Jesus – Seek Grow Love

The Suffering Servant

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Isaiah has just so much good stuff in it that every time I read it I feel like I find something new. When’s the last time you’ve read Isaiah from beginning to end? I recommend it, it’s just got so much good stuff in it, and particularly if you really dig down into the original languages you might find some nice hidden “easter eggs”. The suffering servant passages are one of those that I recommend doing a deep, original language, dissection of. You may gain a new understanding.

Don’t speak Hebrew or Greek? Not to worry, even a layman can do a moderately accurate dissection nowadays thanks to modern technology: if you look on biblehub.com and enter any verse, you can scroll all the way down to the bottom and it’s got the original language broken down word for word with all of the potential translations of that word. While that will not give you as full of an understanding as learning the original language deeply, and you may not get some of the syntax or idioms of the original language, it’s still a handy way that anyone can become an armchair textual critic and examine the scriptures.

Starting in the last portion of Isaiah 52, and continuing through 53, we see the famous “Suffering Servant” passage of scripture, which is a prophetic description of the Messiah, the one whom God has chosen. Did they understand all of the significance of these prophecies in ancient Israel? It doesn’t seem that way, it seems like they were looking for an immediate restoration of Israel into a position of pre-eminence. Look at the way the people greeted him at the triumphal entry (listed in all the gospels, Matt 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Think of how quickly this esteem changed, as this event was the beginning of the week that he was crucified (and then resurrected). Like many prophecies, the full significance of these passages weren’t really understood until later.

Beginning in 52:1 we see (REV): “Behold, my servant will act wisely. He will be high and lifted up and exalted.” Do you remember when Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemene shortly after that triumphal entry into Jerusalem, praying fiercely to his God (and ours, see John 20:17) to spare him from the suffering which was coming? During this gut-level, deep pleading for an escape, Jesus also said “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). This is Jesus acting wisely, and trusting in his God. He is later lifted up (on a cross), and then exalted (from the grave). Please note: the definition of wisdom is submitting yourself to the will of God. Even if you really want to do something else (like Jesus did), even if your will is different than God’s will (like Jesus’ will at the time was, by his own words), submit yourself to God’s will (like Jesus did).

The body of Isaiah 53 really gets specific on some of the things that the servant will be and do, and have done to him. It’s impossible for anyone to read this now and not think of some of the things that Jesus endured. He grows up (v2), he is despised (v3), he carries our sickness and suffering (v4), he was pierced for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed (v5). Verse 6 tells us that “We all like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way, but Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (REV), much like the scapegoat in ancient Israel. That last line “…the iniquity of us all” strikes me pretty deeply, because I know I had enough iniquity just by myself to make a heavy load. Imagine the weight of the iniquity of us all; it was laid on Jesus, as a way for God to reconcile with man. That’s deep.

Isaiah 53:10 is just a terrible laundry list of things that the servant of God must go through, and an explanation of why (the iniquity of us all). When we get down to 53:11-12, we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel: “After the anguish of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will make many righteous by the knowledge of himself, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion with the great, and he will divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul to death and he permitted himself to be counted among the transgressors. Yet he himself carried the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. “

So while Jesus’ will was not to die and suffer, he permitted himself to, to submit himself to the will of God. God didn’t force it upon him but allowed him the choice, and he chose to do God’s will, and by doing so redeemed us all. To carry the sins of the entire world is indisputably a heavy, heavy burden, but he chose to do so, because it was God’s will. As a result, he has become and fulfilled the prophecy of the righteous servant who would suffer. This is our king, a man worthy enough to lead us because he was willing to bear all of our collective iniquities, the servant of God.

Luke 2:1-20 describes the wonderful birth of our king, the Messiah, and the first portion of the chapter relays a number of glorious events and declarations that happen. I think my favorite verse in this section is v19 “But Mary was treasuring up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ” (REV). Consider what a high honor it was, to be the mother that would birth the Messiah, the one who would save the world. There are a couple things later in this chapter that give us both a confirmation that this is indeed going to be the Messiah, but also a foreshadowing of the events prophesied in the “Suffering Servant” passages of Isaiah.

Luke 2:25-35 tell of Simeon, a deeply religious man whom the spirit of God was upon, who was promised to see the Messiah before he passed. He confirms that Jesus is the Messiah, and rejoices in the honor that God has given him, but tells Mary down in v35 that “…a broadsword will pierce through your own soul.”. Imagine how you’d feel as a mother, later on.

One thing that should be painfully clear to us all as we read Luke 11:21-52 is that Jesus was an “orthodox” Jew. He obeyed all of the Jewish Law, every jot and tittle (the little marks that are identifiers in the hebrew written language). He had to be, to fulfill all of the prophecies regarding the Messiah. Later on he would clarify much of this law, to more fully explain the “spirit” of the law as well as the exact letter of the law.

While we know from scripture that God doesn’t change (Mal 3:6, Ps 102:27, Num 23:19, James 1:17) the last verse in Luke 2 (and the last verse in Luke 1) clearly indicates that Jesus did: Luke 2:52 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.” (REV). He grew in wisdom and in stature, and he also grew in favor with God and his fellow man. This presents a problem verse for some of the more traditional “orthodox” presentations of the nature of the Christ, but the scriptures themselves are pretty clear and simple and as always; when our interpretations or traditions are in opposition to scripture, we should defer to scripture.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Have you ever considered the weight of the burden of not just your sin but the sin of the entire world, every other human being throughout all time, placed on the shoulders of one obedient man?
Had you ever considered how proud Mary was of her son, and then tried to imagine what she felt as she watched him suffer on the cross?
Isaiah 53:11 says “my righteous servant”, but did you know the word for righteous is צַדִּ֛יק (tzedekh), and has much deeper connotations than “righteousness”? Do a deep study on this word (it will come up again soon, in another devotion).

PRAYER

Father God, I am humbled that my sins were carried by another. Please forgive me. Thank you for life, breath, and all things, and especially for sending us your son. In Jesus name, Amen.

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My Glory I Will Not Give to Another

*Isaiah 48-49

Psalm 119

*Luke 1

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

I suppose I should start out by saying: we’re all just humans, and that we should in love and patient understanding bear with each other, particularly those who are fellow servants of God. I should also state that it is my opinion that even with an imperfect theology or understanding of scripture, it is absolutely possible for someone to gain entry and citizenship into the Kingdom of Heaven because God sees the heart of a man, and knows all of our intents. I still think that (in addition to obedience) an accurate understanding of scripture is important since it’s God’s word that He gave us, so here are some observations about today’s readings that I offer in love.

