October 18 – The Real Amen

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:  These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.”  Revelation 3:14 (NIV)

The Apostle John, serving as God's prophet, records the things he saw and heard into the New Testament Book known as The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  More commonly called Revelation.  In chapters 2 & 3 our Lord Jesus delivers seven messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor.  We learn in this verse today how Jesus identified Himself when He calls Himself the Amen.  This is an important name but perhaps we hear the word 'amen' used so often that it has lost its real meaning.  The root meaning of 'amen' is the adjective 'faithful'.  Amen is derived from the Hebrew āmēn, which means “certainty,” “truth,” and “verily.” So in our verse, Jesus explains that His name is Amen because He is faithful and true.  He was faithful to God's promise to provide a means of salvation.  He came to earth, lived a perfect life and went to the Cross to die for each of us.  He is faithful in praying for us everyday as he has promised and when we pray 'in Jesus' Name,' we trust the promise that He is faithful and true, Amen. 

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August 16

“And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Colossians 1:18 (NIV)

It is important to evaluate things the way God does. God, our heavenly Father, desires that in everything His Son might have the supremacy. When we have opportunities to worship God with others, we know that there can be times when many things that may distract our attention from our focus of worship. But, God wants us to give our main attention to worshipping Jesus Christ, the foundation of the Church, in whom dwells the fullness of the Father. Let us be careful to center our thoughts and worship on Him.