As we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

— Titus 2:13

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

— 1 Thessalonians 4:16

For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

— Matthew 16:27

And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

— Daniel 7:14

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.”

— Revelation 11:15b

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Daniel lived most of his long life as an exile in a foreign land. Daniel also recognized that God stood poised to intervene and fulfill His promises and stood ready for that to happen. Similarly, we believers live as exiles on earth, awaiting Jesus’s return and heaven’s glory. But even with glorious eternal promises, difficult days may lie ahead. Therefore from time to time we need to ask ourselves whether our hope rests on God’s promises and Jesus Christ. God has delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage, Babylonian exile, and He also delivered us from sin’s corruption through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God’s Word promises Jesus will return and establish His eternal kingdom. Knowing God’s perfect record, let’s fully trust Him. Let’s set our hope, not on the seeming turmoil around us, but on God’s trustworthy promises. Like Daniel, we believers freely and confidently share God’s promises and pray on behalf of others. God positions us, His people, to seek His kingdom, impact the people around us, and pray for Jesus Christ’s certain return. God has been working in our life to make us people who fear Him, surrender to Him, pray, get deep into God’s Word, understand and love His promises and live for God’s will. Hallelujah!