JESUS, Almighty God, Eternal - without beginning or end, Creator, Sustainer, and Highest King of the Universe, left the glories and joys of heaven and face to face fellowship with the Father, to begin the process of making all things new. JESUS, whom the Father appointed to bring justice for our sins with His death, lived sinlessly, performed miracles in which His creation immediately and completely submitted to His will and power - JESUS quieted storms, cast out demons, raised a man dead after four days, healed many with a touch, a word. JESUS, died. Then, JESUS, rose. JESUS, worthy of the highest praise - IS RISEN INDEED. JESUS, in His rising, obliterated the power of Satan. He conquered sin and death! JESUS, having been given all authority from the Father, has appointed us to proclaim this good news of His death in our place, for the forgiveness of our sins, making us new creations, if we will turn from our sin and to Him and His glorious grace, alone. JESUS, has appointed us to make disciples and to teach His followers to observe all of His commandments, which are always for our good and the good of others. JESUS, having loved us and the Father and accomplishing the Father's will, went back to the Father and the glories of heaven. He left the Holy Spirit as our Helper, who resides in us and sealed us as God's own, forever, so we cannot be lost to Him by any means whatsoever. JESUS, who now intercedes for us face to face before the Father when Satan accuses us; has also prepared a place for us in His glorious heavenly city and will return for us, at the end of the age, cutting off the greatest outbreak of persecution against the Jewish nation and His followers, of all time. JESUS, at His return, will send out His angels to gather and catch up His children - those who have died will go first, their bodies being raised, and then those who are alive at His coming will follow and all His own will meet Him in the air, being changed in a moment, given bodies, just like His resurrection body. Immediately following will be a time of wrath and judgment on the earth. Those left behind who are not protected by God and who give their worship and allegiance to a man who will declare himself as God when he stops Jewish sacrifices, will face destruction and death and will then be raised themselves, but not to eternal life in the wonderful presence of God, but to eternal separation, continuing in rebellion, experiencing forever darkness, alone, with unquenchable thirst, but not for God...for water that will never come.
JESUS - we celebrate You, our Living Water! We honor You, our Great Shepherd! We exalt You! We magnify You! We proclaim You KING of Kings and LORD of Lords! WE LIFT YOU HIGH, ABOVE ALL THINGS! And we love You, and we thank You. And though we have not seen You yet, we live our lives by faith, by believing Your word and acting on it, no matter how we feel because we know it pleases You and produces a good result. Not perfectly, but as we seek You, we make progress. We worship You and we watch expectantly for Your return - when we will worship You face to face, forever, completely redeemed, and completely new. Death and tears, sorrow and sadness, gone. And we will walk the new earth with You, worshipping You, serving You, enjoying Your presence.
