Category Archives: Refresh & Restore

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

Isaiah 9:1-7 –

9:1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4 For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.[1]

Merry Christmas, Sojourners!

As we move deeper into this Advent season, I have found myself meditating on what we saw in last week’s Bible study – the stunning grace of a God who entered the world through a broken family line to bring us the gift of hope. Advent has a way of slowing us down and lifting our eyes, reminding us that our hope isn’t rooted in circumstances but in the faithfulness of the God who keeps His promises.

This week, we turn from hope to peace. And just like with hope, the peace God gives isn’t thin or sentimental. It isn’t the quiet that comes when life stops spinning, nor is it the fragile feeling we try to hold on to when things seem manageable for a moment. The world can offer distraction, comfort, and brief periods of calm in our chaos – but none of it lasts. We’re all acquainted with this truth all too well. Our hearts get restless. Our minds get loud. The world around us trembles with conflict and fear. And even when we long for peace, we can’t seem to create it or find it on our own.

The peace God gives is different. It doesn’t come from escaping the brokenness of the world but from the presence of the One who entered it. Scripture tells us that the eternal Son took on flesh and blood so He could break the power of death and free us from fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). He is the One who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), stepping into our weakness and struggle so He could reconcile us to God and give us the kind of peace nothing in the world can (or even wants) to imitate – a lasting, perfect peace, a peace secured by His own life, death, and resurrection.

This is what we need to remember: peace isn’t found in our circumstances but in Christ Himself. Peace is not a feeling. Peace is a Person. And He has come.

Isaiah 9:1-7, a familiar reading at Christmas time, points us to this truth beautifully. Isaiah brought these words into a land covered in deep darkness, a people crushed by the weight of fear, oppression, and uncertainty. Yet into that darkness, God spoke through Isaiah to promise light, joy, freedom, and rest – all bound up in the coming of a Child who would be King. All of those familiar titles – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – push our gaze toward Jesus. He is the Wonderful Counselor whose wisdom never fails. He is the Mighty God whose strength and divinity never wavers. He is the Everlasting Father who cares for His people with perfect compassion. And He, Jesus, is the Prince of Peace whose reign brings an end to the turmoil within and around us.

Today, as we dive into this passage together, we’re going to see the darkness of Isaiah’s day (and ours), the brilliance of God’s promise, and the fullness of its fulfillment in Jesus. And, Lord willing, we’re going to see why the peace of Jesus isn’t temporary or fragile but strong enough to steady our lives in every season – even and especially the one we’re in. Let’s get in the Word together and behold the Promised King who brings peace to His people.

Original Context: The Darkness & the Promise (Isaiah 8-9)

When Isaiah first spoke these words, he was preaching to a people standing on the edge of collapse. The northern tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali had already felt the crushing weight of the Assyrian Empire — their homes were devastated, their land seized (2 Kings 15:29), and their hope draining. Spiritually, the nation was in bad shape, too. Instead of turning to the Lord, they turned to anything but Him – mediums, whispers of the dead, worldly wisdom, and their own fearful imaginations (Isaiah 8:19-22). The result was exactly what God told them it would be: deeper darkness, heavier gloom, and a people walking without direction or peace (Isaiah 8:22).

This is the backdrop for Isaiah 9:1-7: darkness, suffering, and a people who cannot save themselves. But it’s into this darkness that God shines a light and speaks hope: “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish” (v. 1).

The places hit the hardest – Zebulun, Naphtali, and Galilee – would be very the places where God’s salvation would first appear. In other words, the lowest places would become the brightest. The lands most humiliated by Assyria would become the launch point for God’s redeeming work. Matthew later tells us that this is where Jesus’s public ministry began here, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy (Matthew 4:12-16)[2]. The people who walked in darkness saw a great light because the Light Himself arrived.

The language of this prophecy was specifically given so that Israel would understand. He spoke of light breaking in, joy overflowing, burdens snapped, and oppression shattered so that they’d know the God who broke Egypt at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:13-31) and crushed Midian under Gideon (Judges 7:19-25) would step in again and fight for His people. Only this time, the battle would look different. Israel needed more than physical and political rescue – they needed peace, real, lasting peace. Their true enemy was bigger than Assyria, the darkness thicker than invading armies, the oppression heavier than military threat. They needed God Himself to step in and help them. And that’s when Isaiah says something entirely unexpected – something that would have sounded unbelievable to anyone relying on human strength: God’s victory would not come through a general or a warrior or a king but through a Child.

This would be no ordinary child but a Child who is also the Son – fully human (“a child is born”) and fully divine (“a son is given”), a reality affirmed throughout Scripture (John 1:1, Colossians 2:9). He would be their Wonderful Counselor, providing wisdom beyond their understanding. He would come as their Mighty God, the Warrior who cannot be defeated, even by death. He would come as their Everlasting Father, faithfully loving and protecting His own. And He would come as their Prince of Peace, the only One able to end the conflict around and within them. His government wouldn’t rise and fall like the kingdoms of the world. His reign would not waver. The peace He brings will never end. And Isaiah ends the prophecy with the foundation of this promise: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (v. 7).

This is the same hope given then and now – not a hope in human effort, political strength, or temporary solutions, but in the God who Himself brings peace through His promised King.

Prophecy Fulfilled in the Child Who is King (vv. 2-6)

When Isaiah gave the stunning announcement of this coming Child with all these divine titles, it should have definitely had the reader or hearer’s attention. In the midst of darkness, God promised a King whose wisdom, strength, care, and peace would outshine every failed ruler before Him. And everything in that promise – every title, every hope, every glimpse of light – points us straight to Jesus.

We’ve already seen how Matthew tells us that Jesus intentionally began His public ministry in the region Isaiah talked about in Isaiah 9, but Isaiah’s prophecy wasn’t simply to predict where the Messiah would appear – it was ultimately to reveal who the Messiah would be. Every title He spoke was like a window opening toward Bethlehem, Nazareth, Calvary, and the empty tomb. Every title anticipated a Messiah far greater than any king Judah (or Israel) had ever known.

Isaiah said the Child would be our Wonderful Counselor, one whose wisdom far surpasses human understanding. In Jesus, that promise becomes flesh. He’s not offering good advice but embodying the very wisdom of God (Isaiah 11:2, Colossians 2:3). When He speaks, storms still, demons flee, and blind (and confused) people finally see clearly. He’s the Counselor whose plans never fail and whose guidance leads to life.

Isaiah called Him Mighty God – a title Isaiah later uses for the LORD Himself (Isaiah 10:21). In Jesus, we see that divine strength fully displayed. He is the Warrior who breaks the real yoke of oppression – sin, death, and the devil – freeing His people in a way no earthly deliverer ever could (Hebrews 2:14-15). His miracles weren’t’ mere spectacles but signs revealing His true identity: Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23).

Isaiah called Him Everlasting Father, the King whose rule is marked by faithful, fatherly care for His people. Jesus embodies this perfectly as the Shepherd who knows His sheep, protects them, provides for them, and never abandons them (John 10:11-15). Unlike the kings Judah had known – even the best ones, His compassion never falters, His reign doesn’t waver, and His care doesn’t end.

And Isaiah proclaimed that Jesus would be the Prince of Peace – the ruler who establishes true wholeness and reconciliation. Jesus fulfills this not by silencing earthly conflict but by reconciling sinners to God (Colossians 1:19-20). His peace is not fragile or temporary but the deep, restoring peace of being made right with God and living under the reign of a King who does not rise or fall with the shifting tides of history (John 18:36).

Isaiah finishes by saying that the increase of this King’s government and peace will never end, and that it will be accomplished by the “zeal of the LORD” Himself (v. 7). And that is exactly what we see in Jesus. His Kingdom does not come through human effort or political force but through the unstoppable, sovereign purpose of God. His reign expands not by military conquest but by changing hearts, rescuing sinners, and bringing people from every tribe and tongue into His eternal peace (Revelation 7:9-10).

In Jesus, every thread of Isaiah’s prophecy is woven into a perfect tapestry. The Child who was promised is the King who has come – and the King who is coming again.

The Gift of Peace for a Restless People (vv. 6-7)

When Isaiah announced that the coming King would be the Prince of Peace, he wasn’t offering Israel kind words or a soothing sentiment. He was announcing a peace that they were incapable of creating and their enemies couldn’t steal. Israel’s history had been chock full of conflict, fear, and instability – more than they could recount. Assyria was looming over them, their leaders had failed them, their hearts condemned them. What they needed, though, wasn’t calmer days or different politics or religious outcomes but a different kind of King – One whose very presence brings the peace our hearts were made for.

That’s what Jesus gives. When He entered the world, He didn’t arrive into a quiet nursery but into a world trembling with the same darkness Isaiah described. From the very beginning of His life, peace came not by avoiding brokenness but by stepping right into the middle of it. Scripture tells us that Jesus “made peace by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20), offering reconciliation no earthly leader could ever achieve. The conflict between sinners and holy God is the deepest unrest in the universe, and Jesus made a way for it to be resolved once and for all.

But His peace doesn’t stop at reconciliation. Isaiah promised a peace that would increase without end (v. 7), and that is the very peace Jesus continues to give His people today. He speaks peace into fearful hearts: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). He breathes peace into weary disciples who don’t know where to turn (John 20:19). He offers rest to those crushed by their own sin and striving: “Come to me…and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). His peace isn’t the result of everything around us settling down – it’s the result of Jesus Himself holding us fast!

And here is the miracle Isaiah got a glimpse of centuries before: the government of this peace rests on His shoulders, not ours. Its increase depends on His power, not our performance. He is the Wonderful Counselor who guides us when we’re confused, the Mighty God who keeps us when we’re weak, the Everlasting Father who comforts us when we’re hurting, and the Prince of peace who steadies us when the world shakes beneath us. If our peace depended on us, it would crumble. But, no, it depends solely on Him – His character, His reign, His finished work. That is why this peace can guard our hearts and minds even “in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

His peace isn’t fragile; it’s not seasonal; it’s not momentary. It is strong enough for the real world – for doctor visits and financial strain, for family tension and anxious nights, for wandering thoughts and restless souls. It is a peace that shines into our darkest valleys the same way it shone in Galilee’s gloom 2,000 years ago – a peace that doesn’t deny the darkness but breaks it – a peace that will one day fill the whole earth when the King returns and makes all things new (Isaiah 43:18-19; Revelation 21:5).

Wrapping Up

Isaiah 9 doesn’t give us a fairy tale to escape into; it gives us a Savior to anchor ourselves in. The Promised King has come, and the peace He brings is as real today as it was on the night the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth among those with whom He is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) That peace is for you – not someday, not theoretically, but right now, in the very places where your heart feels most restless. And the reason this peace is possible is because the Prince of Peace has come – and the same Jesus who entered our darkness then is One who promises to be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

This is what Advent keeps teaching us: peace isn’t found in the stillness of circumstances but in the nearest of Christ. The government of peace rests on His shoulders, not ours. Its increase depends on His power, not our performance. If you’ve never trusted Him – if peace has always felt out of reach – hear the good news Scripture gives: Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. He is approachable. Call on Him. Trust Him. Let Him bring His peace. And if Jesus has saved you, take heart in the beautiful truth that His peace is anchored in His unchanging presence and unfailing promises. And “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). He has redeemed you, He is with you, and He will come again for you. So, fix your eyes on Him. Rest in what He’s done. Rejoice in what He’s doing. And let the peace of our Promised King steady your heart now and in every season to come.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 9:1–7.

[2] Matthew records Jesus quoting Isaiah 9:1-2, showing that region to be where the Light of the world began His ministry and illustrating how God was reversing Israel’s story in Christ and honoring the place once brought low (just as He said He would).

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah…. 16 …and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. [1]

Matthew 1:1-6, 16

Merry Christmas, Sojourners!

This is one of my favorite times of the year. The weather is crisp and cool (or cold, depending on the Mississippi weather). Lights and decorations abound. There’s more than enough to do – following our kiddos around, gathering for extra worship times, a few opportunities to pause and reflect on a year spent, and finding that people are more willing to listen or even talk about Jesus than in other seasons.

Over the past few years at Christ Community, I’ve begun to think of this more in terms of Advent than just the Christmas season – not out of some sense of religious tradition or necessity but out of a sense of expectation and hope. The word Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival”. It, of course, represents Jesus’s first coming (hence the Christmas aspect) and His arrival as God made flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:1, 14), but it also reminds us that He is coming again and that arrival in the clouds is on the horizon (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), maybe even in our lifetime. Advent trains our hearts to wait with hope (Romans 8:23-25, Titus 2:11-13).

Now, this isn’t the sort of hope that we’re used to – some sort of vague wish that we want to come about. That sort of hope leads to disappointment and anxiety. For example, I hear my school kiddos say things like, “I hope I do good on this test.” While there’s a certain anxiety that all too often accompanies the tests, the hope can be more sure than wishful thinking. I remind my students in those moments of all they’ve studied and all they’ve learned. My class is the culmination of all of the English classes they have taken since third grade. Getting to my class means they’ve successfully made it from third grade all the way to ninth or tenth grade. Most of my tenth grade students had me for ninth, so I can remind them also of what they’ve learned, studied, and succeeded at in order to get to the end of the class. Their anxiety flowed from feelings of inadequacy and felt thin because it had nothing solid beneath it.

Biblical hope is different. It isn’t rooted in our effort, our performance, or our feelings. It has substance. It is established on something solid – the promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).

The hope Jesus offers – the hope we are reminded of through Advent leading up to Christmas – is based in a more substantial substance than our mere life experience and accomplishments; it’s based out of Jesus’s life and His accomplishments on the cross and through the empty tomb. We can “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” because “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). He has a flawless record of keeping His promises – promises no human could make and see fulfilled much less fulfill them alone (see “Appendix: OT Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled Through JESUS in the Gospels”). And we can find hope in His faithfulness because He is the One who promised to come and did (Galatians 4:4-5), so when He promises to return, we can rest in the hope that He will (Revelation 22:12, 20).

Hopefully you took the time to look at the OT Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled Through JESUS in the Gospels appendix, taking a look at the fifty-five examples offered there. Today, though, we’re going to find hope not only in prophecy but in how God worked in the real, messy lives of real, sinful people. We will see that He who promised to redeem and save those who call on Him – confess Him as Lord and believe He raised from the dead (Romans 10:9, 13) – is faithful to do that. Their stories show that the God who speaks His promises is the God who brings those promises to fruition through ordinary sinners like us (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

So, where do we find these people? We find them – these four women – in Jesus’s genealogy in Matthew 1.

Before we look at any of their stories, it’s worth noting something remarkable: women weren’t usually included in genealogies in the ancient world. Genealogies traced the line through the fathers, generation to generation, name to name. Yet Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, intentionally highlights four women – and not women we might expect. Their stories are messy. Their pasts are complicated. Their situations were soaked in sin, sorrow, scandal, and suffering. And still the Holy Spirit saw fit to weave their names into the family line of Jesus. Why? Because the gospel isn’t a story for the polished but for the broken (Mark 2:17). Their presence in Jesus’s genealogy serves as the Spirit’s way of holding up the gift of hope – hope that God’s grace reaches further than our failures, hope that His mercy is deeper than our mess, and hope that the promised King truly came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

These women point us forward to the One who would come from their line – Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23) – the Savior who brings hope to people just like them…and just like us.

Tamar – Hope in God’s Faithfulness
Despite Human Sin (v. 3, Genesis 38)

The first woman is Tamar (v. 3), and her story is found in Genesis 38.

