Remembered

"When he had given thanks," Luke 22:19.

Who gave thanks? Jesus. What was the occasion? The Memorial Day dinner. What was being remembered? Passover. When Death passed through Egypt slaughtering boys and men. When Israelites dabbed their doorways with lamb's blood. When Death passed over leaving those houses intact. When God delivered Israel from slavery. What did Jesus give thanks for? For God's deliverance, of course! But for what right then? For bread. The Memorial Day dinner bread. Jesus gave thanks to God for the bread by which eating we remember his sacrifice to deliver us from eternal condemnation because of our fault to live forever in the sky kingdom with the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world and with his God who is blessed forever and ever. Amen. Jesus gave thanks. To God. For his own sacrifice.

With a brother or sister today, we remember the Lord of life who died for our sins, and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world. Who lives forever, now resurrected. And, together, remembering, eating the bread of life and drinking from the cup of the covenant, we give thanks.

Flock

"We are His, His people, and the sheep of His pasture," Psalm 100:3.

O God, Jehovah! The whole earth shouts out to you! We serve you gladly! We come to you singing our hearts out! You, O Lord, are God, the only one! You made us. We belong to you. You count us as your wealth! [Note to reader - sometimes song writers render the line above like this: We are just sheep. As though people are no more than stupid animals. But that's just not what the Good Book says: Sheep are the wealth of ranchers.] You count us as your riches! And we praise you, we bless your name! And why? because you, O God, are good! Your mercy goes on and on. You're faithful forever to every promise you ever made, from one generation to the next. You, O God, You are good!

We recognize that one brother or sister today (that annoying one) likewise highly valued in God's wealth. Worth the cross of Christ to our God! And, together, we, the flock of his pasture, become the praise of his glory.

On Eagle's Wings

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.'

For he will deliver you from the snare of the

fowler and from the

deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his wings, and

under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor

the arrow that flies by day, nor

the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor

the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand, but

it will not come near you ...

For he will command his angels

concerning you to

guard in all your ways. On their hands

they will bear you up, lest you

strike your foot against a stone ...

(Psalm 91, selections)

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in

the kingdom of their Father.

(Matthew 13:43)

Beloved

"Build yourselves up in your most holy faith," Jude 20.

Who's writing? Jude, slave of Jesus. Who's he talking to? To people God called. The beloved by God. To the people kept for Jesus. What's the blessing given these people? Lots and lots of mercy, peace, and love. Is there anybody the blessings aren't for? Yep. Like who? ungodly people who pretend to have faith in Jesus but really deny him. How so? these don't know the difference between sex and the grace of God. rely on their dreams, not on the clear message of Jesus. live out self-centered, selfish lives, always seeking out their advantage. But mainly, whine about everything. grumblers. malcontents. (Wow! Makes me take inventory!) So. How to build faithfulness? Pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep in God's love. Wait on Jesus' mercy.

We point each other, brothers or sisters, today, to our Savior God able to keep us safe and sound. And, together, we give forever thanks to the only God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Friends

"No greater joy have I than to hear my children walking in the truth," 3 John 4.

Who's the happy man here? Old man John, life-long missionary for Jesus. What's he happy about? His children. He had kids? Well, they're the people who came to faith in Jesus from his preaching. Who came to real faith, that is. To faithfulness. He's happy to hear reports that these believers live integrated lives. Integrated? Yes, their faith and the things they do match. They walk in the truth. What do they do to walk the truth faithfully? Like Jesus, they do good. They support, assist, help other brothers, even if they're strangers. They work in live fellowship with each other. They don't put their own desires ahead of the others. They're friends to each other. That's what they do in their faithful walk. Sky kingdom.

Today, we share with care in each other's walk, a brother or sister. Friends. In Jesus. And, together, we give thanks for the joy of God's truth that does so much good for us.

Commandments

"This is love, that we walk according to his commandments," 2 John 6.

Who's talking here? John, the old Jewish man, missionary of Jesus. Whose commandments does he talk about? Commandments of Jesus. And what're the commandments in which keeping we should walk? The ones we had from the beginning. (Oh, man!) Beginning of what? from the beginning of the gospel. Okay, okay! What commandments did Jesus give us from the beginning of the gospel? That we love one another. True love. Ok. Got it. Anything else? Yes - confess that Jesus Christ came as a real human. Live in keeping with that true teaching. And that's about it. Just remember to make that truth real, right? How to make that truth real? by loving one another. Really, truly.

