The Reading Plan Daily Devotions

One day soon, this world will be burned with fire and completely wiped clean. In its place, there will come down a "new heaven and a new earth," Revelation 21-22 tells us. This means the current earth will be redeemed. Eden will be restored. A new earth and new heavens will come from God for us! It is the new home for every believer of all the ages.   Its centerpiece is "the new Jerusalem," and it is stunning. Let the Apostle John give you a little virtual tour around your new home! A heavenly 360!   IT'S BUILDER AND ARCHITECT: God Himself. It is "coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God" (vs. 10)   ITS BRILLIANCE: "Her brilliance is like a very costly stone, like crystal-clear jasper." (vs. 11)   ITS WALLS: are 1500 feet square (half the distance across the United States), 1500 feet high, and 72 yards deep! (vs. 16)   ITS MATERIALS: "The wall is jasper; and the city is pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation

This joyous, wondrous life we share is just a shadowed view, Of what we’ll celebrate above as we are wed to YOU!   We live in the shadowlands, as C.S. Lewis said. This present darkness colors everything about this world. It often obscures the view of the reality of what is happening and will happen soon.   But what God has planned, and the kingdom He is building, is pictured all around us, merely waiting for the lifting of the veil. And no picture is greater than the marriage of a bride and groom, the picture of our coming marriage to the Lamb.   There are 4 “Hallelujahs” in Revelation 19. The vast multitude of heaven cannot contain themselves and break forth in glorious praise for four reasons: HALLELUJAH! Because all power and honor, and glory belong to God. (vs. 1) HALLELUJAH! Because the great harlot has been overthrown. That which has afflicted the work of the kingdom martyred the saints and persecuted the Church … the Almighty God has now reduced her to nothing, and judgment and

Is there an image, a picture, and understanding that would change everything in our lives? Jesus thought there was. He opened up heaven to let the Apostle John (and us) see this life-changing image.   After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. (Revelation 4:1-2)   A DOOR STANDING OPEN IN HEAVEN   God is not hiding. He gave to John (and now, through John, He gives to us) the ability to walk right into the holy of holies to see the most important scene and gain the most essential perspective. He invites us to see what is behind this door. He opens it wide. It is there for all who long to see it.   I WILL SHOW YOU   God does not hide Himself or His revelation of the future from John nor

There are many things I can do in my Christian life. But all of these pale in comparison to one central issue, which is captured in the ultimate question .   Do you love Jesus?   Jesus speaks to the church at Ephesus, Chapter 2, applauding them for their "toil and perseverance" and their refusal to let evil men control their fellowship. These believers had "perseverance and had endured for (Christ's) name's sake and (had) not grown weary." But then He adds what, to me, is one of the most arresting statements in the Bible:   "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (Revelation 2:4)   They had fallen out of love with Jesus.   If you are married, you realize this possibility. There are seasons where you are overwhelmed with love for your wife, but there are other times when you get consumed with busyness or irritated at each other's faults, or in love with yourself more than your mate. And your affection grows cold.   The

  "...from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5-6) You may have crawled out of bed this morning after a hard day yesterday and wondered what this day holds. You may not be thinking much about yourself or God or His Son. You may be facing a difficult day ahead with multiple problems or overwhelmed by the routineness of life. That's why the Bible was given and why we must read it every day. For in the Bible, we come to thousands of statements like the one above that remind us of who Christ is, what He has done, and how we figure into the grand scheme of things. Just a cursory look into two introductory verses here in the Revelation that Jesus gave to the Apostle John for us changes everything. This Revela

Love is the highest, most important thing to have in life. 1 Corinthians says it is "the greatest thing" ... even above faith, and hope. When Paul lists the first of the fruits of the Spirit, the first thing mentioned is love. When Christ was asked what was the greatest commandment, without hesitation He said it is to love God and your neighbor.   So, how do I get this kind of love? John tells us.   "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)   Look at this very logical progression regarding God's love to us and through us.   Truth #1: God is love.   John does not say that He has love; He IS love. Love is a word we use to describe this amazing, supreme quality of God that always responds in self-sacrifice, in giving to others.   Truth #2: Love is from God. Therefore, if you want love, you must get it from God. He is the only so

