January 1:  Accepting His Love.

His Victory.
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."--John 16:33

I had heard the story before and I knew the ending, but it still gripped me every time my dad told it in a sermon.  The story was about a boy who loved and admired the main hero in a book series.  He had just bought the latest volume and realized that this book was very different!  Unlike the previous books, this time his hero was being beaten and seemed to be losing!  Not very far into the book, the boy couldn't take it anymore and, holding his breath, went straight to the last chapter.  With trembling hands, he turned to the last page and read the last paragraph.  And there, in the last sentences of the story, he discovered that, despite the many seeming defeats, his hero was the victor after all, and the villain was destroyed.  Now that he knew the ending, he was at peace and went back to the place where he had left off and continued reading the book.  This time, having new information, whenever the villain seemed to be winning, the boy would say aloud, "If he knew what I know--if he just knew what I know!"

Jesus has told us the end of the story; He has overcome!  Furthermore, He highlighted the contrast of two realities: Himself and the world.  In Him we may have peace, yet in the world we will have tribulation (verse 33).  After informing the disciples of their impending personal failure (verse 32), Jesus proclaims that "in Him" they may have peace.  Every day we face the choice of which reality to empower: the world and its troubles, which are sure to come, or the love and inward peace that we may find in Jesus, focusing on His already-attained victory on the cross.  As in the case of the introductory story, it makes a world of difference to know how the story ends.  When we face sickness, death, loss, and various troubles, let's remember that evil is a conquered enemy.  When I posted a photo of my dad's hand in mine, to announce his passing, I added the phrase that is now the title of this devotional book: Jesus Wins!  Jesus' victorious love is the basis of our faith!

My Response:_________________________________________

December 31:  An Eternity of Bliss.

Happiness and Eternal Fulfillment.
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasure of living with you forever.--Psalm 16:11, NLT

THE YEARS OF ETERNITY, as they roll, will bring richer and still more glorious revelations of God and of Christ.  As knowledge is progressive, so will love, reverence, and happiness increase.  The more men learn of God, the greater will be their admiration of His character.  As Jesus opens before them the riches of redemption and the amazing achievements in the great controversy with Satan, the hearts of the ransomed thrill with more fervent devotion, and with more rapturous joy they sweep the harps of gold; and ten thousand times ten thousands and thousands of thousands of voices unite to swell the mighty chorus of praise....

The great controversy is ended.  Sin and sinners are no more.  The entire universe is clean.  One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation.  From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space.  From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.--The Great Controversy, 678.

                                  "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me
                                         to repay all people according to their deeds.
                                   I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,
                                                      the Beginning and the End."
                                                                                           --Revelation 22:12, 13, NLT

December 30:  An Eternity of Bliss.

A New and Perfect Creation.
"But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy."--Isaiah 65:18, NIV

THERE, IMMORTAL MINDS will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love.  There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God.  Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased.  The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies.  There the grandest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.

All the treasures of the universe will be open to the study of God's redeemed.  Unfettered by morality, they wing their tireless flight to worlds afar--worlds that thrilled with sorrow at the spectacle of human woe and rang with songs of gladness at the tidings of a ransomed soul.  With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings.  They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages in contemplation of God's handiwork.  With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation--suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity.  Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator's name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.--The Great Controversy, 677.

                                                       "See, I will create
                                              new heavens and a new earth.
                                       The former things will not be remembered,
                                                nor will they come to mind."
                                                                                  --Isaiah 65:17, NIV

December 29:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall Have Unending Joy.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.--Isaiah 35:10, NRSV

THE PROPHET CAUGHT the sound of music there, and song, such music and song as, save in the visions of God, no mortal ear has heard or mind conceived.  "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."  "Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody."  "As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there."  "They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord."  Isaiah 35:10; 51:3; Psalm 87:7; Isaiah 24:14.--Prophets and Kings, 730.

There the redeemed shall know, even as also they are known.  The loves and sympathies which God Himself has planted in the soul shall there find truest and sweetest exercise.  The pure communion with holy beings, the harmonious social life with the blessed angels and with the faithful ones of all ages who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, the sacred ties that bind together "the whole family in heaven and earth" (Ephesians 3:15)--these help to constitute the happiness of the redeemed.--The Great Controversy, 677.

                                      They raise their voices, they shout for joy;
                                   from the west they acclaim the Lord's majesty.
                                       Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord;
                                    exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel,
                                                     in the islands of the sea.
                   From the ends of the earth we hear singing: "Glory to the Righteous One."
                                                                                      --Isaiah 24:14-16, NIV

December 28:  An Eternity of Bliss.

Eternal Delight in Our Father's Kingdom.
"So don't be afraid, little flock.  For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom."--Luke 12:32, NLT

IN COMPARISON WITH THE MILLIONS of the world, God's people will be, as they have ever been, a little flock; but if they stand for the truth as revealed in His word, God will be their refuge.  They stand under the broad shield of Omnipotence.  God is always a majority.  When the sound of the last trump shall penetrate the prison house of the dead, and the righteous shall come forth with triumph, exclaiming, "O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:55)--standing then with God, with Christ, with the angels, and with the loyal and true of all ages, the children of God will be far in the majority....

In this world their minds were consecrated to God; they served Him with the intellect and with the heart; and now He can place His name "in their foreheads."  "And they shall reign for ever and ever."  Revelation 22:5.  They do not go in and out as those who beg a place.  They are of that number to whom Christ says, "Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."  He welcomes them as His children, saying, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."  Matthew 25:34, 21.--Acts of the Apostles, 590.

