So much contrast
So much contrast there is between our great God and the Dragon.
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised! (Psalm 113:1-3–ESV)
The name of the Lord is to be praised, and after coming through so many of John’s necessary dark foretellings a glimpse of relief comes. Revelation with its troubles has not come to a conclusion, but here in the middle shines Jesus himself a powerful reminding beacon in the midst of Lucifer’s taint.
So God will come down to his people. Many will suffer, some but a short time and others long. A large percentage of these will die requiring patient endurance, but God will not forever remain silent. His ways are beyond knowing but his goodness is worthy of trust. He marked many for protection and then protected them. Revelation 14 tells us of John seeing him in Zion, Jerusalem and he identifies with those who he has been protecting from the wiles of the Devil.
Let God shine forth from you
So from Zion God shines forth. From the rising of the sun to the place of its setting God is worthy to be praised. We do best to praise the Lord by living right now for his glory and in his style. Does God shine forth from you and from me? Don’t be discouraged by the mixture of good and bad that you find all stirred together in your heart. Pray that God will help rid you of the evil and boost you in his ways. Seek the Lord and you will live. When you see these victories, these inner switches, these things of good expressed praise the Lord. It is evidence that he will win and his ways expand throughout the earth.
Let God clean up your sins
As James says that when we find ill-behaviors in our hearts we are not to boast about them nor deny that they are inside of us. That should not surprise us. Take these realities to the reality of Jesus. Roll the wheelbarrow of the bad to the foot of the cross and dump it there in the blood of Christ. That will glorify God and it will make you more like him. God will be praised before the hosts of heaven and your life will be a shining example of the glory of God among those who yet walk the earth.
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