Upside Down - Kingdom LivingSample

Upside Down - Kingdom Living

DAY 12 OF 12

"The New Garden"

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Heaven is described in ways designed to blow a circuit breaker in our imagination. Intermixed with gold as clear as glass, and walls made of jewels, is the majesty and awe of the presence of God. If you can grasp the scene depicted, you are not reading it correctly. The only real way to read this passage is with hands raised in praise and knees bowed in submission.

Tears wiped away, pain gone, death defeated, and nothing impure allowed. What is not in heaven is as attractive as what is there. For those who “overcome” a life of pain, death and corruption, it comes as great news that life in the new garden lacks the hard knocks of life.

The trump card in this passage is that we do not have to go into the presence of God. The Lamb is on the throne 24/7. The temple, a symbol of God’s presence, is no longer needed. Access to our Savior is unfettered, unfiltered, and unlimited.

As great as Eden was, New Jerusalem is more spectacular.

Reflections:
1. Do you look forward most to the majestic nature of heaven, lack of trouble, or the presence of God?
2. How does the reality of heaven help us live our life on earth?
Day 11

About this Plan

Upside Down - Kingdom Living

Jesus taught us that to follow him, we must often live opposite to our culture; he turned the rules upside down. This 12 day devotional dives into what it means to live Upside Down in a kingdom that isn't definied by race, status, circumstance, gender, or geography, but by a love of Christ. Can we really live a life surrendered to the prayer "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

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