And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street” (Revelation 22:1-2a).

These are word pictures where John is describing as best he can what he sees.  How does one describe what one sees when they do not fully understand?  Much of Scripture tells us about things as they will be in eternity.  Are we even able to begin to comprehend eternity?  God has written eternity in our heart and we long for our true home.  We will not find the way on our own, for Jesus is the One who must lead us.

Jesus spoke several times about the living water.  There was the tree of life in the middle of the Garden of Eden.  The source of life is the One who created and sustains it.  What He gives is pure, holy, and satisfying.  He is the source.  For all things and through all things, our Lord is the source.  How simple that is to say, and how difficult it is, to build the whole of your life on this one, central, and eternal point.  Make the Lord your source for everything.

God provides for the just and the unjust alike.  We know there are both kinds, but we do not know who is whom.  All we have are suspicions because we do not know another’s heart.  Live as one who drinks from the well of God’s provision and no longer drink the polluted water of this world’s lies.  Lord, You are with me always, as You said.  Lead me in the life You give, my Lord and Savior, Jesus, and help me to live now and forever in and through You.  Amen.

“In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:25-27).

In the Lord, there is safety.  This world is not safe.  What the Lord is creating is a people who are true to His word, faithful, and trustworthy.  The contrast between what will be and what is, is hard to fathom.  We have become so used to duplicity, unfaithfulness, and self-seeking that we often think it the normal way of things.  See the difference and ask what kind of world you desire to live in.  Choose the way of the Lord and work toward living as life shall be lived in the holy city.

Lord, I understand this is not works righteousness.  I cannot earn the right to be with You in heaven.  Yet by Your gift of faith, You will create in me Your likeness to be fit for heaven.  Help me to shift my attitude so that I live into the life that is being described here.  Guide my heart and mind to become all these things from the inside out.  Crucify what is wicked so that Your likeness can be resurrected in me.

Lord Jesus, there is much work that needs to be done.  First, by Your grace, please write my name in Your book.  Then, help me to spend all the years You give me preparing for what is to come.  Guide me in Your goodness so that I may learn how to be faithful.  Lead me by Your example to know how to work diligently in every circumstance.  Through all that comes, help me to complete the journey of faith that You have set before me.  Amen.

“The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Revelation 21:24).

Imagine a world where there is no more competition for who can outdo whom.  Imagine a world where there is no longer any war, famine, pestilence, or poverty.  The Lord will establish godly ethics and the faithful who dwell with Him will practice the truth at all times.  Why wait until then?  Begin learning the Lord’s law and live in the light of His revelation now.

Lord, You gave the Ten Commandments and the Israelites saw the light flashing on the mountaintop as You gave them to Moses.  You have called for us to begin there.  We cannot keep the commandments, but You have called for this to be the beginning place.  Help me to go deeper as I meditate upon Your law; for You have summarized the law and prophets for us.  Lead me in Your goodness to be consistent in my behaviors, thoughts, and deeds.

Lord, You who are overhauling my soul, guide me in the narrow way of becoming a person with Your ethical system embedded in my soul.  Continue to root out those sinful inclinations that are deep within me.  Guide me now and always to live the standard You established in the beginning.  May I be found dwelling in and with You now and forever.  Amen.

“And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).

The Lord is the light that shines in the darkness of this age.  When all darkness is gone because of the fulness of Christ, He shall illumine us with His eternal presence.  These things are too great for us to now understand.  He, through whom all things have their being, will shine as He truly is.  What the disciples saw on the mount during the transfiguration will be the eternal reality of our existence.

Lord, I can barely begin to imagine these things, but Your word is true.  Help me to live in the light of Your presence now, even if my eyes are dim and my faith is weak.  You have promised that You are always with me; it is most certainly true.  You said it and so it is.  Lead me now and always in Your light.  May the words spoken over me in the promise of my baptism be true: that my light would shine and others see my good works and glorify the Father in heaven.

Creator of my soul, minister to me so that I can minister to others.  You have come and the light of Your life shines on, in, and through all who believe.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the way of everlasting life so that I may reflect Your light through all that I say and do.  You know what is needed, so help me to live in such a way that what the Father desires is accomplished.  Lead me this day, Lord, so that I may be a beacon of light in this dark world.  Amen.

“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).

“Be Ye holy, even as God is Holy.”  This is not an impossible ideal, but what Christ will accomplish in you.  When He told us to be perfect as the Father is perfect, He was telling us what He would accomplish through our salvation.  No longer will holy be something over there, but the reality of who we are in a living and sanctified relationship with the Lord.  We will tabernacle together, abiding one in the other for eternity.

I am barely able to comprehend these things, Lord.  Rather than focusing on just a part of this, help me to take seriously the reality that You will make me perfect, this is, complete.  Although I may not fully understand what this means, I can begin with the morality You teach in the Ten Commandments.  I haven’t perfected that yet.  Whatever direction is needed toward this goal You  provide by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus, You must be the One who authors and finishes my faith.  Not only do I not know where to begin, I do not even know the steps along the way.  There are places I think are fine and they are not.  There are things I am working on which are only distractions from what needs to be done.  Teach me to tabernacle with You Lord and then lead me in the direction I need to go.  Help me to become more like You each day.  Amen.

“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21:21).

