Wash Your Robe

Happy New Year everyone! 2011 is going to be huge for the Kingdom of God, and in knowing this, I wanted to write this challenge to you. I recently read through the book of Revelation and found very good insights on things. Today I’m going to share one of them with you and hope it challenges your faith too.

“12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” REVELATION 22:12-15

First we must notice how the beginning of this passage starts out. This is Christ speaking here, and he is telling us that we must understand that he is coming soon! Now some would say, well this was written over 2000 years ago and he still isn’t here so why live like this is true. God’s been showing me that when we live with a sense of urgency of the 2^nd Coming of Christ that we tend to rely on him more. We tend to Seek him harder than we ever have before. 

 

Verse 14 and 15 is what beat me around the most. Blessed are they who was their robes… this can be take a few ways. First, I thought to myself that my robe is very gross and covered in nastiness. In the context of this scripture, I can’t simply take off my robe and throw it in some washing machine, I would have to had cleaned it by hand. In most cases I’m still wearing my robe of nastiness and telling everyone that my robe is washed compared to theirs. People actually buy the idea that mine is clean, so I really never clean it. That’s gross right? Jesus is the only person who has a clean robe. See this Christian walk is about comparing our life to Jesus, not comparing it to others. You know what else is scary, earlier in the book of Revelation we find out that the only way to wash our robes is to believe in Jesus and to serve him. By doing this, He is the one who washes our robe for us because of his death and resurrection from the grave. You see we don’t even have a way to clean our robe without Christ, and when He does come back He will be able to clearly tell who has a robe of nastiness and who has a cleaned robe!

Last little thing to show you is what verse 15 says. “15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Now you may not think you fall into these categories but it think this sums up a lot of the worldly ways.  This verse is referring to the new Jerusalem.  The city that comes don’t from heaven where humans will live with God in the city for eternity. This is a reminder that if we don’t rest in Christ everyday to wash our robes, we will be outside of the new city. We will be away from God’s presence. We will pray and our prayers will be heard no more. This shouldn’t scare you if you are already resting in Jesus to wash your robe, if you have relationship with Him.  Let this be a call to you if you are trying to wash your robe, because guess what. 

YOU CAN’T

This New Year:

1.       Live like He’s coming soon.

2.       Rest in Jesus to wash your robe.

3.       Remember that the followers of verse 15 will be outside the walls.

I love you Beloved.