Three Identities…Telling of Love

Revelation 21:1 - 22:5     George Badeaux

In Revelation chapter 21 God speaks to us about our identity in 3 different ways.  Knowing our identity is important.  We live out of our identity.  It affects how we interact with others, including God Himself.  We want to get this right.  We want to start from the appropriate identity, not a false one.  It is important to know the truth about our identity, and not walk in lies about ourselves.

In verse 3 it says, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”  We are already His people in a very special way.  But Revelation speaks of the full expression of this identity, the final goal of God’s moving progressively closer and closer through “Immanuel, God with us” to His ultimate goal.  His desire.  Because He loves us.

In verse 7 it says, "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”  Christians are already His sons.  But again, there is a higher expression of this at the end of time.  He loves us in a very special, Father and son kind of way.  He uses one of the two highest forms of love we know as humans to try to explain His love for us.

In verse 9 it says, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."  We know from elsewhere in the new testament that the bride of Christ is the church - the church worldwide, all Christians.  This relationship is the main focus of chapter 21.  God uses the closest of all human relationships to help us understand His love.  And I believe that the detailing of all the beautiful precious stones is partly to tell us how beautiful He thinks His bride is.  He loves us!  He loves you!  He thinks we are beautiful!

This is our identity.  The God who created the world, who created us, who supplies the way for relationship with Himself, who has the power and authority to throw Satan and all those who refuse His love into the lake of fire - this mighty and glorious God loves us, thinks we are beautiful, and desires to spend eternity in intimate relationship with us. 

We are blessed.  We are Loved.  We win!!!                                                                            

Streets of Gold

Revelation 21:1-22:5     Joel Keller

Streets of gold.  Yep, that highly sought-after item that seems to dictate decisions made around the world.  Yes, God knows the value of gold, but He puts it into perspective for us by showing us how He will use it in heaven.  It lines the streets upon which we will tread.  Isn't that just like God?  He puts life into perspective; shows us the things that are really important.  Like eternity.  Is there anything more crucial than where someone will spend eternity?

No more darkness.  And God will be our light (Rev.22:5).  We earthlings seek the sun. Some would say we worship the sun.  We love the warmth in our joints.  The light gives us the vitamin D we need to battle depression in our bodies.  I know these seem like random thoughts ... because they are.  Reading the details of the culmination of history, and reading the end of the story - it causes me to gaze off into the distance with a glazed look in my eyes.  It's so detailed, so intricate, so specific, that I simply need to rest & say, "Daddy, I'm so glad You know what You're doing.  I trust in You."

So, little ones, trust in Jesus today.  You don't have to have it all figured out.  He's got it all figured out already.  He says, "I got this, JK."  Rest today, in the knowledge that if you are His, He will take you home in due time.  And we will walk together on streets of gold.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlHUKY3jBv0

Held By Heaven

Revelation 21:1-22:5     Kathy Carlson

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

The twenty-first chapter of Revelation centers around heaven coming to earth - God dwelling on earth to be forever with His own.  What a magnificent glimpse into the wonders of heaven and the glory of our God’s dwelling place. God is at the center of it all.  Everything described in chapter 21 is for God, by God and about God.  But when I read chapter 21 of Revelation, in particular verse 4, all I can think about is my mom.

I don’t know how a person grieves without the hope of heaven.  No clue.  Grieving the unexpected loss of my mom almost broke me, and I have the hope of Christ.  Saying goodbye to my mom after she suffered a massive stroke a year and a half ago was excruciatingly difficult.  Accepting her loss and that she is truly gone has been a long, painful process.  But for heaven I would have found a way to give up on life - the pain and loss were so overwhelming.

The truth of heaven helped pull me through a season of grief and give me hope for the future.  One day a few months ago, out of long-held habit, I began to pray for my mom’s needs and realized I no longer needed to ask anything at all on her behalf.  Every need she ever had on this side of heaven has been answered and completed.  She is free from pain of every kind, free from the threat of sickness and death.  She is in the presence of the Savior and would not trade it for anything at all. 

