The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 1 November 2023 – Your Robes Must Be Washed
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TOPIC: Your Robes Must Be Washed
READ: Revelation 7:2-17(NKJV)
- Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,
- saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
- And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred [and] forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel [were] sealed:
- of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand [were] sealed;
- of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand [were] sealed;
- of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand [were] sealed;
- of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand [were] sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand [were] sealed.
- After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
- and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation [belongs] to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
- All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
- saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, [Be] to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
- Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
- And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
- “They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
- “for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The MESSAGE:
Today is the All Saints’ Day. It is a day that reminds us of the Saints Triumphant – those who fought life’s battles in Christ and have been transported into eternal glory. Commemoration of the Saints’ Day refreshes our hope in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. It enables us to renew our awareness of the temporal nature of our sojourn here on earth and vibrates our earnest preparation for our eternal home where the Saints Triumphant have gone before us. The passage today shows clearly that our forebears who are now in glory with the Lord did not join the host of heaven without washing their robes in the blood of the Lamb.
As a matter of fact, what qualified them for eternal rest and unending joy with the Lord was that they made their garments white in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb that was slain for man’s sins (v.14; John 1:29). In Him they lived, moved and had their beings (Acts 17:28).
Whether we like it or not, each day we spend on this side of eternity draws us closer to the end of our temporary sojourn and, of course, to our eternal destination. There is no extraordinary requirement that will make us fit to join the saints of God other than adopting the same process that led them into glory with the Lord – they washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. We also must wash our robes as they did by total surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ. It is our duty to live to honour the Lord with our lives: That is the purpose of our existence – His pleasure (Rev. 4:11). These are the basic ways of preparing to join the Saints Triumphant.
PRAYER: Lord, give me grace to always prepare for eternal life, in Jesus name. Amen.