As we touch bases with a brother or sister today, we attend to each other's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. And, together, we give thanks for God's love truly attending to us through that real human, Jesus.

Visible

"I hear about the love you have for all the saints," Philemon 5.

That is, love for all God's holy people, right? OK. But who's hearing about this love? Paul. Paul's hearing about it. And whose love is Paul hearing about? Philemon's. Philemon's love. Philemon's love for whom? For all his fellow believers in Christ. (That's what makes them holy, yes?). And Paul's hearing about Philemon's faith in Jesus. Invisible faith shows up in visible love. So anyway who's Philemon? He's a brother who's about to get a runaway slave back. A slave who has come to faith in Christ. So Philemon's not just getting back a runaway slave. He's getting back a brother in Christ. A saint. So what's Philemon to do? To love this new brother like he loves all the other brothers. Sky kingdom.

Today, with a brother or sister, we express faith in Jesus through the real actions of love toward each other. And, together, we give thanks that God expressed his love for us through Jesus' real actions.

Equity

"Sing to Jehovah God a new song, because he has made wonders!" Psalm 98:1.

With your own power, O God, you have brought salvation! You showed up. You saved! You showed your justice to the whole world! You remembered your mercy, your faithfulness to your people. We're shouting praise to you! Thank you, Lord! Everything's shouting out to you: harps, trumpets, horns ... yes! even the oceans roar, tsunamis clap their hands, the mountains sing, the whole world choruses praise to you, O God! Right in front of you! Why? Why does the whole world praise you? Because you're coming to judge the earth: no prejudice, no bias, no discrimination, no partiality, no favoritism. You're judging the whole world: true justice, complete equity.

With a brother or sister today, we look forward to God's holy, impeccable judgment. What a wonder has God made in the Lord Jesus Christ. And, together, we sing praise to the Lord, the wholly Righteous Judge.

New

"The one sitting on the throne said: Look! I'm doing everything new! Write this down!" Revelation 21:5.

New: sky. New: earth. The old: gone! New: God lives with the people. New: God, their God. New: God wipes every tear. New: no more death. New: no more mourning. New: no more crying. New: no more pain. The old: gone! New: priceless life water. New: God's glory shines through through the Lamb. New: river of life's water flows freely. New: fruit from the tree of life, year-round food. New: leaves from the tree of life, healing for the peoples. New: no more night. New: the Lord God shines for the peoples. New: the people reign forever. Sky kingdom. Jesus says, Now: I am coming soon. The Spirit and the Bride say, Now: Come!

With a brother or sister today, we invite all peoples, Come! Come to Jesus! Come to life! And, together, we call out into the sky, Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! New: Sky kingdom. Forever.

Written

"And books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life," Revelation 20:12.

Two events. Well, three. Three events: Creation. Sin-offering. Books. Another way to say the three: Beginning. Middle. End. Another way to say: God created humans good (past tense). Jesus died a sacrifice to forgive human rebellion (past tense). God will judge each human according to what they had done (future tense). It's all in the opened books. Who wrote the books? Humans. Each human gets to write their own book. What do they write? Their life. No secrets. The books just record the life each person did. No surprises. And that one other book? That's the only book God writes. Book of life. One book. The Lamb's book of life. What's in it? Names. Human names. Names of humans who named Jesus. The only humans to enter the sky kingdom.

With a brother or sister today, we hold fast the confession of our hope: the Lord Jesus Christ. God's promised and is faithful. And, together, we rejoice thankfully that Jesus secures our names written in the sky.

Rival

"He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit," Revelation 20:2.

Wait! Who seized the dragon? An angel. Who bound that ancient serpent? the angel. Who cast the devil into the pit? the angel. Who sealed the bottomless pit with Satan in it? the angel. So. Let's think about this a minute. An angel out of the sky has such power to trap the devil for a thousand years. An angel. It doesn't sound like the devil is anywhere near to God's evil rival, does it? Evil, yes, rival? Never. The contest of champions battles between a good angel (the winner) and the deceiving devil (the loser). An angel from God, sent under God's orders, does the devil in. Satan's rotting power is in the deception of humans. Not of God. God is not mocked. Not ever.

