The Bread of Life

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’” MATTHEW 26:26

 

PONDER THIS

As Jewish families observed Passover through the centuries, they developed a tradition. They would take a bag called a Matzah Tash with three sections in it—top, middle, and bottom. In the middle section would be a piece of bread. At Passover, the father would reach into the middle section, pull out the piece of bread, break it, and give it to all of those around. It’s still done in Seder suppers today. At the Last Supper, Jesus reached in and took that middle piece of unleavened bread. And Jesus said, “This is my body.” He took that middle piece, broke it, and distributed it. When Jesus blessed that bread, not only was He showing His death by breaking the bread, but He was also showing His resurrection.

Do you know what is said when the bread is taken out at Passover? Here it is: “Blessed art thou, o Lord, our God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth bread from the earth.” Jesus was prophesying His resurrection. He was the bread that would be broken and come from the earth. “This is my body.” From the ground, it would be raised.

How does it build your faith to see the connection to Jesus in ancient practices such as the Passover meal?

How does it impact your daily life to regularly reflect on the resurrection?

PRACTICE THIS

Reflect on Matthew 26:26-29, contemplating the truth of Jesus’ body broken for you and His blood poured out for you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jesus’ Body is the Bread

PRAY OVER THIS

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’” Matthew 26:26

 

PONDER THIS

As Jewish families observed Passover through the centuries, they developed a tradition. They would take a bag called a Matzah Tash with three sections in it—top, middle, and bottom. In the middle section would be a piece of bread. At Passover, the father would reach into the middle section, pull out the piece of bread, break it, and give it to all of those around. It’s still done in Seder suppers today. At the Last Supper, Jesus reached in and took that middle piece of unleavened bread. And Jesus said, “This is my body.” He took that middle piece, broke it, and distributed it. When Jesus blessed that bread, not only was He showing His death by breaking the bread, but He was also showing His resurrection.

Do you know what is said when the bread is taken out at Passover? Here it is: “Blessed art thou, o Lord, our God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth bread from the earth.” Jesus was prophesying His resurrection. He was the bread that would be broken and come from the earth. “This is my body.” From the ground, it would be raised.

How does it build your faith to see the connection to Jesus in ancient practices such as the Passover meal?

How does it impact your daily life to regularly reflect on the resurrection?

PRACTICE THIS

Reflect on Matthew 26:26-29, contemplating the truth of Jesus’ body broken for you and His blood poured out for you.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jump off the comparison treadmill

BIBLE MEDITATION:

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever noticed that we buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like? We try to keep up with the Jones family, but when we finally catch up with them, they refinance! Let me exhort you to get off that comparison treadmill and onto the pathway of serenity. You are accepted right now in Christ. God does not change you so He can love you. He loves you so He can change you! God loves you as much as He loves Jesus. If you are saved, you are in Christ. And where is He? He is seated in the heavenlies. You are also seated in those heavenly places, even though you still have your address on planet Earth. You are enthroned with Him.

ACTION POINT:

When was the last time you compared yourself with someone else? It’s time to get yourself unharnessed from the comparison yoke and break free as a child of the King!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are you pulling up your radishes by the roots?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over. . . Luke 6:38

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When God created the herbs of the field, He said, “Let them bring forth after their kind” (Genesis 1:12).

Whatever we sow, we’re going to reap. If you sow to the flesh, then you’re going to reap what you sow. On the other hand, if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap good things. You can’t even give a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple and lose your reward.

Every seed you plant for Jesus is going to sprout. Whatever it is you want, plant it, sow it, give it, “and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.”

Too many of you are just going around pulling up your radishes by the roots, trying to see how they grow, then jamming them back in the ground again, and you don’t give God enough time to bring the crop in. Give Him time. It’s going to come in.

ACTION POINT:

Would you like to have better relationships? Then start sowing seeds of encouragement and good deeds.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

God's Provision In Your Life

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

A philosopher once said, “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.” I know what I want and I know what you want. I want to have some money in the bank and I want to have something there so that when tomorrow comes, then I don’t have to worry about it. Isn’t that what you want? We call that security. Question: is that really security? Who is more secure – the man who has a warehouse full of stale bread that the rats or thieves can get, or the man who has a father who is a very, very rich baker?

ACTION POINT:

Begin your prayer time today with the Lord’s Prayer and ask Him to help you be content. Bow before Him in humble adoration of His provision in your life. Then share the Bread of Life with someone who is hungry today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Hunger for the Word of God

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “I rejoice at Thy Word.” Psalm 119:162

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Job said, “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12). When God’s Word is as important to you as your physical food, then you’re going to start to grow in your Christian life. 

I wonder if one day the dust on our Bibles is not going to testify against us. The following verse sobers my heart, “These hath God married and no man shall part, dust on the Bible and drought on the heart.” Oh, that we would hunger for the Word of God!

