Tag: city

8.u. The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1   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.

Can you even begin to imagine what heaven is going to be like?  No sickness, being in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, no more curse , no more darkness, no more lies, etc……worshiping them forever and ever in perfect peace and rest.  It is hard to think what life, culture, and society would be like without sin.  Our thoughts are clouded in a dense fog of understanding.  Even the thought of a sinless world is beyond our comprehension.   And yet we are given glimpses of what it is going to be like.  Could you imagine what your life would be like if there was no pride, greed, lust, hate, self-worth, self-reliance, self-justified, and many other self-centered acts we commit each day.  Many times we are not even aware of how self-centered we are unless we are seeking God to expose it to us.  Remember how David put it; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”  Our hearts are very deceiving and in them we hide away from what it means to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to humbly serving, following, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ.  We keep scripture at arms length so that we can’t hear the guiding whispers of the Holy Spirit.  We apply that which is pleasing to the way we choose to live but do not seek that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ.  If we did more time would be spent in His Word than we do on everything else that easily occupies our time.  Given the verses today we should want to be practicing total service and worship of Jesus Christ right now.  Just try to spend 10 minutes per day in His Word for the next 30 days and see what Jesus Christ opens your understanding too.

Mind set on the Flesh

“For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Psalms 34:21  Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

Psalms 35  I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.  But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

Psalms 94:23   He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.

Isaiah 3:11   Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Luke 19:41  And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,  saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

John 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

2 Thessalonians 1:9   They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Job 22:17  They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

Job 21:14  They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.

Psalms 10:4   In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Psalms 10:11  He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

There are many reasons man can come up with that leave no room for God.  Do any of these sound familiar; “He does not exist.  If He does exist I am good enough.  There are multiple ways to God/heaven. I am too busy.  I will focus on God when I am older.  I have plenty of time to get right with Him.  When I compare myself against others I am much better than most…….”  Man can find host of reasons but none hold true.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  There is no other work man can do to be right in the eyes of God than to believe in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, acknowledge their sin, repent, and humbly serve, honor and obey God.  Believing in Jesus Christ is relying on, clinging to, and trusting in Him.  How are we to grow in our understanding of Him and His purpose for us each day if we are not culturing a heart deep desire each day?  Spend time in His word each day.