Daily Devotion

Can a person be doctrinally sound and spiritually dead? Can you do significant things for Jesus, but not have a passionate love for him? Let’s consider those questions in Revelation 2:1-7.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ is from Jesus and about Jesus. In today’s passage, we see a picture of him in all his splendor. The image of Jesus was so brilliant that John fell to the ground as though dead. But Jesus, full of brilliance and majesty, laid his hand on John and said, “Fear not…” (Rev. 1:17). Let’s work our way through the passage. John begins by explaining where he was when he saw this magnificent vision.

My goal in this study is to explain the profound theological truths without getting lost in the details. Another friend has reminded me that Revelation can be summed up in five words: In the end, we win!

Today, we start a journey through the final book of the Bible—the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The word “revelation" comes from the Greek word apokalypsis. We get the words “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic” from it. We see this term used in movie titles to suggest widespread destruction or disaster. However, in Scripture, apokalypsis means to “uncover or unveil something hidden,” to supernaturally reveal what we cannot discover on our own. God wants us to understand how it all started, how sin caused a broken world, how this world will end, and what eternity will be like.   

Weekend Recharge!

Weekend Recharge!

Paul’s three missionary journeys and over 10,000 miles of travel took him to important cities in the Roman Empire—Jerusalem, Antioch, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus, among others. In these cities, he met many Christians whose business and travels brought them to Rome—the heart of the empire. Although Paul had not visited Rome before writing his letter to the church there, he knew people living in Rome and mentioned many of them as he concluded his letter. Twenty-six individuals are named, along with references to several others. I’ll let you read through the full list on your own. Let me highlight a few people. 

Paul wrote his letter to Christians in Rome around AD 57/58 during his third missionary journey. He was staying in Corinth at that time. Nero was the emperor of the Roman Empire and would launch a major persecution against Christians in AD 64. Paul and Peter were among those Nero sentenced to death. 

In Paul’s final section of Romans, he becomes more personal and practical. Paul has taken us on a theological journey starting with the power of the gospel (the “news of victory”), the need for the gospel, how to accept the gospel, how to grow as a Christian, and the sovereign work of God in our lives and in the world. Now, he addresses how we should interact with other believers who have different convictions about what is acceptable and what is not.