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John to the seven churches that are in Asia. 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, 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, and madeus to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 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. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1: 4b-8)
Happy day to you, dear Friend! It's as if I don't want to eat too much because on Thursday, well, you know! But I'm excited that a day of giving thanks to our God in Heaven is followed by a celebration of His Son as King of Kings! This passage comes from the Apostle John from his exiled on the Island of Patmos, where the Lord gave him this vision of what was to come; and among the event listed, Jesus is coming back!
The realm is Heaven. We know it also as glory. It is a pure, holy, unblemished realm. It is a spiritual realm that we cannot truly comprehend nor make sense of; it is an anticipated reality that will both bless and shock us when it comes. For now, we have had events or moments when we were just dumbstruck with the awesomeness of a blessing. The Walk to Emmaus for me was such an event. To be able to baptize new believers or newborn infants is such an event. To pray a blessing over someone ill and then to see results that can come only from God is another. So, in that spirit of knowing that what we are hearing, though difficult to truly and fully comprehend, is going to happen! And see Jesus as John sees Him. Jesus is (remember how His Father announced his name to Moses? "I am.") Jesus was on the earth; seen by many eyewitnesses and gospels written about His life and ministry, death and resurrection. Jesus is to come. This we believe and affirm every time we remember His sacrifice at His table. Jesus is the faithful witness to a living God, a loving God; a God of mercy and compassion who expects the same from us in our dealings with others. Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. Jesus died and three days later rose from the dead and is still alive. Compare that to Lazarus, who was dead, Jesus raised him up, but Lazarus later died again. The same for all who were raised to life from the dead; it was only for a time, then they died again. Jesus arose from the grave and is still alive. Jesus is the ruler of the kings on the earth. No matter what these kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers are up to; Jesus is up to something better and eternal! I read just this morning a quote that I share that relates to this statement: "God is at work in the mess. That's the message of the Bible." There will be an end to what we may term as unreal or unfair or evil; God through the ruler of the kings of the earth, will one day be the only one sitting on the throne that really matters. Until then, our prayers, our faith, our continued work for the good of all people, will make the waiting better.
Jesus is coming in the clouds. All people will see Him. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Jesus is God. Jesus is our God and Savior.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we prepare to give thanks, prepare our hearts and lives to serve You with the hope that all we have read today is coming true. You will set up Jesus as King and for now, we trust in You and Your presence and involvement in "the mess" we see all around; that's the message of the Bible and that's the faith we have; through Jesus our Lord we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show the hope in you to those around you who need a glimpse of the good that can be theirs!
Eradio Valverde