In Luke 1 in today’s reading, Gabriel makes an appearance, first to Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father) and then to Mary (Jesus’ mom). You may recall when we were first introduced to Gabriel in scripture, back in Daniel 8:16 (and later again in Dan 9:21). Gabriel is clearly a high ranking angel, as he has authority to stand before God. He even quotes this to Zechariah after telling him of the impending (and unexpected) birth of his son, in Luke 1:19 ” 19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands before God …”. This makes it pretty important to listen to the particulars that he tells us because this is a heavenly being who stands in the presence of God (a tremendous honor and privilege).

Let’s examine the conversation Gabriel has with the virgin (at the time) Mary, in Luke 1:26-31 (LSB Translation): “26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”

Note that like Jesus, like every servant of God, Gabriel was sent by God. I love that Mary is initially perplexed at the angel’s greeting, and is probably wondering why she is being favored by God. I also wonder at the translation a little: there is a reference mark in my bible under every instance above where it says “Lord” that says “Yahweh, in the OT” down below at the reference. I believe that an angel who has the authority to stand before God also has the authority to speak God’s name, and I think that’s what he did here, but that’s just speculation and the actual word used in (the Greek translation of) Luke is “kyrios”.

This could be a lifetime study on it’s own, but the divine name Yahweh (or its full form YHWH) does not appear in any extant manuscripts of the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek (at least the existing and accepted copies that we are aware of, though Nehemiah Gordon has some counter theories you should check out), and its authors consistently used the Greek title kyrios (“Lord”) to translate the Hebrew Tetragrammaton when quoting the Old Testament, following the tradition of the Septuagint (LXX). This became extremely confusing when translated into English because the same “kyrios” was also used to translate the word “Master”, referring to any human figure of authority.

Some scholars, such as George Howard, suggest that the original autographs of the New Testament may have contained the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew characters in Old Testament quotations, but these were replaced by kyrios by early copyists. Few, if any, surviving Greek manuscripts contain the name, but the practice initiated by the copyists to call Yahweh “THE LORD” and also Yeshua “The Lord” has led to a lot of understandable confusion among later believers who may not have understood the distinction between the two, or that there even was one.

Gabriel goes on to say “32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of His kingdom.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” (LSB). (FYI, every capital letter in there that isn’t the beginning of a sentence or a proper name is a translational bias in my translation. It just goes to show.)

So he will be called the son of God, and God will give him the throne of his father David. God (the ultimate authority), is going to give him (Jesus, our king) the throne of his ancestor David. In Luke 1:32, Gabriel confirms all of these prophecies are being fulfilled. 1 Cor 11:3 confirms that while the Christ (Jesus, our king) is the head of man, God is the head of the Christ. Jesus has a God (see for reference John 20:17), and it’s our God too, the same God according to what Jesus told Mary. Later on, sadly, these very clear scriptures were slowly distorted and changed.

In another prophecy, in Isa 49 God says: “6 He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also give You as a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (LSB) The servant of God, the Messiah, the Christ came not only for the tribes of Israel, but as a light to the nations. God caused it, Jesus the servant of God obediently fulfilled it, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ.

The very word “Christ” is greek for “The Anointed One”, which is also what “Messiah” means. To be anointed, the obvious question follows: well, who anointed him? It tells us throughout scripture: Yahweh God anoints His servants and grants them authority. To be the Messiah (or, The Christ) means that Jesus had to be a human to fulfill the mandatory requirements according to prophecy (an Israelite human descended from David, see Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, and 2 Sam 7:12-16 among many others). Not to become a human, but to be born one.

Please don’t misunderstand me, Jesus was the very best of us. The Lamb of God is worthy, and worthy of praise, because he was obedient to God’s will and gave his own life as a ransom for many, but (according to Jesus himself) God is the one who sent him to do so. This seems to make it pretty critical to get our theology right when God tells us: “… My glory I will not give to another.” ( LSB Isa 48:11).

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Why do you believe what you believe, can you find or quote scriptures that support your beliefs? Why is it important?
Have you ever, in patient love and understanding, asked someone who believes differently than you about God to share their beliefs and had a constructive and loving conversation as a result, comparing interpretations while maintaining love and respect?
Do you think what anyone else believes is important? To what degree, to whom, and why?
Which do you feel is more critical toward entering the Kingdom: theological accuracy, humble obedience to God, or a relationship with God? If you had to assign a percentage to each, where would they fall in your opinion?

PRAYER

Father God, we love you. Teach us and instruct us, grant us your spirit as a helper, and help us to be humbly obedient to your word. Thank you for life, breath, and all things. Please bless all those who seek your favor, and forgive us our shortcomings. In Jesus name, amen.

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I Will Carry You

*Isaiah 46-47

*Psalm 119

*Luke 1

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

There is a whole underlying theme of “burdens” in the first few chapters of today’s reading, and it begins by speaking of the Babylonian gods “Bel and Nebo” (also known as Marduk and Nabu, 2 Babylonian deities in a pagan pantheon), unflatteringly.

Isaiah 46:1-2 describes these ‘gods’ as “bowing down” and “stooping” because their heavy statues were being loaded onto beasts of burden during the fall of Babylon. This imagery highlights the irony that the gods themselves were powerless to save their temples, their people, or even their own images, which became a burden to the weary beasts carrying them into captivity. Not only could they not carry their people, God is highlighting the fact that they can’t even carry themselves: they’re just statues.

The next batch of scripture in v3-4 contrasts the above idols with God brilliantly, and says: “3“Hear Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been burdening Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; 4Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you, and I will rescue you. ” (LSB). God lets Israel know that they’re the burden, that He’s been carrying them from birth, and that like a father to his children He will continue to carry them, bear them, and rescue them.

Back before the return (from the Babylonian captivity), idolatry was rampant for the ancient Israelites. Likewise, in today’s world, mankind has elevated silver, gold, and sometimes even the servants of God to equal status as the God who created everything. God explains it to us directly and bluntly: “5“To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike?” (LSB, Isaiah 46:5). Just in case there was confusion later (there is), He goes on to clarify: “9…For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,” (LSB, Isa 46:9). What a beautiful, simple, and straightforward understanding about the nature of God, and if you notice there is a strong consistency to the message that Yahweh God is God alone (see also Deut 6:4, which Jesus the servant of God later quotes as the greatest commandment in Mark 12:29).

Moving on down to our Psalms reading today, we find ourselves beginning the longest chapter in the bible, and it’s just a really good one. We’re obviously not going to cover the entirety of Ps 119 today (it’s huge), but we’ll try to get in a good solid overview of the first 40 verses or so.

