Some of My Favorite Verses

In my Bible reading today, I found this verse:

Isaiah 25:8 - He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

I love this promise! It's also found in I Corinthians 15:54,55 -

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy stin? O grave, where is thy victory?

and here, in Revelation 21:4 -

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

These verses always make me feel like shouting and rejoicing! No more death! No more sickness! No more tears! This Precious Moments figurine, entitled No Tears Past the Gate, captures the sweetness of these verses, as the little girl gets to the gate of Heaven and is instructed to throw away her hanky outside the gate. How can you read verses like that and not be encouraged?!