Own Your Faith

God's kingdom is without boundaries. The extent of his kingdom transcends the boundaries between the spiritual and natural realms, the heavenly and earthly realms, the self-imposed geographical and ideological borders we construct. In order to participate with the kingdom we must remove the boundaries that limit what God can do in and through our lives. Psalm 108:19 | Psalm 11:4 | Isaiah 66:1,2; 57:15 | Matthew 6:33

The theme of 2018 for Own Your Faith Ministries centers on reorienting our desires towards seeking the kingdom of God above all things. Our desires govern our lives often times more than we realize. While our desires govern our habits (personal liturgy), our habits inform our desires. This is the year of forming habits that direct our desires towards God first. Two keys to seeking the kingdom first: 1) contentment and 2) honesty. Listen in...Matt 6:33

God packaged hope in a baby named Jesus. The paradox of hope is seen in a savior, the consolation of Israel, and the light to world, yet he was wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, a makeshift crib from a feeding trough, the most vulnerable position and place one could be. A king born in the poorest of circumstances. One thing thing the story of Jesus' birth can teach us is that hope doesn't always look the way we expect it to, but we can don't have to lose hope. Our hope is in Jesus.

The end of the book of Revelation is the describes a culmination of all the end time events. It is the return of the Lamb, the holy city, the bride/the people of God in the presence of God. No more tears, no more pain, no more influence of sin and evil. It is as God originally intended it to be, humanity experiencing uninhibited fellowship with the Creator. In the final passage, the Spirit beckons the Son to come and the Spirit beckons us to come to the Son!

After the judgment of Babylon/empire in chapter 18, the destruction of Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and all those who worship the beast in chapter 20, there is complete restoration in described in chapter 21. John sees a new earth, a new heaven, and a new Jerusalem. God makes all things new. He prepares a place to dwell with his people because God restores where God resides.

Tucked in between the fall of Babylon described in most of Revelation 19 and the coming of Jesus in Revelation chapter 20 is a passage that describes praise, particularly from heaven. The praise is not just because God has judged the spirit of Babylon in the empire of the day, but also that the King is now on the scene. The lesson in all of this, to not get lost in all the imagery and symbolism, is that joy and peace are not because of the absence of that which oppresses (sin, trials, suffering, people), but in the presence of that (God) which gives life.

These middle chapters in Revelation expose the influence of empire and exhort the church to resist this influence. Babylon, has long been a nemesis of God's people since the Old Testament. The anti-God spirit of Babylon manifested itself in Rome and has continued to manifest itself in our world today. There is a distinction between those who are "drunk" with the influence of Babylon and those we are sober and "marked" by God, clothed in holiness. Revelation 19.

Revelation chapters 16 and 17 continue to expose the characteristics and spirit of anti-God forces and influences that will influence all the nations of the world. This anti-God influence is so strong and deceptive that it requires that Christians be discerning or "stay woke" in order to know what is God and what is not.

Chapter 14 gives us another opportunity to catch our breath in the midst of all the judgment, plagues, and cosmic warring. We are reminded of God's protection and provision over those who have put their trust in the Lamb and endured to the end. This is also a chapter on confirmation that any entity or empire that opposes the will of God will fall. It is a call to the church for faithfulness. Chapter 15 introduces the bowls filled with the plagues of God's wrath being poured out onto the earth. The drama continues. But most importantly, God's wrath and discipline doesn't nullify God's faithfulness and goodness.

In Revelation Ch 12-13 the great cosmic battle begins. The judgments have been announced in previous chapters and the tension between good and evil, God and Satan intensifies. The question is are these events specific events in the very end of time or have they begun already in the spiritual realm and will just intensify as the the end nears. Yet in the midst of all the battling between good and evil, God prepares, protects and preserves his own for, during, and after the fight!