The writer John describes an incredible vision in Revelation chapter 12 – He sees a woman in heaven, “clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child… Another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.” (Verses 1-3) The remainder of the chapter describes the struggles, in heaven and on earth between the dragon, the woman, God and the earth.
After the dragon was thrown out of heaven, John hears a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Verse 10) I find this description of Satan, the personification of evil to be very helpful- “the accuser of our brethren” as there seems to be so many instances of the negative voice, the reminder of guilt that is unhealthy and unproductive which come straight from Satan.
Reading Revelation a chapter a day is a wild experience! Life is pretty calm and placid around here, and I know that underneath the apparent peace there is great spiritual conflict, and I am reminded of this as I read this last book of the Bible. I want to live fully aware and engaged in all that is going on. It is a matter of faith for me to believe that God will guide me and keep me in the balance of awareness and perfect peace. Guard me from naiveté most Holy Lord. Lead me in thy righteousness. Use me as a servant leader to bear fruit during this brief life on earth, as I anticipate eternity in your presence.
Yesterday we had very good executive staff meeting, followed by other meetings including the Alpha steering committee and the final new member class. In that class I was privileged to lead in a time of commitment and special prayer around receiving and reaffirming the salvation and Lordship of Christ. I also spoke briefly to the choir inviting them to the Wesley Leadership experience. In the middle of the afternoon I completed a biannual flight review and the instructor signed me off for another 2 years of being an active private pilot.
My new Droid Razor Max was delivered yesterday, and I have successfully activated it. However, I do not yet have access to my contacts or previous text messages, which I hope to resolve today with a trip to the Verizon store. I have been trying this morning to get online information, to no avail. I have an unsettling feeling whenever I switch devices, that I might permanently lose information, or pictures, etc. Usually it works out. I can live with this unsettled feeling, it is part of change. I wish everything stayed the same and I did not have to learn new devices or transfer data. Life is always changing. It is good for me to experience these feelings about change, as they happen in every area, and most people have negative or resistant feelings about change.
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