The author of this Psalm spends a lot of time focusing and reiterating on obeying God’s laws, on seeking God with all your heart, and on God revealing His will and precepts as a source of joy and life. Ps 119:1-40 all carry this theme explicitly, here are just a few excerpts from today’s scripture to reiterate this thematically (these are all from the LSB translation, Ps 119):

1 How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of Yahweh. 2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,They seek Him with all their heart.

33 Instruct me, O Yahweh, in the way of Your statutes, That I may observe it to the end. 34 Cause me to understand, that I may observe Your law And keep it with all my heart.

You get the idea. The author here is very focused on God, and on obeying God’s precepts, and asks repeatedly for his own comprehension and God’s help and protection. This strikes me as a very healthy outlook for anyone seeking to be a servant of the living God. We search the scriptures because we believe that by them we may receive eternal life (See John 5:39), and the author of Ps 119 seems to agree with that, and also go further and asks God to change his heart (see also for reference Jer 31:33), and to grant him discernment and wisdom to understand and obey.

I did want to point out one very cool thing that’s in our Luke reading today. In Luke 1, Gabriel is a busy angel, God sends him first to Zechariah to inform him about the birth of his son (John the baptist), and then to Mary to inform her about the birth of her son (Jesus). Note that Gabriel doesn’t just show up and start saying whatever he wants: he is sent by God and delivers only the message(s) that God sent him to deliver, because he’s not God, he’s God’s servant.

This is true for any of the servants of God: even though they are not God, they are sent by God to fulfill a specific purpose on God’s behalf, and when they do so we are to accord them the same honor and authority that we ascribe to our Creator, because they are sent by God. That is actually the criteria to be a servant of God, that God sends you. This includes Jesus, the son of David, the servant of God (for reference see John 1:22,33, 3:34, 4:34, 5:23-24,30,36-38, 6:29,38-39,44,57, 7:16,28-29,33, 8:16,26,29,42, etc etc etc.-30 times in John per Jesus). Jesus really tried to make it very clear that God sent him, and that he didn’t act from his own authority but did what God told him to do, and said what God told him to say. Jesus was completely obedient to the authority of YHVH God, as not only as a servant (which he was) but as a son.

There’s something staggering that the angel (literally, “messenger”) Gabriel says when he’s delivering his messages here in Luke 1. Think about the descriptions of the throne of God (see Aug 5^th devotional from earlier this year for scriptural references and descriptions about the Courts of Heaven): in every instance you see the Most High God seated on the throne, with the courts full of heavenly beings as supplicants around him, often prostrating themselves. Gabriel says this particular phrase in Luke 1:19: “…I am Gabriel, who stands before God,” Stop and think about that for a moment. That’s huge. This may be a servant of God, but he is given much power and authority if he is allowed to stand before the most high God. Now think about the Christ, our king Jesus. Not only does he stand before God, but God has invited him to sit at His right hand. The ultimate authority, just under God. It’s amazing.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

We’re probably all familiar with the poem “Footsteps”. How many times in your life has God carried you? Reflect on them for a moment.
How can you personally increase the love of God’s laws in your heart, like the author of Ps 119?
Had you ever caught that bit about Gabriel “standing before God” before, and pondered it?

PRAYER

Father God, thank you for carrying me when I couldn’t make it on my own. Plant within my heart the fervent desire to study and obey your precepts, and to listen to the messengers You sent. Thank you for life, breath, and all things. Please carry me just a little bit further. In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Millennial Kingdom and It’s Purpose

Isaiah 40-41

Psalm 117

Revelation 20

-Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

The Millennial Kingdom is a controversial topic today and we need to see the importance of this period of time to our understanding of God’s purposes and to show us the way to the new heavens and earth where righteousness will be the only standard. Today we also read from Isaiah who is the most quoted prophet in the New Testament. Hear Isaiah’s words today :

Isaiah 40:12-14(NLT) Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
¹³ Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD?
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
¹⁴ Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?

The purpose of the Millennial is shown where the promises made to the nation of Israel about this earth will be fulfilled. It also is a time when the sinfulness of man’s heart will ultimately be revealed and destroyed. The first lie told by Satan is that if Adam and Eve disobey God and eat of the fruit they will become like god, knowing good and evil, and that they will not surely die. All lies proceed from this one as they are based on disobedience to God’s commands, and the desire in mankind’s heart to be their own god.

The lie that is the last to be destroyed is the lie of perfect justice: “Have a man with great power put over the earth and have perfect justice and righteousness on a restored earth then we will hear and obey God.”

The next coming events on this earth will be the great tribulation and all that happens surrounding these coming events. The Anti-Christ as well as the false prophet will be revealed to the world first as a great savior, and then as the leader of the powers of darkness and this world. Sin will be openly revealed and then judged by Jesus Christ who is worthy to open the scroll in Revelation 5. He is the one chosen by God to bring judgement and justice to this present world. This includes judgement and disposal of the Antichrist and the false prophet who are annihilated and removed from the earth at the end of this time.

The resurrection of those that believe and are judged righteous starts the beginning of the reign of Christ on this present earth. We see this rulership truth from prophecies from the Old Testament prophets and then reflected specifically in this prophecy we are given in the book of Revelation. The dispersion and regathering of the nation of Israel is covered in numerous prophecies of the Old Testament prophets and records. The promises of the future kingdom including Israel is a centering truth of our conference today.

Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV) So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Ephesians 1:9-11 (NLT) God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. ¹⁰ And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. ¹¹ Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

Israel is God’s own chosen people and much of the Old Testament prophecy is about what He will do for them in this future kingdom ruled by His Son. There are sections of scripture that give us specific information about what God will do for Israel, and then also how He chooses those that are true believers from among them.

Isaiah 59:20(NLT) The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins,”says the LORD.

The resurrection of the just is found in Revelation 20 where God decides based on His standards of faith those who will become part of the new kingdom of His Son in the time following. Many of the promises of the OT prophets give us a preview of how God will deal with the people and the land.

Ezekiel 36:24 (NLT) For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

Those that are judged just and resurrected are those that God finds the Word in their mouths and hearts like Jesus Christ to come. Descendants of Israel in the world today must turn to Jesus and make him their Messiah for them to receive forgiveness of sin, and life to come. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile at this time. Being Jewish and going to temple will not give them eternal life in the kingdom to come. There is no righteousness today from the law of Moses for Jew or Gentile.

