Memorial Day

Spending memorial day home alone as Aleta is still in AR with the new grandson - Carter. Carter and his mom came home from the hospital yesterday and everyone is doing fine.

If you look to the right, you will see why i haven't "blogged" this week.

He was born to our daughter and son-in-law, Ben and Amy Carrigan of Searcy, AR.

His name is Carter Warren Carrigan.

He came in weighing 7 lbs. and 11 oz.

He was 20 1/2" long.

Because the position of his head was not right, they had to do a C-section. If they had made the decision thirty minutes earlier, baby and mom would have had the same birthdays.

Carter is great and so is his mother, Amy. Daddy Ben will recover soon.

This is our third grandchild. Now we have a girl and two boys.

Back to "Who is Jesus?" on Tuesday.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #111 (From the Apocalypse)

"...and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword." (Revelation 1:16b)
I am not sure which of the features of Jesus scared John the most; but for me, I think it would have been this one. The picture of a person with a sword protruding out of his mouth is quite alarming.
The picture is reproduced for us in 19:15. "Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations."
During His ministry, what came out of the mouth of Jesus was the word of His Father. "The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work." (John 14:10)
We know that what Jesus said pierced some and divided others. He brought down the Scribes and Pharisees with His words to the point that they would not ask Him any more questions.
The message John is writing down for our first century brothers and sisters, and us, is that the words of Jesus have not become impotent. They are just as powerful now as they were then. They are just as sharp.
More on this idea.
Keep speaking to us, Lord. Say what we need to hear no matter what.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #110 (From the Apocalypse)

"In His right hand He held the seven stars" (Revelation 1:16a).

Since we are told that the seven stars represent the angels of the seven churches, my mind got to wondering about stars and messengers. That pondering brought to my mind a passage from the prophet Daniel.

Daniel 12:3
"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."

Messengers who bring good news from God to mankind do indeed shine like stars. Even though not all of the news to each of the seven churches in Revelation was necessarily good news by its very nature, it was good news because it came from God and gave instruction as to what they needed to do in the areas of correcting wrongs and preparing for what was about to come. That made it good news.

The heavens are dotted at night with stars that fascinate us and navigate us through this world. Those who would bring instruction from the Lord to the people are the real super stars for God.

Let your light shine in me!

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #109 (From the Apocalypse)

"In His right hand He held the seven stars" (Revelation 1:16a).

"The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches" (1:19).

This may be one of those places where the interpretation given for a particular symbol does not really help. Who are these angels that are "assigned" to each of the seven churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodocea)?

We may not understand the symbolism in the book, but we can make some observations about angels. It was an angel who announced to Mary and Joseph the impending birth of the Son of God. It was an angel that told the whole family to escape to Egypt. Angels ministered to Jesus after his temptation encounter with Satan. Angels will be involved in the "harvest" at the end of the world. Apparently children have guardian angels (Matthew 18:18). Angels opened prison doors. The Torah was put into effect by angels.

Some things are obvious. Angels brought messages not their own, but from God. They had a ministry not their own, but from God.

Maybe we should listen a little harder and look at little closer. Maybe someone is trying to communicate to us.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #108 (From the Apocalypse)

"His voice we like the sound of rushing waters" (Revelation 1:15b)

I have lived through a couple of floods in my life - nothing like the flooding that hit the N.O. area during the hurricane. I remember the east fork of the San Jacinto river cresting and flooding our little two acre weekend place when I was a kid.

We hear in the news now about the flooding in the plains. The Missouri river is past flood stage. People are devastated by the flood waters. They lose everything they have spent a lifetime accumulating. The flood takes it all.

We are being flooded today in other ways. We are flooded with immorality. We are flooded with the nuances of postmodernism. We are flooded with violence - violence in the name of religion. We are flooded with pornography. Some of it comes in over our televisions and we sit there and watch - even let our children absorb it. We are flooded with selfish desires and the "It's all about me" mentality of the world today; and, we are being devastated by the rising flood waters.

Listen to the words of the Psalmist.

"The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the lord is enthroned forever." (Psalm 29:10)

There is a Lord that picks us up out of the floods we are dealing with. He is above the floods. He has the right vantage point. He can give us the deliverance we so desperately need.

Listen to His voice - the one that sounds like rushing waters.

Oh Lord, we lift you up that you in turn lift us up out of the flood waters of life.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #107 (From the Apocalypse)

"His voice was like the sound of rushing waters" (Revelation 1:15b)

It rained here in Clovis yesterday. It rained pretty hard for Eastern New Mexico. Between the rain and driving through puddles of water on the road, I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't even hear my radio. All of that water making all of that noise made all of the other sounds indiscernible.

I remember taking a group of kids on a float trip down a river in Oklahoma several years ago. There was no way we could yell to each other from one canoe to the other when we were in the rapids. Most communication had to be done on the bank before we started. The sound of the rushing water was just too loud. Nothing else could be heard except the water.

There is so much competing for our attention today. There is a lot of noise out there. However, nothing can drown out the voice of the Savior. His message does not get through only when we do not listen.

Whatever Jesus has to do to communicate with me, I pray that it works.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #106 (From the Apocalypse)

"His voice was like the sound of rushing waters" (Revelation 1:15b)

It seems like John changed metaphors here. In verse 10 he says the voice "like a trumpet." Now it is like the sound of powerful rushing water.

It was the trumpet voice that got Johns attention. It was the powerful rushing water voice that spoke with power and authority.

