Book Review

Today, I would like to recommend two books by photographer and author Richard Surman.  The first book is called "Cathedral Cats".  This is a book about some of the cats that live in and around the great cathedrals of Britain.  My favorite cats in this book were Kim who lives at Lichfield Cathedral and Wolfie who lives at Salisbury Cathedral.  The second book I'd like to recommend by Richard Surman is called "Dog Collar".  Mr. Surman wrote several books about cats, so he decided to do a volume about dogs who belong to pastors in Britain.  My favorite dog in this book was Jimmy who belongs to a priest serving the community of Hay-on-Wye in Wales.  Jimmy regularly attends services where he waits at the front of the church for his master to finish the message.

Weekend Sermon--Revelation

     I'm sorry I had to delay the sermon this week.  I had an appointment yesterday.  I have been having a great deal of trouble with my pancreas and stomach the last couple of months.  It's getting worse and not better, so please pray for me.
      Please continue to pray that I will be able to sell the things I need to sell this week.  I really need the Lord to meet an important need in my life this week.  Please pray.  It seems that every time I try to do something for the Lord that there are a lot of road blocks that I have to overcome.
     Also, please pray for peace in Egypt and Syria.  Many Christians are suffering persecution in Egypt.  Let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
     In last week's message, we looked at the words of Jesus to those in the church at Smyrna.  These believers were suffering a great time of tribulation and persecution for their faithful witness to the Lord Jesus Christ.
     The Lord encouraged the church at Smyrna not to fear and to remain faithful to Him.  Those who remain faithful even unto death will receive the crown of life as a reward.
     Today, we focus our attention on the Jesus' message to the church at Pergamos.  Unlike the church at Smyrna, the church at Pergamos does receive a rebuke from the Lord.
     The city of Pergamos was located about 50 miles north of Smyrna.  It was the capital of the province of Asia.
    Jesus begins His message to this church in verse 12 by saying that He had a sharp two edged sword.  This signifies that Jesus was bringing strong words against those in Pergamos.
     However, Jesus begins by commending those in the church who have held fast to the faith even though they lived where Satan dwells.  What does this mean?
     This is a reference to the fact that there was great idolatry in the city.  All forms of idolatry are demonic in nature.  This may have been a particularly immoral city given over to all sorts of evil and the power of the occult.  It was a place of great wickedness in the eyes of Jesus.  Those who lived in this wicked city were persecuted for their faithfulness to Jesus.  One believer named Antipas was killed for his witness for Jesus Christ.
     Jesus is pleased with those who are willing to suffer for His sake.  Many are suffering for the Lord today.  This is especially true for Christians living in the Islamic world.