Revelation 20:4-6(NLT) Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) ⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

The resurrection of the just is at the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ on this present earth. Also, the Devil and all his minions are chained and locked up away from the earth. Satan is removed from having any influence on earthly events and on people’s actions for this thousand-year period. The devil’s influence over events is locked from the earth by his imprisonment and then from the coming mortal human events on this present earth. The excuse that the “devil made me do it” cannot be made by anyone during this time frame.

Revelation 20:1-3(NLT) Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand. ² He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. ³ The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

We need to think about how many mortal people might still be on the earth after the tribulation and the battle of Christ against the Adversary that ends this period. There are currently 8+ billion people on the present earth today. If a remnant is saved through the tribulation this still might be as many as 1 billion or more people left to live, procreate, and die on this present earth. They are given God’s promises that the justice and administration of the earth will be done with God’s perfect judgment of good and evil. The earth will be watered literally and figuratively to give everyone all that is needed. The needs for food, shelter, fellowship, and every other need will be met.

Ezekiel 34:29-31(NLT) And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. ³⁰ In this way, they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign LORD. ³¹ You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

The prophecies of the book of Revelation show us what will happen then in this new kingdom of Christ on this present earth. We see a picture of perfect judgement and administration of justice to all. Many of those people alive at that time will see, hear, and believe and receive the grace that comes from Christ. The blessings and abundance of that time to come is amazing in the foretelling that we read. We know that mortals continue to populate this earth and procreate, work and live their lives during this time of blessing and abundance. But the same result comes following the same pattern as through all of time. Some believe, and some reject Jesus as the righteous ruler of the earth and the kingdom of God. It is hard to even understand how people would reject Christ during the proof of God’s grace and love for people.

Remember that there is also no influence of the Adversary and his minions in the affairs of mankind on the earth in this time. This is an especially important part of the purpose of the millennial reign. To have a new heaven and new earth where all is righteous, all disobedience must be demonstrated, judged, and destroyed. Heaven needs to have all disobedience removed in order to make all ready for the coming new heaven.

1 Corinthians 4:5(NKJV) Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.

The disobedience that is prophesied in Revelation shows us that the human heart has not changed, and the desire to do evil is still evident even during the Millennial reign. For a new heaven and earth to appear, all evil and rebellion in both heaven and earth needs to be dealt with. Christ is God’s agent of justice and salvation coming to all the earth. Those that believe and follow Christ are saved to a beautiful future with the rule of God and Christ. Those that desire to do evil and rebel will be annihilated and destroyed forever. This is the second death for all that are judged unrighteous.

The lie of perfect government and rulership is destroyed, and the forces of evil are all annihilated. The Millennial ends with the beginning of the new heavens and earth we will next read about.

Reflection Questions

What are your thoughts and feelings as you read Revelation 20? What verse brings you the most hope and excitement?
What are you looking forward to Jesus bringing to light?
How often do you think of these things: Jesus’ second coming, resurrection, the Millennial reign, the new heavens and earth? How might it change the way you live your life today if you thought of these things more?

PRAYER

Father God, we are so humbled by the wisdom that You demonstrate in the earth, heavens, and peoples that You have created. We are so thankful that You have invited us to join Your family and to have Your love and protection. We pray that you will continue to sustain and keep us this day and forever in Your kingdom to come. Come Lord Jesus come. Praying to You in the name of Christ this day.

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Faith in God

Isaiah 36-37

Psalm 116

Revelation 18

-Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)

Isaiah 37:1-7(NLT)When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the LORD. ² And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the court secretary, and the leading priests, all dressed in burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby. ⁴ But perhaps the LORD your God has heard the Assyrian chief of staff, sent by the king to defy the living God, and will punish him for his words. Oh, pray for those of us who are left!”
⁵ After King Hezekiah’s officials delivered the king’s message to Isaiah, ⁶ the prophet replied, “Say to your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. ⁷ Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword.’”

Psalms 116:6-8(NLT) The LORD protects those of childlike faith;
I was facing death, and he saved me.
⁷ Let my soul be at rest again,
for the LORD has been good to me.
⁸ He has saved me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.

Our subject today is that of our faith. We use the word “faith” very freely here in the United States, in the churches here, but I do not know that we always realize the full measure of what the word means. We tell each other to have faith or greet each other with the word faithful but often it is very shallow in its meaning. We need to examine what Hezekiah does in the face of an overwhelming army and disaster from Sennacherib the king of Assyria.

Where does Hezekiah turn? And what does he petition God for in his message to Isaiah?

The word “faith” in Hebrew in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word “emunah” which gives us two other words of “faithfulness” and the word “Amen” which means “full agreement”. The word faith in the Hebrew gives a meaning of action and movement in our lives. We do not only have faith in God, but we should live out our faith in God.

Habakkuk 2:4(NKJV) Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

We cannot separate our intellectual understanding of the Words of God from action about them in our lives. We may agree with what the Word says in our minds, but this is just a mental assent intellectually that the Word is true. When we truly believe the Words of God then we will live out our lives in accordance with what they say, we will live by our faith.

You do not merely think that you have faith, you should walk it, breathe it, make it your own. This is our relational trust in the truth of what God says to us in all of life. We show what we believe by what we do in our lives. Do you put your full trust in our God? Or do we secretly in our hearts not fully believe His Words?

Look at our father Abraham in Genesis where God tells him to go to a new land where God will bless him and give him land and descendants. Did he live out his life with full agreement of what God told him to do? The central theme of Abraham is that we are saved by our faith, and not our meager works of righteousness.

Galatians 3:6-7(NLT) In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” ⁷ The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

Our salvation in Christ comes from putting our full trust of our lives in the truth that God saves us because He wanted to do it. God is our Savior in the sense that He is the author of salvation for us. Jesus Christ is the agent of salvation for us because he is how God did the saving of us.

Our faith must stand in this truth, that God so loved us that He sent Jesus to be the payment for you and for me. We have no works of righteousness that we can do to save us. We should be morally good, and strive for virtue in our lives, but this is a response to the saving grace we have received, not a means of gaining eternal life. What a wonderful truth for us to see.

Do we rejoice in our hearts over the love and grace that God has given each of us? Where are our joy and rejoicing?

We should get so excited by God’s love and relationship with us that we will live out the grace that he has called us to. We also are proud to call Jesus Christ our brother and Savior, ready to tell any man or woman about what God has done for all of us.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

The evil kingdom of this world lies to us and tells us that we are helpless, hopeless, broken, and worthless. The kingdom of God within us tells us that we are loved, cared for, restored to life, and valuable children of the God who created the heavens and the earth. All that happens to us in life must be seen through the reality of this conflict between the two kingdoms. Do not be deceived by the Adversary and his lies.

