Why Should You Listen To God?

Because he is God!
He is Holy,
He is righteous,
He is just,
He made you,
He can break you,
He blesses you,
He lets you learn,
He is trustworthy,
He is all powerful,
He is safe,
He is friendly,
He is all knowing,
He is Everywhere,
He is Vengeful,
He is mighty,
He always as been,
He is,
He always will be,
He gave Jesus,
His Word says to,
He made the law,
He is the judge,
He is the jury,
He loves you,
When you listen to Him to you will hear Him and your life will be what it is meant to be.

Student Given an F for Religious Art.

This day in age students have to watch what they express when dealing with religion and their beliefs that accompany them. A student at Tomah High School was given an F for their work when drawing a landscape. The assignment barred three things...
1.Blood
2.Violence
3.Sexual Content
4.Religious Icons and such.
Let me establish this, I agree that he should not have been given an A. To be completely honest the F was probably the right call. However this is in black and white. There is a grey area that needs to be addressed. Why was this student given an F when the students who doodled the other two pictures above were given an A? I am expecting someone to say, They could just be fantasy creatures which would mean that they are not religious. The assignment was suppose to be of a LANDSCAPE! How are these other two drawings of landscapes? These two kids were given an A! There is no way to argue with that. These two students also deserved an F. Not an A.
Second off I have to ask why religion is not a personal choice? It is put into the same category with blood, violence, and sex? Blood, violence, and sex can be offensive if done without any form of expression. It can also be art. Art sometimes offends people. Get over it! John 3:16 and a cross should not offend anyone. If it does then maybe you should ask yourself if you are too sensitive. God loves you and send His son to die for you so that you can live. I am failing to see how that offends people.
Third,we do have rights to practice and display our religious views. This could a be violation of it but I would say that it was more of the student being a little too stubborn. I would love to see prayer in school, creation taught, and understanding of religious beliefs from everyone. However I see no reason that this kid could not have just drawn the landscape. Do your assignments. That goes for everyone. Atheist, Christian, or what ever you are. This issue could have been handled alot better by the student and the teacher should have been none biased to this issue.
Finally in all fairness. The teacher gave the student the chance to redo the assignment and the student refused. I find no reason why the student could not do this. Suppression of religious beliefs is wrong and more so when it only applies to specific beliefs. The big issue should be that the teacher allowed A's to be given to other students that who disregarded the assignment but failed another who had at least had some landscape involved.

I finally picked my candidate.

The primary race that we have watched unfold in front of us this year has been unbelievable! I am very pleased to have been able to see such a tight and hard fought battle. Democrats have been beating on each other in a way that reminds me of how Rocky used to punch meat in the factory freezer. I have seen enough now to know which way I will go.

You see, I like the fact that our economy seems to due better under the Democrat party. I am not a big fan of their standards on abortion and being so easy on drug dealers but I am in favor of the economy growing. This race has been tight. I tried not to pick a candidate in an ignorant manner and I believe that I have done a pretty good job of researching and looking past the media. The media is favoring Obama and I mean big time. I believe that they should remain neutral but that just won't happen. So I have looked past them as much as possible.

With the smoke that the Democrat race has supplied it was not easy to look for the proper candidate. After reading statement after statement, watching video after video, and reviewing voting records throughly I have come to the conclusion that I must switch my political view, at least for this race, and endorse McCain.

I feel that McCain is not the best man for the job but that he is the best candidate running in this election. The choices are not to great. I waited as long as I could hoping that one of the Democrats would pull me in their direction but that never happened. This one came down to morals and beliefs. While I feel that our economy would be better off with a Democrat I cannot endorse Hillary or Obama with any confidence that they are going to lead us in the right direction.

Sign Then Drive....

There is no doubt in my mind that this past Sunday every church saw a spike in attendance. We ran out of bulletins, people had to find somewhere new to sit to accommodate the visitors who arrived before Sunday School was out, and people who you have not seen since the third Sunday in March of last year have now shown up to shake hands, shout amen, and drop alittle money in the collection plate. I assume that you, assuming that you attend church regularly, witness something similar to what I did.

