Believers’ Destiny

Prayer – Lord, You were resurrected. You are alive now! God has promised that those who believe in You will also be raised from the dead. You taught that to Your disciples and followers. Mary and Martha believed in You and in the resurrection of the dead. They saw You call their brother Lazareth out of his grave. Now we all can look forward to those Christians who have died being called up to heaven…and then those Christians who are still living will be caught up in the clouds to meet You in the air! What a day that will be! And we will be with You forever! What a great promise!

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. 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 died. 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. 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 Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 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. So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT

 

Meditate. Consider these encouraging words. 

Believers will be caught up in the clouds.
Meeting Lord Jesus in the air.
What a day that will be!

Forever is a long time! Christians are so blessed to have these promises—to have this eternal hope! Everyone grieves at the loss of a loved one. I have, too. But just as Paul taught the church at Thessalonica, we can still have hope. That eternal hope that we will all be together with the Lord one day. When we hear that trumpet call of God, we will know that the time has come for us—whether alive or dead—to be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. I imagine that we’ll feel that exhilaration of weightlessness and the inexpressible joy and hope of the promise of God fulfilled! It is going to be wonderful. Jesus told us to be prepared. Are you ready? Are you a believer—do you have a relationship with Jesus and God the Father? Are you fulfilling Jesus commission?

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 NLT

We shouldn’t be just sitting around playing games or even playing church…we have a job to do. We need to be bringing others to know about Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The believers’ destiny is to believe, obey, and tell others about Jesus, too. Are you achieving your destiny?

 

Verse of Salvation ~ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I'll say it again--it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" The disciples were astounded. "Then who in the world can be saved?" they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible." Matthew 19:23-26 NLT

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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