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.

May 4:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS GOSPEL.
"This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."--Matthew 24:14

 Being part of a generation that was born without social media, I continue to be amazed at the way the whole world can be reached with the touch of a button.  As our ministry is growing, I was curious to find out where, geographically, people are watching our videos.  It was a sobering moment when consulting one of our internet video program hosts, I saw a world map with areas of our audience highlighted in shades of blue.  I was stunned to see that areas of blue spanned the globe.  Matthew 24:14 immediately came to my mind.

Jesus explained in general terms to expect difficult times, including false messiahs and pseudo-prophets, as well as wars, rumors of wars, betrayals, hate, famines, earthquakes, and lawlessness (Matthew 24:5-12).  These things sound like our daily news, don't they?  As a result, some will be misled, others will fall away and the love of many will grow cold, but Jesus says this will not yet be the end (verse 6).  The good news is greater than the bad news: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (verse 14).  The phrase, "then the end will come" stands in contrast to the previous phrase "is not yet the end" (verse 6), highlighting that the wars, famines, and earthquakes do not usher in the end, but that the fulfillment of the gospel commission does.  The scope of the proclamation is clearly delineated in the phrase "in the whole world."  It literally means all the inhabited earth.  The focus of the preaching is the gospel (verse 14; see Revelation 14:6).  The word translated as "gospel/good news" was used secularly as the victory cry that the heralds brought from the battlefield.  We are to herald Jesus' victory over evil, which He achieved through His perfect life, death, and resurrection.  Hence the title of this devotional book: "Jesus Wins!"  As important as the signs of the end may be, these are not to be our core proclamation; the gospel of Jesus Christ is the focus of our mission.  May Jesus' sacrifice be preached to all the nations, and then the end will come!

My Response:__________________________________________________________

May 3:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS ARRIVAL.
"At Midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him.' "--Matthew 25:6

When I married my husband, my three close friends were my bridesmaids.  They planned a special, intimate time just for the four of us before the wedding.  It was so beautiful and meaningful!  I remember everything about it.  At the wedding, they readily took care of every detail, including some unexpected situations that arose.  I am so thankful for my bridesmaids, who made our wedding extra special.


After the discourse of Jesus about His glorious second coming, Luke records three parables that address being ready for His coming, because we don't know the hour.  The second parable (Matthew 25:1-13), referred to as the parable of the ten virgins, talks about a longer than anticipated delay of the bridegroom.  In the first century, and even now in some Palestinian villages, the bridesmaids, after a day of festivities, leave the bride at night and go out with torches to meet the bridegroom.  They bring him to the bride, and then the joyful procession escorts the bride to the groom's house.  It was common for the groom to be delayed, and therefore the maids had to be prepared, having extra oil for their torches.  In this parable, as the groom delays longer than expected, all ten virgins fall asleep.  Then at midnight the shout is heard: "Behold, the bridegroom!"  There is one other occasion in Matthew where the word bridegroom is used (Matthew 9:15); in both cases it refers to Jesus.  When the bridegroom arrives, only half of them are ready (as is the case with the men in the fields and the women at the mill; see Matthew 24:40, 41).  The foolish maids who are lacking oil to light the way for the groom go out to buy some, but it is too late.  The time for getting ready is over, and they miss the procession and the festivities.  The parable ends with the exhortation of Jesus: "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13).  This is the time for persistent, joyful spiritual preparedness and watchfulness.  "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:9).  Let's not become weary of waiting for His arrival.  Be assured of the certainty of His coming!

My Response:_______________________________________________________

May 2:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS REDEMPTION.
"When these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."--Luke 21:28

When I was a young girl, we were blessed to have a good-sized backyard with several fruit trees in the city of Buenos Aires.  I eagerly awaited summer time, when I would be able to play with my friends and eat the delicious figs, avocados, and sweet grapes.  As an adult, I discovered that my anticipation of summer was actually a parable that Jesus told about His second coming.

