Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Open the First Seal (2/13/25)

A very loud “thud” disrupted our family Bible time last night. We each looked in various rooms for something that fell, but never did figure it out. We finished our Bible reading, discussion, and prayer time and then put the kids to bed. They were able to go to sleep knowing they were safe, despite not understanding the reason for the loud noise.

Similarly, reading Revelation can be puzzling. However, we can focus on what we do know for sure – God is in control! His continued plan of redemption and justice unfolds as the worthy Lamb of God opens the 7 seals of the scroll.

So what’s in the scroll and what are the seven seals?

Revelation chapter 6 begins to tell us.

Revelation 6:1-2      I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ² I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

Each seal seems to reveal preliminary events leading up to the culmination of God’s plan for redemption and justice. Seven is a number of completeness, so each of these 7 seals reveals a layer of God’s judgment on the earth. One view is that each of these layers is part of the tribulation. Another view is that these layers cover the entire time between Jesus’s 1^st and 2^nd coming. Either way, what we do know is that God is Sovereign and in control of each layer.

Well, what about the rider on the white horse? White often signifies holiness, perfection and purity. God the Father and Jesus the Son are often described as clothed in white. However, this rider on a white horse is “bent” on conquest. He’s not the already Victorious One. He isn’t bent on peace or redemption or justice. He appears like Christ, but deceives. The rider could be the Antichrist or one of the false prophets or a kingdom. His power is given to him and is limited. He can’t do anything outside God’s rule and authority.

Jesus is worthy to open this 1^st seal and He is in control of what comes from it!

How will you and I trust Jesus’s control in our lives today, even when we don’t understand confusing things that happen around us?

Thursday Devotional - Jesus is Truth – With full Control (2/1/24)

Control – many of us like to think we are in control of our life or want to be in control or want more control! However, God is the One who is really in control, not only for this life, but He’s in control of life after death!

After raising Lazarus and later entering Jerusalem on a donkey to a welcoming crowd, many people sought to get closer to Jesus. Many probably hoped he was going to overthrow Roman rule with his power. However, Jesus instead talked about death and not clinging to this life.  

John 12:20-26         ²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

The sooner we realize we aren’t in control and surrender our lives to God’s will and His control, the more peace we will have. As we follow Jesus’s example of humble surrender, it will become more and more natural to serve God rather than ourselves.

 

Where are you and I looking for honor for ourselves instead of for Jesus?

Giving Up Control To Get Control

 

Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

When these things begin to happen, watch out! You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.  For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.  But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.  Mark 13:8-11

One of the great things I never mentioned about my Dad was how much I admired him when he prayed for the family.  My Dad was a successful businessman, but as I have said previously, he was a man of faith long before then.  As a young man, he went to a prominent local church in Detroit, and he would sing in a quartet as a tenor.  I would not get to hear him sing like that much, but he had a beautiful tenor voice.  That is where I guess he grew comfortable in front of audiences, and he would often say grace over the meal not only at home but also at major family functions and church gatherings.  I marveled at his timing of words and connection with God, and every word flowed with ease.  I would aspire to be as connected, but for most of my adult life, I would always get nervous and struggle to find the right words to say.  But over time as my relationship with God grew and more journey taught me to trust Him more, the words suddenly came.  The family entrusted me with saying prayer more, and I was able to speak what was on both my mind and heart with a seamless connection with God.  There is a saying I heard that became a lifelong principle of mine.  Sometimes, you must give up control in the narrow sense to get control in the broader sense.  If you can give up control of what to say and how to say it, you can begin to trust God to fill you with the Holy Spirit to say exactly what is needed for His Glory.

Trusting God means believing what He put in you is the good that will come out.  I spoke a couple weeks ago about when Jesus poured out His wisdom, love, and knowledge to Peter to lead His people after He would ascend to Heaven.  As I read these verses, the situation Jesus described was dire.  Being handed over to the council and beaten in the synagogues is bad enough.  But then, you had to stand trial just because you claimed Christ.  Just an ordinary walk in the park in the name of Jesus, right?  I remember saying how God is a wonderful playwriter, and is a master of setting the stage.  In the story of Job, Satan said that when you take all away from Job, he will curse you.  God knew that Job would remain faithful, and of course, Job affirmed it having said:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.  Job 1:20b (NKJV)

Here, Jesus set this stage knowing that should we find ourselves under the most trying of circumstances and yet testify to God’s goodness in the face of such adversity, there can be no doubt not only who we serve but also who others should be willing to give their life to Christ.  It is why Billy Graham Sr. was such a great crusader for Christ for every word that flowed from His mouth was clearly words God intended to share with his audiences.  And upon hearing him, millions confessed and gave their lives to Christ.  When you reflect of today’s verses, it is not so difficult to understand how such a movement of God happened.

