Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Offer Words of Warning (5/28/26)

The kids are excited that school is almost over. They have one more week before summer break. To prevent them from forgetting what they’ve learned throughout the year, we have them do math, reading and writing over the summer.

Similarly, we have one more week left in Revelation. I don’t want us to forget what we’ve learned. John didn’t either. 

Revelation 22:18-19 ¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

We are to read and heed God’s Word carefully, as these warnings are strong. John also started Revelation with a similar strong encouragement. Revelation 1:3 ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

What is one thing from our journey through Revelation that you plan to heed?

I’m reminded of the importance of reading the Bible out loud. We try to do that with the kids each night. Now that our formal Bible study is on break for the summer, the kids pick which books of the Bible we read through as a family. We all take turns reading aloud and then discussing what we learned and found interesting. We also each pick out an attribute of God that we saw displayed or implied from the passage. Then, as we pray together, we praise God for those attributes in addition to the rest of our prayers.

How will you take Jesus’s warnings (through John) to heart for your time in God’s Word? 

Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Open the 2nd-4th Seals (2/20/25)

Last week we saw Jesus open the 1^st seal that ushered in the first of four horses, the white horse. This week, the next 3 seals are opened, revealing the next 3 horses and judgments.

Revelation 6:3-8      ³ When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

⁵ When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶ Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

⁷ When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸ I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

These three horsemen are given power to take peace, provision and population from the earth. These events could happen concurrently or in succession, one after the other. As horrible as these judgments sound, it isn’t the final judgment. God is still giving time for people to repent. Not all resources are damaged or scarce. Not all people are killed. I see His patience, amid His judgments. Each seal or event could be seen as warning signs of worse judgment to come. God holds back the full force of His wrath and continues to give people additional opportunities to recognize God, repent of their sins, and turn to Him.

We’re all to acknowledge and submit to the fact that only Jesus is worthy before God. Have you and I taken the opportunities God has given to us to rightly respond to that fact and to heed His warnings? If so, we will be blessed!!! As the beginning of Revelation said (1:3) Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

One blessing is certainty knowing Jesus is worthy to open the 2^nd-4^th seals and He is in control of what comes from them!

Blessed Assurance

“O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.  And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”  Jeremiah 1:6-8

What does it mean to have confidence?  As I mentioned previously, I can tend to worry about things and lose focus on what matters.  The other day, I had a challenge where for one reason or another, I could not seem to get a project done.  There were many distractions that prevented me from working on it, and before I knew it, I was hitting against a deadline.  In this case, there was this feel of calm that came over me as I began to work on the task at hand.  Deep down, I knew I would be able to get the job done because of the confidence in my abilities told me that as long as there was time the job would be done well.  And that is precisely what happened.

The word ‘confidence’ came to mind as I thought of how God is always there for me.  There were times where He seemed distant from me and others where I focused on things other than Him.  However, as I re-center myself and focused on Him things begin to align, and I felt comforted and assured.  One of my favorite hymnals from my early church is called ‘Blessed Assurance,’ which starts:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine

Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

We should have full confidence in God’s presence and His word.  In reading the beginning of Jeremiah, Jeremiah was called to serve by God.  Jeremiah spoke to God like many of us when a situation or circumstance overwhelms us.  We look at our obvious deficiencies or flaws.  In this case, Jeremiah’s self-describe flaw was his young age, which estimated by scholars was in his early or mid-teens.  Instead of focusing on his age, God simply reassured him (don’t say ‘I’m too young,’ don’t be afraid), and instilled in him confidence (I will be with you and will protect you) needed for His will to be done.  We all can fall into the trap of looking at our deficiencies in face of what God may ask of us.  We have many reasons such as lack of time, something we’ve never done, or that’s not our responsibility.  We must remember all God has done for us, and as listed in the verses today when God says, “(Y)ou must go whenever I send you,” it kinda leaves out the ambiguity, doesn’t it?  We should go forward with confidence that whatever we are lacking in, God will provide for us.

God is always there for us.  He intercedes in ways where we will never know, and He provides for us when we do not see a way for us to do so.  This is how Moses was able to free the Israelites from Egypt after once asking God, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11)  It was how Peter walked on water when Jesus said ‘come.’ (Matthew 14:29) They, like Jeremiah, lacked the confidence to fulfill something, and God gave them all they needed to do the impossible.  Let’s us take from God’s word to have full confidence that He will always be there for us when we need Him.  Where in your walk of faith are you lacking confidence in Christ?  How can trust God more to fill in for what you see as a deficiency?  My prayer is that whatever troubles you today, you can have ‘Blessed Assurance’ that God will get you what you need.  Amen.

Bless And Be Blessed

For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.  Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.  So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.  1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

There is a gentleman at my church who is incredibly gifted and filled with the Holy Spirit. The other day, he gave me a picture.  On it were various thoughts of encouragement.  One of which caught me off guard.  It said, “Lord, bless this man.”  I paused reading it not because I thought something was wrong with him saying it.  It was humbling because it was directed toward me.  To acknowledge that someone thought so much of me that they would ask that God bless me was special.  This gave me strength throughout the day, and I harken back to the gift as a reminder that we all can both bless and be blessed.

Being encouraging of one another strengthens our faith in God. There have been many things in the world that cause sadness, and the sheer volume of them can seemingly steal our joy.  God however reminds us that these times shall pass, and one day we will have eternal life with Him.  Not for a short period of time but forever.  The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians is filled with words of encouragement like today’s verses.  Thus when times seem difficult for others, our role as Christ followers is to be His spirit to those disheartened by the many difficulties in life.  It may be a simple word or a gift.  Perhaps it could be a note just to say you are thinking of them, or a phone call to say you were thinking of them.  “God put you on my mind, and I thought to call and pray for you.”  This may sound minute and trivial in our minds, but for a person hearing it, it speaks volumes.  And for a person who may have been momentarily lost or needing to hear God’s voice, it could be the difference.