                     "The master was full of praise.  'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
                                  You have been faithful in handling this small amount,
                   so now I will give you many more responsibilities.  Let's celebrate together!' "
                              
                                                              --Matthew 25:21, NLT

December 27:  An Eternity of Bliss.

We Shall Enjoy the Work of Our Hands.
"In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.  Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards."--Isaiah 65:21, 22, NLT

IN THE EARTH MADE NEW, the redeemed will engage in the occupations  and pleasures that brought happiness to Adam and Eve in the beginning.  The Eden life will be lived, the life in garden and field.  "They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them....For as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands."  Isaiah 65:21, 22....

The prophets to whom these great scenes were revealed longed to understand their full import.  They "inquired and searched diligently:...searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify....Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you."  1 Peter 1:10-12.

To us who are standing on the very verge of their fulfillment, of what deep moment, what living interest, are these delineations of the things to come--events for which, since our first parents turned their steps from Eden, God's children have watched and waited, longed and prayed!--Prophet and Kings, 730, 731.

                                                 "They will not work in vain,
                                 and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
                                         For they are people blessed by the Lord,
                                          and their children, too, will be blessed."
                                                                                             --Isaiah 65:23, NLT

December 26:  An Eternity of Bliss.

No Sorrow or Sadness.
"I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying."--Isaiah 65:19, NKJV

WE ARE HOMEWARD BOUND.  He who loved us so much as to die for us hath builded for us a city.  The New Jerusalem is our place of rest.  There will be no sadness in the city of God.  No wail of sorrow, no dirge of crushed hopes and buried affections, will evermore be heard.  Soon the garments of heaviness will be changed for the wedding garment.  Soon we shall witness the coronation of our King.  Those whose lives have been hidden with Christ, those who on this earth have fought the good fight of faith, will shine forth with the Redeemer's glory in the kingdom of God.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, 287.

The will of God is to be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.  Then the nations will own no other law than the law of heaven.  All will be a happy, united family, clothed with the garments of praise and thanksgiving--the robe of Christ's righteousness.  All nature, in its surpassing loveliness, will offer to God a constant tribute of praise and adoration.  The world will be bathed in the light of heaven.  The years will move on in gladness.  The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold greater than it is now.  Over the scene the morning stars will sing together, and the sons of God will shout for joy, while God and Christ will unite in proclaiming: "There shall be no more sin, neither shall there be any more death."--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, 42.

                                        "He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
                          and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.
                                            All these things are gone forever."
                                                                                        --Revelation 21:4, NLT

December 25:  An Eternity of Bliss.

The City of God.
"Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations."--Isaiah 60:15, NKJV

THERE ARE HOMES for the pilgrims of earth.  There are robes for the righteous, with crowns of glory and palms of victory.  All that has perplexed us in the providences of God will in the world to come be made plain.  The things hard to be understood will then find explanation.  The mysteries of grace will unfold before us.  Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony.  We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying.  As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Pain cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven.  In the home of the redeemed there will be no tears, no funeral trains, no badges of mourning.  "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity."  Isaiah 33:24.  One rich tide of happiness will flow and deepen as eternity rolls on.--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, 286.

                                          "Also the sons of those who afflicted you
                                                     Shall come bowing to you,
                  And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
                                       And they shall call you The City of the Lord,
                                                  Zion of the Holy One of Israel."
                                                                                    --Isaiah 60:14, NKJV

December 24:  An Eternity of Bliss.

The River of Water of Life.
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.--Psalm 46:4, NKJV

THE PROPHET BEHOLDS THE "RIVER OF WATER OF LIFE, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."  "And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life."  "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."  Revelation 22:1, 22:2, R.V.; 21:4....

..."They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters"  [Revelation 7:16, 17].--Education, 302, 303.

Oh, for language to express the glory of the bright world to come!  I thirst for the living streams that make glad the city of God.--Early Writings, 39.

Let all that is beautiful in our earthly home remind us of the crystal river and green fields, the waving trees and living fountains, the shining city and the white-robed singers, of our heavenly home--that world of beauty which no artist can picture, no mortal tongue describe.--Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 55.

                                   "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
                                 and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
                                             Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
                                And look!  I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
                                                 Her people will be a source of joy."
                              
                                                               --Isaiah 65:17, 18, NLT

December 23:  An Eternity of Bliss.

The Garden of Eden's Restitution.
For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.--Isaiah 51:3, NKJV

THE GARDEN OF EDEN remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths.  The fallen race were long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocence, their entrance barred only by the watching angels.  At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the divine glory was revealed.  Hither came Adam and his sons to worship God.  Here they renewed their vows of obedience to that law, the transgression of which had banished them from Eden.  When the tide of iniquity overspread the world, and the wickedness of men determined their destruction by a flood of waters, the hand that had planted Eden withdrew it from the earth.  But in the final restitution, when there shall be "a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21:1), it is to be restored more gloriously adorned than at the beginning.

Then they that have kept God's commandments shall breathe in immortal vigor beneath the tree of life; and through unending ages the inhabitants of sinless worlds shall behold, in that garden of delight, a sample of the perfect work of God's creation, untouched by the curse of sin--a sample of what the whole earth would have become, had man but fulfilled the Creator's glorious plan.--Patriarchs and Prophets, 62.

              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.  Then I, John saw the holy city,
                                  New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God
                                          prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
                 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."
                              
                                                               --Revelation 21:1-3, NKJV