And I ### saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
—Revelation 21:2-4 (KJV)
I don't know about you, but I'm kind of ready for that old order stuff to go away. The end of tears, death, mourning, crying, violence, abuse, suffering, war, divisive politics, and pain sounds pretty good to me! No wonder the early Christians would say, "Marantha. Come, O LORD" (1 Corinthians 16:22). They couldn't wait. How about us? How about you? What is keeping you from saying, "LORD Jesus, please come, and come soon? I urge you to put it aside, or put it under the lordship of Jesus, and use those moves to make you ready to receive the glory yet to be revealed in us (Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:3-4). Let's make ourselves ready for the time when:
Holy God, please help me as I try to serve you faithfully and yearn for Jesus' return. I desire to be steadfast in my love, living for you until the glorious day that so many of your children have longed to experience over the centuries. I long to see you in your glory, to share in your presence, and to join with the saints of all ages praising you around your glorious throne. And yes, dear Father, I long for you to wipe away all my tears and welcome me home. Because of Jesus' victory, and by his authority, I offer my prayer in holy expectation. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Continue reading...
—Revelation 21:2-4 (KJV)
Thoughts on Today's Verse...
I don't know about you, but I'm kind of ready for that old order stuff to go away. The end of tears, death, mourning, crying, violence, abuse, suffering, war, divisive politics, and pain sounds pretty good to me! No wonder the early Christians would say, "Marantha. Come, O LORD" (1 Corinthians 16:22). They couldn't wait. How about us? How about you? What is keeping you from saying, "LORD Jesus, please come, and come soon? I urge you to put it aside, or put it under the lordship of Jesus, and use those moves to make you ready to receive the glory yet to be revealed in us (Romans 8:18; Colossians 3:3-4). Let's make ourselves ready for the time when:
Hallelujah!He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
My Prayer...
Holy God, please help me as I try to serve you faithfully and yearn for Jesus' return. I desire to be steadfast in my love, living for you until the glorious day that so many of your children have longed to experience over the centuries. I long to see you in your glory, to share in your presence, and to join with the saints of all ages praising you around your glorious throne. And yes, dear Father, I long for you to wipe away all my tears and welcome me home. Because of Jesus' victory, and by his authority, I offer my prayer in holy expectation. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Continue reading...
