Tag Archives: return

A flash of lightning (Luke 17:20-37), October 4, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Luke 17:20-37

Set – Esther 1; Luke 17

Go! – Esther 1-2; Psalms 150; Luke 17

Luke 17:20-37
20 Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come.
Jesus: The kingdom of God comes—but not with signs that you can observe. 21 People are not going to say, “Look! Here it is!” They’re not going to say, “Look! It’s over there!” You want to see the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is already here among you.
22 (to His disciples) Days are coming when you will wish you could see just one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. 23 People will say, “Look, it’s there!” or “Look! It’s here!” Don’t even bother looking. Don’t follow their lead. 24 You know how lightning flashes across the sky, bringing light from one horizon to the other. That’s how the Son of Man will be when His time comes.
25 But first, He must face many sufferings. He must be rejected by this generation. 26 The days of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage. Everything seemed completely normal until the day Noah entered the ark. Then it started raining, and soon they were all destroyed by the flood.
28 It was just the same in the days of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, and carrying on business as usual. 29 But then came the day when Lot left Sodom—a different kind of rain began to fall, and they were all destroyed by fire and sulfur falling from the sky. 30 That’s how it will be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 When that day comes, if you’re on the housetop, don’t run inside to try to save any of your belongings. If you’re in the field, don’t bother running back to the house. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. Turning back is fatal for those who do so. 33 If you try to hold on to your life, it will slip through your fingers; if you let go of your life, you’ll keep it. 34 Listen, on the day of the Son of Man, two people will be asleep in bed; destruction will take one and the other will be left to survive. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; destruction will take one and the other will survive. 36 Two men will be working out in the field; destruction will overtake one and the other will survive.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

My coming again will be sudden and destructive for those not aligned with Me. I gave My disciples some metaphors to compare. Noah, Lot, Lot’s wife all show what My coming will be like when I return. There’s no turning at that point. You choices will have been made. I will come as fast as lightning flashing across the sky and that quickly My return will be over. My bride will be swept up with Me in the air and brought to enjoy the riches of heaven with Me.

The days after My return will be such a disaster, they will make the flood, Sodom’s destruction, and Lot’s wife’s punishment seem like a party at the beach. My wrath will pour out on all who remain for their failure to recognize Me as Lord. Those left behind will wish to die but will not be able to escape no matter how much they long to. Each will feel the full wrath of My punishment for their wickedness.

The only escape comes from joining Me as I pass through the air like lightning. If you’re ready, I’ll take you with Me. If you’re not, you stay behind. There is only one way to stay ready. Believe in Me for the forgiveness of your sins. But believing means more than just knowing that’s why I came to earth. It means doing what I ask you to do. It means following My commands. It means walking away from sin and walking toward the good I ask of you. It means loving Me and loving others. Believing means taking action because of your belief. It’s whole body, mind, and spirit given to Me.

Thinking you can figure out when I’ll come and squeeze in just in time is a risky gamble. I may come in the next storm. Oh, and did I mention that there is a storm somewhere on the planet all the time? So which storm do you want to take a chance on? Do you think I’ll wait for the one that the weatherman says will arrive at your doorstep? Don’t count on it. No one told the people of Noah’s day it would rain except Noah and everyone laughed at him. No one in Sodom believe it would rain fire and brimstone, either, but it did. No one thought a person could turn into a pillar of salt, but Lot’s wife suddenly found out when she looked back at the destruction I was pouring out on that city.

I’ve warned you for two thousand years. Just because My grace has been extended that long doesn’t mean it will be extended another year. It might, but then again…

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Learn from the mistakes of the Israelites (Ezra 3:7-13), September 25, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Ezra 3:7-13

Set – Ezra 3; Luke 8

Go! – Ezra 2-3; Luke 8

Ezra 3:7-13
7 Jeshua, Zerubbabel, and their fellow returning expatriates exercised King Cyrus of Persia’s permission to pay masons and carpenters and send food, drinks, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians in exchange for a shipment of Lebanese cedar by sea to Joppa.
8 In the second month of the second year after they had begun preparations for the True God’s temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), Jeshua (son of Jozadak), and the priests and Levites and all who had been exiled, began construction of the Eternal’s temple. The Levites 20 years old and older oversaw the construction, 9 and Jeshua and his relatives, Kadmiel and his sons, the descendants of Judah, oversaw the True God’s temple laborers, the descendants of Henadad and their brothers the Levites.
10 After the laborers had laid the Eternal’s temple foundation, the priests and Levites praised the Eternal as their beloved King David of Israel had prescribed. The priests dressed in their vestments and played trumpets, the Levite descendants of Asaph played their cymbals, 11 and together they sang praises and gave thanks to the Eternal.
Priests and Levites: We praise him because He is good and because of His continual and loyal love for Israel.
All the people joined in, shouting praises to the Eternal because the foundation of His temple was complete. 12 But in the midst of those praises, the priests, Levites, and tribal leaders who remembered the first temple wept loudly when they saw it because they knew this temple could never be as grand as Solomon’s. 13 There were shouts of joy intermingled with cries of sorrow, and the entire ensemble grew so loud it could be heard a great distance away.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Ezra, Zerubbabel, and the others who returned with him to rebuild My temple were pleased they could return and see the construction of My earthly home again. But they wept because of the poor replica this one was compared to the magificence of the temple Solomon constructed from the plans and materials David collected for the first temple. There was little comparison in terms of pure grandure. Remember, I had pilaged the Egyptians when My people escaped from slavery.

A great deal of that gold and silver came back to the temple and became part of the implements of worship. Gold lined the walls of the temple and covered the ceilings. There was so much gold it couldn’t be counted and the silver was as common as stones in Solomon’s day. That was the wealth and prosperity My people gave up when they gave up Me. They lost it all.

The good news, though, is that I brought them back. They left Me, but I made a way to bring them back. Still they didn’t understand that I couldn’t be kept in a building. Ezra and those who returned with him put their heart into getting the construction of the temple underway and getting it completed as fast as they could, but it wasn’t the stones and wood and implements of worship I was really interested in when I brought them back to Jerusalem.

I wanted Ezra and Zerubbabel to return to their homeland to understand I could do anything I pleased. I prophecied their return 70 years earlier. I even gave them the name of the king who would declare their return. Nebuchadnezzar put them into exile, but Cyrus returned them to their home. Babylon seemed undefeatable when they took Judah and Jerusalem into exile, but the Persians were soon to defeat them just as they conquered others. Cyrus sent My people home.

I wanted them to learn I had their lives in My hands. I could do the impossible. I could take care of them if they let Me. I didn’t need the temple, they did. I didn’t need the synagogues, they did. I didn’t need their offerings and their praise, but they needed to give it. It was always that way. I’m God, they were not.

The same holds true today. You can find Me in your churches and synagogues and temples, but you cannot confine Me to those places. I created the universe and all that it contains. I gave you life and will live in you if you let Me. But I cannot be contained. I do the impossible and can do the impossible in your. I can cleanse you of your sin if you trust Me to do so. I want to do so much more for you than you can begin to imagine. But I also demand your worship because I am a holy God and as I told Moses in the desert, I will have no other gods, in fact, nothing else more important in your life than Me.

I want you to learn from the lessons of Ezra and those who accompanied him. Understand I want to bring you back to Me. Know that I cannot be confined in the structure of a place. Worship is what I desire from you. It will come from an outpouring of love for Me when you know Me and understand who I am and what I’ve done for you. Get to know Me and don’t suffer the anguish of the Israelites. Learn from their mistakes. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be Ready, He’s coming soon (Revelation 22:7-21), September 17, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 22:7-21

Set – Ezekiel 43; Revelation 22

Go! – Ezekiel 42-44; Revelation 22

Revelation 22:7-21
The Anointed One: 7 Look now, I am coming soon! The one who remains true to the prophetic words contained in this book will truly be blessed.
8 I, John, am the one who heard and witnessed these visions. And when I heard and witnessed them, I fell prostrate at the feet of the heavenly guide who showed them to me. 9 But he refused.
Guide: You must not do that! I am a servant with you, with your brothers and sisters the prophets, and with those who keep the words contained in this book. Worship God instead!
10 (continuing) Do not seal up the prophetic words contained in this book for another day, for the finale is near. 11 Let the one given to evil continue down evil’s path and the one addicted to filth continue to be its servant. But let the one who is righteous journey along the righteous road, and let the holy continue in holy ways.
The Anointed One: 12 See, I am coming soon, and I will bring My reward with Me. I will pay back every person according to the deeds he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and Omega, the First One and the Last One, the beginning and the end.
14 Blessed are those who wash their garments. In the end, they have rightful access to the tree of life and will enter the city through its gates. 15 The dogs, the sorcerers, those who commit immoral acts, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception must remain outside the gates for all eternity.
Jesus: 16 I, Jesus, have sent My messenger to show you and guide you so that you in turn would share this testimony with the churches. I am the Root and the Descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.
The Spirit and the Bride: 17 Come.
And let everyone who hears these words say, “Come.”
And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life.
18 Beware, everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book. Know this for certain: if anyone adds to these words, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone subtracts from the prophetic words of this book, God will remove that person’s access to the tree of life and to the holy city which are described in this book.
20 The One who testifies to these realities makes this promise:
The Anointed One: Yes. I am coming soon.
To which we say, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
21 May the grace of the Lord Jesus the Anointed One be with all the saints. Amen.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

The close of the book ends with My words to John, “I’m coming soon.” I’m coming to give rewards to those who dared to follow Me to the end. I’m coming to finally bring My bride, the church, with Me to heaven. I’m coming to bring an end to the sorrow and pain this corrupted world has caused My children. I’m coming to set right all the wrong that has been done throughout the millenia since that first deception Satan put into men’s minds. I’m coming back.

