Daily Devotions with Greg Laurie – Tuesday,
31 December 2013 – “A Legacy that Lasts”
So we tell others about Christ, warning
everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to
present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ.(Colossians 1:28)
In his book, Nearing Home, Billy Graham
said, "God doesn't want us to waste our latter years or spend them in
superficial, meaningless pursuits. Instead, He wants us to use them in whatever
ways we can to influence those who will come after us. God wants us to finish
well. . . ."
One day, your most precious possessions
will fit inside a hospital drawer. You will leave it all behind and will enter
into eternity. What kind of legacy will you leave? If you are a Christian, are
you seeking to win people to Christ? Are you helping anyone to get on their
feet spiritually, grow, and continue on to serve the Lord?
Someone did this for me. I accepted
Christ during a meeting at my high school, but afterward, I was sort of left
all alone, wondering what I was supposed to do. But then God brought along
someone named Mark. He introduced himself and told me that he wanted to take me
to church and that I needed to go to church if I wanted to grow spiritually. He
was persistent in a good way. He brought me to church again and again. Mark
showed up at a critical moment in my life. If he hadn't, I tremble to think of
where I would have ended up. He was just some regular guy who had a concern for
me and took time with me.
You can be that regular person for
someone else. Are you doing that? If not, will you start?
You can't really control when God will
call you home. That is not up to you. You don't determine the date of your
birth or the date of your death. But you have everything to do with what you do
between those dates. So finish well.
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Today's Bible Reading:
Revelation The Rejoicing in Heaven
19: After this I heard what seemed to be
the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
2
for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of
his servants.”[a]
3 Once more they said,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four
living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne,
saying,
“Amen. Hallelujah!”
5 And from the throne came a voice
saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,[b]
and all who fear him,
small and great.”
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the
voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of
mighty thunderpeals, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready;
8 to her it has been granted to be
clothed
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds
of the saints.
9 And the angel said[c] to me, “Write
this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his
feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow
servant[d] with you and your comrades[e] who hold the testimony of Jesus.[f]
Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus[g] is the spirit of prophecy.”
The Rider on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there
was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness
he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head
are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. 13
He is clothed in a robe dipped in[h] blood, and his name is called The Word of
God. 14 And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were
following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which
to strike down the nations, and he will rule[i] them with a rod of iron; he
will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On
his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of
lords.”
The Beast and Its Armies Defeated
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the
sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven,
“Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the
flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their
riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 Then I saw
the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war
against the rider on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured,
and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by
which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that
burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the
horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with
their flesh.
The Thousand Years
20: Then I saw an angel coming down from
heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and
bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and locked and
sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the
thousand years were ended. After that he must be let out for a little while.
4 Then I saw thrones, and those seated on
them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been
beheaded for their testimony to Jesus[j] and for the word of God. They had not
worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their
foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand
years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years
were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who
share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him a
thousand years.
Satan’s Doom
7 When the thousand years are ended,
Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the
nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather
them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. 9 They marched
up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the
beloved city. And fire came down from heaven[k] and consumed them. 10 And the
devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the
beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night
forever and ever.
The Dead Are Judged
11 Then I saw a great white throne and
the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no
place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the
book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in
the books. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades
gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they
had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is
the second death, the lake of fire; 15 and anyone whose name was not found
written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The New Heaven and the New Earth
21: Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea
was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a
loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home[l] of God is among
mortals.
He will dwell[m] with them;
they will be his peoples,[n]
and God himself will be with them;[o]
4 he will wipe every tear from their
eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no
more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5 And the one who was seated on the
throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for
these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am
the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give
water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will
inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless,[p] the polluted, the murderers, the
fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be
in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Vision of the New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels who had
the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I
will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And in the spirit[q] he
carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance
like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It has a great, high
wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; 13 on the east three gates,
on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three
gates. 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the
twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel[r] who talked to me had a
measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city
lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city
with his rod, fifteen hundred miles;[s] its length and width and height are
equal. 17 He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits[t] by human
measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall is built of jasper, while
the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the
city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire,
the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian,
the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase,
the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve
pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure
gold, transparent as glass.
22 I saw no temple in the city, for its
temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need
of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp
is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth
will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never be shut by day—and
there will be no night there. 26 People will bring into it the glory and the
honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who
practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the
Lamb’s book of life.
The River of Life
22: Then the angel[u] showed me the river
of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of
the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the
river is the tree of life[v] with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its
fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the
nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God
and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants[w] will worship him; 4 they
will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will be
no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be
their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
6 And he said to me, “These words are
trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has
sent his angel to show his servants[x] what must soon take place.”
7 “See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the
one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Epilogue and Benediction
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw
these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet
of the angel who showed them to me; 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that!
I am a fellow servant[y] with you and your comrades[z] the prophets, and with
those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the
words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer
still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do
right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “See, I am coming soon; my reward is
with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. 13 I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their
robes,[aa] so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter
the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators
and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to
you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of
David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
And let everyone who hears say, “Come.”
And let everyone who is thirsty come.
Let anyone who wishes take the water of
life as a gift.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of
the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person
the plagues described in this book; 19 if anyone takes away from the words of
the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree
of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 The one who testifies to these things
says, “Surely I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with
all the saints. Amen.[ab]
Footnotes:
a. Revelation 19:2 Gk slaves
b. Revelation 19:5 Gk slaves
c. Revelation 19:9 Gk he said
d. Revelation 19:10 Gk slave
e. Revelation 19:10 Gk brothers
f. Revelation 19:10 Or to Jesus
g. Revelation 19:10 Or to Jesus
h. Revelation 19:13 Other ancient
authorities read sprinkled with
i. Revelation 19:15 Or will shepherd
j. Revelation 20:4 Or for the testimony
of Jesus
k. Revelation 20:9 Other ancient
authorities read from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God
l. Revelation 21:3 Gk the tabernacle
m. Revelation 21:3 Gk will tabernacle
n. Revelation 21:3 Other ancient
authorities read people
o. Revelation 21:3 Other ancient
authorities add and be their God
p. Revelation 21:8 Or the unbelieving
q. Revelation 21:10 Or in the Spirit
r. Revelation 21:15 Gk He
s. Revelation 21:16 Gk twelve thousand
stadia
t. Revelation 21:17 That is, almost
seventy-five yards
u. Revelation 22:1 Gk he
v. Revelation 22:2 Or the Lamb. 2 In the
middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, is the tree
of life
w. Revelation 22:3 Gk slaves
x. Revelation 22:6 Gk slaves
y. Revelation 22:9 Gk slave
z. Revelation 22:9 Gk brothers
aa. Revelation 22:14 Other ancient
authorities read do his commandments
ab. Revelation 22:21 Other ancient
authorities lack all; others lack the saints; others lack Amen
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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