“He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”

— Colossians 1:13

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.”

— Revelation 7:9

“4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7 in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

— Ephesians 2:4-7

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

May the Lord Christ draw you near to Him more and more each day.

Today more and more people are being brought into God’s family each day. These Jesus-believing people will one day inhabit the new heaven and earth and live in the very presence of God Himself and of Jesus Christ.

Though we are still ensnared by sin when we enter His family, God puts each of His children into a lifelong process of sanctification and transformation designed to conform them to the image of Jesus and make them fit to live in His presence and for the future life. God’s people are being transformed daily from one degree of glory to another. What their lives increasingly display is God’s amazing grace in this present world and they will do so perfectly in the world to come unto eternity.