Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 5:42 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song in mind, “He Lifted Our Burdens.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Revelation 22 (ESV).
Their Light
Can we even begin to imagine what heaven will be like? “No longer will there be anything accursed.” Awesome! Can we possibly fathom a world without sin, pain, suffering, heartache, grief, evil, etc.? Oh, how I long for that day! Nothing will be rotten or will rot. Everything will be perfect, whole, and will be filled with the presence of Almighty God. There will be no more death, but only life; no more darkness, but only light; no more sadness, but only joy; no more defeat, but only victory. We will see his face. That is a wonderful thought! I want to see Jesus face to face and to literally sit at his feet and listen to him audibly speak his words to my heart. I want to be in perfect union and fellowship with the body of Christ, too, where we are all united in our praise and adoration of our Lord, and there is no more division. Yay! There will be no more lying, cheating, stealing, murder, abuse, unkind words, gossip, etc., but there will be only honesty, kindness, faithfulness, and true love for one another. All the things which sadden our hearts on this earth will be gone. Hallelujah!
His Tender Mercies / An Original Work / January 26, 2014
Fear not! I’m with you.
Be not dismayed!
God watches o’er you.
Trust Him today.
He’ll lead and guide you;
Give you His aid.
He’ll love and keep you
With Him always.
Walk in His footsteps.
He’ll lead the way.
Trust in His love;
Believe that He cares.
He will not leave you.
Faithful He’ll be.
His tender mercies
Now you will see.
Fellowship with Him
Throughout the day.
Tell Him your heartaches.
He’ll heal always.
Rest in His comfort.
He is your friend.
Your faith He’ll strengthen,
True to the end.
Coming Soon
One day Jesus is coming back to receive us to himself, and forever we will be with our Lord. Amen! We are blessed (happy, peaceful) when we keep (obey, observe, hold firmly to) the word of God; to the teachings and instructions of Christ, and to those of the apostles. If we want to be happy and at peace in this life, we must trust in our Lord Jesus and obey God.
As wonderful as that description was of heaven in the first part of this chapter, that is not where we are right now, but it is something we have to look forward to. Praise Jesus! Right now, though, evil still reigns, and it is only going to get much worse, as we have learned in reading the book of Revelation and other prophecies of scripture with regard to the last days before Christ’s return. We must understand, from reading this passage of scripture and others like it in the New Testament, that those who live (walk) in sin (darkness), and according to their fleshly desires, will NOT inherit the kingdom of heaven. Even many good people, by human standards, will not be in heaven, because they did not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, having been cleansed of their sins and made whole in the blood of the Lamb. If we make a practice of doing what is evil, i.e. if we continue in sinful lifestyles, we have no part of God and he has no part of us (See 1 John).
Nonetheless, happy and peaceful are those of us who have been cleansed of our sins, who walk in the Spirit and in Christ’s righteousness, free from the control of sin over our lives, and in the power and working of the Spirit within us. We have chosen the way of holiness, i.e. of separation from the world of sin, and are set apart to God and to his service. We have repented of (turned away from) our way of living for sin and self, we have been transformed (reborn) of the Spirit of God, and we have been given new lives in Christ to be lived out in his power at work within us, being conformed to the image of God and no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful and evil world (See Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 12:1-2).
Come
There appears here to be two separate calls to “Come.” One is a call of the Spirit and the Bride for Jesus to come; to return for his Bride, the true church of the living God; the Body of Christ. Oh, how we long for his appearing! We watch and we wait for him by how we live our lives in each day in guarding our hearts against evil and by listening to our Lord’s voice, walking in fellowship with him, and in following him wherever he leads us in obedience.
The other call to “come” is to those outside of faith in Jesus Christ, who are in need of the drink of the living water, the Spirit who gives life. Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. Our sins were crucified with him on that cross so that, by God’s grace through faith, we might be set free from slavery to sin, and so we might walk in his righteousness and holiness. If he is calling you to “come,” I pray you will heed his call today while you still have today, because time is short, and he is coming soon.
He Lifted Our Burdens / An Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in darkness.
They abide in their sin.
It has power o’er them.
True belief escapes them.
Jesus Christ came to save them.
He gave His life up for them;
Crucified; died for our sin,
So we might be forgiven,
And have life up in heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now o’erflows them.
They rejoice in vict’ry.
Their sin is but hist’ry.
We were once bound in slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our burdens;
Set us now free from Satan,
So we now walk in freedom.
Sin has no more dominion.
Praise be to our Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our burdens;
Cast them all upon Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines in darkness.
