Author: BJ Armstrong

Revelation 19

In Revelation 19, Jesus is called:

• “Faithful and True” (v.11)
• “The Word of God” (v.13)
• “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (v.16)

His names reveal who He is and how we experience Him. Yet even with all the names we know, there is still a mystery about Him. Revelation says He has a name written that no one knows but Himself (v.12). And even if we knew it, could we fully understand it?

Many of His names describe what He does for us:

• Avenger — He fights the battle against the enemy.
• Rescuer — He pulls us from the grip of evil.
• Conqueror — He defeats the beast and overcomes all opposition.
• Just Judge — He deals righteously with sin and unrighteousness.

His names aren’t merely titles; they are revelations of His character and His work.

The question for us is: What do you call Him?

Psalms 103

Last week, a friend reminded me of the benefits of a gratitude journal.  “Do it daily,”, she insisted.  It will change your life!

I believe that.  It will.  Gratitude re-focuses our energy, producing better results.  It’s been studied and documented, proven to be real.  Here is the formula:

Gratitude + Action = Results

“Shoot, that’s easy!  I’m going to try that,” is my response.

So, I do it.  And it works…mostly.  Something is still missing.  I don’t understand.  If I am grateful, my attitude has improved and I am getting better results, why is my life still dry?  Why do I feel just a little bit off?

The answer is simple, and obvious.  I saw it clearly in Psalm 103:1. David writes:

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Do you see it?  Twice he says it.  Praise.

The gratitude formula I was provided is wrong.  When I add action to gratitude, the focus is on me.  It celebrates who I am and what I have. I am elevated.  At the end of the day, however, no matter how thankful I am, I’m still haunted my weaknesses and limitations.  While I have better results, I still feel empty and dry.  What am I missing?  How do I overcome that?

 David shows us.  He uses a different formula.  It’s not gratitude + action, its:

Gratitude + Praise

Adding praise to gratitude shifts our focus from me to God. David’s praise is an external focus celebrating something outside of his own control. It’s the same for us.  With praise, we are eliminated from equation, and gratitude gets placed where it belongs, with the source.  God.

Another great thing about praise is that its not just past tense, its also future tense  Yes, we celebrate what God has done, but also get to celebrate what God is going to do.  Said another way, what God has done, God will also do.  Our weaknesses and limitations are no longer debilitating, they’re empowering.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

There’s one more part of the equation that David get’s right.  The ending.  For David, gratitude and praise do not produce a bigger kingdom, more money, or a better family life; i.e. better results.  They are about joy.

Gratitude + Praise = Joy

Jesus says it this way:

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

Yes, he deserves our gratitude, but he has earned our praise.

Exodus 34

A rich kid does not fear poverty, he mocks it.  He is shaped by wealth. It influences his decisions, behaviors, and attitudes. You might say a rich kid will never truly understand poverty.

In a similar way, I don’t know God without Jesus. For us, Jesus has always been God. He is about love and second chances, right?  Just as the rich kid cannot comprehend poverty, you and I cannot comprehend God without Jesus. But what if we try?

Exodus 34 is far from a comprehensive picture of God, but it’s a start. When I read it, I realize how little I’ve had to follow “the rules.” I eat what I want—bacon and lobster, for example. I work on Sundays. I say God’s name out loud when I stub my toe.

But freedom from the rules isn’t the only benefit.

Because of Jesus, we don’t have to slit the throat of a young goat or twist the neck of a calf so that our sins might be forgiven. I’ve never been kept from entering the Holy of Holies—the most sacred place, where God dwells.

You might say we are spoiled.

Spoiled people forget. They forget the cost and the sacrifice—the blood, sweat, and tears required to make this access possible. Maybe that’s why we have Good Friday—because there was a cost. A cost far greater than I can fully understand.

God made it clear that “no one may appear before me without an offering” (Exodus 34:20).

That offering was—and is—Jesus.

To be unspoiled is to be grateful. But we cannot be truly grateful without understanding the cost that made it possible.

James 3

You’ve probably heard the Tale of the two wolves. A man is telling his grandson about the two wolves that live inside of him.  One is good, and lives in harmony, but the other is angry.

Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, because both of the wolves try to dominate my spirit. says the grandfather.

Truth is, one of them is trying to dominate you too.  Do you know which one is winning?  Look no further than the words that come from your mouth.  Jesus said it best “for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:37 (ESV)

So, which is it?  Are your words clearing your name, or do they declare you guilty?

Rather than accept the condemnation headed our way, we look for solutions.  The easiest is to be more intentional.  “I’ll try harder,”  “I’ll do better,” we say.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.  No amount of self-discipline can control your tounge.  Only one thing can – your heart.

Psalms 51:10 (ESV) says The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 

Before you begin asking how to fix it, think instead about who can fix it.  That’s what David did.  Let’s pray his prayer:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalms 51:10 (ESV)

Seems like a good way to start the day.

Proverbs 6

My coach used to tell me, “You play with poop, you get it on your hands.”

