“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” – Revelation 7:9

In the “The God Shaped Brain”, by Timothy Jennings he writes: “Imagine a remote village in Africa. No modern Westerner has ever set foot there. The natives live off the land, using the same ancient methods and tools as their forefathers used for the last thousand years. They know nothing of modern science, technology or medicine.

One day a group of medical missionaries comes to this village to provide whatever health care might be needed. The day they arrive they meet a child writhing in pain near the edge of the encampment. Examining the child, they quickly diagnose acute appendicitis. Without emergency surgery he will die.

Fortunately, the medical missionaries have a mobile surgical suite and all the necessary equipment to perform this life-saving operation. They pick up the child, kicking and screaming, and begin the emergency intervention. As the medical team works furiously to save the child’s life, three other children watch intensely from a nearby hiding place. The medical personnel hold the child while a nurse sticks a needle in his arm and infuses fluids.

The terrified patient squirms violently until medicine is injected and he quickly becomes unresponsive. The three children are frightened as they watch a masked man take a sharp knife and cut open their friend’s abdomen. In terror they run to their village, screaming that invaders are coming to capture them, put them on a table and carve them up like pigs.

The entire village is aroused. The children, the elderly, the weak and the frightened quickly begin an evacuation, running from this terrible threat. The warriors begin devising plans to fight against this hostile invader. When the medical missionaries finally approach the village, they are attacked and driven away. No one in that community is going to be foolish enough to let these barbarians near.

What could the medical team do to engender trust? If they had called in soldiers and taken the village by force, would trust be restored? If only the missionaries had a member of that tribe, someone who knew the people and spoke their language, to go ahead of them and tell the villagers the truth. If only someone from that health-care team could be born into that village, grow up among them, and reveal they were friends and not enemies.

There will be believers from every tribe and nation in heaven. Today in prayer, give thanks that the Gospel is traveling throughout the earth. Pray for those who are delivering its eternal message of Good News. 

“God had only one Son – and He was a missionary.” – David Livingstone

God’s Word: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.” – Revelation 6:9

Annually, there are more than 300 million Christians who suffer some type of persecution worldwide. Since 1995, International Christian Concern (ICC) has provided critical aid, influenced religious freedom policy, and connected persecuted believers to the global Christian community.

ICC has given hope and eased the suffering of persecuted believers, communities, and churches by rebuilding lives and equipping the church in the most hostile places.

They counter Christian persecution by informing policymakers, fighting for justice to free prisoners, and holding regimes accountable.

They also awaken the Western church to the suffering of persecuted Christians through engaging content that stirs hearts to prayer and action.

One story on New Year’s Eve, Pastor José Otoniel Ortega was repeatedly shot by three armed attackers in the Santa Elena neighborhood in Magdalena Department, Colombia. He was taken to a nearby medical clinic, where he died.

Many Christians throughout history have suffered and died for their faith in Christ. Today in prayer, give thanks to those faithful Christians who have died for the faith. Pray for those who today are facing persecution in the world.

“You can kill us, but you cannot hurt us.” – Justin Martyr

God’s Word: “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” – Matthew 10:22

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” – Revelation 5:12

Ambrose of Milan was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Nicene Christianity against Arianism and paganism. His preaching, his actions and his literary works, in addition to his innovative musical hymnography, made him one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century.

In his writing “Offices of Ministers”, Ambrose of Milan wrote: “Formerly a lamb was offered, a calf was offered. Christ is offered today...and he offers himself as priest in order that he may remit our sins: here in image, there in truth where, as our advocate, he intercedes for us before the Father.”

Jesus Christ is the perfect Lamb of God, who has taken away our sins by His death on the Cross. Today in prayer, give thanks to the Lord for His triumph over sin and death.

