Today you should read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
I have a love this passage! It breathes HOPE into life! We just celebrated Easter – the resurrection of Jesus a few days ago. The resurrection gives us life. Paul reminds the church in Corinth about this in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
He goes on…
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:16-17
GOOD NEWS! Jesus has risen! The tomb is empty!
Back to 1 Thessalonians 4… Paul reminds us that we have hope – we shouldn’t grieve like people who don’t (v.13). Since Jesus arose – He will return for us to take us to be with Him forever.
If we’ve died in Christ…
He gives us the assurance that if we’ve died having a relationship with God through Jesus we will rise from our grave. (v.16) Our bodies will come out of the grave – God will give us a new body – and we’ll meet Jesus in the clouds.
If we’re still alive…
If we’re alive when Jesus returns – we’ll be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
Either way… we’ll be with the Lord forever! This is such a comfort! (v.17b-18)
How will all of this happen? This passage gives us the order of events:
- They’ll be a shout (v.16)
- The voice of the archangel
- The trumpet call of God
- The dead in Christ will rise first
- Those of us alive will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air
This is what we call the rapture. I believe that it will happen soon. The events we’re living in with COVID19 could very well be the shaking of the earth in preparation for this event. Only God knows. The Bible is clear that Jesus will come without warning – like a thief in the night.
How will these events occur? Here’s a rough idea to help you understand.
- How does this encourage you today?
- How does it motivate you to live today with purpose?
- How will it change how you live your day?
By: Tim Parsons — Lead Pastor
God is honored when we intentionally seek Him in prayer. As a church, we want dependent prayer to be something that marks us. Use the comment section to post prayer requests and experiences of how God has answered prayer and/or changed you through prayer! If you would like to be enrolled to get weekly prayer reminders, text @cpclex to 81010.
JumpstartCPC.com 