Our Pilgrimage -- 31 and Letter to the Church in Pergamum

In my blog on 2021.07.29, titled, "Our Pilgrimage -- 28 and Biblical Assessment of Seven Churches in Revelation 2-3, I discussed a pattern I discovered in Jesus' assessment of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.  In subsequent blogs, I am going through each of the seven churches and identifying what I saw for each of the six elements of Jesus' assessment.

1. 2021.08.03 - Letter to the Church in Ephesus [Revelation 2.1-7]
2. 2021.08.04 - Letter to the Church in Smyrna [Revelation 2.8-11]

Assessment of the Church in Pergamum

1. Authority Of The Assessor
1. These are the words of the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword [2.12]
2. An acknowledgment of some good things
• I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits. Yet you have held fast to My name and have not denied your faith in Me, even in the day when My faithful witness Antipas was killed among you, where Satan dwells. [2.13]
3. A condemnation of some negative things
• Some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. [2.14]
• In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. [2.15]
4. A plan of action
• Repent! [2.16]
• He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches  [2.17]
5. A consequence for failing to complete the plan of action
• I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My mouth. [2.16]
6. A promise / reward
• To the one who is victorious [2.17]
• I will give the hidden manna
• I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.
7. Other Noteworthy Observations
• None

Questions for you

• How would you assess your church?
• How would you assess the American church as a whole?
• How do you think Jesus would assess your church or the American church as a whole?

Walking deets:

• Continued north bound on US 281
• This walk: Dist: 9.53 km; Time: 2+07; Steps: 11,839
• Total: Dist: 346.51 km; Time: 78+09; Steps: 418,049

Social Media Links

I started working on a WordPress blog.  However, until I get it up and working, I'll post things on blogger.  Regardless, the URL hopefully will remain the same.

• www.blog.tenminas.net
• www.facebook.com/10MinaMan
• www.linkedin.com/in/budabbott
• twitter.com/TenMinasNetwork
• rumble.com/user/TenMinasNetwork
• www.instagram.com/ten_minas

BTW, the pictures have nothing to do with this post. However, I plan to use them again in a post coming soon. 

Looks like a large vacant field ... right?

Why ... would someone put an outhouse in the middle of a large vacant field?

Our Pilgrimage -- 30 and Letter to the Church in Smyrna

In the post to FaceBook on 2021.07.29, I discussed a pattern I discovered in Jesus' assessment of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.  In the post to my blog on 2021.08.03, I went through the letter to the Church in Ephesus [Revelation 2.1-7] and identified what I saw for each of the six elements of Jesus assessment.  This post will continue with the Letter to the Church in Smyrna [Revelation 2.8-11].

1. Authority Of The Assessor

    1. These are the words of the First and the Last, who died and returned to life. [2.8]

2. An acknowledgment of some good things

    1. I know your affliction and your poverty — though you are rich! [2.9]

    2. And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan. [2.9]

3. A condemnation of some negative things

    1. NONE

4. A plan of action

    1. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days.  [2.10]

    2. Be faithful even unto death. [2.10]

    3. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches  [2.11]

5. A consequence for failing to complete the plan of action

    1. NONE

6. A promise / reward

    1. I will give you the crown of life. [2.10]

    2. The one who is victorious will not be harmed by the second death. [2.11]

7. Other Noteworthy Observations

    1. No mention any negative behavior

    2. No consequence for failing to complete the plan of action

How would you assess your church?

How would you assess the American church as a whole?

Walking deets:

Continued north bound on US 281 to Sioux-Per Propane (The marker on Google Maps is just a few miles north of Burnet, but the business address is in North Dakota)

This walk: Dist: 14.40 km; Time: 3+38; Steps: 17,700

Total: Dist: 336.98 km; Time: 76+02; Steps: 406,210

#BeReady #ComeLordJesus #pilgrimage #US281 #Texas #Burnet #HoneyCreek #church #Revelation #assessment #Smyrna 

Social Media Links

I started working on a WordPress blog.  However, until I get it up and working, I'll post things on blogger.  Regardless, the URL hopefully will remain the same.

www.blog.tenminas.net

www.facebook.com/10MinaMan

www.linkedin.com/in/budabbott

twitter.com/TenMinasNetwork

rumble.com/user/TenMinasNetwork

www.instagram.com/ten_minas

BTW, the pictures have nothing to do with the post.  I hope you enjoy them.

I had to cross the Delaware.  It wasn't nearly as cold as when Washington did it

   

I found it interesting that the fire hydrant was so far past the other utilities

I walked through some really tall grass that was up to my waist

I walked through a portion of Hamilton Creek Park

Another view of Hamilton Creek Park

Made it past Burnet!

Saw this rock that appeared to be point NORTH!!

Lots more highway ahead!

Our Pilgrimage -- 29 and letter to the Church in Ephesus

In my last post, I discussed a pattern I discovered in Jesus' assessment of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.  In this post, I will go through the letter to the Church in Ephesus [Revelation 2.1-7] and identify what I saw for each of the six elements of Jesus assessment.

