I Thessalonians 4 But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord, Himself, will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of a 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 will we always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
Today I am going to the funeral of a man of God. A friend of the family has died. Gone on to be with the Lord. Yesterday my brother in law called to give us the arrangements for the funeral. As I shared with him my condolences for the loss of his friend, he said to me, I wonder how much of heaven he has already taken in. And I had a sudden, unexpected rush of envy. It struck me so profoundly that Billy is with Jesus, in heaven. Right now. He has passed from death unto life. And in this moment he is seeing the face of our Lord.
II Timothy 3 But understand this, that, in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unapeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
Sounds familiar doesn't it? There is a lot of talk these days about end time. From Christians, from scientists, even from Hollywood.
Matthew 24 But concerning the day and the hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
Not Christians, not scientists, not Hollywood. But we can certainly see the signs of the end times given by Jesus, Himself.
Matthew 24 What will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains....And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The funeral today was more of a life celebration than any I have ever attended. While it is always sad to say goodbye, it is sadness mixed with hope. This is not the end. It is just the beginning.
Today I am going to the funeral of a man of God. A friend of the family has died. Gone on to be with the Lord. Yesterday my brother in law called to give us the arrangements for the funeral. As I shared with him my condolences for the loss of his friend, he said to me, I wonder how much of heaven he has already taken in. And I had a sudden, unexpected rush of envy. It struck me so profoundly that Billy is with Jesus, in heaven. Right now. He has passed from death unto life. And in this moment he is seeing the face of our Lord.
II Timothy 3 But understand this, that, in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unapeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
Sounds familiar doesn't it? There is a lot of talk these days about end time. From Christians, from scientists, even from Hollywood.
Matthew 24 But concerning the day and the hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
Not Christians, not scientists, not Hollywood. But we can certainly see the signs of the end times given by Jesus, Himself.
Matthew 24 What will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? And Jesus answered them, See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains....And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The funeral today was more of a life celebration than any I have ever attended. While it is always sad to say goodbye, it is sadness mixed with hope. This is not the end. It is just the beginning.
Are you ready?
No comments:
Post a Comment