ACTION POINT:

Fast one meal today. Sense just a touch of the hunger our hearts are to have for the Word of God. And remember to pray for those who need the pure milk of His Word!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

IN THE BEGINNING

Genesis 1:26-31
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Matthew 4:18-22
18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
19 And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

In the Beginning of the Old Testament…
The purpose of our lives…
We have been created to enjoy God’s grace in a relationship
with Him.
We have been created to extend God’s glory to the ends of
the earth.
The problem in our lives…
We have rebelled against God’s authority.
The promise for our lives…
God will send a Redeemer to us.
We can be reconciled to Him.
In the Beginning of the New Testament…
We have been called to be disciples of Jesus.
To turn from our sin and ourselves.
To trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
We have been commissioned to make disciples of Jesus.
To proclaim God’s grace for others’ salvation in Christ.
To spread God’s glory through the multiplication of the church.
In the Beginning of 2014…
How will I fill my mind with truth?
How will I read God’s Word?
How will I memorize God’s Word?
How will I learn God’s Word from others?
How will I fuel my affections for God?
How will I worship?
How will I pray?
How will I fast?
How will I give?
How will I share God’s love as a witness in the world?
Who?
How?
When?
How will I show God’s love as a member of the church?
Where?
What?
How will I spread God’s glory among all peoples?
How will I pray for the nations?
How will I give to the nations?
How will I go to the nations?
How will I make disciple makers among a few people?
How will I bring them in?
How will I model obedience?
How will I send them out?

Thanks Pastor David!

I Am The Bread That Came Down From Heaven

John 6:41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."


Jesus is the soul satisfying nourishment we need. He is the bread of life sent from His Father to offer eternal food to the lost!

John 6:32-33 
32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 


John 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Our precious Redeemer gave His flesh and blood for our eternal soul to be reconciled to God the Father. His broken body and the shedding of His blood are the new covenant. With His death and Resurrection, we are raised to new life, pardoned from sin, able to go before His throne of grace, sealed by His blood covenant and have eternal life through Him alone!

John 6:38-40 

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 

39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 

40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." 

What will you do with this knowledge?

Heb.9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rev.1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 

Lord, what is clear to us, is clear because You have opened our eyes! Open eyes to Your truth! Amen

Utterly Cut Off

Num.15:31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him."
In the OT of the bible, the Israelites were commanded to follow the laws set forth by God and to make animal sacrifices for atonement. If you are a believer and follower of Christ, our atonement has been made by the shedding of the blood of Christ. We are not cut off from His divine grace. If you remain a unbeliever, you are utterly cut off from God. Your sin remains and you are without grace. That being said, you are heading for destruction and death, forever separated from a holy God! Today, you can know that grace by believing that Christ alone has the power of redeeming your soul. You can do nothing but fall at His throne of grace!
Lord, as we are nourished by Your words of life, we know that You alone are worthy of praise and honor. Help us to teach others how to follow You. Open minds and hearts to the salvation offered by Your death and Resurrection. Amen
Acts 3:23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

The Secret of the Kingdom of God

Mark 4:11-12
11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."
If you truly seek Him, He will be found! Why is it that as Christians we see, hear and understand God's commands but others don't have a clue? Why are we baffled at the world's sin when we know that Satan is it's ruler? He is very persuasive and will lead many astray! All the while, it is under the guise of self- pity! They began to be tempted by why "I don't have this and that" or "I fill like I have been cheated out of some thrill"or my ego needs stroking! People, wake up! We were created for much more than this! We are here by divine means, for a divine purpose, to glorify God in the whole earth! You were not born by a mere chance of sperm meeting egg! But by God's command, you are here!
Ps.139:13-17
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!Is.55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;Matt.6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.Lord, I pray for the ones who are perishing. Lord, open eyes to see You, to hear You and to know You! Amen

The Nature of Envy

Matt.20:1-16
1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' 5 So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' 7 They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 13 But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' 16 So the last will be first, and the first last." The Jews, as God's chosen people, were indeed the first to hear the good news. However, God meant for all men to hear the gospel.The Gentiles should be admitted to equal privileges and advantages with the Jews. God owes no one! Salvation is a gift. We stand before God in a sinful state, idle in our sorrow. Pray for mercy for yourself and others and do not be envious of others. God has called some in their early years while others have been called later in life. Now is the accepted time to accept Christ's salvation. Your life is a vapor! Here one minute, gone the next! Don't worry about the ones who labor less than you.We all have agreed to work for the kingdom, some more some less. Our salvation is not dependant upon what we do but what Christ has done!Lord, Your word is good! Amen

What Are You Leaving as Your Eternal Legacy?

