truth: he will come again.
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. and i saw the holy city, new jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” and he who was seated on the throne said, “behold, i am making all things new.” [revelation 21:1-5a]
the promise celebrated: we are in the life “in-between.”
we are between the ascension of Jesus seen in acts 1 and the return of Christ shown at the end of revelation. as we await his return there will continue to be cancer, heartache, divorce, disease, broken relationships, death, and an abundance of sin.
but…
there will be a day…oh there is a day coming…when he will make all things new!
in thinking about the return of Jesus, what excites you the most?
because of Christ, we can eagerly wait.
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. [hebrews 9:28]
prayer
God, as we lay our head on the pillow tonight, cause our hearts to quicken. as we think about the reality of CHRISTmas, grow our expectation of your final return. thank you for the power of your word that has been so clear this month! give us the continued desire to pursue you and enjoy your presence. thank you for your faithfulness, God!
~ ms