“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

If you grew up in church you probably witnessed many depictions of the nativity. What a rare blessing to be a baby or a young parent at Christmas time and be able to play the part of Jesus, Mary, or Joseph in a nativity play. It’s not too hard for us to imagine that precious family and to sympathize with their plight of having to be out of town and in rustic circumstances giving birth. It’s not too hard for us to imagine Jesus growing up in a small town, learning the carpentry trade. It’s perhaps more challenging to imagine Jesus taking on the life of an itinerant preacher with his group of disciples and friends, speaking in the temple and throughout the countryside. It’s emotionally difficult, but perhaps not impossible, to imagine Jesus last days before his crucifixion. These are all related to Jesus’ humanity, and he is not the only one in history to have had similar experiences.

However, when we get to the part about Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, we have to rely only on biblical descriptions because no one has actually seen such a thing except perhaps in visions. So amazing is the vision of Jesus as described by John in Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This is Almighty God, the omnipotent, all-powerful, reflecting another of His divine attributes along with self-existence and omnipresence that we learned about in last week’s message on Advent. The passage in Revelation is a vision of the truth of the promise made first in Genesis 3:15 and then in Isaiah 45:23 “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.”

As surely as all the promises that have already come to pass about Jesus’ birth and earthly ministry, we can count on the fact that, at just the right time, Jesus will utterly crush all his enemies for all time. As John writes according to the vision he received of God, seated on a great white throne “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 20:11, 21:3-5).

It is hard for me to fully grasp these truths—they are just so fantastic! However, it is not hard for me to realize that our current environment is not ideal, that is far from the world that God intended when He created it. I know that God is good and that He is able. While it is our calling to live in this world and to minister as we are called, we know that this world is not our ultimate destiny. We have been given the vision of our ultimate destiny, and it is my prayer that reflecting on these Scriptures will help us all to more fully worship our LORD and Savior during this holy Advent season.

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).

In Christ,

Judy

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

In the Chaplain’s Corner last week, we read about the meaning of Advent, which means coming. As a season, it is a time of celebration of the first coming of Christ (Nativity). Officially, it is also a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the return of Jesus as the Second Coming. However, what I really want to focus on in this Chaplain’s Corner is worshipping the God “who is,” which is the first attribute mentioned in the scripture quoted above. I am, of course, speaking of the Trinity:  God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ, son of God), and God the Holy Spirit.

I relate this to how God described himself in Genesis, the great “I am,” which relates to God’s divine attributes of “self-existence” and “omnipresence.” God has attributes that we as humans can aspire to, attributes such as love, mercy, justice, etc. God also possesses attributes that are not humanly possible. These are the divine attributes such as self-existence, omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience.

Self-existence means that God exists eternally. He was not created; He always was and always will be, the Alpha and the Omega. He is not contained by time. He was as present to my great-grandparents as He will be to my great-grandchildren. Moses wrote this beautiful tribute found in Psalm 90:1-2: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Omnipresence means that God is always everywhere. Not only does God exist eternally, God is also present “geographically” everywhere all the time. What a comfort (for believers) is the truth that is contained in this passage from Psalm 139:7-10:  “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

To me, this means that we not only worship the historical Jesus or the future Jesus, we also worship the current Jesus, the Jesus of today. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, he promised us he would be with us always. Notice the present tense of this verse: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b). We acknowledge Jesus with our prayers. When we pray with expectation that He will answer, then we are acknowledging the Jesus who is with us today. When we recognize and praise Jesus for answered prayers, we are acknowledging the grace and mercy of Jesus who is with us today.

• “Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
• Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34b).
• “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:1-2).

Every day, every moment, realize that Jesus is with you. Earnestly seek Him. Acknowledge Him. Talk to Him. Ask Him. Thank Him. Jesus is not just a historical event that we read about in the Bible, although He was. Jesus is not just a future possibility that we can hope for when we die, although He will be. Jesus is real, He is now. He is the Word, living and active. Jesus is our intercessor, our intermediary, our advocate. He is Emmanuel, God With Us.

It is my prayer that this message will help us all to more fully celebrate and worship our great God, the giver of all good and perfect gifts, during this holy season of Christmas.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).

In Christ,

Judy