eternal life – Page 6

John 3:1-21 💜 Come to the Light

What a grand passage to kick off our theme, “Salvation, Forgiveness, and New Life.” I’ve always liked Nicodemus and how he was seeking truth. He went right to the source, Jesus. Seeking Jesus would not have been a popular choice for someone in his position, so he had to hide in the darkness of night.

Oh to have been a witness to such a conversation! Nicodemus must have had some great questions when approached Jesus with the openness to learn. He recognized that God was with Jesus, but did he recognize him as God’s son? I’m sure we only are given a small glimpse into that life changing conversation.

Psalm 23 💜 My Shepherd

Read Psalm 23

Jesus with his lambs, in a field with mountains and stream

I love this Psalm. It paints yet another picture of our wonderful Creator. He shepherds us and cares for us more than we could ever imagine. His grace is without limit. “I have all that I need.”

There is so much richness to this psalm, I could probably write a whole series of reflections on different sections. Take some time today to read through this a couple time if you can. How is it speaking to your heart? How do you see God a little differently when you see him as your Shepherd?

Revelation 22:1-6 – Return to Eden

Read Revelation 22:1-6

Does this sound wonderful? “A river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Most of the rivers we encounter these days are murky and often times smelly. The water of life, referring to eternal life is perpetually flowing without fear of pollution or running dry. Jesus referred to this “water of life” when he was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well. Remember his words, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

We do know who is preparing this for us. We know the source of this living water. It is flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. We will be forever nourished by the water and the fruit of the tree of life. It’s like the circle has completed itself. The tree of life was in the garden when Adam and Eve fell into temptation. They and their ancestors were banned from the blessings of this tree because of the curse of evil. In the end, evil has been demolished and all will be restored to what was originally intended.

Revelation 20:7-15 – Satan’s Defeat!

Read Revelation 20:7-15

That’s quite a headline! Satan’s Defeat! Hallelujah! Amen! We can all rejoice and be glad. But there are some challenging parts to today’s reading we should not overlook. First of all, Satan is set free from his 1000 year captivity (or however long this represents). There was no prison reform for Satan. In fact, if I were to guess, he came out stronger, angrier, and craftier than ever.

After all of that, we have these words of comfort. “Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Such a fate, it couldn’t have happened to a “nicer” bunch! Forever banished. It makes you wonder why there was the 1000-year imprisonment in the first place. Again, time and space is not literal. God had his reasons.

Proverbs 19:15-29 – Fear the Lord!

Read Proverbs 19:15-29

I came across a great explanation of what it means to fear the Lord by brother Jonathan Crosby. He says, “The fear of the LORD is belief in the Creator God of the Bible with an awestruck consciousness of His glory and greatness and a loving desire to obey all He requires to please and worship Him and avoid disappointing Him in any way. It is like the humble adoration and affection that good children give a loving yet authoritative father.”

Think of this as we unpack the verse for today, verse 23. It reads, “Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.” Unfortunately, this security does not mean we won’t encounter troubles and challenges in this life. The promise here is that when we fear the Lord, we have life with him forever. It is then that we are forever safe and secure, protected from harm.