2 Peter 1:2-4(NKJV) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We have exceedingly great and precious promises through Christ who brings us to God. We need to give our hearts fully to God who called us and saved us for His own purposes.

What has God called you to do? What are the works of righteousness that God has prepared for you to do?

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The good works of our lives that we do for God are the ones that He has prepared for us to do. This is acting out our lives with the full agreement that Jesus is our guide, showing us the way to go and lighting the path for our lives. We need to trust that God has us by the hand guiding our thoughts and our lives towards Him because He loves us.

This trust does not easily grow because we want to be the ones in charge of our own lives and hearts. We want to be the god of our lives and have control of everything. But we need to ask how well does that work out?

Are you a success by your own efforts, or do you need the Father to show the way to walk?

John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

We have confidence in our God because we have the history of His faithfulness to His own promises to read about and understand. When we see God being faithful, it gives us the confidence to let Him guide our thoughts and lives, and not to take back our hearts from Him.

Romans 15:4-6(NKJV) For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. ⁵ Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we see that God is able and willing to do all that He has promised in the past, then we will have confidence, meaning, hope and salvation in this world and the promise of life in His kingdom to come.

Reflection Questions above in bold TExt

Prayer:

Father God, we love You and praise You from our hearts. We are so thankful for all You have done to save us and bring us to You, Father. We thank you for the bread of our need this day, and the promise of our future life in Your kingdom. Help us to change our hearts and give us the steadfastness of Your love to keep us firm in our lives. We pray this in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.

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He Will Save You

*Isaiah 34-35

*Psalm 116

Revelation 17

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Isaiah 35: “2 They will see the glory of Yahweh, The majesty of our God.

3Strengthen limp hands, and give courage to the knees of the stumbling. 4Say to those with an anxious heart,“Be strong, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.” LSB.

So yes, your God is coming with vengeance, and the recompense of God will come, but He will save you. Be strong, and fear not.

Listen, Isaiah talks a lot about the blind seeing again, and it just gets me every time. If you know me or have read a few specific devotions I’ve written in the past, you’ll know that my dad is blind. It’s a terrible affliction, and I hate it. At the same time, without the act of my father going blind, I would still probably be lost; just another dumb sheep who had wandered off heading for the edge of the cliff, that stupid prodigal son who never had the sense to realize he was sleeping in pig crap. So while I hate the fact that my father has the affliction of blindness, I love the fact that our merciful God used that affliction to redirect me, and to save my soul. Dad has said much the same thing to me. So, whenever I come across a verse in the Bible that talks about restoring the sight of the blind, it makes me tear up a little.

I recently had an interview with Sean Finnegan on his podcast website “Restitutio.org” about a lot of that stuff, and if you are interested in the details you can give it a listen. If you do, note that I would probably have named it a little differently, and the episode number is #666 which is a little disturbing but I think that the content of the interview was good, and may be beneficial to some folks out there who are, like I was, being foolish. Look it up, it was released Aug 20, 2026.*

Back to Isaiah 35: “8And a roadway will be there, a highway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not pass by on it, But it will be for him who walks in that way, And ignorant fools will not wander on it. 9No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, 10And the ransomed of Yahweh will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting gladness upon their heads. They will attain delight and gladness, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.” (LSB)

So there will be a way called the Highway of Holiness and it will be for him who walks in that way (holiness). Even though there may be vicious beasts around you, none of them will be allowed on this path. The unclean, the vicious, the ignorant fools probably won’t even be able to find it, much less walk on it. The redeemed though, the ransomed of Yahweh will return along it. That’s me, I’ve been ransomed, and that ransom wasn’t cheap. It’s a deeply emotional thought for me that when I was unclean and a fool and seeking only my own desires that I may have been standing right beside this path and was never able to see it, because this is the way to God and life.

Psalms 116 says: “1 I love Yahweh, because He hears My voice and my supplications. 2Because He has inclined His ear to me, So I shall call upon Him in all my days. 3The cords of death encompassed me And the distresses of Sheol found me; I found distress and sorrow. 4Then I called upon the name of Yahweh: “O Yahweh, I beseech You, provide my soul escape! 5Gracious is Yahweh, and righteous; And our God is compassionate. 6Yahweh keeps the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. 7Return to your rest, O my soul, For Yahweh has dealt bountifully with you. 8For You have rescued my soul from death, My eyes from tears, My feet from stumbling. 9I shall walk before Yahweh In the land of the living.” LSB.

This is a part of my story too, because I literally died, and came back. In 2/14/2022, for about 5 and 1/2 minutes, I was dead on the table from a 100% blockage in the widowmaker (left anterior descending artery): happy valentine’s day! If you ever read Job 33:14-30, that’s a pretty good breakdown of “my story”, I also detailed it a little bit during the interview mentioned above. God saved me though, and then redeemed me.

Ps 116 continues: “12What shall I give to Yahweh in return For all His bountiful dealings with me? 13I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of Yahweh. 14I shall pay my vows to Yahweh, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people. 15Precious in the sight of Yahweh Is the death of His holy ones. 16 O Yahweh, surely I am Your slave, I am Your slave, the son of Your maidservant, You have loosed my bonds. 17To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of Yahweh. 18I shall pay my vows to Yahweh, Oh may it be in the presence of all His people, 19In the courts of the house of Yahweh, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise Yah!” LSB.

That question in v12 is probably the best question any of us could ever ask, and leads to salvation. The answer is probably best answered in v16. The cost of a soul is high. When Peter’s life is redeemed in Acts 12, the cost of his salvation was the lives of 16 soldiers. When I initially escaped the environment that was going to kill me in my youth, it cost the life of at least 1 other man. I am certain, even this many years later, that the sole reason that I lived and others did not is because even in the depths of my depravity, I feared the name of God. Whether you are aware of it or not: God paid a very high price for each of us. We are not bought cheaply, but at a cost higher than we could ever repay: the blood of His only begotten son.

I have noticed that sometimes folks who haven’t gone through as much terrible stuff as I have don’t appreciate the little things that God has done for us. Offering up His son in exchange for us was a big thing though, just think about it for a moment. We can never repay such a high price, but if God is willing, we can spend a lifetime trying to His glory.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Is there a verse, or group of verses, that speaks to you personally and deeply?
How can we better remember with awe the terrible price that was paid for us?
What are the best ways in which we can honor that price, and He who paid it?

