Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Listen to “Thoughts in Worship 01.24.2018” on Spreaker.
This is devotional thought number 59 in our devotional series, God’s Promises are Sure!
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2:11).
What Would Help You?
What kind of encouragement might you need if you lived in an era when persecution, torture, and death were the unfortunate story of the day? Could you find hope when you could reasonably expect that many people you know and love in the faith, along with you, would suffer death because you love God?
God made a promise to the church in Smyrna during the Age of Martyrdom. His faithful followers loved not their lives, even to the point of death. This promise stood in the face of evil Roman oppressors like: Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Decius, Valerian, and Diocletian. Though they persecuted God’s people, He promised that if they remained faithful, though they might lose their mortal lives, He would raise them at His Second Coming. They would receive the reward of which Jesus was worthy—immortality. Their death at the hands of persecutors would represent a peaceful rest, and God would raise them incorruptible. When they rose, they would see their King’s face and have His name written in their foreheads.
This One’s For You
As the trials of God’s faithful increase, please know that this same Jesus, who made exceeding great and precious promises to the believers in Smyrna, promises you that the second death will have no power over you.
He that shall come, will come very soon, and those who sleep in Jesus will rise from their dusty graves to meet all of God’s faithful saints. By God’s grace, we will be caught up to meet Jesus and take a miraculous flight beyond Orion and be ushered in through the gates into the kingdom of God. Troubles won’t last always. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
