Three Certainties
The Coming of the Lord
13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.
Bee's Thoughts:
I always feel very comforted whenever I remember I will be with the Lord one day. Death is no longer a fearful thing to me. In fact, I look forward to it. Am I mad? I sounded like one, right?
Paul said that to die is gain because it is to "be with Christ" ( Philippians 1:21-23 ), and that to be away from the earthly body is to be "at home with the Lord" ( 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 ). Another significant passage is Jesus' promise to the thief on the cross that when he died he would be with Him in "paradise" ( Luke 23:43 ).
The following song always come to my mind when I feel the stress of life, like now.
This world is not my home I'm just a passing through.
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.
They're all expecting me from heaven's open door.
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your comforting assurance tonight. Please take me home when the time comes. Help me do Your will while I am here on earth. May my life be pleasing to You in all I do.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Death is not the end of the story. Whether we believe in God or not, we will live for eternity. The only difference is where we will spend our eternity. For believers, we will be living with God forever, safe and secure, never to suffer or die again.
Not only that, we will be reunited with other believers when Christ returns. Because of this, we should comfort and reassure each other with this great hope.
Dear Father, thank You for Your promises and hope that I received from trusting and believing in You. Lord, teach me not to waste this gift or forget the glory and triumph me and my closed ones will have when Christ returns. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