The older I get, the more I long for heaven … for the presence of Christ in His full splendor, for the broken to be made whole, for peace without limit, for an eternity with my Jesus.  And this hope: heaven holds my mom.  One day, for the both of us, the shadow of suffering and death will be no more as we join for an eternity of time spent together in worship of the King.  Held by heaven.  It’s the beautiful promise for every believer who puts their faith in the person of Jesus Christ.    

Infinite God

Revelation 20     Eric Boberg

Last week I was toiling with the difficulty of understanding a future universe without evil or perhaps even the possibility of it. As you might recall, weeks earlier I had concluded evil could not be allowed to run on forever - there must be an end game, a day of judgement. While I don't want to minimize my emotional anxiety in wrestling with these matters, I also hope I didn't cause anyone undue discouragement or to lose hope.

As I continued to wrestle this week, I was thinking about levels of knowledge and how we know what we know. Obviously our personal understanding of this world and the universe changes as we grow. I was trying to think of some visual representation of the process. If we would construct a simple bar graph of people's knowledge-base, we might note that a baby enters this world knowing very little. But at age one that knowledge has increased 50 times; at age five perhaps another 50 times and on and on without a setback, unless you consider the teen years (but that's another story). In the full flower of adulthood that knowledge has increased thousands of times. For some, the growth of knowledge has been spectacular to such an extent that we might dare to call them wise.

But it's not just our individual knowledge that increases as we grow and mature; collective human knowledge is also increasing. Science writer David Russell Schilling notes, "Buckminster Fuller created the 'Knowledge Doubling Curve'; he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II, knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple, as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth. For example, nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average, human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. According to IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours."

I think the rate of increase has a lot to do with the number of processing units, living things, people, computers, and the number of connections - internal and external - they can make. Yet, one really has to wonder about the usability of knowledge that is expanding so rapidly. It still has to be interpreted, filed and used. It is possible, I think,to be bogged down and killed by information-overload, much like one who dies of thirst floating on a life raft in the ocean. Water, water everywhere ... and not a drop to drink.

But what about God? How could you even dream of trying to graph His knowledge-base? He not only has a vast amounts of information (all of it!), He has a system to sort through all of it. Consider the things He knows as the Creator and because He has existed forever. Then there are those connections He has with every part of the universe and all the people in it. And it's not just little temperature probe, hot or cold connections, but rather every intimate detail. Any graph for God would extend off the page and up through the atmosphere, past our space junk, the moon and planets in our solar system. It would go on through galaxies we can only glimpse - and beyond. God's knowledge is more infinite than the universe, if that is even possible ... to be more infinite than infinity. It's mind-blowing. And remember, just going by what we know right now, when we get to the farthest star that we can see with our most powerful telescope - God not only knows about that star, He knows its exact chemical composition. More than that, He knows about every part of it, every grain of sand!

So back to last week, when I consider my logical difficulties about questions surrounding a universe without evil or contrast, they seem small in a relative way. I'm finding that usually God does not answer my difficult questions, rather He overwhelms me with His largeness and His brilliance.

This week I find a passage that is startling - shocking really - when I consider it in light of the infinite knowledge of God.

Revelation 20:4 (NIV)
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

People, yes mere people, who by their very nature know so very little compared to God; they are allowed to judge and reign with Christ. Relatively, they know little; yet there are certain truths and ways of seeing and understanding that open the door. God provides the filter, the way to sort through all the information and get to what is essential. Realizing their lack and accepting the righteousness of Jesus, they are qualified by their simple faithfulness, perseverance, suffering and finally by death. They follow the example of Jesus, who was made perfect by suffering. Hebrews 2:10

I find this deeply mysterious and incredibly beautiful. With all the big and evil entities clashing and crashing in the book of Revelation, it is comforting to know that simple spiritual disciplines - things we can practice every day - will eventually win the day.

