Reading our Bibles regularly can be a challenge, but we're all on this journey together.

We're praying that this podcast inspires you, helps you better understand God's Word, and builds your faith.

This is Join the Journey with your host, Emma Daughter.

Thanks for joining in Merry Christmas. Today, we're starting the Book of Revelation.

And you might be wondering, why are we reading Revelation at Christmastime?

Shouldn't we be doing an Advent study or something?

We could, but I think you'll find that Revelation has a lot more specific ties to Christmas than you'd expect.

But in today's chapter, we're left

with three very specific questions. Number one, what does it mean that those who read aloud

the words of this prophecy are blessed? Should we all just read our Bibles out loud? And number two,

John says he was, quote, unquote, in the spirit on the Lord's Day.

What does that mean?

And three, finally, what in the world does revelation, with all of its crazy imagery, have to do with Christmas?

Now, every year, kids with excited hearts and eager spirits, write letters to Santa.

Written with great thought, intentionality,

and care, these letters are sent off to the North Pole. And as a kid, I definitely wrote

letters to Santa. But one letter never made it to him. I wrote it while staying at my grandma's,

and it wasn't found until just recently. My grandma took a picture of the letter and

texted it to me. She asked if I remembered what pink sparkly thingy meant. I definitely do not know

what I meant by pink sparkly thingy, but I'm certain that at one point in time, many, many years

ago, she and I both knew what pink, sparkly

thingy meant. Ever been there? Maybe you write a note to yourself or set a reminder only to forget

...