Yesterday was the church's identity. Today is personal.

For me, they are closely aligned. Too closely.

See, I generally define my self by my accomplishments. Whether through tennis, academics, or church, I am what I've done.

The bible calls that . . . works righteousness.

You might call it a tad bit unhealthy.

But the bible comes along with an entirely different answer. I am part of a "royal priesthood" (I Peter 2:9) not because of what I have done but because of who Jesus declares me to be. And who he declares me to be is not subject to the whims of accomplishment or the tenuousness of church momentum. I just am. By his gift.

The bible calls that . . . salvation by grace.

I'll take it.

Job puts it this way:

[God] wraps up the waters in his clouds;
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.
Byhis breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.
And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?
Job 26:8, 12-14

The implication of those verses is clear: God is sovereign over weather. Weather happens at his discretion. That includes Katrina, Gustav, and Hannah.

It's a difficult concept. An inconvenient truth. I'm not always sure what to do with it. We Methodists sometimes shy away from God's sovereignty, leaving that teaching to our Presbyterian and Calvinist friends. But Scripture is clear. God really is in control whether we believe it or not.

This time, I prayed hard that New Orleans would be spared . . . but what about the towns that were more impacted because the storm moved west? Like Lake Charles, Louisiana, where my brother lives? Or north and east Texas, close to where I grew up?

I don't have answers to those kinds of questions. And I definitely want to avoid declaring that God sends storms on certain cities as an act of judgment -- because that might mean Charlotte is next! I'll let God speak for himself.

It's the truth. An inconvenient truth, but the truth nonetheless.

So I've been thinking about the book of Revelation so much recently that I came up with a list.

Top Five Misconceptions About The Book Of Revelation
1. That it is "The Book Of Revelations." There is no such thing as the book of Revelations. It's Revelation, singular.
2. That Revelation 4:1 -- "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.'" -- indicates the Rapture of the entire church and therefore the next 15 chapters (chapters 4-19) are all about the Great Tribulation that true believers watch from heaven. It looks to me like the voice says "come up here" to John only, but I'll get more into that on Sunday.
3. That it is a calendar of events for the end of the world, which as we now know will occur sometime after May 13, 2008. That interpretation would come as quite a surprise to the first readers of the book, who knew that it very much had something to do with their lives and their churches in 95 AD.
4. That differences of interpretation on the book divides believers. Well, no. Though I've got some strong opinions on the details -- and my opinions differ from what many people are taught these days -- on the essentials all evangelicals agree: Jesus really is coming back to judge the quick and the dead. (How great is the way the Creed says that?)
5. That Barney the Dinosaur is the 666 from Revelation 13:18. OK . . . maybe that's not a misconception.

Tomorrow: five excellent resources to help you dig into Revelation.