Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

August 12
Tuesday


"THIS IS IT!"

READ"
1 Thess. 4:13-17
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The Lord Himself will
descend from heaven
.... Then we who are
alive and remain shall
be caught up.
__ 1 Thes. 4:16-17
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Have you ever had a time when you thought the Lord was coming back right then? Many believers in Jesus are so eager to "meet the Lord in the air," as Scripture puts it (1 Thess. 4:17), that they have felt "This is it!" at one time or another.

My wife, Sue, who once worked in a Christian nursing home, recalls being aboard an elevator at the facility when she had "second coming" thoughts. She had closed the door and started up to the second floor when the elevator came to a halt. Sue was stuck between floors. As she waited, there was a jolt and a quick flash of light__and then nothing again.

Sue recalled later that the power of the light and movement startled her and made her think that something unusual was happening. In that moment, her mind went toward the much-anticipated return of Jesus. It was a "This is it!" moment.

Whether we have experienced this feeling is not important. What is absolutely vital is that we know we are ready at any time for the Lord's return. If we have received Jesus as our Savior, we will find ourselves anticipating with excitement His appearing__eager to "stir up love and good works" in one another as we "see the Day approaching" (Heb. 10:24-25). __Dave Branon
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``````````````````A little while__then Christ will come;`````````````
````````````````````The glorious hour draws nigh`````````````````
`````````````````When He will come to take His bride``````````````
`````````````````To dwell with Him on high. __Gilmore`````````````
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Christ's second coming is as certain as His first.

**********Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17*********

13 But I do not want you to
be ignorant, brethren,
concerning those who have
fallen asleep, lest you
sorrow as others who have
no hope. 14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so God
will bring with Him those
who sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you
by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive and
remain until the coming of
the Lord will by no means
precede those who are
asleep. 16 For the Lord
Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with
the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ
will rise first. 17 Then we
who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air.
And thus we shall always
be with the Lord.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In the rapture, not only will the souls of the dead in Christ return
with Him, but their bodies will also be resurrected in a glorified
state. This will occur before Christians who are still living are
caught up in the air to be with the Lord and are given new, glorified
bodies. Clearly Paul believed that he might well be alive when the
Lord returned. His expectant attitude indicated that the rapture
could take place at any moment. This truth comforted the believers
to whom he wrote, and it has comforted many other believers in
subsequent generations (1 Thess. 4:13-18). __Dennis Fisher