Corona Devo 3092

Ahh, the white stone: I love it even before I can know it.

~~~

Do you like to be surprised when it comes to gifts...or are you a peeker?  

I'll take a box wrapped up tightly without any clues...anyday.  When it comes to gifts, I don't want a hint, I won't take a peek, and I don't want it early.  I will happily and willfully wait until it's time, and then I love the joy and excitement of unwrapping an unknown gift.

Not my husband, though: He's a peeker.  He likes hints.  He likes early gifts, and he is uncanny at "happening upon" or "walking in" on unwrapped presents that are for him.  

I'd rather not know, but he would rather know...when it comes to gifts.

Today I read about a gift that we have not yet received, and that we know nothing about, but I already know that I love it.  I love the white stone--whatever it is!  But, no peeking, and we can't receive it yet.

~~~

Are we living in the city where Satan has his throne? 
I would say yes. 

Unborn children are disposed of daily, as a matter of convenience.

Money and status rule many people's lives, instead of faith and God.

People are lovers of self and personal pleasure, instead of loving the Lord and serving others.

Are we living in the city where Satan has his throne? 
I would say yes. 

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the one with the sharp two-edged sword: (13) “I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. ~Revelation 2:12-13

~~~

Are we refusing to deny Jesus in a culture that always does?

Do we know an "Antipas"?  Did we know someone who was a faithful witness to Jesus...and was killed.  Martyred?  Murdered?

Knowing that this is the current culture and risk of following Jesus...are we remaining loyal to Jesus today?

These are difficult questions.  But our answer does not have to be complicated.

Yes!  Yes, we will remain loyal to You, Lord!

Refuse to deny Jesus, Friends and fellow soldiers in Christ's Army.  Refuse to deny Jesus, fellow footmen in God's brigade. 

The reward from our Lord, and the gift from our God is worth waiting for and worth remaining loyal for.

“Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. ~Revelation 2:12-17

Ahh, the white stone: I love it even before I can know it.

And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. ~Revelation 2:12-17

/known/.
Unlike any other. 
Even if we are married, Jesus knows us more intimately than our spouse.  
Even if we are a parent, Jesus knows us even more thoroughly than our dad or mom, who bore and raised us.

/a new name/.

What do we think that Jesus means, and is alluding to?

Perhaps, our greatest sin and shame... Wiped away, and we are renamed /without/ it being attached or associated with us anymore. 

Ahh, the white stone: I love it even before I can know it.

White stone.

Clean stone.

Pure stone.

I love you, white stone, even without knowing what you are.  

I love You, Jesus.  I love Your higher-than-our-ways plan to love and cleanse and relieve us of our sins and shortcomings and shame.  And one of Your ways...will be the white stone.

And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it. ~Revelation 2:17

So deep.  

So personal. 

So known... 

And yet still loved.  So loved.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  ~John 3:16

He gave his one and only Son for us. 

Will we remain loyal to Him in our cities where Satan has his throne?  Will we refuse to deny Him, even when faithful witnesses are martyred?

“I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to me. You refused to deny me even when Antipas, my faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan’s city. ~Revelation 2:13

If our answer is "Yes", then we will be so blessed to receive the white stone.

We can't know exactly what the white stone is, there's no peeking or hints...but we long for it, and we already love it.

Ahh, the white stone: we love it even before I can know it.

Blessings,

sarah

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