Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. ³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. ⁴ Not so the wicked! They are like chaff  that the wind blows away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. ⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.   PSALM 1:1-6

RECOMMENDED SCRIPTURE REVELATION 20:1-22:21 – “ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years                                                                                   ⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed                                                                                                      ⁷ Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹ They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment                                                                                   ¹¹ Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

All Things Made New                                                                                                                           21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. ² Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”  ⁵ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” ⁶ And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. ⁷ He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. ⁸ But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The New Jerusalem                                                                                                                  ⁹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, ¹¹ having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. ¹² Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: ¹³ three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. ¹⁴ Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ¹⁵ And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. ¹⁷ Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. ¹⁸ The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. ¹⁹ The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, ²⁰ the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ²¹ The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The Glory of the New Jerusalem                                                                                             ²² But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. ²³ The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. ²⁴ And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. ²⁵ Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). ²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. ²⁷ But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

The River of Life                                                                                                                                   22 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. ⁵ There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

The Time Is Near                                                                                                                                 ⁶ Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.      ⁷ “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”  ⁸ Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. ⁹ Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” ¹⁰ And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. ¹¹ He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

Jesus Testifies to the Churches                                                                                                ¹² “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” ¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

A Warning                                                                                                                                             ¹⁸ For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I Am Coming Quickly                                                                                                                      ²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”  Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!²¹ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

COMMENTS: Today’s scripture is taken from both Psalm 1 and Revelation 20-22.  A very long scripture reading but a very important one of wise council and assurance that God’s plan is true and sure and is the only way to an eternal life of joy and peace.

Psalm 1 is only 6 verses but packed with wise council, especially as we enter a New Year and new Decade:  Verse 1 tells us to separate ourselves from evil and those who do evil.

Blessed are those who:

Vs 1: Separate from evil and from those who do and encourage others to do evil.

Vs. 2: Meditate on God’s Law and Instruction.

Vs. 3: Growth or Maturing in our walk and obedience.  Our faith and willingness to do His Will instead of evil becomes more consistent and stronger.   We grow to be more like Him in character and conduct and thought and less like satan.   Progress will never be complete this side of heaven, but we have a long way we can complete and have His abiding Holy Spirit to help and encourage and strengthen us along the way.

Vs.4-6: Knowing and being assured of our destination:  Our destination is sure and perfect and permanent.  Revelation gives us clarity of our destination and assurance.  Psalm 1 is one of many passages that gives us instruction of how to get on the path to that destination.  God wanted to make sure we were clear and did not forget His instruction.   Instruction to achieve Life and Life for Eternity.

New Year is the time when most set new goals and resolutions.  To set goals to improve our lives and the lives of those we care about and love.  Goals to reach the dreams and ambitions we are passionate about.  More common ones are losing weight and going back to school or changing careers or spending more time with family or in devotion.  Other goals common are quitting bad habits like smoking or alcohol or overeating (or eating specific treats like candy or snacks or junk food or …). 

Most fail attempts to reach even modest goals because willingness to sacrifice and overcome obstacles isn’t strong enough.  God has great ambitions and goals and blessings waiting for us.  They are beyond our wildest dreams or hopes.  He has given us enough details to discover they are far better than ours.

He has also provided sufficient resource to enable each of us to reach those goals.  The greatest obstacle is one He overcame – payment for our sins.  The next is repentance or changing our conduct and thoughts to become more Christ-like.  His indwelling Holy Spirit is the greatest resource He provided to enable and motivate and strengthen us sufficient to reach such a lofty goal. 

His forgiveness and empowering are assured in 2020 and beyond.  It is our choice to accept and use His resources.  We are doomed to failure if we fail to use His resources, which also includes His Word, Other believers (our church family and Christian family and friends).  He never intended for us to follow Him alone and knows we don’t have the ability nor strength to do so.

So, Lets covenant with each other and with Him to make 2020 a year of resolutions we will keep and the greatest being to spend more time with Him and with His people.  To avoid and flee sinful habits and temptations. 

2020 will be full of blessings for those who turn away from harmful habits, rededicate themselves to studying and meditating on God’s Word, envision themselves as trees by channels of water, and look forward to God’s leading every step of the way.

By God’s grace and by your choice, that’s you! So have a blessed New Year!

Blessed, O Lord, the opening year, / to each soul assembled here: / Clothe Thy Word with power divine, / Make us willing to be Thine.  John Newton

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