The River of Life

 The River of Life

December 31, 2025

Revelation 22:1-2 (NASB95) 

1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne ofGod and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

In The vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 22, one of the prominent features is the river of the water of life with the tree of life on both banks. This image of a river is one of the consistent symbols throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis we see the river flowing out of the garden and many trees,, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life.

Genesis 2:10

10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four  rivers. (Gen 3:22 Tree of life)

In Psalms we pick up the theme that a righteous man is like a tree planted by the water who is blessed and is a blessing.

Psalms 1:1-3

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 46:4 (NASB95)

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

In Ezekiel, there is another vision of the temple which includes a river and trees whose leaves are for healing..

Ezekiel 47:1-12 (NASB95) 

1 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing fromunder the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.

…

5 Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded.

…

12 “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”

And of course Jesus taught that those who believe in Him will have rivers of living water flowing their innermost being, which is the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38,39 (NASB95)

38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

So as we end up this year and look forward to 2026, be prepared to jump in the river! The blessings and healing are in the river of life but you don’t just want to dip your toe in, you want to plunge in headlong to participate in the most blessings. In Ezekiel’s vision, the river grew stronger and deeper until it was a mighty river that could not be forded, you had to dive in and swim. Likewise, the Lord has mighty things planned for the new year, but you will need to be fully in the river to be part of the healing of the nations. Your hands (leaves) are for healing when you are like the Psalms 1 man (or woman) who meditated in the Word (Jesus) day and night. So don’t be afraid, but dive into the river of life and watch to see what the Lord will do through the Holy Spirit in 2026.

The Sea of Glass

 The Sea of Glass

December 30, 2025

Revelation 15:2-4 (NASB95)

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holdingharps of God. 3 And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.”

Today’s scripture has an interesting word picture of a scene in heaven. Prominent in this vision is the sea of glass. This is also mentioned in Revelation 4:

Revelation 4:5-6 (NASB95) 

5 Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; 6 and beforethe throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

In Revelation, John had a vision which included various scenes in heaven. But this is not the first time that we got a glimpse of the features in heaven. Moses also had a vision of heaven in which he was given a plan to construct the tabernacle, which is a scale model of heaven. In Moses plans for the tabernacle, there is a bronze laver set before the alter.

Exodus 30:17-21 (NASB95) 

17 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. 19 “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; 20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the LORD. 21 “So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.”

Exodus 38:8 (NASB95)

8Moreover, he made the laver of bronze with its base of bronze, from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

What is the purpose of the sea or laver? In the tabernacle, the laver was for the priests to wash their hands before they approached the alter. It was made out of polished bronze so it was like a mirror so that the priests could reflect on their sins as they washed and prepared to minister at the alter. In heaven, there is no need to wash your sins away, so the sea of glass is there to reflect. In Revelation 15, John describes the sea as looking like a sea of glass mixed with fire. This is because it is reflecting the glory of God on the throne. In Revelation 4 he describes is as flashes of lightning. It also reflects sound as we see the victorious saints playing their harps and singing while standing on the sea of glass. I once knew a man who had a vision of heaven in which he saw Jesus standing on the sea of glass preaching and teaching. 

Perhaps, we are meant to be something like this ourselves. When we are washed and polished we should also reflect the glory of God to those around us. We can also sing and play and reflect the sounds of heaven as we worship the Lord here on earth. So this morning, reflect on the sea of glass and meditate on the glory of God which shines forth and is reflected to all men.

Christmas

 Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB95) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Luke 2:1-20 (NASB95) 1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve

December 24, 2025

Psalm 24:7-10 (NASB95) 

7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may comein! 8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.

Christmas Eve is a day to lift up your head and look for the King of glory to come. But who is the King of glory? Just as on the first Christmas Eve, many are looking for a glorious and powerful king to bring justice to the world. We long for a powerful savior that will rescue us from our earthly problems. And many proclaim that they have the answer to all human problems whether it be a New World Order (NWO) or artificial intelligence (AI) or crypto currency. But who is the true king of glory? Then as now, the world is not looking for a savior in a manger with smelly shepherds all around. They are not looking for a king riding on a humble donkey or a leader suffering on a cross. But that is how the King of glory came. He appeared, humble and unassuming, even to the point of death, but by sacrificing His own blood He overcame sin and death and rose victorious on the third day. That is the King of glory that we worship on this day. Those who were looking for earthy power and glory missed the true king and will not see him high and lifted up on His throne on high, surrounded by the cherubim and seraphim, singing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 

So rejoice, for in the city of David, a baby is born who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-14

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of greatjoy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Merry Christmas and Peace on earth among men who recognize the King of glory when He comes in.

The Judas NGO

 The Judas NGO

December 22, 2025

John 12:3-6 (NASB95) 

3 Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus andwiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” 6 Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.