God is forever faithful.  When the right words seemingly cannot be found and you worry about what to say, we know we can simply close our eyes, and focus our mind and heart on Jesus.  His Spirit will fill you, and then, speak with confidence knowing the true living God is with you.  Do not focus on your past failed comments.  Let us surrender control to Him and be amazed.  What prayers will you go to Him focusing exclusively on the Holy Spirit within you?  How can you allow your words to melt into God’s words?  My prayer is that we give up control of our thoughts to God to get control of our walk of faith toward Him.  Amen.

Who's Your Side?

 

This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.  So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.  Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”

The Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry about this?”

Then Jonah went out to the east side of the city and made a shelter to sit under as he waited to see what would happen to the city. And the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah’s head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant.  Jonah 4:1-6

 I am an election junkie.  With a lot that has been going on, I feel fully vested into this election.  As I was watching the results come in and going up and down with each positive and negative result, it began to feel like I had lost sight of what really matters.  Yes, I know God is ultimately in control, but yet, I still wanted my guy to win.  So, I began to challenge myself with something I read years ago.  Do I believe God is truly in control or are those just words that I say to myself when in reality I know that I truly want to be the one in control?  If it worked out my way, I would happily celebrate, but if it did not go my way, I would sulk and go into a state of depression.  How could this possibly happen?

It’s ok to acknowledge to God that you are struggling with control.  The story of Jonah is a prime example of God love and mercy for us.  God had Himself to Jonah and gave him a message to give to the city of Nineveh that they would be destroyed.  Jonah seemed all about it, but when God changed His mind after the city changed their ways, Jonah was annoyed and upset.  I was amused by his response to God saying, “Just kill me now Lord.  I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.” (Jonah 4:3) The key here is to note Jonah’s commitment to his prediction and not the mercy God showed a group of people.  How often do we get caught up in what we want above what either God wants or what He feels is right?  This lesson is particularly helpful to those who may not have had the desired result they want.  Furthermore, it is important that we are honest with God and ourselves.  God, I do not understand.  How can you allow this to happen?  Then, pray for discernment.  It may not soothe the disappointment right away, but alas, our goal is not necessarily for us to have our way.  Remember when Jesus on the eve of His crucifixion said to God, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:39b) Even Christ understood that God’s will was more important than His own.

God is there for us in our disappointments as well as our triumphs.  We should all aspire to view our disappointments as moments to take stock to understand exactly what God's will is for your life.  It does not matter who you are rooting for.  Take time to determine what God wants you to learn from it all and move forward with confidence.  When is the last time God disappointed you?  Were you honest in your prayers when things did not go your way?  My prayer is that we acknowledge God’s sovereignty to be thankful for His love and grace no matter who your side is.  Amen.

Boney James is Like God ... Kinda

 

Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
    And everyone will see him—
    even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
    will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  Revelations 1:7-8

I am a jazz music fan.  I like classical jazz, but I absolutely love modern jazz.  As such, I make a lot of CDs to listen on long drives, and armed with it, I could literally drive for days (Driving from coast to coast is a bucket list item).  One of my favorite artists that I listen to is a guy named Boney James (Yes, that is his name).  I love when his songs come blaring from the sound system.  They have this distinct sound, and the melodies always soothe me.  They give me a pep in my step, and there is a smile that comes over my face showing the joy in my listening to it.  It does not matter how good the song is before or after him or whether his song is at the beginning or end.  His songs stand against all others.  It made a silly thought come into mind.  Could Boney James be God?  Of course not!  But his music does have some attributes of God that remind me of Him.  That is not a bad thing.

 It is important to remember how great God is.  One of my favorite words when I think of God is the word ‘Dominion.’  Dominion is defined as the power or right of governing and controlling; sovereign authority. rule; control; domination. We are given dominion over all of God’s creation as Genesis 1:28 (NKJV) says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””  One of the good questions I had in my head is why doesn’t the Bible say God has dominion over us?  The answer is that there is a subtle but important difference between dominion and control.  We have dominion over all animals, but try that line with a hungry cheetah chasing after you.  Doesn’t work so well, huh?  However, God has control over everything.  He makes a rule and breaks it just because He is God.  He will make ways when we cannot, and in my scenario, He will put a barrier or diversion to save you in a situation where the cheetah is chasing you.  God is not what we always want Him to be, but He is always what we need.  There can be nothing greater than that.

