

LOVE OR ELSE!

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lamp stands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Revelation 2:1-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After John comes face-to-face with Jesus and commits himself to obedience, following Jesus’ command to write down everything he sees at the end of Revelation 1, we find Jesus start to tell John what to write at the beginning of chapter 2. He starts with a letter to the church in Ephesus, one of the seven churches He told John to send His message to.

As we examine this letter, there are several critical takeaways that we would be well-served to adopt in our own personal lives.

First, Jesus knows all the things that we do. Just as He was totally aware of all the good and bad in the church in Ephesus, He is also totally aware of all the good and bad in each one of us. Jesus knows our innermost thoughts and feelings so it’s literally impossible to be invisible or even obscured while in the presence of Christ for He can everything we do and everything within us, even our deepest thoughts.

Reflection points: When Jesus looks at what you do and within you, what does He see? Would He see things that glorify and honor Him, showing that you are indeed in Him as a Christian?

Second, we need to remember that we please Jesus when we live in obedience to His word, will and way. The church in Ephesus worked hard for the Lord, displayed patient endurance, didn’t tolerate evil people, flushed out false apostles, and suffered without quitting.

Indeed, they had built up a lot of favor with their Savior, Jesus.

Reflection points: What have you done in obedience to Jesus that would lead Him to look on you with favor? As you reflect on what you do at the end of each day, do you go to sleep in peace, knowing your day has shown you are a faithful Christian servant and disciple?

Finally, Jesus explains to the Ephesus church ( as well as us) that without love for Him and each other, any favor we have gained will quickly be replaced by judgment. In regard to the church of Ephesus, the penalty was removing their lamp stand from the midst of the other churches. In other words, the Ephesian church would perish unless they showed the kind of love that Jesus expected from them.

And so will it be with us as well.

You may remember that when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandments, He replied:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength…and love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:30-31)

The commands here are simple.

We’re to love the Lord and then, in turn, love one another. The key is love and it’s the key because Jesus was the perfect definition of love, a love that He wants us to model as we live and go to make disciples, just as He commanded. After all, isn’t being a Christian supposed to be about being Christ-like, emulating Him in the way we go through each day we’re blessed with?

We honor Him the most when others see Him in the way we live daily, especially in the way we love.

Final reflection points: How well have you shown your devotion and love for Jesus lately? And the second one is like this: Have you shown the love of Jesus in the way you have loved others?

Brothers and sisters, there isn’t a whole lot of gray area in these words of Jesus today, words dictated for John to write to the church of Ephesus. In the end translation, His expectation comes down to a rather simple call.

Love…or else!

What will your choice be?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ALMIGHTY JESUS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day, I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand, He held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:9-20

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Before we get too far into Chapter 1 of the Book of Revelation, John tells us where the Revelation originated. I’m sure the day was like any other day for John. As an apostle, he would have been setting out to prayerfully carry out the Lord’s will, most certainly teaching and preaching the Gospel and ever seeking to help others find their salvation in Christ Jesus.

But the Lord had special plans for John on this Lord’s Day, a term used for the first day of the week because it was on that day that Jesus rose from the dead. John shares that he was "in the Spirit" when he heard a loud voice behind him, demanding that he "write down” what he was about to see and report it to “the seven churches which were Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

When John turns to see who is giving him the order, he witnesses the very majesty and power of Jesus right before his eyes. The scriptures tell us there were "seven golden lamp stands” with the "Son of Man" standing in the middle of them. There, we read where Jesus’ face was radiating an awesome light, "like the sun shining in all its brilliance", and this would have been unbelievably magnificent enough except there was more. For the hair of Jesus was as white as wool or snow, his eyes “like blazing fire”, his feet “like bronze glowing in a furnace”, his voice like “rushing waters”, and emerging from His mouth was a "sharp double edged sword.” Standing like this in front of John while holding “seven stars”, Jesus provided an incredible spectacle for him to experience, one he thankfully recorded in obedience as he was told to do.

