Yesterday I heard one of my students say “YOLO!”….an acronym for “You Only Live Once!”…..

 

I love acronyms…..they are on the back and front of my football shirts and I always put my season’s theme in the form of an acronym…..

 

YOLO is no different….but it always draws me to Revelation 20 and the ‘hair raising’ verse that is written there by the same man who wrote the book of John.

 

The book of John is so straight forward and clear, yet Revelation is muddy at best.  I always remember that this same man who saw in the flesh is now trying to describe what he is seeing in visions and dreams and ‘in his spirit’ if you will.  One thing that I do know is that it is my lack of knowledge on the REST of the Bible that sometimes makes my judgement cloudy…..and Revelation is written with connection to EVERY book in the Bible—-the more you know about them—-the more you know about Revelation.  This is yet another tribute to this powerful love letter written outside of our time by a God who loves us more than we could ever know.

 

That being said, I get goosebumps when reading the following passage:

Revelation 20

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Lake of Fire

Second Death

Lamb’s book of life

The fact that the “earth and sky fled from his presence”

 

Our God is an awesome God…..and it says that He is both a Lion and a Lamb—and He is good at both.  Here, I think we get a little picture of the Lion.

 

At any rate—back to YOLO.  You Only Live Once.

 

Not a big deal in my mind to condemn everything but I do want to make reference to the TRUTH:  You Only Live Once is NOT a TRUTH.

 

Our same author tells us in his book of John what is true—and he records it out of a conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3:

John 3

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

 

The entire passage is worth reading but I simply want to make reference to this small bit of it:

I think instead of YOLO we need to be in full knowledge of:

BODT or BTDO

 

BODT- Born Once Die Twice

BTDO- Born Twice Die Once

 

I am not a biblical scholar—just a simple man—-but:  I only want to die ONCE!  And I certainly don’t want to see that LAKE OF FIRE thing!

 

And….after reading that verse again and again……I don’t want that LAKE OF FIRE thing for anyone I know…..I don’t even want it for my worst enemy!!

 

So….I am casting out a call for you to join me.

  • We have a Bible that spends all of its time talking about Jesus before He comes…ALL of it is about Him.
  • We have a Bible that gives testimony to His life, death, and resurrection when He was here.
  • We have a Bible that gives us a word for us to carry on with the help of the Holy Spirit now that He is gone.

 

So what do we do with this?

 

Did Jesus really come?  Was He really here?

 

Did God send Him to die on that cross and say “it is paid in full” for us to look at that with a calloused heart?

 

Or did He die so that we could be delivered and get our lives in order and go out and love like He did?

 

It is our job to get up and go out and LOVE in a way that makes others see us as different and in a way that makes others WANT WHAT WE HAVE!  And we have God’s Spirit to come inside of us and give us the strength and the power to do just that.

 

So as I would tell my team:  “Get Your Butt Going!”

 

Father, come and anoint me….fill me with Your Spirit that I might be delivered into a life that is worthy of the call You have put over me!  Help me to be who You have called me to be!!  

YOUR Kingdom Come.  

YOUR Will Be Done.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven!

Amen.

 

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

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Coach J