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3  There shall no more be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall worship him; 4  they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. 5 And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. 7 And behold, I am coming soon.”

Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.  (Revelation 22:3–7, RSV2CE)

WORSHIP GOD.

Revelation 22:9b RSV2CE

Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”  (Revelation 22:11, RSV2CE)

12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. 13  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

14  Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (Revelation 22:12–14, RSV2CE)

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood.  (Revelation 22:15, RSV2CE)

16 “I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.”

17  The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.  (Revelation 22:16–17, RSV2CE)

18 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.  (Revelation 22:18–19, RSV2CE)

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

21  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.  (Revelation 22:20–21, RSV2CE)

REFLECTION

Jesus does not lie. He is coming soon. I can have the grace of Jesus. I can be a saint. I want to wash my robe! I want the right to the tree of life! I want to be righteous and holy! I want to Worship God! I am thirsty for the water of life! I want to enter the city! Come, Lord Jesus!

PRAY

Change my heart from being full of evil, filth, sorcery, idolatry, murder, and falsehood!

Save me Jesus!

Amen

Jesus experienced contradictions and failure: for example, when he had finished his discourse in the synagogue and the angry Nazarenes “led him to the brow of a hill . . . that they might throw him down headlong” (Lk 4:29); when, on two occasions, the Jews were scandalized by his words, and “took up stones to stone him” (Jn 10:31); when the Pharisees plotted against him to condemn him to death; when Judas betrayed him; when his friends abandoned him and he was made the laughing-stock of the soldiery; was scourged, crowned with thorns, dressed as a mock king, slapped, and spit upon; when Barabbas was preferred to him; when he was dragged to Calvary with two thieves and crucified between them. 

It can well be said that, humanly speaking, Jesus’ apostolate ended in open failure: in death as a criminal. All this ought to be deeply imprinted upon the mind of an apostle, so that he may not be scandalized if something similar occurs in his own life: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you”

Through persecutions, humiliations, and failures, an apostle learns not to trust in his own powers, but to be convinced of his own insufficiency and of the insufficiency of all human resources, and therefore to put all his hope in God alone. 

He learns to work solely for the love of God, without seeking the comfort of success, to free himself from the opinions of men, and to act independently of their approval or disapproval, attending only to God’s judgment.

By sharing this attitude, the apostles, instead of allowing themselves to be overcome by suffering, give proof of “a firm hope . . . in order that they can console those who are in any distress, with the encouragement by which God encourages them”

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chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.  (1 Peter 1:2, RSV2CE)

RESOLUTION 

I am chosen by God the Father

I am destined by God the Father

I am Sanctified by the Holy Spirit

I am to obey Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit

I am sprinkled with the Blood of Christ

I have Grace multiplied to me

I have Peace multiplied to me

I am chosen to live united to God now and into eternity. I am washed in the blood of Christ so my sins are forgiven. I am destined to live my life in the power of the sanctifying Spirit, in obedience to Christ so I can love like Him. Loving God, loving myself correctly and loving my neighbor as myself. Grace is multiplied to me so I can stay united and surrendered to the Spirit. I have peace with God the Father because I am now in Christ and the Spirit will guide me home. 

PRAY

Thank you my Father for your gifts. Thank you Jesus for washing me and telling me how to live. Thank you Holy Spirit for sanctifying me, empowering me, and guiding me. Holy Trinity, hold me tight. Keep me close. Come after me when I start to stray. Save me from my own self that gets confused and darkened by desires and lies. I believe you, I trust you, I want to love like you, I want to be united to you for eternity. Save me! I am yours. Amen. 

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Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  (John 4:10, RSV2CE)

13 Jesus said to her, “Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, 14  but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”  (John 4:13–15, RSV2CE)

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. 24  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23–24, RSV2CE)

But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”  (John 4:32, RSV2CE)

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.  (John 4:34, RSV2CE)

REFLECT

God has a gift He wants to give me. He wants me to ask for this living water. This living water is a spring that will satisfy me unto eternal life. It makes me never thirsty again for earthly things. 

Jesus, I want this living water that will satisfy me from drawing from the world and brings me to eternal life. 

God wants worshippers that worship in Spirit and Truth. He does not want lip service, or dead works without love. He wants the whole person living out His truth with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

I can say I’m a believer and not obey His teachings. I can act like a believer doing great works without love for God and people. It has to be both. I have to love God and people in truth with words and actions from the Spirit that change hearts. Motivation of the heart is what God is after. 

Jesus’s food is to do the will of God and accomplish what He is sent for. 

PRAY

Change my heart oh God! Give me Your motivation! Make me new and help me surrender to Your Spirit. Help me tell and do Your truth!

The water of God is the Spirit, the food of God is to do His will and accomplish the purpose He made me for. Help me God be who you made me to be and fulfill my purpose. 

I am here to be led by the Spirit, to love God and people in truth so that others can see God, His ways, and be saved. I must truly love others and tell the truth, even if it makes them angry. Only truth leads to salvation, lies lead to hell. I do not want to be a part of leading people to hell because I am a coward and don’t want to anger people. 

I must turn from the world, I must choose to listen and obey the Spirit, I must love from my heart. If I stop listening to the Spirit and obeying my mind gets dark and I start to go backwards or the wrong way. Help me keep listening and obeying!

The Spirit will not run dry! He will lead me all the way home into eternal life if I continue to follow. Help me Jesus!

My food is to do God’s will my drink is to listen and obey the Spirit in love and truth! I have all I need to fulfill the purpose I was made for, I must go do it!

Amen.