A VISION OF HEAVEN

Today's promise: Christ will return

A vision of heaven

Now I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war. His eyes were bright like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him, and only he knew what it meant. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 

Revelation 19:11-13 NLT

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne; Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but is own. Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee, and hail Him as they matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him with Many Crowns,

Matthew Bridges (1800-1894)

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Matthew Bridges became a convert to Roman Catholicism at the age of 48 and published this hymn three years later under the title "The Song of the Seraphs." Godfrey Thring, an Anglican clergyman, added several stanzas to the hymn about thirty years later, with Bridges's approval. So a Roman Catholic layman and an Anglican cleric, who probably never met, were coauthors of a hymn about heaven, where Christians of every tribe and tongue, as well as of every denomination, will crown Him Lord of all.

One of the aspects that Godfrey Thring felt was missing in the original was a stanza on the Resurrection, and so it was added. "His glories now we sing who died and rose on high, who died, eternal life to bring, and lives, that death may die."

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995), entry for May 16.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

A MESSAGE FOR ALL PEOPLE

A message for all people

With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: "There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me." 

Luke 24:47 NLT

More Words of Forgiveness from the Bible

Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Isaiah 43:25-26
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence.

Acts 3:19
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace

Daniel 9:9
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

NO CLEVER STORY

Today's promise: Christ will return

No clever story

We were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes. 

2 Peter 1:16 NLT

Fulfillment of prophecy?

On June 7, 1967, a date clear to the heart of every patriotic Israeli, the army of Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem. The previous month the Egyptians had decided to attempt once more to conquer Israel. Israel felt its only hope was to launch a preemptive strike, which it did on June 5. Two days later the Israelis captured the Old City of Jerusalem, which had been part of Jordan. As a result of this military victory in what is known as the Six-Day War, Israel once again possessed her ancient capital.

From the beginning of Jesus' ministry he warned the Jews of God's coming wrath unless they repented (Matthew 3:8). The Roman army, under general Titus, completely destroyed the city and temple in A.D. 70.

Jesus had also prophesied that following its defeat "Jerusalem will be…trampled down by the Gentiles until the age of the Gentiles comes to an end" (Luke 21:24). Does this mean that the "age of the Gentiles" came to end on June 7, 1967? Revelation 11:2 seems to answer no. It states that the Gentiles "will trample the holy city for forty-two months," apparently the three and a half years period to the second coming of Christ, implying that the Jews will not be in control of Jerusalem at this time. June 7, 1967 was an extremely significant event in Jewish history, but it was not the fulfillment of prophecy.

Reflection

When you read the unfulfilled prophecies of the Bible, do you believe that they will be literally fulfilled? The first coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled many prophecies, and his second coming will fulfill many more.

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Christian History by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten (Tyndale, 2003), entry for June 7.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

A HEAVENLY VISION

A heavenly vision

After I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!" 

Revelation 7:9-10 NLT

Heavenly praise for the Lamb

Many times our prayers tend to focus on this world and the struggles we encounter in our lives. God understands and accepts these prayers, but we must also direct our thoughts and prayers to the victory we will share with Christ. In Revelation, God gives us a splendid portrayal of that final victory. In a vision, the apostle John sees a magnificent scene: a vast multitude celebrating the triumph of the Lamb of God. Waving palm branches, the traditional symbol of victory, people from all over the world extol God for the salvation he had provided through his Son.

As followers of Christ, today, we are privileged to be part of this multitude — the communion of believers. Because Jesus has overcome death, a new life of wholeness and peace through him has opened up to us. This is worth shouting about — praising God with all that is in us!

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, I join your praying people through the ages to shout about that salvation that comes from you…

Adapted from The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton, Tyndale House Publishers (2000), entry for April 3.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

EVERYONE WILL SEE

Everyone will see

[Jesus said], "Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with power and great glory. So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!" 

Luke 21:27-28 NLT

No fear of judgment

What images come to mind when you think of "end times prophecies"?…Most people, if they were honest, would admit that their view of the end times is a frightening one.…They imagine an angry and vengeful God hovering high above it all, bent on destruction and raining terror on all who have rejected him.

