Archive for Devotional Companion to Revelation

Now Is the Time

2018-10-26 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 16,
the pouring out of the bowls of wrath

As the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you…You shall find no rest…the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. (Deuteronomy 28:63-65, NASB)

We live in a day of grace.
The Father is patient,
tirelessly reaching out,
eager to draw everyone back to Himself.
Believers and unbelievers alike live in a world where,
even in its corrupt state,
we are bathed in God’s
power,
wisdom, and
ever-present goodness.

But this day of grace will not last forever.
Soon all these gifts and graces that we
ungratefully, arrogantly take for granted
will be gone.
When that day arrives,
the unrepentant will be stubbornly blocking God’s path to the
the pure and beautiful world He has promised.
They will be standing between
the God of fierce love and
the eternal welfare of His children.
They will have sealed their own fate.
By ignoring God, they will have sided with His enemy,
the one who hates God and
all who are His,
the one God has sworn to destroy.

The day of mercy will have passed.
The day of judgment will have come.
God will do what He must do:
He will show Himself holy.
He will show Himself just.
He will keep His promise to purify His world.
Those who have clung to their sin,
who have distanced themselves from Him,
will be given what they have freely chosen.
They will be left outside,
away from the only Source of all
light and
love and
goodness.
All that will be left for them is
pain,
darkness,
gnawing hatred, and
deep, complete, unrelenting need.

Now is the time for repentance.
Now is the day of salvation.
Now is the time to
choose Him. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Mighty Day
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Your Wrath Against Sin

2018-10-19 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 15:5-8,
a prelude to God pouring out His wrath

Father, Your wrath against sin is
deep,
total, and
irreconcilable.
You are eternally, unalterably opposed to
anything that
harms Your dearly-loved children or
separates them from You.

Your wrath against sin is not
a temper tantrum or
a passing mood.
It is a fierce,
holy,
burning,
almighty love
that refuses to accept anything but
our very best in You, our
fullness and
completeness and
unbounded joy.

Our freedom from sin is precious to You.
You bought it
with Your Son
and paid for it
with His life.

Thank You, loving Father,
for Your uncompromising wrath against sin.
You deliver us completely from its awful curse.
Praise to You! 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Your Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love
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Tell Your Story

2018-10-12 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 15:1-4,
a vision of victorious believers in heaven

Like all of God’s children,
we each have our own stories to tell,
amazing stories about
God’s deliverance,
God’s grace,
God’s faithfulness.
Though all our stories express the same truth,
each is unique.
Our backgrounds,
our life situations,
our sins and struggles
are highly varied.
Yet together,
they form a vast and stunning mosaic of the one
glorious,
gracious,
unchanging God.

Only together,
as we each tell our own story,
can we truly and fully proclaim the God who is
always Almighty,
always loving,
always wise,
always faithful,
always merciful,
always forgiving,
always sufficient for every need,
always true,
always just, and
always,
always,
always good.

Join the symphony!
We are incomplete without you!
Praise our God as only you can!
Tell your story! 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: We Look Behind at All You’ve Done
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Energetic Waiting

2018-10-05 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 14:6-20,
visions of the last days

Father, You call us to
wait on You.
But the waiting You want is not
passive.
Waiting on You is
active and
energetic.
You call us to wait
focused on You,
trusting You,
obeying You,
glorifying You,
serving You wholeheartedly,
eagerly anticipating
our full joining with You.

Father, we believe that You are
all You say You are.
We believe You will do
all You say You will do.
You say You will judge the world
in perfect righteousness.
You say Your judgment
could come at any moment.
You say Your judgment
will determine our eternal destiny:
deep and endless life or
deep and endless death,
unending joy in You or
unspeakable separation from You.

So, today and every day
we will await Your coming
actively and
energetically.
Our hearts will be standing at the door,
waiting,
listening, and
longing for You. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Come, Our Lord!
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We Wait on You

2018-09-28 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 14:6-20,
a series of visions

Father, a voice within me is screaming:
“We are tired of waiting!
God, it’s time for You to act!
You see what Your world is going through!
How can You just sit by and do nothing?”

“Lord, I am tired of waiting!
I am ready to act myself!
I have ideas!
I have big plans!
But when I ask You to guide and provide,
the only response I hear is
silence.”

Father, I know what Your silence means.
Your silence tells me to wait on You.
Your Word tells me to wait on You.
My history of failure tells me to wait on You.
The saints of all the ages implore me to
wait
on
You.

So today I will simply be Your humble servant.
Today I will joyfully perform the little services
You give me to perform.
Today I will be loving and kind.
Today I will be faithful.
Today I will be prayerful.
Today I will listen for Your whispers
and obey.
Today I will remain fully available to You
moment by moment.