What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. (1 John 1:3-4)   There is no other religion on the face of the earth (nor has there been, nor can there be) that offers what authentic Christianity provides. The heart of our spiritual life is about fellowship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.   This word is strong. “Fellowship” (koinonia) means "close personal association" or the "sharing of the common life." It means that we are connected to a living God. Ours is not a religion that bows down before a stone or is the mere keeping of rules and regulations. We are connected and filled with the living God of the universe. This is realized by the mercy of God, through our introduction into His presence through the sacrifice of the Son, and through the daily, personal filling of

Jesus was (and is) always answering the big questions. The questions that are driving us but are so deep in our souls that we don’t even know they are there.   Some people in Peter’s day (and ours) were saying, “This whole thing of Christianity is a hoax. Christ is not real. His promises are not true. He’s not coming back. There will not be a day in the future when the heavens and earth will be burned with fire and a new heaven and new earth will come forever.” All of us, if we are honest, have had some doubts at times. But these thoughts and proclamations are not doubts to the unbelieving. They are “facts” in their mind.   Jesus answers these questions in 2 Peter, Chapter 3. He reminds us that mockers with their accusations against God will come. But it “escapes their notice” that the Word of God spoke the heavens into existence, and the Word of God is always true, and the Word of God gives us promises about all of this (2 Peter 3:5-9). And then he reminds us of what we are to do with

It's our great problem. How do we become holy? Pure? What we were designed to be? Like God? The Apostle Peter tells us the path:   Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)   So, how do we escape this corruption that afflicts us?   We come, increasingly, into an experiential knowledge of Christ. We are letting His life, more and more, flow through us. Therefore, we are less and less like the world and more like Him through … Through His DIVINE POWER: The more we experience Him, the more His power is manifested in us, lifting us up above and delivering us from

The greatest commandment Christ gave was to love the Lord with everything and your neighbor as yourself. In marriage (and in your whole family), your mate is your nearest neighbor. How should you love them? Peter sums this up in 1 Peter 3:8-12.   To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”    THE RESPONSIBILITY IN OUR HOME   The single greatest problem in the home is that we don’t take personal responsibility. We constantly blame others.    Not

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7) “If necessary” is a telling phrase. Peter is writing to people who are experiencing great suffering. He writes the entire letter of 1 Peter to encourage them. But he begins by reminding them that, during this brief life, we will have trials and they do have purpose. In fact, it is the understanding of their purposes that trials lose their power to distress and destroy us. THE REFINEMENT It is difficulty that pushes us to Christ, that causes us to believe, that makes us desperate to find the only One who can help us in our problems. Without such suffering, we would go on our way, never thinking about God. Secure in our sinful depravity and self-reliance,

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every follower of Christ has some belief that he should read the Bible. But for many, it is an optional exercise. In reality, it is indispensable. Paul convinces us of this in two brief verses to his young son in the faith, Timothy. IT IS INSPIRED The word is literally "God-breathed." The Bible is not merely the collection of sayings of men about God. God moved on men and inspired the writing of each word. This is why we can trust its reliability. If God has so spoken and had it recorded for us, then we must pay constant attention to His voice through His Word. To ignore the Bible is to turn a shoulder to God as He is seeking to have a conversation with us. It is to ignore Him. IT IS PROFITABLE There is nothing— nothing —that can do what God's Word does

Every person wants to fulfill their destiny … to do what we were created to do. Every serious follower of Christ has this DNA implanted in their soul. Something (or Someone) calls us to this, and it’s a glorious calling.   But there is an ironic component that must be embraced to reach this goal: suffering. We don’t like this word, but to Paul, it was vital for he had accepted the truth that suffering was the high path to greater effectiveness and greater reward. Paul gives us an important theology for suffering in 2 Timothy 1-2 as he mentions it four times in two chapters to young Timothy.   1. WE SUFFER FOR A GREAT PURPOSE Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel. (2 Timothy 1:7-8)    Suffering for the believer is never for no reason. In our pain, we show people the sufficiency and power of God. Suffering, rightly faced with God, is our most powerful testimony to the gospel. Our suffering shows that h