"Sightings of Jesus in Revelation"

I have been asked by HavenToday to write a daily devotional for a month for their pocket-sized booklet, Anchor. I have agreed to do so. In case you are interested, for the next thirty days or so I will post a devotional and would appreciate feedback, if you feel so moved. No pressure, just enjoy "sightings" of Jesus.

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“The revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 1:1

The Apostle John, now about ninety five years old, found his faith tested as the awesome power of Rome crashed on the churches in central Turkey, his churches. Prior to that, the church enjoyed a reprieve from Roman harassment but a new Emperor arose who demanded that everyone in the Empire, slave or free, acknowledge his divinity.

Those who had made Jesus their Lord could never do such a thing, John included. So dark clouds of persecution released a storm of persecution and death upon the flocks of Jesus Christ. John’s sentence was probably harder to bear than martyrdom which is once and over. He was forcefully taken to an island off Turkey’s coast, where the weight of all that was happening fell on his aged shoulders. He was crushed. Now, what?

As questions swirled in his troubled soul, John needed “a revival.” He needed to have faith and courage to face the present dark night of testing. He cried out to God for help.

As usual, God he did not begin by revealing a rosy future nor did He explain to John what he should do next. He showed John the only thing that can revive the heart of a disciple. He showed him Jesus, again. That is true revival, to see Jesus, again, as we are buffeted by the bewildering blast of trials.

Dear reader, you and I do not need a new experience, a new insight, a new spiritual gift, a new book on how to pray. We need to see Jesus, again, the only vision that can revive the soul of a child of God. I need to see Jesus for what I am dealing with right now.