16 (sorry this ones a bit long, but I think you'll like)

Revelation 21: 3-5.
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men...Behold I make all things new."

I am by no means a scholar of the book of Revelation. Or the book of anything, really. No way. In some ways this book is so deep that I am scared to even put my thoughts out there on the page, but there are some things in these few scriptures that have touched my life. So I'm just going to say them. Here goes. You don't have to agree.

There is a very powerful scene unfolding here in this scripture. In his vision, John has described perhaps the most beautiful and accurate summary of the whole gospel. It makes sense of it all "...the tabernacle of God is with men." The home where God lives has moved from some untouchable and inaccessible place, to my heart, and to your heart. It's a place so close that you can feel the grace on your skin. "And He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God." WOW. I'm so excited and moved by such a notion that I want to cry. He is mine and I am His. He thinks about me. Now, I know me, and I know I don't deserve such intimacy with a King so holy and so wonderful. Perhaps the most beautiful of all, "and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." I don't think I need to say too much more. It's hope. It's hope for heaven, and I think even hope for today--here on earth. He is a sweet and kind saviour who takes our mistakes and flaws and the bad stuff that has very unfairly happened to us, and with the tissue in His hand He wipes our bloodshot, messy, swollen-from-crying eyes and our snotty noses. And He makes the bad, old stuff, new.

So He makes all things new. He can take the old, closed-up, broken areas of your life that have aged you beyond your years, and make that part of your heart young again in ways you can't even imagine. He can take the thoughts in your mind that often haunt you: fear, anxiety, jealousy, unforgiveness, and if you let Him, He will make you young again and bring a sense of innocence and childlike trust and faith once more. He can make your thoughts new.

He will sit with you. And pretty soon even just His company will make you happy, whole and new. He will love you back to life.