God’s powers are limitless. We often will look at things through our own lens, and see only what we can do.  If we change it to God’s view, we realize there is not much we can’t do.  We all need encouragement from time to time.  2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.””  Giving encouragement cost little, but its value could be immense.  Let us focus on those things which lift others up giving cheerfully to people in any way we can.  Who can you bless today in words or deeds?  How can you be encouraged by the blessing you are to Christ?  My prayer is that we look at ourselves realizing that we can both bless and be blessed.  Amen.

True Grit

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
    I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
    determined to do his will.
    And I know that I will not be put to shame.
He who gives me justice is near.
    Who will dare to bring charges against me now?
Where are my accusers?
    Let them appear!
See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
    Who will declare me guilty?
All my enemies will be destroyed
    like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!  Isaiah 50:7-9

You ever go through a daunting task or situation where at one point you could either fail to overcome or seem too tough?  I had a task like that where it just never seemed to be where I wanted it to be, and the mounting pressure built as the deadline approached.  For a bit, it seemed it would never get done, but I remembered something I had heard at a conference talking about how sometimes you have to use feeling that is hard to define but necessary to just get it done.  Some describe it as toughness, but the word they used was grittiness.  So rather than resign myself to just dealing with my potential failure, I dug my heels in and fought with grittiness never giving in to the voice that it could not be done on time.  Low and behold, I had completed my task when I needed it to be done and ahead of schedule.

Being a servant of God sometimes will require us to fight through some tough situations.  A question was asked in my bible study about when to let go of something.  Is God testing us to be vigilant and ‘gritty’ or does He want us to go another way?  Only through prayer can that be answered, but when it comes to being faithful servants as Ephesians 6:11 would suggest (Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes), we must always stand for Him.  This is what Isaiah conveys in today’s verse.  Because we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, we have God on our side.  Thus, we should be comfortable embracing this choice.  When times might seem tough and the pressure seems to mount, we must show our own ‘grit’ to stand for God and His will for our lives.

No one said serving God is easy.  Jesus said, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:14 - NIV)  When you are weary from the struggles in your life and following God feels more like a burden than a blessing, remember to find strength in Him, who can carry you through anything.  Do not give in.  Dig your heels in, and find that something in you that is God inspired and keep fighting.  What challenge are you facing today that needs God’s inspired strength?  What situation can you handle better knowing God has your back?  My prayer is that when challenged with worldly suffering and conflict, we respond with God inspired true grit.  Amen.

Protection, Blessings, and Love

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever.Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord; you surround them with your shield of love.  Psalm 5:11-12

The other day, my family found that our first house had a major fire.  We were incredibly saddened to learn of it, and we prayed that everyone who currently lived in the house was safe.  Then as I thought more about it, I realized that I would never see my old home again.  The memories that our family built there would be all that remained.  But on the other side of it, I realized God had blessed us allowing our family to move to our new home and change our lives.  Even if we were still in that house, I believe we would have been alright, but I did not want to be unappreciative of the fact that God has loved, blessed, and protected our family.  We are so humbled that He has done so.

All of us as Christians are so incredibly blessed as children of God. We could complain about many things going on in our lives.  We might feel our boss is being tough on us or our children do not want to talk to us anymore.  Some of you might have the struggle of dealing with the loss of a loved one, and others wish they could lose the loved one they have (smile).  Many face difficult decisions about what job to choose.  Even some are struggling to decide whether or not to stay in an abusive relationship with a spouse.  No matter where you are in your life, know there is a God who is with you each and every step of the way.  He loves you, and blesses you infinitely.  He is always there looking out and protecting you from harm.  In placing our trust in Him, there are barriers moved that we would never see, and He sets in motion plans for us days, weeks, and months in advance so that each move we make is in line with His perfect plan for our lives.

When we give praise to our God, we have nothing to fear!  God said through the prophet Isaiah, “I will lead blind Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will brighten the darkness before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)  God is always looking out for us.  Our goal is to rely on Him, give of ourselves to Him, and give thanks to Him for He is indeed worthy of our praises.  What should you be thankful of today?  What small issue can you give to Him in exchange for praising Him for the position He has given you?  My prayer is that we praise God for His protection, blessings, and love.  Amen!

Thurs Devo: Venomous Snakes

After mourning Aaron’s death and a victorious deliverance from the Canaanites in Arad (Numbers 21:1-3), the Israelites continued their travels. However, they still haven't learned their lesson about complaining.

Numbers 21:4-7  ⁴ They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; ⁵ they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

⁶ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The Israelites seem to always be focusing on the negative and not the positive. They didn’t have bread but they did have manna. They were traveling in the wilderness desert that didn’t have much water, but God always provided water for them in miraculous ways. And, I’m guessing God had been protecting them from all the wild desert animals, up until this point! 

Like the Israelites, we don’t see all the ways God provides for us and protects us. Plus, we tend to focus on what we think we lack. We even get upset with God and/or others when things don’t go our way. However, when tragedy strikes, we often do go to God, because we know He’s the only one that can do the impossible.

The Israelites did acknowledge their sin and did turn to God. You and I can do the same. And the next time you and I want to complain about a hardship or get upset with God over it, let’s stop and count 5 other blessings God has provided. As hard as our situation might be, it could always be worse (like venomous snakes)!

Alice