While exiled on the island of Patmos, the disciple John was given a vision of what it will be like when we are reunited with God for eternity.
Read Revelation 21:9–11. What analogy was given, and why do you think it was used?
The bride is beautiful, and on her wedding day, everyone wants to see her. A wedding day is a turning point of a new life together for the bride and groom, and this will also be true of our relationship with God upon His return.
We were made to be close to God (Gen. 2:7). Ever since He created humanity, God has given everything to restore our broken relationship with Him (John 3:16). He has placed eternity in our hearts, yet human beings cannot fathom what God has done from the beginning to the end (Eccles. 3:11). We’re part of the great controversy raging around us—even in us—yet, too often, we don’t pause long enough to consider the great cost of what has been given in order for us to be restored to the relationship God intends for us to have with Him.
When we look around, we see the world heaving and groaning, and the signs that Jesus told us about are playing out before our eyes. Wars and rumors of wars, nations rising against other nations, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and persecution (Matt. 24:6–11) are happening all around us and seem only to be intensifying as time rolls on. Yes, we live in serious times—times when we need an abiding relationship with God.
“Whatever the profession, no man has pure love to God unless he has unselfish love for his brother. But we can never come into possession of this spirit by trying to love others. What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 384.
“Those who are most actively employed in doing with interested fidelity their work to win souls to Jesus Christ, are the best developed in spirituality and devotion.”—Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 356.
We’ve all had weak or wavering moments in our walk with God—the valleys where our heart has been unfaithful or where we’ve merely been lukewarm for too long. What was it that brought you back into an abiding relationship with Him?
Zechariah 10 shares some beautiful messages about God bringing His people back to Him. Read this chapter now slowly and take note of the main messages.
Many know firsthand the pain and heartache of having a child who—despite the strong, spiritual home they were raised in—has chosen to walk away from a relationship with the Lord.
Ephraim, as part of God’s chosen nation, strayed from the Lord. What do Hosea 4:17 and Hosea 7 tell us about the sins of Ephraim?
Have you ever wondered how Jesus maintained the motivation to labor, heal, comfort, preach, and teach so many people day after day? We’re told that “when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36, NKJV). It was Jesus’ love and compassion toward humanity that drove His labor. In a similar way, God’s love in us should compel us to feel the burden of leading souls to Him and to His truth (2 Cor. 5:14).
