Welcome to a group of women who's goal is to encourage each other to put down some serious roots in the Word of God. This blog is dedicated to reading through the Bible in a year. Hopefully you will find the encouragement and accountability here that you need to push through the tough parts- or when life just gets in the way. The reading plan is located at the bottom of the blog. It contains links to the passages we are reading through biblegateway.com. You can use those links or read your own Bible, whichever you prefer.
We are all members of Oak Hill Baptist Church in Griffin, Georgia and felt the need in our own life for a little bit of the Lord's splendor. Please join us!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Faithful and True


My last post of the entire year and of this blog...and God gives me the joy and pleasure of having the chapter with one of my TOP favorite verses in it and I am sure you can probably guess why.  Here it is:
"Then I saw heaven opened and there was a white horse.  Its rider was Faithful and True, and He judges and makes war in righteousness."
                                 ~Revelation 19:11
Indulge me for just a moment on this verse...God is God and He could come back to the earth ANY way He wants to because He can do ANYTHING.  So, having said that, don't you think it says something special about the place of horses in His creation if He chooses to come back on one of them?  The book Heaven is for Real (which I HIGHLY recommend by the way) is a book about a little boy who almost dies during surgery for a burst appendix and he takes a trip to heaven and spends some time with Jesus and His angels.  If you read the book, you will see that there are A LOT of things that take place to make the validity of his story rock solid.  Well, once his mom and dad figure out a few years later what had happened during that surgery and they are uncovering the events slowly, the FIRST thing that he tells them about his encounter with Jesus is this (are you ready?):  JESUS HAS A RAINBOW HORSE!!!!  When I was reading this at about midnight one night, I about came unglued because I felt like my intense love of horses and how special I think they are was finally validated!  So, here's what I think happens...Jesus turns to His rainbow horse on that VERY SPECIAL DAY and says to him, "Go WHITE, we are going back today!"  This just makes me absolutely CRAZY!!!!

Okay, back to the Scripture. :)  My HCSB Study Bible has this to say about Chapters 17:1 to 19:5:

"This section is a postscript to the bowls of wrath, expanding the reader's understanding of Babylon the Great, her relationship with the beast, and the scope of her just and final judgment."
 In Chapter 17 verses 1-6, one of the angels who had the bowls gives the meaning of the previous vision of the AntiChrist beast that was to reign for 1,260 years, and then was to be destroyed.  In verses 7-18, the angel explains the mystery of the woman, and the beast that had seven heads and ten horns.  As with most of Revelation, these verses bring up a lot of controversy and a lot of different interpretations.  A few things to think about here though:
  • What effect to the descriptions of evil in this book have on us?
  • How can we best fight evil and promote good?
Jeremiah 51:7 states "Babylon was a gold cup in the Lord's hand, making the whole earth drink.  The nations drank her wine; therefore, the nations go mad."  Hmmm...sounds familiar doesn't it?

Chapter 18 verses 1-3 proclaims the fall of mystical Babylon.  Verses 4-8 tells us about a voice from heaven that warns God's people about taking part in her plagues.  Verses 9-19 proclaims the lamentation over her fall.  Verses 20-24 calls the Church to rejoice because of her utter destruction.  A few key things to consider here:
  • The "merchants of the earth" great wealth came from the exploitation of others and the complete indifference to people's needs.
  • There are MANY parallels between "the merchants of the earth" and Western society...what can Christians do about this?
  • Babylon stands for any political system that opposes God.  It represents political power, decadence, and hatred of God's followers.
Ezekiel 27:31 reminds us that "They shave their heads because of you and wrap themselves in sackcloth.  They weep over you with deep anguish and bitter mourning."

Chapter 19 verses 1-5 proclaims the joy at God's victory over Babylon.  Verses 6-10 announces the great and awesome marriage of the Lamb.  And verses 11-21 are a vision of the Christ going out to destroy the beast and his armies.

Some things to consider and think about here:
  • These hymns of praise should be used by us today in our worship and prayers.
  • The white horse is a symbol of victory, power, and triumph.
Ephesians 5:25-27 states this about the marriage of the Lamb:  "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.  He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless."

I think this is a quote worth reading about ALL of Revelation:
"To comment in detail on this severe and vivid poetry would be like trying to analyze every note in a piece of music:  we wouldn't hear the tune.  It is best simply to read it, perhaps aloud, and sense how tragic, how poignant, how catastrophic and inevitable is the collapse of a world power which overreaches itself."
                                               ~Stephen Travis
So as I am about to hit the "button" to send my very last post of this amazing year we have had together, I cannot help but say ONE MORE TIME thank you...thank you for the insights...thank you for the laughs...thank you for the tears...thank you for the time you spent on this...thank you for the hard work...thank you for the friendships becoming closer...thank you for the journey...I love you ALL more than words could possibly ever express!!!! 

5 comments:

  1. I am "out of pocket" today and on a borrowed lap top, but wanted you to know what beautiful posts I read yesterday and today even though I didn't get to comment.

    Mindy your post today was magnificient. I did read the book Heaven is Real and caught the "rainbow horse" as well. It gave me chills. Also the gold sash Jesus wore as well as his "marker" hands. Your pictures were beautiful today.

    I can't believe this is the end of this year - it has been so great and I love each of you ladies, admire you, look up to you, and treasure each word you wrote, each picture you found, and each insight you gave. All of us have changed for eternity from being "planted" together. Bless you each one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thoroughly enjoyed your post today, Mindy. I to have read the book "Heaven is Real" and it is an amazing book that I also would recommend it. I have the book if anyone would like to borrow it. This week has been bittersweet for me and I am sure for many of you also. We finished the race and it is sweet to know that we all seen it through. But, it is also bitter because I looked forward to reading the blog every day. Not only has it brought us all closer it has brought us closer to God's word. When we started this, I thought, "Oh no, what have I got myself into." Now I wouldn't trade this experience for nothing in the world.
    It is a year I will treasure always and yes I to admire and look up to you all as well as loving each and every one of you. You will always have a special place in my heart.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mindy, what a great post, as always! This reading of Revelation has left me thinking about how much I am living for God now, today...what am I doing to bring about His kingdom here on earth?! Based on these stories and descriptions- it is certainly worth it. He is KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS....amen. Come Lord Jesus come.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mindy, I thought of you too when reading about the White horse. Perfect part for you to blog on. You did a great job. You always write with such excitement and these are some very exciting verses! And like Natalie said… "Come Lord Jesus come."

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh I love that quote at the end, Mindy!!!! As a music-kind-of-girl, that really speaks to me...(not to mention that I am also the kind of girl who usually wants more detail, so it's a great reminder!) Thank you for the exceeding joy you express for his word. It's CONTAGIOUS!!!! :)

    ReplyDelete