We recognize, with a brother or sister today, there's a whole lot more stuff going on out there than our eyes have ever seen. We stand back in awe of our God, unrivaled ruler of the universe! And, together, we bow in reverent thanksgiving to our God.

Jubilation

"Jubilation! Celebration! Glorify the Wholly Powerful God! The Lamb's wedding has come and his Bride has made herself ready!" Revelation 19:7.

What a wedding! Monstrous creatures gathered around the throne, royal elders encircling, voluminous, thunderous roars of crowds, all shouting: Hallelujah! The Lord our God the Almighty reigns! The wedding of the year ... No! of all time and eternity, has come. The Lamb? The groom, Jesus, Lord and Savior! The Bride? his people! his blood-bought congregation. The Bride's wedding gown? All the good deeds his people ever did. What deeds? Touching orphaned and widowed. Giving water to thirsty. Food for hungry. Visiting jailed. Clothes for naked. Checking the tongue. Keeping unstained. Announcing hope. Sharing gospel. Freeing captive. Communing the Lamb together. Good works ever pointing to the enthroned Father.

We express to a brother or sister today commitment to continue serving Jesus in this world, his hands, his feet, his mouth. And, thus, we tailor the gown for the upcoming Wedding. And, together, we praise him.

Assembly

"And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon," Revelation 16:16.

Alright. Some assembly required. Who's doing the assembling? Three frog-like filthy spirit-demons. Where'd they come from? Crawled out of the mouths of a dragon (that is, the devil), of a beast (that is, of what humans decided to worship instead of God), of a false prophet (that is, one who misrepresented God). Who are they assembling? All the military forces of earth. When are they assembling? On the great day of God All-powerful. (When is that? well, we'll see.) Why are they assembling? To battle against God, to annihilate his people. Where are they assembling? Armageddon, circling God's congregation. What happened next? Fire came down from the sky and burned them all up. Crispy critters. It was over. Raw justice. Don't mess with God. Or his congregation.

Regardless of scary temporary circumstance, with a brother or sister today we shout out: Safe in the arms of Jesus! And, together, we give thanks that our God defends conclusively to bring us all home. Sky kingdom.

Majesty

"Jehovah God reigns; he is robed in majesty," Psalm 93:1.

Dear God, your clothing is your character: majesty and strength! You established the world's fixed structure. Your throne has been in place from way back when. You, O God, live in present time from forever past. Mighty waters flooding from the deep of creation lift up their roaring voices. Your thundering voice, O God, outdoes the shouts of violent tsunamis. You, Jehovah God, are the Mighty One! Your tried and true orders hold fast against every onslaught. Your house, your family, rightly defines holiness. Something else. Uncommon. Not profane. Not secular. Unworldly. Holiness. Wholly other. Now and forever more. Praise you, God!

We join a brother or sister today to praise our God for no other reason than God is God. He is holy. And, together, we give thanks for the Holy One in our midst.

Song

"They sing the song of God's servant Moses and the song of the Lamb," Revelation 15:3.

Who's singing? The winners. Where are they? On the shore of a fire-glass sea. Where is that sea? In the sky. What are they singing about? Singing about God's amazing actions. About God's truth and justice. About God, king of the nations. About God, the only holy one. About God, before whom all nations worship with fearful respect. About God, who uncovered overwhelmingly plainly his righteous actions. Again: who's singing? The winners. Winners over what? Winners over the devilish beast, winners over its icon, winners over the number of its name. How did the winners win? They lived faithful to Jesus to the end.

We talk with a brother or sister today, we encourage each other to press on, press on through the fog. And, together, following Jesus we sing to God, the worker of mighty salvation deeds.

Sickle

"So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was harvested," Revelation 14:16.

How fast? That fast. That's how fast the end comes when it comes. One angel comes out of God's temple (the real one in the sky, not its model on earth) to yell the loud order to another on a cloud who's holding a sickle: Cast your sickle! Reap! It's time - earth's harvest is ripe! And the next thing you know the sickle moves across the face of the ripe earth to collect men and women into the presence of their Maker. That fast. One minute people across earth are living out their lives, working, marrying, warring, sleeping, whatever. And the next moment cuts to them all before the judgment seat of God. That fast. So, keep on keeping on.

As we contact a brother or sister today, we serve each other in love not to lose heart, but to keep on trusting God to make all things right. And, together, we give thanks to be counted worthy by God to endure.

