The First

Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the last."

Every once in a while it's good to stop and ponder "deep" things, I call it wow thinking.  It's a good thing to wonder about the vastness of our God, who is too great to ever fully comprehend, and as we do consider Him and how boundless He is, we are brought to a place of humility and worship.
I've on a number of occasions short-circuited my brain trying to grasp that God is eternal.  My mind can only think back so far and then it shorts out wanting to have a beginning.  And then I can only think forward so far and my mind wants to have and end.  Because our minds are finite we can't fully fathom having no beginning or end and thus the short-circuit.  We all have our limits when it comes to the finite trying to understand the infinite.
We can really only scratch the surface when it comes to discovering the vastness of our infinite Jesus.  How many seminary classes would it take just to get a little understanding of Jesus as: "the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last"?
Revelation 22:13 is a deep deep verse, and while we may not understand all the it conveys about Jesus, the simple powerful truth comes through loud and clear.....everything is all about Jesus!  He is first, preeminent, above all, first in the Word, first in redemption, first in our salvation and sanctification, first as King and Lord over all.
Though we can never fully comprehend Jesus, I'm not saying we shouldn't stop and learn and wonder at the vastness of our Savior, in fact we ought to make it our aim to study Him until that day we see Him.  But the most important thing for us is not that we come to and intellectual understanding of what it means that Jesus is the First, but that we personally make Him First.
Is your life all about Jesus?  Have you made Him first in your heart, and thoughts and affections?  Have you made Him Lord above your plans and dreams?  Is He preeminent in your Life?  Now those are deep questions that require wow thinking.  May we all consider who Jesus is and give Him His rightful place in our lives.

Are You Awake?

"Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." Ephesians 5:15

We have come again to another 9/11 anniversary, and it's hard to grasp that it has been 11 years since that fateful day.  Though I understand that it is important to remember, I still find it hard to see the pictures and watch the news programs recalling that day.  I'm sure we all share the same dull ache that 11 years hasn't erased.
Do you remember how 9/11 awakened the church for a short season?  Church attendance was up, Bibles were being worn out, prayer meetings were packed, and many hearts were stirred and waiting upon the Lord.  It was as if an alarm clock went off and the church was awakened and was sincerely seeking the Lord.  Sadly, it didn't take long for us to hit the snooze button and go back into a slumber.
It seems to be in our nature to have short spiritual attention spans, we have quick spurts of being "on fire", and brief seasons of spiritual discipline, then we are lulled or distracted and wane in our walks.
The day calls for us to be wide awake, these are not days to be caught snoozing.  We are to arise and be alert and ready, we need to be consistent and steady in our relationship with the Lord.
We should not need a 9/11 type event to wake us up, the alarm is still blaring!  We should be bright eyed as we consider the Lord's soon return.  Do you feel like nodding off?  Give ear to the cry of the Spirit, "awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead."