He Is

Daily Reading: Revelation 1

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1.4-6)

Devotional Thought: Are you ready for a journey through the book of Revelation?  This book is full of subjective symbolism and has been interpreted in a myriad of ways over the centuries.  It is best not to be dogmatic about what the symbolism means, but rather to look for ways to apply the things that are clear.

Here, in the opening chapter of Revelation, we find some wonderful verses that point to what we can all agree on - The Trinity:

• God, the Father.  He is!  God exists.  He is the Ultimate Reality that supersedes all matter, all energy, all space, and all time.  The fact that God is means that he was!  God was there when created history began.  It also means that he is to come!  God will be there when history comes to a conclusion.

• The Sevenfold Spirit.  In the Bible, 7 is the “perfect number” depicting completeness.  The Spirit of God completes the will of God.  He is with you, and he also is before the throne of God.  That means, through the Spirit, you are always before the throne of God, too!

• Jesus Christ, the Son.  He is the faithful witness!  What he says, we can count on. As God the Father is the Ultimate Reality, Jesus the Son is the Ultimate Revealer.  If we want to know what God is like, we need only to look to Jesus.  Not only is he the Ultimate Revealer, he is the Ultimate Redeemer and the Ultimate Ruler.

Be blessed today by our great God!  To him be glory and dominion forever and ever!  Amen!

Prayer: Lord, I give you glory today, and I give you my heart.  May you rule over me and through me may you make your greatness known to all those I come in contact with today.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 103:1-5

1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.