Read To Me Daily Semester 4Sample

As I finish this last devotional recording, I am so thankful for YOU going through this year-long journey through the Bible with me. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened to or read through all four semesters of this daily Bible reading plan— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year— I say, “Congratulations, and way to go!” I hope that I have said nothing which has caused you to stumble, or decreased your desire to study God’s Word.  

My podcasts and this reading plan have this in common: They have all been made in the hope that my grandchildren would one day listen to the recordings while reading the whole Bible. Luke, Laura, Ava, Joel, and Devin, I want you to know that Grampa loves you, and I hope that you will one day find all the spiritual treasures I have spoken about in these devotional messages. 

To YOU, my faithful listener, you have become my true brother or sister! I urge you to stay centered upon God’s Word, and I encourage you to do something fresh and ambitious in your Bible readings next year.

MALACHI 4:
Since there were people like Simeon and Anna (in Luke 2) who were waiting for the Messiah to come, I am sure that they were thinking of verses like we read in Malachi 3:1:

Mal. 3:1 NLT “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Re-reading ISAIAH 66:
The book of Isaiah ends with blessings and promises that foreshadow Revelation, such as these:

Is. 66:12 GNT The Lord says, “I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry.  …
22 “Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure.

In stark contrast to the promises and blessings, Isaiah also ends with vivid warnings against judgments and punishments that are like those found at the end of Revelation. That final verse of Isaiah about the worms and the unquenchable fire was quoted by Jesus himself in Mark 9. (Mark 9:48) You can take that as Jesus’ stamp of approval on all that Isaiah said!

REVELATION 22:
In chapter 21 of Revelation we heard the invitation to anyone who is thirsty to receive free life-giving water, and that invitation is repeated in today’s chapter. The culmination of everything promised and the healing of everything sick and broken occur here. God says, “Look, I am making all things new.” There is again symbolism in every aspect of the New Jerusalem— including even the shape of a huge cube. As noted above at the end of Isaiah, in stark contrast to the eternal blessings for God’s people are the vivid ending warnings of eternal judgment in the last two chapters of Revelation.

In Rev. 22:8-9, most translations make it sound that John made the same mistake twice— bowing down again to the angel that was showing everything to him. But the Greek in those two verses can be understood to be retelling the event that happened in chapter 19, and I think that makes better sense. The probable reason that John included the story twice was to emphasize that angels should not be worshiped. Let’s beware of such heresy! Such false teaching keeps on resurfacing and some forms of Gnosticism remain to the present day.

Let’s pray.
Our everlasting God and heavenly Father, thank You for your Word. Again and again this year You have proved to us that You exist, and that You have a plan— both for the world and for us personally. You have shown us that You are a faithful God who keeps your promises. Over and over again You told mankind what you would do, and You have followed through in every case. We know that You will follow through with the prophecies we read today in Malachi, Isaiah, and Revelation. We praise You that your Word is so powerful, so sharp, and living. We praise You for the way the Holy Spirit has worked in our hearts through what we have read. Lord, please continue. Let us not put out the Holy Spirit’s fire or grieve Him by our stubbornness or disobedience. Oh Holy Spirit, I praise You for being with my sister or brother who is listening right now. I pray that You would bless her or him in continuing a life-long habit of reading and studying your Word. And to the Lamb of God we pray, please write your name on our foreheads. May we not forget the vision of all You have prepared for us, Lord Jesus. We pray that we might live today and always for your glory.

This four-semester Read To Me Daily reading plan is an outgrowth of my Daily Bible Reading podcast series. (For information, see the READ THIS FIRST pages linked at the header of dailybiblereading.info.)