I give blessings and I give judgments. I give indescribeable joy and I give excruciating agony. I have experienced both and I can administer both. Remember, endured the cross for you, so I know the pain and agony of bearing the sins of the world on My shoulders, but I also know the joy of bursting free from the tomb because even death could not hold My human form empowered by My heavenly glory and Spirit.

I want the best for you and give you My instructions for how to live abundantly. I ask you to live the principles and concepts laid out in the book I gave you through My inspired words. Men put them on paper as I gave them the inspiration to do so. Read and study their words. Let My words reside deep in your heart and meditate on them. Make them a part of your heart and mind so they become your principles to live by each day.

Satan will tell you there is plenty of time before My coming, but he doesn’t know when I will return. Only the Father knows. Only the Father knows the day and the hour and when He says time is no more, it will be too late. It could be another 2,000 years…or it could be today. Do you want to take the chance on My delay? The Father is merciful and gracious, but His judgment is coming and I will soon return to take My bride from this world so His wrath can flood the earth with the many plagues John mentioned in his Revelation. I am coming soon. I want to take you with Me, but it’s up to you. Be ready.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

His wrath is sure (Revelation 8), September 3, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Revelation 8

Set – Psalms 111; Revelation 8

Go! – Ezekiel 20-21; Psalms 111; Revelation 8

Revelation 8
1 When the Lamb cracked open the seventh and final seal, a great silence filled all heaven penetrating everything for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw seven heavenly messengers, the ones who stand before God, receive seven trumpets.
3 An eighth messenger came and stood before the altar carrying a golden censer. He received a large portion of incense to complement the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that sits in front of the throne. 4 From the hand of the eighth messenger, the smoke of the incense mixed with the prayers of God’s people and billowed up before God. 5 The messenger filled the censer with fiery coals from the altar and cast it upon the earth, causing a great commotion of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
6 The seven heavenly messengers raised the seven trumpets and prepared to sound them.
7 The first messenger sounded his trumpet, and a blast of hail and fire mixed with blood was cast down to the earth. As a result, one-third of the land was set ablaze, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was scorched.
8 The second messenger sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, with bright flames of burning fire, was cast into the sea. As a result, one-third of the sea turned into blood, 9 one-third of the living sea creatures died, and one-third of the ships were obliterated.
10-11 The third messenger sounded his trumpet, and a great star called Wormwood dropped out of heaven, flaming like a torch as it fell on one-third of the rivers and the springs. As a result, one-third of the waters turned bitter like the herb wormwood so that many people died from the poisonous bitter waters.
12 The fourth messenger sounded his trumpet, and one-third of the sun, one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars were darkened. As a result, one-third of their light flickered and failed. For one-third of the day, the sun did not shine; and likewise for one-third of the night, the moon and stars did not give their light.
13 Then I saw an eagle flying through midheaven, and I heard it cry with a loud voice.
Eagle: Woe, woe, woe—horror, disaster, and calamity—to the earth dwellers! The rest of the trumpet blasts from the last three messengers are about to sound.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Pray that you will not be around when the final days arrive. These words describe a small piece of what happens as seen from My throneroom. It does not describe the devastation that people left behind will feel as the fury of My wrath touches the earth. I’m not sure you can really grasp what it would feel like to see a third of the earth destroyed or a third of the water animals die in a single blow or a third of the light from the sun and moon suddenly disappear in a flash.

That’s what will happen in that fateful time. I will begin to pour out My wrath on a sin-scarred world that continues to disavow My presence and power. So I will show those who remain the justice side of holiness. Because I am holy, I will not allow sin into My presence. Only those washed in the blood of My Son’s forgiveness can approach Me. At the time of My Son’s coming into your world again, it will start the outpouring of My punishment for the evil made resident by those who failed to bow to Me.

That day hasn’t come, yet. You still have time choose Me over the evil of the world. You still have time to give yourself to Me, put away your selfish desires, and follow My commands. You don’t have to suffer the destruction that is coming. You can live with Me throughout eternity if you choose. But you must make the choice before I come again. Before it’s too late. When I come again, the sides will have been decided by each individuals choice in this life.

My desire for humankind, My highest creation, is that each individual rebukes the pull of Satan’s selfish ambitions. My desire is that each person recognizes that I have already decided the fate of that father of lies and all who follow him are already doomed. My desire is that all come to repentance and know Me through the salvation provided by My sacrifice on the cross in My human death. My desire is that each one comes to understand the hope of eternity with Me through My resurrection on that first Easter morning.

