Thanksgiving Day has come and gone in the US
Family and friends have flown back home
Mom's chinaware washed, dried and putaway
until the next Thanksgiving celebration at our place
A week had already gone, yet the leftover
turkey and pickled beets and greens are still finding
their way into our lunches somehow these days.
Tempting are still the wrapped up pumpkin cheesecake
and sweet potatoe pies in the fridge
yet, the weight showed on the scale this week
does want to make us to run
to run away from the fridge,
and to run and run around the block non-stop.
Yes, it's great to have Thanksgiving Day every year
And to be with the family and feast to your fill
We do remember to thank God for all His blessings
for the family and friends,good health and jobs we do have.
Now that the Thanksgiving Day is over and the house is gettign back to normal
Do we forget to thank the Lord for our day to day blessings?
No, not at all.
To be alive and to be fed, clothed and sheltered in a safe environment
are something we can never taken for granted
How many who went to sleep last night failed to see this day, we cannot count
The house we live in, the job we do and the love of the family we have are not guaranteed for life
Disasters come, accidents occur, hurricanes and tsunamis shake and sweep away lives without notice
So, what we have now at hand is something we need to be thankful for whether they're big or small
Each day is God given gift and each of us need to be thankful that we are alive and loved and cared.
Let us not wait for another Thanksgiving Day to thank and celebrate
Instead, like the psalmist in the Bible, let us sing and thank the Lord as below.
" It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and sing praises to Your name , O Most High,
To declare Your loving kindness in the mornings
And Your faithfulness every night!" Psalm 92:1
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
The Book of Revelation-The scroll and the Lamb (Rev:Chapter 5)
In the old testament, we read that an unblemished animal- a lamb, a ram or young bull is offered as a sin offering for the sins of a person or the nation. When the animal is killed, the anointed priest would dip his fingers in the blood of the animal and would sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil of the sanctuary at the temple in Jerusalem.
In the New Testament, in John 1: 29, we read that John the Baptist points to Jesus at the Jordan river and telling, " Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
In 1Peter 1:19, apostle Peter writes, " But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
Yes, the precious blood of Christ is shed to redeem the mankind from sin and to reconcile the redeemed with God Almighty, who is holy and righteous. Jesus' last words on the cross was, " It is finished." Yes, no more sacrifice of animal as sin offering is needed at the temple or anywhere. Christ has done it once for all mankind. That is the Good News we are called cherish and share.
Now getting back to our study on the Book of Revelation, we come across a slain Lamb in the 5th chapter of the book. In this chapter, John sees a scroll in the right hand of the One who sat on the throne sealed with seven seals. And John hears a mighty angel telling in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" At this sounding, John started to weep for he saw no one in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth was worthy enough to break the seals on the scroll or even to look inside it.
Luckily, he was soon comforted by one of the elders saying, " Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Who is this Lion of Judah? Who is the Root of David? Who else, other than Jesus of Nazareth was called the Son of David or King of the Jews? Yes, it was none other than Jesus Christ, we Christians follow. He is the One, who triumphed over sin was worthy to break the seals of the scroll in heaven.
John then sees a slain Lamb standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four creatures and elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which the scripture interprets as seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. When the Lamb took the scroll from the One who sat on the throne, John sees the four creatures mentioned in the previous chapters as well as the twenty four elders seated on the throne, fall down before the Lamb.
Wow! What a scene! How great and praise worthy the Lamb must have been to receive such a reverent bow. That wasn't all. They began to sing too. Each of them had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang,
" You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
" You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God
and they will reign on the earth."
Then, John heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousands times ten thousands. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
John heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
" To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!
The four living creatures said, " Amen," and the elders fell down and worshipped. (Rev 5:9-13)
To your benefit and mine, I've tried to post whatever I've studied and gleaned from the first five chapters of the Book of Revelation. By doing so I've tried to spike an interest in you to further delve into the book on your own or with the help of a good Bible commentary or with the support of a Bible study group.