As I was sitting there it I could help but to think. Come to think of it, every time of year that we witness an attendance spike I wonder why? Why so many people chose to flood the church on Easter and Christmas then disappear? I know that if I want to see them in church again it will be alittle while before Jesus has a birthday or celebration of his resurrection. I wonder to myself,"What do they get out of being here twice a year?" Does it seem to them that if they show up twice a year that their commitment to God is renewed for that year? Do they mistake the church for a fashion show? One in which they go to Sears and buy that dress that they probably won't ever wear again? You know that dress that is called the Easter outfit all year until Easter next year when another one is needed! Guys we do is too!Don't you have an Easter suit? You better get on if you don't!All the colors of spring overflow from the sanctuary. It reminds me of a Crayon box that has had a cardboard cross cut and pasted to the top of it.

Don't get me wrong. I know that this may be one of those post that gets and an anonymous comment telling me something like, "God know whats in my heart so He knows that I love Him!" My point is what do people get out of it? Can you get anything from showing up twice a year? There is a commercial that is on TV alot right now. It is a car company that is offering Sign Then Drive! Basically if you have good enough credit you can come in, look at car, if you like it sign the paperwork, and drive off with no payments for a while. How does this relate? Let me share with you my second thought....

What if instead of coming in and just looking at a car you actually signed then drove off with it? See where I am going? No? Okay here it goes. Instead of coming into church to shake hands, sing, and clap why not come into church with the intentions to take Jesus with you! All you have to do is Pray Then Walk! Pray for Jesus to be your savior & buddy and walk out with Jesus beside you. As opposed to walking in and feeling religious for a little while. Why not engage into a loving and fulfilling relationship with God? Don't just come in and look pretty. Come in and get charged up to take Jesus back out of those doors and let him live inside of you and through you. You have been approved! You have this co-signer who is willing to pick up your debt everyday! You have nothing to lose! Just Pray Then Walk!

Do What He Says!

I was checking out the "Ten Commandments" on ABC tonight and about the time that Joshua fled and found Moses in the wilderness, it hit me. What if we really don't listen? What if Moses never went to the bush that never was consumed by the fire? What if he was too concerned with the way he looked after coming down from Mt. Sinai, to complete what God had given him to do! Things we do or don't do that could and usually do have serious effects on our lives and those around us face us all. We just have to do what God says if we are to make the right decisions.

If Moses never went up the mountain then he would not have found out God's plan for him. Moses no doubt knew that God had a plan for him. He felt the desire that we all feel. We are pulled to wondering what is going on, who is really behind the wheel. By listening Moses found the answers that he sought. He meet God. I remember the day that I was saved I heard the call that I had several times yet ignored the voice that called me everytime . I went that day to silence the guilt and the hopelessness that I had inside of me. Moses had to do the same. If he had chosen to run from the calling of God; I believe fully that Moses would have eighter gone crazy or lived a life in which he was miserable and confused till the day he died.

When I went to the alter I came up different then when I went down. Yeah I know that most of you are expecting to here me say,"I was a new creature", and I was, but I came up with tears down my face and so many mixed emotions. Moses came down from the mountain with a faced the let everyone that he had just seen God. Hair that reflected what he had seen. If Moses would have came down and realized that he was different then when he went up and it freaked him out then he would have done what I thought about doing when I got ready to get up. He would become afraid of what people would say about him and might back down from what God called him to do. Fear is crippling to a Christian and no doubt that Moses could have been so afraid that he would have denied to do anything else that God elected him to do( had he been concerned with his looks more than God).

Without obedience to what God said then His chosen people would have to wait for some one else to be elected by God to save them. People would have died a senseless death everyday due to the rule of the Egyptians over them. If we do not do what He says then we will no doubt be kept in the same bondage that the Hebrew salves were and die after living a non purpose driven life. Listen and obey what God says to you. It is the keys to freedom and purpose.

Is Obama Slandering Christ?

Splinters of Silver wrote a piece questioning Obama's stance on Christ. To read the story click here.

My Voice........

Praise God for I am blessed!
My eyes are tired and burn from lack of sleep,
Praise God I love my life,
My throat is raspy and I believe I am getting sick,
Praise you God for my health!

God my job is about to be cut,
I know that you will provide me with a new one.
My daughter is healthy and I am pleased,
Because of you she is perfect.

Praise you God for all you have done,
Thanks for the family,
Thanks for the house,
Thank you for the salvation.