I will not hold back My wrath much longer. The end of time is as sure as the constant march of the sunrise and sunset. But I will come again. You’ve heard the description of what it will be like if you choose the wrong path. Don’t be among those. Choose My side instead.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Fulfilled, but not yet! (Joel 2:12-32), June 25, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Joel 2:12–32
Set – Joel 2; 2 Timothy 1
Go! – Joel 1–3; 2 Timothy 1

Joel 2:12-32
12 Eternal One: Even now, turn back your heart and rededicate yourselves to Me;
Show Me your repentance by fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Rip the wickedness out of your hearts; don’t just tear your clothing.
Now return to the Eternal, your True God.
You already know He is gracious and compassionate.
He does not anger easily and maintains faithful love.
He is willing to relent and not harm you.
14 Who knows? Perhaps He will turn and relieve you of this threat,
and leave behind some blessing as He goes—
Maybe enough grain and wine to offer
to the Eternal, your True God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion; set apart a time for fasting;
tell everyone to be still and stop working.
16 Assemble the people. Consecrate the congregation.
Gather the elders and other leaders,
The young children, and even the nursing babies.
Let the bride and groom leave their chambers on their wedding night.
17 Let the priests, the Eternal’s servants, stand between the porch and the altar
and weep as they intercede. Let them say,
Priests: Have pity on Your people, O Eternal One!
And do not let Your legacy—Your covenant people—
Be taunted and mocked by the nations,
who ask, “Where is their God?”
18 But wait—the Eternal One has become possessive of His land;
He will restore us in compassion, His people!
19 In response to our prayers, the Eternal will answer:
Eternal One: Listen! I am sending you a great harvest of grain, wine, and oil.
You will be completely satisfied and no longer
Will I make you a people held in contempt by the nations.
20 I will remove My armies who attack from the north far from your borders,
driving them into a parched and lonely desert.
Then I will separate them: the front line to the Dead Sea,
the rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea
with the vile stench of their rotting corpses rising up.
Surely the Eternal One has done great things!
21 Do not fear, O land. You have been revived.
Celebrate and rejoice, for the Eternal One has done great things!
22 Do not fear, you wild beasts: You will eat again,
for the desert pastures are green again!
And so will we: the trees bear their fruit;
the fig trees and the vines produce their bounty once again.
23 People of Zion, shout with joy
and happiness in the Eternal, your God;
The drought is over; He has sent the early autumn rain as a sign of His faithfulness.
He has poured down heavy rain, autumn and spring, as before.
24 The threshing floors will be covered in grain;
the vats will spill over with new wine and fresh oil.
25 Eternal One: I will compensate you for the years
that the locusts have eaten—the swarming locusts,
The creeping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts—
My great army that I unleashed against you.
26 In that day, you will eat plenty of food and always have enough,
so you will praise My name,
The Eternal One, your God who is merciful to you.
Never again will My people be shamed among the nations.
27 Return to Me and you will know that I live among My people Israel
and that I, the Eternal One, am your God and there is no other.
Never again will My people be shamed among the nations.
28 Then in those days I will pour My Spirit to all humanity;
your children will boldly and prophetically speak the word of God.
Your elders will dream dreams;
your young warriors will see visions.
29 No one will be left out. In those days I will offer My spirit
to all servants, both male and female.
30 In the heaven above and on the earth below,
I will give signs of My intervention: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
31 The sun will become a void of darkness, and the moon will become blood
just before the great and dreadful day of the Eternal One arrives.
32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Eternal One will be liberated.
Mount Zion and Jerusalem will shelter those who survive exile,
Just as the Eternal says, “Among those who survived, He will call them.”

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Many have tried to assign the words of Joel to different times in history. For Joel, much of the prophecy would take place in the distant future. He saw the destruction of the locust, but didn’t see Me pour out My Spirit on the men and women assembled together at Pentecost.

Like many of the prophecies of the Old and New Testaments, the passage in Joel has both short-term fulfillment and end-time fulfillment. Many work hard today to figure out when I will come. What the end-times will look like. How I will return. What to look for and so many other signs to make last minute preparations.

What I want you to know is that I will come when I decide to come. I’ve told you time after time that no one knows when I will return. Just be ready. I might decide today is the day or I might wait another 2,000 years. Your responsibility isn’t to figure out when I’ll come to get you, but to be ready when I get there. If I decide to come today are you ready? That’s the question for every person on the earth.

Enough of the prophecies have already been fulfilled that I can make the dominoes fall in no time at all. Or like many generations have experienced, I can withhold My coming for a few more years. I’ll decide. You stay prepared. I am coming back. I promised and I never break My promises.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.