We must all agree with the Psalmist: “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psalm119:89), but what of verses that say, “the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Rev 21:1b)? If these pass away, then where will New Jerusalem or the Kingdom of God be established? The Word also tells us that “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever” (Eccl 1:4), and since Jesus is God, His Word also abides forever, saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt 24:25). The Bible says that “the word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Pet 1:25), and “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8). When God creates something, it is always good (Gen 1:12), but not only does God abide forever, His Word does too. This means that Jesus “was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2), but it also means that “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). The Apostle John wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1), so God was before everything and everyone, but also God is the Creator of everything and everyone. Nothing else existed before God and everything that exists now owes its thanks to God. Make that the Three Persons Who have always existed forever God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is only one thing that has always existed and it is God. (To listen to a beautiful rendition of this hymn, click here.Will the sun, moon and seas be no more, as it says in Revelation and in the Book of Isaiah? The Word As we wade into God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to bring it home to our hearts, he will. Unlike the ocean, which was 800 miles away where I lived and something I got to enjoy only once a year, God’s grace is always with us and something we can enjoy every moment of every day. ![]() It’s more than we can deserve and greater than we can imagine.” Yes! “Grace upon grace” (John 1:16)! As Max Lucado reminds us, “ has enough grace to pardon every sin, solve every dilemma, wipe every tear, and answer every question. We’ve barely regained our balance from one breaker, and then bam, here comes another. It comes at us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. On the back cover of Max Lucado’s book, Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Can Imagine, grace is described as ” Like mighty waves of the ocean crashing in succession on the shore, God’s grace is continually poured out on us. The Amplified Bible translates John 1:16 the way: “Out of His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. Jesus is full of grace, and it is from his fullness that we as believers have received “grace upon grace.” In verse 14 he writes, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth” (emphasis mine). The thrill of this experience came to mind during my Scripture reading this morning as I encountered these words in John 1:16: “For from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace.” The context makes it clear that the apostle John is talking about Jesus. Just like The Beach Boys sang, “Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world!” I remember feeling like Superman as the rush of surging water propelled me to the shore. Over time we learned to body surf, and that was the most thrilling experience of all. ![]() Sometimes it was scary, but in a fun sort of way. One by one they would come crashing in, bowling us over and turning our bodies every which way. The best days were the ones with the big waves. Mom would smother us kids in sunscreen, and we would play all day in the sand and surf. It was, without question, my favorite week of the year. Yet every year our family would head southeast to spend a week at the beach. ![]() Throughout most of my childhood years, our family lived in a suburb of Chicago, so while Lake Michigan was close by, the nearest ocean was 800 miles away.
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