Prayer Focus: Mission Organizations
Bible Reading: Revelation 10-22
Scripture
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Observation
Today’s selection of reading crosses the finish line for our year-long journey. In the reading we celebrate the victory of God over the enemy, the thousand-year reign, the judgement of Satan. Then the dead are resurrected and all are sorted according to who’s name is written in the Lambs book of life.
But wait, there’s more! God declares “I am making everything new!” And so he creates a new heaven and a new earth. This earth has no sea. (To make room for all who have their names written in the lambs book of life?) Then he shows John New Jerusalem. And just like the ark, the tabernacle, and the temples of old, this new dwelling place of God has been lovingly described. The bible calls it “The bride” and invites all who stay to the wedding feast.
Finally, John steps aside and holds open the temporal curtain so that Jesus can speak directly to us. The last words in the bible are an invitation to come and warning not to change or take away anything written within. It’s His last chance to speak to us through his written word to all nations, and He says “I am coming soon!”
There is so much here. So much more than I can unpack in one devotional. (And honestly, my personal understanding of the book of revelation is elementary) Here’s what I know in broad strokes though: He promises to hold all of us to account for the things we’ve done. No one escapes it – not even Satan. And when the old accounts are settled, he’s going to give us our reward.
Application
How then do we live? Who should we fear? What is important?
God wrote it all down through prophets and apostles so that we would have a template. He gave us history, to learn from our past. He gave us books of wisdom so we could learn from each other. He gave us prophesy to learn to trust what he said as the truth. He even gave us a peek at the end so we could not say we didn’t know what his purpose was. He’s laid all his cards on the table and said his final word on the subject.
The only question left is when. When will this happen? Here is what Jesus said about it:
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father.37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(Matt. 24:36-44)
Prayer
Lord, I pray a blessing on your word, that it doesn’t return void, but accomplishes what you designed it to do. Come soon!
December 28, 2012 at 8:05 AM
“But wait, there’s more! God declares “I am making everything new!””
That’s the part that makes breathe a sigh of relief. Thank you.
December 28, 2012 at 9:02 AM
I remember as a young Christian feeling worried that I wasn’t good enough, that my good deeds didn’t balance out the bad from the life before I’d met Jesus. I worried about backsliding out of my salvation and wondering just where that magic line in the sand was so that I knew when I’d crossed over it.
I”m so glad that He was patent with me while I struggled in that place. Because while I knew in my head that salvation was a gift and not something I could earn – it took a while for my heart to relax into it and trust Him. It is so totally against how the world works, you know?
Back then, reading revelation was scary for me, because of my deep insecurity… if my name really was in the Lambs book of life,
Over the years, he’s proven to me that He is real, that His love really is all I need. That my name is on the adoption papers. That it’s legal and he won’t disown me, no matter how badly I’ve messed it up.
But as I look back on it, I needed to struggle with that question. I needed those hard times in order to test His love for me – even as He was testing my faith in Him..
Kind of a paradox isn’t it?
I’m so grateful that he didn’t leave me alone in my insecurity. He expertly used the circumstances in my life to reveal His presence, patience, and peace. Am I an MORE adopted now than when I was in the beginning? No. Does he love me more now than he did then? No. The only thing that’s really changed is me. And hopefully, over the years he’s been able to use me to reach others.
February 3, 2013 at 1:00 AM
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