May 14:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS RETURN.
"This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."--Acts 1:11


We all want to know that things will be Ok.  We want the assurance that the ending will turn out all right.  Have you ever watched a movie twice, read a book for a second time, or watched a previously played sports game for which you already know the final score?  Then you have experienced an anxiety-free activity, especially when the game, movie or book ended on a very positive note.  When we know the outcome ahead of time, there is no point in worrying or fretting.

This is why the book of Acts begins at the end.  After Jesus died to save the human race and rose from the dead, He presented Himself alive to His disciples for forty days (see Acts 1:3).  During this time, He explained to His disciples many things regarding the kingdom of God.  After commissioning them to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even the remotest parts of the earth (verse 8), Jesus ascended to heaven.  He was lifted up, a cloud received Him, and He was out of their sight (verse 9).  Notice that the disciples kept looking upwards intently (verse 10); some suggest that they might have expected the cloud to dissipate and to see Jesus again, as had happened on the Mount of Transfiguration.  But instead they saw two men in bright clothing, heavenly messengers, who told them that this same Jesus, who had been taken up from them, was sure to come back in the same manner as they had watched Him go into heaven (verse 11).  So, in the book of Acts, before we are told about their baptism of the Holy Spirit and how they spread throughout the world, proclaiming the good news of salvation and eventually experiencing tribulations, persecution and even martyrdom, the first thing we (and they) find out is the final outcome: Jesus will come back!  It is not just a possibility but a sure thing.  And the assurance of His return kept them free from fear and anxiety during the dark and difficult days that followed.  The same is true for us.  In this world we might be going through pain and tribulations, yet we know the outcome ahead of time.  He will come back for us!  Hallelujah!


My Response:_______________________________________________________

May 13:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS PROMISE.
"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me....I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."--John 14:1, 3

When David was running for his life, God provided a loving and supportive friend: King Saul's son, Jonathon.  It was an unlikely friendship, because Jonathon would have been the natural successor to his father, yet he knew that David had been chosen by God to be the king of Israel.  Instead of feeling jealous, Jonathon loved David, and they became best friends.  Jonathon seemed certain that David would be king one day and asked him to preserve his descendants when he did (1 Samuel 20:15-17).  And so, this covenant and promise was secured between these two unlikely friends.  When David became king over all Israel, just as Jonathon had predicted, he kept his promise (2 Samuel 9:1-13).  David did not exterminate Jonathon's descendants, as was the custom of the time; a son of Jonathon, Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both feet, was brought to David, and from then on Mephibosheth ate at the king's table regularly as one of David's sons.

In biblical history, God has always been faithful to His promises.  He is the ultimate promise keeper.  Jesus has told us the end of the covenant story: He wins!  And He is coming back for us, that we may eat at His table eternally.  When His disciples had received incomprehensibly bad news (John 13:33, 36), Jesus reassured them by directing their thoughts to the end of the story.  The imperative "Do not let your heart be troubled" (John 14:1) could be translated as "Stop being distressed."  They were anxious, and Jesus gave them the reason not to be.  He was going ahead of them, opening the path, and preparing their home.  Even though they would be going through some troublesome days, the remedy for their downcast souls was, and continues to be, to believe in His promise.  Jesus reassured them that His Presence would continue with them for eternity!  He said: "that where I am, there you may be also" (verse 3).  We should focus on the end of the story: Jesus wins!  And we are, and will be, with Him forever, just as He promised!

My Response:______________________________________________________

May 12:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS IDENTITY.
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.--Matthew 1:1

I asked the cemetery representative if they would allow me to bring a key and bury it along with my father and mother.  As an only child, it was extremely difficult to lose both my parents in a short time.  As the place was opened to lay the remains of my father next to my mother's, I placed the key in their grave.  Jesus said that he has the keys of death (Revelation 1:18).  He will be the next one to open my parents' tomb and will see the key I placed there because I believe He will fulfill His resurrection promise.  Praise God!  His promises are everything!

Matthew starts his Gospel announcing that Jesus is the long-awaited Deliverer, who was promised throughout the Jewish Scriptures (Old Testament).  By using the title "Messiah" (Matthew 1:1), which is "Christos" (Christ) in Greek and means  "the Anointed One," Matthew reminds us that Jesus comes as the fulfillment of the covenant promises of God.  This theological title of Jesus as the awaited Anointed One appears several times in this Gospel, even in the first chapter (1:1, 16, 17, 18).  Matthew also mentions that Jesus is the descendant of David and Abraham (1:1), both pivotal names in God's covenant with Israel (2 Samuel 7:16) and with all the nations of the earth (Genesis 12:3).  He repeats the same two important names (David and Abraham) at the end of his genealogical introduction (Matthew 1:17).

