Peace devotion: Healing of the Nations - Revelation 22:2b

Revelation 22:2b         On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

            There are terrible things going on in the world right now and many nations are suffering. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is horrifically intensifying. Russia and Ukraine are involved in skirmishes which may one day develop into a full scale war. Children on the US-Mexico border are dying of thirst or being inhumanely abused by drug smuggling cartels. Christians are being forced out of their homes or persecuted into denying their faith in Mosul by Islamic extremists. And in West Africa, the dreaded Ebola virus is fearfully spreading and may travel across the African continent.

            We live in fearful times. Unrest, violence, disease, famine, and war are rampantly striding across the globe. And if we add irreversible climate change to the whole planetary package, then it seems as though the 21^st century is not going to be the beginning of a wonderful new age and new world after all.

            However, this is not God’s plan for the world or its people. Through Jesus, there is the great opportunity of bringing healing to the nations. In Revelation 22, after all of the upheaval of the end times, peace reigns once more because suffering, pain, inhumanity, and even death are extinguished forever. The Earth returns to its initial Edenic state and the fruits of the Tree of Life are no longer prohibited. God’s faithful people are rewarded for their constancy; Christ’s followers are welcomed and restored into the everlasting peaceable kingdom.

            I wish that this healing of the nations would begin today. In my heart, I pray for this throughout the world. Jesus is the cure for all of the present evils on this planet. If only His Church could get its act together and fulfill the role that it was always meant to accomplish: being the Messenger of the Good News and the instrument of Christ’s Peace.

Questions for personal reflection

What areas of unrest in the world truly concern me today? Am I actively praying for peace and healing in those tormented parts of our planet?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, the world is in a sorry state right now, and so much of it has been caused by our own sinful and selfish ways. We pray for Your true peace to be known all over this planet and for the healing of the nations to become an actuality. Please, Lord Jesus, come among us again and let Your powerful presence save us from ourselves. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to make a comment or ask questions about today’s message, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s Pentecost stained glass design called “Spirit Guide.” If you would like to view a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: SpiritG.

Christian devotions: The Last Curse - Revelation 22:19

Revelation 22:19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

It’s the last curse in the Bible and one that should make us all cautious. When I first read it decades ago in the old King James version, it terrified me. I realized that I had been taking away from God’s Word with my lifestyle choices and that put me under His awful judgment. Even today, when I re-read that verse, it sent shivers down my spine.

Far too often, we think that we can do our own thing, go our own way, and that God will turn a blind eye, accept us warts and all, and just make everything good in the end. Anyone who believes that has not read the Bible or taken their faith seriously. We live in a sinful time where people make up their own beliefs and genuinely think that the Bible reflects their thinking. We fatally forget that the Bible reflects God’s thinking and not our own.

My main duty as a teaching elder is to teach the truth, even when and where that truth is not popular, unacceptable, and uncomfortable. I could make it easy for myself and pander to the people by preaching what they want to hear, but that would be living a lie. I am no saint and, like John Newton, I consider myself to be the worst of all sinners, but my sinful ways do not change God’s Holy Words. I will never reach His perfect standards, but I am willing to be challenged, to change, and to try.

We all need to seriously reflect upon today’s Bible reading from Revelation ( Revelation 22:14-21). If we ignore it, we will end up without God in eternity. That may seem like a far off distant future, but let’s bring it home and close to the bone: if we were to die today, would we go to heaven? If we truly answered “No,” then what’s stopping us and what do we seriously need to change?

Prayer:                       Lord Jesus, Your Words cut right through us at times and we are challenged once again by God’s Holy ways. We want to go to heaven; we want to be saved by Your grace. Whatever is holding us back or whatever is topping us from obtaining salvation, tear it from our lives. Help us, Lord Jesus, to completely give over our lives and hearts to You alone. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment or ask a question about today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is an Easter drawing of mine called “Son Down.” If you would like to see a larger version of the drawing, please click on the following link: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2704/4442496002_fab6cfb6ac_b.jpg