For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Thought for Today
What many Christians misunderstand is that heaven is not our forever home. While heaven is the next stop on our journey until Jesus comes again it is not a permanent place for us. Paul tells us that Jesus revealed to him (v. 16) that Jesus Himself is coming again. It will be a spectacular affair. There will be the shout of an arch angel and the blast of a trumpet. The dead will rise from their graves and then, together with those who are still alive, we will be gathered together in the air to join Him in His procession back to earth. This is the beginning of the last day. We are not people of heaven. We are the people of the resurrection. We will not be ghosts floating about for all eternity. We were created tripartite, body, mind, and spirit. God’s plan is to restore us to the perfected version of ourselves. Our bodies will rise and be reunited with our mind and spirit. The Garden of Eden is the model for the resurrection. As Adam and Eve were so we shall be. We are the people of the resurrection. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. We will blossom in our risen form on the last day. So take heart, today is not all there is. You have an everlasting number of days to live, love and serve Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, while I thank You for the knowledge of heaven as my next home, I thank You all the more that my future is to live in a perfected form of life as I know it, in my body, living and loving to Your glory. Amen.
Devotional Quote
Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about. ― N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
Quote of the Day
Love is what you've been through with somebody. — James Thurber
The Last Day 1
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Thought for Today
What many Christians misunderstand is that heaven is not our forever home. While heaven is the next stop on our journey until Jesus comes again it is not a permanent place for us. Paul tells us that Jesus revealed to him (v. 16) that Jesus Himself is coming again. It will be a spectacular affair. There will be the shout of an arch angel and the blast of a trumpet. The dead will rise from their graves and then, together with those who are still alive, we will be gathered together in the air to join Him in His procession back to earth. This is the beginning of the last day. We are not people of heaven. We are the people of the resurrection. We will not be ghosts floating about for all eternity. We were created tripartite, body, mind, and spirit. God’s plan is to restore us to the perfected version of ourselves. Our bodies will rise and be reunited with our mind and spirit. The Garden of Eden is the model for the resurrection. As Adam and Eve were so we shall be. We are the people of the resurrection. Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. We will blossom in our risen form on the last day. So take heart, today is not all there is. You have an everlasting number of days to live, love and serve Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, while I thank You for the knowledge of heaven as my next home, I thank You all the more that my future is to live in a perfected form of life as I know it, in my body, living and loving to Your glory. Amen.
Devotional Quote
Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about. ― N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
Quote of the Day
Love is what you've been through with somebody. — James Thurber