Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Revelation 1
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 38
Key Verse
Revelation 1:11 — “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
Devotional Thought
John is an old man, exiled on Patmos, a rocky island in the Aegean Sea. He is there “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” — not for any crime, but for faithfulness. It is the Lord’s day, and he is “in the Spirit,” when suddenly he hears behind him a voice like a trumpet. He turns, and what he sees drops him to the ground as though dead: seven golden lampstands, and walking among them one like the Son of man, robed to the feet, hair white as wool, eyes like flames of fire, feet like burnished brass, voice like many waters, a sharp two-edged sword coming from His mouth, His face like the sun in full strength. This is Jesus — the same Jesus who once washed fishermen’s feet, now unveiled in glory. And His first word to the terrified apostle is not rebuke but mercy: “Fear not.”
Notice who this glorious figure says He is. “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” The One standing amid the lampstands bears the marks of having died — and He holds “the keys of hell and of death.” Before John sees the visions of judgment that fill the rest of the book, he must first see the Christ who conquered death. The letters to the seven churches of Asia — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea — will include hard rebukes, but they are written by the hand of One who loves His churches enough to walk among them.
This is April, the month of Easter. All around us the world is waking from winter, and the church prepares to celebrate the resurrection. Revelation 1 is an Easter chapter before Easter was ever named: the Lamb who was slain is standing, alive. And He is not far off. The lampstands are the churches — ordinary congregations of ordinary believers, and He is in the midst of them. Not watching from a distance; walking among them.
Psalm 38 gives voice to what many of us feel before we can receive such comfort. David describes sin as a heavy burden, wounds that stink and corrupt, strength failing, friends standing aloof, enemies multiplying. He is bowed down and mourns all day. Yet even there, he says, “in thee, O LORD, do I hope.” Revelation 1 answers that hope. The One with eyes of fire sees our iniquity — and the One with the keys of death has washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God. Fear not, He says. He is the Alpha and Omega, and He is not far from the brokenhearted.
Reflection
- John fell at Christ’s feet “as dead” — when did you last glimpse the majesty of Jesus, rather than only His gentleness, and how did it change how you saw your own sin and your own fears?
- In Psalm 38, David names his sin openly and still hopes in God; in Revelation 1, Jesus stands among the lampstands of His churches. What would it look like this week to bring your heaviest burden honestly to the Christ who walks among His people and holds the keys of death?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, Alpha and Omega, first and last, we bow before You as John did — undone by Your holiness, yet held by Your hand. You were dead, and behold, You are alive for evermore, and You hold the keys of hell and of death. We confess that our iniquities have gone over our heads like a heavy burden; we cannot carry them. But You have loved us and washed us from our sins in Your own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God. Walk among us, Your lampstands, this Easter season. Speak Your “Fear not” over our failing hearts. Be not far from us, O Lord our salvation, and make haste to help us. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 38:1 — “O lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.”