December 27. Weeks 50 and 51. God and sinners reconciled!

We have finished reading James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, and finally, the Revelation! 

Can you believe that we are in our final week of reading? 

I had forgotten that James and Jude were Jesus’ brothers.  (Or half-brothers, if you want to get technical.)  I spent some time pondering this.  What would it be like to grow up with Jesus?  He would have been the oldest, so he would be everyone’s big brother.  And he probably helped watch over his siblings when they were young.  I wonder if Mary and Joseph had told his brothers and sisters about who Jesus really was.  It would have been like a family secret, waiting until the right time to be revealed to everyone else.  I wonder if maybe they were a little jealous of Jesus.  (That almost feels sacrilegious, but I’m pretty sure that is how I would have felt, because I can remember plenty of little sibling conflicts even in my “normal” family.)    And then, when Jesus began his ministry as an adult, I wonder how long it took for his brothers and sisters to really believe that he was sent from God.   And that he was really God in the flesh.  I wonder how James and Jude became church leaders.  Did you notice that James was written about 49 AD and Jude was written about 65 AD.  I wonder what took place between them during those 16 years?

One of the most interesting insights I have gained this year as a result of reading through the Bible is what a huge change was ushered in because of Jesus ministry, death, and resurrection.  It was amazing that the doors opened to everyone to be able to enter the Kingdom of God.  The Jewish rituals and customs gradually changed.  The forbidden foods were allowed.  The previously unclean, outcast,  & condemned were able to boldly approach God’s throne.  Everyone was on equal ground before God.  Everyone could call him Father.  Everyone could have eternal life.  There was much conflict between the Jewish “church” and the Gentile “church” and I guess there still is.   I think about Paul and how hard it would have been to accept him after his earlier days of persecuting the church. 

I guess the bottom line is this:  human nature hasn’t changed after all these years.  We are still a little fearful and mistrusting of people who aren’t “like us”.  But we keep trying. 

A few favorite verses:

James 1: 25

“Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it…… will be blessed in what they do…”  “ intently” means to meditate on, the ruminate, the ponder, to really be intentional about it…   

James 3:18

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.                  Or, as the “Message translation says:  You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it?  Treat people right. 

James 4: 8: Come near to God, and He will come near to you. 

I really like the writings of Peter.  He kept his focus on the future. 

Chapter 1: verse 4  “This inheritance is kept in Heaven for you.” 

 And verse 17: “Live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.”

And Chapter 5: verse 7: “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 

Does it seems strange to be reading the book of Revelation at Christmas time?  It does for me until I remember that our sentimental Christmas images of the sweet baby and the manger and the star and angels are only a part of the incarnation…”Veiled in flesh, the God-head, see”    His birth, the incarnation,  was his first coming into the world.  And he is now in the world through the Holy Spirit. “Light and life to all He brings”   But his FINAL coming is when it will all "come together" ..”God and sinners reconciled”    

If you have time, read this familiar Christmas Carol, but with an eternal viewpoint:   

Hark!!  The herald angels sing!
Glory to the new born King!
Peace on earth,   and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled! 
Joyful all ye nations, rise!
Join the triumph of the skies!
With the angelic host proclaim;
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!” 
Hark the herald angels sing!
Glory to the new born King!

Christ, by highest heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time,  behold Him,  come;
Offspring of a virgin’s womb…
Veiled in flesh,   the Godhead see…
Hail the incarnate Deity!
Pleas’d as Man with man to dwell. 
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark the herald angels sing:

Glory to the new born King!

Hail; the heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Hail; the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings.
Risen with healing in His wings. 
Mild, He lays His glory by.
Born that man no more may die!
Born:  to raise the sons of earth
Born: to give them second birth
Hark!  The herald angels sing;
“Glory to the new born King!” 

And so, now we have come to Revelation:

Let’s face it, the book of Revelation is full of strange symbols, scary events, and weird images.  Some of it we plainly understand.  Some of it sounds like the evening News.  Some of it reads like the apocalyptic movies we have all seen.  It’s easy to get distracted when we read this book, so I decided not to get hung up on trying to analyze or interpret what I am reading this time.  I am reading and listening in the “Message” version and I look for the “Main Thing” in each day’s readings.

Here is what I have observed so far: (It’s not scholarly or proper.  These are  just my own impressions, condensed.)

Day 1: December 23.  Chapters 1-3. 

This is an oracle, divine message.  Don’t give up.  Stand firm.  Don’t give in.  Hold on.  Don’t quit.  Fear nothing.  Remember, God wins, in the end. 

Day 2: December 24.  Chapters 4-5. 

Everyone!  Lay down your crowns (your power and your prideful self) and humbly submit to God, the King of all creation. 

Day 3: December 25.  Chapters 6-7. 

He sits on the throne, and He shall reign forever and ever!  King of Kings!

Day 4: December 26.  Chapters 8-9. 

Be quiet.  Watch what happens next.  It’s gonna get bad. 

Day 5: December 27.  Chapters 10 -13. 

Wow, Some people will still not believe, no matter what. 

We will finish the Bible in 4 days.  Hang in there! 

KEEP READING!
Audrey