Well, it's a toss-up between James, Hosea, and Revelation. Weird mix, I know.
In James, my favorite verse(s) is James 4:7-8: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded." It's great encouragement that, when we want to grow closer to God, He will come closer to us so that we can reach out to Him and not come up with our hands empty.
In Hosea, my favorite verse is Hosea 3:2, but it has to be read in context, starting with verse 1: "The Lord said to me, 'Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.' So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley." Like I'm learning in my Perspectives class, God's purpose has always been missions from the beginning of time, always chasing after His chosen people to bring them back to Him. Here, God uses Hosea as an image for Israel of what He will do for His chosen nation: Even though Israel, God's beloved and the bride of Christ, has committed idolatry—in other words, they have "prostituted" themselves to idols—God will buy her back, but for a price. Jesus paid that price on the cross for us, His idolatrous people, just like Hosea paid the price to buy back his adulterous wife Gomer.
Revelation is tricky though. I had to look through it to find something that stuck out, which took a while. I just like the whole book. But anyway, I came up with two. The first is Revelation 19:11-16: "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." The glory and power of God seems to pour out from the words in this passage. I can't help but be in awe of Him and what it will be like when that Day comes.
The second passage is Revelation 21:22-27: "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." This is what we ask God for when we pray in the Lord's prayer, "Your kingdom come." I can't wait for this awesome promise to be fulfilled!
No comments:
Post a Comment