I get a weekly devotional email from a man who I would say, rescued me and my family. He is a great man of God, and this week I got a particularly exciting one which truly calmed and freed my spirit. Be blessed!:
An Eternal Hope
Based on Revelations 22:1-7, 11-16, 20-21
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. 6 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7 “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
11 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. New King James Version
Reality is something that many times is difficult for us to understand. Many of us do understand reality, but just find it hard to accept. As a result, many try to avoid reality as much as possible. Some will argue that reality is relative. To some extent, that is true. However, there is such a thing as reality and it is eminent no matter how much we try to avoid it, hide from it, deny it, etc.
What is the reality that we are talking about? The reality that everything that we see is imperfect, and not only that, that everything that we see, including ourselves, will one day pass. On this planet, everything that has a beginning has an end.
What is amazing is that even Hollywood understands this concept, despite the fact that in general it has turned rather ungodly over the years promoting vanity, immorality, and destruction, ultimately promoting sin. Most movies you watch, you will see that the characters don’t have perfect lives. You can see that not everything is perfect. They show pain, suffering, and confusion. Along with that, there are good moments in the movies, but as such, they are moments. The “happily ever after” is left as undefined in movies because they only end the movie with the good and happy moment, but you don’t see everything that happens after.
I have to confess that I like soccer a lot. And where I make a special effort to actually watch at least some of the games is during the World Cup. I remember waiting anxiously for the past four years for the World Cup to come. I was ecstatic when the World Cup began this past June, especially seeing Chile play. I enjoyed watching whatever games I was able to watch. Sadly, it ended. Now I have to wait again. The point is that it started and it ended.
Reality is never easy. However, in Christ, there is an eternal hope and reality waiting for those who remain faithful to Him, for those who love Him, and keep his commandments. In Christ, there is something beautiful, perfect and eternal, with no end. Unlike the Hollywood endings, we do know what the end is, and the end is not really the end, but only the beginning of a perfect eternity. For those of us who have trusted our souls to the Creator, we have nothing to worry about. If you are going through tough times right now, it is only for a moment. If you are sick, there will be eternal healing. If you are poor, there are riches in heaven that you can never imagine. If you are in pain, there is a place where it does not exist. If you feel alone and empty, like you don’t belong anywhere, there is an eternal place that will be your home. Whatever your situation, even if it is a good moment right now and you are afraid of it ending, in Christ, there will always be something better.
The reality now is that we live in a time of decision where we all have to decide personally what is what we really want and move forward. Now more than ever, the time has come for each of us to choose. Whether you understand it or not, everything here, Satan, and the World, is pushing us to make choices. But the Lord does not push, but rather invites us with love. Consider this, in Jesus; we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. So it was written, so it shall be done, whether you believe it or not, that is the reality.
Lord bless, John.
Currently listening to: Whitley - The Life I Keep
