This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
– 1 John 4:10 (VOICE)
I made you. I am now your husband. My name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. I am the Holy One of Israel. I have set you free. I am the God of the whole earth.
– Isaiah 54:5 (NIRV)
And then I’ll marry you for good—forever! I’ll marry you true and proper, in love and tenderness. Yes, I’ll marry you and neither leave you nor let you go. You’ll know me, God, for who I really am.
– Hosea 2:19,20 (MSG)
Now is the time for joy and happiness. He deserves all the glory we can give Him. For the wedding feast has begun; the marriage of the Lamb to His bride has commenced, and His bride has prepared herself for this glorious day.
She had been given the finest linens to wear, linens bright and pure, woven from the righteous deeds of the saints.
– Revelation 19:7,8 (VOICE)
You’ll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of God. You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your Builder marries you, And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you.
Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
– Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Let us go to His dwelling place, let us worship at His footstool
– Psalm 132:7 (NIV)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
– Revelation 21:3 (NIV)
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.
– Psalm 27:4 (NIV)
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
– Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in Him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies.
– Philippians 4:4-9 (MSG)
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
– 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver… we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.
– Psalm 66:10-12 (NIV)
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…
– Isaiah 43:1-3 (NIV)
Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
– Revelation 22:1 (NLT)
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.
– Exodus 3:2 9NLT)
The Eternal went on ahead to guide them during the day in a cloud shaped like a pillar; at night He appeared to them in a fire shaped like a pillar to light their way. So they were able to travel by day and by night.
– Exodus 13:21 (VOICE)
The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, believers) say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take and drink the water of life without cost.
– Revelation 22:17 (AMP)
As evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.Then He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey Him!”
– Mark 4:35-41 (NLT)
Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and He won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God Himself is Fire!
– Hebrews 12:28,29 (MSG)
You make Your messengers like the winds; the breeze whispers Your words, Your servants are like the fire and flame.
– Psalm 104:4 (VOICE)
Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
– Jeremiah 23:29 (NLT)
With joy in each step, you will drink deeply from the springs of salvation.
– Isaiah 12:3 (VOICE)
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usualand commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God,come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel and rescued His servants! They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
– 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
– Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting You. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to You.
– Psalm 143:8 (NLT)
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.
– Lamentations 3:22,23 (NLT)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him the name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess “Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,” to the glory of God our Father!
– Philippians 2:9-11 (VOICE)
For it is written, “As I live, so I promise,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow down to Me. Every tongue will confess to God.”
– Romans 14:11 (VOICE)
I have bound myself with an oath. A word has gone out from my righteous mouth that will not be recalled, “Every knee will bow to me and every tongue will swear allegiance.”
– Isaiah 45:23 (GW)
…He has planted eternity in the human heart…
– Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)
…each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment…
– Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)
I saw a Great White Throne and the One Enthroned. Nothing could stand before or against the Presence, nothing in Heaven, nothing on earth. And then I saw all the dead, great and small, standing there—before the Throne! And books were opened. Then another book was opened: the Book of Life. The dead were judged by what was written in the books, by the way they had lived. Sea released its dead, Death and Hell turned in their dead. Each man and woman was judged by the way he or she had lived. Then Death and Hell were hurled into Lake Fire. This is the second death—Lake Fire. Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire.
– Revelation 20:11-15 (MSG)
…when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power.
What the world doesn’t need is Christians who tolerate the complacency of their own lives.
– Francis Chan
So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.”
But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
– Luke 15:20-24 (NLT)
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
– Romans 2:4 (NLT)
Those I love I also correct and discipline. Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me, and turn back.
God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.
– Jeremy Taylor
Forever
is a long time
and there is no one
I’d rather spend forever with
than You,
my beautiful God
Uninhibited praise
will be Yours
Untainted cherishing
will be ours
And I long for the eternity
that my mind can’t fathom
even as I walk
through time
And then I realize
that now
is part of always
Time is swallowed up
by eternal
All is present
And even as I wrestle
with the dust
I will still seek to praise You
uninhibited
And I will choose to cherish You
every day
As I look up with,
“Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
– Susie Stewart
With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever.
– 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 (CEV)
For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.
– C.S. Lewis
I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home, where we will be together.
– John 14:3 (VOICE)
If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy., the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
– C.S. Lewis
When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.
– John 14:3 (NLT)
I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:
Salvation to our God on His Throne! Salvation to the Lamb! All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing:
Oh, Yes! The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, The honor and power and strength, To our God forever and ever and ever! Oh, Yes!
On the subject of tears: God gave us the ability to cry for a reason — so if you feel sad and feel like crying — do so and do so as long as you can —- let every last tear fall – don’t repress them —- tears are the way God heals our hearts —- and afterwards you feel very refreshed — kind of like a good rain after a long dry spell. Oh, and never ever tell someone not to cry — so damaging to the spirit! And don’t say “I am sorry you are sad” —- sadness is a natural human emotion and nothing to feel shame about! I had a good cry on Thursday and I felt so good and joyful afterward. I will be missing my Drew coming down from Boulder this Thanksgiving —- He can not come down from heaven but I can go up — and what a glorious day that will be! Psalm 126:8 Those who sow in tears will reap songs of joy —– and that is exactly what happened!
– Sandy Marthaler
Thank you, Sandy, for your beautiful post! ❤
Then I saw a new Heaven and a new earth, for the first Heaven and the first earth had disappeared and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride dressed in beauty for her husband. Then I heard a great voice from the throne crying, “See! The home of God is with men, and He will live among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death shall be no more, and never again shall there be sorrow or crying or pain. For all those former things are past and gone.”
– Revelation 21:3-5 (PHILLIPS)
Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
– Psalm 126:5 (NLT)
Jesus burst into tears.
– John 11:35 (ISV)
David got up from his hiding place beside the boulder, then fell on his face to the ground—three times prostrating himself! And then they kissed one another and wept, friend over friend, David weeping especially hard.
Jonathan said, “Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in God’s name, saying, ‘God will be the bond between me and you, and between my children and your children forever!’”
As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you.
– Ephesians 4:1 (VOICE)
You see, they go on and on telling us the story of how you welcomed us when we were introduced to you; how you turned toward God and realigned your life to serve the one true living God—leaving your idols to crumble in the dust—
– 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (VOICE)
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
– Philippians 1:27 (NLT)
…and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
– Isaiah 58:10, 11 (NIV)
Then in my vision I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, the living creatures and the elders. There were myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, crying in a great voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honour and glory and blessing!”
The Lord thundered from heaven. The Most High made His voice heard.
– 2 Samuel 22:14 (GW)
Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I’m stunned, I can’t catch my breath. Listen to it! Listen to His thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of His voice. He lets loose His lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole. In their wake, the thunder echoes His voice, powerful and majestic. He lets out all the stops, He holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice— His word thundering so wondrously, His mighty acts staggering our understanding.
– Job 37:1-5 (MSG)
For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
– Psalm 27:5 (NIV)
The blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder. Moses spoke, and God answered with a voice that rumbled like thunder.
– Exodus 19:19 (VOICE)
The Eternal thundered in the heavens; the Highest spoke; His voice rumbled [in the midst of hail and lightning].
– Psalm 18:13 (VOICE)
I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.
Susie Stewart 