Matthew will allude to the Old Testament prophecies several times.  On some occasions, he will use what we call a prophetic formula in which he starts the verse by stating: "This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet" (for example 1:22; 2:15).  Surely, Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promises to send a Deliverer.  It is difficult for us to grasp how much this would have meant to Matthew's predominantly Jewish audience, which had awaited the promised Messiah for centuries.  For us, this verse is a reminder that God is truly faithful to His promises, and that as He fulfilled His promise in Jesus' first coming, He will do it again in Jesus' second coming!  You can count on that!

My Response:_______________________________________________________________

May 11:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS ACCOMPLISHMENT.
"And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and...rolled away the stone and sat upon it."--Matthew 28:2

It was time for my dad and I to choose the words to be engraved on my mother's tombstone.  We chose the text of Isaiah 43:1, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!"  Both of us were comforted by God's assurance of redemption, His tender reminder that He knows each of us by name, and that we are His!  A few months later, my dad was sleeping in Jesus under the same tombstone.  Both of my parents passed away with the assurance that Jesus had accomplished their eternal life through His death.

Matthew's narrative of the resurrection is the most dramatic of all four Gospels.  He adds unique details that become visualizations of the salvific work of Jesus.  For example, Matthew mentions that the earth shook when Jesus died, opening the tombs (Matthew 27:51, 52), and that there was also a great earthquake (seismos megas) when the angel of the Lord descended on the resurrection morning (John 28:2).  "An angel of the Lord...rolled away the stone and sat upon it" (verse 2).  The angel sat on the stone of Jesus' tomb!  As if saying, with defiant body language: any questions, anyone?  Jesus has conquered death!  Yes, Jesus' death had triumphed over death, and now Jesus Himself had risen, and the stone placed on the tomb to guard it became the angel's stool...I love it!  Countless times, when facing problems that were greater than my abilities to solve them, I pictured the angel sitting on the stone!  God sits on our problems, in total control.  But there is one more shaking in this scene: "The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men" (verse 4).  How paradoxical is that?  The men who had been placed to guard Jesus' body were now shaking and becoming like dead bodies, while the One who had been dead was now alive!  If you, or someone you love, have to face the valley of the shadow of death, remember Jesus' accomplishment: victory over death!  I can't wait to see my parents again on resurrection morning; the angel will remove their tombstone and sit on it!

My Response:__________________________________________________________

May 10:  Celebrating His Victory

HIS TENDERNESS.
When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!"--John 19:26

Visiting the ancient city of Ephesus was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  I was absolutely baffled when we got to the ancient city and saw the magnificent remains of so many buildings, the library, and the huge amphitheater.  We also visited the traditional site of Mary's house, a few miles away.  At first, I was confused, because we were in Turkey, and the mother of Jesus lived in Israel.  That's when I remembered that Jesus entrusted His mother to John, the beloved disciple, who eventually became an elder in the church of Ephesus.

John records three last sayings of Jesus on the cross that are not recorded by the other Gospel writers.  The first one is addressed to His mother and the beloved disciple.  It is amazing to me that in the midst of His physical and even greater spiritual distress, Jesus thinks of His mother.  She had been visited by the angel Gabriel, and when she became pregnant out of wedlock, she endured much ridicule.  She had witnessed how the Jewish leaders rejected Jesus and had felt much pain because of it.  She had kept in her heart the prophecies about Him, and now she was standing by the cross of her beloved Son.  And Jesus honors His earthly mother by making sure that she is taken care of.  Amazing!  May we treat our own mothers with such care and tenderness.  Perhaps because the brothers of Jesus had not yet believed that He was the Savior (see John 7:5), Jesus felt the need to entrust His mother to the beloved disciple: "When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!'  Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!'  From that hour the disciple took her into his own household" ( John 19:26, 27).  The concern of Jesus for His mother, who had been divinely chosen to bring Him into this world, is another reminder of His gentle heart, which experienced love in addition to pain and always showed tender care.  At the cross, the tenderness of Jesus was offered to each one of us as well.  His victorious love is our assurance.