Tamar was Judah’s – as in lion of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:8-10), the original – daughter-in-law. She was originally married to Judah’s oldest son Er until “the Lord put him to death” because Er was “wicked in the sight of the Lord” (Genesis 38:7). In those days[2], when the elder son died, it was the role of his younger brother to take his place and father children in his name. This fell to second-born, Onan, but Onan was more sinful and selfish than his big brother, doing what was “wicked in the sight of the Lord” and being “put…to death, also” (Genesis 38:10).

Poor Tamar. Her only hope at bearing children would fall on Judah’s youngest, and last remaining son, Shelah. But Judah lied and had no intention of taking care of or continuing with Tamar. What did she do? She decided to be wicked herself. She tricked Judah and tempted him. How did he respond? He decided to be wicked himself. Judah and Tamar committed sin together, her posing as a prostitute and him partaking in sin with her – honestly sinning against her similarly to his late-son Onan.

Scripture doesn’t hide this, and because of that, we begin to see hope shining through the darkness.

Paul reminds us that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20), and Tamar’s story is living proof of that. Despite Judah’s sin, despite Tamar’s sin, despite a situation that looked like a generational dead end, God preserved the family line through which the Messiah would come (Genesis 38:27-30). And when faced with evidence of his sin, Judah himself would later confess that Tamar was “more righteous” than him (Genesis 38:26), not because she was righteous in herself, but because God used a broken situation to move His promise and purpose forward.

Tamar’s presence in Jesus’s genealogy shows us that the promised King comes through broken, sinful people to give hope to broken, sinful people.

Rahab – Hope for Outsiders, Sinners,
and the Unlikely (v. 5; Joshua 2, 6:17, 22-25)

The second woman is Rahab (v. 5), and her story is found throughout the Bible in Joshua 2, 6:17, 6:22-25 as well as in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25.

Rahab wasn’t an Israelite, so she wasn’t one of God’s chosen people ethnically, and before the Hebrew spies came to her house in Jericho, she was known for her sinful profession as a prostitute, except unlike Tamar, she was not merely posing as one. Yet she exhibited faith in the God of Israel because she had heard of the mighty work He had done with and for His people (Joshua 2:9-11). She chose to side with God’s people rather than her own and hid the Hebrews spies to keep them safe.

And this is what Scripture emphasizes – not the sinfulness of her past but the sincerity of her faith. We see in the book of Hebrews that “by faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish” (Hebrews 11:31), and James says her works proved her faith (James 2:25). Despite her people[3], her background, and her own history, God rescued her by letting her put a scarlet cord in her window to mark her safe when Jericho fell under His judgment (Joshua 2:18-21).

Why a scarlet cord? Some scholarly preacher folks see in it the foreshadowing of the blood of Jesus – God marking the saved safe through a covering only He can provide. For Rahab, it just represented the promise of the mighty God she had begun serving.

What about the fact that she was a prostitute? Why would someone like her be included in Jesus’s official lineage – in the Bible no less? Because Jesus came to save sinners, outsiders, and the unlikeliest of folks – people like Rahab, people like me and you (Luke 5:31-32). Her inclusion in Jesus’s family tree declares that the hope of the promised King is for all nations and all sinners who take refuge in Him (Psalm 2:12).

Ruth – Hope for the Hopeless
and the Gentile (v. 5; the book of Ruth)

The third woman is actually related to Rahab by marriage as she ended up marrying Rahab’s son Boaz. Her name is Ruth (v. 5), and her story is told in the book of the Bible bearing her name.

Like her mother-in-law, Ruth wasn’t one of God’s chosen people. She was from the land of Moab (a people group started out of a sinful union and messy situation way back in Genesis 19:30-37). Her husband Mahlon came to Moab with his family while trying to escape the Lord’s judgment through a famine, seeking help and relief from their own strength and ingenuity rather than from the Lord (Ruth 1:1-2).

While they were in Moab, her father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law all died. She could have gone back to her father’s house and been right and righteous in doing so, but she decided to accompany her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel (Ruth 1:16-17). God blessed that decision and relationship and took care of Ruth and Naomi. Part of the way God took care of them was through Rahab’s son Boaz, first providing food and grain for them and ultimately through him taking on the role of kinsman-redeemer[4], marrying Ruth.

This is the beauty of Ruth’s story because providing a redeemer for them was more than just a husband; being called a kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 2:20, 3:9, 4:14-15) is a picture pointing forward to Jesus Himself. Ruth, the foreigner and outsider, the one with no earthly hope, found refuge “under the wings of the Lord” (Ruth 2:12). Her story that began with such sorrow and grief had a happy ending, especially considering Ruth would be King David’s great-grandmother (Ruth 4:17), but doesn’t Jesus deserve a more presentable bloodline?

No, God delighted in bringing hope out of hopelessness and writing His redemption story through those the world would overlook so that those who are overlooked could find hope in Him (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Ruth’s inclusion in Jesus’s lineage shows that the Messiah is the Redeemer of all who take refuge in Him.

“The Wife of Uriah” – Hope through God’s Mercy
to the Deeply Fallen (v. 6, 2 Samuel 11-12)

The fourth woman isn’t even listed in the genealogy by her name, but how she is listed tells the sadness and sin surrounding her: “And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah” (v. 6). This is not a slight to her but recognition of King David’s sin with her. Yes, David, the king who is most often heralded as a hero and worshiper of the Lord is also a sinner.

The man who slew Goliath and wrote a big chunk of the Bible’s songbook committed particularly heinous sins: murder and adultery (2 Samuel 11:1-5). David stayed behind when he was supposed to be with his troops and gazed upon the “wife of Uriah” from his roof as she took a bath. He, even though he was married to multiple women already and she was married to one of his mighty men, decided that he wanted to make her his. The resulting union led to a child between them. Rather than owning up and confessing his sin – to the Lord, to his wives, to Uriah, to Israel, David undertook a massive cover-up that ended in his arranging Uriah’s murder (2 Samuel 11:14-17). He stole this man’s wife. He took his life.

It looks good to have a giant-killing worshiper of the Lord in your lineage, but why associate Jesus instead with David’s sin and wickedness (and the same or worse from many of the kings listed after him in the family tree)? Because this gets to the very heart of the gospel.

Bathsheba’s story contains much sin and sorrow, but it doesn’t end that way. God confronted David through the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1-3). Their baby died (2 Samuel 12:15-18). David repented (Psalm 51). And God, in astonishing mercy, allowed David and Bathsheba to become the parents of another child, Solomon – the next link in the chain leading to Christ (2 Samuel 12:24-25).

Where sin is great, God’s grace is greater still (Romans 5:20). Bathsheba – the wife of Uriah – being included in this genealogy reminds us that the promised King didn’t come to hide human sin but to seek and save sinners (Luke 19:10).

Wrapping Up

Each section walking us through these women’s stories included rhetorical questions meant to make us meditate on what God was doing in and through them: why include these women and take honest looks at their stories?

In short, there really are answers to those questions. Why would the Bible recognize and record those sins and sinners in Jesus’s lineage? Why would the Holy Spirit shine a spotlight on the stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba? Because they all really happened. Sin happens. Every one of them was a real person with a real story marked by real brokenness. And the truth is that all people “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). None of us – not a single person in the history of the world other than Jesus – deserve to be anywhere near His lineage. But faith in God – trusting in His work, His steadfast love, His kindness, His promises, and in Him – is woven through that lineage like a scarlet cord of grace, like that cord hanging from Rahab’s window, marking those who He saves as safe (Ephesians 2:8-9).

When we look at the mixture of their sin and God’s faithfulness, their failures and His mercy, their weakness and His strength, we are reminded that none of us are worthy of salvation. But that is exactly why He came. Jesus Himself said that He came to “seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). That coming to seek and save is remembered in Christmas – the incarnation – God coming, taking on flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). Hope came as God Himself entered the world with a real genealogy filled with real sinners so He could redeem real sinners like us (Philippians 2:5-8).

The stories of these four women aren’t in Matthew 1 to embarrass them or Jesus. They’re there to announce Him! They testify that the promised King comes through stories soaked in sin, sorrow, scandal, and suffering so that He can bring hope where hope seems impossible. Their lives preach to us that no one is too far gone, no past is too messy, no family tree too twisted, no heart too broken or sin too deep for the Redeemer who came from their line (Hebrews 7:25).

So, as you gather with family and friends this Christmas – and maybe as you glance around at some rough-looking fruit on your own family tree – or whether the roughest branch you see is staring back to you in the mirror of God’s Word, remember this: Jesus is more than the reason for the season. He is the gift of hope for sinners. He came through a broken lineage to step into our brokenness. He came to seek and save people like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and David – people like you and people like me (Romans 5:8).

If you haven’t before, won’t you ask Him to save you?

Call on Him. Trust Him. Let the promised King fill your heart with the gift of hope – real hope, lasting hope, the hope that only Jesus can give (1 Peter 1:3-5). If Jesus has saved you, take heart in this beautiful truth: the same King who came to seek and save you is the One who holds you fast. Your hope still isn’t in your performance but in Him and in His promises. And “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). He has redeemed you (Ephesians 1:7), He is with you (Matthew 28:20), and He will come again for you (John 14:3). So fix your eyes on Him this Christmas. Rest in what He’s done. Rejoice in what He’s doing. And let the hope of our Promised King steady your heart now and in every season to come.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 1:1–16.

[2] This was known as a levirate marriage. The Lexham Cultural Ontology Glossary defines levirate marriage as:

“A law and custom in ancient Israel that if a man died without sons his brother would take the widow for a wife in order to provide male offspring for his dead brother. The children then would be heirs of their dead father’s land and possessions and the family line would not be broken.”

[3] For clarification, saying “her people” here is not referencing her ethnicity but the fact that God commanded Jericho marked for destruction as punishment for sin.

[4] The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament defines kinsman redeemer thusly:

“The kinsman-redeemer’s role was to help recover the tribes losses, whether those loses were human (in which case he hunted down the killer), judicial (in which case he assisted in lawsuits) or economic (in which case he recovered the property of a family member). Since Yahweh had granted the land to the Israelites as tenants, they could not sell it…. In this way the land remained with extended family as a sign of its membership in the covenantal community.”

This describes the way Boaz married Ruth so that Naomi would have access and provision from the land of her husband and family. There was a more closely related person who could have done this, but Boaz chose to take up the mantle of Ruth’s husband in order to give them the care they needed.

Thankful: Learning to Number Our Days — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands![1]

Psalm 90

Greetings Sojourners!

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these, but as I am learning, I’m glad to get to do what I get to do when I get to do it. 2025 has been a year of learning for me. I was not glad to be in this class, so to speak, back in the health struggles of June and the months of recuperation, but now, as of today, I can honestly say that I am thankful.

The reason I think about the experiences of the past six months as a class is attributed to my pastor, John Goldwater. On a particularly low evening in the hospital, I FaceTimed him to ask for prayer and receive counsel. I was supposed to be where he was, on a mission trip with Christ Community’s youth group in New Mexico; at the very least, I was just not supposed to be where I was, laid up in a hospital bed with the weight of a mysterious illness and not being able to walk or really even use my arms and hands. My spirits were low, and my attitude was bordering on poor. John gave the pastoral counsel I needed. He reminded me that while I wasn’t on the mission I had planned to be, I was still on mission – the mission God had given me. That hit hard. Then, he told me with his characteristic wit: even though I didn’t sign up for this class, make sure I learned whatever the Lord would have me learn the first time because I sure didn’t want to have to take it again.

That perspective helped me immensely. Even though whatever was wrong had all of the doctors puzzled and befuddled, God Almighty was not puzzled nor was He out of control. I was no less His in those weeks of pain, struggle, and fear. He was no less sovereign. His plan was not thwarted by medical mystery even if that plan seemed shrouded from my perspective.

Some of the things I learned can be summed up quickly:

  • When we read in Scripture that the Lord is our help in trouble and the true source of strength for those who are saved – those who are His, this is more than a theological truth; it is a genuine truth meant to be lived out.
  • Marriage is a picture of the gospel. This picture is not fully illustrated through the good and easy times. I have never been served or cared for like Candice did for me in the hospital and since. Her love shown to me is a picture of how the Church should love Christ.
  • I am thankful to get to do ministry, but I am not necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I know God called me to be where he wants me to be and that He has given me what I need to be equipped to do what He has called me to do. He is who is necessary. Christ Community kept right on going, the praise team did not miss a beat, my Sunday School small group kept right on studying the Word, and every single thing I was involved in prior to June kept right on going because the work of the Lord is powered by His Spirit and not contingent upon my involvement. I’m glad to be back, but it’s such a relief to be reminded my place in all of this, more importantly the Lord’s primacy.
  • Finally, and I am still learning this, the Lord is teaching me to number my days – which is the subject of our Bible study from Psalm 90 (specifically verse 12) today.

The Context of Psalm 90 – A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God

The attribution of this psalm makes it stand out – “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God”. This marks him by his relationship with the Lord and helps this psalm invite us to listen in to this prayer, and understand the context being the experiences of a man who walked closely with the Lord and carrying the weight of leading God’s people. Since most Bible scholars date this psalm late in the wilderness years, this prayer hits different when this “Man of God” is leading the people at a time when the older generation who had left Egypt were dying off as a consequence of their sin. This was a period marked by God’s judgment on sin. That sets a rather somber tone.

Moses begins Psalm 90 by lifting our eyes to the eternal God who has been the “dwelling place” of His people in every generation, then and forevermore. Before the mountains were formed, before Creation, God has been God and nothing will or can change that truth. In fact, the eternal nature of God is the basis of this psalm and a powerful part of the contrast with our temporal nature. God is God always and forever. Man returns to dust, our years passing quickly and the strongest and longest lives being brief in comparison to eternity. Sometimes we talk about this as a natural part of life because that’s part of our human experience, but the context here is tied to sin and the curse given in Eden when God declared that humanity would return to the dust (Genesis 3:19). Moses had lived and led long enough to have experienced this up close and personal.

But Psalm 90 isn’t simply a reflection on humanity and time but is instead a community lament, a prayer offered by Moses on behalf of God’s people as they faced affliction and death, asking God to show compassion, turn from His anger, and renew their joy. Psalm 90 traces a pattern: God’s eternal nature (vv. 1-2), man’s mortality (vv. 3-6), God’s righteous anger toward sin (vv. 7-12), and a plea for God to bless His people with steadfast love, purpose, and lasting fruit (vv. 13-17). And woven into the prayer is the reality of time – days, years, generations – because Moses wants the people to recognize that God’s mercy and guidance gives their lives enduring value.

This context makes v. 12 the hinge on which the whole psalm turns: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” This isn’t about counting birthdays or marking the passage of time. Moses here is asking God to help us weigh our days – to see how few they are, how quickly they pass, and how desperately we need God to guide us if we want to use the time we are given well. This is how a lament can turn to hope by vv. 13-17 when Moses asks God to “return” to His people with compassion, to satisfy them each morning with His unfailing love, to replace their long years of affliction with joy, and to let their work matter and endure – that the Lord will establish their work in light of His eternal purposes.

This is the world Psalm 90 speaks into – a world where our days are short, our strength is limited, and our lives are fragile but God Himself is eternal, faithful, compassionate, and near. To number our days is not morbid but wise. It’s a call to live intentionally following Christ, seeking His mercy, and resting in Him, the God who has been His people’s dwelling place in every generation.

Learning to Number My Days

As I sat with Psalm 90 in these months of recovery, Moses’s prayer didn’t feel like some poetry from an ancient text but the vocabulary Jesus was teaching me in my own heart. The context of the psalm helped me see something beautiful. Moses was leading a people who were painfully aware that life was short, that sin was serious, and that every day they were given was God’s mercy. That’s heavy! Yet in that heaviness, Moses didn’t get stuck in lament but asked God to teach His people how to live wisely, joyfully, and purposefully in the time they’ve been given.