I see my friends who are bitter and sad,
They don't see you are in charge!
Don't be angry and allow me to shine to them,
Let me be a beacon of light.
Don't let me fail you Lord!
My honor is great,
I am afraid everyday of not being holy.
I don't pray like I should,
I don't praise you all day.
I am ashamed to be depressed,
Because you have blessed me so much.

If I am afraid then you will deliver me,
If I am cocky you will crush me!
Thank you Jesus!

Blessed!

My plans were to post on Friday. I have given up on blogging everyday for now and am content with blogging a couple of times a week. I was planning to post on Friday but due to the fact that I am now a Dad that is least of priorities. I am going tp e taking a short(2 days to 2 weeks) break on post. This is due to a need to of being a new dad.My daughter was born on Feb. 14, 08 at 8:51 pm . Get this. She weighted 10lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long! One big baby! So don't think that I have gone awol. Just taking a few days off to realize my blessing@

I am ANGRY!!!!!

I was going around from blog to blog, reading some good post and just have some much fun that I felt like my house should be home to the GOP(Grand Old Party). Then all of a sudden I was angered. Beyond belief. I have never been this disappointed at any web site in my life. This is the website of a church! A church! This came from people who claim to love God. A bunch of scripture quoting un-compassionate thugs. Yeah, I am writing angry.

I have never said this about any person or Church before that claimed to be Christian, but there is a first time for everything, They are not Christians! You will know them by their Fruit! That fruit is Peace, Hope, Understanding, Acceptance, Help, and Love! Not hate! My God is not a God of hate! He does not hate you! He does not hate gays! He does not hate killers, nor liars, nor any sinner under the sun! He hates SIN! SIN not the PERSON!

This my friends is the reason why so many people say that God is dead! They say that He doesn't care! They call us bigots, hypocrites, lairs, fake , and all that other fun stuff you have heard your entire life. There is a reason for this!

Westboro Baptist Church this is looking at you! Put yourself under the microscope and see what you are! I am hurt, I am stunned, I am betrayed, I am more upset than I have ever been!

People who don't know God please do not think that this is what we are all about! We want to be your brothers and sisters. If you have been hurt by a church like this one then please forgive us. We should have watched better and gave fair warning! Not all people who say they are Christians really are.

The Goths!

These are from a close friend's My Space page. I absolutely love these pictures! God loves every one and every one He loves equally. I think that the stating of faith that the Christian Goths display is fantastic(not just words but through actions). Which is why I wanted to share some of these photos with you.
Just to be honest here. I am still not to sure that I 100% understand the Christian Goth Community but I am however able to understand that they work with us to spread the Word. I try not to be too judgmental and try to remember that God made us all different. Just because I don't understand some one does not mean that I should not accept them!

God- Good, Bad, or Neutral.

I was speaking with a fellow college student of mine last night. He is a good guy. He seems to have a good amount of knowledge and can explain things fairly well. The only thing is that he tends to think that you know nothing about everything so he tends to cover some things that are not entirely needed. We had our first theological talk last night before class. He had some interesting views. He attends church, told me he had accepted Jesus, and that he believes 100% in God. Somehow our conversation managed to go astray and he began to share some of what he thought about the Bible and the character of God. Here what we spoke about...

1. Evolution- Now him being a Christian, it was kind of odd for him to be standing up for evolution. Not completely unheard of but rare. We talked of David and Goliath. The fact that he believe Goliath not be a giant but just a really tall guy seems reasonable. After all isn't that what a giant is? A really tall person. He stated that Jewish people were much shorter back then. I accept that. Remains that have been found confirm that. He used that a platform to say that we could have evolved. He believes that while we were not a distant relative of apes we were probably just really short and hairy. Basically we evolved from 2 foot tall midgets that were really hairy. Now let me establish this...This is not the main focus of the blog but what was leading up to the main subject in which we didn't see eye to eye.

2. The Bible was probably written by a mad man. We have no way of knowing for sure who wrote the Bible. It is more logical for him to believe that a mad man wrote the Bible about God. Now why anyone would be a Christian and believe that the Bible was written by a mad man is beyond me.

