The grace of the Lord Jesus be with ALL the saints. Amen. Revelation 22:21
Just as Genesis is the book of beginnings, Revelation is the book of endings, bringing the Bible full circle. Scripture begins and ends in Paradise. The devil isn’t in the first or the last two chapters of Scripture, but the Tree of Life is. In Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the earth; in Revelation 21-22, He recreates them. In the Bible’s opening scenes, humanity is perfect, sinless, happy, immortal, and in constant fellowship with God – and so in the final ones.
Between the beginning and the ending of Scripture are 1185 chapters that tell us the story of the ages – how sin and suffering entered the human race and how God loved us and became a man to save us through the shed blood of the Lamb. Though written in sixty-six installments by forty plus authors over 1400 years in three languages on three continents, the Bible’s story is consistent and cohesive, unfolding like a master plot of a novel, and centered around one person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we come to the final paragraph of Revelation, we have the closing credits of Scripture: the Last Blessing (v. 14), the Last Invitation (v.17), the last Warning (vv. 18-19), the Last Promise (V. 20), the last Prayer (v. 20), and the last Benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.”
The word saints encompasses everyone washed in the blood of Christ, the word ALL affirms its all-inclusiveness, and the final Amen punctuates it with a divine exclamation point. There is no better ending for a book, so ….
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you! Amen.
Merlin now: Closely associated, for me at least, with the Revelation’s ending stated above, are the words of benediction from Jude 24-25 that many of us heard each Sunday concluding worship service prompting introspection, which too often for me, concluded in guilt, rather than joy. Strange, I do not recall Jesus being in that mix, just God. Please understand though, I’m not here assigning blame anywhere, for as a young lad I knew full well my future assignment, much as did Robert Boyle in Monday’s post, but I compromised and refused surrender, squandering personal time and resources.
I’ve also realized many of you gifted 4-part Mennos resonated more meaningfully with hymnal #606 in similar fashion, rather than with the Jude benediction. But, I being the more verbally inclined, gravitated to the benediction, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”
But here we are on this New Year Eve Day, and I just can’t close up shop here without making sure you’re not without hope, whoever you are, wherever you’ve been, are about to go, or don’t want to go. For me, the past year has been quite what I deserved, and that dear reader, was the exact impetus for my surrender to seek the restoration needed so I now can approach New Year’s Eve in better stead than ever prior. Now, don’t ever expect me to write about this year’s events in a blog post, but seriously, since I’m somewhat acquainted with 95% of you all, for if you’re seriously discouraged with no relief in sight, and you are totally without an ear, text me (I do not answer unidentified calls) your name and a sentence or two, and I’ll call you back so you can talk; I’ll listen.
Now, may I give you some wise words I’ve gained from David Jeremiah because what He is saying below has basically taken me all my life to learn, and how my bummer year was transformed into the best yet, and it is my sincere hope that the process replicates for you, if such is indicated. So here goes.
Just Perhaps that Missing Piece in Your Life’s Puzzle is Christ?
“In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; for you are complete in Him.”
Colossians 2:9-10
Insight into who you are and why you are here is available only from the Creator, because you were both created “by and for Him.” In fact, He wrote your Owner’s Manual. The missing piece in your life is not merely more education, or better therapy, for if you do not yet intimately know Jesus Christ, it is imperative you consider right now placing Him dead center where He belongs, in the middle of all those endlessly frustrating vocational details, cultural expectations, self-imposed criticisms, addictive behaviors, soured relationships, broken promises, etc.
Understand dear reader, God created you uniquely for Himself. He created a vacuum within each of us; whether in our spirit, soul, & body, or heart, mind, & will, that simply cannot be filled or satisfied by or with anything or anyone else, EXCEPT HIM! While you stuff in all that pleasure and all the madness of this age trying to fill the vacuum or bring meaning in to continually sucking-air-life, I’m just telling you, you’ll never quite grasp that deeply satisfying AHA moment. But you may well remember the song, or its bottom line, “Is That All There Is? Trusting Jesus Christ to be your missing centerpiece sets something very unique in motion in your spirit when you say a simple prayer receiving Him into your life.
That simple surrender allows Jesus to come and live within you. God loves you more than any other person can or will, on this planet; He knows you intimately. He has a plan for your life. He wants you to know who you are and why you are here at this very moment in history to fulfill your destiny. And when you will put your trust fully in Him, He will give the needed perspective in your life. You were created in God’s image, so you are really only yourself while you are in relationship with God. When you let God take control of your life through His Son, your life begins to experience a new dimension of deeply satisfying meaning.
Again, if you need to talk, text me @ 330 465-2565, What’s App, Signal.
Happy New Year’s to each of you in all of His life’s dimensions expressly designed just for you!