“The precious Lamb of God gave up his precious fleece for us.” – Christopher Nesse

God’s Word: “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!’” – Revelation 5:13

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say” – Revelation 4:10

In his article “Simply Christian” author N.T. Wright writes: “Two golden rules at the heart of spirituality. You become like what you worship. When you gaze in awe, admiration, and wonder at something or someone, you begin to take on something of the character of the object of your worship. Those who worship money become, eventually, human calculating machines. Those who worship sex become obsessed with their own attractiveness or prowess. Those who worship power become more and more ruthless.

So what happens when you worship the creator God whose plan to rescue the world and put it to rights has been accomplished by the Lamb who was slain? The answer comes in the second golden rule: because you were made in God’s image, worship makes you more truly human. When you gaze in love and gratitude at the God in whose image you were made, you do indeed grow. You discover more of what it means to be fully alive.

Conversely, when you give that same total worship to anything or anyone else, you shrink as a human being. It doesn’t, of course, feel like that at the time. When you worship part of the creation as though it were the Creator himself—in other words, when you worship an idol—you may well feel a brief “high.” But, like a hallucinatory drug, that worship achieves its effect at a cost: when the effect is over, you are less of a human being than you were to begin with. That is the price of idolatry.”

We need to look to Jesus and respond to Him in worship. Today in prayer, actively worship the Lord, adoring Him as Lord of all.

“Here I am to worship

Here I am to bow down

Here I am to say that

You're my God

You're altogether lovely

Altogether worthy

Altogether wonderful to me.” – Tim Hughes

God’s Word: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” – Psalm 95:6

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail   

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20

In his book “Behold the King of Glory”, author Russ Ramsey writes: “Jesus’s resurrection opened a door between the fallen, groaning world into which he was born and the renewal of all things. That door was a stone rolled back by the very finger of God from the mouth of a grave outside of Jerusalem. Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, present at creation, came in the flesh to be the mediator between God and man.

He lived the life of perfect righteousness that all men have failed to live. He died as a lamb led to the slaughter, offering himself up as the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world, once and for all. He rose from the grave defeating death itself. Bearing all authority in heaven and on earth, he lives as the appointed heir of all things. He rules over every corner of creation, putting every enemy under his feet while making alive by grace through faith those who were dead in their sins.

…Jesus’s resurrection is the guarantee of the coming renewal of all things. On that day, the world into which he was born will become like an old, old tale.”

The door to our heart can only be opened with the slightest of ease if we yield to Christ’s knock. Today, open your heart and let Jesus live and reign in you. 

“True conversion will involve the mind, the affection, and the will.” – Billy Graham

God’s Word: “Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” – John 14:23

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” – Revelation 3:17

Lara married Roger Griffiths in 1997 after going to university together. In 2005, the couple won a British lottery with a $2.19 million jackpot. Lara was working as a performing arts teacher and her husband an IT manager, but suddenly everything changed.

Roger chased his rock star dreams and spent big bucks for his band to release an album. Lara got a taste for the high life as the couple paid for exotic cars, an expensive house, designer clothes and accessories, and a pricey private school for their daughter.

They dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into opening a salon, where Lara later worked as an employee to make ends meet. In the end, the couple was left with less than $10.

Money does not make us rich. Knowing Jesus Christ makes us truly wealthy. Today in prayer, confess any sin that takes your heart away from Jesus and seek Him in all that you do. 

“Temporal prosperity is very unfavorable for spiritual development.” – Charles Simeon

God’s Word: “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” – 1 Timothy 6:9

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.” – Revelation 3:10

In his book “Bread for the Journey”, author Henri J. M. Nouwen wrote: “Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let’s be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.”

The Lord calls us to endure patiently. Today in prayer, look to Jesus and patiently endure any hardship in your life.

“He deserves not the name of patient who is only willing to suffer as much as he thinks proper, and for whom he pleases. The truly patient man asks (nothing) from whom he suffers, (whether) his superior, his equal, or his inferior...But from whomever, or how much, or how often wrong is done to him, he accepts it all as from the hand of God, and counts it gain!” - Thomas a Kempis

God’s Word: “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” – Ecclesiastes 7:8

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” – Revelation 2:10

In his book “Bullies and Saints” author John Dickson writes: “What is the witness of the church in times of persecution? The historical record demonstrates that persecutions of Christians were regular and prolific in the first centuries of the church, especially in the second and third centuries as the church began to spread significantly.

