Your Brother


Revelation 1:9
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus was in the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

John re-starts his letter by relating to his readers, I think this helped them to see that even though he wrote some really strange stuff, he could be trusted that it was true. He also tells us why he is on Patmos, he says he is there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I think this is funny and admirably humble, since he was banished to Patmos because they couldn’t kill him. They had tried to boil him twice, tried to burn him, stone him, as well as a number of other things, yet, God preserved him. So John was sent to Patmos so the rulers at the time could be rid of him. I find it interesting how even though it would seem he is out of the worst of it John still makes mention that he is the reader’s brother and companion in the suffering, but also in the kingdom. It’s important to remember that even in the worst of afflictions we are still in the kingdom of God and should still be about the father’s business. He also states that he is with us (the reader) in patient endurance through Jesus Christ.
My application is to encourage my class mates in patient endurance through Jesus Christ. To do this I will simply come along side them and see what I can do to help with whatever they are doing. Or make a point to sit and talk at least one person a day and ask them how they are doing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Lord on High

Psalm 93:4 “Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea – the Lord on high is mighty.” The Lord on high is mighty. We just finished our Khmer classes are getting ready to start into more of ministry work we will be doing for the next five and a half months. As I am getting ready for this change I realized that I had grown very impatient, I wanted to start moving and shaking Cambodia when our feet hit the ground. Since being here, I’ve realized that waiting for God’s timing is not only necessary but very rewarding. I’ve seen through many people’s life stories how waiting for God brought about God’s will and how when we try to forge ahead in our own timing we always mess up what we are intending to speed up. Even then, I am blown away by how God chooses to take our mistakes and manifest Himself and His goodness through them. He is mightier than we have or ever will be able to give Him credit for. God truly is the Lord on hig...
Read more

Whoever Finds His Life...

Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. As we prepare to leave Cambodia I was struck by this verse. When I got here I was expecting to run hard and to do everything I could in my own strength to bring glory to a God I barely knew. This season has been the complete opposite. I have had to sit still and let God walk before me. I have literally had to die to myself and my ideas, everything I thought this time would be. I've had to daily lay down my pride and anything that wreaks of me; I have had to ask God to stand in my place. Before Ignite I thought I had found my life only to realize I had completely lost it. Through my time here in Cambodia God has been revealing to me His truths. He has showed me the path I thought I'd left. My world has literally been flipped upside down. (Or rather, I suppose, right side up.) Things I thought I was good at, I realize now are actually some of my bigge...
Read more

Now Faith

Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen Hebrews 11:1 ESV “Now faith”, that in itself is such a strong statement. It means that faith is now . That there is no waiting for faith. The verse goes on to say how faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. In the New King James Version the word “assurance” is replaced by the word “substance”, read this way faith is not only an idea, it is also tangible to us right now. It is so important to understand that faith was never meant to be blind, it is meant to be very clearly known. God wants me to know that my faith is not in vain. I am assured my hopes will come true if they are in accordance with the word of God. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the Heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.” NIV He is a good Father, with my best interests in mind. He wants to r...
Read more