That’s where this really hit me.

Yes, I felt sorry for myself. Yes, I was scared. Rehab was hard. Learning how to walk again was as scary as it was difficult. Every step I took was pain for months. I thought I nothing would ever return to normal. Hospital bills and insurance conversations brought anxiety. Having everyone in my life treat me like a box that says “Fragile! Handle with care!” was frustrating at times, and knowing that I needed their help was a constant weight of guilt and, if I’m honest, shame at times. But I found that with every new step, every new growth, every little gain brought thankfulness – thankfulness to God for carrying me through and sustaining.

When you’ve experienced the reality that life is fragile and our bodies fail us, you begin to understand that every day is a gift. Numbering my days isn’t about counting how many I’ve accumulated over the decades but asking God to shape all the ones He chooses to give me as He wills and works for His glory and my good!

That brings me to the final part of Moses’s prayer in Psalm 90. After asking the Lord to teach them to number their days, he asks God for His compassion, steadfast love, joy, and favor to fill those days (vv. 13-17). Wisdom isn’t just knowing intellectually that life is short; wisdom is knowing that a short life held by God is a life full of meaning.

So, when I ask the Lord to teach me to number my days, I’m really asking Him to do what He promised in those last verses of Psalm 90 – to satisfy me with His steadfast love every morning, to give joy that outlasts and outshines every affliction, and to establish the work of my hands – the work He has called me to – so that nothing done for His glory is wasted. That kind of wisdom doesn’t lead to despair; it leads to gratitude. I wish I could say that I have this wisdom locked down. I don’t. But my heart is moved to give thanks to my God – not for perfect circumstances but for His faithfulness carrying me through this season of life, and thanking Him for the gift of today.

Wrapping Up

As I look back on this year, I can testify that Jesus is faithful. He’s been teaching me to number my days – not by making me afraid of losing them but by making me grateful for each one He gives. Today, Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful to the God who has been and is my refuge. I’m thankful for Candice who has loved me with Christ-like love. I’m thankful for Keri and Xander reminding me daily that God’s kindness is real. I’m thankful for my family serving me and doing what I couldn’t (and can’t) because they love me with no thought to whether it’s deserved – just giving. I’m thankful for a faith family at Christ Community (and the Foundry Church) who carried on faithfully because the work belongs to the Lord, not me. And I’m thankful for the simple grace of waking up this morning with enough strength provided to live today for the glory of God.

Psalm 90:14 says, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” That’s my prayer – not to have more and more days but to have days filled with the steadfast love of the Lord. And for as many days as He chooses to give, I want to live in gratitude to Him, with purpose, and with the wisdom that comes from knowing all my days are in His hands.

So, today, I’m giving thanks – not merely because it’s Thanksgiving, not for the comfort of recovery – but for the God who walks with me through every valley, sustains me in all my weakness, and teaches me to live the life He’s given. He’s my dwelling place. How about you?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 90:1–17.

“Strengthen What Remains: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Sardis” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

We’re continuing in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming, where we’re taking a verse-by-verse approach to see what the book truly reveals—Jesus Christ Himself. As always, I’m joined by Jamie Harrison, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to walk through this study together. Today, we’ll be looking at another of Jesus’s letters to the churches, this time turning to the church in Sardis. This week’s passage is Revelation 3:1–6:

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’[1]

Keith Harris:      
Greetings, Sojourners,

Jamie, are you ready to dive into our study of the letter to the church at Sardis?

Jamie Harrison:
Man, I’m ready. Are you ready?

Keith:                   
I don’t think I could be any more ready than I am right now. Not at all. I’m full go, full tilt…. I praise the Lord. I was reborn ready…. So, as we go through this, we’ll give a little bit of witty banter.

Jamie:                  
You’re not going to think it’s funny, but we do.

Keith:                   
And that’s because we’re dads.

Jamie:                  
We are.

Keith:                   
And that’s what we bring to the table. We can study the Bible and make dad jokes.          

Jamie:                  
That’s accurate.

Keith:                   
Alright, Jamie, talk to us about the letter to the church in Sardis.

Jamie:                  
So just to get started, kind of a reminder of how each letter is set up—it follows the same general format. You start with the salutation, “To the angel of the church in Sardis.”[2] Each letter starts that way, and each one gives some type of attribute of Jesus.

This one says in verse 1, “Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” That’s a correlation back to chapter 1, verse 4, and chapter 1, verse 16. Of course, the seven spirits of God—talking about the Holy Spirit there, the perfect Spirit of God. The seven stars represent the pastors of the churches.

Then He says to them, “I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but you’re dead.” And just to hit on that for a minute, He doesn’t praise them at all. He doesn’t say anything about their good works, which He has done with other churches.

Keith:                   
So are you saying that Jesus isn’t going to tell us something good and positive if it’s not true?      

Jamie:                  
Correct…. That’s how He rolls.

So when Jesus jumps right into it, He says the word “reputation”—“You have a reputation for being alive, but you’re dead.” This always reminds me of how our pastor, Big John [Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church], always says, you know, a lot of people think they’re going to make it to heaven because their uncle was a Baptist preacher, or their grandmother was in church every Sunday, or that kind of thing.

So it’s this reputation—it’s something people thought you had at some point, but you don’t anymore. That’s what Jesus is getting at. You have a reputation for being alive. Your reputation is that you have good works. Your reputation is that you do things for the Lord—but you don’t. You’re dead.

Keith:                   
And that word for reputation there is literally “name.”

Jamie:                  
Yes.

Keith:                   
So we know that if you have been made alive in Christ, your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. If you have life, your name is there. It’s not going to matter—what is it, Matthew 7:21-23—where Jesus says, “Many of you are going to say, ‘Lord, I’ve done this,’ and, ‘Lord, I’ve done that,’” and He’s going to say, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”

So the idea here, like you’re saying with reputation, it’s not about works. It’s whether or not He has made you alive.

Jamie:                  
That’s right. That’s exactly right.

And so He goes on from there and says, “Be alert, and strengthen what remains, which is about to die. For I have not found your works complete before my God.”

So again, He reiterates—look, y’all do have a little bit left. There’s something there. There’s a little fire to work with. But it’s about to die. And if you don’t strengthen it, it’s going to go away as well. Now, does He mean that whole church [at Sardis] is going to cease to exist? Does He mean that those believers are going to cease to exist? I don’t know the answer to that. I think it’s more of a “Hey, you better get yourselves right with Me.”

Keith:                   
And they would’ve known, right?

Jamie:                  
Right. He goes on in verse 3: “Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you’re not alert, I will come like a thief, and you have no idea what hour I will come upon you.”

So look—what have they received and heard?

Keith:                   
The gospel.        

Jamie:                  
Right.

Keith:                   
And that’s consistent language across the New Testament—gospels, epistles, and here in Revelation with Jesus Himself saying it. You’ve received it. You’ve heard it. It’s consistent—it’s the gospel. And we know that through the preaching of the gospel is how God awakens us, saves us. And when we confess Him as Lord, He makes us alive.

Jamie:                  
That’s right.

Keith:                   
And so the things in this that are very clear are clear to us and our churches today as well.            

Jamie:                  
Accurate.

So I find it… I’m not going to use the word interesting here—I’m not sure what word I’d be looking for—but He says, “If you’re not alert, I’m going to come like a thief, and you have no idea what hour I will come upon you.” Well, if you knew when the thief was coming, you’d be prepared for it. So don’t misconstrue this—Jesus is not saying He is a thief. What He’s saying is that He’s going to come when we least expect it.

And so they’d better repent. There’s that word—repent—again, right? And I want to read the definition of the word repent:

To change one’s way of life as a result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness—to repent, to change one’s way.[3]

So in other words, to repent is not lip service. It’s not just saying, “Lord, I repent.” It’s life service. It’s a complete change. Again, to change one’s way of life. Not an easy thing to do—because we all have things we’d like to hold onto. Things we’d rather not get rid of.

We’ve all got that one little… you know, I think of—what was that homeboy’s name in Lord of the Rings? That’s like, “My precious…”

Keith:                   
Ah….

Jamie:                  
Smeagol.[4]

Keith:                   
Yeah.    

Jamie:                  
My cousin Gollum. That’s him. And his one thing that he just couldn’t get his mind off of was the ring.

And so we all have that thing—that thing we just don’t want to let go of, that thing we hold onto. Jesus is [essentially] saying, “You’ve got to repent. You’ve got to turn away from it. To change your entire life—a complete change in attitude with regard to sin.”

Keith:                   
Which, in this context, is keeping with what you’ve heard—keeping with the gospel.

Jamie:                  
That’s correct. And in James chapter 2, verses 14 through 26—I’m not going to read that whole section—but this is that “faith and works” section that James talks about. And he goes through and basically says, you know, if you look at people who don’t have clothes or daily food, and you say, “Stay warm and be well fed,” what have you really done to help them?

Keith:                   
Right.   

Jamie:                  
That’s right—you’ve done nothing.

Well, the gospel teaches us that we are supposed to act. We are supposed to have works. Those works will prove our faith. They will prove that we love Jesus, that we have a relationship with Him. And if we don’t have those works, then we should repent—to show our faith.

So I think that’s a real good correlation to what He’s talking about here because He tells them, “I know your works. You have a reputation, but you’re dead. You’re not doing anything.” Which is what James is talking about—you’re spiritually dead. And I think about churches I’ve been to before where so many people in the church would say to me, “Well, it’s your turn to do such and such. I’ve done my time.” To which my response was always, “I don’t think you have—’cause you’re still alive.”

Keith:                   
Right.

Jamie:                  
You probably would be physically dead.

Keith:                   
There’s no retirement from being saved.              

Jamie:                  
Right.

Keith:                    Part of that is…what is it L.G. [Schmitz] says? “God has a plan for your life.” And he cites—and I find it interesting that this comes at the end of that section in Ephesians 2:1-10 – that section dealing with how we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-2)?

You get to Ephesians 2:4—“But God…” made you alive in Christ. At the end of that, you have Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand.” They’re not our works earning salvation, but rather fruit proving the salvation that He has given. He’s put the life in you—you live it as long as you have it.

Jamie:                  
That’s right. Amen.

And so, to go on there—verse 4: “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not defiled their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white because they are worthy.” So there are some people there who are dressed in white. Which, again—I know we’ve hit on it already—but that’s purity, that’s holiness.

As we look at glimpses into heaven further in Revelation, you see the saints clothed in white, right? That’s the idea here. So they’re still doing what Jesus has called them to do. And He says, “In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes.”

And that’s, again, back to the setup of the letters—we had the salutation, we had the attributes of Jesus, we’ve just talked about the works, praise, and admonition to the church—or in this case, the lack of works and the lack of praise. You get the universal admonition: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.” And then you get this final promise, which is where we are now. And that final promise is that “the one who conquers…”—1 John 5:4–5 tells us that the one who conquers is the one who is saved, who has a relationship with Jesus.

So how are you a conqueror? You’re saved. You have a relationship with Him. And that relationship is going to lead to good works. It’s going to lead to doing things for Christ.

Now, are those things always going to be… pleasant at the end of the day? Are things going to happen to us if we step out for Jesus? Probably.

Will people say stuff about us or to us? Probably.

Are people going to scrutinize our lives? Yeah—for sure.

Because that’s how people are when they’re being convicted of sin and they don’t like it. But our job is to follow Him—in works, in faith—to do what He asks us to do, to be led by Him.

And then He says we’ll be conquerors, we’ll be dressed in white clothes, and “I’ll never erase your name from the Book of Life, but I’ll acknowledge your name before My Father and before His angels.” And so you get this really cool ending to this letter, where He says, “Look guys, if you all will repent—change your attitude, change your lifestyle, come to Me, do the things I’ve asked you to do—then your name will be in My Book of Life, and you will spend eternity with Me.” So I think the question, looking at this letter—each of these letters should lead us to ask ourselves a question. And I think the letter to Sardis leads me to ask myself: Do I have a relationship with Christ?

When you look at this, when you think about this, you go—am I leaning back on a reputation I had? Because I used to be a good Sunday School teacher… or I used to be a good pastor… or I used to be a good van driver… or I used to be a good garbage picker-upper… or whatever it is that you used to do.

Or are you still doing things for Christ? Do I have a relationship with Christ?

If you have a relationship with Christ, but the works haven’t been there, then it’s time to repent.

It’s time to do what He’s telling us to do—and that’s repent.

Big John [Goldwater] preached a message last Sunday—which, of course, I don’t know when this podcast will be put out—so that would’ve been January the…

Keith:                    5th.         

Jamie:                   January the fifth. And you can go find that on his Facebook page, I’m sure. Or the….

Keith:                    …Christ Community YouTube page (look no further for John’s sermon from January 5, 2025 — HERE IT IS).

Jamie:                   Yeah, either one. And that’s not a shout-out like, “Hey, come to Christ Community Church, we’re the best thing since sliced bread”—which, of course, I think we are; that’s why I go there.

But the message was on point. It was about doing what Christ has asked us to do, growing in our faith with Christ. And I’m gonna tell you—it convicted the… the—I don’t even know what word to say. I started to say “pee,” but that’s probably inappropriate….

Keith:                   
In the context of repentance: the sin out of you.

Jamie:                  
Yes, it did. And so I’ve been honestly struggling with that all week long. But that’s the idea there.

Now, the other thing is, if you realize, “You know what? I don’t even have a relationship with Christ”—the good news is, you can. I was talking to somebody just yesterday about this—somebody who’s close family. They said, “I’m not sure I’m asking God the right questions. How do I know if I’m asking Him the right questions?” And so I started praying about it, and I was led to kind of our verse at Christ Community—it’s Romans 10:9. And in that verse, it tells us how to be saved. And the first part of that is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And the issue with that—that most people have—is they’re like, “Yeah, I don’t have a problem confessing Jesus is Lord. I can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ all day long.” But the definition of the word Lord is like—a master or an owner, the possessor of someone or something. It’s the kind of word that’s even spoken of a husband. Which, of course, we know that Jesus is referred to as the groom—the husband. And so, someone that has absolute authority over whatever it is. And so when you think about those things, you go, “Man—confessing Jesus as Lord means I have to give everything over to Him. All of it. My whole life over to Him.”

Now, what I told the guy I was talking to was—when we confess Jesus as Lord and we grow in our relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit begins to answer the questions through His Word.

So maybe it’s not as much a matter of What questions do I ask?—as it is:
          Have I submitted to the Lord?
          Have I given Him my everything?
          Is He my Lord and Savior?

And so, guys—at the end of the day, if you don’t have a relationship with Him… and we always say it’s really simple… well, it’s simple to say the words, but—surrender yourself to the Lord. Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead—which is faith—and you will be saved.

So I think that’s a good place to kind of finish today.

Keith:                   
Yeah. And as we wrap—just, each of these…

Jamie:                  
I really can’t rap. That is, um… Tupac, Eminem—those guys.

Keith:                   
W-R-A-P. My bad.           

Jamie:                  
Right.

Keith:                   
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

As you look at this—if you have confessed Him as Lord and He’s saved you—the works are proof of that. They don’t produce that. And Jesus says He will never blot a name out of His Book of Life. If you are saved, you are saved.

Jamie:                  
That’s right.

Keith:                   
Because He accomplishes it—not something you can lose. And so if you look at this and start thinking about it—that you haven’t been consistent—there’s no “losing” of one’s salvation. You may have only been doing lip service.