Keeping

"Here is the endurance of the holy ones: keeping the commandments of God and the trust of Jesus," Revelation 14:12.

Who are these holy ones? They're the saints. And the saints are extraordinarily religious people who prove their religiosity by their amazing spiritual powers, right? No. Wrong. The saints are those folks who keep on keeping on in God's commands: who keep on keeping on in trust of Jesus. They pursue doing God's will. They listen to Jesus, God's prophet, God's messiah, God's son. They trust the salvation and power and the kingdom of God and the authority of his Christ has come. Sky kingdom. They do not give power to the world's troubles and challenges. Or to the devil's deceits. They see beyond the difficult moment. They press on trusting God, no matter what. Word of God. These are the saints. They endure. To the end.

Today, as we visit with a brother or sister, we speak the Word that builds up, that encourages to keep on keeping on. And, together, we give thanks to God, because he is God. And he is true.

Pretend

"How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?" Deuteronomy 18:21.

From ancient times, many people have claimed to prophesy by God's authority. God, from ancient times, has been clear: A prophet who presumed to speak a word God did not command would die. And, again, from ancient times, God was very clear: God would raise up a prophet to speak all God commanded him. So. From ancient times, people have wondered: How to know whether a prophet is from God or not? So. God, from ancient times, has been clear: If the word the prophet spoke did not come true, then God did not give that word. That prophet spoke presumptuously. God, from ancient times, gave instruction about pretend prophets: Give them no never mind. Now. Jesus is the true prophet whom God sent to speak his word. Jesus is the Word made flesh. From ancient times, God has said of Jesus: Hear ye him!

We encourage each other, a brother or a sister, to keep listening to Jesus, God's Prophet of prophets, following him today with all diligence. And, together, we give confident thanks for receiving the True Word.

Silence 2

"When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour," Revelation 8:1.

Strange sights, weird sounds, uncommon smells, scary events abound in the Revelation, happenings cascading on each other, one thing falling on the heels of another, shock and awe, without reprieve, as never witnessed before by human eye! Then, suddenly, a deafening silence. Silence. For about a half hour. Can we imagine? Complete silence? Silence. What's happening? Well, nothing that we had anticipated: God is listening. God's listening in the silence. What's he listening for? What's he listening to? God's listening to your prayers. Listening. To the prayers of all his people. Listening to the prayers of all the holy ones ever to have lived. God's listening.

We remind each other, a brother or a sister, that God hears every cry of our lips, he hears every hope of our hearts, he hears every yearning of our minds, every prayer. And, together, we give profuse thanks mingled with the incense of God's golden altar.

Surely

"Surely his salvation is near to those who respect him, that glory may take up quarters in our earth," Psalm 84:9.

O Jehovah, God, show us your steadfast love - please grant your salvation. I want to hear what you say because you will speak peace to your people, to your holy people. Please don't let us turn back into stupid ways. Dear God: steadfast love and faithfulness meet together! Your kingdom's rule and peace kiss each other! Yes! Faithfulness arises from the earth, your righteous rule watches from the sky. Yes, Lord! You will give what is good. The earth will respond in abundance. Your righteousness will go ahead of you and will turn your very steps into a path.

We mutually encourage a brother or sister today to press on in doing what is right and good. We trust our God, no matter what, to bring his salvation. Surely and soon. And, together, ahead of time, we give thanks.

Shelter

"He who sits on the throne will shelter with them," Revelation 7:15.

Who's the He? The power on the throne. Yeah, ok, so who's that? God. What's He doing? Sheltering with them. Who's the Them? They're the ones who washed their clothes in the Lamb's blood and made them bright, shiny white. (His winners!) What's he doing to shelter them? He lives with them. His presence, like the fire by night, the cloud by day, leading Israel, like in the tabernacle of Sinai, like in the temple of Jerusalem, like in the person of Jesus, his presence overshadows them. No, not over-shadows. Over-lights them. His Presence protects. His glory, brilliant, blazing, dazzling, beaming into every corner. And what are they doing? They're serving him day and night in his temple. They are his temple. And the Lamb is their shepherd guiding to living water. No weeping here. No tears. Sky kingdom.

Joining a brother or sister today, we joy in the presence of our God. And, together, we give glorious thanks.

Ovation

"There were so many people that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were standing before the throne and before the Lamb," Revelation 7:9.

