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Tweets From Revelation 22

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In late May, I began 202 days of journaling through the 404 verses of the final book of the Bible, Revelation.  To go along with my personal study and preparation to preach through this book in 2013, I’m trying to tweet something from every verse.  Today I finished chapter 22 (and the entire book).  Here’s a compilation of my tweets followed by the reference.

Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 | Revelation 4 | Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 | Revelation 8 | Revelation 9 | Revelation 10 | Revelation 11 | Revelation 12 |Revelation 13 | Revelation 14 | Revelation 15 | Revelation 16 | Revelation 17 | Revelation 18 | Revelation 19 | Revelation 20 | Revelation 21


The life-giving, vibrant water of life flows from God and the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)
By the water of life is found the tree of life, healing all kinds of people. (Revelation 22:2)
The Lamb has come to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found and remove it. (Revelation 22:3)
No curse. Now we have intimacy with the Lamb Himself. (Revelation 22:4)
No night? In heaven, God’s glory shines bright and He reigns FOREVER. (Revelation 22:5)
God reassures readers of His Word that it is trustworthy and true. (Revelation 22:6)
Jesus is coming soon; therefore, obey God’s Word. (Revelation 22:7)
It’s easy to mistake the messenger with the message sometimes. (Revelation 22:8)
A clear message in the Bible: don’t worship people or angels, WORSHIP GOD. (Revelation 22:9)
God’s Word is a timely disclosure of truth for people. (Revelation 22:10)
Because judgment is coming, we shouldn’t try to be who we’re not. (Revelation 22:11)
Jesus will one day right all the injustice in our world. #maranatha (Revelation 22:12)
Jesus is Everything — Beginning to End. (Revelation 22:13)
Those who relate to God through Jesus are eternally blessed to enter heaven. (Revelation 22:14)
Habitual sinners refusing to repent are not in heaven – they’re outside. (Revelation 22:15)
Jesus wants His church to be built through His eternal promise and holiness. (Revelation 22:16)
God’s call to people is always “Come,” your deepest thirsts are quenched in Me freely. (Revelation 22:17)
Adding to God’s Word or taking away from it has dire consequences. (Revelation 22:18)
Taking away or discounting God’s Word means God will take away or discount you. #serious (Revelation 22:19)
Jesus testifies, “I am coming soon.” #come #advent (Revelation 22:20)
The closing words of the Bible: grace is yours in Jesus. #amen (Revelation 22:21)

CrestviewKids: Parent’s Night

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At CrestviewKids tonight, we are having a Parent’s Night at 6PM.  This means a meal followed by singing the songs we’ve taught the children, the memory verse and summarizing the lessons under one big heading with a craft that supports it.  I love Parent’s Nights.

This night, in particular, we are looking at two months: November and December.  The November verse was 2 Corinthians 9:7 on giving and the December verse was 2 Corinthians 13:14, a clear verse on the Trinitarian flavor of the Bible.

The five lessons we will summarize are:
The Triumphal Entry – Jesus entered as a king; people plotted to kill Him.
The Widow’s Offering – Man looks outward; Jesus knows our hearts.
Jesus Washes The Disciples’ Feet – Jesus came to serve and calls us to do the same.
The Last Supper – Jesus is our Passover Lamb to be slain.
Jesus Promises to Send The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit reveals to us who Jesus is.

There’s a lot that can be said about all of these lessons, but if we take their message together what rings true is that Jesus came on a mission to serve by giving His life.

His Triumphal Entry positioned Him to be in Jerusalem and even though He was hailed as a king, people were plotting His death.  His dealing with the Widow’s Offering assures us that He’s God and He knows our true selves, pointing us to our need of atonement.  His washing the disciples’ feet shows His life was meant to serve.  The Last Supper clearly connects Jesus’ work to dying.  And in promising to send the Holy Spirit, we’re shown that God wants us to understand why Jesus came to earth.

I hope you will look to Jesus this holiday season and find Him to be the One worthy of your belief and worship.