Duh! Why would anyone want to do that?

Yet we do it all the time.
We convince ourselves we can get close to sin without getting dirty.

That’s a great question. So why do we do it? Have we forgotten what is right and wrong? No. If you’re a regular reader of BibleJournal, it’s probably written upon your heart and hung around your neck just as the Scriptures suggest.

Proverbs 6:16–19 (ESV)
There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.

It’s easy to sit back with relief and say, “Phew, I’m clear. I’m not any of those.”

But when you look closer, you’ll see that you might not be doing those things—but you are often standing right next to them.

It’s all around you.

We easily ditch our beliefs and engage with it, declaring it “innocent entertainment.”

It’s not.

You cannot play around with it without it shaping you. It’s true that when you play with it, you get it on your hands.

Proverbs 6:4–5

Don’t put it off; do it now!
Don’t rest until you do.
Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
like a bird fleeing from a net.

So how do you do that?

Think about Truth.
Delete that app.
Block that website.
Walk away from that conversation.
Remove yourself from the text thread.
Walk the other hallway.

Romans 5

When asked, “How much is enough?” John D. Rockefeller famously replied, “Just one dollar more.”   In the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gekko responds similarly. “It is a zero-sum game,” He says.  They May have been motivated by greed and selfish ambition, but they did know one thing: there is no such thing as enough.

“How much more?” Paul asks three times in Romans 5. Paul, however, is not talking about greed, riches, and ambition. He’s talking about grace—the grace that covers our sin, the grace that redeems us, the grace that makes us worthy.

If you have ever considered that you might have just outstripped God’s grace, that you’ve stepped over the line one too many times, that you keep repeating and going back to that same old infraction, you might be tempted to to give up and surrender to your sin.  It would be easy to believe that God’s punishment and wrath are coming for you. But that’s not what Paul is saying. He’s making it clear That there is more grace. How much more? “SO much more” He says.

Grace is a zero-sum game. It’s infinite.

1 Samuel 17

“You do you.”  I hate that phrase. It’s defeatist. It gives up. It stops caring. UDU says, “I’m not going to interfere with your life. I will just go live mine.”

Isn’t that a picture of Christian America today?  The vast majority of us are pacifists refusing to get offended by words and even actions.  The evidence is seen every day in our response to the taunts and teases of those that defy our God.

Young David didn’t see it that way. He heard of the actions of the Philistines and their giant He couldn’t believe it. “How could this man defy God?” He asks, shocked. Not only was Goliath spitting in the face of God he was taunting all of Israel. And, Israel was the army of God! David was offended. So offended would not, could not, stand for it.

Do you get offended, when you see people spit in the face of God?  How do you respond? how do you respond?  Do you wave the white flag of defeat? Do you dismiss the offense, look the other way and say, “You do you?”  I do.

Two things contribute to my response: fear and identity. You see, I’m afraid of what comes with being offended. Like David, being offended comes with responsibility that I would rather not accept. It’s way easier to be a victim than it is to take action.  Especially when that action comes with severe consequences. The second thing is identity. David called Israel “the army of God,” and he was a soldier.  We don’t see ourselves as soldiers today, but Christians used to. As a child in church, I remember singing the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers!” I wonder why we don’t sing it anymore?

If you’re inclined to take up arms and assume your role as a soldier in God’s army, you’ll want to keep in mind what a Christian soldier looks like. Jesus didn’t arm himself with weapons of war. In fact, he chastised Peter for using a sword. Jesus’ weapons are love and kindness, generosity and care. That tells me that the fight is not the fight that you think it is. Victory is not achieved by being the loudest voice in the room, winning the debate, or bloodshed. Victory comes when souls are redeemed, lives are made whole, and love prevails. 

1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!

2 At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!

Philemon 1

When my kids were young and had a cold, I would bring them cough syrup. It comes with that neat little cup that will deliver the perfect dose to make them feel better. But they wouldn’t drink it. Maybe it was the taste, maybe it was the burn, it was probably both. Despite the attempts of the manufacturer at a delicious cherry flavor, my daughter would grit her teeth and clench her lips tightly inside her teeth to avoid whatever unpleasantness would follow.  I had to develop a new technique to deliver this much needed elixir.  That method came in the form of a syringe.  The small plastic tip was small enough to pierce its way between her lips so that the medicine could be delivered into her mouth.  Once in, I had to cover her mouth so that she wouldn’t spit it back out.  It was a painful process, but a necessary one.

I think of that process as I read Philemon.  Paul, has someone, Onesimus, that would benefit Philemon. But, Onesimus was a bitter pill for Philemon.  A runaway slave that had already cost him time and money, not to mention his authority.  Convincing Philemon to take him back would not be easy. Even tougher is convincing Philemon to take him back, not to work, but to set him free.

