13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.
Tori's Comments:
I'm so thankful this passage is here as it both gives hope and answers questions!
Are you ready?
Terrie's Comments:
HOPE!!!! that is a great word. I have no idea how people say good-bye without hope. I have hope as I look to my future that when I am finished on this earth my spirit will be in Heaven with Jesus. I have hope that this home here on earth is temporary and I am operating as a heavenly ambassador for Jesus Christ and His kingdom. I have hope that all those brothers and sisters in Christ who have gone ahead, I will see again in heaven.
This hope I have comes because I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I have hope because I have the Holy Spirit living in me and working with power through my life. I have hope that I can come boldly to the throne of grace in prayer and I know that God hears me. I have hope because I have been adopted into God's family forever.
I have hope that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ can have an intimate relationship with Him today! It isn't about a religion... Jesus died so we could have a relationship with the one and only true God and live forever with Him starting today!
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
Showing posts with label 1 Thessalonians 4. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Thessalonians 4. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Day 5 - 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
Terrie's Comments:
Living by God's Holy Spirit, which He has given to us and not by our own flesh anymore.... that can be a challenge in a world where we are surrounded by ultra sexual messages. God does not just tell us to remain holy and stay away from sexual lust but he gave us his Holy Spirit so that it would become possible for us to live in a way that pleases Him.
God Himself still teaches His people to love one another through the Holy Spirit who is within each one of us.
I LOVE verse 11 - "make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands" This means that for those of us who aren't on "the front lines" of mission work or doing something "big" for God ... we are still doing God's will and that is what matters to God. God saved us through His son Jesus Christ so we could have a relationship with Him. This is His desire... to be in an intimate relationship with you... just the way He made you! He made you to be unique and no one else can have the same relationship with the Lord that you can. No one can replace you in God's family. You were created to be one of a kind and no matter who you are God wants relationship with you. Then he wants to use you to help reconcile others back into a relationship with Him too. That is amazing!
Living by God's Holy Spirit, which He has given to us and not by our own flesh anymore.... that can be a challenge in a world where we are surrounded by ultra sexual messages. God does not just tell us to remain holy and stay away from sexual lust but he gave us his Holy Spirit so that it would become possible for us to live in a way that pleases Him.
God Himself still teaches His people to love one another through the Holy Spirit who is within each one of us.
I LOVE verse 11 - "make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands" This means that for those of us who aren't on "the front lines" of mission work or doing something "big" for God ... we are still doing God's will and that is what matters to God. God saved us through His son Jesus Christ so we could have a relationship with Him. This is His desire... to be in an intimate relationship with you... just the way He made you! He made you to be unique and no one else can have the same relationship with the Lord that you can. No one can replace you in God's family. You were created to be one of a kind and no matter who you are God wants relationship with you. Then he wants to use you to help reconcile others back into a relationship with Him too. That is amazing!
Tori's Comments:
Live for God. Not for man.
Something God has been prompting in me this year is monitoring what I put into my body, a resolution He's already been bringing difficult circumstances to strengthen. I've been able to definitely see the difference in my life that it makes, in how I act, speak, and even think. And all the while, I need to remember my goal isn't to reject everything worldly but to grow close to God instead.
Live for God. Not for man.
Something God has been prompting in me this year is monitoring what I put into my body, a resolution He's already been bringing difficult circumstances to strengthen. I've been able to definitely see the difference in my life that it makes, in how I act, speak, and even think. And all the while, I need to remember my goal isn't to reject everything worldly but to grow close to God instead.
Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!
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