SWHW Bible Reading Plan: October 2021Sample

Top Takeaway from Michelle Myers:

Really pause for a moment to picture Jesus as He is described in Psalm 110:1:

"The Lord says to my Lord  [Jesus]: 'Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for Your feet.'"

See Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, in all of His deity, until His enemies are propped under His feet as a footstool. 

Can you see it? Because that's not imaginary. That's what is happening right now.

If we don't really stop to think about where Jesus is now, it's easy to see Jesus solely as how He came the first time. The first time Jesus came to earth, He came humbly, as a lowly baby. He lived a quiet life of obscurity for His first 30 years in Nazareth, known to most as the son of a carpenter, when He was truly the Son of God. His ministry began, and the people's opinion wavered between loving Him and despising Him. 

It didn't take long, though, for His enemies to begin plotting Jesus' death. But what they didn't know was that their plot was really God's plan. What they devised for evil, God had already planned for our good. 

Jesus didn't come to earth the first time to reign. He came the first time to live the life we never could, die the death we deserved, and then conquer the grave so that through our belief in Him, we could share in His righteousness and stand rightly before God. He was the sinless, spotless sacrifice that satisfied the wrath of God. 

But His second coming will be different. When Jesus comes to earth next, He will not come quietly. He will not come meekly. There will be no question of His true identity. It will be abundantly clear that He is the Son of God.

If you have a few extra moments today, read Revelation 1:13-18 and see what is known as The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Here are just a few of the descriptions John gives us: 

"clothed in a robe reaching to His feet and girded across His chest with a golden sash" (vs. 13)

"His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow" (vs. 14)

"His eyes were like a flame of fire" (vs. 14)

"His feet were like burnished bronze" (vs. 15)

"His voice was like the sound of many waters" (vs. 15)

"In His right hand, He held seven stars" (vs. 16)

"out of His mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword" (vs. 16)

"His face was like the sun shining in its strength" (vs. 16)

The first time Jesus came to earth, He came as the suffering Servant, just as it was prophesied in the Old Testament.  And as surely as that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus on the cross, this prophecy of His return is just as certain. When Jesus comes back to earth, He will be a powerful presence, fully God, in full revelation of His deity. 

We need to picture this Jesus often. Yes, we need to remember that He already came and how He came. But because He already came once, that should also increase our confidence in His return. It should increase our urgency to share the gospel with others. And it should increase our hope for Heaven, knowing that this earth does not contain anything we should be living for.

God, thank You for making a way through Jesus for us to be restored to You. Remind us that You are always working. And even if through our human eyes things look like a plot for evil, we can trust You are still on Your throne and You are in full control. God, help us to live both in awe of what Jesus has already done for us and in anticipation of His return. Fill us with an urgency to share You with others. Give us the courage to do Your work and to ignore all other distractions. We love You. Amen.