Read: Revelation 1:9–20

I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” Revelation 1:10–11

Having been exiled on the sun baked island of Patmos, John continued to observe the Sabbath and to pray to his Lord Jesus Christ. One day when he was “in the spirit,” he heard a voice and saw a vision, and he began to write a powerful, creative, and disturbing witness to his faith. We don’t know if John was the only Christ follower on that Greek isle at the time, but he was not alone—Jesus was somehow wonderfully and vividly present to him. The product of that encounter is a book that continues to challenge and hearten Christians around the globe.

Whatever one makes of the descriptive and cataclysmic nature of John’s writing, the book itself is witness to our belief that Jesus is still speaking. Through the Spirit, Jesus continues to teach us and reveal God’s desires for us. Our faith is not a memorial to the acts of God done in the distant past, our faith is a testament to the ability of our Lord to communicate and lead us in the present. That is a powerful revelation in and of itself: God is still speaking, desiring us to listen and respond.

Is God still speaking in your life?

Lord, if You can speak to an exiled person of faith living in a cave on the hills of Patmos, I long to believe You can speak also to me. I do not need to see You as some blinding and soul-arresting light…I would be more than content with hearing a still small voice from You. However You choose to reveal Yourself, know that I deeply desire that encounter. In Your name, I pray. AMEN.