     I believe that there is coming a time when there will be great persecution against Christians in the Western world who stand for Biblical principles and the truth of the gospel.  I just heard on the radio this morning about a pastor in Canada who was prosecuted for hate crimes because he suggested that if the schools were passing out Korans that they should pass out the Bible as well.  One pastor in Sweden was imprisoned for hate speech because he said that the Bible spoke against homosexual practices.  The world system is falling into greater and greater levels of immorality, and society is moving farther and farther away from those things that honor God.  Those who honor Christ and His word will be ostracized and persecuted by those in the darkness who can't stand to be the the presence of the light.
     Jesus does have some things against those in the church at Pergamos.  First of all, they hold to the doctrine of Balaam.  This signifies the fact that there were those in this church who were willing to compromise with what was wrong.  They were willing to accept into the church immoral practices and heretical doctrines.
     Many in the church are doing this today. For instance, the Bible is clear that divorced persons should not be the pastor of a church, yet many people who are divorced are in the pulpit.  We are compromising the word to be culturally acceptable.
    One of the things that the people in Pergamos were doing was eating meat that was sacrificed to idols.  Jesus says that this practice is always wrong.  This is somewhat different from the teaching on this subject by the Apostle Paul.  The authority of Jesus is greater than that of Paul.  I accept what the Lord has said on this subject. Period.
     Many in the church at Pergamos were also practicing sexual sins.  They were not following the clear teaching of Jesus on issues of sexual morality.
     Unfortunately, this is the case in many churches today.  We are ignoring the teaching of Jesus about the sinfulness of all sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman.  We are also ignoring Jesus teachings about greed, riches, helping the poor and non-violence.  Christians must stand with the Lord and not compromise with this world and its values.
     The church at Pergamos was also allowing the doctrine of the Nicolaitans to be taught.  Jesus says that He hates this doctrine.  This is strong language.  We often don't think of Jesus as hating something.  I think that Jesus uses this language because the ideas of the Nicolaitans were a slap in the face to what Jesus did on the cross.  They were taking the grace of the Lord and trying to turn it into a license to sin.
     Jesus urges the people in this church to repent.  If they don't, Jesus in essence said that they would become His enemies.
     Jesus says that those who overcome will be given hidden manna to eat.  If they leave behind the food sacrificed to idols, they will receive the food from the banquet of the marriage supper of the lamb.  This applies to us today if we will leave the world behind and follow the path of Jesus.
     Those who overcome will be given a white stone with  a new name.  This signifies justification from sin and a turning from the old way to a new life in Jesus Christ that is far superior to anything that this world has to offer.
     Those of us living today must not compromise with the world's values or with false doctrine.   We must stand with Jesus and faithfully follow His commandments and teachings in the midst of adversity.
     On Wednesday, I will try to post another review.  Next week, we will look at Jesus words to the church at Thyatira.  May God bless you.  Amen.
     

