NT40 Convictions for Revelation 15-22
Here is my final post on a remarkable journey through God's Word. Our striving to pursue NT Christianity has born great fruit. There really has been something different about a daily discipline to DO WHAT IT SAYS while reading the Bible. It has left me astounded. Psalm 119:16, 97 capture the feeling, "I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word... Oh, how l love your law! I meditate on it all day long."
One thing I learned today...
1. About God: He is just. More than we can understand now, His justice will be clear to us then (see Revelation 16:5-7). After reading Revelation 14:19-20 and 19:15, I will never sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic in the same way ("Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword). Plus (gotta add one more on the last day) the picture of Jesus in Revelation 19:11-21 provides a fuller picture of the strength and splendor of our champion!
2. About NT Christianity: Revelation 17-19:10 describes Rome (or the world/worldliness) as a compelling and powerful seductress that the early church resisted heroically. At the end of this section, we anticipate the wedding of the church and the Lamb. For the church to ready herself, "fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people." In our new covenant with Jesus, our righteous deeds are NOT considered "filthy rags" (from Isaiah 64:6) but as "fine linen." Too often the church uses the "filthy rag" metaphor as an excuse to NOT run after righteous acts. Or - even worse - the filthy rag metaphor discounts the value that God assigns to our righteous acts.
3. DWIS (Do What It Says): Revelation 21 provides a sweet, compelling picture of heaven, the New Jerusalem come down to earth with restored Eden (22:1-5). Yet right in the middle of the description, we read "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." (21:27) Time to get radical on anything impure or deceitful. I just ordered two books, When Good Men are Tempted and The Power of Integrity. I will read them this week (and part of next week) with a plan for uncompromising purity and integrity. And... I will also compile all my DWIS convictions into a single sheet and place them into my planner to incorporate them for ongoing daily charges of righteousness.