3. Jesus was good. Well we can all agree on that. That statement however lead to the final topic of our discussion.

4. God is neutral. He believe that God is not just. He believes that God commits enough good to be called good but enough bad to be called bad making Him Neutral. He believes that the Egyptians being flooded when they crossed the sea is bad act on God's part. He believes that the destroying of huge cities and groups of people by God is wrong. He believe that making everyone speak a different language is wrong. Now he believes that God has done some great things. He compares them and gets the conclusion that God is not good, or bad, but neutral.

I see things much differently here guys. God is just. Yes you have heard that all your life. He is a fair God. We have penalties to pay for our disobedience. We have to face the music. When we disobey and are punished for it we cannot say that God is wrong. We have to face what we caused. God has laid down the law. We have strict guidelines on what we can and cannot do. Justice will be delivered. He does not just kill people for no reason. He always has a reason for what He does. To find it you need only to look back at His word. His word tells us that the Egyptians were told to let the slaves the go. They went after the Hebrews(slaves) with the intent to kill them. God protected His children. He devoured those who sought to destroy His chosen people. This is the way it is. If you saw a sign that said bridge out and yet you drove over it only to fall to your death, could you say that those who put up the sign where not good? You have to listen to God and obey Him other wise there will be direct consequences. You may not always see them has clear as you will at other times(like with the Egyptians) but for every time you do not listen to God you will be punished and it is just. Because God is good and just.

Is it wrong to rip CDs or download the wrong way from Lime Wire?

I have a buddy who is in the music industry. He is a Christian. He does not pay for music he uses. Never has. He borrows cds from friends and then rips to his collection or he uses Lime Wire and downloads his music for free then goes through all the copying, burning and sharing. I have never done this through Lime Wire or any other place. I don't honestly know what the difference is between downloading them illegally or the legit way. I just pay for my music then listen to it(usually through iTunes). He has stated that he knows it is illegal. He actually told me how he has always done it and got by with it.
My question is how is this seen in the eyes of God?! It seems that we download or get free music without paying the artist and think it is okay. Would you go into walmart, grab a cd, then walk out with it? I hope not! Stealing is stealing in my eyes. The "everyone does it defense" does not hold up in the court of law nor does it before the throne. Go buy your music. Look at it has another way to separate yourself from the world.

Make a Joyful Noise Unto God. (Splinter's of Silver)

The following is an piece of an article written by Splinter's of Silver. It is a brilliant post and all Christians should take a look at this one....
"The thing I would like to ponder is the idea of children verses adult singing specials in the church. In fact, I’ll just come right out and ask the question:

Why do we accept and applaud a child that sings a special, though it may be off key, but seem to dare not let an adult sing that does not have the “voice of angels”?"

It goes on to cover an issue that I had previously not even thought of. Go read it.

Should Christian Couples Have Children?Swap Blog

When I was writing the last post it reminded me of a post I read at a better blog. Yes, yes Swap Blog. 99.9% of the blogs out there are composed of better writers, thinkers, and story tellers than I could be. Anyway here is a segment of the post they posted awhile back. I suggest you finish reading this one....

Marriage and kids

Are Christian couples compelled by God to have children? That question seems to arise a lot in today’s world, so what are the feelings of the Christian blogosphere on this?

God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman, honesty hurts sometimes people. He also ordained marriage to be a means of procreation........(more)

Soon to be.

In a short amount of time my life will change. The first major change in a man's life come with the unity of marriage. The males world goes upside down and inside out. All of our priorities change. We go from watching Sports Center to listening to Rachael Ray cook eggs benedict 24 different ways. We go from being able to stay u all night playing xbox to staying up and watching lifetime.
More importantly we go to not caring so much about the xbox or Sports Center. We start to care about different aspects of our life. We want to get our lives in order. We cannot do that if we are up all night dominating Madden. It just can't coexsist. We have new proritys. Then once we feel like we are begining to take control of the new phase of life....We have kids!
When I think about kids I think about panic, money, schools, do I have enough space, can they come out potty trained, how did this happen, what am I going to do!?!?! It can be frustrating. These are what I thought when I found out I was to be a dad. Now it is getting closer and I cannot help but to wonder. Why worry? This is going to happen. How much distrust in God do I show by not displaying my faith in Him to provide. Yeah me and my wife are young. Yeah we had a five year plan for children. Yeah it wasn't meant to go down like this. Well it is though. No more five year plan. No extended time to prepare for all this finacally. No way out. Stiaght forward and faith we must approach this. God is in complete control. I know this. Now I must show this.
We look for foward to the birth of Annalise Elizabeth! We know that God made big plans for all of us. No matter what our size or age, have a part in God's everlasting plan. The works of God extend beyond the molten rock, the trees, the sky, and the stars. They extend to all of us. We are the works of God! His most treasured works! So a child birth should never bring concern. It should always be a great thing. When a child is born every dad is proud of what they "made"! Do you think that God is any different! Our loving heavenly Father rejoices in child birth! No you won't find that in those words in scripture. Maybe it is some more of my bad theology. I don't think so.
Soon to be. A work of God is about to be revealed in my life. I get to watch this work come into the world. I am excited and blessed for the opportunity that God has given me.