1. Authority Of The Assessor

    1. These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. [2.1]

2. An acknowledgment of some good things

    1. Deeds, your labor, and your perseverance [2.2]

    2. Cannot tolerate those who are evil [2.2]

    3. Have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles [2.2]

    4. Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name. [2.3]

    5. Hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate [2.6]

3. A condemnation of some negative things

    1. Have abandoned your first love [2.4]

4. A plan of action

    1. Keep in mind how far you have fallen [2.5]

    2. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first [2.5]

    3. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches [2.7]

5. A consequence for failing to complete the plan of action

    1. Jesus will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place [2.5]

6. A promise / reward

    1. To the one who is victorious, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God. [2.7]

How would you assess your church?

How would you assess the American church as a whole?

Walking deets:

TOTAL DISTANCE > 200 MILES

Continuing north bound on US 281 to Honey Creek

This walk: Dist: 14.67 km; Time: 3+35; Steps: 17,971

Total: Dist: 322.58 km; Time: 72+24; Steps: 388,510

#BeReady #ComeLordJesus #pilgrimage #US281 #Texas #Burnet #ColoradoRiver #MarbleFalls #HoneyCreek #church #Revelation #assessment #Ephesus 

Social Media Links

I started working on a WordPress blog.  However, until I get it up and working, I'll post things on blogger.  Regardless, the URL will remain the same both before and after.

blog.tenminas.net

www.facebook.com/10MinaMan

www.linkedin.com/in/budabbott

twitter.com/TenMinasNetwork

rumble.com/user/TenMinasNetwork

www.instagram.com/ten_minas

BTW, the pictures have nothing to do with the post.  I just liked the pics.

I love the architecture!

This was the view at the bottom of a steep hill

Had to do a selfie!

Our Pilgrimage -- 28 and Biblical Assessment of Seven Churches in Revelation 2-3

In 2017, I did a study on Biblical Assessment and discovered a pattern in Jesus' assessment of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3.

For the most part, Jesus followed a similar pattern in each of the letters. Generally, there were six elements to an assessment:

1. The authority of the assessor

2. An acknowledgment of some good things

3. A condemnation of some negative things

4. A plan of action

5. A consequence for failing to complete the plan of action

6. A promise / reward

There were some exceptions. For example, there were two churches with no condemnation and there was one church with nothing good said about it.

In future posts, I share my observations.

Be sure to check out my first IGTV video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CR6fzUcK5pZ/

Walking deets:

Continuing north bound on US 281 to Marble Falls

This walk: Dist: 11.72 km; Time: 2+43; Steps: 13,920

Total: Dist: 307.91 km; Time: 68+49; Steps: 370,539

Sunrise on the road

Crossing the Colorado River

Prayer Bible Study

As the world deals with the fear of the virus, many people are turning to prayer. A recent Pew poll found the following:

“The virus also has impacted Americans’ religious behaviors. More than half of all U.S. adults (55%) say they have prayed for an end to the spread of coronavirus. Large majorities of Americans who pray daily (86%) and of U.S. Christians (73%) have taken to prayer during the outbreak – but so have some who say they seldom or never pray and people who say they do not belong to any religion (15% and 24%, respectively).” [See Most Americans Say Coronavirus Outbreak Has Impacted Their Lives]

I am convinced that the answer to all of our problems is Jesus! I am also convinced that the way to know Jesus is through His Word and through prayer.


Consequently,I thought I would share my study on Prayer. So, it is now available on our website at: www.tenminas.net/prayer This study like the others I shared is a work in progress and the product of numerous format changes.


I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

The world is gripped with fear over the virus. However, the Bible is clear that we shall not fear.

I started a Bible study on fear in 2015. Over the years I have done work on it here and there and have changed study format numerous times. It is still far from complete.

Nevertheless, I wanted to get it on our website sooner than later for anyone interested in seeing what the Bible has to say about fear. Please bear with its “under construction” nature.

Also on the web page are links to two videos. One of them is a 90-minute sermon and the other is a 4-minute intro to the sermon.

Here is the link to the website:  www.tenminas.net/fear

I welcome your comments and thoughts.

God's Names & Attributes

After a lengthy time of prayer yesterday, I feel God telling me to take a break from posting the UPG of the day.

All across the world, there is overwhelming fear and anxiousness. Although there are lots of Christians demonstrating the peace that only Jesus can give, there are too many that are struggling.

According to one website , the most frequent command in the Bible is “Do not fear / Do not be afraid”. It occurs 70 times in the NIV. When we violate a command in the Bible, the Bible calls it sin. But for some reason, we explain away fear as something that is acceptable.

Paul said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4.6-7)

I am firmly convinced that God has everything under control. When we are anxious and afraid, it shows that we don’t know who He is, His character.

So, for the foreseeable future, instead of posting the UPG of the day, I will be posting one of God’s names or characteristics.

These will also be posted on our website at:  www.tenminas.net/Names-of-God