Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.
For both Christians and nonbelievers, suffering in life can sometimes cause us to lose hope. The foundation of our faith is often tried and tested when we find ourselves in seasons of suffering. Pain, disappointment, diagnoses, divorce, and brokenness all can make us ask, “Why me, Lord?” This is the way of life even for those of us who believe. The further we dive into Revelation, however, for those people left behind, the more intense the struggles will be! If I were left behind following the rapture, I would hope that I would cry out in repentance and ask God into my life. As a teenager, my Sunday School teacher took us to see several movies that depicted Hell and the end times. It was so intense that I still remember the nightmares following these events.
The more we struggle to understand what is going on in the world right now… and what is yet to come, as Christian believers, we should be confident in the knowledge that Jesus wins in the end. He has said that He would return and that we would live with Him in eternity.
Who will enter God’s kingdom? How can I guarantee that I’m going to heaven? The Bible makes a clear distinction between those who have eternal life and those who do not: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). It all goes back to faith. Those who believe in Christ are made the children of God (John 1:12). Those who accept Jesus’ sacrifice as the payment for their sins and who believe in His resurrection are going to heaven. Those who reject Christ are not. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).
Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.
Reflection:
- Read Peter 3:9, Psalm 29:11, and Romans 15:13.
- How can trusting God in your circumstances sustain you with the peace that God has promised?
- How can you share hope with others who are in the midst of trials or suffering?
- Prayer: Dear God, although we go through really hard trials, we know that You are a good Father and a merciful God. Help us to see the ways that You use our suffering to show your faithfulness to others. Use us Lord to testify to others of Your goodness and of all the ways You give us strength in our struggles. We love You, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Family Devo: Revelation 11
By: Carrie Hobson
When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.
Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset
Head
Chapter 11 ties into what we talked about yesterday. The whole theme in Revelation is God is in charge. Revelation 11:17 refers to God as “almighty”. The Greek word for almighty is pantokrater which means “the one who has his hand on everything”. After all the judgments God poured out, His ultimate plan is being revealed. In this chapter, the 7th trumpet from chapter 8 finally sounds! If you remember back in chapter 8 there was silence when the 7th seal was opened, but when the 7th trumpet sounded, things got loud! There were loud voices from heaven saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” There was so much joy because the almighty God, the one who has had his hand on everything in all of scripture, now reigns forever! Read verses 16-18 together. The elders fell on their faces and worshiped God. They praised Him for everything that was about to take place.
Heart
Doesn’t it bring you so much comfort that God has His hand on everything? We don’t have to worry about being in control. His plans are always perfect!
Hands
Take time to worship as a family. This can be singing together, writing down attributes of God, or taking a walk together and talking about all the amazing things God has created. Praise God for being almighty!