A NEW THAT DOESN’T GROW OLD Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth… I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem… Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. —Revelation 21:1-2, 27 New in this world starts becoming old as soon as it is created or in your possession. A new car is no longer new, a new baby is no longer new, a new house is no longer new, new clothes are no longer new, a newlywed couple is no longer newlywed… all these new…

THE RESCUED RESCUE! Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. —Revelation 20:6 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. —Revelation 20:14-15 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, —Colossians 1:13 Jesus, who rescues us…

BE RIGHT, DO RIGHT These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord. —Zechariah 8:16-17 The Lord does hate things. He hates the plotting of “evil against each other” and the “love to swear falsely.” Instead we are to “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts” and when this is not happening He is very well aware of it and hates it. Here are some other things…

RELATIONAL DILIGENCE This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God. —Zechariah 6:15 But without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. —Hebrews 11:6 This is not some haphazard, occasional, when I feel like it I will follow the Lord type walk. No, instead there is an attentiveness, a devotion, an active faith in this “race marked out for us” as we keep “our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 1-2). As we obey Him, as we trust Him we will…

VICTORY IN JESUS! They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death… Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. —Revelation 12:11, 17 Those who have “called on the Name of the Lord” for salvation have overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of their testimony. Those who truly follow after Jesus “keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about…

HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER! “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” —Revelation 11:15 Christmas… the celebration of Christ… and for those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have called on His Name for salvation, this is only the beginning of the celebration. The Lord God Almighty will reign forever and ever. Got that child of God? You are in a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28). It is an eternal kingdom that we are in! (Psalm 145:13; Daniel 4:3; II Peter 1:11). What is the greatest Christmas…

OF UNFAITHFULNESS AND JUDGMENT Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. —Micah 3:9-12 Leaders “who despise justice and distort all that is right”…

DON’T BE A JONAH! Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.” —Jonah 4:6-8 The Lord God provided: -a message for Jonah to preach -a storm to redirect…

RESPOND TO HIM! Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, “ ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against…

GOD’S LOVE & HATE Hate evil, love good. —Amos 5:15 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. —Romans 12:9 Look at the love of God toward us. We are told “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:19-20). When no man could redeem us (Psalm 49:7-10), Jesus did (I Peter 1:18-19) and nothing in all creation can separate us from His love (Romans 8:39). God is love (I John 4:8) and we are to love like He does. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBYCzvThB1A Yet, God hates evil and “Let those who…