Christ's Book of Life

Revelation 20     Peter Nordell

We are going to watch the final battle between God and the forces of evil, the Devil - Satan.  The angel comes with keys and chain and binds up Satan for 1000 years.  Satan is put into the abyss and sealed to protect the nations.

John then sees the thrones with the martyrs / saints serving God and Christ; they shall be priests of God and of Christ and reign for 1000 years.  Satan comes with his army, surrounds the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire come down from heaven and the evil is devoured forever and ever.

The next scene is the great white throne, the book of life is opened and those not found listed in the book are cast into the lake of fire.

What an ending and a reminder to us all that God will list his followers in His book. We must be ready to remind our fellow friends that the most important book is Christ's book of life. Choose His salvation and His forgiveness.  We are to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

do you KNOW this?

Revelation 20     George Badeaux

Revelation 20:10, 15

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also ; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

…15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Wow!  This is serious!  Do we really comprehend the seriousness of the lake of fire?  If I did I would speak more often about Jesus to those who do not know Him.  And if I did, I would speak with true compassion and concern, not with the “sales pitch attitude” that I have sometimes been guilty of.

Dear God, please help me with this!

Evil Contained

Revelation 20     Kathy Carlson

I saw an Angel descending out of Heaven. He carried the key to the Abyss and a chain—a huge chain. He grabbed the Dragon, that old Snake—the very Devil, Satan himself!—chained him up for a thousand years, dumped him into the Abyss, slammed it shut and sealed it tight. No more trouble out of him, deceiving the nations—until the thousand years are up… Revelation 20:1-3 (Message)

I shudder when I consider all the heartache, confusion, pain, desolation, emptiness, despair, regret, separation (insert your own word here to describe the ravages of sin) caused by sin which was authored by the enemy of our souls, Satan, to keep us from God.  He has been working overtime since he was set loose on the world to deceive and destroy as many willing souls as possible.  

If it weren’t for a greater truth – I would struggle to find hope and struggle to experience peace.  The greater truth is that satan’s power is subjugated to the power of God.  Satan is subject to God’s authority and has limited access, time and opportunity to do his dirty work.  

Consider the story of Job.  God actually suggests that satan test Job’s faith:

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

¹² The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

In essence, satan had to get God’s permission to test Job and even that permission had parameters and limits set by God.  

The same is true for satan’s access to the world at large. Satan’s access and time frame have a limit.  His future holds the absolute promise of a “prison cell” at the moment of God’s choosing according to His perfect timetable.  Imagine satan’s fury (I wonder if he is self-deceived regarding the level and limit to his own power) when he finds himself chained up and impotent while Jesus ushers in a perfect time of peace in the world and brings heaven to earth itself.  

It’s a comfort to me that evil is contained.  Even if satan is allowed a longer leash to steal, kill and destroy in our day - his time and access to the earth is limited by the power and perfection of our God.   “No more trouble out of him.”  It’s the future for the enemy of our souls and just a preview of his ultimate fiery demise.

Deception

Revelation 20     Joel Keller

So that he might not deceive the nations any longer....     Revelation 20:3c

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if we - people - you & I - could not be deceived?  No darkness (figuratively).  No lies.  No manipulation.  No jealousy. Well, maybe some of these things would/could still exist, but we would see them for what they really are.  I find it interesting that the enemy's nature (his DNA) is to deceive.  

Deceive (definition): ensnare, to be false to, to fail to fulfill, cheat, to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid, to while away, to give a false impression.  

Synonyms of Deceive: bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on [chiefly British], hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, sucker, suck in, take in, trick, do a number on, lead one down the garden path, pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes.     
                                                                         (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Have a look at the definition & synonyms above.  Don't you just get a "warm & fuzzy" feeling when these things happen to you?  No.  You get angry, and so do I.  And we should.  These are the works of the devil.  Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  

There will be a time when the enemy will no longer be able to deceive anyone.  But, until that time, deception is rife.  Let's be aware and on the lookout for deception today.  Again, you don't have to be a wacko in the way you go about that.  But ask God to fine-tune your eyes & ears, that you might see the source of a thing or a situation.  If it smells anything like the list above, you know the source is not from God.  If it's from God, it will look like this: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Little children, let no one deceive you.  Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous.  Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.  The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.  I John 3:7 & 8

Things I Can't Comprehend

Revelation 19     Eric Boberg

But as it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Corinthians 2:9 ISV

In Revelation 19, victory is in sight and shouts of praise and gory to God pour from heaven.

Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a large crowd, like the sound of raging waters, and like the sound of powerful thunderclaps, saying, "Hallelujah! The Lord our God, the Almighty, is reigning." Rev 19:6 ISV

The nations that have gathered for war are soundly and completely defeated. The Beast and the False Prophet are captured and those kings and armies that that have aligned themselves against God are destroyed.... What were they thinking anyway?

I can understand the reason for the battle and for the judgement of God to fall on the earth and on all evil. I can understand the reason for joy in heaven and earth. I can understand how wonderful it will be to have God's justice and righteousness on the earth. But I don't understand what comes next. What I can't get my mind around is peace.

Let me take one step back. One of the most important lessons I derive from all of scripture has to do with our struggle against evil. If I could be so bold as to condense it into one word it would be this. Overcome. Revelation has a lot to say about overcoming; the word appears 16 times. The concept is throughout scripture. In Romans 12:21 we read, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." God has been training us to persevere in the most dire of circumstances. This usually involves a fight. There are so many references to battle in scripture. In Psalm 144 David praises the Lord who "trains my hands for war and my finger for battle." Paul encourages Timothy to "fight the good fight." Later he instructs believers to "put on the whole armor of God." C. S. Lewis has correctly said, "Christianity is a fighting religion." By that I think he meant, we are at war against evil in this world; we are not passive.

There are great lessons we learn from the battle and the struggle, as I alluded to in my earlier post about superheroes. There is no victory without a battle and no battle without an enemy. The greater the enemy the greater the battle, and the greater potential for victory or defeat.

But what happens next? What happens when the battle is over? What happens when this heavy cart we have been straining to push up a steep hill is simply removed? Do we fall forward on our face? How do we avoid becoming lazy and apathetic? We know what happens when people just have everything handed to them. Do we lose our strength in a universe that no longer requires any nobility, service and sacrifice? And what happens to creativity, invention and problem-solving? And what about God Himself? It seems He no longer has any obstacle to push against either. I can't get my mind around it. I can't get my mind around a world without conflict, a world without contrast.

I have to confess up to this point most of my thoughts about heaven and eternity have been really just better versions of earth. Earth on steroids. It's kind of an earth remodel or restoration. We could make a TV show about it and call it This Old Earth. I'm guessing you think the same way too. If I asked you, I guess you could probably come up with a thousand things the would make the earth a better place. And I'm guessing they are very similar to the list of what you think heaven will be like. But what if those thousand things and bunch more were already done? Yes done, for us, finished, complete, perfect? Then what? What do we do then? I'm not saying our faith is all about doing. As our friend Rodney is fond of saying, "We are human beings, not human doings." I'm just thinking that the process of overcoming is so deeply valuable, it is difficult to imagine a world without it - even a perfect world, even heaven.

I have some friends, a married couple, who are very creative and industrious. Recently they sold their wonderful, almost perfect house, on a beautiful lot overlooking the river. One of the reasons they gave was that they realized there was little they could do to make the house better. They, in turn, bought a very average (I'm being kind here) house that needed a lot of love because as they said, "Anything we do to it will make it better." Which brings me to the question: when we get to heaven, will there be anything we can do to make it better? And if not, what will we do with all our fancy skills of overcoming and perseverance that God has been equipping us with down here? He is equipping us for heaven, right?

So this brings me back to 1 Corinthians 2:9.

But as it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him."