Have we missed something? In many ways I think we have. God didn't reveal these graphic images of the coming judgment to express his wrath or even to frighten us into believing. He revealed them to show us his wonderful grace and mercy in the midst of our sin and unworthiness. The story isn't about pending gloom and doom, but it's about a loving Father who will do anything he can to help people escape the consequences of evil.

Bible prophecy isn't intended to frighten us, but it's to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real and omnipotent and active in our lives; to warn us of the very real danger lying ahead for those who reject his love and mercy; and to encourage us to accept his gracious and free offer of salvation through his Son, Jesus.

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul tells us that God "wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth" (2:4).…Time and again in Scripture we are told that God longs for his people to be with him in heaven. The Bible is not a story of wrath and judgment but of unconditional love and redemption. God longs to be with us and wants desperately for us to accept his hand of salvation. What we do is up to us.

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for January 3.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

"I WILL COME BACK"

"I will come back"

[Jesus said], "When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there." 

John 14:3-4 NLT

His promise to return

As a child, George Tulloch was fascinated by stories of the Titanic.…In 1996 he put together a team of the best scientists and sailors and set out to the exact spot where the Titanic sank in 1912. He and his crew were able to recover numerous artifacts from the ship — eyeglasses, jewelry, dishware, some coins and the like. But the most exciting thing they found was a large piece of the hull resting several hundred yards away.

The team did its best to raise the twenty-ton piece of iron, but to no avail. At one point the team almost had it.…but a storm blew in and.…the Atlantic reclaimed its treasure. Then Tulloch did something surprising before they were forced to retreat. He descended into the deep once more in a small submarine, and using a robotic arm, he attached a small handmade placard onto the section. It said, "I will come back. George Tulloch."

For a lot of the same reasons, Jesus left us a similar message. "I am going to prepare a place for you..…When everything is ready, I will come and get you" (John 14:2-3). Some may wonder why he cared in the first place. Why would he even want to reclaim us? What good are we to him? In many ways we're just as worthless and cumbersome and unyielding as that lazy piece of iron in the Atlantic.

But Jesus doesn't see us that way. He's dreamed of this moment since the beginning of creation, and now that the time is near he can't help but leave this mark on our hearts. "I'm leaving now. But don't worry, I'll be back.

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for January 1.

Digging Deeper: This week (Tuesday) is the release of the The Rapture , the last of three prequel stories to the Left Behind series.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: Christ will return

WHAT IS TRUST?

What is trust?

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never abandoned anyone who searches for you. 

Psalm 9:10 NLT

Trust involves letting go and knowing God will catch you.

James Dobson

Why Not?

Something is holding us back. Perhaps it is a fear that maybe we are wrong about God. Maybe we feel presumptuous. It is possible, if we have been disappointed in the past, that our misunderstanding is haunting us. We hear a voice in the back of our minds that says, "What if God doesn't come through? What if he makes it more difficult than I can handle? What if all my hopes are illusions?" So we hesitate to trust God. We pray and we hope, but faith remains incomplete and doubts linger. We'll ask Him to help us, but we withhold judgment until we've seen His response.

We are called to believe God with reckless abandon — not just believe that He is there and that He is involved with us somehow; but that He is actively, personally seeking our good and answering our prayers. We are to give up our own strategies and ambitions, to relinquish all "Plan Bs," to recklessly, irrevocably cast ourselves completely into His arms.

God called Abraham to leave Haran and go to a place to be revealed later. Jesus invited Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water. That kind of call is scary, though typical in God's Kingdom. But why is it scary? Where could He lead us that we'd regret? Would He ever lead us into danger but not out of it?

God calls us to "reckless" trust, the kind that prepares no safety net and reserves nothing for a spiritually rainy day. Try to find someone God had forsaken, observe His faithfulness, and ask yourself: "Why wouldn't I trust Him wholeheartedly?" Think about it. Why not?

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for May 12.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing HouseToday's promise: Christ will return