Revelation 13.9-10 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10
If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be
slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the
endurance and faith of the saints. (ESV)
The good and bad of a Bible-Reading plan is time. The good time is that amount of
time given to such an endeavor and the establishment of a routine of regular
reading of the Scripture. The bad is: I don’t have enough time to give to fully
study what I read because I want to take extended periods of time to wrap my
head around books like Revelation and find out more of what it is they say and
why it is that it was so important that it was included in the MIDITU (Most
Important Document In The Universe). Work and other stuff get in the way…
John said: “If anyone has an ear, let him hear: If anyone
is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the
sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and
faith of the saints.” It’s a specific statement given (I assume) to a general
group of people who would read his revelation. It’s prefaced with the words: If anyone has an ear, let him hear. And
it is concluded with the statement: Here
is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Those two statements
encompass the heart of the message: If
anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain
with the sword, with the sword must he be slain.
In other words: whatever happens happens, but in the midst of whatever happens, don’t lose ground in
your faith and in the faithful endurance of your life of faith. Faith is too
important to be lost by being distracted by captivity or death or whatever; endurance
is what is important.
I see stuff happening in our world these days that gives
credence to what John wrote nearly 2000 years ago on a rocky island off the
shore of ancient Greece. My wife often reminds me: Isn’t it supposed to go from bad to worse? Sadly, I agree.
The issue is: God is determined that I not lose sight of
what He is doing or where He has chosen to live: in the hearts of all of His
people. God goes out of His way to protect you and me from getting lost in the
details of whatever; He cares that much. That is why I must endure in an ever
increasingly hostile world that is opposed to my faith in Christ and His
mission in our lives. My only hope is
Him. From before the foundations of the world it was ordained that I live in
these days. And my only protection is enduring faith.
Father, I think it’s only up to me and that is just my
foolish thinking. It’s up to You and You have promised. I pray for perspective
to see what is really going on and how I’m to live, and I pray for strength to
resist getting distracted by Americanism, politics, and everything else that
demands I pay attention to it. I pray for endurance and for what is expected of
me since You’ve given me the marvelous gift of faith in the first place… Help
me today Lord, amen.
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