I have no doubt eternity with God will be a totally wonderful experience. I think the reason "no mind has imagined such things" might be because it represents such a huge paradigm shift. It's way beyond our comprehension. We can imagine "streets of gold" and all the standard heaven pictures; it's a remodel, a very, very, very nice remodel - but still just basically, a better earth. That's not that difficult to imagine. But a place where everything is good without the contrasting bad? I don't know. That is very had to understand. It's like trying to define anything without contrast: heat without cold, light without darkness, the thrill of victory without the agony of defeat. Up until now our life has been about making choices good or bad. But what happens when there is no bad? Does good still stand out? Can a light shine brightly when there is no darkness? Again I'm probably trying to understand things that are unknowable in our current state of flesh and blood. This is why God is going to need to give us more than new bodies; He is going to give us new minds as well.

Going though the Book of Revelation and forcing myself to write something has been difficult; its been a big struggle. Yet it has been extremely worthwhile and faith building. It's almost like the goodness of the difficulty has proven my point. I'm still holding on to 1 Corinthians 2:9. I trust in the wisdom and goodness of God, but while I'm on this earth I'm probably always going to think that the battle or the contest is more valuable and more interesting than the victory party afterwards.

HALLELUJAH

Revelation 19     Peter Nordell

The scrolls, the trumpets and the bowls are over; now we are on to the celebration with the Lamb - Jesus - and His bride - us - the church.

As a young boy, age 7 or 8, I can remember listening to Handel's Messiah and his Hallelujah Chorus.  I have never forgotten the joy and splendor of it's sound and message. Much of that comes from Chapter 19.  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,  He has condemned, avenged the prostitute and again they all shouted HALLELUJAH.

So we read of the victory celebration, the wedding of the Lamb and His bride, the white linen and the white horse and all those riding with Him.  It was and will be a magnificent sight; the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  

Our world loves parades and victory celebrations, but they are miniature compared to the one which will occur at that time.  John is shown the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, ready to make war. But the Lord's Army captures them and throws them into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, the final victory.

Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, both small and great! 

His Bride Has Made Herself Ready

Revelation 19     Joel Keller

"Let us rejoice and exult
     and give Him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
     and His Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
     with fine linen, bight and pure" ---

Revelation 19:7,8 provokes in me a question for you, me - the Body of Christ - today:
Bride (that's you & me) ... have you made yourself ready?  Does this consume your thinking?  Does this question determine your behavior throughout the day?  Are you teaching others all that He has taught you (Matt.28:18-20)?  Are you watching & waiting for Him as Martha & Mary did when Lazarus (John 11) was already in the tomb?  These are the kinds of questions I ask myself daily.  We are His Bride; He is preparing us for a wedding!  It's coming, folks.  Have you sent out invitations?  Who might you meet today who has yet to receive their invitation?  Maybe your neighbor. Maybe it's a family member, or a co-worker.  Today, let's be watchful & intentional about how we live our lives.  That does not mean we don't have fun or enjoy ourselves. But understand that we are being prepared for the Groom.  Today, are you making yourself ready?

Faithful and True

Revelation 19     Kathy Carlson

Revelation 19:11-12: I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.

Since I was a small child I dreamed of a dramatic rescue.  I dreamed of being taken out of frightening circumstances by a hero who was up for the job. Throughout my childhood and early adult years, God allowed painful circumstances and very few people upon whom I could truly rely to shape in me an increasing desperation and recognition of my need for a rescuer. 

My heart often wondered, what is it to be loved thoroughly, to lean back into that love and trust it will never fail, never let you down, never leave you or forsake you?  Is there a love (and one who is capable at all times of loving perfectly) that is always faithful and always true? It was such a painful question that I hardened my heart over time to even the hope that such a rescue was possible and simply decided the answer was no.

