15 May ESOCS Devotional
TEXT: 1THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
MEMORY VERSE
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1Thessalonians 4:16
The Christian race is one that ends with an eternal reward. This is the awareness that gives us the impetus to march on fearlessly in every endeavour we find ourselves in the service of God. It is the ignorance of this truth or lack of faith in its reality that encourages backsliding. But the task of gospel preachers is to press home this truth for all men to know and believe. In line with this duty, Paul wrote in verse 13 of our text to the Church in Thessalonians, “Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope.”
Jesus Christ is our role model. His death brought us salvation and by our own baptism, we are taken to have died with Him and raised from death with Him, after we are brought out from the water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Then, we start a new life powered by the Holy Spirit according to the will of God. Even though the Bible says that we have received eternal life, yet our physical body must die and separate from our soul/spirit to which the eternal life is given. Thus in verse 14 of our text we read thus, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in Him”(See John 3:16 also). In verse 15, we see that, ” What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching….”
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The reason that Christians should not bother about worldly pleasures and possessions but be satisfied with daily and basic needs of life is that we have a sure hope of everlasting stay with the Lord after rapture. It is vanity if man will put all his efforts in acquiring the treasures, possessions, and pleasures in this life but not be part of the life to come. The hope of the Lord’s coming and our everlasting company with Him is one hundred percent. In verses 16 and 17 of our text, the Bible says that after rapture we will “…meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.”
It therefore follows that we have to get encouraged, strong, and committed in our Christian faith and mission work. We have a sure eternal reward. That was the belief and hope of early Apostles and founding fathers of the Christian Church. As it is today, we are sure that they have their crown in paradise. Verse 18 of our text says, “So then, encourage one another with these words.”
CHALLENGES
√ Is the hope of eternity alive in you?
PRAYER POINT
√ Dear Lord, the best of my needs is eternal life with you in your kingdom.
15 May ESOCS Devotional – FURTHER READING
√ 1Samuel 22:1-10; 1Kings 13:1-34; John 1:1-14