The Journey-From SWAP BLOG

THE JOURNEY

Lift your head see the end of the road is near.
Taking the road less traveled is farther away from home,
But when the journey is over;
You’ll know it was worthwhile.
Ask the one’s that have gone on before.
Don’t lose faith.
You’ll make it home.
This battle is not the whole war.
Go on, you’ll make it.
Set your eyes on the prize.
You can’t run-away now, there is no escape.
Shed the skin of your past.
Spread the wings of your future.
In this race we’ll never win,
If we fail to begin.
Off with the old.
On with the new.
The war the race will be over soon.
Jesus will guide you home.

Visit Swap Blog @ http://www.team-swap.com/wordpress/

Natural Law

Natural Law- God's or nature's law that defines right from wrong and is higher than human law.

I have this new class for this term. American Government. Now I am not a too smart when it comes to the government and our policies. I even thought that we were a democracy or republic (I know nothing about our government, sad but true)! I never would have thought that we are considered a democratic-republic! The best of both worlds! That was sort of rabbit chasing, let me get back to the point.

The thing that caught me off guard when I started Blue Collar Blogger was the fact that atheist dominate the blog-a-sphere! I came from a really successful blog that was established by those who write much better than I can but I enjoy Blue Collar Blogger. I was stunned at the fact that for the first few months those who came to visit were close to 90% atheist. I had one debated that America has never been a government that place God has their head until that last 50 or 60 years. I knew this was a lie but I had no way of proving it. Until I was enrolled in my American Government class.

The very first thing that caught my mind was

NaTuRaL LaW

Don't worry I am learning more than just natural law! I read the definition(see top) then put it in my own words!

Natural Law- God's law is supreme! God's created nature and controls it! That means that God's law always dominates! No other law is more important. Even man's law! Because God made man!

The framers knew that God should be their driving force. The one who judges right from wrong. Even if we don't agree with it! It is the way it is. God's in charge. He is right and He has laid down the law has to what is right and what is wrong! Let try to remember Natural Law! God is right!

The writer's of the constitution knew that God was the one who could sort right from wrong. They made it clear in the constitution and several things they wrote. The nation at one time was a God fearing nation. People lived by God's law. The law-less are now a huge influence on pop-culture. Sex sales! Money is life! Drinking is for those with class! Foul language is a vital element to self expression! Do what you like! It is pure anarchy. People have turned from God! We live for ourselves. Natural law is now an option in America and everywhere else! Bring God back to America!

Will you be there?

This is it folks! It has all come down to this. The final game of the year! 4th and goal from the twelve yard line. The Commanders are down 21 to 17. Two seconds left on the clock. This one was all but wrapped up. Now the Commanders are knocking on the door. If they get this they win. They will enjoy the spoils of victory. The glory will become theirs!
Here comes the snap. The QB rolls out to the left, he has had such a great day. He looks. No one is open. Here comes the pressure. He makes one miss! He spins past another! He rolls back to the right HE SEES AN OPENING! IT IS CLOSING FAST! JESUS IS OUT IN FRONT! HE HAS A BLOCKER TO LEAD THE WAY.HE POINTS AT JESUS To BLOCK THE DEFENSIVE END! HERE COMES THE LINEBACKER! BOOM!!!! WHAT A HIT! Did he get in? Did he make it? The line judge says no! The Commanders lose! If only he had let Jesus lead the way and take out the linebacker. He didn't trust his blocker to lead him to victory. What a shame. He fell short with inches to go. The senior in his last game made a bad call.
Every body has to make a choice. This may be the worse comparison I have ever done but it is still true. Let Jesus lead. Follow Him! Nothing good will ever come out of us following our own ways or trying to tell Jesus where to go. It will never work. It will get us into serious trouble. The road is straight and narrow. Just follow Him. It is not has hard has some people make it out to sound. Follow HIM!