Jesus talked to the Pharisees—who were the religious who’s who—and they thought they were already dressed in white. They thought they were religiously perfect. And He told them they were whitewashed tombs.

John the Baptist even told the Pharisees to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. If you’re not, you haven’t lost your salvation. This may be that initial repentance—where, like Jamie said, you need to confess Jesus as Lord, have faith in Him, and then He will save you. You’re not getting re-saved, saved again, saved 2.0.

You either are, or you aren’t.

You’re either dead, or you’re alive.

And so, if you read this or listen to this today and realize that you aren’t alive—you can be made alive in Christ today. And that’s our hope and prayer.

Jamie:                  
Mm-hmm.

Keith:                   
Well, this one has been relatively short—as these go. And so, as Big John says, “No one complains about a short sermon.”

Jamie:                  
Amen.

Keith:                   
God bless. Thank y’all—and we look forward to hearing from y’all soon. 

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 3:1–6.

[2] Jamie – unless he states otherwise – uses the Christian Standard Bible (copyright © 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers).

[3] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), s.v. “μετανοέω.”

[4] Smeagol (also called Gollum) is a character from The Lord of the Rings books and movies. He becomes so obsessed with a magical ring that he calls it “my precious” and can’t let it go. Jamie uses this as an example of how we can get stuck holding on to sin instead of letting it go and turning to Jesus.

“Hold Fast Until Jesus Comes: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Thyatira” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

We’re continuing in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming. Today, we will be diving into Jesus’s letter to the church at Pergamum. Once again, I am thankful for Jamie Harrison and the opportunity to do this study together. This week’s passage is Revelation 2:18-29:

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’[1]

Keith Harris:     
Greetings, Sojourners,
Welcome back to The King is Coming.[2] My name is Keith, and I’m joined once again by my friend and co-host, Jamie Harrison. Jamie, how’s it going, man?

Jamie Harrison:
It’s going great. I’m looking forward to walking through another letter to the churches in Revelation.

Keith:                  
Yeah, me too. We are now in the fourth of the seven churches, and this is the letter to Thyatira. This is the longest of the seven letters, even though Thyatira is probably the least-known of the seven cities. So, let’s jump in. This is the longest of the seven letters, and it starts with Jesus identifying Himself in a striking way: “The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.” Jamie, what stands out to you in this introduction?

Jamie:                 
Man, I love how every letter begins with one of the descriptions of Jesus from chapter 1. And this one — “eyes like fire, feet like bronze” — it’s strong. It’s intense. His gaze pierces through everything. The eyes of fire speak to His ability to see right through hypocrisy. And the feet of bronze are strong, stable, pure — He’s coming with authority and judgment.      

Keith:                  
Yeah, and I think that’s really important for what He’s about to say to this church. Because on the one hand, He has some really good things to say. He says, “I know your works — your love, your faith, your service, your endurance.” And then He says, “Your later works exceed the first,” so they’re growing. But on the other hand, there’s this deep compromise going on.

Jamie:                 
Yeah, this is one of those churches where you see a really mixed picture. Like, they’ve got some great stuff going on. And it’s interesting that love is mentioned — because that wasn’t the case in Ephesus. In Ephesus, they had truth but no love. Here in Thyatira, they have love — but they’re lacking in truth.

Keith:                  
That’s a great observation. Jesus tells them, “I see your love and your faith and your service and your endurance.” Those are all things we’d celebrate in a church today. But then comes verse 20: “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel….”       

Jamie:                 
That’s a heavy name to drop.

Keith:                  
Yeah. Most scholars believe “Jezebel” isn’t her actual name — it’s a symbolic reference to the Old Testament queen Jezebel from 1 and 2 Kings, who led Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality. She influenced King Ahab and the people to turn away from God.  

Jamie:                 
So this person in Thyatira — whoever she really was — was doing something similar. Claiming to be a prophetess, teaching false doctrine, and leading people into sin under the guise of spiritual insight. That phrase, “the deep things of Satan,” shows just how off-track it had gotten.

Keith:                  
Exactly. And Jesus doesn’t just say she’s wrong — He says she’s dangerous. She’s seducing His servants. He says, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses.” That’s both terrifying and gracious. Jesus gave her an opportunity to turn around. 

Jamie:                 
Right, and that’s important. He’s not quick to judge — He gives space for repentance. But when someone refuses, judgment is coming. And He says He’ll throw her on a sickbed, bring great tribulation on those who commit adultery with her, and even strike her children dead. That’s intense.

Keith:                  
It is. But that’s the seriousness of sin in the church — especially sin that’s being taught and normalized. Jesus says this judgment will serve as a warning: “All the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart.” He’s not just looking at outward appearances.

Jamie:                 
And that’s so needed in today’s world. We live in a time when churches are often pressured to tolerate sin in the name of love. But Jesus shows us here that real love doesn’t tolerate what’s destructive to His people. He calls His church to purity — not just kindness, but truth and holiness.

Keith:                  
Yes — love without truth leads to compromise. And truth without love leads to cold legalism. Jesus is calling Thyatira to hold both — to grow in love and to stand in truth. And for those who haven’t bought into this false teaching, He says: “I don’t lay on you any other burden — just hold fast to what you have until I come.”         

Jamie:                 
That’s such a gracious word from Jesus — “I don’t lay on you any other burden.” Just hold fast. That’s the call. Sometimes in the middle of confusion or pressure or even division in the church, the call is just to cling tightly to Jesus and remain faithful.

Keith:                  
Yeah, and I love that the letter ends with promises — not just warnings. He says: “The one who conquers and who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.” That’s a big promise.          

Jamie:                 
It is. And it’s drawn from Psalm 2 — that idea of ruling the nations with a rod of iron, breaking them like earthen pots. That’s messianic language, and Jesus is sharing that reign with His people. It’s a picture of participating in His authority, His victory, and His kingdom.

Keith:                  
Absolutely. It’s incredible that Jesus says those who stay faithful — who “conquer” by persevering in obedience — will reign with Him. And then He adds: “I will give him the morning star.” There’s a lot of debate about what exactly that means, but I think it points back to Jesus Himself.     

Jamie:                 
Yeah — Revelation 22:16 says Jesus is “the bright morning star.” So when He says, “I will give you the morning star,” He’s giving Himself. That’s the ultimate reward: not just reigning, not just escaping judgment, but having Jesus Himself.

Keith:                  
That’s such a good word. He’s not just promising relief from suffering or an escape from persecution. He’s promising Himself. And that makes sense with the tone of this whole letter. The people in Thyatira needed clarity — and Jesus gives them that. He says, “I see what’s good. I see what’s dangerous. And I’m calling you to stay faithful.” 

Jamie:                 
Yeah, and that ending refrain is still the same: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” That means this message isn’t just for Thyatira — it’s for us too.

Keith:                  
Exactly. Jesus wants His whole church to hear this. In a world where compromise is so easy — where it’s tempting to tolerate false teaching in the name of unity or kindness — Jesus reminds us that love and truth must go together. And that He’s coming. So hold fast.

Jamie:                 
That’s the key — hold fast to what we’ve been given, stay faithful to the truth, and trust that Jesus sees, Jesus judges rightly, and Jesus rewards those who overcome.

Keith:                  
Amen. That’s a good word. Anything else you’d want to say to listeners before we wrap this one up?      

Jamie:                 
Just that encouragement — don’t let the pressure to “go along” with something false wear you down. Jesus sees your faithfulness. He knows. Hold fast. He is worth it.

Keith:   
He is.

Thank you, Jamie. And thank you for listening to The King is Coming. We’ll be back next week as we move into the letter to the church in Sardis. Until then, hold fast — and keep your eyes on Jesus.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 2:18–29.

[2] We’re trying out something a little different and giving a condensed transcript to make it easier to read, but if you want the full Bible study, click the podcast link above or click here.

Hope in Jesus Does Not Put Us to Shame — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:1-5

"The Lamb Who is Our Shepherd" from Revelation 7 (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 7After the terrifying events of Revelation 6, John is given a breathtaking glimpse of hope. Before judgment continues, God reveals that His people are known, sealed, and secure in Christ. The chapter culminates with one of Revelation's most beautiful pictures: the Lamb who was slain is also the Shepherd who leads His people forever.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison discuss:✔️ Why Revelation 7 is an interlude between the sixth and seventh seals✔️ What it means for God's servants to be sealed✔️ The two primary views of the 144,000—and why faithful Christians differ✔️ How John's pattern of hearing one thing and seeing another helps interpret the chapter✔️ The innumerable multitude worshiping before the throne✔️ Why Jesus, the Lamb, is also our Shepherd who leads us to living waterThis chapter reminds us that our greatest hope isn't solving every prophetic question—it's belonging to Christ. Those who trust Him are safe in Him, and one day He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.📖 "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:17, ESV)🔗 If you'd like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. "The Lamb Who is Our Shepherd" from Revelation 7 (The KING is Coming)
  2. "Who Can Stand Under the Wrath of God?" from Revelation 6 (The KING is Coming)
  3. "Musings on Marriage, Missions, and My Walk with Christ" (Refresh & Restore)

Greetings Sojourners,

I’m home from the hospital after several weeks (18 days and 19 hours) and so glad and thankful!

Being with Candice, Keri, and Xander again has been absolutely wonderful. It’s not just about being back at our house; it’s about being with them. They are my home. Sharing meals, watching movies, hearing them laugh—just being with them—reminds me of what I’m working toward in recovery. I don’t want them to have to be my babysitters and caretakers; I’m ready to get back to being husband, daddy, son, brother, Uncle Keith – full and whole.

And this past Sunday, I got to be back with my Christ Community family. What a gift. I was overwhelmed—in the best way possible. There were tears, but they were tears of joy. So many encouraged me with their words, their hugs, and especially their voices. When I was too overcome to sing during “Nothing Without You,” I heard my sisters Nikki and Shonna lifting their voices and carrying the song—and carrying me with it. And when our church gathered around to pray for me and others longing for healing, James 5:13–15 came to life. John anointed me with oil, the church prayed, and I was deeply moved by the tangible presence of God’s people doing what His Word calls us to do.

If you haven’t already, I’d encourage you to look back at the two previous writings I shared from the hospital. They were part of my processing in real time, and I hope they encourage you:

Now that I’m home and healing (and awaiting more doctor appointments), I want to walk through the passage that held me through the hardest nights. Romans 5:1–5 has been like an anchor for me. These verses walk us through what it means to have peace with God, to stand in grace, and to find real, lasting hope—even when life hurts. This passage has met me where I’ve been—sometimes flat on my back, sometimes inching forward with shaky steps, but always needing the kind of hope that doesn’t put us to shame. It’s not theoretical to me anymore—it’s lived truth. And I want to walk through it with you, verse by verse, to see again what I’ve been reminded of: that Jesus is our peace, Jesus gives us access to grace, Jesus brings joy even in our suffering, and Jesus is our unshakable hope.

Jesus is Our Peace (v. 1)

Verse 1 starts with the word “Therefore”, signaling that this is building on what came before in Romans 3-4. Paul had previously shown that no one is justified — made right with God — by good works or keeping the Law but only by faith in Jesus (Romans 3:28, 4:5). Romans 5:1 shows the result of being justified and saved by grace through faith in Jesus: peace with God.

This isn’t merely some inner calm or warm fuzzy feeling. It’s not circumstantial peace. This is peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) — a settled reality that, for those who are saved, the war we waged against God in our sin is over. We once lived as enemies of God (Romans 5:10), alienated and hostile in mind (Colossians 1:21). But now, through Christ, the conflict is resolved in Him. There is no more wrath for those who are in Christ (Romans 5:9). The gavel has fallen. The verdict is in. And the Judge is also the Savior who made peace by the blood of His cross (Colossians 1:20).

The peace we see here in v. 1 is peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t come through human effort, morality, or religion. It is through a Person — Jesus — who took our punishment upon Himself (Isaiah 53:5), died in our place (Romans 4:25), and rose again to give us life and right standing before God (Romans 4:24-25).

Coming home from the hospital reminded me how vital this peace truly is. While my body is still healing and I’m learning new limits and routines, I have peace that’s not dependent on my strength or stability—peace that holds even when I feel weak or uncertain. When you’re going through trials, peace with God means everything. This peace has sustained me through days I couldn’t lift my arms or stand without help, through nights of tears and questions. But it never left. It never failed. No, He never left or failed. This is not pointing to my circumstances but a reality that extends to all of the trials of this life. This peace with God means your soul is safe no matter the circumstances affecting your body or earthly life. Jesus has made a way for us to come to the Father, not out of fear, but as beloved children (John 14:6, Romans 8:15). We get the peace that a child feels when they, terrified in the middle of the night, run and are embraced in the arms of their parents. Knowing Jesus has made a way for us to run to the Father is about the truest idea of peace there is.

Jesus Gives Us Access to Grace (v. 2a)

Paul builds on the peace we now have with God by saying that through Jesus, we have access to grace — and not just a momentary taste, but a continual standing in it. This is the grace of God that justifies us (Romans 3:24), the grace of God that saves (Ephesians 2:8), and the grace of God that sustains us (2 Corinthians 12:10).

It’s grace, so it’s not something we’ve earned, and it’s not something we could ever keep on our own. This grace is a place we stand because Jesus holds us there.

That word “access” in v. 2 is rich in meaning. It describes being brought into the presence of royalty by someone with the right to do so. That’s what Jesus has done for us. He doesn’t just bring us peace with God — He brings us into the throne room of grace (Hebrews 4:16). And because of Him, we don’t stand in fear or shame but in favor, the favor Jesus earned and deserves, welcomed and secure in relationship with God (Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 1:6, Hebrews 4:16).

I think about this truth often now that I’m home and trying to rebuild strength. There were weeks I couldn’t physically stand—I had to be lifted, guided, even fed. Yet even then, I never stopped standing in grace. Not once. Not when I was flat on my back, not when I was wheeled down hallways to therapy, not when I cried out to God in pain and weakness. His grace held me. His grace still holds me.

This is where the theology meets real life—especially when you’re walking through suffering. Grace is not a place we earn; it’s what we receive because of Jesus – because of what He earned. My standing in grace isn’t special or unique to me; everyone who has been saved by Jesus is still standing in His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Peter 5:10, Romans 8:18). This is part of the beauty of being in Christ. If you are in Christ, your position with God is not fragile. It’s not based on your performance or dependent on your condition. Jesus has secured it and sustains it by His grace (John 10:28-29, Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:38-39).

Jesus Brings Joy Even in Our Suffering (vv. 2b-4)

This section of Romans 5:1-5 is where people get caught up because Paul says something pretty shocking: not only do we rejoice in our hope — we rejoice in our sufferings.

Yup, read that again. We are supposed to rejoice in our hope. But we are also supposed to rejoice in our sufferings.

If you think that sounds strange, and can even be offensive if taken out of the context of Romans 5 (which is something we need to be especially careful with here). Paul denying the reality of pain. Paul knew pain deeply. He knew beatings, imprisonment, sickness, shipwrecks, rejection, and weakness (2 Corinthians 11:24–28). What the Spirit through Paul is doing here is showing us that, in Christ, even our pain has a purpose. We rejoice in our sufferings not because it feels good but because we know what God can and is doing through it.

Let’s break it down.

First, we rejoice in the “hope of the glory of God”. This is the secure promise that one day we will see Jesus face-to-face and be fully transformed into His likeness (1 John 3:2, Colossians 3:4). That’s not a vague wish — it’s a guaranteed future secured by the finished work of Jesus. It gives us eternal perspective and lifts our heads to look forward beyond our present troubles (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Romans 8:18).

