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How Fortunate Are We?
Andrea Lende • June 11, 2020
Revelation 22:21
How Fortunate Are We?
Daily Word:
Revelation 22:21
“The grace (blessing and favor) of the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) be with all the saints (God’s holy people, those set apart for God, to be as it were, exclusively His). Amen (so let it be!)”
The last verse in the last chapter of the last book in the Bible is significant.
The first four books in the New Testament are about Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.
And the last verse in the Bible refers to the gift we have received through Christ’s sacrifice – grace.
Grace in this last verse means blessing and favor.
The blessing and favor of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
This grace, blessing, and favor is given to all believers.
How fortunate are we to receive such wonderful gifts from God?
The Lord doesn’t have to give us things like grace.
He owes us nothing.
He doesn’t have to bless us.
He doesn’t have to give us favor.
But He does.
He gives us all these things.
He planned from the beginning of time to sacrifice His Son to make us His people.
To have relationship with us.
To bless us.
I am amazed at His goodness.
It surpasses anything we know of here on this earth.
If that weren’t enough the end of the last verse in the Bible says, “those set apart for God, to be as it were, exclusively His). Amen (so let it be!)”.
To be exclusively His.
It takes my breath away to think that the God of all creation wants me to be exclusively His.
There can be nothing more to desire on this earth.
When I think of exclusivity, I think about loving exclusively.
And when two people here on earth love each other exclusively, they want to do things for one another.
They want to give good gifts to one another.
They want to bless one another.
They favor one another.
And they want to send favor with the other everywhere they go.
This is but a small idea of the kind of love the Lord has for us.
My spirit is encouraged by this last verse in the last chapter of the last book in the Bible.
Today I choose to be blessed, highly favored, and exclusively the Lord’s and I am ever so thankful that Jesus died so that I am gifted grace by the Almighty God.
May you find that you are blessed, highly favored, and exclusively the Lord’s today and every day.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for sending Your Son to live and die for me so that I could be fully Yours. Thank You for His sacrifice, Father. Thank You that You allowed such an atrocity to happen to Your Son so that I could come to You and have relationship with You. Thank You for the ever-flowing grace that is upon me because You can see me, know me, and love me as perfect in Your sight. Thank You for every blessing You bestow upon me, Lord. Thank You for choosing me to be Yours. Thank You for calling me close to You, Father. Thank You for not letting me go and be separate and apart from You. Thank You for the favor You rest upon me every day. And thank You for wanting me to be exclusively Yours. May I worship You all the days of my life. May I sit at Your feet and be filled with Your Holy Spirit. May You soften my heart and bend my will to Yours, Lord. Keep me Yours. Keep me Yours forever. Help me serve You fully and serve Your people. Strengthen me in every way to be of service to You. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: My Son saved all people for all time, and I have called you to be Mine, My child, as you will be through all eternity.
Response: Undeserving of Your grace and love, thank You most gracious God and King.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.