Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Revelations 2:1-7

Letters To The Churches

Date: November 20, 2007

Read: Revelations 2:1-7

These letters were written to churches in Asia Minor, but they were representative of a particular age in church history. Therefore, in a very marvelous way, the Lord takes churches currently existing at that time and compares their behavior and circumstances with churches of the future.

Each of these churches receives a serious message and the first one is the church at Ephesus. The members of this apostolic church have been busy and faithfully serving the Lord, yet the message to them is that they have left their first love. Remember when you were first saved and served the Lord because of your love for Him? Apparently, with the passing of time, this earnest love for the Lord had grown cold and they continued to serve but not with the same motives. Has our love for the Lord grown cold? Do we still serve Him because of our love for all that was done for us at Calvary?

This church is admonished to return to their first love and if not, there are serious consequences….our testimony and influence for Christ will be lost. “I will remove thy candlestick out of his place…”

Published: November 20, 2007
Author: Kay Smith


Monday, November 26, 2007

Revelations 1:1-20

Quiet Time

God Has Already Triumphed Over Evil

Date: November 19, 2007

Read: Revelations 1:1-20

The book of Revelation was written during a period of impending persecution for Christians. John was in exile when he received his revelation about the victory of God in the face of terror and evil during a period of great persecution for the church.

John’s message is that God has already triumphed over evil and He will totally destroy all evil at the end of time. He wanted the Christians in the churches of Asia to let the knowledge of God’s ultimate victory encourage them to perseverance and to have faith in the midst of persecution. John’s prophecy portrayed the massive struggle between good and evil, but victory was in Jesus, our Messiah. He was victorious over death and is our Redeemer. He had already come, had already conquered, and would come again to complete His work. The central event is the return of Christ (vs. 7).

No matter how bleak the future looks, we know the end of the story. We know who wins! Satan is defeated and Christ is triumphant.

From an eternal perspective, end-time events are just around the corner and as believers we must live our lives with an intentional commitment to our Savior who is coming again!

Published: November 19, 2007
Author: Charlotte Hawkins