Jesus

Can you imagine the New Heaven and the New Earth?

The New Heaven and the New Earth According to John: Revelation 21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold; the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Furthermore he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem

The New Jerusalem

The New Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come; I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11  having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold,clear as glass. 19  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

A prayer to serve according to God’s will and purpose

"Saint John on Patmos" by Hans Baldu...

“Saint John on Patmos” by Hans Baldung Grien, 1511 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Lord, this day is Yours, and my life is yours. Let each step I take leave an impression of your glory. May each word I speak produce an echo of your love. I pray that each deed I do leave the fragrance of Your presence.

May my hands be an extension of Your mercies. Break me and mold me Lord, that my heart will be a mirror of Your heart. Let my life be a reflection of Your image, and may my attitudes be expressions of Your character.

Father in heaven, remove fear, doubt, and self indulgence from me. Let me not forget that I am nothing without you. Lord, remind me daily, not to praise; for all praise is unto you.

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege I have to be Your child and to be set apart for Your plans; and to be called according to Your purposes, and to be used as an instrument of Your will. Amen!

Remembering the historic Day of Pentecost

Icon of the Pentecost

Icon of the Pentecost (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Acts 2

New King James Version (NKJV)

Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Crowd’s Response

5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
Your young men shall see visions.
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My men servants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass
that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. You have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says about Him:

‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’

36 “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

A Vital Church Grows

40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.”41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had needed.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Be thankful for what you have got

English: Scroll of the Psalms

English: Scroll of the Psalms (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

O, give thanks to the Lord, for He is gracious!

For His mercy endures forever.

2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

3 And gathered out of the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;

They found no city to dwell in.

5 Hungry and thirsty,

Their soul fainted in them.

6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 And He led them forth by the right way,

That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His marvellous works to the children of men!

9 For He satisfies the longing soul,

And fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:1-9).

The key to living in a loving state is to be thankful for what you have. Most of us take life for granted and fail to appreciate the gifts we have been given by our heavenly father. The next time you feel a little down take a few minutes to think about how miraculous and how blessed your life is. There is so much to be thankful for.

In her book, “the 10 second Kiss” Ellen Kreidman, Ph.D. asks a the following thought-provoking questions which I find particularly compelling.

Are you breathing on your own? There are people at this moment who need a respirator to help them breathe.

When you got up this morning, were you able to hear the alarm go off? Could you hear the birds singing, the wind blowing, the heat or air-conditioning going on? There are people who are deaf and can’t do that.

Are you able to talk? Can you scream, whisper or sing a song? There are people who will never be able to use their vocal cords.

Look around you. Can you see the clouds, the blue sky, the grass, and flowers and trees? There are people who see only darkness. They are blind and cannot see nature’s beauty.

How about your legs? Can you walk, skip, jump, hop and crawl? There are people who are confined to a wheelchair for the rest of their lives.

Did you have enough money to buy food today? One-third of the world’s population will go to bed hungry tonight.

Do you have a home to live in? All over the world, there are men, women and children who are homeless.

Do you have bills to pay? That means someone was willing to trust you enough to give you a product or service in advance of getting paid. There are many people who have no credit and cannot get anything without cash their hands.

Do you have a savings account? That means you were able to put some extra money away for a rainy day. There are so many people who do not have enough money to get through today.

How to reap the benefits of God’s leadership in your life?

Icon of Jesus Christ

Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A college professor laid out his teaching philosophy on the first day of class: “If you allow me, I will teach you as much as I can in these few short weeks, but if you defy me, I guarantee that you will learn nothing. You will not like everything I tell you, but if you follow my instructions, you will leave these class much better thinkers than when you came in.”

The professor was a task master who demanded perfection from his students. Many students who were too lazy to put forth the actual effort, lost interest and complained about the strict grading and disparaging comments. The few extremely dedicated ones, found their professor to be one of the finest they ever had, and they valued his opinion above all others. This man helped them become better than they thought possible.

God offers us the same deal. If we are open to His leadership, He will help us achieve our full potential. However, if we resist His help, we can never hope to achieve that goal. Wise men and women get to be smart by listening and trying to improve themselves. They are never satisfied with whom they are today, but they always look forward to what they can become tomorrow. Proverbs 9:9 say it best: “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;  teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.”

So Let no one deceive himself brethren. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” Therefore, let no one boast in men. For all things are God’s: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are God’s. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:18-23).