Devotionary

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Ep 533 – Joshua Introduction Jun 02, 2018

Show notes

Today, we begin a new series on the Book of Joshua. It is one of the historical books of the Old Testament, and is named after one its primary characters, the man who assumed leadership over the people of Israel after the death of Moses. The book that bears his name chronicles Joshua's efforts to lead the people of Israel in their conquest of the land that God had promised to their patriarch, Abraham. While Moses was charged with the deliverance of the people from their captivity in Egypt and leading them through the wilderness to the borders of the land of Canaan, it would be Joshua who would help their dream of a land flowing with milk and honey become a reality. But it is essential that we not read this book as simply an historical record, outlining the exploits of the people of Israel as they slowly conquered and came into the possession of the land. It is a continuation of the story of God's redemption of Israel, revealing an important next phase in fulfillment of His covenant commitment to them.But this book is far more than a story about Israel making a home for themselves in the promised land. It is about the greater promise of a future inheritance that God provided through one of their own: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of the World.

Ep 532 – Revelation 22:12-21 Jun 01, 2018

Show notes

This is it. The final session on our study in the book of Revelation. Today, we wrap up this series with Revelation 22:12-21. This section begins and ends with the reassuring words of Jesus, "I am coming soon!" This is the key to the whole book of Revelation: the return of Christ. His second coming is the linchpin that holds the entire book together and points to the final phase of God's redemptive plan for mankind and for the world. With all that John has seen and recorded in his book, these verses contain one of the most beautiful and hopeful passages found in the entire Bible. Jesus offers a simple invitation: "Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price." John has been shown what is going to happen during the days of the tribulation. He has been given a glimpse into the future that God has planned for sinful mankind and the creation that suffers as a result of the fall. There will be judgments in the form of plagues and cosmic disturbances of unprecedented proportions. Satan will be defeated and those who chose to follow his false messiah, the Antichrist, will be thrown into the lake of fire. But Jesus graciously offers all those who will read this book long before the events it records take place, an invitation to come to Him. In light of all that John has seen and recorded in his book, Jesus offers a chance for all to escape the wrath to come by accepting God's gracious gift of grace.

Ep 531 – Revelation 22:6-11 May 31, 2018

Show notes

The words contained in John's book have been given to him directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father. They are divinely inspired and, as the angel tells John, "trustworthy and true." John has received revelation concerning the end times – directly from heaven and the throne room of God Almighty. The information contained in this book is fantastic in nature and difficult to understand. It is full of bizarre imagery and mind-blowing descriptions that taxed the limits of John's vocabulary and imagination. He has been shown things that no one has ever seen before, because they have yet to take place. And yet, their certainty is beyond question because they have been divulged by God Himself. And just as John was instructed at the beginning of his book, he faithfully wrote down all that he saw and heard. In Revelation 22:6-11, an angel tells John to keep what he has written unsealed, available for all to read. Because the time is near. The end is coming. It is not a matter of if, but when. These things are not possibilities or probabilities, but God-ordained certainties. They will happen just as God has said. And in that we can find hope, peace and confidence.

Ep 530 – Revelation 22:1-5 May 30, 2018

Show notes

We all know about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was the one tree in the garden of Eden that God declared off limits to Adam and Eve. They could eat of every tree in the garden, including the tree of life, but they were to avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The penalty for their disobedience was death. But not just physical death. In fact, after having eaten from the tree, they both lived long lives. But they suffered immediately from spiritual death as God cast them out of the garden and away from His presence. No longer could they enjoy daily fellowship with Him. And one of the reasons for their ban from the garden was to keep them away from the tree of life. God declared, "'Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever' – therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden." In Revelation 22:1-5, we will discover that the tree of life still exists and will be present in the New Jerusalem. It still retains its life-giving properties and will not only be accessible but indispensable in the eternal state, as a source of eternal well-being to all who worship God and the Lamb.

Ep 529 – Revelation 21:9-27 May 29, 2018

Show notes

As strange and difficult to believe as things have been to this point, the imagery and events that populate the close of John's book seem to get even more out-of-the-ordinary and other-worldly. In Revelation 21:9-27, John is given a mountain-top view of the New Jerusalem. It descended from heaven and, from his vantage point, John is able to see all the unique attributes of this one-of-a-kind city. It is like nothing John has ever seen and his attempts to describe it at limited by his imagination and vocabulary. John is even given the unique task of measuring the city, personally walking its streets and taking precise measurements of its walls and gates. It is massive in size and yet contains jewels and precious metals in such quantities that they are used as construction materials, not for decoration. But the real glory of the city is God Himself. He and His Son are the primary focus of the city, which explains why there is no temple or tabernacle. The city is unmarred by sin and illuminated by the very presence of God. Holiness permeates its streets, buildings, gates and citizens. And while the New Jerusalem will have walls, they are not for keeping enemies out, because there will be none. And the gates will be open at all times, allowing all to enter freely at any time.

