Time to clean your ears. Rev. 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22

-
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Christians today need to get their ears cleaned. Have you heard the news? There are "Christians" coming out in support of abortion. There are "Christians" coming out in support of same-sex marriage. There are "Christians" coming out in support of idolatry. There are "Christians" quietly dismissing adulterous and lewd behavior. Simply put, too many Christians are turning a blind eye to sin. Have you tried to watch television lately? Sin is OK, people are declaring. Sin all you want, never minding what I am doing; I will look the other way while you do it.

How can one discard the Word of God while proclaiming to be a Christian? How can one believe Jesus is Savior without hearing the Word of God? If you don't believe the Bible is the Word of God, why would one even need a Savior? Are you denying the truth?

God has answers for these questions and more through the whole of the Bible. And, John, in the Revelation, speaks it loud and clear. Seven times God declares in chapters 2 and 3, let him who has ears hear what the Spirit says to the churches: Believe and repent because there is no way to justify sin.

Let's make no mistake. When you gain faith by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17), you will be saved. God gave us his Word so that we can hear it and believe that the Christ is Jesus. God gave us his Word so that we will turn to God for all we need. God gave us his Word so that through His life, death and resurrection we can receive the forgiveness of sin once and for all.

Let him who has ears hear: God wants to rescue you, to save you from your body of death! (1 Cor. 15:55) Let him who has ears hear: God is calling you to believe, and repent (Luke 13:3).

The Bible, that is the Word of God, the Word that was in the beginning, that was with God, that was God, that created all things, that gave us the light to break the darkness of sin, that became flesh (John 1:1-14) speaks out so clearly on not only the three issues I highlighted above ... but all sin, all of which lead to same place ... darkness. Where there is darkness you will find no light, only sin. In sin, without light, you will be left alone, without God. That explains why John wept and wept in Revelation 5 when no one could be found worthy to open the scroll. (Rev. 5:4)

But there is good news. Jesus, the Christ, lived a life of active righteousness for you. Jesus shunned sin, like the rest of us. Jesus didn't turn a blind eye to it, even when the woman caught in adultery wasn't judged (John 8:11). Jesus, the Christ, took the shame, the guilt and the punishment of our sins and allowed them to be nailed to a tree in an ultimate act of passive righteousness. Jesus, the Christ, the sinless lamb of God, raised himself from the dead, showing us the victory we have in him and only in him.
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Rev. 5:4-5 

All you have to do is believe in him.

Let him who has an ear hear! God is calling to you away from our Religion of the Law, the one that tells you you need to do something to find favor with God.

God is calling us to his Religion of the Gospel, the one that declares he will show you favor when you believe in Jesus (John 8:24). He is calling you, offering to give you the right to eat from the tree of life (Rev. 2:7) and the hidden manna (Rev. 2:17). He is calling you so that you may have eternal life (Rev. 2:11). He is calling those who have ears, hear and believe in him. (Rev. 3:5).

Hold on to what you have heard from the Word.

God is calling to you.

Can't you hear him? Won't you hear him? Please, hear him.

Just believe!

Popular posts from this blog

Mark 14:37

-
And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? It was only one hour. Maybe to a 4-year-old an hour is a long time, but for most of us, an hour is but a blip of time. Our Sunday afternoon football games take three hours. Some of our baseball games run four hours. A round of golf, including a trip to the clubhouse? It strikes me today that Jesus' urging to Peter to wake up is yet another call to be faithful, another call that not only will Peter fail but one that we fail. Remember, this is Peter, too ... Peter, a disciple who has been walking with Jesus for three years. Peter, a man who has witnessed countless miracles. Peter, the man on whom God will build the church (Matt 16:18). Peter, who has given up everything to be with the Lord. But Peter is just like you and me: he not only falls asleep in unfaithfulness, he turns around the next day and denies he even knows Jesus. "The spirit is willing, ...
Read more

Voices

-
My wife doesn't write often enough. But years ago, she wrote this, which I found while looking through one of my old websites. I hope you enjoy it. Voices I never really listened to what I had to say If I had taken my own advice my life might've gone another way. I took on all the problems of those who couldn't cope I gave them all the answers I returned to them their hope. Though never did I realize that the words were meant for me I thought my problems were too big for all the world to see. But then one night I had a dream His face is what I saw He said to me “This is the way here's how to have it all.” “Listen to yourself” He said “The answers are within Within your soul I'll talk to you Truth shall you hear and happiness shall you win.” The moral of this poem is as simple as it is true The only one who has the answers is God listening, experiencing, acting they are all up to you. So listen to the Voice inisde when it says “Child, I love you” It's God ...
Read more

Augsburg Confession Exegetical — Article X

-
There may not be a more precise expression of faith than Article X of the Augsburg Confession. In the Latin text, with just 33 words, the confessors present a profoundly clear explanation of one of the most important articles of the catholic faith: that “the body and the blood of Christ are truly present and are distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper.” The translation of the German text of the same article expands the confession slightly, declaring that the body and blood are “true” and “under the form of bread and wine.” Given what Scripture says about the Lord’s Supper, the confessors could not have explained it in a better way. There are four accounts of the Supper in Scripture — Mt 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:19-20, and 1 Cor 11:23-25. If not for more detail provided by Luke and Paul about what the cup is, those passages would be almost exactly the same. Paul expressed it with the most detail: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus ...
Read more