Revelation 22 - 11.6.25

Revelation 22:1-2, 17

S – 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

O – Seeing the tree of life again points to a restoration of all things. “Now at last, almost at the end of the great drama of the Bible, man may return and legitimately enjoy the blessing which he was banished for illegitimately desiring.” (Preston/Hanson Blue Letter Bible.org)

Revelations closes human history as Genesis opened it, in paradise! There is one distinct difference and that is that evil is gone forever. Revelations is a book of hope. It shows that no matter what happens on earth, God is in control. It promises that evil will not last forever. And it depicts the wonderful reward that is waiting for all those who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior.

A - As we get closer to the end times, and we can see everything lining up just as His Word was written, we have TWO choices…..BELIEVE and spend eternity with our creator in a beautiful place, where we are never hungry, hurting, or lacking for anything. A place where we get to worship our Heavenly Father face to face.

On the flip side, as we read in previous chapters is what’s in store for those who turn AWAY from God:

Rev 20:15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Those words alone should be enough to stop everyone in their tracks and get right with the Lord. Funny, how it doesn’t affect everyone. They are hardened and they can’t see the truth, and that is a scary thought.  I know where I want to be. And I know where I want my loved ones to be. Am I doing enough to make sure they know the truth? Am I praying for those I love daily, to open their hearts and hear the truth?  Am I behaving in a way that shows that this is a matter of life or death?

P – Lord forgive me for being passive at times and for being complacent. Knowing that I get to be with you in paradise, I can sometimes be too comfortable in that thought. But you want more. You want us to love others more than ourselves so I pray you will break my heart for the lost….for those in my realm of influence that you also want in paradise with you. Give me boldness to speak Your truth to them and to remember them at all times. And thank you that this life here on earth is not where it ends. Thank you for loving me and keeping me out of that fiery pit! I love you Lord! Amen

- Crystal Flory

Psalm 84 - 11.5.25

Scripture: Psalm 84:5

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Observation

Blessed are those who walk in God’s power, not their own. I can do very few things, but He can do all things.

Blessed are those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage – setting aside everything to go to the temple to meet with the most holy God, in the place where He reveals Himself.

Application

Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 

To walk in God’s power, we need to be connected with Him. And only by spending time with Him can we truly connect. Our hearts should be set on seeking Him. The Israelites would make a pilgrimage to go to the temple to meet with God. We can meet with God whenever and wherever we want.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

But we have to truly seek – we have to want God’s presence more than we want all else. We can and should talk to God throughout our day and bring our concerns to Him as they arise. But we need to make sure to take time alone each day, setting everything else aside, to seek His presence. And when you seek, He will meet you there.

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;

Prayer

Thank you for your promise to meet me and reveal yourself to me when I come to You and sit at your feet and seek your presence. Your presence is better than all else.

- Debbie Dunn

Jeremiah 13 - 11.4.25

SCRIPTURE:  JEREMIAH 13:1-11

1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a] and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.

6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’

OBSERVATION

The Lord is providing a visual story to reflect several things. One is that it shows how their pride has caused them to become useless in the big picture of what God wants from His people. The other part is the belt, a personal and important part of clothing, is used to show how close God wants to be to His people. Unfortunately, Israel and Judah have stubborn hearts, are prideful, wicked, refuse to listen, and worship idols which caused them to be useless.

Even though Judah and Israel had turned their back on God, verse 11 shows He still wants to be bound to them, to be “my people” seeking their praise and worship. He could have said “that’s it, I’ve had enough!” – just like most of us would say in His situation. Now don’t get me wrong, God is also about judgment and Judah and Israel will soon see the results of their disobedience, but how can God still want to be bound to them when they’re full of pride? Sometimes It’s hard to fathom the depth of God’s love. He is so patient, full of love, and forgiving. This reminds me of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8

APPLICATION

We see in this Scripture how pride has infected the hearts of the people of Israel and Judah and turned them away from their purpose in God. A prideful heart leads to all the things mentioned in Jeremiah: refuse to listen, are stubborn, and worship other gods.

Pride is a topic that is covered in many ways in Scripture:

”Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18

“In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Psalm 10:4

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2

“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Proverbs 13:10

A prideful heart turns to “self” and not to God. This was so true of my teenage years when I thought “I don’t need God.” For about 5 years, I led a very sinful, prideful, and destructive lifestyle. Those years were also the loneliest, and I felt so distant from God. I can remember the day I fell to my knees crying out to God to forgive me and bring me back to relationship with Him. I knew that doing “life” on my own was impossible and I desperately needed God back in my life.

Do you ever feel “I can do this on my own”? Maybe you’re going along in life without God’s direction. Do you feel there is any pride in your life? You’ll need to first remove your “self” from the throne of your life, and humbly come before His throne because you need and want Him in your life. Just like Judah and Israel, God wants to be bound to you in an intimate and special relationship where His love can flourish in your life.

PRAYER

Lord, I come before your throne asking forgiveness for any time where pride caused me to think I don’t need you. God, I need you more now than ever! I can’t live without you in my life and only want to be bound to you. My heart craves to know you more, to seek your face, and to hear your voice. Help me when the busyness of life gets in the way of spending more time with you. In Jesus name. Amen

- Mary Oberg