If you have been following the news lately, you would have heard about the corrupt Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that have been stealing billions of dollars from the government while promising to help the poor. This, of course, is nothing new. Theft and corruption have been a part of human civilization since the fall of Adam, Ana we see an example here right in Jesus’ inner circle. I’m sure Judas said all the right things to get people to contribute to Jesus ministry, and that certainly included promises to help the poor. That was certainly the case here in the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. But Jesus saw his true motive and allowed Mary to “waste” the perfume by anointing His feet. As they say now “Never let a crisis go to waste”, so we see where Judas was scheming to profit off of Mary’s expensive gift. His true motive was to enrich himself and get close to the seat of power that imagined Jesus would hold when he became the earthly king of Israel. Of course, Jesus had other plans and Judas sold his scheme to the high priest for 60 pieces of silver, the price of a man. That was a considerable sum, but it profited him nothing when he was overcome by grief and regret and hung himself.

So in this season where the world is trying to sell us all sort of schemes to help the poor, be careful and use wisdom. Not all who tell a good story are good people, even when they are in the inner circle of the “right” people. Judas was one of the twelve, but was corrupt of heart and was a traitor in the end. So by all means find ways to contribute to the poor at Christmas time, but be careful of who you support. Just because it feels good and the story sounds good doesn’t mean that it is a good cause.

Christmas Story in John

 Christmas Story in John

December 18, 2025t

John 3:16-17 (NASB95) 

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes inHim shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

The gospel of John doesn’t say much about the events of Jesus’ birth. We find those details in Matthew and Luke. But what John does is to give us the reason for Christmas. Christmas is about a Father who loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son that we should be saved, redeemed and live with Him forever. The birth of Jesus is just the beginning of this redemption story, but it’s not really the beginning. The real beginning is in Genesis 1:1 when God created the heavens and the earth. But Christmas is the beginning of the story of Jesus on earth as a man and as the Son of God. We was sent to us so “that the world might be saved through Him”.  So remember the reason for the season, and celebrate the coming of the Son to earth, the true  Christmas miracle,

The Miracle of Christmas

 The Miracle of Christmas 

December 17, 2025

John 1:14 (NASB95) 

Andthe Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

This is the miracle of Christmas that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. How can it be that almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, could humble himself to become a man, a baby born in a lowly manger. He is the Word and the Light, yet He came to us through the Virgin Mary to save us from our sins.

John 1:1-5 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 Hewas in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

So give glory to God and rejoice this Christmas season that there is hope and life in this world, and the next, and that their is light in the world, and His name is Jesus.

In These Last Times

 In These Last Times

December 16, 2025

1 Peter 1:17-21 (NASB95) 

17 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conductyourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

In this passage, the Apostle Peter summarizes the message of Christmas; indeed the whole gospel message. Though Jesus was foreknown from the foundation of the world, he appeared to us as a baby at Christmas, in these last times, for our benefit. And He came to redeem us as the lamb of God, to die and raise from the dead for the glory of God so that we might have faith and hope. This hope is the true meaning of Christmas. So rejoice in this season and remember that the joy of His birth, as proclaimed by the angels, is only the beginning of our joy and hope as He came to give us faith, hope and eternal life with Him.

The Father of Lights

 The Father of Lights

December 15, 2025

James 1:17-18 (NASB95) 

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Fatherof lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (Literally: shadow of turning). 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

1 John 1:5-7 - God Is Light

5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Christmas is a season of lights. We put lights on our Christmas trees, and lights on our houses and light candles on Christmas Eve. The magi were led to the baby Jesus by a star in the east (Matthew 2:2). And when the Angels appeared to the shepherds, the glory of the Lord shone around them (Luke 2:9). Indeed, Jesus said the He is the light of the world.

John 8:12 - Jesus Is the Light of the World

12Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

So what then do we make of the statement in James 1 that the Lord is the Father of lights? First of all, the Father created the universe, and set all the stars in place. But more importantly, on Christmas Day, He gave us the gift of Jesus, the incarnate Son, who is the light of the world. And from this light, He gives us every good and perfect gift. 

I once had a vision of this verse in James in which I saw a giant hand. And in the palm of His hand was a blue ball, which sparkled and swirled because it was a representation of the four dimensional universe. The universe shone and changed, but the hand of the Father was eternal and unchanging. It’s hard really to describe the vision, but it represented an image of this verse that depicts the Father of lights, who created all things, but is Himself immortal and unchanging. 

So in this season of lights, remember the giver of all good and perfect gifts as we give gifts to one another, and let us rejoice with the angels and shine the glory of God into this world,

Needs

 Needs

December 10, 2025

Luke 12:30

30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.

The Christmas barrage of ads is in full swing now. “This is the greatest! You need it. You deserve the best.” The onslaught is continuous and unrelenting. If you aren’t  broke by Christmas morning, then you just aren’t a good father, husband, grandfather or uncle. Spend, spend, spend! But what do you really need?

Jesus says that people in the world eagerly seek after all these things, which is certainly true today. But he also says that the Father knows what you truly need and provides all things for you.

Philippians 4:19

19And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Psalms 37:4

4 Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Matthew 6:27-33

27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worriedabout clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So remember what the season is all about. Gift giving is a part of celebrating the birth of Jesus, but keep you focus on the Lord and the Kingdom of God. The only gift that truly matters is having Jesus in your life and receiving the gift of forgiveness and eternal life.