Sunday, August 7, 2016
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Revelation 2 and 3
The Letters to the Seven Churches (chs. 2 - 3)
- Ephesus (2:1-7)
- Smyrna (2:8-11)
- Pergamum (2:12-17)
- Thyatira (2:18-29)
- Sardis (3:1-6)
- Philadelphia (3:7-13)
- Laodicea (3:14-22)
Revelation 2 NLT
1 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven
stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold
lampstands:
2 “I know all the things you do. I have
seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil
people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are
not. You have discovered they are liars.
3 You have patiently suffered for me
without quitting.
4 “But I have this complaint against
you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!
5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn
back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come
and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
6 But this is in your favor: You hate
the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.
7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who
is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of
God.
8 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the
Last, who was dead but is now alive:
9 “I know about your suffering and your
poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say
they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to
Satan.
10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about
to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will
suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will
give you the crown of life.
11“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to
the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious
will not be harmed by the second death.
12 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp
two-edged sword:
13“I know that you live in the city where
Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me
even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s
city.
14 “But I have a few complaints against
you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who
showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by
eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.
15 In a similar way, you have some
Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.
16 Repent of your sin, or I will come to
you suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who
is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in
heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be
engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives
it.
18 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are
like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze:
19 “I know all the things you do. I have
seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can
see your constant improvement in all these things.
20 “But I have this complaint against
you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to
lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food
offered to idols.
21 I gave her time to repent, but she
does not want to turn away from her immorality.
22“Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of
suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless
they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.
23 I will strike her children dead. Then
all the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and
intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you
deserve.
24 “But I also have a message for the
rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper
truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more
of you
25 except that you hold tightly to what
you have until I come.
26 To all who are victorious, who obey
me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.
27 They will rule the nations with an
iron rod and smash them like clay pots.
28 They will have the same authority I
received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
29 “Anyone with ears
to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the
churches.
Revelation 3 NLT
1 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Sardis. This is the message from the one who has the sevenfold
Spirit of God and the seven stars: “I know all the things you do, and that you
have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead.
2 Wake up! Strengthen what little
remains, for even what is left is almost dead. I find that your actions do not
meet the requirements of my God.
3 Go back to what you heard and
believed at first; hold to it firmly. Repent and turn to me again. If you don’t
wake up, I will come to you suddenly, as unexpected as a thief.
4 “Yet there are some in the church in
Sardis who have not soiled their clothes with evil. They will walk with me in
white, for they are worthy.
5 All who are victorious will be
clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I
will announce before my Father and his angels that they are mine.
6 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
7 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and
true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and
what he closes, no one can open:
8 “I know all the things you do, and I
have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet
you obeyed my word and did not deny me.
9Look, I will force those who belong to
Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow
down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love.
10 “Because you have obeyed my command
to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come
upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you
have, so that no one will take away your crown.
12All who are victorious will become pillars
in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write
on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the
new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on
them my new name.
13 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen
to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.
14 “Write this letter to the angel of
the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the
faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation:
15 “I know all the things you do, that
you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!
16 But since you are like lukewarm
water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
17 You say, ‘I am rich. I have
everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
18So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold
that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments
from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes
so you will be able to see.
19 I correct and discipline everyone I
love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock.
If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a
meal together as friends.
21 Those who are victorious will sit
with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his
throne.
22 “Anyone with ears
to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the
churches.”
Friday, August 5, 2016
Revelation 1
Revelation 1 NLT
1 This is a revelation from Jesus
Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must soon take
place. He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John,
2 who faithfully reported everything he
saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus
Christ.
3 God blesses the one who reads the
words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its
message and obey what it says, for the time is near.
4 This letter is from John to the seven
churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is,
who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his
throne;
5 and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful
witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all
the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our
sins by shedding his blood for us.
6 He has made us a Kingdom of priests
for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.
7 Look! He comes with the clouds of
heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the
nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning
and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who
is still to come—the Almighty One.”
9 I, John, am your brother and your
partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which
Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of
God and for my testimony about Jesus.
10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was
worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a
trumpet blast.
11 It said, “Write in a book everything
you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 When I turned to see who was speaking
to me, I saw seven gold lampstands.
13 And standing in the middle of the
lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a
gold sash across his chest.
14 His head and his hair were white like wool,
as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire.
15 His feet were like polished bronze refined
in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves.
16 He held seven stars in his right
hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like
the sun in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as
if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I
am the First and the Last.
18 I am the living one. I died, but
look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the
grave.
19 “Write down what you have seen—both
the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.
20 This is the meaning
of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold
lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven
lampstands are the seven churches.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
The Book of Jude (NLT)
Outline
A.
The Change of Subject
(1:3)
B.
The Reason for the
Change: The Presence of Godless Apostates (1:4)
1. Unbelieving Israel (1:5)
2. Angels who fell (1:6)
3. Sodom and Gomorrah (1:7)
Jude 1 NLT
1 This letter is from Jude, a slave of
Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called
by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus
Christ.
2 May God give you more and more mercy,
peace, and love.
3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly
planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that
I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has
entrusted once for all time to his holy people.
4 I say this because some ungodly
people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous
grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was
recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
5So I want to remind you, though you already
know these things, that Jesus first rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt,
but later he destroyed those who did not remain faithful.
6 And I remind you of the angels who
did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place
where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness,
waiting for the great day of judgment.
7 And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind
of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a
warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.
8 In the same way, these people—who
claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff
at supernatural beings.
9 But even Michael, one of the
mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply
said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the
devil about Moses’ body.)
10 But these people scoff at things they
do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts
tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.
11 What sorrow awaits them! For they
follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they
deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.
12 When these people eat with you in
your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous
reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only
for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any
rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no
fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.
13They are like wild waves of the sea,
churning up the foam of their shameful deeds. They are like wandering stars,
doomed forever to blackest darkness.
14 Enoch, who lived in the seventh
generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The
Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones
15 to execute judgment on the people of
the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have
done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
16 These people are grumblers and
complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about
themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.
17 But you, my dear friends, must
remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted.
18 They told you that in the last times
there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly
desires.
19 These people are the ones who are
creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they
do not have God’s Spirit in them.
20But you, dear friends, must build each
other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,
21 and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves
safe in God’s love.
22 And you must show mercy to those
whose faith is wavering.
23 Rescue others by snatching them from
the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great
caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
24 Now all glory to God, who is able to
keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious
presence without a single fault.
25 All glory to him
who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty,
power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond
all time! Amen.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
3rd John
Outline
IV.
Exhortation to Gaius
(a href="/nlt/3-john/1-11.html">11)
V.
Example of Demetrius
(a href="/nlt/3-john/1-12.html">12)
3 John 1 NLT
1 This letter is from John, the elder.
I am writing to Gaius, my dear friend, whom I love in the truth.
2 Dear friend, I hope all is well with
you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.
3 Some of the traveling teachers
recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness
and that you are living according to the truth.
4 I could have no greater joy than to
hear that my children are following the truth.
5 Dear friend, you are being faithful
to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though
they are strangers to you.
6They have told the church here of your
loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that
pleases God.
7 For they are traveling for the Lord,
and they accept nothing from people who are not believers.
8 So we ourselves should support them
so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.
9 I wrote to the church about this, but
Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us.
10 When I come, I will report some of
the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not
only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not
to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.
11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad
example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do
good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they
do not know God.
12Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as
does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we
speak the truth.
13 I have much more to say to you, but I
don’t want to write it with pen and ink.
14 For I hope to see you soon, and then
we will talk face to face.
15 Peace be with you.
Your friends here send you their greetings. Please give my personal greetings
to each of our friends there.
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