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Thursday, January 1, 2009
Dear Faithful One,
Happy New Year!
As we look with excitement and anticipation upon this new year, may we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, our hearts open to His Word, and our lives available to His will. This past year has been a wondrous year of preparation, as the Lord has stirred the hearts of His children, by inviting us to deeper levels of intimacy with Him through feasting on His Word, and discovering the importance of spending time with Him in prayer. Thousands have responded wholeheartedly to a life of deeper devotion and greater dependence upon the Lord.
His purposes for this past year are not the end of the book, they only close this current chapter as we turn the page on a new, and even more exciting, chapter that begins today. Everything we have experienced, in the past twelve months, was an appetizer to a great feast waiting for us in the new year. Our Lord desires that we remain ever faithful and responsive to His invitation to, once again, sit at His table each day and receive the wondrous portions He places on our plates.
In today's devotion, we will be looking at the wrath of God - a challenging subject to begin this new year with, but divinely purposed - for He has been preparing us for this very hour. God's wrath is holy and just as He rightly applies it to all that is contrary and in opposition to His holy nature and will. Having been drawn to deeper intimacy, and having received greater knowledge and understanding of God's holiness and righteousness, through His Word, we are being called to live holy and righteous lives, set apart for His purposes.
May our lives be set apart for His glory and honor, and so reflect His love, that the world will be drawn to the light of His salvation. May we, indeed, reap a harvest of righteousness in the months that lie ahead! Continue feasting on His Word, faithful in prayer, and abounding in love for each other...until He returns!
"We always thank God for all of you,
mentioning you in our prayers.
We continually remember before our God and Father
your work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love,
and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
...They tell how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for His Son from heaven,
Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus,
Who rescues us from the coming wrath."
(1 Thessalonians 1:2-3, 9b-10)
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all! (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Feasting on His Word and Remaining at His Feet,
Traci Alexander
Trumpet and Torch Ministries
Psalm 27:13-14
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Day Seven: Revealing the WRATH of God
"God is a righteous judge,
a God Who expresses His wrath every day."
(Psalm 7:11)
Breakfast: Seven Swans a-swimming - Focus on Isaiah 11:1-5
"The eyes of the LORD are everywhere
keeping watch on the wicked and the good."
(Proverbs 15:3)
"On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...seven swans a-swimming" There is nothing outside the Lord's range of vision. He sees everything - even the hearts of men. "A man's ways are in full view of the LORD..." (Proverbs 5:21). In the Book of Zechariah we read that the seven eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth (4:10b); and in the Book of Revelation "the seven horns and seven eyes...are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth" (Revelation 6b). The number seven is symbolic of completeness and perfection. His eyes are everywhere as He searches the earth on the lookout for the deeds of the righteous and the wicked. "His eyes are on the ways of men; He sees their every step" (Job 34:21).
Knowing that God sees everything should be an encouragment to us that the ways of evil men will not go unnoticed. It may seem as if they are getting away with their wicked plans at the present time, but our God is a righteous judge and He will not allow the wicked to walk away unpunished (reference Proverbs 11:21). There is a time set when God will bring His judgment upon the earth; but He is longsuffering so that all people have an opportunity to come to repentance (reference Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:4).
As we look at the times we are living in with the rise of evil and immorality that has taken over the land, we need to place our trust in the One Who is bringing all things together for His glorious and grand conclusion. Nothing is outside of His control and all things have been planned and purposed to fulfill His great kingdom plan. While we wait for His hand to move may we live lives of gratitude for His hand of mercy and respond to the time we have left to live holy and righteous before our Lord, in the power of His Holy Spirit, which He has given us, and share the good news of His salvation with those lost in sin and darkness.
"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth
to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."
(2 Chronicles 16:9)
Lunch: Finding Meaning...in the wrath of God (judgment) - Focus on Ecclesiastes 7:13-20
"Now it is God Who has made us for this very purpose
and has given us the Spirit as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.
We live by faith, not by sight.
So we make it our goal to please Him,
whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
that each may receive what is due him
for the things done while in the body,
whether good or bad."
(2 Corinthians 5:5, 7, 9-10)
As believers we have been called to live holy and righteous lives. However, living righteously does not guarantee a life without difficulty or death. A commentary noted that the blessing of the Old Testament was prosperity, while the blessing of the New Testament is adversity: "...do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Many faithful servants have had to endure great sufferings at the hands of wicked men, but as a result, the gospel message spread rapidly. Many valuable lessons are born out of adversity. "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).
While we may be suffering, we must remember that we have a gift that can never be taken from us. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36). God is opposed to all things evil - His judgment towards evil is permanent. "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).
While we must all stand before God in judgment, believers will go on to eternal rewards, while the wicked, who deny Christ, will go on to eternal destruction. "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31). May we fervently pray for the workers of the fields, that in this coming season of harvest that we diligently fulfill the work of our Father, sowing seeds of righteousness, and reaping a harvest of salvation.
"Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who was seated on it.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the trone,
and the books were opened. Another book was opened,
which is the book of life.
The dead were judged according to what they had done as
recorded in the books..."
(Revelation 20:11a, 12)
Dinner: The Sovereignty of God - a Matter of God's Wrath - Focus on Daniel 7:13-27
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against
all the godlessness and wickedness of men who supress truth
by their wickedness, since what may be known about God
is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -
His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made,
so that men are without excuse."
(Romans 1:18-20)
Daniel was given a dream in which he saw the future kingdoms of the world rise and fall. Having witnessed his own nation destroyed and seen the hand of God literally take the life of one ruler and reduce another to a wild animal, Daniel's troubled response to God's revelation was understandable. He knew, without a doubt, that God rules in the kingdoms of men (reference Daniel 4:32b).
The kingdoms in Daniel's vision have all passed away, except for the last two: one that will rise up and declare war on God, and the final kingdom that will never pass away - the Kingdom of God. The final human kingdom that produces the Antichrist will bring on the final judgment and the most important kingdom will be established and fill the earth with God's glory. While the rule and reign of the final human kingdom will result in great human tragedy and sufferingon earth, we must remember that God remains on His throne and His judgment will come!
The Kingdom of God can never be destroyed! No matter how man may scheme to stop the message of the gospel, God is Sovereign and His plans for His creation will continue, spread, and be fulfilled at His appointed time. No one can thwart His plans. "His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him" (Daniel 7:27b).
As we look forward to our Lord's return (specifically His return for His Bride, the Church) and pray that His Kingdom come, may we be mindful of all that we are requesting for Him to do - for, with His second coming, His wrath and judgment will bring great tribulation and suffering to mankind.
As we come to the end of our first day in this New Year, may we be mindful that our God is the Beginning and the End - He is the everlasting God - and each day that we place Him at the beginning of our day we will find that not only will it start out on the right foot, but it will also end well. Let us be devoted to His Word and prayer as we walk everyday of these next 12 months fully devoted and faithfully waiting upon our Lord. "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20b).
"As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints
and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came
and pronounced judgment in favor of the saint of the Most High,
and the time came when they possessed the kingdom."
(Daniel 7:21-22) _____________________________________
A Word of Encouragement
"Grace and peace to you from Him Who is,
and Who was, and Who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before His throne,
and from Jesus Christ, Who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To Him Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood,
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve His God and Father-
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."
(Revelation 1:4b-6) ________________________________________________
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