Revelation 20:4-6 NLT

Here we go again. It is taking me longer than I would like to be able to blog but we do what we can, right? So without any more wait, lend me your eyes and thoughts so that I may put them into a state of non-conscious. I am going to go after the next three verses the same way I approached the first three. With has much detail that the Lord gives me and will try to use many cross references to back up everything.

So in the first three verses we saw four key things to remember....

1. An angel has gone down to the bottomless pit with a "chain and key"(death and a burden). Rev.20:1

2. The Angel captured the beast. He will be bound like this for 1,000 years!Rev.20:2

3. Those who take part in the first resurrection will be priest of God and reign with Him for 1,000 years! :) Hope you are there. Rev.20:3

4. Satan will be getting released. :( Rev.20:3

That is the main focus of the first three verses. Now to dig into verse 4...

"Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Revelation 20:4

Now we see thrones! What are they for? Who is on them? Why are they there? To find this answer we will look back into Revelation alittle bit.

"The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him." Revelation 11:16

Now before I say what I am about to let me specify this.I try not to put my brain into translating the Word of God because my thinking is corrupt(just like yours and everyone else). However I am not able to find a cross reference on the 24. However it jumps out to me that it(this the Theology of Travis) might/could/maybe be the leaders of the "12 tribes"(Genesis 49)! The other 12 could be...the Apostles? 12 and 12 equals 24 right? Makes sense. Remember that this is my stinking thinking though. Take it, leave it, or challenge it.

These 24 have been given the authority to judge. Judge who? Later in this chapter we learn that God judges us. So who do they judge? Probably nobody. Thats right. Look at the verse again. It never says that they are judging anyone. They have the authority to but it never says that they do. Maybe they are maybe they are not. Once again I cannot find a reference has to what they are judging. By looking at later in this chapter you can see that God judges us. So we can say that they do not judge us. We simply don't know what or who they are judging.

Now we see the souls of all who were killed for being faithful to Christ. Those who turned down the mark that the beast wanted to put on them, or worship the statute were tortured, beaten, and murdered. Rev.13 However those who do not receive the mark are rewarded. They get to reign with Jesus for their faith in Him. They take part in the true life. The life that we are intended to live. An everlasting life. A life of peace, hope, and love. A life with Jesus. Here are a few scriptures that tell you about true life Matt.10:39, 16:25, 18:8-8, 19:16-17, 19:29, 25:46, and 27:52 Only those who follow Christ and trust in nothing else will find life. Narrow road folks.

Something to remember here is that it is not a life like you and I now know. It is eternal, pure, painless, and fantastic. Do not get it confused. It is different.

"This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)" Revelation 20:5

So there is two resurrections. One of life. It is the one where the people will be able to reign with Jesus. The other is without a doubt the most depressing thing I have ever seen, read, or imagined. Those who do not get resurrected in the first resurrection will miss out on being with Jesus. They don't get this thousand years, and because they were not on the narrow road, they don't get to spend eternity with Jesus. They never get to see Jesus in His truest form other than when He is on His great throne and on the verge casting them into the darkness that they have chosen. I know of no other sadness that should grieve you like this should. The lost are going to be lost forever. No take backs. It is a choice that they have to make for keeps.

"Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years." Revelation 20:6

Now here we are at the conclusion of this post. It is a simple one. We (those who have accepted Christ) are blessed. We are going to made holy. Not the Holy that we try to live has but the true "Holy." Faultless! Standing side by side with God. Nothing can touch us. We will stand with Him for one thousand years has His representatives. His chosen people. No sin, no Satan.Nothing can possibly compare to the blessing that we are given in Jesus Christ. Be thankful. If you are reading this then be thankful. Not everyone will stand beside the Lord. Be thankful that He broke you enough to be for you to see Him. Realize that you are blessed.

Here are the key points that we covered in these verses.......