 We should learn to embrace the control God has over us.  A line I often reference to is from the movie 'Rudy' where a priest is questioned on his certainty about God, he answered that there is a God, and "I am not Him."  A great sermon at my church spoke of how Jesus can be unfair as He healed a man who could not walk on the Sabbath. But that was to show His authority as the Son of God and not focus on the fact maybe others needed healing that day.  Sometimes our pain is there for us to learn something like Paul dealing with his imperfection (Romans 7:14-25) or Jacob’s hip being out of socket (Genesis 32:22-32).  But no matter what we are dealing with, we know that if we place our trust in God knowing He is in control, everything will turn out alright.  Like a Boney James song, it does not matter whether God comes at the beginning, the middle, or the end.  He will always be right on time.  What things are you pressing for control over that God has?  Do you acknowledge God in everything that you do?  My prayer is that we find the greatness of God in all things … even Boney James.  Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Timely Encouragement from Jesus

Have you been timely encouraged recently?

Last week we saw how Paul was ready and willing to die for Jesus as he traveled back to a hostile Jerusalem. Things went well for the first week in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17-26), but then he was wrongly accused, seized, and dragged out of the temple to be killed. God sovereignly had the Roman commander and troops intervene and spare him. The Jews were determined to kill him, though, and continued their wrongful accusations (Acts 21:27-23:10).

That’s when Jesus timely appeared:

Acts 23:11     The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Jesus didn’t promise it would be smooth sailing, but provided renewed confidence, a new assignment, and evidence He was watching, caring for Him and in control.

I have found it so timely that everyone in the Bible study I’m in has been studying Paul’s difficult trials and hardships while we are going through our own new challenges. It has so encouraged me to keep everything in perspective! Jesus’ words to Paul can apply to us. We are to “take courage!” He’s aware of everything going on around us and everything going forward. He’s in control. He’s watching. He has new and different assignments for us during this time. I can trust Him!  

I know several of the devotional writers have shared timely encouragement from God and His Word during this time. Feel free to share any other Scriptures that have really encouraged you recently!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Control and Outcomes

After James’ first and second day at school, his teacher sent me a couple great email reports! I was thrilled! I know it won’t always be smooth sailing, but this helped me relax some. I will continue to encourage him in the right direction, give him regular (if not daily 😊) reminders, and appropriately discipline, but I’m not the one in control. God is ultimately in control of everything and everyone.

Paul lovingly and carefully instructed the Romans, and then ended his letter acknowledging they were in God’s hands.

Romans 16:25-27        ²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

God has given Joe and me the responsibility to lead James and Sarah well, as their parents. As we seek to be godly parents in our interactions, instructions, example, and choices, we can trust the outcome to God. He’s the One in control, with all power, all wisdom and all authority for all eternity!

What relationship, situation, person, or potential problem do you and I need to leave in God’s care? We’re called to follow God, do our part, and lead well, but the outcome is in God’s hands. Let’s trust Him with it!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Who Has Power and Control?

Last year Sarah enjoyed “riding” a tricycle at my parents’ house that had a long pole out the back. At 2, she felt independent steering and pedaling, all the while someone was giving her power from behind.

Like Sarah, Pilate thought he had power and control, but the only power and control he had was given to him by God.

John 19:5-11 ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

No one has power or control unless God allows it. Like Pilate, you and I might think we are in control, but God is the only Almighty One who has absolute and unlimited power over all.

And when things seem out of control, we can remember that God’s purposes will prevail in spite of the chaos and evil. What comfort does that give to you and me today?    

Alice

God's Control And His Plan

The discussion of the environment has become a hot topic of late (no pun intended).  I would not want to discuss what many would consider a political discussion for a devotion, but something I heard pulled me and my beliefs right in.  A congressman put God in the middle of the discussion.  He said, “As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us. And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”  That makes sense for we know we serve an almighty God who can do anything.  We could very well take the approach of Jesus speaking of worries saying, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33) 

However, there is another side of the argument that says we are not to absolve ourselves from just standing around and doing nothing.  When we see something is wrong, Jesus tells us to act.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of many examples (see below):

“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. ³⁴ Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.  The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”  Luke 10:33-37

We are to remember that our faith calls us to act when God calls upon us.  There are those who may take the approach of not worrying about things for there are other things that God has called on them to do.  That is not an issue.  We must be careful to not to just simply believe that God will take care of all things for there will be times God calls on us to be His advocate.  Whether it is feeding the needy, caring for the homeless, teaching bible study, or (yes) protecting the environment, all are worthy callings of God.  To say ‘God will take care of a problem’  is irresponsible.  That does not mean there will be times we need to leave things in God’s hands.  It means we are to prayerfully go to Him and ask what His will would be for us, and then respond.   Furthermore, the scriptures about worrying mean to worry about what God calls you to do.  Not ignore what is right in front of you.

