Never Again!

Never Again!

Revelation 18: ²¹ Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again. ²² The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again! No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more! ²³ Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you. Your merchants were the most powerful in all the world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!”

 

²⁴ Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and of God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth.

 

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When the police arrived at the bowling alley, they asked me to identify one of the thugs who chased me. “Is this one of the people who were after you?” was the ludicrous question asked of me.

 

• I had just freshly ran away from danger and the police brought it back in my face!
• I worried that any jail time the thug would face would be short and I would have a problem later on.
• I did not believe the thug would permanently leave me alone.

 

John, the disciple JESUS loved, was shown a mighty angel pick up a stone, throwing it into the sea, and said many declarations about how the great city would “never again” do the harm on humanity it once did.

 

My Observations:

• GOD’s judgment is permanent and cannot be reversed.
• GOD will put an end to any torment HIS people faced throughout all of history.
• GOD sees any injustice done to anyone who believes in JESUS.

 

When GOD does away with evil, it will be permanent. I mean, there will be no retaliation, no pop up problems and no embarrassing confrontations with evil people who could cause future problems.

 

JESUS has been raised from the dead and that is not the end! HE went to build a new heaven and a new earth. HE sent the HOLY SPIRIT to live inside those who believe, to protect and give purpose to tell others about our risen Savior. I am glad I will, one day, never face problems again!

 

Challenge

• What reason does the writer give for the punishment of the great city?
• Have you ever feared to tell on someone who harmed you or lied on you or stole from you?
• Have you considered believing in JESUS as your Savior and life support today?

Dirty But Functional

 

Dirty But Functional

Romans 7: ⁴ So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. ⁵ For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. ⁶ But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

 

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Snow was coming down in the frigid temperatures. Salt was used to melt the snow on the roads in this region. Blowing winds and a sloppy mess caused my windshield to become so dirty, I used up all of the windshield washer fluid.

 

With a long way to drive, I had to pull over to wipe off the windshield. I opened the trunk and all I had was a dirty grimy towel that I sometimes used to wipe off oily stuff. I found one small corner of the towel that was clean enough to wipe away enough dirt to keep going.

 

• That dirty towel reminds me of the dirty stuff I do.
• That dirty towel was stained so much, that it seemed like it could never be used to clean anything.
• That dirty towel was resurrected from the trunk and was now made useful to make something clean.

 

Paul explains what JESUS did for humanity. He states that those who believe in JESUS have also died to the Law. In other words, the Law shows all humans are guilty and deserve death. All humans sin, which causes other humans to sin. BUT GOD took the dirt away.

 

• GOD saw my sins and cleaned my heart so HE could use me.
• GOD knows my righteousness is like a filthy rag, yet HE placed HIS HOLY SPIRIT in me anyway.
• GOD allowed JESUS to become the filthy, dirty, blamed thing to die just for me and HE raised HIM from the dead, clean, to have all authority.

 

When JESUS was raised from the dead, HE was given all power to clean those who believe in HIM. I mean, the Law no longer holds the sentence of death for me because JESUS freed me from my sins.

 

HE knows I still sin so HE takes the tiny corner of faith I have to wipe off some of the dirt from someone else’s eyes. HE then takes it one step further. HE opens my eyes and that persons’ eyes to see it was HIM that did all the cleaning. I am grateful JESUS can still use a dirty, but functional person like me.

 

• Do you think your sins are too big to be used by GOD?
• Are you being convicted for the sins you did last night or are planning to do today?
• Will you stop thinking you can clean yourself up and allow JESUS to clean your heart so HE can use your dirty story to help someone believe in HIM today?

 

Unoccupied House

Matthew 12: ⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

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Someone told me it would take one hundred days to start or break any daily habit. I had plenty of “bad” habits so I chose a few and stopped cold turkey. Ninety eight, ninety nine, one hundred was my countdown. I did it I thought to myself, but after a while, I missed my old habits.

• Sin can become a habit.
• Sin can overwhelm the thoughts.
• Sin can fill an empty void.

After sweeping out my house and putting everything in order I still felt empty so I chose to fill the void with more sin. After a while it seemed like I was in worse shape. What was I to do?

• GOD said to me “I will continue to knock on your heart and will enter if you allow ME.”
• GOD said to me “I will pursue you as one of MY lost sheep.”
• GOD said to me “I will fill you up until you are overflowing.”

Filling my emptiness with the things of the world left me in a very bad spot. BUT GOD did something different. HE filled me with HIS HOLY SPIRIT which gave me purpose to do HIS will. The void was gone and something overflowed, namely CHRIST.

I realized I would never become “clean” but I can be “forgiven.” Now thanksgiving fills my heart knowing that I am redeemed.

• Are you trying to do “self-help” techniques without GOD?
• Do you think you can “clean” yourself up and get your life on track by yourself?
• Will you stop trying to do things under your own power and seek GOD’s face?

Who Wants Pain?

Proverbs 20: ³⁰ Blows and wounds scrub away evil,
    and beatings purge the inmost being.

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Sitting by the window was probably the worst thing I could do. I would stare outside, longing to be in the fresh air, then like a clap of thunder, the teacher would inevitably call me back into reality. “Why do I have to go to school anyway?” I said in fourth grade.

• Sometimes I feel like giving up and taking the easy route.
• Sometimes I want vacation instead of work.
• Sometimes I desire resting in a meadow of laziness rather than plowing a field of work.

I decided not to go to attend class when I went to college. My grades suffered and I was told I may not graduate. I had to buckle down and study. It was painful. I decided to start going to school and found it to actually be easier than I thought.

• GOD has shown me that I need to be disciplined in order to stay on HIS path.
• GOD has shown me that I sometimes need a whooping in order to get focused.
• GOD has shown me that nothing in life comes easy and my focus should be HIM.

Bumps and bruises in life teach me that I need GOD every step of the way. HE takes my evil behavior and turns it into righteousness by allowing a little turmoil in my life. My desire gets purged and I can then praise HIM.

• Are you going through a beating in life right now?
• Have you ever done evil in your life?
• Can you change your course and follow GOD the way HE wants you to follow HIM?
• Will you accepts the blows and wounds as a method of purging instead of punishing?