TeaTime Devotional April 16th, 2025

Written By: Jasmine Hayes

Scripture: Revelations 1:18 (MSG)

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Testify:

Every time I watch the Passion of Christ or read the way Jesus was bruised and beaten; it makes me so upset.   I want to Peter the people that would make Jesus guilty of things that he didn’t do.   Of course, I feel this way until I consider the amounts of times that I crucified Him with my actions, my sins, my mouth and my thoughts.   If I’m completely honest I have done enough stuff that I find it hard to forgive myself.   But I then remember that he got up.   He is risen.   He arose from the dead.  Those who pieced Jesus to his death did not realize that he would be come back in 3 days. After he rose from the dead, he then had the authority to choose one’s destiny between heaven or hell.

Edify:

In this scripture Jesus was telling John not to be afraid and to take comfort in knowing that he was once dead but now he lives for eternity. In this scripture Jesus is also emphasizing that he has the keys to death and hell and will offer everlasting life for those who believe in him and that he died for our sins and has risen.   Therefore, I’m not longer connected to my actions, my sins, my mouth and my thoughts.   Because those things were buried and the new me has risen, just like Christ did. 

Apply:

It’s never too late to start fresh and be born again through Christ. Jesus has the last say so and holds the key to heaven and hell. “He can open death's door at any time to allow a believer to enter heaven, and He can open and shut the gates of hell to confine unbelievers there forever.”