Month: July 2015

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 HCSB

Many people live for a paycheck each week. They get up and go to work each day just so they can make enough money to pay the bills each month. Some hope to have a little extra money to be able to go out to eat, play golf, or take a vacation. There is nothing wrong with making money and there are many good ways to spend the money, but sadly, for many that is all they are living for.

This verse reminds us that God is all we need. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Lord God is the beginning and the end. He is the ruler of the past, the present, and the future. Without Him we are nothing. Without Him we would not have life or any of the pleasures that we enjoy or even the money we earn at our jobs. Everything belongs to God since He is the creator. He is the only One who can forgive our sins and give us eternal life. As believers, the Lord is our reason for living. We live to honor and glorify the One who is, who was, and who is coming!

Challenge: What are you living for? Are you living for God’s glory and honor? Thank God for all that He has given to you. Ask Him to show you how you can better live your life to honor Him.

Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him. This is certain. Amen. Revelation 1:7 HCSB

I can remember as a child when it was announced that the President of the United States was coming to town. Everyone was excited and anticipated his arrival. Decorations adorned the street where his motorcade would travel. My parents took me downtown so I could see the President when he rode by. I waited with my parents on the side of the street looking down the street in the direction that the presidential motorcade would travel. The moment arrived when we saw police on motorcycles and then there were some other cars but everyone’s attention was on the open convertible with the President. Everyone was cheering and waving as he passed by. I was more than excited to actually see the President in person.

As believers, we can look with anticipation for the coming of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures promise that Jesus will return someday to establish His kingdom that will last forever (See Matthew 24; Mark 13; and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). He will be coming in the clouds and everyone will be able to see Him and know that it is Jesus. “Those who pierced Him” could refer to the Roman soldiers who pierced His side with a spear while He hung on the cross to confirm that He was dead or it could refer to everyone’s sins that caused Jesus to suffer and die on the cross. All sinners are responsible for the death of Jesus. He died in our place. We deserve death but He did not because He was blameless.

Challenge: Thank God that His Son, Jesus, will someday return to the earth to establish His perfect kingdom. Look with anticipation to the coming of Jesus.

John: To the seven churches in Asia. Grace and peace to you from the One who is, who was, and who is coming, from the seven spirits before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father – the glory and dominion are His forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:4-6 HCSB

I work as a Education and Administration Pastor. My role as the administrator calls for me act on behalf of the church in legal matters. I have signed contracts and loan papers as the authorized representative for the church.

In similar fashion, Jesus Christ is working for us, to present us blameless and spotless before God. The message is from God (the One who is, who was, and who is coming); the Holy Spirit (seven spirits before His throne); and from Jesus Christ to the seven churches. John declared that the message is reliable because it is not from him but from the Trinity (God the Father; Jesus Christ the Son; and the Holy Spirit).

Jesus is identified as the firstborn from the dead, but He is not the first to rise from the dead. The Bible records that prophets, apostles, and Jesus raised people from the dead. Those who were raised from the dead eventually died again but Jesus is the only person who has risen from the dead with an imperishable body (see 1 Corinthians 15:20). He is the first to truly conquer death. Therefore, we can be assured that He is able to give those who are His followers eternal life with imperishable bodies. He has set us free from our sins and made us a kingdom of priests. (see Exodus 19:6). This was an encouragement to the seven churches who were facing persecution.

Challenge: Jesus is constantly working for us. He wants only the best for us. We can look to Him for love and protection when we face trials, tribulation, and persecution for our beliefs.

The one who reads this is blessed and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near! Revelation 1:3 HCSB

Encyclopedia Britannica reports: “Religious leaders, scientists, and even a hen (or so it seemed) have been making predictions for the end of the world almost as long as the world has been around. They’ve predicted the destruction of the world through floods, fires, and comets.” Some of the failed doomsday predictions include: The Maya Apocalypse; Harold Camping; The True Way; Halley’s Comet Panic; The Prophet Hen of Leeds; and The Great Flood. The Bible tells us that no one knows the hour or time that Christ will return (Matthew 24:36).

When John says, “The time is near” he is conveying an urgency to act now rather than to delay. He is not trying to set a specific time table for the return of Christ and the end of the world. As Christians we do not have to worry about the future or the end of time. We can be confident and look forward to that day when we will be in heaven and will live forever in the presence of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Challenge: Are you prepared for the end of time? We should all be prepared for the last judgment and establishment of God’s kingdom. We do not know the time, but we should live each day as if that day was the last day we had to live. There will be no second chance to make a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave Him to show His slaves what must quickly take place. He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, who testified to God’s word and to the testimony about Jesus Christ, in all he saw. Revelation 1:1-2 HCSB

I was fortunate that I did not have to wear glasses until I was about 40 years old. I went from wearing no glasses to wearing bifocals. Even now I can still see fairly well without my glasses, but my glasses help clear everything up. I especially need them when I am reading small print.

The word for “revelation” is the Greek word “apokalypsis,” the derivative of our English word “apocalypse” which means to reveal, to make known, or to unveil something that was formerly hidden. Just as my glasses help me see more clearly, the book of Revelation was given to unveil and reveal Jesus Christ’s full identity, God’s plan for His return, and His victory over evil so the Christians in the early church could be encouraged. The Christians at the time of the apostle John’s writing would have been under extreme persecution from Emperor Domitian. The early church needed to clearly see for whom they were suffering and understand there was hope for the future.

