Tag Archives: Revelation 1:4-8

Jesus is Coming

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God is,
always has been
and yet
is still to come.

He loves us,
saves us,
frees us
and appoints us
to be with him.
We are his people,
workers with him.

And yet,
he is still to come.
He promises to come again,
that everyone may see,
there will be no uncertainty,
God’s arrival.

God who was,
is
and is yet to come
we worship you.

I come in confession
for the times I have ignored you,
not looked for you,
missed
or hampered
your arrival where I am.
Forgive me
when I have wounded you.

May I wait,
faithfully,
openly,
longingly,
looking for your presence.

Lo He Comes With Clouds Descending

Revelation 1:4-8 (CEV)

4 From John to the seven churches in Asia.

I pray that you
    will be blessed
with kindness and peace
from God, who is and was
    and is coming.
May you receive
    kindness and peace
from the seven spirits
    before the throne of God.
5 May kindness and peace
    be yours
from Jesus Christ,
    the faithful witness.

Jesus was the first
    to conquer death,
and he is the ruler
    of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us,
    and by his blood
he set us free
    from our sins.
6 He lets us rule as kings
and serve God his Father
    as priests.
To him be glory and power
    forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming
    with the clouds.
Everyone will see him,
even the ones who stuck
    a sword through him.
All people on earth
will weep because of him.
    Yes, it will happen! Amen.

8 The Lord God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!”

Kindness and Peace

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Carschten [CC-BY-SA-3.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

I would imagine if you were to ask almost anyone what they think the world needs more of, both kindness and peace would be up there in the top answers.

Revelation 1:4-8

4 From John to the seven churches in Asia.

I pray that you
will be blessed
with kindness and peace
from God, who is and was
and is coming.
May you receive
kindness and peace
from the seven spirits
before the throne of God.
5 May kindness and peace
be yours
from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness.

Jesus was the first
to conquer death,
and he is the ruler
of all earthly kings.
Christ loves us,
and by his blood
he set us free
from our sins.
6 He lets us rule as kings
and serve God his Father
as priests.
To him be glory and power
forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He is coming
with the clouds.
Everyone will see him,
even the ones who stuck
a sword through him.
All people on earth
will weep because of him.
Yes, it will happen! Amen.

8 The Lord God says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is coming. I am God All-Powerful!”

We all need people to be kind to us.  And boy does the world need peace.

Both peace and kindness find their origin in God, and all that Jesus has done for us – but they need to find their way to be a focus of our lives too.

Perhaps peace can begin with kindness.

Giving kindness can bring peace to ourselves as well as the one to whom it is offered.

Finding peace, brings us to offer peace.

Jesus offers us peace by his death on the cross conquering all those things that might rob us of peace – greed, injustice, inequality, our worries, pain, anger, shame.  He has defeated them – and offers that we might share in that.

Do we want peace?  Will we receive from Jesus all he offers us?  And will we spread his peace and kindness in the places where we are?

Lord,
I pray that there may be peace and kindness,
that we may see them in you
and know them in our lives,
that then we can pass them on to others.

Love and Hope

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Greetings to the Seven Churches

4 From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world.

He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins 6 and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.

7 Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!

8 “I am the first and the last,” says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.

The Book of Revelation is written to seven churches, at a time when Christians were being persecuted.  The author wants to give the readers hope – and to encourage them to remain faithful.

At its most fundamental it reminds us that God loves us – and because he loves us has freed us from our sins.

How is that for you?  How good are you at loving?  Not just doing the loving , but allowing yourself to be loved?  Can you be vulnerable to let others in? To touch your life and show you how precious you are?  Do you know God’s love?  Have you felt it?  Will you allow him to wrap you in his arms and love you to bits?

Is part of our struggle to allow ourselves to be loved, because we are aware of how many things we have got wrong?  Does that get in the way, or make us feel we are not worth loving?

God wants each one of us to know that he loves us dearly, whoever we are, whatever has happened in our lives.  He sees us and loves us so much he wants to free us from all that holds us – how much greater love can there be than that?

The result of God having done that, we are told, is to make us a kingdom of priests.

Do you feel that there is nothing you can do?  Do you feel useless?

Not so, says God.  Because those he loves and frees, he also calls.  You are part of the kingdom of priests to serve God.  A priest is someone set apart to live for God.  We think about it usually in terms of those ordained to a particular role, but Methodists believe wholeheartedly in the Priesthood of all Believers.  Each and every one of us has a part to play in being part of God’s church and living in his ways.

And why? To God’s glory.  All of God’s works are to show the way to him.  In us, through us, with us – pointing the way to him.

Thank you God

for the depth of your love for me,

for seeing beyond the things I have got wrong,

taking their hold over me,

and wanting to use me,

even me,

for your work.