The entire Bible from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation is truly God's revelation of His redemption plan for mankind. God, the Alpha and Omega who is a creator of heaven on earth gifted us with a beautiful world to live in. But by man's choice of disobedience, sin entered the world and suffering and death followed. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we could read about the fall of man. God could have easily given up on the rebellious mankind, but His unconditional love made Him to come up with a redemption plan to bring back the strayed away mankind back to Him.
The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible could be considered as the final revelation of God's plan of judgement and what is yet to come. That doesn't mean God has completely stopped revealing His plan to us. No, not at all. He continues to reveal His love and plan to us, individually and cooperatively through out our lives as long as we keep our eyes focused on Him and our ears attuned to His voice.
I pray that my posting on the first five chapters of the book has been helpful for you to look upon God with absolute reverence and gratitude. I'd very much appreciate if you could be kind enough to leave a comment at the end of your reading. Just a word-thanks, would be sufficient to know that someone has read the post.
In the New Testament, in John 1: 29, we read that John the Baptist points to Jesus at the Jordan river and telling, " Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
In 1Peter 1:19, apostle Peter writes, " But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."
Yes, the precious blood of Christ is shed to redeem the mankind from sin and to reconcile the redeemed with God Almighty, who is holy and righteous. Jesus' last words on the cross was, " It is finished." Yes, no more sacrifice of animal as sin offering is needed at the temple or anywhere. Christ has done it once for all mankind. That is the Good News we are called cherish and share.
Now getting back to our study on the Book of Revelation, we come across a slain Lamb in the 5th chapter of the book. In this chapter, John sees a scroll in the right hand of the One who sat on the throne sealed with seven seals. And John hears a mighty angel telling in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" At this sounding, John started to weep for he saw no one in heaven nor on earth nor under the earth was worthy enough to break the seals on the scroll or even to look inside it.
Luckily, he was soon comforted by one of the elders saying, " Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."
Who is this Lion of Judah? Who is the Root of David? Who else, other than Jesus of Nazareth was called the Son of David or King of the Jews? Yes, it was none other than Jesus Christ, we Christians follow. He is the One, who triumphed over sin was worthy to break the seals of the scroll in heaven.
John then sees a slain Lamb standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four creatures and elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which the scripture interprets as seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. When the Lamb took the scroll from the One who sat on the throne, John sees the four creatures mentioned in the previous chapters as well as the twenty four elders seated on the throne, fall down before the Lamb.
Wow! What a scene! How great and praise worthy the Lamb must have been to receive such a reverent bow. That wasn't all. They began to sing too. Each of them had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang,
" You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased men for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation.
" You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God
and they will reign on the earth."
Then, John heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands and ten thousands times ten thousands. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"
John heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:
" To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!
The four living creatures said, " Amen," and the elders fell down and worshipped. (Rev 5:9-13)
To your benefit and mine, I've tried to post whatever I've studied and gleaned from the first five chapters of the Book of Revelation. By doing so I've tried to spike an interest in you to further delve into the book on your own or with the help of a good Bible commentary or with the support of a Bible study group.
The entire Bible from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation is truly God's revelation of His redemption plan for mankind. God, the Alpha and Omega who is a creator of heaven on earth gifted us with a beautiful world to live in. But by man's choice of disobedience, sin entered the world and suffering and death followed. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we could read about the fall of man. God could have easily given up on the rebellious mankind, but His unconditional love made Him to come up with a redemption plan to bring back the strayed away mankind back to Him.
The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible could be considered as the final revelation of God's plan of judgement and what is yet to come. That doesn't mean God has completely stopped revealing His plan to us. No, not at all. He continues to reveal His love and plan to us, individually and cooperatively through out our lives as long as we keep our eyes focused on Him and our ears attuned to His voice.
I pray that my posting on the first five chapters of the book has been helpful for you to look upon God with absolute reverence and gratitude. I'd very much appreciate if you could be kind enough to leave a comment at the end of your reading. Just a word-thanks, would be sufficient to know that someone has read the post.
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