For today, One Year Bible Online links here. Christmas is coming soon. Let us remember what it is truly about, the birth of Jesus Christ. Let us strive to not be caught up in the commercialism which is what this season is about for many in our society today.

    There are those who curse their parents rather than thank them. They think they are better than everyone else, but are actually more thoroughly steeped in sin than most. They look down on everyone else as beneath them. Yet God will reserve a special judgement for them, one they will not appreciate.

    What a wonderful psalm of praise:

As soon as I pray, you answer me;

I may not understand the answer, but God always answers my prayers.

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.

How different that is than how we tend to behave! All too often we think that ignoring the humble is a sign of greatness. When, in fact, it is caring for and spending time with the humble that is the true sign of greatness.

    I am not sure what this passage is about. John describes a scene where he hears something which he is told to keep secret, or seal up. This is reminiscent of the same passage in Daniel that the scroll with seven seals imagery brings to mind. John ends this passage with imagery that brings to mind Ezekiel 3 when he describes being told to take and eat a scroll. Just as in Ezekiel the scroll was sweet in his mouth. I believe both of these connections are intentional. While I do not believe that Daniel or Ezekiel were prophesying about the same things as John is here, I do believe that Revelation is continuing the prophesies of Daniel and Ezekiel.

    The prophet proclaims that God is about wipe out everything on the earth. He tells us that this is going to happen because of religious leaders who claim to follow the Lord, but also worship nature and Molech (a god whose worship involved sacrifice of children, which always reminds me of abortion). Further, he condemns those who once sought God’s blessing and guidance but now rely on other sources of guidance. On the day of God’s judgement our wealth will not save us, not even if we have as much wealth as Bill Gates.
    Yet there is still time. If we act now to seek the Lord and follow His commands, He will protect us. God’s day of judgement is coming, but if we seek to do what is right and live humbly He may spare us.

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Zephaniah declares that the day of judgment is coming, when God will punish those who follow pagan customs. Those who fill their master’s house with violence and deceit will suffer God’s judgment. There are those who are complacent in their sins, sure that God will not act. The day of the Lord’s judgment will be a day of distress and anguish. You will not be saved by your wealth or political connections from ruin and desolation on the day of God’s judgment. The only hope on that day will be for those who repent now and humbly turn to the Lord, following His commands and doing what is right. There is still time, but it is running short. The proud and arrogant will receive God’s punishment. Only those who are lowly and humble, those who trust solely in the Lord, will be saved on the day of the Lord’s judgment. Oh Lord, I strive to be lowly and humble, relying solely on You for my salvation.

     During the period between the sounding of the sixth and seventh trumpet an angel came down to the earth with a scroll, one that is smaller than the one with the seven seals. The angel gave a great shout and seven thunders replied. Once more we have an event that stymies those who wish to tie this prophecy to specific events, because John was instructed to not record what the seven thunders said. Once this had happened the angel declared that when the seventh trumpet is sounded God’s plan would be fulfilled. The angel then handed the small scroll to John and instructed him to eat it. John was told that the scroll would be sweet in his mouth but would turn his stomach once he had eaten it. John ate the scroll and it was as he had been told.
     This passage is in part a reference to Ezekiel 3:3, where Ezekiel was also given a scroll to eat which was sweet in his mouth. However, it is also a recognition that while it is sweet to be given the task of speaking God’s word, as both John and Ezekiel were, some of the things which God gives us to say can be unpleasant to say (both for us and for our listeners). When God gives us a word to speak, we need to internalize it and let ourselves be changed by it. That change is often unpleasant, even though it makes us better people, people we would rather be than who we were before the change.

     I will give praise to God, He answers my prayers, He provides for my needs. When I pray, He immediately encourages me and gives me the strength to wait for as He works out His plans for my life. I will trust in the Lord for His word is backed by the honour of His name.

     There are those who curse their parents, giving them no thanks for all they have done for them. They are sure that they have done no wrong, even as they torture and murder the poor and needy. Let me not be one of them. Let me recognize what my parents have done for me and acknowledge when my faults contribute to estrangement from those I should love.