Father, Your ways are always wise, and
Your timing is always perfect.
I will wait on You.
We will wait on You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Waiting for Our Lord
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Wholeheartedly Yours

2018-09-21 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 14:1-5,
the 144,000 on Mt. Zion

Father Creator,
Savior Son,
Life-giving Spirit,
I am Yours –
completely,
joyfully,
eternally,
wholeheartedly Yours!

My love is Yours.
As Your bride,
my heart’s desire is
You alone.

My life is Yours.
As Your creation,
each daily thought,
action, and
breath is Yours.
Pour out my life in any manner You choose.

My worship is Yours.
I want nothing else,
seek nothing else, and
serve no one else
but You, Sovereign Lord.
My heart, my mind,
my mouth, my hands
exist only to
fellowship with You and
glorify You.
My joy is Your presence.
My ambition is Your approval.
My destiny is to stand before You
among Your people,
lifting Your eternal praise with all creation.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Give God What Is God’s
Recording
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Stay Focused on the Truth

2018-09-14 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 13:11-18,
the beast from the earth

When [Satan] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44, NIV)

Sovereign God is
all power,
all wisdom, and
all love.
He Himself is life and
all goodness.
He is the truth,
the one eternal, universal reality.
He is All-in-all.

Thus Satan’s only weapon is deception.
When he lies, he speaks his native language.
When he speaks,
his purpose is always to deceive.
He will even use half-truths as
weapons of deceit,
just as he did with Jesus in the wilderness.

In his last desperate days on earth, he will
re-enforce his lies with false wonders that
promise a power he does not possess.
He will increase persecution of God’s children with
social pressure,
economic suffering, and
physical force.
Most people will accept his lies, and
believers will pay for the truth
with their lives.

Jesus Christ is always the truth.
He alone is
universal,
eternal,
glorious reality.
Keep your mind,
your heart, and
your daily life
focused on Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: I Have the Truth
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When Darkness Comes

2018-09-07 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 13:1-10,
the beast from the sea

When good comes to me,
I accept it as from Your gracious hand.
I look to You.
I thank You.
I rejoice in You.

But how do I respond when my days bring me
darkness and uncertainty,
mistreatment and injustice,
pain and sickness,
suffering and sorrow,
loss and the shadow of death?
Where do I look then?

I look to You.
You are still
Almighty God.
You are still
perfect wisdom and
unfailing love.
You are still good and right in all You do.
You are still
my Father.

I believe in You.
I believe in You
when I understand.
I believe in You
when I cannot understand.

I wait on You.
I hope in You.
I trust You.
I rejoice in You.
I follow You,
even into the darkness.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Glorify Your Name
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Beyond All Imagining

2018-08-31 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 12:7-17,
war with the dragon

We are caught up in conflicts beyond our
perception and
control,
struggles that extend far beyond our
brief lifetimes and
limited experience.
Our shadow world is a tiny part of
greater realities
where we are opposed by powers we cannot
sense,
understand, or
address.

But Father, You are the
Creator and
Sovereign Ruler
over all powers,
all worlds,
all realities.
In ways and realms far beyond our meager imaginings,
You are
blessing us,
covering us,
mightily delivering us
in fierce, unrelenting love.
You are
raising us,
glorifying us, and
eternally enriching us
in Your holy and glorious Son,
Jesus Christ.

We are secure
in Him.
We are conquerors
in Him.
We are fully and forever one with You
in Him.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Our Destiny Is Jesus Christ
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Whose Child Are You?

2018-08-24 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 12:1-6

Notice how God’s people are envisioned
in Revelation 12:1 (NASB):
a woman clothed with the sun,
with the moon under her feet and
a crown of twelve stars on her head.

To human eyes,
we all appear to be some similar mixture of
good and bad,
wisdom and ignorance,
love and selfishness,
beauty and ugliness.

But God sees much more.
The Eternal One is not locked into
the narrow now, and
He sees beneath our carefully crafted shell.
He already sees who we believers are becoming in
His holy Son,
Jesus.
He sees us in
the holiness,
the glory, and
the authority of the Living Christ.
He sees us through the eyes of a
proud and loving Father.
He sees Himself growing within us.

He also sees within unbelievers.
The Jews of Jesus’ day were considered
the holiest people of their day.
But Jesus called them children of Satan.
He said their hearts and lives already reflected
the lying, murderous ways of
their father, the Devil.

Our identities are rooted in worlds
high above our knowing,
in beings
more holy or
more wicked than we can imagine.
To eternal, all-seeing eyes,
we are who we are following.
We are who we are trusting.
We are already more than
simple physical creatures of this earth.
We are in Jesus Christ, or
we are children of the Devil.
We are more glorious than we could ever dream,
or more evil.
There is no middle ground.

Choose your daily relationship with Jesus Christ
very thoughtfully,
very carefully and intentionally.
You are choosing your eternal character.
You are choosing your eternal destiny.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: All in Christ
Recording
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