FBC Daily Devotions

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 21:22-27

Here we read about a big difference between the new Jerusalem and the Old Jerusalem.  The new Jerusalem doesn’t have a temple building because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb is the temple.

When I think about the temple I think about the different areas of the temple built by Herod.  There was the court of Gentiles and the Court of Women.  There was the Holy of Holies where only the high priest could go once a year.  We couldn’t just walk into the Holy of Holies without coming out dead due to the holiness of God, but with the death of Jesus Christ, the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn and we are given the opportunity to have fellowship with Christ.

In the new Jerusalem there is no separation between us and God like in the old temple, but this doesn’t mean that everyone will be there. The only ones allowed in the city are those whose names are written in the Book of Life.  Those who have not believed in Christ will not be able to come in.  They will miss out on a place where God gives light, and where there is no need for a sun and moon.

God has opened the new Jerusalem to all who believe in Him.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 ESV).

We can try to imagine what eternity in the presence of God will be like and have some starting points in this chapter, but there’s a lot that we don’t know.  But what we do know is that we will be with God and with other believers.  We can continue to love God and love our neighbor… reach up and reach across.

What we won’t have is the opportunity to reach out.  Those whose names are not written in the Book of Life won’t be able to come in.  I’m reminded of Peter’s admonition: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12 ESV).

Wouldn’t it be awesome if someday that friend who thinks Christians are a bunch of hypocrites (and I know we are sometimes) would instead see the love of Christ in us and be worshiping God alongside us someday in the new Jerusalem.

If you are reading this and aren’t a Christian I hope that you will believe that you have sinned and cannot earn salvation on your own.  I hope you will see that Christ loved you so much that he died for you and he rose again on the third day.  I hope you will read the Bible and talk to Christians you know and I hope we can worship God together when Christ returns.

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 21:9-21

Happy Thanksgiving!  Thank God for the day that he will make all things new.  In this passage we look at a description of the holy city Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb.

We read about its beauty.  It has the glory of God.  It is radiant and brilliant like a precious jewel.  It is the only time in the New Testament the Greek word translated as “clear as crystal” is used.  We can imagine the jasper, sapphire, agate, emerald, onyx, and other precious jewels, along with the gold and the pearls.

But even imagining the most beautiful things on this earth doesn’t compare to what it actually will look like.  We read a couple times that the city was pure gold, but it’s not the gold we know of today.  This gold is clear as glass.  This city isn’t limited to the precious metals and jewels of this earth.  For all I know, John is just doing his best to describe heavenly versions of the prettiest things he could think of.

We also read about the dimensions of the city.  We see the linking of the Old Testament with the New Testament.  On the gates are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and on the wall of the city are twelve foundations which hold the names of the twelve apostles.

The length and width and height of the city are equal.   We see the symbolism in the number twelve again with 12,000 stadia as the measurement for the length and width and height.  12,000 stadia is about 1,380 miles, which is roughly the driving distance from Blaine, WA (on the border with Canada) to San Diego, CA.

I don’t know if these measurements are meant to be literal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.  Whatever the case, this is one big and beautiful place.

This Thanksgiving I just want to remind y’all to “give thanks in all circumstances” like it talks about in Thessalonians.  We can give thanks for what He has done, is doing, and is going to do.

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 21:5-8

God says he is making “all things new.”  We are being made new right now.  The Sunday before last Sunday, Pastor Craig talked about the idea that we have been saved, are being saved and will be saved… justification, sanctification and glorification.

Yesterday we talked about the new Jerusalem the newness we can be looking forward to.  But when we think about God “making all things new” we don’t have to be just thinking of these future events because we are being made new right now.  We are in the process of being made new.

This isn’t something that we deserve.  It came to us “without payment” (v. 6) on our part.

So now what?

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV

We are holy and we are offering sacrifices to God.  That reminds me of Romans where it talks about offering yourselves as living sacrifices to God.  This is how we are being made new.  We are in the process of becoming more like Christ.

There should be tangible evidence of holiness in our lives.  That brings us to Revelation 21:8 which gives a list of characteristics of people who will be separated from God for eternity.  While this list encompasses actions we’ve probably all taken, we are supposed to be living differently now through the power of Christ.  That’s not to say it’s easy, as even a guy like Paul talked about his desires warring within Him.

But we no longer live under sin.  “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Paul asks in Romans 6:2 (ESV).  We have the great privilege of being called children of the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

by Mako Kato

Read Revelation 21:1-4

If you’re starting to read this devotion without reading the passage, you are really missing out.  This is awesome stuff.

John sees a “new heaven and a new earth.”  The first heaven and the first earth are gone.  He sees the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.  She’s prepared as a bride – what a contrast to the image of the prostitute “drunk with the blood of the saints” we met earlier.

And then John hears something.  It is a declaration of utmost importance and something we can look forward to.  The passage says, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3 ESV).

Having a “relationship with Christ” is a real thing.  It shouldn’t just be a term we throw around without looking at its implications.  At Christmas we talk about Jesus being called “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”

In Leviticus 26:12 God speaks to the Israelites, “And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (ESV).

God was with the Israelites, but the crazy exciting thing is that God not only is with us now as Christians, but will be with us for eternity in a way that we can’t grasp at this point.  He will change how life is.  There won’t be any death or mourning or crying or pain.

“For the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4b).

We live in a broken world.  We live in a world with suffering.  We read in Romans that the Creation is “groaning.”  But we live with the hope that the death, the sin, the evil in this world will one day end.  We can look forward to eternity with God.

Read Revelation 20:7-10.

A thousand years is a long time to build an army against God in the battle to end all battles. With Satan’s restraints removed, he is now free to gather the earth’s armies to fight against God’s people. The size of Satan’s army is staggering – “like the sand on the seashore” (v. 8). They are seen to surround God’s people. Like cattle corralled for slaughter, the enemy couldn’t be in a better position to decimate God’s people. When enemy forces are as numerous as grains of sand on the shore and their position leaves no apparent way out, the future can look bleak and impossible to break free.

If there is something that seems to come up time and time again in Scripture is the fact that God is able to take the impossible situations of life and provide a way out. The situation described in our passage today is nothing new to God. It is nothing beyond His power to overcome. He simply brings down His fire from heaven and destroys the enemy. When God’s people are in a place of helplessness, that is often when we see God come through. He may not always work a miracle of the likes of fire from the sky, but how many times have we seen Him work in ways that were “out of the blue”? (I wonder if that’s where the phrase “out of the blue” comes from, i.e. “out of the blue sky“.)

Are you experiencing an impossible situation? Do you find yourself backed into a corner with no escape? Indeed, it is a difficult place to be. But keep in mind that it is in these situations that we have an opportunity to see God work. In many other less threatening situations, God is at work there, too, but it is also easy to chalk it up to the “normal” course of events. It is in the most desperate situations that God’s power and glory are most often relied upon.

If you are struggling with an impossible situation, consider reading a similar story of Elisha (one of my favorites): 2Kings 6:8-17. In it, Elisha makes a remarkable and memorable statement: “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (You’ll just have to read it to get the context!)