Update

I will not be able to post the Weekend Sermon today.  I will try to get it posted Saturday or Sunday. 

Book Review

Today's book is called "A Dog Walked Into a Nursing Home" written by Sue Halpern.  I found this to be a very interesting book on several levels.  First of all, it was interesting to learn about the training that is involved in getting a dog ready to work as a therapy dog in a nursing home.  The author trained her dog Pransky to visit nursing home residents in a small town in Vermont.  Pransky was perfectly suited to the task of providing love and comfort to the nursing home residents. The residents could pet her and feed her treats while remembering the dogs of their younger days. I thought that the best parts of the book were the stories about those who lived in the nursing home.  Each person discussed had an interesting life story.  When my Mom had a stroke and was severely disabled, my Dad and I took care of her at the house for over five years.  However, she did have to go to a nursing home for the last six weeks of her life as her condition deteriorated to the point that Dad and I couldn't take care of her at the house any longer.  I wish that a caring person with a therapy animal would have been available to visit my Mom and the residents at the nursing home she was in.   I highly recommend this book.

Weekend Sermon--Revelation

     It is good to be back for another edition of the Weekend Sermon.  I hope that everyone had a good week that was truly blessed.
     Please keep praying that the Lord will help me in my ministry goal.  So far, things haven't been progressing the way I hoped.  Continue to pray that the Lord will allow me to sell what I need to sell, and that I will get the finances that I need to pay what I need to pay.
     I would also ask as well that you pray for the folks who live in Southern Kansas and Southern Missouri.  They have been having terrible flooding that has taken several lives.  Pray that the rain will hold off for awhile in these areas. 
     In last week's message, we focused our attention on the first message that Jesus gave to the seven churches of Asia.  Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for laboring for Him and judging true from false teaching.
     However, the church at Ephesus had lost their first love.  This can happen if a believer does not practice building his relationship with the Lord.  We grow in our love for the Lord by continuing in prayer and meditation.  We stay firm in our love when we obey the teachings and commandments of Jesus.
     Jesus urged the people to repent and overcome.  Those who overcome would enjoy a great relationship with the Lord in Heaven.
     We now turn to Jesus' message to the church at Smyrna recorded in Revelation 2:8-11.  Smyrna was a large city located 35 miles north of the the city of Ephesus.  This city was know as one of the prime locations of emperor worship in the Roman world.  They also had a large Jewish population.
     Jesus says that He was the one who died and came back to life.  Jesus rose from the dead, and He is alive forevermore.
     Jesus goes on to say in verse 9 that He knew the church's, "works, tribulations, and poverty".  The people in the church at Smyrna, along with those in Philadelphia, were the only two churches not to receive a rebuke from the Lord.
     Jesus was pleased that the people were working diligently for Him.  They were spreading the message of the gospel in a place filled with spiritual darkness.
     Because of their testimony and their work for the Kingdom of Heaven, the people were suffering a great persecution.  Jesus says that this is just the beginning of the persecution that the church in Smyrna would face.  Jesus said that some of them would be thrown into prison and tested for their faith in Him.
     This wasn't all that the people in Smyrna were facing.  They were in great poverty.  This may have been a result of the persecution they were facing.  Besides this, the people were suffering persecution for some who were claiming to be Jews but were not.
     In spite of all of that this church was facing, it remained faithful to Jesus, and they received a word of commendation and encouragement from the Lord.
     Jesus told the church that even though they were poor in material things, they were really rich.  This has much application to believers today.  Some teachers today teach that if a believer is living right and has enough faith they he will have financial prosperity.  We see from this passage that this is not the case.  The people in the church at Smyrna were faithful followers of Jesus even in the midst of persecution.  And they were poor.  There are many faithful followers of Jesus who are poor in worldly goods and just barely have enough to get by.  However, although many may be poor in things of the world, they are rich in the love of the Lord and the things that count for eternity.  They have the true spiritual riches that come for knowing Jesus Christ.
     Many also face tremendous persecution for their faith in the Lord Jesus.  In some countries, those who come to the Christian faith can suffer the loss of family, livelihood and even their life.  There are many martyrs for the sake of Jesus Christ today.
     Jesus said that those who were faithful to Him in the midst of persecution will receive the crown of life.  James also talks about the crown of life in his epistle as well.  This is a special reward for those who give their lives for the cause of Christ.  It is a great honor to receive this crown so that it may be placed at the feet of the King of Kings.
     Those who are faithful and overcome this world and its temptations will not face the second death which is separation from God for all eternity.  Those who put their trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and believe in His resurrection have passed from death into life.
     Those who trust in Jesus will spend eternity with Him.  I pray that if there is anyone who is reading this message who has not trusted in Jesus as Savior and Lord that you will do so today.
     On Wednesday, I will post another animal book review.  Next week, we will look at Jesus' words to the church at Pergamos.

Book Review--"Best Friends Forever Me and My Cat"

I finally read a book this week that I've wanted to read for a long time, and I'm glad that I did.  "Best Friends Forever Me and My Cat" by Patricia Mitchell is a book of stories about the author's own cats mixed in with some other cat stories.  All of the stories contain a spiritual message to help encourage people in their walk with God.  Each of the short chapters has a Scripture quotation and a quotation about cats from a famous cat lover.  The best stories in this book are the ones about the author's cat named Eli.  This book can be read straight through, or it could be used as a daily devotional resource.