A pearl is made from an irritating grain of sand.  That which is common and annoying from which something beautiful is made.  The irritating sinner becomes a beautiful child of God.  Made like pure gold, like transparent glass.  Something unimaginable.  Something pure, yet clearly visible with nothing hidden.  Something that cannot tarnish.  God is up to something beyond our ability to comprehend in this age.

Who knows but that all the things we call creation in this world are not mere pointers to the next?  The Lord has purpose for all things.  You who are tarnished, dirty, and who hide your secrets will be made into someone new.  There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.  You will become holy even as the Lord is holy.  These are some of the promises the Lord gives us in the hope of the Gospel.

Savior, I am unable to fathom what You are saying.  On the one hand, I want it to be true.  On the other, I do not believe it to be so.  Create in me a new and clean heart that can believe these things.  You know all that is needed.  Lead me today by Your word to be equipped with what is needed to walk into this kind of life.  Guide me, Lord, now and forever so that I may walk by faith knowing that You will make of me what You will.  Help me to always trust You.  Amen.

“The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst” (Revelation 21:19-20).

How precious are you to the Lord?  You are more precious than all of the precious stones He has created.  He has placed His image in you.  He has decorated you with grace and mercy.  He has included in you all the promises of the tribes of Israel and the of the apostles.  He has set before you eternity and desires that you join Him.  You are a precious one for whom our Lord died to grant you grace for salvation.

Lord, I see the many beautiful things in this world and wonder where I fit in.  I see how our culture is constantly fighting over this thing we imagine as beauty.  Yet, here You say that each one of us is more beautiful that all the beautiful things upon the earth.  How sad that we have gotten it so wrong.  Indeed, we do need saving.  Lift us up, Lord, so that we may see things as they are and not as we have seen them through the haze of sin and death.

Lord Jesus, You came so that all who believe could have life eternal with You.  Everyone is precious in Your sight.  Help me to see this.  Help me to see beyond my reflection when I look in a mirror.  I too belong to You.  In Your grace and mercy, give me eyes to see so that I may see in others the hope You have for them.  Lead me to consider others as precious in Your sight.  Guide me in Your grace and mercy all the days of my life.  Amen.

“The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass” (Revelation 21:18).

Beautiful, pure, costly, and clear is how it is made.  Is that not the goal of our new creation?  In this new life, is not the Lord creating us to have these attributes?  Meditate and ponder upon what the Lord is doing.  Be guided by His goodness and mercy and realize that He is up to more than You know.  We will have new heavenly bodies that do not wear out but remain pure and holy.

Lord, I can take in the concept, but I really am unable to comprehend these things.  You have used these word pictures to share a glimpse of things to come.  I imagine they are for our encouragement.  Guide me, Lord, so that I do not stumble over the desire to know all things, but continue to live by faith, trusting that You will continue to have all things in Your hands.

Lord Jesus, throughout the ages, people have struggled with how You could be fully man and at the same time, fully God.  I too, struggle with such things.  I struggle with this daily life and all the paradoxes that come into it.  Help me to walk through every struggle trusting that You have come to lead the way through this age in preparation for what is to come.  Help me to live this day, looking to You, so that I may be better prepared for the eternal life You have purchased for us from the cross.  Amen.

“And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, by human measurements, which are also angelic measurements” (Revelation 21:17).

Twelve tribes times twelve apostles.  A gross, the complete number of all.  In the mystery of God communicating with us things that are at the edge, if not beyond our ability to grasp, the Lord tells us so that we may understand.  The number of perfection is the number of completion.  Cutting through all these things and coming to the point, are you one of those who belong to the Lord?

Lord, not in terror or fear as some preach it, but in the reality of simply living with the awesome truth that You are my Lord and God, help me to live in this reality.  You have done all that needs to be done.  You have created everything and who knows but that all of this is for the purpose of giving us the opportunity to be with You?  Lead me, Lord, into the reality that You have set before me with this thing called faith.

Much of what has been accomplished in this world has been done in faith, that first step into the unknown, believing that it is possible.  You, Lord Jesus, through whom and for whom all things have been created, have given me hope that because of all that You have done, there is more than I can imagine set before me.  Guide me into the life You know I should live.  Lead me to understand more each day and grow in Your likeness, according to all that the Father has willed.  Amen.

“The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal? (Revelation 21:16).

In one sense, the size of it does not matter.  The proportions are important.  In this age, we think that one way or school of thought is more important than another.  The Lord is impartial and the ways to the city are equal in His building.  Mind you, there is One Lord and Savior, Christ, but think about how we, on earth, mess this up and think our way is the only right way of thinking or doing.  It is the Lord who prepares the way for each of us, His way is the right way.

Lord, I too have the infection of sectarian thinking.  I think in terms of my way.  But the basic truth is there are only those who follow You and those who will not.  Regardless of the path of life before my sisters and brothers, help me to live the life You have given me and to do so faithfully, showing others the way.  Lead me in Your goodness to know that in You alone do I have hope and a future.  Guide me according to Your goodness to live the way You have called me to live.

Lord, help me learn how to be equitable with others as You are equitable with me.  Help me to be gracious with all whom I meet as You have been gracious to me.  Let equality reign in my heart so that I see others as You see them.  In the breadth, width, and depth of Your kingdom, help me to praise You this day for including me in the number of those whom You have called to live by faith.  Amen.