Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spiritsabefore his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen...8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:4-8)12“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Rev. 22:13)
Thoughts: God identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega- the A and Z of the Greek Alphabet. God identifies Himself with language, as if to say "I am the one who was at the beginning of making sense and will be at the end of sense." But it is even more an identification of time- He was, is, and is to come. The verb for existence- "to be"- has always been associated with the God the Hebrews worshiped. In Exodus 3 God identifies Himself to Moses as "I am who I am" (Or the Great I Am). God is the one who makes life and makes sense of life. He gives existence and meaning and thought to existence. He makes time- which we mark as passing on this New Year's Day. He makes space and human existence to mark and track time.
In Revelation- God the Creator identifies Himself as "the Alpha and Omega" (Rev. 1). Then at the end of the book God the Son- Jesus- identifies Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega- the first and the last- the beginning and the end." In other words, Jesus claims the same title as Lord of time as the Father-Creator does.
We would do well to give ourselves to the One who gave us time, and will be there at the end our days into eternity. It would make sense to give time and space to the One who created time and space and gives us breath and time. Time is a gift- so we should not only not take it for granted- but recognize to whom it really belongs. So this year, make some more time for the One who gives time and helps us to make our time here worthwhile.
Thoughts: God identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega- the A and Z of the Greek Alphabet. God identifies Himself with language, as if to say "I am the one who was at the beginning of making sense and will be at the end of sense." But it is even more an identification of time- He was, is, and is to come. The verb for existence- "to be"- has always been associated with the God the Hebrews worshiped. In Exodus 3 God identifies Himself to Moses as "I am who I am" (Or the Great I Am). God is the one who makes life and makes sense of life. He gives existence and meaning and thought to existence. He makes time- which we mark as passing on this New Year's Day. He makes space and human existence to mark and track time.
In Revelation- God the Creator identifies Himself as "the Alpha and Omega" (Rev. 1). Then at the end of the book God the Son- Jesus- identifies Himself as "the Alpha and the Omega- the first and the last- the beginning and the end." In other words, Jesus claims the same title as Lord of time as the Father-Creator does.
We would do well to give ourselves to the One who gave us time, and will be there at the end our days into eternity. It would make sense to give time and space to the One who created time and space and gives us breath and time. Time is a gift- so we should not only not take it for granted- but recognize to whom it really belongs. So this year, make some more time for the One who gives time and helps us to make our time here worthwhile.
Prayer: Lord of my time and of my days, forgive me for acting as if my time is mine alone as if I am the Creator of my time and blessings. Give me grace and time that I might reflect your love in the time you have given me.
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