EASTER IS HERE! And in other news... the world has been aware about the apocalypse (or Judgment Day) that will occur in the future. I watched videos in YouTube and blog posts about the warnings and the "doom and gloom" news. Who will go to heaven? Many turned to the book of Revelations to find answers. There, debates and theories were formed. I just re-read the book of Revelations and found something interesting that may be of good news to you:
Revelations 7:9-17
"9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,Be to our God forever and ever.Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”"
People from every nation, people with different languages- they stand before the throne of our Lord. So no, race does not matter in the kingdom of God. You and I may be different in many ways, but we are able to stand by His side when the day has come. What do we have to do? "Wash our robes and make it clean with His blood". Every sin, every evilness, every wrongdoings- just lay it down on His feet and He will forgive. Jesus made this possible by dying on the cross for our sins. Just recently, my lifegroup gathered together to watch "The Passion of the Christ" as a reminder why we celebrate Easter. Jesus took all our transgressions and imperfection to the cross with Him. He was tortured and persecuted for something He didn't do. He did it because of YOU. He did it for us. Without Him on the cross, we all would not enjoy this life we have. I can stand here and testify because of His grace. By His stripes, I am healed. By His blood, my sins are gone. Jesus is the bridge for us to reach our Father.
All of these things have been prepared for us. What we have to do now is accept that He is our Savior and start living with Him in the center of our lives. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, as long as you repent and turn to Jesus. The criminal who was crucified next to Jesus confessed to Him that he had done so much wrongs in his life and deserved this punishment. Then, he asked Jesus if He would remember him when He enters into His kingdom. Luke 23:43 says, "And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'" It's never too late to ask for His forgiveness. This Easter, I just want to invite you, readers, to just "wash your robe with His blood". Just ask for His loving kindness and to cleanse our hearts. We don't deserve His grace, yet He gives because He loves. I posted earlier that I want to "make this Easter special". Let's just take time to remember the things He had done for us and give thanks. Our God is a great and mighty God, but most importantly, He is also a God who loves you and me =)
Happy Easter to all of you,
Justin
