Prayer – Lord, You said not to be afraid of suffering. Thank
you. Knowing that You love me gives me confidence. No fear. Victory and the crown of life ahead!
Write this letter to the angel of the church in
Smyrna. This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was
dead but is now alive: "I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you
are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews,
but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan. Don't be afraid of
what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to
test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when
facing death, I will give you the crown of life. Anyone with ears to hear must
listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever
is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.” Revelation
2:8-11
Meditate. Consider victory—what it means to be victorious
over the second death.
The message to the church at Smyrna was from the Alpha and
Omega who has been resurrected. That is Jesus Himself. The church at Smyrna
represents not only that specific church, but anyone who has those qualities
that are mentioned in this portion of scripture. Examine yourself. Are you:
Suffering
and in poverty, although you are rich?
Opposed
by blasphemers who belong to Satan?
Fearless,
although you know you will face ten days of suffering?
Faithful?
Ears to
hear and understand the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
Victorious?
God promises that those who are victorious will not by hurt
by the second death, an eternal separation from God, which is reserved for Satan
and his followers. Because of God’s love for us…and Jesus' obedience to the
Father, those who believe in Jesus and accept His sacrifice as theirs, can
be assured to live eternally in the presence of God.
Since we have been
united with him (Jesus) in his death, we will also be raised to life as
he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that
sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when
we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died
with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because
Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer
has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin.
But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should
consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through
Christ Jesus. Romans 6:5-11
 |
| New Life in Christ...Now |
We actually don’t have to wait until the day that we die or are raptured, we can experience God’s presence and love in our lives through our relationship to Him, now.
Because of Christ
and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's
presence. Ephesians 3:12
Now. Don’t wait to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ
as your personal Savior. He is there for you as an individual…not as a family,
church, or nation. With Christ as your savior, you can have your own relationship
with the King of kings, Lord of lords. He created you. He loves you. Accept
that. You are worthy of His love.
Verse of Salvation ~ So be truly glad. There is
wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little
while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as
fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere
gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you
much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the
whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do
not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible
joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 1
Peter 1:6-9
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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