Paul uses every persuasion tactic he can, challenging him with reciprocity, providing social proof, revealing scarcity and urgency.  Paul skillfully reframes the narrative and illustrates stark contrasts.  While those may be formal persuasion techniques, each one can be easily seen in this story.  No matter the technique, there is something bigger going on here.  What effect do Pauls efforts have on Philemon’s heart?

The Bible does not record Philemon’s response. But I know what mine would have been. In fact, it jumps out of my chest as I read this book.  

“Heck no! Why would I do that? And, thanks for the guilt trip, Paul!”

That response puts my pride and arrogance on full display. But, if I sit with it just a little longer,  I begin to see a bigger opportunity – an opportunity to participate in the redemption of Jesus. 

Paul was offering Philemon had an opportunity to welcome Onesimus back, despite the hurt and financial loss he caused. But, remember, Paul was asking for more.  He wanted Philemon to welcome him back, then free him. That would cost him even more!  I am hearing the footsteps of Jesus in that.

What about Jesus? Did Philemon remember that Christ gave up everything for him? That he welcomed him back and gave his life in the most costly and dreadful way, so that he could be free, so that he could live, so that he could share in the joy, peace, and love of God?  Do You?

It may have taken Philemon a minute to digest Paul’s letter. He had to overcome the bitter taste and make a hard swallow. I bet he was relieved after he did.  I bet we will be relieved too.  Yes, that hard swallow takes humility, and sometimes a forced feeding.  Thankfully, Jesus will do whatever it takes to get His sweet elixir grace and love into our soul.  

Titus 2

“Proclaim these things; encourage and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Titus 2:15

What exactly is Paul telling Titus to “proclaim?”  Everything that he has just written.  It’s both the practical instructions for living, and the Gospel that empowers and motivates our behavior.  My natural tendencies, however, are to modify my behavior through discipline and lounge in the comfort of grace. While I work to keep them separate, Paul shows us that theology and practice are never separated. So, when he tells Titus to ‘proclaim these things’ in verse 15, he means both the practical instructions for living AND the gospel that empowers them.Titus 2 is not about behavior modification; it’s rooted in the reality of Christ’s redemption and the transforming power of grace.

Do you feel the motivating power of God’s grace, or does it just make you comfortable?
Grace is more than a comforting idea; grace is the manifested reality of Jesus Christ entering human history.

• Grace saves us
• Grace teaches us
• Grace transforms us

Paul roots every command that follows in this truth: what we do flows from what Christ has done.  I love the way Timothy Keller says it.  He writes, “grace does not merely forgive, it changes us.  It is not opposed to effort, but to earning.”

Because of Christ’s redeeming work, we are now His people, purified, treasured, and eager for good works (Titus 2:14). Our obedience is not the cause of His acceptance, but the result of His transforming grace.

As much as I’d like to lounge in the comfort of God’s grace, Paul won’t allow it.  He couples practical instruction with it, that is powered by grace.

• Grace calls us to renounce ungodliness
• Grace enables us to turn from worldly passions
• Grace helps us live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives
• Grace points us toward Christ’s return
• Grace gives us confidence to walk as a purified people as His possession
• Grace compels us to do good works

This is not self-improvement. It is Spirit-empowered formation, through grace. We live differently because we are different.  We are redeemed and renewed in Christ.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NLT)
Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

What would make it good timing to preach the word? I can think of 1,000 reasons why it’s not a good time—and probably never will be.

• • Sorry, I’m in a hurry, let’s talk later.
  • Sorry, I’ve got these reports to go over.
  • Oh hey, yeah, not now, I’ve got a meeting coming up.
  • Oh man, can it wait? I just walked into a meeting.

Jesus didn’t do it that way, he preached – always –  even when his good friend, Lazarus, was dying. Instead of dropping everything as we expect, he stayed where he was for the next two days (John 11:6, NLT). Talk about bad timing.

Do you know what he was doing for those two days? I have to assume that he was teaching, preaching, and healing, just like he always was. Truth is, it’s always a good time to preach Jesus. Always.

Hold up. Maybe you are ready to exclaim that you are not a preacher. That may be true in the sense that you do not deliver sermons. Fine. But what about your neighbor? What about that coffee group or book club that you see all the time?

Timothy Keller calls that “Level 1 preaching.” Every Christian has the responsibility to understand the message of the Bible well enough to explain and apply it to other Christians and to his neighbors in informal and personal settings.  If we are to do that, we must “be prepared,” as Paul exhorts.

If you were prepared to preach today, what would you say?

That means that yes, we must have some idea of what we will say, but it also means that we must be willing. Being willing is kind of like budgeting: if I don’t decide beforehand where my money will go, it will decide for itself, and I usually regret it.

That’s why, once we are willing, we want to be prepared.  Here is a simple formula: start with the Gospel and finish with the Gospel.  Once again, Tim Keller gets it right. He says that “telling listeners only how they should live without putting that standard into the context of the gospel gives them the impression that they might be complete enough to pull themselves together if they really try hard.”  So this isn’t about having the perfect thing to say; it’s about sharing Jesus.