Worship where?

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Revelation 21:15-22 ESV)

What a beautiful city! This sounds like a place that would be great to visit and see because the beauty of it would always be shining forth!

Rare jewels all over the place, being used as the foundations of the walls of the city. And pearls as the gates! This is one beautiful place and the best part is we get to spend eternity there!

No the best part is what comes after this verse and is set up with the last verse…

There is no temple! There is no proper place to worship God, because everywhere is the right place to worship God! God is so ever present that we are always with Him, that is the best part! He is right there for us to be with. And we don’t have to go anywhere special to worship Him, we can worship Him in the bedazzled streets!

So take it to the streets that God is everywhere and wants to be with all of creation!

Forever…

The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore. (Psalm 93, ESV)

The Lord reigns from the beginning to the end of time…

The world will never be moved, the Lord has established it and is enthroned forever.And we can believe and hope and trust in what the Lord has told us. The holiness of the Lord benefits our house forever. He has established the world and He is in control of everything that happens. He has given us His grace and enlivens our existence in ways we will never be able to do on our own. Praise His name forever and lift up His holy name!

Do you want to be healed?

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, Do you want to be healed? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me. Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk. And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. (John 5:1-3, 5-9 ESV)

This is one of the many healing stories in the New Testament. Here Jesus heals an invalid. But that is not what strikes me about this story…

Jesus asks the man, “do you want to be healed?” what would you say to Jesus if He asked you if you wanted to be healed?

Many of us are content in our disease. And all of us have dis ease… But do we want to be healed of it? We are able to function and get attention because of it. We have learned to use our disease to our advantage. We are scared to be healed. We don’t k ow if we can make it with out our crutch.

So what would you say to Jesus, “Do you want to be healed?”

The man made excuses for why he wasn’t healed… He did not tell Jesus he wanted to be healed he gave Him the excuse for why he was not healed. The man learned to live in his disease and was scared to be out of it… And notice the man has no name because he is you, or you are him…

So do you want to be healed? Give up your disease and live in the life that God has prepared for you? Are you ready to trust God and Jesus and let go of what you have known and leap into the wonderful life that waits before your?

Give up your disease and trust Jesus!

Unexpected

He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10 ESV)

Jesus entered the city and sought out the person that the religious people thought was not one who should be with Jesus.

How many times has this happened to you?

The old joke is true.

One day a man walked into heaven and saw all the people who had done him wrong. They were the ones who bullied him… He looked at St Peter and asked “how did these people make it in here?” And St Peter said, “my son many of them are wondering why you are here.”

Jesus does the unexpected and looks for those we think are beyond His reach. Jesus does the unexpected…

Are you ready for Him to do the unexpected in your life?