The Joy of Glory

*SVCC Easter Service tomorrow at 10:30am.  You are invited to bring bread (no nuts) for our communion tables to overflow in celebration. You are also invited to bring flowers that we will use during the latter portion of our service to adorn the cross. Hope to see you on Easter!

Revelation 21:22-27 (click here)
And 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 gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it… (Revelation 21:22-24)

Reflection
The temple was the place where heaven and earth met…where God and mankind met.

In the end…there will be no need for a temple…why? Because heaven and earth will literally meet…and so will God and mankind.

We will be present with the Lord! He will be the temple! He will be the meeting of heaven and earth! He will be the one to whom we go! And he will be the source of all we need in the new heavens and the new earth! Even as the sun currently makes life possible on this planet… he will sustain all life by the light of his glory!

All nations will come to this “temple” to worship! We will “walk” by its light… in other words we will live in the light of God’s glory.

Can you even imagine it? Think of the moments in life when it has felt most like heaven and earth were meeting. Think of the moments when you have felt closest to the Lord. Now amplify all of that to the extreme and make it permanent!

Christ is our temple! He is the meeting point of heaven and earth, and one day, through him, heaven and earth WILL MEET! PERMANENTLY!

We will meet God through Christ!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

*Good Friday service tonight at SVCC, 6:30-7:30pm

Revelation 21:1-8 (click here)
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:4-5)

Reflection
On Good Friday… death died in the death of Christ.

That’s not just a fun sentence to write…nor is it just a fun thought to think about…it’s rock solid reality!

So why do we still experience tears, pain, and death?

We live in the midst of what can be called the “already, not-yet.” There are ways in which we experience the kingdom of God already…but there are also many ways it is not yet here in full.

Already Christ has defeated our sin, but we have not yet been completely glorified.
Already Christ has defeated the devil, but he has not yet been banished to hell.
Already Christ has defeated death, but death has not yet been completely removed.

We live in the “already, not yet.”

But the good news of the Gospel is that the “not yet” will not always be the “not yet.” The day is coming when it will be transformed into the “right now.” Jesus’ death and resurrection are the beginning of God’s work of making all things new and they stand as the testimony that he will complete this work!

He will wipe away our tears, end our pain, and banish death itself!

He is making all things new…including me…and including you! He will bring this great work to completion and this is our great hope! It is a rock solid hope! A guaranteed hope! You know why? Because…

On Good Friday death died in the death of Christ!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.
*On Easter at SVCC everyone is invited to bring bread (no nuts) for our communion tables to overflow in celebration. You are also invited to bring flowers that we will use during the latter portion of our service to adorn the cross. Hope to see you on Easter!

1 Corinthians 6:14-20 (click here)
And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

…you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:14 and 20)

Reflection
Resurrection.

Many Christians miss the teaching of Scripture that Jesus is not the only one who will be raised from the dead. No. Jesus was the first to be permanently raised from the dead, never to die again!

Through his death he defeated death…and not just for him, but for all who trust in him. His resurrection proves that reality! His resurrection guarantees our resurrection! The day will come when Christ returns and God raises all who trust in him from the dead.

You see, when Jesus saved you, he didn’t just save part of you… your soul. No. He saved all of you! That includes your body! Your body itself has been saved from the result of sin…death.

That truth has massive implications and not just for eternity, but for now! Your body has been purchased by Jesus’ blood just as much as your spirit! You are not your own, your very body belongs to the Lord and should be used to express that truth!

Do we use our bodies to glorify God or to satisfy ourselves? That question punches me in the gut every time I think about it.

I belong to the Lord. Does the way I live, even the way I use my body, preach that reality to the world?

Resurrection… it is not just an old truth about what happened with Jesus… nor is it just a future truth about what will happen with us… it is a present truth that changes the way we live right now.

Live in light of Jesus’ resurrection…and your own.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.