August 21, 2023

Revelation 21:1-8 (HCSB)
The New Creation
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 no longer existed. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away. 5 Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.”6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life. 7 The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. 8 But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Jeremy Cannon
Sometimes God's Word can be a mystery.....a puzzle of sorts. Then sometimes, in the case of this set of scripture, things could not be more clear. There will be a day when He returns. Will we be ready? Will we be one of the lucky ones who has believed in Him and get our rewards in Heaven? It is not a question of whether or not we are worthy, because we are not. No matter what we do, what we say, or how we live, we are not worthy of the love, patience, and kindness that our God sheds on us. But our jobs as Christians should not stop at the fact that since we believe, then we'll go to Heaven and everyone else will share in the lake of fire and sulfur. In order to be true Christians, we are to at least follow the basic requests of our Heavenly Father which is simply this, love Him with everything we have and love others as ourselves. Let's start opening our mouths to less criticism and gossip and more about what He has done in our lives. By doing this daily, maybe those who are headed for the lake will get to share in an eternal life of no grief, no pain, and no suffering.