My Response:_________________________________________________________

May 9:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS SOLUTION.
"The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man."--Matthew 13:37

Some counterfeit items look so similar to the real things that it takes an expert to tell them apart.  Years ago, I got a nice purse of a famous brand which prominently displayed its logo in multiple places.  I showed it to a friend who knew much more about purses than I did.  Having examined my new bag, she told me: "It's not real, it's a counterfeit."  It definitely looked real to me, and I asked her why she thought so.  "Because," she said, "this particular brand never places stitches over their logo."  Only an expert could tell.

In this parable only told by Matthew, we receive an answer to two very frequently asked questions: "Why is there evil in this world?" and "What is God going to do about it!"  The answer to the first is: "Because an enemy has done this!" (verse 28); and the second: "He will eradicate it at the end of times, once and for all (verses 30, 40-42)."  The parable compares the kingdom of heaven to a situation found in a field.  A man sowed good seed, but the enemy came and sowed tares (weeds, Greek zizania) among the wheat (verses 24, 25).  This type of agricultural undermining attack, often used as revenge, was punishable by Roman law.  Time went by, and when the wheat grew and was bearing grain, the weeds became noticeable (verse 26).  When the landowner's workers offered to remedy the evident problem by gathering the weeds, the master asked them not to, not because they couldn't tell them apart, but because they might "uproot the wheat with them" (verse 29).  The roots were intertwined, and the landowner cared too much about the wheat.  Jesus explained this parable in great detail (verses 36-43) and highlighted that "the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world...and the enemy who sowed them [the tares] is the devil" (verses 37-39).  This is the great controversy between good and evil in one parable.  Jesus explains that at the end of the world, He will do away with evil once and for all.  Yes!  Evil will eventually be fully destroyed.  This is a source of assurance for Christ's followers.  Jesus tells us how it will all end!  And Jesus wins!

My Response:_________________________________________________________

May 8:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS RESOLVE.
"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son."--Revelation 21:7

My dad was preaching, and my mother was in the back of the church taking care of me, a baby at the time.  Unexpectedly, a man came running into the sanctuary, snatched me from the seat, and took off.  But by the time the man got to his pickup truck my mother was there, too, and jumped into the passenger side.  He drove to a building my mom didn't recognize, where they were greeted by a radio announcer, congratulating the man who was holding me.  It turned out that the first person to show up to the radio station with a baby, won a pretty sizable prize.  My mother, not knowing what was going on, was determined to be where I was, no matter what, until she got me back.  After all, I am her daughter!

God didn't let go of His kidnapped children either!  He was willing to do whatever was needed to get them back.  When Adam and Eve, the children of God, chose to leave the moral umbrella of their heavenly Father and follow the deceiver (Genesis 3:1-8), God immediately and passionately expressed His resolve to get them back, no matter the cost (Genesis 3:15).  This is what we call the covenant.  The whole Bible is the story of how God ransomed His kidnapped children. *  When we get to the new earth, the covenant will be fulfilled and the consequences of sin will be no more: no more death, crying or pain (see Revelation 21:4).  Can you imagine that?  God wins in the universal battle between good and evil, and He gets His children back.  The ultimate reality for us, who trust in the Lamb's sacrifice to the end, will be that we will receive the divine sonship: "I will be his God and he will be My son" (verse 7).  We are, in fact, children of God.  God will be with us, and we will be with God.  Reunited!  Forever!  Oh, what a day that will be!  God Himself will announce the completion of this final reality (verse 7).  Yes!  You are a child of the King!  And His victory is yours because you are an heir with Christ.  "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are" (1 John 3:1).  Let no one convince you otherwise!

My Response:_________________________________________________________
* For a study on this topic, see Elizabeth Talbot, Surprised by Love (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2010).

May 7:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS OUTCOME.
"And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth."--Revelation 14:6


I've learned that I can't control most circumstances that occur around me, and that usually the outcome is not in my hands.  My only real option is to submit to God's wisdom and control of all the situations in my life.  Yet the final outcome of the world's history, and of my personal story, has already been revealed, and it is good news!  The Greek nuon euangelion is translated into English as "good news" or "gospel."  As discussed earlier, this term and its equivalent Hebrew term were used when messengers came bearing good news from the battlefield to the people anxiously waiting within the city walls.  You could hear the messengers from afar, crying out in a loud voice: Good news!  Our king has won!