Paul goes further. He says we can also rejoice now, in the middle of our trials. Why? Because suffering shapes us:

  • “suffering produces endurance” — the Spirit works in us to give the strength to persevere, holding us when things are hard
  • “endurance produces character” — a tested, refined faith that isn’t superficial but rooted in Christ and who He is making us to be
  • “character produces hope” — again, a hope not based on circumstances or fickle, earthly, hypothetical hope but built on who Jesus is, what He’s done, and all He’s promised

Over the last few weeks in the hospital, I’ve seen this unfold in ways I couldn’t have expected. Lying in a hospital bed with no ability to move, no answers, and nothing but time and pain forced me to lean into Jesus like never before. I found that suffering is a classroom—not one I signed up for, but one in which the Spirit was a very present teacher. He reminded me that I wasn’t alone (Psalm 139:7–10, Isaiah 41:10, Matthew 28:20), that He had not abandoned me, and that He was working something in me I could never have built on my own (Romans 8:28, James 1:2–4). He’s shown me how He gives strength when I am beyond weak (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Isaiah 40:29-31), producing something in me I couldn’t manufacture on my own (Romans 5:3-5).

This is why we rejoice (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Only a fool would revel in the difficulties or try to enjoy the pain and suffering. No, this is rejoicing in the loving hands of God that lift us up out of the mire and difficulty (Psalm 40:1-3, 1 Peter 5:6-7) and hold us safe and secure in Him (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:38-39). It is rejoicing in knowing that we can look to the horizon and see the beauty of eternity with Jesus (Revelation 21:3-4), knowing that every speedbump and tribulation is something that can draw us closer to Jesus and make us more like Him (2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Romans 8:17-18, 29). Let me be clear: this isn’t the result of grit—it’s the fruit of grace. Joy in suffering is not natural, but it is supernatural. It’s a gift from God to His people who are held fast by Jesus.

Jesus is Our Unshakable Hope (v. 5)

After walking us through the path of suffering, endurance, and character, Paul arrives at the bold and beautiful conclusion of that paragraph: hope does not put us to shame.

In a world of letdowns, empty promises, and fragile dreams, that’s a stunning calm. But Paul isn’t talking about generic, hypothetical optimism. He’s talking about Jesus — and He’s unshakable.

Why doesn’t this hope disappoint? Because it’s grounded in the love of God, not in the shifting sand of circumstances. Paul says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts. That verb there translated “poured” isn’t a trickle — it’s a flood. Through the Holy Spirit, given to every believer, God pours out His love — not just toward us, but into us. The very presence of God’s Spirit is assurance that we belong to Him (Ephesians 1:13-14), and that His love for us is not distant but deeply personal and present. His Spirit is inside those He saves – not some concept or ethereal force but a Person, God within us.

In Jesus, you’re not holding onto hope, white knuckling it and hoping everything might work out okay. In Christ, hope is holding onto you (Hebrews 6:19-20), secured by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) and sealed in the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). When your strength fails, He doesn’t (Isaiah 40:28-31). When your feelings falter, His love doesn’t (Lamentations 3:22-23, 2 Timothy 2:13). Even when you don’t feel hopeful, you can trust that the Spirit is at work in you, reminding you who you are and Whose you are (Romans 8:16, Galatians 4:6).

I’ve needed that reminder every day this month. There were moments when I wondered what the future held.

I was reminded of the deep faith of men like Charles Spurgeon who dealt with debilitating and crippling gout and depression yet he continued to serve the Lord as trials piled like cordwood.

I was reminded of David Miller who suffered from muscular atrophy from his teenage years and lost the use of every muscle in his body until he was bound in a wheelchair. I think of his testimony about the aftermath of his son being paralyzed in a wreck. He told me that he sat by his son’s hospital bed — in his own wheelchair, a wheelchair identical to the one his son would have to use — and sang the hymns of the faith, quoted Scripture over his son (as he couldn’t hold a Bible), and thanked God for giving him decades to live in a wheelchair like that so that he could help his son.

A month in the hospital can’t compare to lives like theirs. Yet God showed me that, if He could handle their trials and give them endurance, character, and hope, He can handle any and every trial that His children will go through. God’s goodness, protection, and care aren’t limited to Spurgeon or Miller, though; think of all the people He carried through trials in the Bible.

  • Job was carried through Satan attacking his family, health, and sanity (Job 1–2).
  • Joseph was carried through betrayal, slavery, and prison to save his family and many others (Genesis 37, 39–50).
  • Moses was carried through forty years in the wilderness with a complaining people (Exodus 3–Numbers 20).
  • Hannah was carried through years of barrenness and deep grief (1 Samuel 1–2).
  • David was carried through hiding in caves and fleeing for his life before becoming king (1 Samuel 18–31).
  • Elijah was carried through exhaustion, fear, and depression under a broom tree (1 Kings 19).
  • Jeremiah was carried through persecution and tears while faithfully proclaiming God’s Word (Jeremiah 20, Lamentations 3).
  • Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (a.k.a. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were carried through the fiery furnace and came out without even smelling like smoke (Daniel 3).
  • Daniel was carried through the lion’s den with unshakable faith, not receiving so much as a nibble from hungry lions (Daniel 6).
  • Mary was carried through scandal, fear, and wonder as she bore the Son of God (Luke 1–2).
  • Peter was carried through the shame of denying his Savior and restored by Jesus Himself (Luke 22:54–62, John 21:15–19).
  • Paul was carried through imprisonments, beatings, and shipwrecks for the sake of the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:24–28, Acts 27).

Our God is not just the God of our mountaintop faith—He’s the God who meets us in the valley, walks with us through the fire, and floods our hearts with His love even when we feel empty. Doubts creep in. Trials come and go and sometimes never go away on earth, but God keeps pouring out His love. He does it because He is good and He is God and He is faithful. His hope doesn’t put us to shame.

Wrapping Up

Romans 5:1-5 isn’t a feel-better-formula or some kind of positive thinking strategy — it’s a gospel-soaked promise from the living God. It is real peace, real grace, real joy, real hope—and every bit of it comes through Jesus.

If you’re reading this and you’ve never trusted in Jesus for salvation—if you don’t know what it’s like to have peace with God or hope that holds firm even when life falls apart—hear this clearly: you don’t have to stay where you are. Jesus invites you to come to Him. His Word says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

This isn’t about fixing yourself or cleaning yourself up first — it’s about trusting the One who already paid the price to redeem you. The Bible promises that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). That invitation is for you.

Come to Jesus. Lay down your burdens. Trust in His finished work on the cross. Let Him pour His love into your heart by His Spirit and anchor your life in a hope that never puts you to shame.

And if you already belong to Jesus, but you find yourself weary or hurting, don’t forget what the Holy Spirit has taught you in Romans 5.

  • You have peace with God — He’s not against you.
  • You stand in grace — you are held and sustained by him.
  • Your suffering is not pointless — He is producing endurance, character, and a hope that is alive because He is alive.
  • You may feel weak (or very well be weak), but the Spirit of God lives in you.
  • Your circumstances may shift, but Jesus never will.

So, hold on, and more than that — let hope, let Jesus hold you. You are seen. You are loved. And in Christ, you are not alone and never forsaken (Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38–39).

Thank you for reading. While I hope my story and testimony will help others who are struggling or going through trials, I know that the Word of God offers better and lasting hope — for “faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). If you are struggling or going through trying times, look at the many, many cross-references; click on them and let God’s Word encourage and comfort you. And may you encounter the God of the Bible, our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, in your time of need.

I had big plans to be much further in our The King is Coming study of Revelation, but God had other plans. Lord willing, we will be back next week with Jesus’s letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2:18-29.

Until then, dear Sojourner, thank you and may God bless you.

God Hears, God Sees, & God Knows — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

I’ve had a lot of time to think lately as I’ve been in this hospital room, and I have found myself meditating on Exodus 2:23-25:

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

This is the passage we closed with in the adult Bible study at Christ Community last Sunday, and the beauty of it has captivated me. For context and to understand the magnitude of these verses, we’ve got to get the lay of the land in Exodus 1-2.

Genesis ends with all of Israel’s family (the person Israel, aka Jacob) in Egypt after God providentially took the evil done to Joseph by his brothers and put him in a position to “preserve life” (Genesis 45:5, cf. Genesis 50:20). God used Joseph and gave him the ability to interpret dreams, which let Egypt enjoy plenty when the world around them faced famine (Genesis 47:13-26). Joseph was second only to Pharaoh, and God preserved Israel (the Hebrews/people group), moving them to the land of Goshen in Egypt (Genesis 47:27).

Now, fast forward many generations there in Egypt and “there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This king found himself surrounded by God’s people who He had providentially made to be “fruitful” and “increased greatly”, growing “exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7, cf. Genesis 1:28). This king was worried about the position this great people group could put him in and was afraid of losing his power, so he decided to “set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens” (Exodus 1:11). He made God’s people His slaves, but “the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad” (Exodus 1:12). Even in the midst of turmoil and trial, God was keeping His promise to Abraham that He would make his offspring number like the stars of the heavens (Genesis 15:5) and the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17), and bless all the nations of the earth through his offspring (Genesis 18:18, 22:18, cf. Galatians 3:8). In the midst of terrible oppression, He who promised was faithful (Hebrews 10:23, cf. Lamentations 3:22-23).

The trouble in Egypt rose to from oppression to murder and semi-genocide as Pharaoh commanded that baby Hebrew boys be cast into the Nile (Exodus 1:22). The bulk of Exodus 2 is God providentially saving Moses from death in the Nile, using that same river to float him to a life where he would be adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-10).

It’s an understatement to say that the Israelites were experiencing terrible things. Atrocities. Evil. Wickedness.

Sometimes, we find ourselves in times of trials and troubles when it seems like no relief is coming and that no one sees or notices. We can easily feel isolated and alone. These are the times when people begin to ask the question whether or not God cares or even knows — asking, why won’t He do something? (Psalm 10:1, Habakkuk 1:2-3)

This was surely how Israel felt by the end of Exodus 2. They “groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help” (Exodus 2:23). Just as the load of their taskmasters burdened them, they were burdened with grief and despair. Where was the God who brought them from a land of famine to the land of plenty? Why bring them there if only to leave them and forsake them? But God never leaves nor forsakes His people (Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 4:9, Deuteronomy 31:6).

Look at what God had for Israel (and has for us) in Exodus 2:23-25.

“Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.” (v. 23b)

This wasn’t a formal prayer or some polished religious petition. It was a groan (v. 24) — a raw cry made out of desperation. Yet it came up to God. That is grace (Romans 8:26-27).

Their pain wasn’t lost in transmission or ignored by God. He’s not aloof or distant when His people suffer (Psalm 139:1-2, Exodus 3:7). Look at how David puts it in Psalm 34:17-18:

“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

The cries of God’s people — His children — always find His ear, even when our words run out and all we have left is a groan (Romans 8:26). We need to know that our cries don’t disappear into silence — they rise to God (1 Peter 3:12, Isaiah 65:24, Psalm 55:17).

“And God heard their groaning….” (v. 24a)

Let me say it again: God hears. He heard them, and He can hear you.

When the Israelites groaned under the weight of slavery, it didn’t go unnoticed. Their pain was not wasted. God isn’t like Pharaoh who heard and ignored. He is a Father who bends low to listen (Psalm 116:1-2, Isaiah 64:4). This should encourage us in prayer because God is never too busy, too disinterested, or too far away (Psalm 145:18, Jeremiah 33:3). He hears the whisper of the wounded and the shout of the desperate (Psalm 10:17).

Even when it feels like no one else is listening, God hears (1 John 5:14, Micah 7:7).

“…and God remembered His covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac, and with Jacob.” (v. 24b)

When it says “remembered” here, it does not mean that God is recalling something He had momentarily forgotten or lost track of. It means God was about to act (Exodus 6:5-6).

To “remember” in the biblical sense here is covenant language. It means God is faithful to what He has promised (Hebrews 10:23). Even after generations of silence, God had not abandoned His people or His Word. He made a covenant to bless them and bring them to the land He had promised (Genesis 15:18-21, Exodus 3:6-8), and He was preparing to fulfill it.

When we feel forgotten, we can rest in this:

“God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19)

God made promises to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. He remembers. He fulfills His promises (Psalm 105:8-10, Luke 1:72-73). Sometimes, we can almost be afraid to hope (maybe I’m speaking from where I am now), but God’s memory is perfect and His promises are sure.

“God saw the people of Israel — and God knew.” (v. 25)

These are some of the most tender words of all. God saw. He didn’t just hear — He saw their suffering, saw them (Genesis 16:13, Psalm 33:13-15). And God knew. He knew their pain, their burdens, their brokenness. This is the kind of knowing that moves the heart of God toward His people. It’s intimate. It’s personal. It’s the same kind of knowing we see in Jesus, who looked at the crowds and had compassion on them (Matthew 9:36, Mark 6:34).

You are not invisible to God. Wait, I need to say that to myself: I am not invisible to God. He sees. He knows. And because of Jesus — our Savior who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4) — we can be sure that He enters into our suffering with us (Hebrews 4:15).

Exodus 2:23-25 shows us something precious about the heart of God. The Israelites were enslaved, burdened, and groaning under cruel oppression, yet God was not distant. He heard them. He remembered His covenant with them. He saw them. And He knew them.

The ultimate fulfillment of that covenant — the promise to bless all nations through Abraham’s offspring — was Jesus (Galatians 3:16, Genesis 22:18)! He is the same God — the covenant-keeping God who never changes (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6) — who still hears, still sees, and still knows today.

These past three weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. Pain, immobility, weakness, and unknowns have left me stripped of my independence and strength. I have needed help to do the most basic of things. But what I’ve learned — or perhaps what I’ve been lovingly reminded — is that though I have limits, God does not. Though I am weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Though I have groaned, He has heard. Though I have wrestled in the dark, He has seen. And when I’ve felt confused, broken, lost, or even forgotten by doctors and insurance companies these last three days, He has known — not just facts about my situation, but He knows me because I am His (Nahum 1:7, John 10:14).

This is not unique to me. That’s who God is. He invites the weary and the burdened to come — to to a system or religion but to Him:

[Jesus said] “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

God isn’t merely aware of your pain — He cares (1 Peter 5:6-7, Psalm 55:22). He is not powerless to act — He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take on your greatest burden: sin and death. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He died to pay for our sins, and He rose again to offer us life — real, eternal, abundant life (John 10:10, Romans 6:4). If God could hear the groans of Israel in Egypt and set in motion their deliverance through Moses, how much more should we see His heart in the Deliverer He sent us — Jesus.

So, what do you do when you find yourself groaning, crying out, and feeling forgotten?

You call upon the name of the Lord:

“For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Salvation isn’t about cleaning yourself up or fixing your own problems. It’s about trusting the One who can save despite your need of cleansing and sin. The Bible says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believer in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

This isn’t salvation from a mere problem or seeking to be lifted out of a trial. This is taking us and bringing us from dead in sin to alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5). This is taking us from lost to found (Luke 15:24). This is taking us from the darkness and bringing us into His light (1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13-14). If God can do that, what is a little trial or sickness or tribulation (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)?

So, if you’re weary — if you’re burdened — if you’re groaning under the weight of suffering — come to Jesus. He sees, hears, knows, and saves.

And for those who are already in Christ, let this be a fresh reminder: our God is not absent in affliction. He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). His Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). He will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). And one day, He will wipe every tear from your eyes and swallow up death, pain, and sorrow forever (Revelation 21:4, Isaiah 25:8).

Until that day, hold fast and hope in God.

He hears you.

He sees you.

And He knows you.