So. The Book's been talking about winners. How many? Is it like one wins and everybody else loses? Nope. Not at all. Well ... hmm ... actually ... sort of ... Yes. OK: One Winner: Jesus. And then he makes us winners, with him! Provided we hang in there, with him, to the finish line, right? It's not like everybody's couch potatoes watching the grueling marathon on TV. I mean, we're like the last runner into the Olympic stadium receiving an ovation at the finish line. Jesus' standing ovation! With a million angelic creatures around the throne. So. How many are winners? So many that they're uncountable. That many. And what are they doing? Attention moves away from the runners; the skies thunder with their shouts: Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Brothers and sisters, fast runners, slow walkers, hand in hand, or arms hooked together, or limping along with arm over shoulder, even sledding the wounded, we urge each other forward to Jesus' finish line. And, together, we give thanks.

Imagine

"I will give the winner a seat on my throne right beside me, just like I sat with my Father on his throne when I won," Revelation 3:21.

Can we imagine? The King offers to share his throne with the winners! And who are these winners? These are they who buy from Jesus: fire-refined gold, bright white cloaks, eye-salve. (Why? so as to be truly rich, truly clothed, truly sighted). Buy from Jesus. From Jesus who gives real riches, real apparel, real sight. So, who are these winners? These are they who thought they were rich but were miserable, beggarly, blind, naked. Who heard Jesus' correction and changed from lukewarm self-deception to follow the Author of all creation. They who repented. And who, in receiving Jesus' gifts, won the course! Seated beside the King of the sky kingdom. Can we imagine?

With a brother or sister today we re-turn our eyes and hearts and deeds and minds to see, hear, and follow Jesus all the way across the victory line. And, together, we say: Thank you, our King! O Lamb of God, who died for us and now lives for us. Thank you, O God, who, in receiving the Lamb, you also received us! Amazing grace!

Stanchions

"I will make the winner a tower of strength in the temple of my God," Revelation 3:12.

Jesus will do this. He makes his winners pillars upholding God's temple. He makes them buttresses. Stanchions. Champions. In God's temple. Temple? Yes. The temple where God dwells: his people. He dwells among them. The Risen Christ makes them a temple. Indeed. He, Jesus, writes God's name on those pillars, he writes the name of God's city, the new Jerusalem, on these uprights. They endured troubles of the world with patience. They held fast in hardship. No one could snatch their crown away from them - for they kept Jesus' word. They did not deny his name when pressed to do so! So the King of kings writes his own new name on them. Sky kingdom.

Today, we recognize in a brother or sister, however humble they be, a champion in God's temple. We remember Jesus' protection. And, together, we give thanks to God.

Blotted

"The winner will dress in white and I will never, not ever!, wipe off their name from the book of life," Revelation 3:5.

Who is this to guarantee names written in the book of life? Jesus. The Risen Christ. The Lord of glory. The one who has the seven spirits of God. Yeah, and has the seven stars. The one who knows his congregation. Who calls his own to repent. Who calls his own to strengthen whatever's fading away. To finish their works. So that when he surprises us with his appearing we're already found walking with him! That's who guarantees names in the book of life! Yes! Jesus will call roll with these names in the hearing of the angels ... in the audience of God! Roll book of life. Never, ever blotted out.

Today, we encourage a brother or sister to walk on with Jesus, with him who sacrificed himself to gain our absolute victory. And, together, we press on in the deeds that bespeak our grateful thanksgiving.

Pause

"My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of Jehovah God," Psalm 83:2.

With all my being I sing for joy to you, O God of armies! Your home is so lovely - even sparrows find a place to live in your courtyards. Swallows find shelter for their little ones right there! Lord, you alone are my King. You are my God. Everyone who lives with you is amazingly blessed! They ever thunder your praise in song! You're breathtaking! (I have to pause and take a breath, here). That's why I long to live right with you! Everybody who's set their path to you, whose strength is you - they're flooded with your blessing. Like overflowing pools of fresh spring water. You're my shield. One day, dear God, one day with you is better than a thousand anywhere else. (But one day with you is a thousand years anywhere else!) You are my sun, my shield. How blessed - O how blessed is anyone who trusts in you!

With a brother or sister today we sing praise to our God. And, together, we give thanks that God brings us home with Jesus, our Lord, our Savior.