God allowed me to have my way and live life on my terms. Stubborn and alone, I hid from the deepest desire of my very fragile heart and pretended as if I was strong and capable and didn’t need anyone or anything.  At 34 I came to the end of my ability to run from the truth any longer.  Exhausted and wrecked in almost every way possible, I bent my knee and bowed my will to the Truth. My Rescuer pursued me and knocked on the door of my heart.  I was finally ready to abandon all pretense of self-sufficiency, so aware of my need for rescue, that I flung the door open wide and allowed God to storm in and break my heart wide open.  The relief I felt when I received Christ as my Lord and Savior was so deep, I felt it physically in my chest. It was the sensation of a deep, long-awaited exhale as I could finally loosen my grip and relax into everything I had ever hoped for.

My salvation was the beginning step of the undoing of the protective shell I had around my heart that has been accomplished over time as I have walked with Christ.  I now see that my deepest struggle in my faith walk (I am celebrating 15 years) has been the development of trust that He is who He says He is and loves in the way the Word details over and over again. 

• Matthew 28:20: Jesus said, "I will be with you always, to the end of the age."
• Hebrews 13:5: Be content with the things you have, for He has said, "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."
• Romans 8:38-39: Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any spiritual powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Further, I have come to believe in the deepest parts of my heart that His love applies to me.  To me personally, to Kathy Carlson, just as she is (sometimes, oftentimes desperately unlovable). My walk of faith has been a deepening series of victories, blessings and trials that have quite literally wrought in me the truth of the Truth.  Jesus is faithful and true.  And HE LOVES ME.  My little girl dreams have come true in the person of Christ.  He rode into the wreckage of my life and rescued me from the sins of others, my own sin and my own hardness of heart.  And He continually proves that He is everything He claims to be.  He has taught me to trust in His love and how to love Him back with all my heart has to offer.

The revelation of Christ who will one day ride into the whole world’s wreckage and lay claim to those He calls His own, in the victory of all victories, is the ultimate completion of the cry of every heart.  Call on Him today while there is time - He is your Faithful and True.  He is the completion of every longing of your heart.

Marriage Supper Culmination

Revelation 19     George Badeaux

Rev 19:7-9   Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"--for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.  And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

I rejoice at the thought of the marriage supper of the Lamb.  It will be the joyous outcome of the plan of God, conceived even before time began.  But for us, in the here and now, it is so easy to get consumed by the stuff of life.  Even in the following of God, we get focused on the vast array of ways to serve and honor our Lord, and the thousands of different ways we could improve our Christian walk.  We can so easily get focused on the minutia and miss the big picture.

The big picture includes at least these things.  God exists.  He created the heavens and the earth.  He is the source of, and the ultimate expression of: love, power, knowledge, goodness, righteousness, compassion, and grace.  He is worthy of our worship.  He created us with the freedom to choose to follow Him or do evil.  We did evil.  This evil separates us from God.  He made the way and paid the price to remove the barrier between us and Him through Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross.

Why?  The answer is something that I think has been overlooked by millions (including me…for over 30 years as a believer).  And the answer is more important than the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  It is more important because it is the reason for the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  The answer is His desire.

His desire, His longing, His heart’s yearning is for relationship with us. 

The culmination of all of history on Earth is the marriage supper of the Lamb.  This ultimate marriage supper is a joyous celebration of a change.  I am currently engaged to be married.  I long for, I yearn for, I can’t wait for the change: the marriage.  And it is not the ceremony I long for.  It is the change in the relationship: the change from loving but separate to loving and together.  Together in the closest human relationship possible.  The marriage supper of the Lamb will celebrate an even closer relationship, closer than we can imagine.

The big picture is: Immanuel, God with us.  But so often we think of this as only a baby in a manger.  Don’t get me wrong.  God in a manger as a baby may be the most important event in all the universe.  But “Immanuel, God with us” is so much bigger than the manger.  It is the central core theme of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  And, as in so many other things, the most important aspect is the heart.  God’s heart’s desire is to be with us in intimate relationship forever.  He desires us.  He desires you.   Yes…He desires close relationship with you!  His arms are open, and He desires for you to lean into His embrace every day.  Know that in your heart.  Rejoice!  Cry tears of joy!  There is no greater joy!

Immanuel, God with us.  The big picture.  The main point.  The heart of God!