1. Those who do not worship or accept the beast are blessed with life!

2. There are two resurrections. One of life and the other (in contrast) of death.

3. We are blessed!

So click the comment tab below feedback on this one. If you think something needs to be covered more than cover it! Spread the Word!

Revelation Chapter 20:1-3

Do you love The Book of Revelations? I do. I spent quite a while researching it and learning it. However it has been a while since I have talked about it. So to keep from getting rusty I am going to give a little breakdown of one of my favorite chapters. I am only going to do verses one through three right now. The reason for that is simply that it would take a short book to do one chapter in Revelation. Lets take it slow and K.I.S.S.(keep it simple stupid-geared toward me not you)!

"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit[a] and a heavy chain in his hand." Revelation 20:1

First thing I want to point out is the words "bottomless pit". What is that? Is it the same has hell? Have you ever thought about that? Here are some common names for hell that you will find in the Bible and where you can find them at....

Luke 16:24 this flame
Matthew 13:42 furnace of fire
Matthew 18:8 everlasting fire.
Matthew 3:12 unquenchable fire.
Jude 1:7 eternal fire
Matthew 25:46 everlasting punishment
Jude 1:6 lake of fire
Mark 9:47 Hell Fire
Luke 16:28 Place of Torment
Matthew 22:13 Outer Darkness
Matthew 25:46 Everlasting Punishment

So we see that their is not just one name for hell. It has been called many descriptive things that help to define it. Now in order to find the answer to question like what exactly is the pit you do a cross reference. This is the logical why to understand the Bible. Compare the scriptures and find out what else is said about it.

" Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." Isa 14:15

So the pit is in hell! Some believe that it is in a separate region of hell. They believe that the bottomless is a separate part of hell that is reserved only for satan and his demons. My theology tells me that hell is hell. Be in a different region or not it is still hell. If the people are separated from satan and his demons , then so be it. I am looking forward to not finding out first hand. Hell is hell.

There is mention of a key here. What is the key and who holds it?

"I am the living one. I died, but look I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. " Revelation 1:18


Christ is defined has holding the keys to death and the grave. So He is the one who gives the key to the angel. He give the angel the key of death! Now with this key comes another object. A chain! A burden! We see that has symbolized with the heavy chain.Where? Lets compare other passages that deal with chains...


"The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord."
Ezekiel 34:26-28


"The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate."
Acts 12:5-7

So chains represent slavery and bondage. They are restricting and they are punishment. So this chain is severely bad news for someone. It means that some one is about to get into bondage. However there is more two it. Lets check it out.

"He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years." Revelation 20:2

We see they chains used here on the dragon-that old serpent, the devil! He puts the devil into slavery! The devil is in punishment! Yes,yes the old defeated one is bound up for a thousand years. Whats going on for these thousand years? Lets cheat and look ahead a few passages...

" Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.
The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while." Revelation 20:2-3

Oh my! Imagen this...

One Thousand years on this earth with no satan! No tempter! Just peace! Life with Jesus! Ever have one of those days where the bird singing doesn't constitute you slinging your bowl of oatmeal out of the window at the harmless singing bird perched on the branch?! You know that day. When you are just happy! Everything is great. People seem so nice and fragile that you may let some one pull out in front of you! Maybe two! One of those days! Picture that everyday. Picture Jesus being right there. For one thousand years. All of God's children will stand beside him and sing...."Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" WOW! If that doesn't excite you, you need to go check your pulse. That is exciting stuff! We are talking about Jesus and us worshiping Him, beside Him!

One Thousand Years without any sin! Just love! He is gone for now. In that pit that we discussed earlier. Now picture this culture shock. Here you are! Enjoying peace on for the first time since sin took place in Adam and Eve. Then after 999 years, 364 days,23 hours, and 59 seconds of peace and love, in the next second it will all change. If I have learned anything about the Lord it is that He that keeps His word! When He says something will happen it will. When He says when it will happen it happens then! Sure He leaves some mystery to be discovered but He has always been true to His Word. When He says one thousand years, He means a thousand years!

So here we are in this peace and love and then Boom! Here is satan again! Unleashed after one thousand years of bondage. He will no doubt be mad and certain to re-establish the chaos that He created for the last 6000 plus years. He is back! Why must he be unleashed? Why doesn't God leave Him there? That my friend is another post. Coming soon however!