Words of Hope Daily Devotional
The Alpha and the Omega
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:22-28
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God. (Rev. 1:8)
Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In today’s reading, God says, in essence, “I’m the beginning and the end—and everything in between.”
Nothing exists apart from God or outside of God. Yet things have gone terribly wrong in God’s original creation. Some of God’s highest and most glorious creatures have turned against him. Angels have become demons and seek to destroy everything that’s good. Human beings, made in the very image of God, rejected God and brought death into the world. In a passage that could serve as the outline of the book of Revelation, the apostle Paul explained how God would set things right again. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power . . . The last enemy to be destroyed is death . . . When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:22-24, 26, 28).
In the beginning, there was only God. In the end, there will only be God. Plus “those who belong to Christ.” The creation will be restored, and God will be all in all.
As you pray, praise God, the Alpha and the Omega.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
The Crowd That Acclaimed Him
Read: Matthew 21:1-11 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (v. 9) Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Notice three things about this familiar story. First, it was a deliberate
The Heart of the Gospel
Read: Isaiah 53:5-8 The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (v. 6) What is the central message of the Christian faith? The apostle Paul summarized his preaching and teaching ministry as “the word of the cross”
What’s Wrong?
Read: Luke 15:1-7 All we like sheep have gone astray. (v. 6) The prayer of confession for the morning service in the Book of Common Prayer teaches us to pray like this: “Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred
The Suffering Savior
Read: Isaiah 53:4-5 With his wounds we are healed. (v. 5) The Apostles’ Creed, the most ancient summary of Christian belief, describes the entire earthly life of Jesus between his birth and death with just one word: he suffered. When
Jesus Is Accursed!
Read: 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God. (Isa. 53:4) Imagine that you are part of a gathering for worship at a Jewish synagogue in a typical first-century Greek city—let’s say Corinth—in AD 50, give or
A Man of Sorrows
Read: John 11:32-43 . . . a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isa. 53:3) Some people are spared much of the pain and sorrow of life. For them the sun always seems to be shining. They live and