Christ has died; Christ is rise; Christ will come again!

Revelation 1: 4b-8: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (NRSV)

At least once a month, those who worship regularly in a church read one of two sources of this truth; "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again." This is part of the Communion ritual, "The Great Thanksgiving" that prepares us to receive the body and blood of Jesus in our sacrament of the Last Supper. The other is said whenever an affirmation of faith is used, the most common being The Apostles' Creed which has the words, "from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead." This passage from Revelation comes as a source of strength to our faith in that God who created everything and is in charge of everything, will complete all things according to His will. Jesus who was crucified and Whom we declare as alive and risen, will, at the end of time, come again. It is a message to all who believe (it comes from "the seven spirits who are before His throne," indicating the wholeness and completeness of God's plan), in the form of God's grace and peace. It also comes from Jesus, "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." It again states what we should all know about our faith, that Jesus loves us. Jesus freed us from our sins, and that Jesus made us to be His kingdom, as priests serving God; "to God be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen."

No better way to start a day than to hear and know again that we are loved by Jesus. No better information can we receive than that we have been liberated from the prisons of our sins, and that we belong somewhere, to a great thing we call the Kingdom of God. Our faith further believes what we said above, that Jesus will come with the clouds and every one will see His return, good and evil alike, making some glad and some not glad at all. The declaration from God is, "I am the Alpha and the Omega. This from the One who is and who was and who is to come, God almighty, amen.

May we face all we need to face with joy and expectation and complete trust in God. Amen!

PRAYER: Creator and Redeemer of all that is, in You we find that which we need to face the living of this day. Speak to our hearts again and make us strong. This we pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde