“And will not [our just] God defend and protect and avenge His elect (His chosen ones), who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf? I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?” Luke 18:7-8 ->me: Missed my QT yesterday (no excuses). Today I planned to jump right back into Revelation 6:10-11 but got slapped up-side the head by the Holy Spirit with these 2 verses. Luke 18:7 was referenced in response to the Martyrs at the foot of the altar crying out to the Sovereign God for justice on the inhabitants of the earth. As I read this verse in Luke I was drawn to the next verse which pretty much says (paraphrased) “God will avenge His persecuted saints and when He does it will be quick…however, not every so called saint is a victim.” OUCH! HEART CHECK! Am I really genuine in my petitioning before the Lord? In the same passage, through a parable, Jesus says the every man who exalts himself will be humbled and man who humbles himself before the Lord will be exalted. How do I handle the challenges thrown at me in my life, at home, at work, etc? Do I see tragedy in way I have been treated in a situation or do I see my own failure and/or the impact on others rather than myself? Today’s message from the Holy Spirit is to stop and check my sinful heart before getting angry at how I have been treated or think to highly of myself when God has blessed me with something going my way. Thank you for the fuel for prayer today Lord!
[QTVOTD] GOAL: A committed life…
“When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed for [adhering to] the Word of God and for the testimony they had borne.” Revelation 6:9 ->me: Let’s call out, first of all, what I focused on today -> ‘foot of the altar’ and ‘calling out the souls of martyrs’. The first thing I asked myself is “why is there an altar in heaven when Jesus has already been offered as the perfect sacrifice?” I think the answer is that this is an altar of incense and prayer; additionally the martyr’s technically offered up their own lives to God by staying true to the message of Christ. The foot of the altar appears to not only be a place of privilege but also a place of safety in God’s keeping. Secondly, martyr’s obviously hold a special place in heaven set apart from the other souls who have died by other means. The beautiful part of this passage is the aspect of the martyred souls being at the foot of the altar means that when these people sacrificed their lives to further the gospel, the most significant part of their act took place in heaven. What is my life application to this passage? I want to be so dedicated and committed to God’s purpose in my life that I hold fast to my testimony in Christ rather than maintaining a grip onto life itself. The bible, and more specifically Revelation, promise that hostility towards committed Christians will exist until the end of time. My goal cannot be to win the favor of my common man, rather it must be to stay as close to the heels of the Lord and His purposes, even if that means following Him right into heaven through death.
[QTVOTD] God’s purposes executed perfectly…
“For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ->me: Today I am taking a short departure from Revelation. For lunch I was blessed with meeting a hero in my life who graciously, humbly, and meekly is fighting cancer. Hit after hit comes his way but he stands tall in the trust he has in his Savior. I am absolutely blown away by his strength and character. I spent a considerable amount of time today praying for this man and this new phrase popped into my head and I have not been able to shake it. “God’s Purpose Executed Perfectly” – How do you pray for the healing of precious soul like this and at the same time sincerely embrace God’s will being done when that may mean the Lord taking him home earlier than we want? It is so hard….but that Perfectly Executed Purpose is exactly what I pray for and then follow that up with “Father, if your will and purposes are not circumvented by extending this man’s life then I pray fervently for that blessing to be sent down to show all involved your glory and power.” My prayer life was impacted today by the simple acceptance of God’s will in the toughest of circumstances.