Question: How would you respond if you encountered such an experience with Jesus?

I’m pretty sure your response would have been like John’s for the scriptures tell us that he fell at Jesus’ feet “as though dead," surely frightened beyond belief.

But then something amazing happened.

For in the presence of all the glory found in the Almighty, Powerful Son of God, John experienced His awesome grace and love. For we read where Jesus "placed His right hand on” John and spoke four words of comfort and peace:

 "Do not be afraid."

He then tells John who He is, "the First and the Last”, “the Living One” who had once died but now was alive as ever, “alive forever and ever” and holding “the keys of death and Hades”.

And with that, we find Jesus directing John to write what he has seen, “what is now and what will take place later”. This included this “mystery of the seven stars he held in His right hand and the seven lamp stands. Jesus stated:

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.

And with that, how did John respond?

It’s obvious he did just as Jesus commanded because we have this wonderful Book of Revelation to read and study today, a book that promises to bless anyone who reads its words or hears them and takes them to heart (1:3).

As this first chapter closes, we are left to reflect on times when the Lord Jesus may have spoken to us in a special, powerful way and ponder how we responded. The truth is that Jesus wishes to speak to all of us in personally, significant ways. He meets us where we are in the midst of whatever circumstances we may be in with the desire to bless us, teach us, heal us, and love us in ways we never imagined.

With this, we should be prepared to receive Him in three ways:

First, like John, we need to consistently be in the Spirit for when we are, we will always now we’re connected to the Lord. We need to always open our hearts and minds in prayer, asking for our Savior to lead and guide us in His ways. When we do, we can be assured that He will reveal His will to us and provide direction to carry out so that will can be done, just as John did when he wrote down everything he witnessed.

The second thing we need to do is to praise Jesus for His greatness and splendor. We should ever be in awe that the Son of God who has been granted authority over everything in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) would want to even come into the hearts of sinners like us to do anything good...and yet He does because He wishes to partner with us to further His kingdom right here in the world we live. Like John, we should respond to being in the presence of Jesus with absolute reverence and give him the fullest measure of our thanksgiving and honor.

Finally, we need to respond to Jesus with obedience. John received orders to write down what he saw and he did, authoring the Book of Revelation.

How about us? What is Jesus calling us to do today?

My prayer is that we will open our hearts and minds to receive our Savior, praise Him for what He intends to do in and through us, and respond to His call with absolute submission.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is with us each and every day. Let us rejoice in the fellowship we have with Him this day and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE PERFECT HOLY ONE, FROM BEGINNING TO END

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at

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** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

Revelation 1:8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the beginning, God.

These are the first four words in the Bible leading off the first verse in the first chapter of the Book of Genesis and the creation story. Indeed, there we read that before anything else existed, there was God who “created the heavens and the earth”

He is also the One who will be present in the end of the very heavens and earth He made, forming a new Heaven and earth as well as a new city of Jerusalem where He and His Son Jesus will live for all eternity with all those who were saved, those who chose to place their belief in Jesus as Savior. Here’s what that scene looks like at the end of the Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible.

Then I saw “a new Heaven and a new earth,” for the first Heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children. (21:1-7)

God began creation, making the heavens and the earth, and He was the One who ended it all, hitting the reset button on all He had formed before starting over. He was the Alpha who later became the Omega only to become the Alpha again, this time creating a Kingdom that would have no end.

In between these acts, He was perfectly holy and righteous and just, the ultimate, sovereign Ruler over all created things who was the same Almighty God Most High in the past, the present, and the future.

Friends, this wonderful, powerful God is with and for anyone who would choose to place their belief, faith, and trust in Jesus His Son, the only One who can bring someone to His Father. Today and every day through the lifetime of this Heaven and earth and then in the everlasting, glorious life to come, let us render our fullest measure of praise, reverence, thanksgiving, and honor unto God, our Maker and Master and Redeemer.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.