To The Metal

After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”

² Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. ^3 [a]And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. ⁴ Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white ^[b]robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.

Devotional – Revelation 4:1-4

The throne room of heaven.  Johnis called directly into the throne room of heaven by a voice bold and powerful as a trumpet blast.  He was in the Spirit, fully, to witness a glimpse of what is coming next for all who believe.

He saw One on the throne, he vividly describes the colors of the glory he sees, Jasper (red), Sardius (blood red), rainbow (a reminder of God’s covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:11-17), and emerald (green).  He sees this in the spirit, as likely no flesh could withstand such a sight!

Around the throne are 24 thrones with 24 crowned elders, representing those who have run the race and achieved victory through Christ (thus the crowns).  My mind can’t even come close to imagining what John sees here, the only word that I can think of here is “glory.”

¹⁴ “And to the ^[a]angel of the church ^[b]of the Laodiceans write,

‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither ^[c]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. ¹⁷ Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. ¹⁹ As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.^[d] Therefore be ^[e]zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. ²¹ To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

²² “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”

Revelation 3:14-22

The lukewarm church is blind to the state of itself.  Its worldly wealth and comfort has led it to be neither hot nor cold.  They may need nothing of the world but that has also evicted their need for Christ as He vomits them from His mouth.  They make Him sick!

There is no salt or light to be found here.  They must be zealous and repent, He commands them as He stands at the door knocking and waiting that they may let Him back in to dine with them. 

Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

I have mourned for lost loved ones.  I have more mourned failed relationships.  I’ve even mourned when my car died.  None of that is what I mourn the most for.  I mourn for those who have yet to know Christ, or have willfully turned from Him.  I find great comfort in knowing that His patience is greater than mine! 

His grace is given freely to we who even saved do not deserve it.  He is all powerful and none are beyond salvation through Jesus Christ. 

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2 Corinthians 1:3

Here Paul reminds the church, all of us in fact, of the source of all mercies and comfort – indeed our very salvation through Jesus Christ – God the Father.  Praise Him for all He is and all He has done.  Blessing Him is a great way to remind us who He is.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as ^[a]have a contrite spirit.

Psalm 34:18

This bit of Psalm 34 reminds me of the day I filed for divorce in 2013.  I’d left the lawyers office after doing the paperwork, walked into my old Catholic church during a weekday service, sat in the back and wept.  I couldn’t really hear what the priest had been saying as I focused on the floor with my head in my hands.  

I do remember feeling God’s presence there though.  While I wouldn’t give my life to Christ for another 6 years, the peace I felt on that day was what I had been seeking when I stepped into the non-denominational church in my town in early 2019.  Finally seeking Him for His purposes, I’d be saved by Christ only a few weeks later.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, ^[a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces ^[b]perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, ^[c]character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

We have been justified by faith in Christ, thus we have peace beyond all understanding with God through Jesus.  By faith we have access, undeserved and abundant, to God’s favor, His grace, which leads us to stand and rejoice in hope of experiencing the glory of God.

We see His glory in our tribulations as we seek Him in them, and cry out to Him, persevering, building godly character, and placing all hope in Him to see us through.  The hope in God will never disappoint because it is a result of the love of God that has been poured out in us through His Holy Spirit.

Tribulation serves to build our relationship with Christ and humble us in His presence as we fully depend on the Father to walk with us and guide us through them.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the ^[a]author and ^[b]finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Hebrews 12:1-3

As Christians, all are a witness to our walk, every word and deed.  I have heard it said that we may be the only bible anyone may read, so we must run this race well.  Our full focus must be on Christ in whom our faith is complete, and endured the cross to the point of death so we may live life to the full.

⁸ We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— ¹⁰ always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then death is working in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12

Paul presents a series of paradoxes here in the life of a believer, and points directly to Jesus Christ as the reason we endure these things.  We carry the death of Christ, His sacrifice within us, as such we carry the living Christ in us.  It is He who stands in the gap between persecution and destruction.

He is manifested in our mortal flesh, so others may see Him in us and as Paul has here, give all glory and honor to the living God, Jesus Christ.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 34:17

God always hears the cries of His children when they cry out to Him.  We will never have to know what it is to cry out alone because He is always near.  As he did in Judges 3, with Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, who delivered the children of Israel from their (self-induced) troubles, so shall He deliver us.

⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. ¹⁰ But ^[a]may the God of all grace, who called ^[b]us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, ^[c]perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

1 Peter 5:9-10

All are enduring trials, some are resisting the enemy.  Believers have the advantage of God listening for their prayers of deliverance. The roaring lion that seeks to devour has no place in my life or home.  He will find no rest in me.  I find my rest in the Lord.  By His grace I shall endure through suffering and rise up perfected, established, strengthened, and settled.