We cannot turn a blind eye to those things God would call on us to do.  There are many things beyond our control, and God can indeed handle anything.  One of my favorite pastors once said that we are called to go out and do what God calls us to do.  Let us make sure we follow what God instills in our heart and be encouragers of those who God has called to serve in ways that may not be as we are called to do.  What calling has God placed on you to act upon?  What prayer must you have to meet God calls upon you.  My prayer is that we can discern between God’s control from God’s plan for our lives.  Amen.

Our Journey to Adoption, Part VIII - Glory from Delay

The delayed process to adopt James and Sarah was frustrating. However, looking back, we can see how God received greater glory through all the delays! He made it more and more clear He intended us to adopt and that He was in control to bring it about.

Last March and April we continued to keep James and Sarah on weekends as we awaited the outcomes of other possible families for them. First, their biological mother said she appealed the termination, but she only thought she did (or wished she had, or wanted to believe she had). No record of an appeal was found, so the termination of the rights was not reversed.

Second, the uncle that said he was interested in the children didn’t have enough money to come up from Texas to even meet the children. He already had three of his own children, and didn’t have a permanent residence at the time. So, he relinquished his interest.

Third, one of James’ former foster families turned out not to be interested in adopting the children themselves, but wanted a relative of theirs to adopt. The relative didn’t have any recent connection to the children, so they were also scratched off the list. That left us and the current foster family.

God’s seeming delay is always for His purposes and His glory. As with the raising of Lazarus, Jesus delayed for God’s glory and the benefit of his disciples.

John 11:1, 3-6, 14-15  Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha… ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." ⁴When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days… 

¹⁴So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

Can you think back over your past situations and see how God received greater glory and grew your faith through seeming delays? Let’s remember that as we face new situations that don’t seem to be working out in the timing we think is best.

Alice 

That's How He Is

He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.  Romans 2:6-8

As a teenager, I struggled with the concept of someone getting their just due.  Whenever someone did someone else wrong, I would lash out seeking justice for the wrongdoing.  Of course many times, it would be me who was at the wrong end of the stick, and my frustration level would be incredibly high.  “Oh why, oh God, have you decided to look favorably upon them of all things???”  My thinking was that I was a good person, and why someone who ‘clearly’ was not as good as me gets the glory while I was left to feel emptiness and pain. Being born again, my walk of faith would help me see that I was not as good as I should be.  My sins were at times as great as and greater than others, and I was not worthy of such blessings.  It was that change in perspective that caused me to focus less on what others did to earn their keep and more on what I should be doing to live a life worthy of the sacrifice of Christ.  I’m still working on it, and the more I find myself doing God’s bidding, the better I feel about how God has affected my life.

Our walk of faith requires focus on our own growth and not of the actions of others.  With some of the events that happened over the past week, it might cause many of us to struggle.  Why would someone do such an evil thing, and where was God in all of it?  Why did God put so many people in harm’s way?  Many of us may have those questions in our minds, and others struggle with these questions particularly from nonbelievers.  Our response is not to fully explain these things to them.  Instead, ours is to reflect on what God might be trying to tell us, and we must then respond with love on others as God would.  We are to remember that we live in a fallen world where sometimes, evil wins.  Nonetheless, we are responsible to respond with a Godly heart.  Thus we might say, “No, I do not know why some man decided to kill those innocent people, but I do know without question God loves us.  He would want us to love on those who were affected by the tragedy, and be a little kinder and a little more caring and humble to one another.”

We know God has all things under His control, and we will only know the full story when we see Him in Heaven.  In the meantime, we cannot focus on those things that we have no control over.  We must embrace that which we do control and more importantly how we respond to it.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Job that says, “ . . . the Lord gave, and the Lord have taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21 KJV)  So if you are struggling to accept what someone else has done or received, stop focusing on what happened.  Use it as a tool to magnify the glory of God and focus not on your disappointment.  How can we see tragedy through God’s eyes?  How can we show love, grace, and comfort to those who may not even deserve as much?  My prayer is that we focus less on the ‘why it is’ and more on the ‘How He is.’  Amen.