The LORD God is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He has established laws in nature which govern all the processes of life–planting, growth, cultivation and harvest. These principles give us insight on how to conduct our lives, families, churches, and societies (to continue reading this essay, click on image above).
The New Heaven and the New Earth, Rev. 21.1-6
John’s apocalyptic vision reveals the culmination of God’s redemptive plan: a complete cosmic renewal where both heaven and earth are made new, and the corrupting presence of chaos (symbolized by the sea) is eliminated. The holy city, New Jerusalem, descends from heaven like a bride adorned for her wedding day, representing the perfected community of God’s people. A voice from the throne announces the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise—his dwelling place is now permanently among us human beings, establishing an intimate relationship unmediated by temple structures or priestly intermediaries. In this new reality, God personally wipes away every tear, and the devastating effects of the fallen world—death, mourning, crying, and pain—are permanently abolished. The One seated on the throne declares with divine authority that he is making everything new, commanding John to record these trustworthy and true promises. With the pronouncement “It is done,” God identifies himself as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, offering the water of life freely to all who thirst, signifying the completion of his redemptive work and the inauguration of eternal communion with his people.
Our Focus Today
The upcoming complete restoration, Revelation 21.4.
All suffering, death, mourning, crying, and pain will be eliminated as God wipes away every tear, bringing complete healing and restoration as the old order passes away.
Invocation
Compassionate Father, who promises to wipe away every tear from our eyes, I invite your comforting presence into my current sorrows and sufferings. I ask that you would give me a foretaste of the complete restoration that awaits your people. Grant me the courage to honestly acknowledge my pain and heartache before you, trusting that you see every tear and that none of our suffering is meaningless or beyond your redemptive purpose. Help me to trust you as I respond to the brokenness around me with compassionate action and with an unshakable hope in the day when the former things will have passed away. Amen.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Chronological Scripture Readings for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the entire Bible in one year in chronological order.
Thursday: Amos 7-9; 2 Kings 14.28-29; 15.6-29; 2 Chron. 26.22-23; Isa. 6
Psalms and Proverb for Today
These Scriptures allow us to read through the Psalms and Proverbs each month.
Thursday: Psalm 22, 52, 82, 112, 142 and Proverbs 22
The upcoming complete restoration, Revelation 21.4.
All suffering, death, mourning, crying, and pain will be eliminated as God wipes away every tear, bringing complete healing and restoration as the old order passes away.
Reflection
The promise that God himself will wipe away every tear reveals both his intimate compassion toward human suffering and his sovereign power to eliminate the causes of our suffering as well. God assures us that our pain is neither unseen nor beyond his ability to heal. The comprehensive list of things that will no longer be present—no more death, mourning, crying, or pain—reveals God’s intention to address every dimension of human brokenness, leaving no aspect of suffering unredeemed in his restored creation. Suffering is not an inherent, necessary part of existence but rather a temporary consequence of the fallen order that God will completely replace in the kingdom to come. We can now live with the resilient hope that God will ultimately defeat all discouragement and trauma, wiping away every tear arising from pain and grief.
Engaging God’s Word Today
In what specific ways does the promise of a future without death, mourning, crying, and pain bring comfort to us in the midst of our current struggles? How can the vision of our complete restoration change how we respond to our own suffering and to the suffering of others around us?
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, The Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God,
Begotten of the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God,
Begotten not created, of the same essence as the Father,
through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became human.
Who for us too, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.
The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who together with the Father and Son is worshiped and glorified.
Who spoke by the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sin,
and we look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Benediction
Holy Spirit, the one who comforts us in all things, may you strengthen us with hope in your present suffering, enabling us to endure with patience and courage what cannot yet be eliminated. May the promise of no more death, mourning, crying, or pain inspire me to acts of compassionate care that anticipate God’s ultimate healing of all creation. And may the assurance that the former things will pass away free me from fear and despair, filling me instead with joyful expectation of the complete restoration that awaits all who trust in Christ. Amen.
Scripture Memory for this season
Galatians 6.9-10 (ESV): Do Not Grow Weary in Doing Good
9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Scripture Engagement
As disciples of Jesus, the Churches of Christ the King strongly seek to engage the Scriptures to discover the centrality of Christ and his Kingdom in the prophetic and apostolic writings. You will find a rich treasure of resources on engaging Scripture at the Center for Scripture Engagement of Taylor University.
Book Reading and Reflection
YOUR HABITS ARE HOW YOU EMBODY YOUR IDENTITY
“More precisely, your habits are how you embody your identity. When you make your bed each day, you embody the identity of an organized person. When you write each day, you embody the identity of a creative person. When you train each day, you embody the identity of an athletic person.
The more you repeat a behavior, the more you reinforce the identity associated with that behavior. In fact, the word identity was originally derived from the Latin words essentitas, which means being, and identidem, which means repeatedly. Your identity is literally your “repeated beingness.” Whatever your identity is right now, you only believe it because you have proof of it. . . .
Of course, your habits are not the only actions that influence your identity, but by virtue of their frequency they are usually the most important ones. Each experience in life modifies your self-image, but it’s unlikely you would consider yourself a soccer player because you kicked a ball once or an artist because you scribbled a picture. As you repeat these actions, however, the evidence accumulates and your self-image begins to change. The effect of one-off experiences tends to fade away while the effect of habits gets reinforced with time, which means your habits contribute most of the evidence that shapes your identity. In this way, the process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.”
~ Clear, James, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Penguin Random House UK, 2018. Electronic Edition, Location 505.
Seedling Focus for the Season: Do Not Grow Weary in Doing Good
Description: The harvest of righteousness comes when we do not give up on doing good, even when it is difficult, Galatians 6.9-10.
On Eagles Wings Prayer Focus: A Long Time Comin‘
Ascension of the Lord: The Promise of the Holy Spirit, Acts 1.1-11.
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