The Alpha and The Omega

 

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” Says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelations 1:8

The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet.  They symbolize the beginning and the end of things.

God calls Himself the beginning and the end - because it was He who created everything, including us, and it is He who will be sitting on the throne when all things end.   

God wants us to know He is always with us. We are never left alone. He has said it, and it is true: He is the Almighty. And, He is on our side.  

When in doubt, shout it out, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," Says the Lord God. 

We Are All Loved By God

 

And He (Jesus) also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God I thank you that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’

“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me, the sinner!’

“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

Jesus wants us to understand that we have accomplishments of which we can be proud, but when we come before God it is neither the time nor the place brag because God knows everything about us.  He knows none of us are perfect. 

We may do many things which are good and right, but we need to humble ourselves and acknowledge that as good as we may be, it only takes one sin to make a sinner and we all have at least one of those.

Let us remember to thank God for His forgiveness and for His blessings and consider that the ground at the foot of the cross is level.  We are no better or worse than anyone and we are all loved by God.   

When God Calls

 

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.

1 Corinthians 1:26-29

From the beginning, God chose some of the most unlikely people to do His work. There was Moses the reluctant leader. There was Jacob who was a mama’s boy. There was the Apostle Peter who shot his mouth off at all the wrong times. There were the Apostles James and John who wanted to call the fire of heaven down on the Samaritans (Luke 9:54).

God took ordinary people, and used them to proclaim His message to the world. And, He still uses unlikely people today to do His work.

If you think that not being smart, or lacking a good education or having a messy life, excludes you from being of service to God, think again. You are just the one He is looking for.

When God calls, answer Him.

God's Righteousness and Justice

 

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to His deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory, and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil....

Romans 2:4-9

The righteousness and justice of God means that He treats His creation with fairness. He rewards those who follow Him and obey His commandments, and provides a means for salvation to all human beings through acceptance of His Son, Jesus, as their Lord, Master and Savior. God being righteous and just gave His Son, Jesus, as the final sacrifice for man’s sin, and the triumph of good over evil. The free gift of God is salvation through Jesus.

On the flip side, because God is righteous and just, He makes no bones about punishing evil. This punishment extends beyond any punishment which man may inflict on man, to eternity – in that there is no place in heaven for those who refuse God’s call to redemption.

The ultimate testimony to the righteousness and justice of God is His open invitation to all humanity to come to Him.

(With Acknowledgement to Henry Clarence Thiessen, Author: Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI. 1949.)

 

Love Your Enemies

 

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. 

For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ...

Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus asks us to do hard stuff.  And this, loving our enemies, is one of them.  

I think the reason why we need to love our enemies is so that we do not become like them.  Think about it.  Chances are our enemies have a lot of hate, not just for us but also for other people and things. 

Do we want to be filled with hate?  No.  So, the solution is obvious - love.  We do not have to like what our enemies do or how they behave or what they say, but we have to love the person.

And, I think this is also because God wants us to know that those people who are the least lovable are the ones who need His love the most.

Doing What Is Right

 And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.  For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.   

1 Peter 3:16

What do you do when the boss or your spouse or your friend tells you to do something that is wrong?  

There are a couple of choices - you can say, "I am not going to do it." or you can do nothing and say nothing, or you can slow role your involvement and hope the issue corrects itself.  Or, you can come right out with it and tell them why what they want you to do is wrong.  

These may not help your standing, but at least you maintain your values.  And, standing up for what you believe to be right may cost you your job, or your spouse, or your friend.  Not to mention that it may result in some not to nice gossip about you.  I call it gossip because the truth about what actually happened may well be distorted.

Peter says it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong.  And he is right, because if you cannot look yourself in the mirror without feeling guilty, then you are in a sad state.   

 

The Words Of My Mouth

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

I am a talker.  Some find my chatter amusing, others find it annoying and tell me so.  I am not mean about things, but I do like to keep the conversation going.  

Once in a while I overstep and step on someone's toes - like when discussing politics.  So, I try to avoid discussing politics with those who I know disagree with me.  Still sometimes.... 

Over all I try to keep things encouraging and above all kind. 

Whether you are a talker or not, you, like me, can keep in mind to keep your words acceptable in God's sight.   

And, in doing so, help bring a little kindness to those around you.