PRAYER

Father God, Thank you. You saved me, and I wasn’t worth the cost. You are gracious beyond my understanding, and I am Your servant forever. Thank you. In Jesus name, Amen.

*Sean Finnegan Restitutio interview with Jeremy Martin on Aug 20, 2026

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From the Rising of the Sun…

*Isaiah 21-22

*Psalm 113

*Revelation 11

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

Here in America where I am from, most of us have been so richly blessed and for so long that we have come to view a position of comfort as an expectation, like a child who has grown up never wanting for anything, and like that child unfortunately the mentality often becomes one of entitlement and self promotion. Additionally, most humans tend to think “regionally” (look up the theory of the Monkeysphere for an interesting theory on the limitations of human empathy). We also tend to think in terms of “us” and “them”, which is a mistake when you consider that there is only “us” (God made all mankind), and we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves.

I love the reading of Psalms today, as it not only highlights a very important (and sometimes forgotten) fact about God, but also has one of my favorite songs in it (From the Rising of the Sun). The song goes like this “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised” and then repeats and goes into a chorus of “So praise ye the Lord!”. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. In my LSB translation of the Bible Ps 113:1-4 reads (more accurately, but perhaps slightly more difficult to sing) : “1Praise Yah! Praise, O slaves of Yahweh,Praise the name of Yahweh. 2May the name of Yahweh be blessed From now until forever. 3From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of Yahweh is to be praised. 4Yahweh is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.”

All servants of the Lord, praise His name. From now until forever, from the rising of the sun, every day, the name of Yahweh is to be praised. It doesn’t matter where you’re at regionally, or what your circumstances are: because our God is high above all the nations, and bigger than any of your circumstances. Why is that important? The next few verses tell us: “5Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high, 6The One who brings Himself low to see The things in heaven and on the earth? 7Who raises the poor from the dust And lifts high the needy from the ash heap, 8To make them sit with nobles, With the nobles of His people. 9He makes the barren woman of the house sit As a glad mother of children. Praise Yah!” Ps 113: 5-9, LSB. Our God is watching what we do (see verse 6*), and He’s paying attention to His creation. He is actively helping and blessing us.

There’s a theory called “Deism” that states that while God did create the world, He is no longer involved in it, and just letting it wind down on it’s own to see what happens (this is also called the “Clockmaker Theory”). I disagree with that theory pretty strongly. Ps 113 seems to contradict that theory, because not only is God observing, but He is taking action. Additionally, we know that in the last days God will pour out His spirit upon mankind, and I believe I’ve personally experienced some of that.

While we tend to equivolate blessings with divine accolade and approval (particularly here in America where I’m writing from), it is very clear in our Isaiah reading today that there are times when we should eschew some of the finer things, and humble ourselves before our God. Isaiah 22:14-16 says: “12Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth. 13Instead, behold, there is joy and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” 14But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you Until you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts. “ (LSB).

Today in our Revelation reading, we see the fascinating and intriguing story of the 2 witnesses who will come, just before the last trumpet is sounded. This is right near the end of the reign of nations, just before the kingdom of God is established on the earth** (as it is written in scripture). I’ve always been fascinated by these guys. First and foremost to keep in mind, these are witnesses of God. They will come and judge the earth, speaking a witness to God’s word and having authority to inflict massive damage in various methods upon the earth for it’s transgressions. We know from previous studies that God (who is love) generally inflicts punitive action in order to change behavior (see yesterday’s devotion) for our benefit.

Most people now don’t like to be corrected though. The people of the earth are so caught up in living the good life in these final days that they see this effort from God as an intrusion more than the attempt at restoration that it is. That’s why it says (in Rev 11: 10) about the witnesses after they are killed: “10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.” LSB. This should worry us all, because it seems like these are the times that we are living in.

I remember as a very young lad, when my life had no worries in it except for if I would get to go play by the river that day, running from my father once to avoid a spanking. It did not work out well for me, and my actions increased my punishment exponentially. Had I been wiser, I would have humbled myself before my father, admitted my shortcomings, and begged for his mercy. Do you see what could be a simple correlation for the modern day believer? May I suggest that even when your life is overflowing with rich blessings and goodness; take the time occasionally to humble yourself before God, admit your shortcomings, and beg Him for mercy.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Do you ever take time to fast and pray? How often?
Do you ever pay forward the blessings that God has given you, to His glory (and not your own)?
How else can we diminish ourselves and grow God in our life?

PRAYER

Father God, Abba, I’m sorry for my many shortcomings. Please forgive me. Correct me gently, and restore me. Help me to grant you ultimate authority over all aspects of my life, and guide me in the best way to honor and glorify You. Have mercy upon me, a sinner. In Jesus name, Amen.

* In the interests of non-biased and complete transparency, I am going to throw some of my more traditional, “orthodox” brothers who like to claim “sola scriptura” (scripture alone) as the basis for their doctrine a very small bone here. Ps 113:6 says “brings Himself low”, which is the closest thing I’ve been able to find in scriptures that could even possibly be construed as “God became a man”. It’s pretty slim, admittedly, and it’s not really enough in my opinion to base an entire Christology on, but since there is literally no scripture that says “God became a man” this is the closest you’re going to get using only the Bible as a validation for this later developed theory of the nature of the Christ. I’d still recommend reading 1-all of the prophecies regarding the requirements of the coming messiah (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7, Ps 89, etc, etc), 2-who the disciples thought Jesus was (Acts 2:22, Romans 5:15, and 1 Tim 2:5 etc, etc), 3-who Jesus thought he was (a “son of man” @80 times, ie a human, also see John 8:40, and John 20:17) , and finally 4-reading closely again through the stories of the birth of Jesus (in Matthew and Luke). Then compare all of that to the things that God actually does reveal about himself through scriptures and see if that matches up with what’s been taught . A much clearer scriptural understanding is that Jesus was an Israelite man born of the line of David who was empowered by the holy spirit of God to perform miracles due to his overwhelming obedience to God, but feel free to use the above as a proof text if you couldn’t find one that scripturally backed the (admittedly slim) traditional stance. You’re welcome!-J

** “Heaven” in scripture refers to the area above (outside) of the earth, wherein God and the heavenly host/heavenly court dwell currently, not a vacation residence upon demise. The “Kingdom of God” or the “Kingdom of Heaven” (as it is alternatively called) will be established here upon the earth, according to scripture, see for reference Zech 14:9, Rev 11:15, Rev 21:12, among myriad other verses). The Christian hope is that after being resurrected and judged that we may be made citizens of this Kingdom (see for reference Acts 17:31, Matt 25: 31-46). When we die we don’t “go” anywhere; we just rest in the dirt until these events occur as it is written in scripture (in direct opposition to some later teachings of the “orthodox” church in the 4^th century which have become prevalent in modern day interpretations).