In 215 AD, Scapula, the leader of the Roman province of Carthage (modern day North Africa), led a campaign to stop the spread of the church. The historian Tertullian wrote a four-page letter to the Roman administration to stop the torture and execution of everyday church members. One of Tertullian’s points, was that there were thousands of Christians in that region of North Africa. Was Scapula going to kill all of them? Instead of fighting back with weapons, Tertullian offers to lead a protest at the seat of justice in Carthage, the place of justice for the Roman Empire.

“What will you make of so many thousands, of such a multitude of men and women, persons of every sex and every age and every rank, when they present themselves before you?” he inquires.

Dickson comments:

Tertullian’s boldness is striking. Ancient Christians were not timid. They did not adopt a posture of peaceful resistance through a kind of slave mentality of the bullied. Nor was their religion an opiate that dulled them to social realities here and now. In fact, reading the early sources, it is clear they actually felt like they were the victors!

They believed that true power to change the world lay not in politics, the judiciary, or the military but in the message of Christ’s death and resurrection.”

Christians still face persecution in this world. Today in prayer, pray for believers that face persecution that they may be faithful to Jesus.

“The servant of Christ must never be surprised if he has to drink of the same cup with his Lord.” – J.C. Ryle

God’s Word: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” – 2 Timothy 3:12

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” – Revelation 2:5

Annemarie Kidder writes: “The history of repentance is as old as humankind. We each carry the remembrance of wrongdoing in burdensome satchels, hoping that eventually someone will ease them off our back. We each know the feeling of self-reproach, self-criticism, and self-blame. And we each continue to enjoy the vast landscape of free will by doing what is wrong, harmful, and unjust, and by refusing to aim for what is good, life-giving, and fair. Repentance and confession release our high-piled debts and scrub clean a sullied conscience. The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to express repentance means “to turn,” reflecting the notion of journeying and pilgrimage and an attitude and relationship between YHWH and ancient Israel that required constant vigilance and intentionality.

The Greek word used in the New Testament is metanoia, basically denoting a “change of mind,” with only subtle nuances of regret or remorse. When we repent we “turn” and “change our mind” about who we thought we were and the acceptability of what we have done. We recognize the difference between our ways and the ways God intended for us and find that we have drifted off course and out of line with the divine current. Confession, on the other hand, comes from a Latin word meaning “to agree” and “to give consent.” It describes an oral activity, a moment in time when we “agree” to the difference observed between what should have been and was not, due to our actions, when we verbally lay bare and make public our off-course dealings and doings.”

When you take the wrong road, it is best to backtrack and get on the right one. The Lord desires us to repent of our sins. The sooner we turn away from our sins, the quicker we are restored to fellowship with Christ. Today in prayer, confess any sin in your life, repent and turn away from sin and follow Jesus.

“A Christian is not one who never goes wrong, but one who is enabled to repent and begin over again after each stumble—because of the inner working of Christ.” – C.S. Lewis

God’s Word: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” – Matthew 4:17

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †

“John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne” – Revelation 1:4

On the subject of grace, Teresa of Ávila wrote: “A number of mature Christians have described the Christian journey as one in which the follower of Jesus experiences different levels of grace. 

Let us imagine . . . that there are many rooms in this castle, of which some are above, some below, others at the side; in the centre, in the very midst of them all is the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse. 

Think over this comparison very carefully; God grant it may enlighten you about the different kinds of graces He is pleased to bestow upon the soul. No one can know all about them, much less a person so ignorant as I am. The knowledge that such things are possible will console you greatly should our Lord ever grant you any of these favours.”

There is no greater gift than God’s grace! Today in prayer, praise the Lord for His Amazing Grace to you.

“The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

God’s Word: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 1:3

By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2026, Devotional E-Mail

DEVOTIONS IN REVELATIONS †