Leadership Email: Hold The Rope

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Here’s the email I wrote to leaders in Reno County Monday, December 17:

Happy Holidays Everyone.  This will be my last post of the year in light of the next couple of weeks (plus, my wife is due to deliver our 4th child Dec 31).  I hope you’ll indulge me a story from the church world that may very well relate to our lives as leaders.  One of the earliest missionaries to leave England in what we know as the modern missionary movement went to, at that time, the unknown world of India.  And, when he was leaving, he told his supporters: “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.”  He understood the importance of uniting people around purpose.  I don’t know of a better way to end this year and begin looking to another one than to urge you to consider how you will hold the rope.  How will you hold to purpose more effectively in the coming year? 
Recently, I received a card from the Kansas Leadership Center on Holding to Purpose.  This resource was designed to help us engage in civic leadership more effectively.  It’s based on experiences shared by KLC Alumni in a Nov. 15, 2012 On the Balcony conference call, hosted by Ed O’Malley.  Here’s some bits and pieces from it:
“Holding to purpose is about maintaining focus on what you value and want to accomplish.  Staying grounded in an individual or collective group purpose is critical for progress.  The more provocative your vision, the more difficult the journey.”
What does hold to purpose mean?
·         Remembering to step back and evaluate whether the work you’re doing contributes to your purpose
·         Staying focused on the big picture beyond the small details
·         Remaining open to the possibility that your purpose might evolve as you engage people whose values and priorities are different from your own.
How do you help a group hold to purpose?
·         Challenge the assumption that there isn’t time to develop a shared purpose
·         Spend time diagnosing: listen and ask questions, specifically, “Why?”
·         Remind people there’s a difference between purpose and strategy
·         Repeatedly state the purpose.  Keep in top of mind at all times. 
How can you find and hold to your personal purpose?
·         Identify your passions and what you value to help you determine purpose
·         Engage others in your purpose, so you remain energized in the work
·         Pursue activities that relate to your purpose
·         Find someone who will hold you accountable and steady in your purpose
Principles and competencies related to holding to purpose:
·         Distinguish technical vs. adaptive work – adaptive work is rooted in values which will help you hold to purpose
·         Choose among competing values – to hold to purpose, you might have to sacrifice other things you care about
·         Take care of yourself – you stand a better chance of holding to purpose when you’re at your best
·         Give the work back – it’s easy to lose sight of your purpose if you don’t focus on your priorities
So, have a very purposeful and fruitful end of the year/start to next year and see if this doesn’t result in our making progress in those issues we deeply care about.  

Weekend Recap – Sympathizing

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My 12/16/12AM sermon, Sympathizing, from Hebrews 4:14-16 not only continued our Christmas in Hebrews series, but also helped orient us in light of the amazing tragedy of last Friday.  You see what we most desperately need is the solid foundation that God is not apathetic or aloof from the troubles of this world and this life.  We have a Savior, in Jesus, who was tempted in all ways as we are yet without sin.  We have a throne of grace that we can access because of Christ and receive mercy and find grace to help in times of need.  We don’t have to raise our fist and wonder at God, but humble ourselves before Him, for He surely knows the pain of searing loss.  He knows the cries of the hurting.  And, He responds by actually doing something to remedy this for eternity.  I hope you were encouraged in these things this Lord’s day and have a blessed week.

“Go” Tell It On The Mountain

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Today, at Crestview, we are having Matthew Ellison from 16:15 in to talk missions strategy with us again.  It’s fitting that we have him in this time of year as Eva Everson writes in her two part post The First Christmas Song: Go Tell It On the Mountain.   She concludes:

This year, as you sing “Go Tell it On the Mountain,” think beyond the story in the lyrics. It began with a few shepherds in a field, it moved to the lowly and the rich—the sick and the dying, both physically and spiritually—in Israel, and was then given to 11 men standing on a mountain. 

Now it lies with you and me. Let us go.

Here’s the lyrics to this beloved Christmas song:

Weekend Preview – Jesus, The Helper

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Jesus, the Son of God, took on flesh to help mankind.  For two weeks, I’ve highlighted, in my Christmas in Hebrews series, how He’s done that.  Specifically, last week, I made a connection that Jesus doesn’t merely help people — He specifically helps the offspring of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16) those relating to Him by faith.

This Sunday, Lord-willing, we hope to look at another great incarnation text from Hebrews (Hebrews 4:14-16) and see how it is exactly that Jesus helps believers.  And, we will see that Jesus comes to help us when we are most needy.  He does this as a sympathizing High Priest.  Come, then, seeing how Jesus passed through the heavens to come and help you.  He was tempted as we are when He walked on earth.  His incarnation makes His help real and tangible.  Come, ready to be helped by Him this Sunday.