Ep 528 – Revelation 21:1-8 May 28, 2018

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Sin has been in existence for some time now. And it has left its mark on the world. Paul tells us that creation groans because of the presence of sin and that believers long for the day when they will exchange these corrupted, death-prone earthly bodies for heavenly ones. Everything around us is in a constant state of decay, including our bodies, all as a result of sin. But there is a day coming when God will make all things new. In Revelation 21:1-8, John is given yet another glimpse into the future and provided with the reassuring news that God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth. He isn't going to renovate and rejuvenate. He is going to start from scratch, just as He did at the beginning. The world will get a fresh, new start. And every individual who has placed their faith in His Son, will have received new, glorified bodies, in which they will live for eternity, free from sin, disease and death. All that was associated with the old world and mankind's old way of life – including tears, sorrow, pain and death – will be eliminated, never to be seen or experienced again. He will make all things new.

Ep 527 – Revelation 20:11-15 May 27, 2018

Show notes

There is judgment and then there is final judgment. All of the plagues, cosmic disturbances, and various forms of punishment meted out by God during the days of the tribulation are a form of His judgment. But they are not the final and permanent aspect of God's judgment on sinful mankind. That will come at the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, when all of the unsaved will stand before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. In Revelation 20:11-15, John is provided with a glimpse of this future event at which all those who have ever lived will stand before God in their resurrected bodies and be forced to have all their works judged by Him. The criteria of their judgment will be whether or not the deeds they did while on earth earned them a right standing with God. In other words, were their acts of righteousness worthy to merit God's favor? But we know that God deems all our works of righteousness, apart from faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, as filthy rags. They don't measure up. And so, all those who stand before the Great White Throne, facing the King of kings and righteous Judge of the universe will find that they lack the one work that could have earned them eternal life and forgiveness for their sins: Faith in Jesus.

Ep 526 – Revelation 20:7-10 May 26, 2018

Show notes

So, what happens to Satan? He has been an essential actor in the great drama that marks the span of mankind's existence. He was there at the fall and was the instigator behind it. He has been present throughout each generation, tempting, deceiving, and alluring gullible human beings to rebel against their Maker. He attempted to convince Jesus to walk away from His divine calling by the Father and forego His role as the Savior of the world. And in the period of the tribulation, Satan will be the force behind the Antichrist's rise to power and his ill-fated attempt to exterminate the people of God. But Antichrist will fail. Satan will be defeated. In Revelation 20:7-10, we will see Satan's release, after having been locked away for the entirety of Christ's 1,000-year reign. Even after a millennium filled with peace and prosperity because of the righteous rule of Christ, Satan will have no trouble finding those who will join his last-gasp attempt at an insurrection. Satan never changes. He knows no repentance. And the lost of earth, those who have refused to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, Lord and King, will still display the stubbornness and hardened hearts that have marked mankind since the fall.

Ep 525 – Revelation 20:1-6 May 25, 2018

Show notes

The 1,000-year reign of Christ. This is a much-debated topic among theologians. There are those who take it literally and others who see it as figurative. But in Revelation 20:1-6, John is going to describe what appears to be a very real and literal 1,000-year-long period of time, during which Jesus Christ will reign from a literal throne in a very literal Jerusalem. This is what is referred to as the millennial kingdom of Christ. And one of the most amazing aspects of this period of time is the absence of Satan and his influence. Antichrist and the false prophet will already be imprisoned in the lake of fire or hell. But Satan will be captured and thrown into the abyss, where he will be kept imprisoned for the duration of the 1,000-year reign of Christ. At the end of that period of time, Satan will be released and allowed to mount one more insurrection against God. Yet, for 1,000 years, the earth and its inhabitants will know what it is like to live under a King who rules in perfect righteousness. He will be the king Israel never had, reigning over them with justice, equity, holiness and perfect righteousness.

Ep 524 – Revelation 19:17-21 May 24, 2018

Show notes

Nobody likes to be on the losing side of anything, especially battle. But there is always a loser. In every war, there are those who win and those who walk away in defeat, if they make it out of the war alive. And the same will be true at the end of the epic war between God and Satan. It has been going on since Satan made his ill-fated attempt to wrest power away from God. He became a permanent adversary of God Almighty and has deceived billions of gullible human beings into taking his side and opposing the rule and reign of the one true God. And the struggle between the forces of righteousness and wickedness will reach its apex at the end of the seven years of tribulation, when Satan leads his forces against the Son of God in the Battle of Armageddon. The name of this event is a bit of a misnomer because it will not be much of a battle. It will actually be a devastatingly lopsided affair with Jesus Christ wiping out the entire army of Satan all by Himself. The heavenly host who accompany Him to the battle field will be mere spectators as they watch the King of kings bring about the fall of Satan, the Antichrist and his false prophet, as well as the millions of humans who chose to stand against God.

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