Challenge: If you live your life for Jesus you may face persecution just as those in the early church. A clear vision of Jesus and His will for your life will help you face difficult times. John’s message can be an encouragement to you as you deal with persecution and trials.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 HCSB

There have been times when I was driving and using a GPS system to guide me with instructions. I followed each direction and turn but when the GPS said, “You have arrived,” I was not close to my destination. The GPS had led me down the wrong path. I thought I was going the right way, but in the end I was in the wrong location.

There are people in our world who believe if they are good enough they will make it to heaven and enjoy eternal life. The Bible is clear that there will be “good” people who will face the final judgment before Christ and will not be given eternal life because they never trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Bible gives us clear directions on how we can know we have eternal life. This verse in 1 John is often memorized and used to assure people that they have eternal life. It does not say that the one who has perfect attendance at church or gives a tithe or lives a good life will have life everlasting. It is only through Jesus Christ the Son of God that we can experience eternal life. Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is on the one and only way to have the assurance of eternal life.

Challenge: Do you have the Son? Do you want eternal life? It is as simple as A-B-C. Admit you are a sinner. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, rose from the dead and lives today. Confess Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

If we accept the testimony of men, God’s testimony is greater, because it is God’s testimony that He has given about His Son. 1 John 5:9 HCSB

God has blessed me with four children. I have two sons and two daughters. God is using each of them to accomplish His will in their lives. I proudly call them my sons and daughters and would gladly testify that they are my children. Others who know me could testify that they are my children, but my own personal testimony would have more influence.

My daughter was a counselor at a high school in which some of her students were told they were on their own because their parents did not want to deal with them any longer. It is hard for me to imagine that any parent would want nothing to do with his or her own child.

God has proclaimed that Jesus is His Son on two occasions in the Bible. The first was when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16-17) and the second was at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5). Some of the false teachers were actually disputing that Jesus was the Son of God. John states in this verse that not only have men testified that Jesus is the Son of God but God Himself has testified that Jesus is His Son.

Challenge: Believe the testimony of God and believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Love and forgive your children regardless of what they do. They are a gift from God. Thank God that He loves you unconditionally and forgives you regardless of what you do.

Jesus Christ – He is the One who came by water and blood, not by water only, but by water and by blood. And the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and these three are in agreement. 1 John 5:6-8 HCSB

In college I wrote a paper for one of my classes that was titled: “Jesus as God and Man”. My paper pointed to the fact that Jesus was both God and Man. He was God’s Son and was divine in every aspect, but He was also fully human and experienced human feelings and emotions. He was tempted just as we are, yet He did not sin. Jesus had to be human to be able to pay the penalty for our sins. He was the perfect sacrifice for man’s sins. Jesus was also fully God and was able to heal people, bring people back to life, and even calm the winds and sea.

In John’s day there were false teachers who taught that Jesus became divine at His baptism when the Holy Spirit came upon Him and that the Holy Spirit left Him just before His death. The “Water” in these verses refers to Jesus’ baptism and the “Blood” refers to His death. John’s point is that Jesus is God’s Son, has always been God’s Son, and did not become God’s Son at some point in history. The Holy Spirit was with Jesus and dwells within every believer testifying to the truth about Jesus Christ; that He is the Son of God, came and lived a perfect life, and died on the cross so our sins can be forgiven and we can have a restored relationship with the living God of the universe.

Challenge: Thank God that Jesus was fully human and that He paid the penalty for your sins when He died on the cross. As a believer, the Holy Spirit lives within you to testify to the truth about Jesus and to help you know what you should and should not do.

For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden, because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 1 John 5:1-2 HCSB

When I was in college I played on the college golf team and played a fairly good game. Now I am much older and even though I have the head knowledge of how to play golf, it is hard to make my body move and do what it did when I was younger. I occasionally hit some good shots but also hit some bad shots which result in very inconsistent scores.

Knowing and doing what we know to be right is not always easy. As believers we all know what we should do and how we should act, but we often find ourselves doing exactly the opposite. Following God and keeping His commands can be difficult at times. Because of our love for Christ, we seek to serve Him and do what would be pleasing to Him. Even though it is not easy, it is not a burden. We should find pleasure in doing what will bring honor and glory to God.

Challenge: When the load seems to be more than you can bear, have faith in Jesus to give you strength and guidance. He has promised to help you bear it and to conquer the world. Read Matthew 11:28-30 and 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of Him. This is how we know that we love God’s children when we love God and obey His commands. 1 John 5:1-2 HCSB

I have been fortunate to welcome three new grandchildren into my family this year. In January my daughter-in-law gave birth to a beautiful girl, Evangeline. In February my youngest daughter gave birth to a little girl with strawberry blond hair, Avery. In June my oldest daughter gave birth to a big boy, Luke, who was over 9 pounds and almost 22 inches long. Each of these children are naturally a part of the Moore family line. They are part of our family and we naturally love them and would do anything for them.

In these verses John reminds us that when we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God that we become children of God and all who claim Jesus is the Messiah are also part of God’s family. We show our love for God by loving His children and obeying His commands. It is hard to imagine that God loves us more than we love our own children and grandchildren.

Challenge: Thank God that you are one of His children and that He loves you with a love that will never end or change. Ask God to help you to love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray that He will guide you in all that you do and that you will obey His commands.