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Scripture text for Friday, May 21st, 2010: Revelation 21:1-22:21

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Revelation 22:7 says, “Behold, I am coming soon!” The “I” in the verse is Jesus, but when is “soon.” When Dana tells me that she is going to be home “soon”, I anticipate that she will be home in minutes. I certainly do not expect her to take 2,000 years to come back home.

We don't know when Jesus will come back (Matthew 24:36), but we are told “soon.” And now 2,000 years later we are still waiting.

Scripture text for Thursday, May 20th, 2010: Revelation 19:1-20-15

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"“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20: 11 & 12

Wow—what a Day this will be! It is exciting, overwhelming, fearful and wonderful all at the same time. Only because of Jesus is it not horribly dreadful for us as believers.

Scripture text for Wednesday, May 19th, 2010: Revelation 4:1 – 7:17

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"This is an apocalyptic passage, through and through. Interestingly, there is wide appeal for this genre, especially when you consider apocalyptic films. Recent examples would include the Terminator series, I am Legend, and V is for Vendetta. I would speculate on at least the following two reasons for this. First, we like to know where we are going and so, we enjoy a film that seeks to capture that even if we know the odds of it happening as it does in any one film are very low. We like to at least think and imagine various ways the world might go. Second, we recognize that the world, the universe, is in fact much, much bigger than any one of us. These films confirm this recognition by portraying large numbers of people and their lives being completely overwhelmed by the events.

Scripture text for Friday, May 14th, 2010: 1 John 3:11-4:21

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“He’s got his foot over on my side!” “Mom, he’s been in my room again!” “Dad, he just took my mitt.” Anyone with a sibling knows you would not always describe the relationship using the word “love”. Of course sibling squabbles are a far cry from the evil that came into Cain’s relationship with his brother Abel. Christ calls us to love not only our siblings but all of our brothers and sisters in humanity regardless of our differences, our frustration, anger, or impatience. Can you imagine the frustration Christ must have continually felt with His disciples? Their humanness, their imperfections, their sinful nature, their lack of faith; and yet, He loves. He loves us so much that he made the ultimate sacrifice of dying for our sins that we may have eternal life in Him. And what does he ask of us? Is it so much to love Him and to also love one another? We will stumble and we will fall but His love and His grace never waver. Our obedience is evidence that the Holy Spirit resides in us.

“Loving God means keeping his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world and we achieve this victory through our faith.” 1 John 5:3-4 (New Living Translation)

Devotion prepared by Joyce Christopher

Scripture text for Thursday, May 13th, 2010: James 1:1-2:26

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This letter from James is written as though he is speaking to me in the present day. He knew then that I would be tempted and that my life is likely not the bowl of cherries I would hope for. He predicted that I would talk without listening, judge others as though I am perfect and have faith sometimes without works.

My first reaction to hardship is not usually joy. It’s most often frustration, denial, anger and anguish. James says these are my trials and I am being tested. He advises me to persevere, pray and ask God to intercede and to believe in His ability to do so. By doubting Him we are no different than non-believers. But joy comes in God’s fulfilled promise as we rely totally on Him.

Scripture text for Wednesday, May 12th, 2010: Peter 1:1 – 2:12

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We put a new roof on our house a few years back and right away the first time I cleaned out the gutters I could see that gravel from the new roofing tiles was coming off the tiles into the gutter – it was wearing out bit by bit from day one! Similarly, the previous owners of the house had installed new siding on the garage. It looked great when we bought the house, but now it has tears in a few places and is bent in others. You get the idea – everywhere I turn I see a house that is degrading! What is more, everywhere you and I look around us we see the same thing from our houses to our cars to our very bodies. You may be wondering when and if I can find a way to make this a bit more positive … this is where the text comes in. Peter describes “an inheritance that can never spoil or perish” (v. 4). I think this is actually hard for us to fully comprehend since nothing in this world functions in this way.