This is why it is so important that after John's vision of the victorious Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, surrounded by the redeemed (Revelation 14:1), God reveals that He is sending three final messengers who are carrying the good news, the everlasting gospel! (Revelation 14:6), crying in a loud voice that Jesus has, in fact, won the battle between good and evil.  In summary, each one of the angels announces an aspect or angle of the eternal good news.  The first angel invites the whole earth to worship the Creator God and to pledge allegiance to the One who made the heavens and the earth.  This angel announces that the hour of His judgment has come (verse 7), which for the believers is really good news because their sins have already been paid for at the cross, so they do not fear the judgment.  The second angel announces that the opposing satanic system has collapsed (verse 8).  Babylon has fallen!  The capital city of the evil system is no more!  Finito!  Done!  Jesus wins!  And the third bearer of good news reminds everyone that God knows His own, and that you are safe if you trust in Jesus, the Lamb of God, and bear His mark (Revelation 14:9-12).  It is true that uncertainties surround us, yet one thing is guaranteed: the outcome is assured!  On the cross, Jesus paid our price, evil and pain have been defeated, and God's children have been reconciled with Him.  Yes!  Satan loses, and Jesus wins!

My Response:_________________________________________________________

May 6:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS JUBILATION.
And they sang a new song before the throne....and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.--Revelation 14:3

Through the years, I have been part of, and have directed, several vocal groups and choirs.  I remember a particular event when our choir performed songs of a very well-known composer in a large auditorium.  What made this performance extra special was the fact that the composer himself was actually playing the piano and directing the choir.  We joyfully sang with all our hearts, grateful for the privilege of performing in the presence of the maestro.

Yet this jubilant occasion, or any other this world may offer, does not come close to the celebration we will experience as we gather around the victorious King of the universe!  In the only narrative in the book of Revelation that mentions Mount Zion, the Lamb is standing on this very place that had foreshadowed the deliverance of God's people all along  But He is not alone; the victorious Lamb is surrounded by His own, those who have "His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads" (Revelation 14:1).  One hundred forty-four thousand is the number of spiritual Israel, mentioned in Revelation 7:4.  The redeemed, excited and exceedingly joyful, start singing a new song in front of the throne.  This is our song, for no one else can sing it!  In contrast to other worship scenes in Revelation, where the heavenly beings join in praise, this particular song can only be sung by the one hundred forty-four thousand.  Why is that?  The answer follows in the text itself: "No one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth" (Revelation 14:3).  That's why!  We are the only ones who can sing the song of redemption that tells the story that no one else can tell.  And we will sing our hearts out!  The Lamb reigns!  Jesus wins!  This picture of the victorious Lamb and all of us around Him, gratefully celebrating His triumph, reminds us that pain, cancer, abuse, broken vows, and death are temporary situations, and that soon Jesus will take over and all the hurts and pain of this earth will be no more.  Amen!

My Response:________________________________________________________

May 5:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS STRENGTH.
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.  The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough.--Revelation 12:7, 8

Several years ago, I was invited to join a radio ministry called Voice of Prophecy.  My boss at the time, Elder Kinsey, often spoke about today's devotional text with great passion.  He frequently shared the great assurance found in the understanding that in the war waged against Michael and His angels, the dragon (Satan) and his angels were not strong enough!  How important it is to remember that the devil cannot prevail!  He is not strong enough!  Jesus wins!

John reveals who this dragon is: "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9).  He rebelled against God and took with him a considerable number of accomplices (verse 4).  They made war against Michael, the leader of the armies of heaven.  The next verse clarifies that this name refers to Jesus Christ Himself: "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come" (see verses 10, 11).  It was at the cross that the rule of Satan was completely overthrown; and those who follow Jesus overcame the devil because of the blood of the Lamb (verse 11).  In the great controversy between good and evil, the adversary of God still inflicts pain and suffering, yet he is a defeated foe.  Jesus is the ultimate Victor and will intervene and eradicate evil, as well as rescue His own (see Daniel 12:1).  The dragon and his angels were not strong enough against our Savior and King.  His sacrifice is our assurance!  "The death of Christ upon the cross made sure the destruction of him who has the power of death, who was the originator of sin....It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy.  Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan.  Angelic perfection failed in heaven.  Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss.  All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God." *

My Response:____________________________________________________________
* Ellen G. White, "What Was Secured by the Death of Christ," Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889, par. 4.