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And in the Spirit He carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. 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. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. 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 there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 NRSV)
A tremendous Tuesday to you dear Friend! I pray this finds you blessed and rejoicing! May our time spent with God be wonderful and a blessing. And, as I stressed on Sunday in worship, time spent with God should be sweet, for God's word is sweet with His love and grace for us all. Enjoy that and share it. A sad prayer update, we received word that Mr. Ronnie Baker died yesterday. Our prayers for Florence and family, and the dear friends whom Ronnie loved and loved him. Also, prayers for the family of Mr. Ruben Silva, a layperson from Mission, who did some great things for God during his life. Ruben was part of a ten man team I took to Puerto Rico to start the Walk to Emmaus in Spanish there, and then later in the Rio Grande Conference in Texas and New Mexico. Ruben also started a ministry of taking drinking water to a neighborhood where it was not readily available. Today, his family lays him to rest. Pray for his wife, Raquel, and those who loved him. Pray for one another and pray for yourselves.
Chief Patrick Dalager was an awesome man and a great chief of police for the City of Mission. He claimed to be Irish-Mexican and he loved all people. He also loved working alongside the clergy of Mission. He would say to me in a half-joking, half-sad tone, "Reverend, you and I will always have a job." Indeed. The church stands in each town as a sign of what could be and what should be, and a reminder that we are not there yet. A good police force also works alongside its citizens as a protector and a servant force, keeping the order and peace of the community. A police officer stands as a reminder that not all citizens have yet reached a level of responsibility and mature citizenship, and that there are some who will break the law who must be brought to justice. The thought of a city or town with no church is a scary one. The thought of a city, like the holy city Jerusalem with NO temple must have caught John's attention as the Spirit had led him there. Yet, John understood there is no need for a temple because the temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb! What a precious image. And, John also looks up and sees no sun or moon, and again realizes that the glory of God is its light, and the lamp is the Lamb. The light of God and Jesus will shine so brightly that there will be no darkness at all. Getting from one place to another is covered in light. The city gates are always open because there will be no night. Those entering the city will also bring into it the glory and honor of the nations. Yet, listen carefully, "But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." The Book of Life will contain the names of those whose names have been written in there by Jesus Christ Himself upon their surrendering themselves to Him and His grace. John continues with descriptions of things that are so awesome and so beyond our ability to understand. Can you imagine a river made of crystal flowing out from the throne of God? Can you imagine seeing the throne of God with God himself on it? On either side of the river are the trees of life with twelve kinds of fruit, each repressing the twelve tribes of Israel. The tree once forbidden is now present and accessible, the garden has been restored! Can you imagine that the leaves of this tree are for "the healing of the nations.?" The differences on earth that once ripped nations apart, internally and externally, will be healed! No more war! Welcome to the realm of eternal peace, life, love, and joy!
And John writes, "Nothing accursed will be found there any more. God will be worshiped in wonderful ways that are not possible now on earth. Worship will be face-to-face with God Himself, and His name will be on the forehead of those who have been invited. Remember those who have rejected God will have numbers on their foreheads. In other words, we want God's name on us, not the enemy's number! Now the celebration continues; no more night, the need for other things that radiate light will be gone, for the Lord God will be their light, and together with God, all who are blessed by the Lamb will reign forever and ever.
Randy Alcorn, in his marvelous book, Heaven, writes that we who enter Heaven will be assigned work and tasks, and reigning is among those. His vision of the reality of heaven also includes what the Bible stresses over and over again, that the earth will be made new. I have to confess that many of us for so long have had a concept of heaven being this lofty realm of clouds and angels, and we have overlooked that the scriptures speak of a New Earth along with a New Heaven. How we will travel between them is not explained. The old adage was "Don't worry about the temperature of Hell nor the furniture in Heaven; seek to be among those ready to enter the good place." Also, many ask, when and how is Jesus coming? Jesus Himself said He did not know because only the Father knows, but I add, just be ready now, while still serving the Lord with that which He has entrusted to us.
John has shared enough to give us the evidence he saw of a real place called Heaven. He also shared again the need for several things which I will recap here; That we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That by surrendering to Him, He has written our name in the Book of Life. Also we must not practice things that we know to be abominations or falsehoods before the Lord. Only the pure will enter into the pure area of life eternal.
PRAYER: Loving God, may the peace and the joy of knowing You as our Lord comfort and keep us. May we continue to seek to serve You in ways that bring others to You. May we seek to avoid that which may blemish us. Make us carriers of life and hope. May our hearts be truly Yours. Let me be one who works willingly alongside others who want earth a little like Heaven above now. And this prayer of faith I lift up in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live in such a way that people can see Heaven here on earth in you!
Blessings of love,
Eradio Valverde
Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, can be ordered by clicking here: https://amzn.to/2VU9935
