Thursday Devotional – Jesus is Worthy to Open the 7th Seal (4/10/25)

Complete silence. Have you ever experienced complete silence for 30 minutes? No white noise or anything. What about on Good Friday? Often Good Friday services end in silence, but I haven’t attended one where it lasted 30 minutes. It doesn’t take but 30 seconds for someone to drop a pen or a kid to squirm. When Jesus opened the 7^th seal, though, all of heaven stopped for 30 minutes.

Revelation 8:1-5      When he [the Lamb] opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

² And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.

³ Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. ⁴ The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

What’s about to happen from the 7^th seal must be quite serious if all of heaven is silent for 30 minutes. Remember from last week that John was just told that there would be no more tears for those who go to heaven? Yet, the judgments about to take place are world altering. John is given significant warnings to write down, but layered with encouraging assurance to those who follow Jesus.

One encouragement from this passage is that our prayers are a pleasing aroma to God! What value! He takes great pleasure in our time talking with Him. How much and how well do you and I value our time talking and listening to our eternal King, the Almighty God, who has all power and authority over every aspect of life?

Jesus is worthy to open the 7^th seal, worthy to hear from us in prayer regularly throughout the day and worthy of our silence so we can hear Him!

Faithful God when He seems silent 4/27/23

Is God listening? Why does God tolerate injustice? Why doesn’t God do something? Do you ever ask God those questions? Habakkuk did. He wondered why God continued to seemingly sit back while Judah continued to get more and more wicked.

Habakkuk 1:1-6    The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

² How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
³ Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
⁴ Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer

⁵ “Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.
⁶ I am raising up the Babylonians,
    that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
    to seize dwellings not their own.

God was working and had a plan, even though Habakkuk couldn’t see it yet. Today, we may think it looks like God is silent, but He is working and has a plan.

Where do we take our questions? Do we talk to everyone else about our frustrations and the continued evil around us? Or, like Habakkuk, do we talk to God about it and expect and look for His response? As we study the Bible, we will hear some of His answers! He already has a plan in place through the very end!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us, In the Proof 5/12/22

Did you know there was an earthquake both at Jesus’ death and his resurrection? God may have seemed silent or far away during Jesus’s trial and crucifixion, but He was behind all the supernatural events that simultaneously exploded.   

Matthew 27:50-54           ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Matthew 28:1-4   After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. ² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Not only were there numerous people who witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection, but I’m guessing thousands more experienced and remembered the earthquakes! God offered evidence to people who weren’t even looking for proof! I’m sure the guards never forgot either day. Plus, I love how God sent an angel to sit on the stone so that no one could think the empty tomb and earthquake were just coincidence. God was behind it all!    

Who do you know that isn’t even looking for proof from God? Let’s pray their eyes are opened (like the centurion) to see the obvious evidence of God all around them!

Alice