Reflections on the Goodness of God from My Hospital Bed — a Refresh & Restore Testimony

Greetings Sojourners,

As I write this, I am on my seventh day of my current hospital stay. This hospitalization — or even the illness really — is not the subject of my reflections but merely a backdrop. However, I will give enough details for clarity and hopefully none for complaint.

Many of you most likely do not know that I am in the hospital, and that is because I don’t care for that sort of attention. Outside of the Christ Community prayer group and a few personal messages, I have not shared much. Ultimately, this is pride — not trying to hide things necessarily, but some difficulties are hard to share even when you should (2 Corinthians 12:9). So I’m sharing now.

Two weeks ago (May 29), I woke up with what I thought to be gout flare ups in both feet. This was odd as gout typically manifests in just one, isolated joint. I already knew that I am an atypical sort of guy, so I just was going to roll with the weird. Within an hour, both feet were fully swollen up to the ankle. By lunch, my left wrist and the little finger joint on the right hand had joined in with swelling and pain.

The next morning (May 30) I awoke to walking being nearly impossible because of excruciating pain in both feet. I needed assistance eating because the pain in both hands was nearly as bad. I still managed to walk to the bathroom a few times. Little did I know I would only walk one more time the following day.

The next Monday (June 2), Candice took me to an orthopedic doctor in Oxford. They performed x-rays and examinations that revealed my feet were “full of arthritis”, meaning there was no space in my foot not taken up by inflammation which explained why walking or even standing, and the doctor scheduled a wide array of labs to be run and started me on a steroid pack. The following day (June 3), Kevin took me to Oxford to get the labs run. And the wait began.

Long story short, steroids brought little relief and the lab results were largely inconclusive except to say that wide spread inflammation was occurring in my body. By the end of the week (June 6), the total joints inflamed and in pain expanded to both knees, the right hip, and eventually both shoulders. We went to the hospital that night and ended up staying (and are still here).

Ultimately, there is no official diagnosis, but what is known is:

  1. There was gout involved.
  2. Even though there initially was thought to be some sort of infection, none was found.
  3. My body had an autoimmune response and was fighting against itself causing the wide spread inflammation to all the joints.
  4. God is still seated on His throne, still loves me, still cares for me, can heal me if He so chooses, and — for whatever reason — has me where I need to be even if it’s not where I want to be (Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17).

The reason I am writing this is because in the midst of the worst two weeks of my life, I have consistently seen and experienced the goodness of God on display (Psalm 27:13) and want to share that. So, with no further ado, let me share with you about the goodness of God.

Reflection #1 — An Excellent Wife I Have Found

10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.

Proverbs 31:10-12

So far (and for the rest of this), Candice is typing instead of me. I have gained about 95% usage of my left arm and hand back and only about 75% of my right arm and hand (which also has an IV in a less-than-helpful position). This is the first collaboration of this sort Candice and I have ever done, and judging by how much she hates that she’s having to type out a reflection thanking God for her and bragging on her, this may be our last.

Over the last two weeks, Candice has tirelessly (despite exhaustion and being as overwhelmed and scared as I have been) cared for me night and day. She has advocated for me with doctors (even ferociously at times), fed me, bathed me, and loved me through this time. While I was humiliated for being so unable to do for myself, her love humbled me and reminded me that wedding vows spoken by young adults prove out by the deeper-than-romance love that God can foster between a husband and a wife.

This has not been easy for her. She didn’t expect it to be. The love that she has shown me, even as she types this now through her own tears, has preached the gospel of Jesus’s love for His Church more eloquently and effectively than my words ever could (Ephesians 5:32). Her selfless actions and unrelenting care were more than “word or talk”, showing her love “in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

I could not, should I live a thousand years, hope to ever repay or match her show of love and care (although I can’t wait to get to go home and try). She’s more precious than treasure (Proverbs 31:10), has all of my trust, is my favorite person and the love of my life, and has shown real-life love more than I could have ever dreamed of 22 years ago.

Reflection #2 — God Exulted Over Me With Loud Singing

The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty One who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

We were supposed to be on a mission trip with our Christ Community youth group in New Mexico right now, but obviously we are not.

I am immensely thankful that God allows me to be one of the pastors at Christ Community, and getting to serve and disciple our kiddos is one of the greatest joys of my life. Needless to say, a large portion of my heart has been in New Mexico while my body has been confined to this hospital bed.

Sara Goldwater worked it out with Candice that they would FaceTime us so that we could participate in some of their nightly worship times. I knew we needed that, but at the time I was so mentally, physically, and emotionally overwhelmed I almost said no. Thankfully, I didn’t because the kiddos and adult leaders who are so dear to my heart ministered to me more that night than I ever have to them.

The time they spent singing and songs they chose were so carefully, lovingly, and thoughtfully arranged that by the end I was ugly crying and raising the only hand I could in worship of God.

The first song they chose was “Battle Belongs“, reminding that God is our fortress, mighty to save, and has already won the only battle that eternally matters through the cross and His empty tomb (Colossians 2:14-15).

The second song was “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)“, reminding me that Jesus is my rock and firm foundation, who has never failed in all of history, will never fail in the time that remains, and will protect and keep me through the storms of this life (Matthew 7:24-25). It brought to mind a quote from Charles Spurgeon (who dealt with debilitating gout and health problems that often left him bedridden for longer than I have been):

I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.

After a verse and chorus of “Because He Lives“, and being reminded that I know who holds the future, the mission team humbled me and loved me in a way that was nearly overwhelming. They passed the phone around and one-by-one spoke something meaningful, encouraging, personal, and loving. To say that I was wrecked is a vast understatement. I was reminded of Zephaniah’s words to Israel above about how, even in times of trials and exiles, God was still in their midst, still mighty to save, still rejoicing over them. But it’s the last part of Zephaniah 3:17 that was so poignant and clear to me that night as it describes God Himself quieting His people, those He loves, by exulting over them with loud singing. I experienced God singing over us by His mission team singing over me. That memory will stay with me from here on out.

Reflection #3 — Built Up and Burdens Borne

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

We have experienced such a great outpouring of love, concern, care, and prayer from our family, faith family, and friends. Difficult times are often lonely times, but that has not been our experience. I could not begin to recount all of the text messages and phone calls. Family (both biological and church) have come to sit and visit to lift spirits. The days leading up to the hospital stay, Candice did not have to cook as well as care for me because God has people in our life who took care of that, even being so thoughtful as to find out some foods our kiddos would like and sending us to the hospital with our own vending machine stockpile so as to not go without at all.

Sometimes it is not until after tragedy or loss that people step up in this way. I have often wondered why we do not share more freely how we feel with people while they are still with us. However, I do not have to wonder anymore because God has used the kindness and care of our families and friends to show His goodness toward us.

Without hesitation, Katherine and my parents have taken care of Xander for the entirety of the hospital stay, keeping him busy and worry-free while Candice and I were living out the opposite. Candice’s dad wanted to show appreciation for our helping him through similar health difficulties that we may experience the way he felt when cared for. And as far as helping bear our burdens, Kevin got me in and out of the vehicle and wheelchair multiple times, and he and Daddy literally carried me out of the house the day I went to the hospital.

Keri was still able to go with our church on the mission trip, and we did not have to doubt for a second that she would be cared for, looked after, and loved like she was their own (because that’s how our faith family loves). We received many text messages at various times making sure that we knew she was being cared for looked after (while still letting her be the independent young woman she is). We are thankful for the spiritual aunts, uncles, and cousins who have adopted our kiddos and love them.

While tangible shows of care and physical presence are big, nothing has moved me more than the sheer volume of people praying for us. Too often, we treat prayer like the least we can do, but what more can you do than seek God Most High on behalf of someone? I felt like the man in Mark 2:1-12 whose friends carried him on the roof of where Jesus was, removed a section, and lowered their friend to where Jesus could help him. It’s humbling to know that so many were willing to approach the throne of grace and seek mercy from the King on my behalf (Hebrews 4:16). It is the most they could do, and they did it tirelessly.

When you are feeling alone in sickness and pain, it’s too easy to be isolated, but God in His goodness, as reminded us at every turn, that He is with us and has given us family, friends, and a faith family to remind us of that.

Reflection #4 — Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him,
my salvation and my God.

Psalm 42:11

Sunday night/the wee hours of Monday morning was probably the longest of my life thus far. I have been avoiding pain medication as much as possible, but should have taken it sooner that night. The pain got to be too much, and coincided with a night requiring multiple lab draws with arms too swollen to find veins. I had just become overwhelmed.

In normal circumstances, I use the Dwell app (an audio Bible/Scripture meditation app) to take my mind off of difficulties or trials, but I could not work my phone or hold a Bible in my hands. My mind was so frantically distracted that I found it difficult to bring Scripture to mind. I laid in the dark, pleading with the Lord, praying for help or relief or whatever.

Now, if you know Candice, sleep has always been very precious to her. If you know hospitals at night, you know sleep is for well people at home. However, Candice stood over my bed for hours, playing various playlists of Scripture verses to help me fix my mind on things above, on Jesus, “not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). She played “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” to help the “Word of Christ dwell in [me] richly” more than the pain that overwhelmed me physically (Colossians 3:16).

Dark times can cloud our vision. Sometimes hope is eclipsed by temporary trials. But for those who have been saved by grace through faith in our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, “suffering produces endurance”, “endurance produces character”, “character produces hope”, and “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5). My hope remains because it is not fickle, moveable, earthly hope; my hope is a person. My hope’s name is Jesus. And I can cast “all [my] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [me]” (1 Peter 5:7).

One of the clearest evidences of God’s goodness is that He has given us His Word — not only to reveal Himself, but to renew our minds, anchor our hearts, and strengthen us in every season of life. In His mercy, God does not leave us to be shaped by the world around us, but transforms us through the renewal of our minds so that we can discern His will and walk in it (Romans 12:2). His Word brings comfort and life in the midst of affliction, reviving our hearts when they are weary (Psalm 119:50). When our minds are fixed on Him through the promises of Scripture, He surrounds us with perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Rather than letting anxiety consume us, He invites us to bring everything to Him in prayer, and as we dwell on what is true and good, His peace guards our hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:6-8). In trials, His Word gives strength and courage, equipping us for every step of obedience (Joshua 1:8-9). Because Scripture is breathed out by God, it thoroughly equips us for every good work — not just in easy seasons, but especially when life is hard (2 Timothy 3:16-17). When we delight in His Word and meditate on it daily, we become like trees planted by water — stable, nourished, and fruitful no matter the conditions around us (Psalm 1:2-3). And as we not only hear His Word but live it out, we experience His blessing and see more clearly who He is (James 1:22-25). In spiritual battle, His Word is our sword (Ephesians 6:17), and even Jesus, in the wilderness of temptation, showed us that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Every verse is a testimony to His kindness — He has not left us in the dark, but has spoken light and truth to sustain us.

That night, when my body had failed me and there was no strength to attempt to battle for myself, God sustained me with His Word. It was a refreshing reminder of His goodness, goodness I learned of from His Word and experience anew through His Word again and again. Here are some examples of both song and Scripture playlists:

  • Song | “Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)”

I do not (we do not) write this seeking sympathy or trying to complain. I am thankful to have a God who does not leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:6) but instead meets me in my darkness with His light (John 1:5, Psalm 18:28).

On the way to the hospital last Friday night, Kevin reminded me of Satan’s words to God when seeking to tear apart Job’s life to make him curse God (Job 1:8-12, 2:3-6). Now, I am far from Job, and I am not saying this is all some elaborate test of my faith. The consequences of the Fall on the world and within human bodies (death, decay, sickness, etc.) is enough. But if you think on Satan’s rationale for needing to hurt Job, his earthly logic seems sound:

9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”

Job 1:9-11

and,

3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”

job 2:3-5

Kevin reminded me that Satan knew that by attacking Job’s health it could fundamentally affect how he lived and thought. So Satan was right — insomuch as the things of this earth being all that there are. His logic, at face value, was sound. However, what Satan discounted — what he always overlooks in his passion and sinful pride — is that the LORD is not of this world. The Creator of all that is, the King of kings and Lord of lords is not bound by the logic of a being He created because He Himself is Truth.

When He saves people, He fundamentally changes them from the inside out, making them new creations not religious converts (2 Corinthians 5:17). His change in those He saves is not a mere change of mind but truly a change from death to life, delivering them from “the domain of darkness” to the “kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

I am not Job. But I have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). My faith has wavered at times these last two weeks, I have forgotten who and whose I am, but praise God when all else is stripped away and I find myself at rock bottom, Jesus is the Rock (Psalm 18:2, 1 Corinthians 10:4).

I have to remind myself that God is no more or less good if He chooses to heal me immediately and/or completely or if whatever purpose He allows this to go on. He is good because that is who He is.

God is good all the time.

And all the time God is good.

As difficult as this period is (and seems to continue to be), I can rejoice that in the midst of sickness and pain I have seen the goodness of God and can see more clearly the sweetness and beauty of Jesus’s return when He will dwell with His people, wiping away their last tears with His nail-scarred hand as well as wiping away death, mourning, crying, and pain (Revelation 21:3-4). All of those things have an expiration date that is set and sure.

The goodness of God has no expiration date.

We are thankful to have the opportunity to share with you and would appreciate your prayers. If anything has helped you, lifted your spirits, or helped you see the goodness of God in Christ, then I’m glad to be where I am. And I am learning to be content that whatever season I find myself in I am not alone for He is with me.

Thank you and God bless.

“Church at a Crossroads: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Pergamum” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

We’re continuing in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming. We took a break for our He Who Promised is Faithful readings during Holy Week but are glad to be back at it. Today, we will be diving into Jesus’s letter to the church at Pergamum. Once again, I am thankful for Jamie Harrison and the opportunity to do this study together. This week’s passage is Revelation 2:12-17:

12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
13 “ ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’”[1]

Keith Harris:      
Greetings, Sojourners,

Today’s letter to the church at Pergamum is tough, Jamie. And, so speaking, I turn it over to you because this is a lot.

Jamie Harrison:
It is a lot, so y’all buckle up and stay buckled up – especially if you are driving and listening to this Bible study. No reading while driving.

Keith:                   
Click it or ticket.

Jamie:                  
Yeah, I’ve heard that somewhere.

Just a quick reminder of the similarities between each letter. Each letter is going to start with that same salutation. Write to the angel of the church, this week in Pergamum. Then we’re going to look at what Jesus says about Himself, His attributes. Then we’re going to get maybe something about their works, some praise and then admonition – something they need to work on (in all but two of the churches). Then, that same universal admonition to let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Finally, we’ll get a promise.

Before we start, in the first letter, we really talked a lot about listening to what the Spirit is saying, not just to the church at Ephesus or Smyrna, now Pergamum, but what He is saying to the Church today as a whole and to our local church body. What is He saying? And as a part of your local church body, what is He saying to you?

Keep those things in mind as we dive into this letter because I think this letter hits on a lot of stuff that’s probably affecting us today. So, here we go.

Jesus starts off by saying something about Himself does not have the best positive connotation to it.

Keith:                   
Yes, it is not the portrait of Jesus people would like to paint. But, nevertheless, it’s the one He gives us here.    

Jamie:                  
In the letter to Smyrna, we get that He is the first and the last. In the letter to Ephesus, He’s the One who holds the seven stars and who walks among the golden lamp stands. In Pergamum, all He says about Himself is, “Thus says the One who has the sharp, double-edged sword” (v. 12)[2], which again, does go back to ch. 1:16 where He had seven stars in His right hand and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. I think it’s interesting that the sword comes from His mouth because I want to – I’m kind of jumping ahead of myself real quick. Turn to Revelation 19:19, and I’m going to read a couple of verse, actually starting in verse 11 of Revelation 19 (and go through v. 13):

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because, again, in Revelation 1, that’s how He is described. He is called the Word of God. We know that the sword is the Word of God.