Weekend Sermon--Revelation Part 4

     It is time again this week for another Weekend Sermon.  As always, I'm very glad to be able to post this message, and I hope that those who read it will gain encouragement in the Lord from it.
     I asked folks to pray last week that the Lord would allow me to get the things sold that I need to get sold in order to get to the next stage in what I believe the Lord is calling me to do.  Please continue to pray on my behalf.  These last few months have been a real struggle, and I need the Lord's help now more than ever.
     In our message last week, we finished Revelation chapter 1.  We looked at the description of the vision of the Son of Man that was revealed to John.  Jesus is the holy, pure and righteous judge who is filled with power and great glory.
     Jesus told John that the keys of death and Hades were in His hand.  Jesus died for our sins paying our sin debt and bearing our sins in His body on the cross as the spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Through His resurrection, Jesus defeated the result of sin which is death.  Those who are in Christ have eternal life because Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
     We now move into chapter 2 where Jesus gave John a message for each of the seven churches of Asia.  Jesus begins in chapter 2 with a message to the church at Ephesus.
     The city of Ephesus was one of the richest and most important cities in the Roman Empire.  It was an important place of commerce, and it was the center of the worship of the false goddess, Diana.
     The Apostle Paul was instrumental in establishing the church at Ephesus, and he would pen one of his epistles to the Ephesians.  Church history tells us that the Apostle John also worked in the church at Ephesus for many years including the years after his exile on Patmos ended.
     Jesus said in chapter 2 verse 2 that He knew their works, their labor and their patience.  Jesus said that He knew that this church could not bear evil , and that they had tested some who were claiming to be apostles falsely and found them to be liars.  
     When we serve the Lord and do His will, the Lord knows about it.  The Bible says that the Lord is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
    Jesus said the He knew that they had labored for Him, and they had not grown weary.  It is our duty as believers to work diligently to spread the message of the gospel.  We have the most important job in the world.  It is to bring souls into the Kingdom.  Nothing on earth should receive more of our hard work and effort than working to spread the love of Jesus and His message of salvation.
     In verse four, Jesus states that He does have something against the church at Ephesus.  He says, "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love."
     What does it mean that they had left their first love?  I believe that there are at least two possibilities here.  First of all, Jesus told us that the great commandment was to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  This church may have been doing what they were supposed to do, but they weren't doing it out of love.  They had grown distant from the Lord.  This can happen more readily than many think.  Believers are out doing the work, but they aren't abiding in Christ through prayer, study and meditation.
     Also, I believe that another meaning here is that their fervency for the things of the Lord was diminishing.  I've seen many people who when they first come to salvation they on fire for the Lord.  They are trying to witness to everyone.  They are in church every time that the doors are open.  Over time, they stop witnessing, and their enthusiasm for the things of God wanes.
    We need to keep our relationship with the Lord fresh and vibrant.  As Jesus said, we need to present ourselves as new wine skins willing to be filled with the new wine of the Spirit each day.
     Jesus urges people in the church at Ephesus to repent which means to turn around and change one's mind.  Jesus wanted them, and He wants us, to rededicated our lives to Him.  He wants us to spend time with Him and grow in our love for Him which means that we are willing to obey all that He has commanded us to do.
     In verse 6, Jesus commends the church at Ephesus once again, because they hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans.  No one is for absolute sure who these people were or what they believed.  I've heard that they were a group founded by Nicholas who was one of the the deacons appointed in the book of Acts.  This is not for certain.  Some say that their doctrine resembled the beliefs of the Gnostics.  Others, and I find that this makes the most sense to me, believe that they were an antinomian group.  That is, they believed that Christians were not obligated to follow the law.  They believed that when they sinned, God's grace abounded to them, so they sinned all the more.
     I'm not saying that they are Nicolaitans by any means, but we have some whose teaching gets dangerously close to this today.  People will say "We aren't under the law, we are under grace."  They say that believers don't have to follow any Old Testament laws.  This is simply not true.  Jesus did not abolish the law; He fulfilled the law.  Because of His fulfillment of the law, the ceremonial law of the sacrificial system is no longer in place.  However, the moral law is still in place.
     Finally, Jesus says that the one who overcomes will be allowed to eat from the tree of life in the midst of  Paradise.
     In Revelation 23, John sees the tree of life by the river of life in the Heavenly City of the New Jerusalem.  Those who are obedient in following the Lord and overcome sin will be allowed  to eat from this tree which symbolizes deep fellowship with the Lord.
    Next week, we will continue in our series in Revelation.  On Wednesday, I will publish a book review.  May God bless you, may you grow in your love for Jesus.  Amen.