Revelation 2

23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

I am reminded today it doesn't matter what my candy shell looks like, God knows me better than I know myself right.  He knows what is running through my mind or where my heart lies, so if I'm not feeling it don't fake it--he knows.

--funny this is the verse I chose but still didn't have a ton to say so I went back to what I wrote last time on this chapter--I picked the same verse with a similar take.  also you were having to wait on me that time in 2016 like you might have been this time.

knut

Revelation 1

See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates. Now write down everything you see: things that are, things about to be. 

Here we go!  This one is tough.  It's tough for me to get past this visual aspect of this chapter and find the meaning for my daily walk.  

I copied the above verse because it shows me ultimate power.  He is in control of the very thing that scares me the most.  If I truly believe that, there should be nothing to fear in this life....right?  He has it all.  Even the stuff I can bear to think of.  He is telling John there isn't anything outside of his control.  With that mindset he says,.....now write this down.  HAHAHA!  I love that.  He just declared the biggest "mic drop" in history.  Then he says, what I'm about to tell you is important, and I want you to write it down.  Do you think there's any chance that John considered not following his direction?  I think not!  That should be how we approach words from God.

tp

Jude 1

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

This chapter is a bit of a warning against those who are out for self profit, and those who don't have God at the heart of everything they are doing....but, I like the ending Doxology.  After all the talk of the condemned, words of warning, and stories of fallen angels....the author ends it with a declaration of the power of God.  Its a sobering reminder that no matter how hard we try...we can't keep ourselves from being on the wrong side of the ledger.  Its only through God's grace that we are able to "not stumble."

tp

3 John 1

9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

This one just reminds me of how the church can be destroyed by the actions of the people within it.  This seems to be a direct call-out of someone in particulars behavior.  
My take is that I need to be a "smoother" and not a "wave-maker" within the church environment.  

quick take today

2 John

12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

strange take today.  I read this chapter for a couple of days now looking for something to catch my eye.  This is it!

In our day and age of social media, instant messages, texting, emailing.....I think we have lost the art of face to face conversation.  In my estimation, its SO much more effective for lots of reasons.  But, as I tell the people I work with to go and find where someone sits and talk to them instead of sending an email....the same thing applies here.  If we are trying to love each other or trying to convince someone that God is the answer to what they need....doing it in person is the way to handle it.  

Influence always starts with a solid relationship.

crazy, I know

tp

1 John 5

4-5 Every God-begotten person conquers the world’s ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world’s ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God.

I read The Message version today.  It made more sense to me.  This verse is an extension of what we read yesterday.  It speaks to the recipe for beating this ugly world.  It only takes faith.  I love the idea of my faith being so powerful that it can bring this world to it's knees!  So between yesterday and today...we have love and faith as the concepts.  If we have those 2 things....we are unstoppable!

its a good challenge and something to think about as I go through my day.

tp

1 John 4

My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

Seems a little "easy" to copy/paste the first sentence in the chapter.  But, in this case, it strikes me as being so current.  There's so much coming at us, in this culture.  I think its vital to be able to discern what's from God and what isn't.  What will lead us closer to God, and what will take us further away.  

I really like the concept of love being the glue that holds is all together.  If you start with love, then the rest will fall into place.

tp