Multitudes will get another chance . . .

This week three of us were praying. One woman prayed in her native tongue, a language of the Middle East. She understood our English but could not speak it well. We told her to pray as she wished and only grasped a few words she said, but we understood her heart and her passion for Jesus.

Later, we read part of this section from Revelation rejoicing that in heaven all nations and languages would be represented. However, I didn’t realize until this morning that we took those verses out of context, at least in one respect. It was not referring to Christians in our time . . .

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9–17)

This vast multitude is not made up of believers from this era but a numberless crowd that will be saved during the time I described yesterday; a time called the “great tribulation” when one quarter of the world’s population will die. During this awful period when the wrath of God is released on the earth, not everyone will run and hide. Some of them will turn to Christ and He will save them.

In these verses, salvation is through faith in Christ. As the world winds down, He will shelter them, feed and care for them, and give them protection and comfort. They may die physically for their faith yet not experience the destruction and separation from God that will happen to those who refuse His grace.

I felt sad most of yesterday thinking about the fate of the world. This passage is an encouragement. Not everyone will perish. It says a “great multitude that no one could number” will be saved for eternity. It calls Jesus the Lamb four times. Again, the Lamb who was slain is doing what He alone can do — redeeming people from the wrath that their sin deserves and taking care of them as a shepherd does his sheep.

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Lord Jesus, thank You for these words, this revelation of You doing Your saving work even amid the same passages as Your wrath against sin is described. Again, mercy triumphs over judgment.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- seeing God’s mercy even as He shows me His wrath against sin.

- feeling relief that even during all that will happen, multitudes will be saved.

- knowing that God’s grace is greater than human sin.

- Christmas baking includes old favorites like peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies.

- a down-filled coat that is warm even on a frosty day like today.

Faith in a dogmatic Savior

Dogmatic, black and white, firm conviction, no matter what anyone calls it, being certain something is true or false is usually not the most popular character trait. However, those who are firm in their stand for truth yet are able to present their thoughts in love are often said to be ‘refreshing’ — a rare commodity. I am drawn to people like that because they make it known where they stand on many levels, and I never have to guess or suspect them of deviousness.

The dictionary gives these synonyms: opinionated, peremptory, assertive, imperative, insistent, emphatic, adamant, doctrinaire, authoritarian, authoritative, domineering, imperious, high-handed, pontifical, arrogant, overbearing, dictatorial, uncompromising, unyielding, unbending, inflexible, rigid, entrenched, unquestionable, unchallengeable; intolerant, narrow-minded, small-minded, showing the varying reactions to dogmatic people. If I pull out the negatives, that leaves only a few that describe the good side of being dogmatic, such as uncompromising, unquestionable, and unchallengeable. These three describe Jesus, my favorite dogmatic person.

He spoke with authority on many subjects, including the truth about His own identity. “I AM the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd.” Here are three more statements that many critics would call dogmatic, only because they don’t agree with Him or believe what He claims. The first one is about Him being eternal life for all who believe:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (John 11:25)

This is a strong promise. It blesses those whose lives are threatened or who have lost loved ones. If faith is part of their lives, then this is assurance of life beyond death, a great comfort. It also puts this life in perspective. Our time here is a small dot compared to eternity, and Jesus promises to give me eternity.

Jesus also speaks of Himself as the way to God and the reasons why that is so:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

I get to God the Father by trusting Jesus. I know truth by listening to Jesus. I have eternal life by putting my faith in Jesus. Dogmatic? Sure, but He said it first. Without knowing His statement is true, I would be left wandering in the wilderness of my sin and maybe not even realizing how lost I am without Him.

Once I believed, trusting Jesus is still the priority. It is not a life of dogmatic rules and ‘thou shalt not’s but a life of abiding in Christ. He uses a figure of speech to describe what this is like:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (John 15:1–4)

Living a fruitful life is about staying close to Jesus, trusting Him in every way and for every situation, even in those circumstances He uses to prune me. This means cutting sin out of my life, an often painful process and yet releasing me into greater ability to be more like Him. The fruit He talks about are attitudes and actions, starting with these:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22–25)

Abiding is walking in His will, doing what He says, putting away my sinful selfishness and letting the Spirit have His way in my heart. This is not living by rules but by the inner prompting of God, a nudge that lines up with the external voice I hear when I read His Word.

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Jesus, this is an exciting way to live. Thank You for being uncompromising, unquestionable, and unchallengeable yet at the same time loving me so much that You do not walk all over me. You are also patient, kind, good, gentle, full of love, joy and peace, and faithful in caring for me. When I grow up, I want to be just like You.

Let my light shine

Writers know the power of words and punctuation. A misplaced comma can change the meaning. Even little words need to be exact. Today’s Bible passage has a little word that could be translated at least two ways from the original Greek to English. The biggest surprise is that either way is correct.

“But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles . . . .” (Galatians 1:15–16)

Some versions say “. . . was pleased to reveal his Son in me . . . .” rather than to me. As I consider the immediate context, I can see the value and truth in both versions.

The phrase “to me” describes how God opened Paul’s eyes so he could see Jesus. The Christ had been revealed to him, and because of that, Paul was motivated to proclaim Him and His saving work to the world. Seeing Jesus changed his life and his direction.

However, “in me” is also true. When people become Christians, the Spirit of Jesus Christ brings the very presence of the Lord into their hearts. When they abide in Christ in loving obedience, others can see Jesus in them. God uses this amazing phenomena to reveal Jesus Christ to others.

What are the steps? First, the sense of need must be there. It comes to us through conviction of sin and/or helplessness. Before I became a Christian, I recognized that I am a sinner and unable to save myself. I still recognize my sinfulness and am even more aware of my helplessness. In that attitude, I am eager to give my life to Christ, to have Him do in me what I cannot do myself.

Next, God reveals to sinners the wonder of Jesus Christ, the Savior. Seeing Him indeed changes everything. He forgives sin, grants repentance and faith, and comes into our lives. He lives in me!

This remarkable event happens just once, and He promises to never leave me or forsake me. However, the saving part has just begun. An illustration of a guest coming into our home is often used. It describes that the guest enters the house but is not given access to some of its rooms. I am to give full access to Jesus, allowing Him to not only enter all, but to be in charge of all. Sin permeates every part; so must the Savior.  When that happens, people began to see Jesus in me.

Regeneration is a biblical term for this wonderful new life. At first, the new Christian is called a babe in Christ because we have been spiritually reborn. As Jesus brings maturity to my faith, increasing both it and the desire to live in obedience, people see less of the old me and more of the new creation, the treasure, the life of Christ in this clay pot.

 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:6–7)

As Jesus is manifested in the lives of His people, He is glorified and others are confronted and will respond. Some will fall in love with this wonderful God-man Redeemer, and others will hate Him and try to silence those who bear Him and His message.

How is this practical? Obviously, I’m to get out of His way and let the light of Christ shine through me.