During His ministry, Jesus prophesied things to come, both in their immediate future and in His second coming.  In the last days, there would be signs in the sun, moon, stars, and the sea (Luke 21:25-27).  Jesus mentioned two strikingly opposite responses to these signs: some would faint from fear of the things that are coming, yet Jesus admonishes us to straighten up and lift up our heads because our redemption is drawing near.  Then He tells the parable of the trees and the summer: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things [attesting signs] happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near" (verses 30, 31).  When leaves appear on the trees, we start looking forward to summer!  Jesus exhorts us to choose faith over fear and to lift up our heads when we see the signs of His coming because our redemption is drawing near!  I find a calm assurance in the terms "Redeemer" and "redemption," because in the Old Testament (LXX) these terms related to the release of a person or property on payment of a ransom.  Redemption is the recovery of the human race through the high price that Jesus paid for us on the cross!  The ransom had been paid, and He is coming back to take us home!   Jesus said: "They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (verse 27).  Christ is coming back for us as a parent who paid the ransom for His kidnapped children and is coming to deliver them!  I am eagerly awaiting that blessed day!  In the meanwhile, choose faith over fear!  Our redemption is near!

My Response:_____________________________________________________________

May 1:  Celebrating His Victory.

HIS COMING.
"They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory."--Matthew 24:30

I was standing on the Mount of Olives, and the view virtually took my breath away.  There is a Jewish cemetery there, with thousands of tombs overlooking the temple.  Some scholars believe that the earliest burials there date back three thousand years.  Certainly, the cemetery was already there during the Second Temple period and the time of Jesus.  I find it fascinating that Jesus decided to deliver His discourse about His second coming and the end times from this place, overlooking the temple and this oldest and most important Jewish cemetery.

Jesus was on the Mount of Olives when His disciples came to ask Him about the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:1, 2), His coming, and the end of the age (verse 3).  The Mount of Olives is mentioned in a prophecy found in Zechariah 14:4: "In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley."  Now Jesus is on the Mount of Olives, in front of this ancient cemetery, overlooking the magnificent temple, and he chooses this specific place to discuss the destruction of the temple and, most importantly, the signs and the event of His Coming.  At this time, the disciples were not able to distinguish between the two events; both probably seemed the same to them.  After mentioning persecution, wars, pseudo-prophets, et cetera, Jesus reveals how this age of pain will end with His second coming!  The Greek word for His coming is parousia; it is used three times in this discourse (Matthew 24:27, 37, 39) and not at all in the other Gospels.  Parousia became the blessed hope of Christians in all ages..  In the New Testament, the word "hope" is used in the sense of "assurance," not in the English sense of "I hope this happens" but with the certainty that it will happen.  When I visit my parents' tomb, I often imagine what that cemetery will look like on the morning of the resurrection, the day of Jesus' second coming.  I can't wait!  Jesus promised it, and therefore, it is a sure thing!

My Response:__________________________________________________________

April 30:  Believing His Salvation.

HIS RANSOM.
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."--Mark 10:45


I remember my anticipation as I walked into the classroom.  It was the first day of class with this New Testament professor.  But little did I know how this class, focused on the four Gospels, would change my life and my ministry.  Without introduction, the professor started to read: "You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.  But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).

HIs reading made a profound impact on my mind.  For some reason I had never paid much attention to the larger context of this key verse of the Gospel of Mark (10:45).  Jesus teaches his disciples that they should not be lording it over people.  His words came in response to an argument that broke among the disciples because James and John had been seeking the best positions in the upcoming kingdom, the nature of which they clearly did not understand.  These clueless disciples, guided by their selfish hearts, were prideful and power-hungry, yet Jesus, the tender loving Jesus, always showed them a better way by His own example.  On that particular day, the Master taught His followers that the way to the kingdom of God is radically different than the world's authority structure.  Servants are considered great, and slaves are counted as first.  And Jesus, God in the flesh, is not only our example but, most importantly, our Savior.  After three predictions of His death in this Gospel (8:31; 9:31; 10:33), Jesus clearly and unequivocally announces that He did not come to be served but to serve humanity.  And not only that!  He would give His life as a ransom for many!  Yes, we have been ransomed for the high price of the blood of the Son of God!  And the "many" includes you and me!  Now that our ransom has been paid, we are free to love and to serve.

My Response:________________________________________________________