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The 7th Seal

Isaiah 15-16

Ps 111

Revelation 8

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

“The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax— Of cabbages—and kings” – Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter, (Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 4, 1871)

Forget all that other stuff, today we’ll be be speaking of kings. There is a famous line from a Mel Brooks movie where Mel repeats numerous times throughout the show, “It’s good to be the king!” Being the king isn’t always a fun job though, sometimes being the king means doing the hard things that need to be done, sometimes doing the hard things that no one else can do.

There is a nice little supplemental to the many prophecies of the coming Messiah, when it says in Isaiah 16:5: “And a throne will be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness.” (LSB). This seems to be a nice foreshadowing of our king Yeshua, the Messiah, the Christ. These little bits are all throughout the Old Testament, just a little nod that one day our king will be coming, and a reminder that he will be from the house of David, and that he will also seek justice and be righteous.

Here’s the thing though: most of us don’t want justice, we want mercy (and with good reason, if we’re being honest). In our Revelation reading today we see an ominous revelation (thus, the name of the book) of things to come, and we begin to see some of the harder things that the king must do to fulfill his function.

Earlier on in the book (Rev 5) we see that God has in His hand a scroll with 7 seals and that initially no one was found in heaven or on earth or under the earth that was able to open the scroll, and then we see that our king, the lamb of God, the Christ (or Messiah) from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and it’s 7 seals.

Revelation 5 is a very clear picture of the hierarchy of heaven. There is God, all powerful and holy, surrounded by “myriads upon myriads” of angels and the elders, sitting on the throne and holding a scroll of great power that is sealed. Then coming before the throne is the Lamb who was slain and by his obedience granted authority by the God who rules over all, the man chosen from the house of David to be given authority, by God. This is a very clear and unambiguous picture of the relationship of the Most High God, and of His chosen king whom He has granted authority: the Lamb of God.

In Rev 6 we see that the Lamb (whom we understand to be Yeshua/Jesus) takes the scroll from the right hand of God and begins to open the seals. It’s important to understand that only the ruler whom God granted authority and dominion would be able to do such a thing. There was no one else found worthy in heaven, earth, or under the earth to do this job. We see back in Rev 5:9-10 that he is worthy specifically because: “…you were slain and purchased for God with your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom…”. Observe that God is still seated on his throne, the ultimate power, when the Lamb (Yeshua/Jesus) begins to open the seals, to perform one of his first functions as the chosen king.

We see clearly that the Lamb is the one who is opening the seals in Rev 6:1, under the authority of God. This is what I referred to earlier as having to do the hard things as king. It should be noted that all of these seals as they are broken have a calamitious effect upon the earth, getting progressively more horrific. The first 6 seals that are opened (in Rev 6) sound pretty scary. When we get to our reading today of Rev 8, it sounds downright terrifying. When the 7^th seal is opened, there is complete silence in heaven for about half an hour (Rev 8:1). That sounds ominous. I have a couple points to make here.

Point 1 is, we aren’t 100% sure of the timeline of these events. Like all prophecy, it is somewhat obscured. Different folks have different beliefs on how much of this we’re going to have to endure. There are Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and Post-tribulation theories on when the faithful will be taken, each theory having their own supporting scriptures or interpretations. I have my own opinions, but I also believe that stating them dogmatically is foolish since I’m just a man. Here is my suggestion though: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. I would also suggest that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

Point 2 is: all of the earth, and everything (and everybody) in it belongs to God (See Ps 24:1). Before we get all “ach, waily waily waily, how could a merciful God…”: stop it. It’s all God’s, including us, and He can do whatever He wants with His stuff. Yes, this might be a terrible time, but consider that anytime you are building a new and magnificent structure, the first thing that needs to be done is a demolition of the old rickety structures that were there already. This is that. Do you remember that guy who lived in the bamboo hut underneath where the Taj Mahal is located now? Me neither, because that hut had to go to make room for the new building. That’s what’s going on here. All of these things need to happen so that the kingdom of God can be established here on the earth.

After the 7^th seal is broken, the trumpets begin to sound. The 1^st trumpet brings hail and fire mixed with blood and a third of the earth and trees and all of the grass is burned up. Trumpet 2 brings a great burning thing thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea turns to blood and a third of the living creatures in the sea die and a third of the ships are destroyed. The 3^rd trumpet brings a star falling that causes a third of the waters to become poisoned, or “wormwood”. The 4^th trumpet causes a third of the sun, moon, and stars to be struck so that a third of them would be darkened. This is literally some apocalyptic stuff going down.

As if that wasn’t enough, the last verse in chapter 8 is the most worrying: “13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!”” (LSB). This is going to be a dark and scary time for any of those left on the earth. Knowing this, we as Christians should be taking extreme steps to make sure that we’re living a holy life that is pleasing to God, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Are you living in a bamboo hut right now? Well, act right and you might be relocated once the new facility is in place.

The best advice I can offer is from Zeph 2:3 –

“Seek Yahweh, All you humble of the earth

Who have worked His justice; Seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of Yahweh’s anger.” (LSB)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS -based on the above verse

Are you humbly seeking Yahweh?
Are you working His Justice here upon the earth?
Are you seeking righteousness and humility?

PRAYER

Father God, blessed be Your name. You have created the earth, and all that is in it. You have told us in advance of the things to come. Please help us to humble ourselves and to be servants who please You. Help us to work Your justice. Help us to be a righteous and holy people who do Your will. Protect us in the coming troubles. In Jesus name, Amen.

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Struggling to Change

Isaiah 10-12

Psalm 110

Revelation 6

-Devotion by Daniel Smead (MN)

I found it difficult to produce a devotion for Psalm 110. I realized that it is hard, anymore, for me to look at this text without considering its uses in the New Testament, and in theology (accurate and inaccurate), and start working out its links with other Old Testament passages, and so on, and on. That may be nothing like your experience. (O.k., I hope for you that it isn’t like your experience.) But it is mine, at least it is at this point in my life. I find that having studied theology a fair bit is helpful in some situations, and not as much in some others, like when I find it difficult to see a text as a “whole” piece of thought.