Sometimes before we can "hear" what Jesus has to say, He has to get our attention. He doesn't want us to miss what He has to say.

I wonder how many times and in how many ways has Jesus tried to get my attention in this life before He tried to communicate to me? I wonder how many times I still have not paid attention?

Out brothers and sisters in the first century were about to receive a Life and death message from Jesus. They needed to sit up and pay attention.

The words of Jesus are powerful. They only way that power is limited is if we are not listening. Of course, someone somewhere will listen. They have learned to stay focused on Jesus and let the power of His voice change their lives.

I pray that I am one of them.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #105 (from the Apocalypse)

"His voice was like the sound of rushing waters" (Revelation 1: 15b).

When ?? talks, people listen. I remember that old E.F. Hutton commercial. In this case, it is Jesus who is talking and you/we had better pay attention.

Three boys were bragging to one another about their fathers. One of them said, “My father is a professor. When he is talking about nuclear physics, there are only fifty other people in the world who can understand him.

”The second boy said, “My father is a world class brain surgeon. When he is talking about his surgery there are only 20 other people in the whole world who can understand him.”The third boy said,

“That’s nothing. My dad is a preacher. When he is preaching, nobody seems to understand him.”

Well it is one thing to not listen to a mere man. It is quite something else to not listen to the Son of God.

Imagine trying to make yourself heard above the thundering sound of Niagara Falls. When Jesus has something to say, He will be heard!

The question is not, "Is He talking?" The question is, "Am I listening?"

"Speak, Lord, your servant is listening"

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #104 (from the Apocalypse)

"both feet furnace-fired bronze" (The Message, Revelation 1:15)

My thoughts turn to the words of the patriotic song "Battle Hymn of the Republic" where it says, "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." I am not even sure what all of that means, but the idea of trampling is pretty clear.
In scripture we are told of God stomping through a lot of places/cities because of their sin. Sodom came down. The nation of Egypt finally had to succumb. The Assyrians, Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks and Romans couldn't stand before Him.
I guess my question is, "Why are we putting Him to the test now?" Are we daring Him to come marching through our land?
One old-time preacher once said, "If God doesn't do something soon, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."
Truth does march on. Truth will ultimately win the day. God will kick over and out anything and anyone that forsakes Him, His word, and His people.
Maybe we are preparing the pathway for His trampling and aren't even aware of it.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #103 (from the Apocalypse)

"His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace" (Revelation 1:15).

There is no doubt what these strong looking feet were for. These were to carry out judgment.
In Micah 4:13 we find a similar symbol where God's people are told they will have "hoofs of bronze" and that by these they will be able to "break to piece many nations." These were the same nations that were gloating over Israel's disappearance from the scene into Babylonian captivity. But God will and does bring them back to carry out His vindication on those who would have scoffed at His apparent lack of power.
Most of the time we do not like to think of God as bringing judgment. However, if we do not attribute this characteristic to Him, then we have an unbalanced and incomplete picture of Him. He is a God who brings His judgment on those who do not acknowledge Him.
In Revelation it is the one attribute that completes the picture of Jesus.
Are those feet coming in my direction?

Blessings,


Larry

Who is Jesus #102 (from the Apocalypse)

"Eyes like blazing fire."

John saw these eyes again in Revelation 19:12. They were the eyes of the rider on the white horse whose name is Faithful and True.

Daniel, in a similar vision in chapter 7 of his prophecy, saw eyes that were like flaming torches and it sapped all the strength from his body. Then, and only then, was he able to be touched and strengthened in order to receive the message from God and fulfill the mission God was placing in front of him.

Those eyes are horrible and terrifying, but they are also purifying. Sometimes we need to let Jesus stake a huge penetrating look at us - even a judgemental look - in order to be brought to our knees so that our Lord is able to touch us with His blessings and will.

Don't forget Peter who met Jesus eye-to-eye (Luke 22:61) and was moved to the point of weeping once who he was and what he had done was brought to the surface. After tht cleansing he was able to be used by Jesus to become a pillar in the church (Galatians 2:9).

O Lord. take a good long look at me and penetrate my soul that I might become what you want me to be.

Amen.

Blessings,

L.T.

Who is Jesus #101 (from the Apocalypse)

"His eyes were like blazing fire." (Revelation 1:14).

Do you know what it feels like to be talking to someone who can see right through you? It sure makes you feel vulnerable. All of a sudden all of your defenses that you have built up come tumbling down. You are seen for who you truly are.

These penetrating eyes of Jesus are that way. They see right through us. He sees us for who we truly are. There are no masks that I can wear, no barriers I can erect, no place I can hide that will keep Jesus from looking deeply into my heart and seeing me the way I am.

That shouldn't frighten me. Because I know that Jesus sees the things in me that I need to change in order to grow closer to Him every day.

There were certainly those in Jesus day who had to come to grips with how they truly were. Some decided to change and some didn't.

I am reminded about Jesus interaction with Nathaniel in John 1:43-50. Not only did Jesus see Nathaniel concerning where he was physically (standing under the fig tree back home) but he also saw where he was morally (a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false). Once confronted with the fact that Jesus vision was 100% perfect, Nathaniel couldn't help but confess that Jesus was the Son of God.

If we are not afraid to let Jesus have a deep look into our inner self, then we will confess with our entire being HE IS THE SON OF GOD!

Blessings,

L.T.