“Those I love I also correct and discipline. Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me and turn back. Now pay attention; I am standing at the door and knocking. Don’t you hear? If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to visit with you and to share a meal at your table and you will be with Me.
“The one who conquers through faithfulness even unto death I will place next to Me on My throne, just as I Myself conquered and took a place of honor with My Father on His throne.
“Let the person who is able to hear, listen to and follow what the Spirit proclaims to all the churches.”
Chapter 4
After I wrote down these messages, I saw a door standing open in heaven and heard again the first voice that sounded like a trumpet.
A Voice: Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this. Immediately I was caught up in the Spirit, and I saw a throne that stood in heaven and One seated on the throne. The One enthroned gleamed like jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow encircled the throne with an emerald glow. Encircling that great throne with an emerald glow. Encircling that great throne were twenty-four elders clothes in white robes with wreaths fashioned of gold on their heads. Out of the great throne came fl ashes of lightning, sounds of voices, and peals of thunder. In front of the great throne, seven torches were ablaze, which are the seven Spirits of God. Also in front of the throne was a glassy sea of shimmering crystal.
a f f i r m
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2
r e a d + r u m i n a t e
Mark 4:26-34 (CEV)
Again Jesus said:
“God’s kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn’t understand how. It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.”
Finally Jesus said: “What is God’s kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? It is like what
happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.” Jesus used many other stories when he spoke to the people, and he taught them as much as they could understand. He did not tell them anything without using stories. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
r e f l e c t
“As we look back over His teaching we see Jesus taking all His lessons from life. He used parables. The parable shows that the worlds of matter and of spirit are akin and that the laws that govern one govern the other. The parable plants spiritual truth in the heart of the life process, the ordinary life process—some of it very ordinary.” E. Stanley Jones
d e c l a r e
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14
#14 Throw a birthday party for a prostitute.
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