I could produce several paragraphs on the psalm’s heavy use in the New Testament (most quoted verse, here is how it was used by Jesus, Peter, Hebrews, etc.). I used up over an hour (o.k., maybe two) tracking down Hebrew word usage because I wasn’t sure if it would lead me anywhere helpful. (I found some interesting things about the “day of wrath” I may use for something sometime, but not today.)

I did try reading a commentary that covered the text. It was Derek Kidner’s, Psalms 73-150, published in the Tyndale Commentaries series in 1975. I went on out to the garage and pulled it from “Box 45” of my books. (Yeah, I’m not kidding. I’m fortunate to now have a list showing which box has which books; a year ago I didn’t.) It’s not bad. Kidner makes an interesting suggestion about verse 7, that it pictures the psalm’s king-priest in similar terms to Gideon (Judges 8:4), after a victory, but having continued in a pursuit of his enemies and just pausing at the stream. I like the image, but I’m not sure it is accurate. And did it inspire me with devotional ideas? No.

Eventually I recognized that in all my notes I didn’t have a devotional. Not even an outline for one. May as well dump it all.

Blank.

PRAYER

Lord, please help me to see this text anew. Please free me from the blinders on my eyes, or mind, or wherever they are, that sometimes prevent me from viewing your scripture with emotion, be it joy or conviction, resolution or guilt, pride or shame. Soften my heart, Lord, if that is what is needed, and let me see within your scripture more than words.

Let me try again.

The people of Israel knew things about the Torah, and the kings in David’s line, that you or I will never even attempt to know. And all too often they were locked-in to perspectives on what their knowledge meant about God’s intentions, and which options were available. Dozens of places in the Hebrew Scriptures align with general expectations: kings and priests were separate. They died and needed to be replaced. And quite often kings and priests didn’t serve God well, but because of God’s mercy the system kept going.

In a few places, like Psalm 110 for instance, God let people know that the general expectations were not enough. Things were not going to stay as they had been. I don’t know how many people put these facts together before Jesus came on the scene, and how many of those then acted on what they understood.

Is anything ever guaranteed to stay as it has been? Not the business you work at, or the school you attend. Not the country you live in. Not me. Not you. God is permanent; some things God has decided on we know won’t change, either. Jesus interceding for us with God is a “forever” thing. Please, figure out the things God intends to last, and put more care into them than some of the other stuff. You may end up more prepared for when things change.

I wish you well.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Have you been unable to connect with a passage of scripture (due to over-intellectualizing; comprehension – language, background, etc.; inattention)? Were you able to overcome the issue?
Do you see yourself as mainly expecting what you experience to remain as it is, or are you expecting changes? How does that expectation relate to efforts you are making to preserve and/or change things around you?
If you could lock-in one thing about yourself to remain the same throughout your life – an attitude, perhaps a personality trait or a passion – would you? And, if so, what would you choose?

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Insecurity and Love

Song of Songs 1-2

Psalm 106

2 John

-Devotion by Jerry Wierwille (NY)

The book Song of Songs (also known as the Song of Solomon) is one of the most beautiful and captivating books in the Bible. It is a collection of love poetry that celebrates affection, desire, beauty, commitment, and the joy of belonging to another person. Rather than treating romantic love as something embarrassing or unspiritual, Song of Songs presents it as something to be sought after, treasured, and protected.

Throughout Christian history, many believers have read Song of Songs as a figurative representation of the love between God and His people, or the love of Christ for His church. But that allegorization should not be the primary way to understand the book. Nevertheless, while we should read Song of Songs primarily as romantic poetry celebrating human love, the vivid imagery and language of longing, delight, pursuit, and belonging, though not romantic in nature, can also help us to understand the depth of affection found in our relationship with God—our love for Him and His love for us.

Song of Songs begins with a description about a deep longing. The unidentified woman figure desires the presence of the one she loves, and throughout the first chapter there is a strong sense of mutual delight between them. They speak about their admiration, affection, and tenderness toward each another. They take note of what they see as beautiful, and they are not afraid to express it.

Yet right in the midst of this jubilee of love is a hint of the woman’s insecurity. She says, “Do not stare at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me” (1:6). Apparently, she is quite self-conscious about how she appears to others. She says that she works in the sun and seems aware of the fact that she has become dark because of it, and that may not fit the standards of beauty in her culture.

I think this expresses something deeply human as we all know what it is like to feel exposed, inadequate, or less than what we think others expect of us. We compare ourselves to others; we think about our weaknesses or our failures; and we often wonder whether people would still accept us if they knew everything about us.

What comes next pierces through that chatter. The response of her beloved counteracts her insecurity: “O most beautiful among women,” (1:8), and “Behold, you are beautiful, my darling!” he says (1:15). He does not respond to her insecurity by pointing out her flaws but speaks words of love, affirmation, and delight. He seeks to overwrite her negative self-image with truth. In his affirmation of her, the lover does not trivialize her mistaken view, but simply paints an entirely different picture on the canvas of her mind so that she can begin to believe a different narrative than the one she has been telling herself.

This can remind us of the way God sees us. God sees us more clearly than anyone else ever could. He knows every weakness, every hidden thought, every regret, and every place where we have failed. Yet through Christ, we are not defined by shame, guilt, and unmet expectations. Instead, we are forgiven, accepted, and brought near.

In our insecurity, we might imagine that God merely puts up with us. But we know that He loves us dearly since Scripture tells us He does. But perhaps we struggle to believe that He actually delights in us. And so, if we think about that passion and eagerness of desire that the woman and her lover express in the first chapter of Song of Songs, even though it is a picture of human love, then it can challenge us to dismiss any fictional view of God’s love that is less than the truth.

Let’s have the truth God has told us in Scripture be the narrative we believe, and not the distorted story our fears, insecurities, failures, or past experiences try to write for us. So when insecurity, shame, comparison with others, or regret begin to creep into how we see ourselves, don’t let it! Instead, allow the truth of God’s love and grace overwrite that false portrait of who we are. We are God’s beloved. And He desires us!

Reflection Questions

What lies about yourself do you tell yourself? What insecurities, shame, comparison with others, and/or regret have you allowed to distort your image?
Have you accepted Jesus’s sacrifice to save you? What do you think God sees when He looks at and in you? Pray for God to show you.
How can you help someone else see the truth and the beauty (inside and out) God has made them to be?

Prayer

Dear God, You are worthy of all my desire and love and it boggles my mind that You indeed desire a deep relationship with me. The lengths of Your great love for me, which Your Son then learned from You, are extraordinary. Help me to see clearly who You have made and saved me to be, removing all lies, attitudes and actions that interfere with me receiving Your love, returning love back to You, and spreading Your love.

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