Tag: Revelation

  • God’s Story

    The Bible - God's Story

    I recently listened to a sermon that had so many personal anecdotes and unrelated attempts to be relevant to the pastor’s audience that it lost almost all relevance to the Bible. Instead of being God’s story and letting the Scripture speak, it became the preachers’ story.

    God works in us and through us, but He should always be the main event. It is, after all, God’s story. It often happens when we share our testimony, and it becomes all about us, rather than about what God has done.

    I’m sure every preacher has done it to some degree. I know I’ve done it at times with Gleanings. I’ve often heard it done in personal testimonies. We’ve all been guilty of doing that.

    The Bible is God’s story. It reveals Him to us and tells us of His expectations and plans for us. It doesn’t hide from the truth or embellish.

    The bible wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us. We have a place in God’s incredible story, but we are not the main characters. The world revolves around Him, not us.

    Now, please don’t think that I’m saying your story or mine is unimportant. Our Lord loves us, died for us and filled us with His Spirit. We matter far more than we can imagine. It just isn’t all about us.

    There is a sense in which we are like extras in an old-time epic movie. The movie wouldn’t be complete without the extras, but our roles are not the center of the story.

    From the opening scene,

    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day Genesis 1:1-5

    To the closing credits,

    He who bears witness to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21

    It’s about Him.

    We are blessed to have small but important parts, but the whole story is designed to bring attention and glory to God.

    Let’s try to keep that in mind, as we live under His blessings and tell our small parts.

    To God be the glory.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

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  • First Day – Remembrances and anticipation

    blurry image of my first day of school c1963

    This is far from the clearest photo in the world, but here I am, ready for my first day of school. Yes, they had schools and even cameras back then. My mother took it out of the apartment building window.

    I’m looking pretty dapper in my little uniform and carrying my lunch bag. My companion was a slightly older friend who lived in the same building and attended the same school, but I don’t recall her name. I remember her nickname, but it wasn’t flattering.

    The school was on a military base in Germany, where my father was posted during his career in the Canadian Armed Forces. I have a few school memories but don’t remember the first day. I suspect that I was terrified.

    I might have been nervous about going to school for the first time, but the truth is I love learning. Other than a few years in high school, I have loved school. I have been upgrading my education since leaving high school.

    I love the first day of school. You get all new supplies, new classes, and meet new people. You also get exciting new syllabi (or syllabuses, if you prefer) to read. Yes, I read them because they tell you much about what to expect and are quite helpful.

    Even when I am not in school, I love to learn. I suppose I am a bit of a geek. When the instructor asked a question, I was often the annoying student who jumped up and down and said, “I know, I know.” I didn’t do that to show off. I wanted to share what I had learned, and my high school friends may never have seen that side of me.

    Every day is an opportunity to learn with the Lord. Our first day is the day of our conversion. We are born again and given a fresh start. We are babies in the faith.

    From there, every day is the next first day in our journey with the Lord, which will last forever—a new day to experience His mercy and learn about Him.

    The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

    A new day to walk afresh with Him.

    Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 ESV

    I confess that I look forward to the most incredible first day of them all, after the day I became a Christian. On that day, I shall see my Lord and Savior face to face for the first time.

    Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 ESV

    They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4 ESV

    There are many books out there where people claim to have been to heaven and returned. Yet none I know of talks about meeting the Lord; it is always family and friends.

    Of course, I look forward to seeing my family and friends. Yet, first and foremost, I long to see the one who gave His life that I might live.

    He knew me before anything existed outside Himself. He loved me when I was an unlovable rebel and mocked Him. He is an even bigger fan than my mom, and that’s hard to beat.

    On my first day in glory, I will see His face. What a moment that will be.

    I look forward to seeing you there, but after I meet Him.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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