Counselor in our troubles;
He gives peace now in our hearts;
Joy which is everlasting.
http://originalworks.info/he-lifted-our-burdens/
Their Light
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
Can we even begin to imagine what heaven will be like? “No longer will there be anything accursed.” Awesome! Can we possibly fathom a world without sin, pain, suffering, heartache, grief, evil, etc.? Oh, how I long for that day! Nothing will be rotten or will rot. Everything will be perfect, whole, and will be filled with the presence of Almighty God. There will be no more death, but only life; no more darkness, but only light; no more sadness, but only joy; no more defeat, but only victory. We will see his face. That is a wonderful thought! I want to see Jesus face to face and to literally sit at his feet and listen to him audibly speak his words to my heart. I want to be in perfect union and fellowship with the body of Christ, too, where we are all united in our praise and adoration of our Lord, and there is no more division. Yay! There will be no more lying, cheating, stealing, murder, abuse, unkind words, gossip, etc., but there will be only honesty, kindness, faithfulness, and true love for one another. All the things which sadden our hearts on this earth will be gone. Hallelujah!
His Tender Mercies / An Original Work / January 26, 2014
Fear not! I’m with you.
Be not dismayed!
God watches o’er you.
Trust Him today.
He’ll lead and guide you;
Give you His aid.
He’ll love and keep you
With Him always.
Walk in His footsteps.
He’ll lead the way.
Trust in His love;
Believe that He cares.
He will not leave you.
Faithful He’ll be.
His tender mercies
Now you will see.
Fellowship with Him
Throughout the day.
Tell Him your heartaches.
He’ll heal always.
Rest in His comfort.
He is your friend.
Your faith He’ll strengthen,
True to the end.
Coming Soon
“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
…And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
…And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
One day Jesus is coming back to receive us to himself, and forever we will be with our Lord. Amen! We are blessed (happy, peaceful) when we keep (obey, observe, hold firmly to) the word of God; to the teachings and instructions of Christ, and to those of the apostles. If we want to be happy and at peace in this life, we must trust in our Lord Jesus and obey God.
As wonderful as that description was of heaven in the first part of this chapter, that is not where we are right now, but it is something we have to look forward to. Praise Jesus! Right now, though, evil still reigns, and it is only going to get much worse, as we have learned in reading the book of Revelation and other prophecies of scripture with regard to the last days before Christ’s return. We must understand, from reading this passage of scripture and others like it in the New Testament, that those who live (walk) in sin (darkness), and according to their fleshly desires, will NOT inherit the kingdom of heaven. Even many good people, by human standards, will not be in heaven, because they did not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives, having been cleansed of their sins and made whole in the blood of the Lamb. If we make a practice of doing what is evil, i.e. if we continue in sinful lifestyles, we have no part of God and he has no part of us (See 1 John).
Nonetheless, happy and peaceful are those of us who have been cleansed of our sins, who walk in the Spirit and in Christ’s righteousness, free from the control of sin over our lives, and in the power and working of the Spirit within us. We have chosen the way of holiness, i.e. of separation from the world of sin, and are set apart to God and to his service. We have repented of (turned away from) our way of living for sin and self, we have been transformed (reborn) of the Spirit of God, and we have been given new lives in Christ to be lived out in his power at work within us, being conformed to the image of God and no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful and evil world (See Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 12:1-2).
Come
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
…He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
…He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
There appears here to be two separate calls to “Come.” One is a call of the Spirit and the Bride for Jesus to come; to return for his Bride, the true church of the living God; the Body of Christ. Oh, how we long for his appearing! We watch and we wait for him by how we live our lives in each day in guarding our hearts against evil and by listening to our Lord’s voice, walking in fellowship with him, and in following him wherever he leads us in obedience.
The other call to “come” is to those outside of faith in Jesus Christ, who are in need of the drink of the living water, the Spirit who gives life. Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world. Our sins were crucified with him on that cross so that, by God’s grace through faith, we might be set free from slavery to sin, and so we might walk in his righteousness and holiness. If he is calling you to “come,” I pray you will heed his call today while you still have today, because time is short, and he is coming soon.
He Lifted Our Burdens / An Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in darkness.
They abide in their sin.
It has power o’er them.
True belief escapes them.
Jesus Christ came to save them.
He gave His life up for them;
Crucified; died for our sin,
So we might be forgiven,
And have life up in heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now o’erflows them.
They rejoice in vict’ry.
Their sin is but hist’ry.
We were once bound in slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our burdens;
Set us now free from Satan,
So we now walk in freedom.
Sin has no more dominion.
Praise be to our Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our burdens;
Cast them all upon Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines in darkness.
Counselor in our troubles;
He gives peace now in our hearts;
Joy which is everlasting.
http://originalworks.info/he-lifted-our-burdens/