Keith:                   
Yeah, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6….         

Jamie:                  
Right. Ephesians 6, right. Continuing in Revelation 19 in verse 14-16:

14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

And then we get this horrible supper of God where all these people are wiped out who were gathered together. And then in verse 21, it says,

The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds ate their fill of their flesh.

So, this sharp double-edged sword that comes from His mouth is what eventually will end everything. That’s the sword He chooses – that’s, excuse me, the attribute He chooses to describe Himself with here (in the letter to the church at Pergamum). So, if you’re listening to this, and you’re in Pergamum, this is not good news. It’s terrifying.

Keith:                   
I mean, there is the admonition opportunity for repentance, but their current standing without repentance is not good at all. That sword Jesus speaks of is pointed at Pergamum.

Jamie:                  
It is pointed at Pergamum.

He goes from there to the works and the praise that He’s going to give. He tells them (in v. 13), “I know where you live – where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me.” Please don’t mistake that when He says, “where Satan’s throne is,” to think He means hell. Satan wasn’t (isn’t) cast into hell yet. That has not happened. He was cast down to earth.

Keith:                   
And hell doesn’t have a throne. Satan is going to be inmate number one there.  

Jamie:                  
That’s correct, and we’ll see that actually in Revelation 19 and 20 when we get there, that he’ll be one of the first couple beings cast into hell. But what it’s talking about when it says that the satanic throne – Satan’s throne…. Literally, during this time, Pergamum was considered the headquarters of Satanic opposition. That would have been a literal thing. It was a gentile base for false religion. They had a throne there that was a throne-shaped altar that looked like Zeus at the acropolis, the city’s highest peak, a throne-shaped altar to Zeus.

Then a lot of people from all over the [Roman] empire at that time would come to a palace that was built for Asclepius – the god of healing. His symbol was a rod in his hand and a snake wrapped around the rod, kind of like what we see on the back of ambulances and things like that today. That was what he held, that was his symbol, the snake-wrapped rod. People would come from all over the empire to sleep in his temple to get touched by one of the numerous non-venomous snakes that would be slithering around on the floor. Just to repeat, they would intentionally and willingly sleep on a floor that was covered in snakes in hopes that a snake would slither on them. Just because they are non-venomous doesn’t mean they don’t bite. They thought this would heal them.

So, that’s where Satan’s throne comes in. Because literally, that’s what it was considered to be during that time – not a good place to be. I would imagine if you were a Christian there at the time, and Jesus says “yet you are holding on to my name” and “did not deny [their] faith in [Him], even in the days of Antipas…who was put to death” among them. That’s a big deal. It’s really cool, like, hey, these awful things are going on around you…. We understand how easy it is now to get drawn away or moved away from Christ – we have to say this is ok because it’s what everybody says, and I don’t want to offend anybody…. These guys didn’t do that. They stuck with Jesus. They didn’t deny their faith even though all these things were going on around them. Even though it might seem easy that a snakebite might heal you, they trusted in Him.

Keith:                   
Well, it’s like how sometimes people want to take things into their own hands. In our churches today, there’s no Christian culture in the world. Everything is in the realm held by, how does Paul say it in Ephesians 2? The prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2)? I imagine this was a really terrible things because I know when we have conversations with people about what the Bible says about things, people find great offense.

This isn’t a pastor, this isn’t a Christian, this isn’t some church guy, preacher saying, hey, I think the worldliness you are involved in is satanic. This is Jesus. He says that this whole idea there, whether it’s Zeus or Asclepius, what you’re dealing with here is Satan. This is heavy. This is not, oh, well, I just believe something different. Jesus says He is the only way and everything else is opposed to me. He ain’t playing here.

Jamie:                  
Let me interject here. I was having a conversation with a young man who had been talking to one of his buddies who claimed to be a Christian who said at the same time said he doesn’t believe everything the Bible says. Well, it’s either all or none. There’s no in between. I think me and you – or it might’ve been me and Kevin one, I can’t remember…but if there’s anything in the Bible that you’re not going to believe it would be the resurrection of Christ because that’s the most far-fetched thing, right? Jesus rose again. That’s the basis of Christianity. If you believe that, everything else is believable. So, with the Bible, it’s either all or it’s nothing. We can’t add. We can’t take away from the Word of God. He wrote it. All Scripture is breathed out by God. All of it. So, I just wanted to interject that before we move forward.

Keith:                   
I mean, the sword coming from His mouth is what He said. I think this is a very good example that sometimes – and I don’t even want to use sometimes because it sounds like I’m trying to make it more palatable – Jesus doesn’t speak on a basis of what’s going to make us more comfortable or happy or what’s going to fit in, He’s God. He’s the Creator. He’s the Author of life. He speaks and it is – or it ain’t.           

Jamie:                  
Yeah. So, there’s not your truth or my truth. Is that what you’re saying?

Keith:                   
We don’t have to say what I’m saying. The whole idea is what Jesus said. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me.” So, when He is talking here to the church at Pergamum and telling them what they’ve experienced and that He knows their living in a terrible place – that this is where the throne-shaped alter is, again where Satan dwells. Jesus tells them they’ve done well despite all of that, but that there’ve been casualties as well, which is I think that’s where you are headed next.

Jamie:                  
Yes. So, the very next thing He says, is but I have a few things against you. With Ephesus, He had one thing: they had lost their first love. With Smyrna, they had nothing. Now we get to Pergamum, and it’s like, hey, here are a few things against y’all. So, let’s go through these.

He says that there are some who hold to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites, to eat meat sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. What He’s talking about there is the story of Balaam. If you go back to Numbers 22-25, you’ll get the whole story. Balaam was this guy who was called a seer of the gods – kind of like a pagan divination expert.

Keith:                   
And just to clarify, I had heard Balaam – the story of Balaam and the donkey – preached many times in my childhood. I was a grown man before I read it fully for myself, which is on me, but Balaam was always treated like a hero in those sermons. Balaam was not of God’s people (Numbers 22:5–6). Balaam was not a prophet of the God (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11; Revelation 2:14). He was a mess (Numbers 31:16).

Jamie:                  
Mmm Hmmm. I firmly believe that he would have absolutely cursed Israel had God allowed him to (Numbers 22:12, 20–22; Numbers 23:11). So, that’s what you get when you read the story. You get introduced to Balaam. He comes and is asked to curse Israel (Numbers 22:5–6). He gets on his donkey, and there’s an angel in the way who is about to kill him (Numbers 22:21–23). The donkey just quits (Numbers 22:24–27). He beats the donkey (Numbers 22:27–28). Then the donkey talks to him; that’s where you get that whole conversation from (Numbers 22:28–30). That all happened to remind Balaam that God is in control and that he should do what He said (Numbers 22:31–35).

Keith:                   
It doesn’t matter where the money is, where the fame is, where the fortune is…. When the God speaks, the lowercase g gods have to bow in subjection.

Jamie:                  
Right. So, in looking at the oracles that Balaam gives, he gives three different ones, and in all three he ends up blessing Israel because the Lord will not allow him to curse them (Numbers 23:5–12; 23:16–24; 24:2–9). The first one was at a place that was known as the high places of Baal—a cultic center for the worship of Baal (Numbers 22:41). The second oracle takes place atop Mt. Pisgah, and so that is where all the heavenly omens were made or astrological observations were made—things like that, everything that people would have looked at during that time to see signs and things of that nature (Numbers 23:13–14). If that sounds familiar.

Keith:                   
It unfortunately does.   

Jamie:                  
The third place is on Peor, which is another cultic center of worship (Numbers 23:28). So, all three places he takes him, where Balaam tells him to meet him, are places of Baal—places that are against God (Numbers 22:41; 23:14; 23:28). What you end up happening is Balaam advises Balak to be friendly to Israel, share his women with them, things like that (Numbers 31:16; Revelation 2:14), and…

Keith:                   
And if you draw them in, you’ll destroy them from the inside out.

Jamie:                  
That’s right, and Israel ends up following along. By the way, you can check out Numbers 31:16 to see where Balaam tells him to be friendly with them and Numbers 25:1-9 you get this horrible story of Israel having sexual relations with these Moabites and eating meat sacrificed to idols. These Moabite women are encouraging them to do it. As we were just talking about before we got started, they make it all the way to the entrance to the tabernacle.

Keith:                   
One guy is planning on taking his Moabite cult prostitute right up inside the tabernacle to show Israel what’s up.

Jamie:                  
That’s right, and at that point, a plague had started because of what was going on. That is until Phineas drives a spear through the man and the woman and ends the plague. 24,000 Israelites are killed in this plague.

So, when Jesus tells the church there that they are holding to the teaching of Balaam (Revelation 2:14), Balaam taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the Israelites (Numbers 31:16). It’s like they were telling folks that they see they follow Jesus but add this or take away this (Galatians 1:6–9). We could name so many examples of this, but none of it is ok. If you are placing a stumbling block in front of people—placing something that is not biblically accurate—you are causing them to fall away (Romans 16:17; Matthew 18:6–7). I think that’s part of why James says that not everyone needs to be a teacher. You’ve got to be careful (James 3:1).

Keith:                   
It’s definitely why Jesus says you can’t serve two masters.

Jamie:                  
That’s correct. Especially when you’re teaching children. If you don’t know God’s Word and you’re not studying God’s Word, don’t teach children – don’t teach adults for that matter, but definitely don’t teach children.

Keith:                   
That’s another reason, and I know we said this in the first or second part of this study, if you don’t know, say, “I don’t know.” There’s no shame in saying that you have to look something up because you don’t want to cause somebody to stumble.

And I mean the issue here is you have two pictures. They could very well have that zeal of Phinehas—not saying go run people through with spears, but God Himself said that Phinehas was jealous with His jealousy (Numbers 25:10–13). You can dwell where Satan’s throne is. You can dwell where Satan dwells and hold fast to the name of Christ and not deny your faith even when people are getting killed (Revelation 2:13), or you can go the way of Balaam and go along to get along (Revelation 2:14; Numbers 31:16). I think there’s probably—and I’m definitely not welcoming terrible persecution—but when persecution sets in, those who have faith in Christ hold fast unto death, like we saw with Smyrna last week (Revelation 2:10), or they cut bait and fish. They either join the culture or go further into Christ. What he’s telling the church at Pergamum is that they have some folks playing with some stuff they don’t need to be playing with, telling them specifically to go back and test the Scriptures and see what happened to Balak and Balaam (Numbers 25:1–3; 2 Peter 2:15; Jude 11).

Jamie:                  
It didn’t work out so well. Specifically, what was going on during that time in Rome – to help make this understandable, is you’ve got – in order to join the guilds or unions like we were talking about in Smyrna, you would have the people in Rome and in Pergamum having to take a little pinch of incense and put it on the altar to affirm their loyalty to Caesar, the emperor. And that is spiritual fornication, obviously, because when you do that, you’re saying Caesar is lord. Then they would be able to have a job and things like that. So that’s what was specifically going on, but not only were they committing spiritual fornication, they were committing adultery, too. It says, “In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (v. 15), which we mentioned back in the letter to Ephesus was a group of people who believed in giving in to sensual pleasure, basically elevating what they want over anybody, anytime, whoever, whenever, type of thing – as long as it feels good to you, it’s good.

If it feels good, it’s good. That’s not the case because what feels good for 20-30 seconds is not always good for you. I think it’s pretty clear here that God has a design, God has a way, and specifically, God Himself – Jesus – is talking to these folks telling them that this is not they way He called them to be. Come to Him. Don’t go toward Balaam or Nicholas. Follow Him, not the world. You can’t serve both.

You start to notice a common thread here through these letters, and you’ll see it in the next one to Thyatira, is sexual immorality. Think about how this applies today with easy access to pornography. You know when I was coming up and computers first came out, we got one in our house, and I remember everybody at school saying you have to have a subscription to look at that type of stuff. They will talk about it. Now you just click on there and you can look at whatever you want. Pick your own category – whatever you like to see.

Keith:                   
At the time we are recording this, this is the week after Twitter, or X, decided to be a pro-porn platform, and the comment on that is, in the state of Mississippi as well in some other states in the United States, there’s been some legislature that was meant to make it more difficult for people to access porn so that people, especially in their formative years, aren’t building pathways in their brains looking at this stuff. Now, one of the big three social media platforms (out of the originals) is allowing people to be free to put porn on there. It is their right as American citizens – as part of their freedom of speech… but I guess the word from Jesus would be to those who have ears to hear would be to ask what rights do you have in Christ. It may be permitted by the government, but what honors Him? What glorifies Him?

This is the kind of crossroads they were at. It’s where we are right now.

Jamie:                  
That’s right, and there’s a lot more we could say on that. I guess we shall digress at this time.

Keith:                   
Because of the same opportunity that’s given to the church at Pergamum, if we’re going to talk about the things today, the same opportunity is offered to people today: repentance.

Jamie:                  
Exactly. That’s exactly what the next verse says. Repent! Man, if you’re addicted to sexual immorality type stuff, be it literally, physically, or just emotionally – whatever the case is, repent. Now does that mean that after you repent, you’ll never fall into that temptation again? No, it doesn’t. Then, you repent.

Keith:                   
What did John the Baptist tell the Pharisees? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8)?

Jamie:                  
That’s right. It’s constant vigilance. That’s part of sanctification, becoming more like Christ. He tells them repent or else He will come to them quickly and fight against them with the sword of His mouth. Look again, fight against them with the sword of His mouth. We just read in Revelation 19 where basically He just speaks a word.

Keith:                   
The ESV says, “war against them.” That word is what we’re alluding to.

Jamie:                  
One word and they’re done. That’s how serious it is. Repent. Otherwise, if you don’t, this is what is going to happen. Jesus is going to come quickly and take them out. I mean, there’s no nice way to say that, but it’s exactly what He’s saying here. And if there’s ever been anything to fear, it would be Jesus with a sword out of His mouth.

Keith:                   
He’s very effective in His warfare.

Jamie:                  
He is. 100% accuracy. And that’s real warfare, not video game warfare. It’s real life.

Keith:                   
This isn’t figurative. We’ve been talking about not being able to serve two masters. What Jesus is telling them – and us – is that you’re either of His Kingdom or of the kingdom of the world. That doesn’t mean anyone is going to lose their salvation, but sometimes we have these warnings from God’s Word that show us that it takes more than saying some words or “making a decision” or an emotional response and not confessing Jesus as Lord. Jesus being Lord means endure unto death. It doesn’t mean sinless perfection. It does mean bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. This is where the church at Pergamum was. They were at a crossroads. They either keep heading toward the throne of Satan, the side he is dwelling on or change. We’ll see when we get to Revelation 19 and 20…I think the words of the hymn by Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”: “one little word will fell him”. When Jesus speaks – that is when He says it is finished, nothing can stay His sword.

Jamie:                  
That’s heavy. Heavy.

So, after this admonition, we get the universal admonition: Let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. We asked at the beginning what the Spirit is saying to you now. Remember these letters are to us now as well as to these churches. Where are you at? Have we allowed stuff to come in that shouldn’t be there? Do we need to clean house, so to speak? And if you do, man, repent. Don’t be embarrassed of it. Don’t let your feelings of guilt hold you back. Repent.

Keith:                   
That’s right. There’s no condemnation on the other side of repentance, but only condemnation without it.

Jamie:                  
So then we get to our final promise to the one who conquers. Remember 1 John 5:4-5 there. The one who conquers being those who are saved.

