Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:14-22.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:14 (NIV) 
14  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
 
On verse 14:  In His message to the church in Laodicea, we learn 3 things about Jesus:
 
 –  Jesus is the “Amen”.  What does Jesus mean when He calls Himself “the Amen”?  “Amen” carries the meaning of agreement, affirmation and certainty.  When Jesus calls Himself the “Amen”, it means that everything that Jesus is and everything that Jesus does affirms and agrees with who God is.  Jesus is the One who gives us certainty about who God is and what He is like.  If you want to know who God is and what He is like, look at Jesus.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:7-13.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:7-13 (NIV) 
7  “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
8  I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

On verses 7-13:  The church in Philadelphia was going through a similar trial as the church in Smyrna, which was persecution from a group that claimed to be Jews but were not.  Jesus calls this group of persecutors a bunch of liars (v9) and, as He did in Revelation 2:9, “a synagogue of Satan”.  To the suffering church in Philadelphia, Jesus expresses His love in several different ways:

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 2:1-7.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Revelation 2:1 (NIV) 
1  “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:

On verse 1:  Starting in chapter 2 John records 7 messages from Jesus that he is told to send to 7 churches in the province of Asia.  The first message is for the church of Ephesus.  Notice how the message is worded “To the angel of the church in Ephesus”.  Who is this angel?  The Greek word for angel here is angellos, which is mostly translated in the New Testament as “angel” but is sometimes translated as “messenger”.  According to some scholars, the two main possibilities for what the “angel” is referring to are: (1) the “angel” refers to an actual angelic being who supernaturally watches over the church; or (2) the “angel” refers to the pastor of the local church, who practically serves as God’s messenger to the church and who would likely be the one to receive and read out to the church this particular message that John had written.