Are you there as a father and mother for your children? I mean really there!! Not just a couch potato parent, there in body but not teaching Christ or loving your kids with an eternal implication. Are you leaving your children to look outside your God given gift of helping craft a young life to know and follow Christ? Parent, what a gift you have been given by Almighty God, that trusting little child who wants you to be there for them. Spend time with them and teach them biblical truths. Show the love of Christ and teach them how life is more than just being here to enjoy material things.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Ps.90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
We have so little time to mold our children's hearts. I am talking about investing time in teaching love, respect, honor, integrity, purity and hope in that is found in Christ. If you follow Christ, you are a child of holy God. His will for us is to love one another. Feed my Sheep! That means spiritually, physically and mentally. That means we may have to stand alone, when the world is sending one message but Christ is sending another. It is a choice we will have to make, to follow Christ or the world.
Lord, do not let us sit idly by when we see someone headed toward hell because it is not politically correct to give them the truth of God's word. Lord, make us a nation that will shout Your glory no matter the cost! Amen
Matt.10:33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Just as you discipline your child to teach right and wrong, God does the same to those to whom He sees are in need of repentance.
Rev.19:3 NIV Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
Deut.8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
Is.53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
1 Cor.11:32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Heb.12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."
Prov.3:11-12
11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

A Great Light

In a world of much darkness, there is a constant light that the world seems not to know! Even though the light has been with us from the beginning, man seems to think himself self reliant! He does not even acknowledge that there is a higher power who is the Creator of all things. Do we really just think that all nature just evolved? Or the human being, who is such an entricate creation, just evolved from an ape?
Matt.4:16-17
16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
John 12:46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
Heb.11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Lord, You are worthy of our praise! You created the universe and there is no one like You. Thank You for the faith You give to us through Your Word and strengthen us everday to follow Your will. By your power, Amen.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men

Without the Shedding of Blood There is No Forgiveness of Sins

Heb.9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
God is holy, period! He can not look upon sin. We are sin, period! Even in our best attempt, we still are sinful! If I had to give a one liner to sum up the gospel, it would be that "the blood of Christ alone offers salvation to the world." There is no way for us to be reconciled to a holy God because of our rebellion of sinfulness. We must be covered in the blood of Christ so that we can be acceptable to holy God. We must first believe that God is indeed the supreme Creator of all things. That He, being holy, will not tolerate sin. That all things exist through Him and by Him. That He is worthy of all our praise! That Christ is His only begotten Son, wholly man and wholly God, born through a miracle by the Holy Spirit. That God does have a purpose for you and that all who earnestly seek Him will find Him! It matters not what language you speak, where you live, what horrible thing you have done in the past, or what evil has a hold on your mind. God Will deliver you from it!!! His Word is all powerful and He never fails!
Father, we stand on Your Word alone! We stand on the promise of the salvation that comes from Christ! Amen
Rom.11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Rev.4:11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."
1Cor.8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

I Am the Bread of Life

Jesus Christ, Son of God, came to save mankind from sin!
John 6:33-44  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Sovereign God works through faith so that man must believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, who alone, offers the only way of salvation. There are not many ways to God, only one, through His Son alone, may we be reconciled to God. 1 Tim.2:5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus 
God's mercy and God's compassion not human will or exertion: Romans 9:14-18 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
Jesus is not a respector of person, His salvation is open to all regardless of race, nationality or status. However, not all will choose to except the gift of salvation! Upon His resurrection, He paid your debt but it is your responsiblity to believe on Him for salvation or deny Him.  John 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." 
Lord, I pray for the ones You will call for Your own. Open their hearts to receive the hope that is found in You alone. Show mercy and compassion to the lost in Jesus name. Amen
Romans 2:3  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

To Whom Shall We Go?

John 6:65-69 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."
You are busy living life when out of the blue comes a earthquake, a flood, a tornado or a tsunami! Everything is turned upside down! There is no food, water, shelter, many people have lost their life. To whom shall you go? The Lord God is there and He has always been there! Is.43:10-11 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.
He is our only hope!1 Tim.4:10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
He is calling you to repentance! Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."
He is going to return! Rev.1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen
There will be unbelievers but God wants no one to perish! 2 Peter 3:3-10 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Have you repented? Are you ready to meet a Holy God who will judge you? Lord, I call on you, the only one who can save, for mercy for all of us who have trusted Jesus for His free gift of salvation. Open eyes to receive Your word. Amen

What is the Bible?

My pastor preached a sermon Sunday about "Why do we have the bible"? Is it for religious guidance, historical information, moral lessons, or character studies? Well, that is what we use it for but we should be using it to reveal God to us and to see how God redeems His people for His kingdom. God is using His word to re-create us into His image. God is bringing His people to His place for His purpose. And you may ask, what is this leading us to? To God for His final blessing and judgment! In revelation God tells us through John: Revelation 22:12-14 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."  Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
His judgment: Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
And His final blessing:
Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Oh Lord, how we long to see You face to face. We eagerly await your return. We want to live with You through out eternity where there is no sin. Mold us for Your purpose for Your kingdom. Amen