He says He will give some of the hidden manna. What’s He talking about there? John 6:35 – Jesus declares Himself the Bread of Life. He gives salvation. He says He will also give the one who conquers a white stone with a new name inscribed on it that no one knows but the one who receives it. That’s cool. Now I’m going to tell you guys really quick that what the stone that has a new name that nobody knows. No, I’m not. It says nobody knows it. So again, if the Bible doesn’t give the answer, we’re probably not meant to know the answer.

Keith:                   
The one who receives it. I just think about the beautiful picture there of the new beginning, that clean slate – literally, in this case. And the God who saves is the God who adopts and the things that came before are done away with. He has borne the wrath we deserve. He bore our sin on the cross that we deserved. He adopts us and gives us a new name. We’re His.

Jamie:                  
Amen. And that white stone, I want to point out really quick. They used to hold the games in Pergamum back then, so win athletes would win, they would be given a white stone as part of the prize. That white stone was their admission ticket, so to speak, to the winner’s celebration after the games were over. So, you know, whether that is what Jesus is what Jesus is referencing here or not – I don’t know. Historically speaking, it’s possible. I just want to point out how cool it is. If you think about this, put together, if He’s giving us a white stone with a new name that no one knows but the one who receives it, that’s our admission ticket – our ticket to get into eternity with Him. He gives us salvation. He gives us eternal life with Him. He’s going to adopt us in like you said – as His children, as co-heirs with Christ. That is awesome. That is good news. And I like ending on good news because this letter did not have a whole lot of good news in it except in the end when Jesus told them that despite all the bad, they could repent and spend eternity with Him. That. Is. Good. News.

Keith:                   
Amen.

Well, we will continue this next time with the letter to the church at Thyatira. I hope that this has been fruitful for you and given you more than food for thought. Again, just to reiterate, admonitions are painful and uncomfortable, but the admonition to repent, just as Jamie said, is good news. Dear Sojourner, we leave you. Have a good week and God bless!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 2:12–17.

[2] Jamie – unless he states otherwise – uses the Christian Standard Bible (copyright © 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers).

“Faithful Unto Death: Jesus’s Letter to the Church at Smyrna” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

We’re continuing in our study of Revelation called The KING is Coming. We took a break for our He Who Promised is Faithful readings during Holy Week but are glad to be back at it. Today, we will be diving into Jesus’s letter to the church at Smyrna. Once again, I am thankful for Jamie Harrison and the opportunity to do this study together.

This week’s passage is Revelation 2:8-11:

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’[1]

Keith Harris:      
Greetings, Sojourners,

We are in the letter to the church in Smyrna, continuing our study of Revelation. Jamie, why don’t you remind us as you did in our last Bible study about the form of these letters – the five things that show up in each one.

Jamie Harrison:
Yes, that is correct. Each letter is going to have a salutation. In this letter, “Write to the angel of the church of Smyrna” (Revelation 2:8)[2] – the angel being, of course, the pastor, the messenger, the person delivering them the Word. Then, you’re going to have where Jesus will say something about Himself – His attributes. Then, there will be something about their works, some praise and admonition. Except in this church – Smyrna is one of two churches that does not have an admonition (correction, something to fix). Then, you’re going to have a universal admonition which is to anyone who hears, who has ears to hear – to listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. Finally, each letter will contain a final promise.

Keith:                   
Alright, talk to us about Smyrna. What does Jesus tell us about Himself here?      

Jamie:                  
He starts off by saying, “Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life” (Revelation 2:8). The letter to Ephesus referenced back to the description of Jesus in Revelation 1, and so does this one. In Revelation 1:17, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last…”; He continues to say, “I was dead, but look – I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys to death and Hades.” It’s really cool that Jesus keeps going back to what He’s already said – to almost repeat for emphasis.

Keith:                   
He’s doing it on purpose.            

Jamie:                  
Correct. He’s is the First and the Last which, like I said in Revelation 1, is a claim that He is God. He was there in the beginning as we know. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). So He was the First, and He will be the Last.

It’s also important to note that He points out again that He is the one who was dead and has now came to life because all of Christianity is a complete waste of time if He didn’t raise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). There’s a lot of dead people, but He’s the only one….  

Keith:                   
What is it that John Goldwater says? “Dead saviors can’t save.” 

Jamie:                  
That’s correct. You know, I was talking to someone the other day and – I apologize if this bothers anybody, but you know where people are like, You know that my dead relative was looking down on me today, or I was talking to them and they clearly gave me an answer. I know this is going to bother some people, but if you’re expecting some dead relative to help you with something, you’re [in a pickle]. I’m sorry, but when you take your last breath, you’re done. So, it’s important that we make a decision for Jesus before that happens….             

Keith:                   
…because He was dead and came to life – not was brought to life. He just stopped being dead (Revelation 2:8, John 10:17-18). Like Jamie was saying on the part of our relatives, it may seem to have someone we care about look from what we would describe as an afterlife, but we have something better than that: we have the God of the universe who was there at the beginning, pre-existed the beginning (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:17) – He’s going to be there at the end and continue eternally. He is the God who saves, the God who looks after (Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 121:3-5). He’s Emmanuel – God with us (Matthew 1:23). We shouldn’t be satisfied with lesser things (Psalm 119:37). Jesus is clearly superior to everybody and everything (Hebrews 1:3-4, Philippians 2:9-11).

Jamie:                  
That’s right.

After Jesus says this, He goes into telling them some things about themselves. He says, “I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9). Let’s touch on that real quick. When He says, “I know your affliction and poverty.” History tells us that Smyrna was a very wealthy town – very well-to-do. Why would the Christians there experience “affliction and poverty”? It’s simple when you look at it.

In order to work, you had to join a guild, which is like what we would call a labor union, right? Each one of those guilds back during that time, would have been represented by some god or goddess. In order to join, you had to worship that god or goddess. So as a Christian….             

Keith:                   
…almost like your dues….            

Jamie:                  
As a Christian, I’m not going to worship this god or goddess because that’s a false god. I’m not going to be able to join a guild, which means I’m not going to work because I can’t get a job. It wasn’t laziness – they couldn’t get a job. A lot of Christians ended up begging for food and things like that, but it’s because they were willing to suffer that affliction to follow Christ.

So, we ask ourselves the question of if someone comes to you at work and asks you to do something immoral (or whatever the case may be), are you going to do it to keep your job or say “no” and that whatever happens happens? Are you going to compromise your relationship with Christ to advance at the workplace? Or are you going to put Him first? These Christians here at Smyrna put Him first.

Then He tells them that He knows the slander of “those who say they are Jews and aren’t but are a synagogue of Satan”. He tells [the believers there] that they are about to suffer – that the devil is going to throw some of them in prison to test them, and they’ll “experience affliction for ten days”; He tells them, “Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

He kind of tells them exactly what’s about to happen. There’s this synagogue of “Jewish” people who are claiming to be Jews but in the biblical sense, they’re not.

Keith:                   
Ethnically, they are, right? But just as Jesus told the Pharisees on more than one occasion – you’re talking about your father Abraham but you’re of your father the devil. The fruit of your life is showing what you are more than your ethnicity is.

Jamie:                  
Mmmm…. This was happening. This synagogue was slandering them. They would be jailed normally about ten days. They experienced, obviously, persecution and things like that while in prison – sometimes to the point of death. But Jesus says, “Be faithful to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life.” So, what is the crown of life talking about? I think we probably know the answer to that, but let’s look at James 1:12. Again, we always want the Bible to speak for itself. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” So, it’s eternal life with Jesus.

You notice, you know, this book of Revelation a lot of times – when we look at it, we think it’s just a sign of what’s going to happen and all these different things and how bad things are going to be – and it is, but it’s not at the same time. The revelation is of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1). It’s about Jesus Christ. It’s to lead us to Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:17-18, 5:9-10). The whole central setting of Revelation is the throne room (Revelation 4:2-6). Everything centers around the throne room where God – the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit – is present with multitudes around them worshiping Him, praising Him (Revelation 4:8-11, 5:11-13). Right? As all of these things are going on.

There’s no admonition in this letter to Smyrna. There’s no this is what you’re doing wrong. They have it. They get it. They have a relationship with Jesus, and because of that relationship, they are putting off these other things and are following after Him. Because of that they’ll receive the crown of life.

Keith:                   
I mean, just that idea in and of itself: be faithful unto death. If you’re living in an area of the world where following Jesus means certain death, you’re going to be in less need of an admonition because if you’re know that following Jesus means certain death here on earth, you’ve counted the cost like Jesus said in Luke 14:27-28.

The idea there that “be faithful unto death, and I’ll give you the crown of life”, He doesn’t say when you die in prison in ten days or when you die in the tribulation; it’s for all of life. If you’re like John, who’s on the island of Patmos in probably his 80s or 90s – that just because he didn’t get martyred, he’s no less faithful unto death. He’s faithful until the time that God calls him home. That crown of life isn’t just for martyrs; it’s for those who are saved for all of life.   

Jamie:                  
You know, you’re talking about people who are being persecuted even to the point of death today…. Was it Richard Wurmbrand in that book we read[3]? They put him in a room – in a closet, basically smaller than a closet, and all four walls were nails. There was just enough room for you to stand. If you moved at all, you were going into these nails. They had him in that room for days on end. No food. No water. Nothing like that. Eventually, they would open the door and he would just collapse to the ground. They would defecate and make him eat it – urinate in his mouth, things like that….

Keith:                   
…beat his feet so much that he could never wear shoes again the rest of his life….             

Jamie:                  
Right. And not once did he waver. Not once did his relationship with Christ come into question. He continued to tell the guards about Jesus the whole time he was there. And eventually did get out. But what it did was it strengthened his faith. So, if there was any point, to all of these trials is that it strengthens our faith in God.     

Keith:                   
Speaking of, I had forgotten about this, but while you were talking…there was a guy named Polycarp. He was a pastor in Smyrna and a disciple of the apostle John. And at [Polycarp’s] martyrdom, when he’s about to be executed for Christianity, they gave him an opportunity to recant. We talked last week where Jesus gave the church at Ephesus to repent and remember the love they had at first – those who were going to execute Polycarp gave him an opportunity to repent and remember his love for the powers-that-be, His love for Jesus was more. He says,

“For eighty and six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. And how can I now blaspheme my king who saved me?”

They killed him for that, but Jesus’s own words here – and I don’t think that’s an accident – I mean, it’s more than ten days later, but I don’t think it’s an accident that Jesus told Smyrna this knowing full well that Polycarp and those in the immediate context living in the same situation as Polycarp – that they were faithful unto death.

Polycarp has a crown of life. John has a crown of life. And if we, in our churches today, are faithful unto death, then we’ll receive that crown of life. The proof’s in the pudding, so to speak.

Jamie:                  
It is. That pudding’s pretty good stuff…..

Just to finish this out real quick…. I always say real quick, and it always takes forever. I take that back.               

Keith:                   
It takes the time it takes.             

Jamie:                  
Just to finish this out, we have Jesus with a universal admonition, which in a word, you know, is let anyone who has ears to hear, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. What is the Spirit saying to us? He says, “To the one who conquers”. Remember 1 John 5:4-5 here. This is those who are saved, those who have a relationship with Jesus will never be harmed by the second death.

What is the second death you ask? What does he mean there? We’re going to jump ahead to Revelation 20, and I’m going to start reading in verse 11 and read to the end of that chapter:

11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is not a scare tactic by any stretch of the imagination. It’s explaining what the second death is. You might have died here on earth, but the second death is the one – it’s the one. If you have a relationship with Christ, you won’t experience the second death (John 3:16, 5:24). You will have a life everlasting with God the Father (John 17:3). If you don’t have a relationship with Christ, you will experience that second death, which – even with all of the lake of fire and all that – the punishment of hell is an eternal separation from God (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Matthew 25:41, 46). You’re never with Him again. You’re eternally separated from your Creator.

Keith:                   
And the ever-presence of His wrath.       

Jamie:                  
That’s right, but I think the people who are there will still blame Him – will still be angry with Him. So imagine living in eternal punishment, being angry the entire time. That’s the feeling it’s going to be. I can’t describe it. We’ve never been there. We don’t understand it. We don’t want to be there.

Sometimes, like right now, people will be like, now, let me invite you to come to know Jesus, but I don’t want you to come to know Jesus because you’re scared to go to hell. If you come to know Jesus, it needs to be because you were convicted by His Word and want to have a relationship with Him – and you want to love Him.

Keith:                   
How does Paul say it in Philippians 3:8? The surpassing worth of knowing Christ. That’s a far cry from the surpassing worth of not wanting to go to hell.

You think about different people you’ve heard talk. Well, I got married to so-and-so because they were the only person in my community or if I didn’t marry this person I’d have to marry that person. That’s not love. … The idea that you’re just pursuing one thing because you don’t want the other, that’s not it.

That’s not the image you get in Matthew 13:44-46 where Jesus is giving the parables of the man who is walking through a field and finds a treasure worth more than any treasure he’s ever seen. He immediately goes back to his house, cashes out all of his assets, and buys the field. He’s not willing for anyone else to find this treasure. The pearl merchant who, upon finding the pearl of great price, doesn’t haggle – doesn’t negotiate – he cashes out everything he has to buy this one pearl.

Jamie:                  
And that’s what these people in Smyrna did. They were willing to give up their jobs – the opportunity to own their house, purchase food for their family, things of that nature – for the sake of Christ.

Keith:                   
That’s one of the things that I wonder here, and I’m not trying to speculate. But He’s talking to them about how they were rich before Christ in a worldly sense. Now in a worldly sense they’re in poverty. Jesus reminds them that they are rich – that their life is in danger but they have Life. I would imagine some of them were in definite danger – not necessarily of martyrdom or execution but just in the ability to sustain themselves and live.

As we look at this to close it out, think about how we talked about Polycarp and Richard Wurmbrand. It reminds me of the perspective here – “the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11) – the idea that the closest to hell believers will ever experience is what they experience here on earth. That’s the greatest threat the world can give us – that it’s going to kill us, leads us to our greatest reward (Philippians 1:21-23, Revelation 21:4-5).

This reminds me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I’ve been reading through his Letters and Papers from Prison[4]…. There are times where he’d be aggravated that he had opportunities for the gospel and he’d repent and minister to this or that person. Everyone who was thrown into the concentration camps wasn’t Jewish ethnically. They weren’t even necessarily for the cause. If they Nazis wanted to just get someone out of the way, they had the camps for this.

Bonhoeffer, on the last day of his life, got up and preached. There was a guy there as a witness – a British intelligence officer kind of kept the Nazi guards at bay to let him finish his sermon. Then Bonhoeffer willing went with them – walked to his execution almost consoling the guards because – you know, you’d have to feel some kind of way when somebody’s looking at you and talking about the love of Christ, preaching the gospel and you’re going to be the one to kill him. And what he told those guards right before they took his life was: “This is the end, but for me, it is the beginning.”

Where so many face the second death, those believers in Smyrna, they face the beginning.

The tears they had for persecution were wiped away by the nail-scarred hands of their Savior whom they served unto death.

That’s good news.

Jamie:                  
Amen. 

Keith:                   
Well, Jamie, that about wraps it up for Smyrna. Sojourners, we’ve enjoyed our time with you today. Check with us next time as we look at the letter to the church at Pergamum.                

Thank you, and God bless.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 2:8–11.

[2] Jamie – unless he states otherwise – uses the Christian Standard Bible (copyright © 2018 by Holman Bible Publishers).

[3] Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ, Reprint. (Living Sacrifice Book Co, 1967).

[4] Dietrich Bonhoeffer et al., Letters and Papers from Prison, Reader’s Edition. (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2015).