Second Coming!

For Wednesday, November 20, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT: “The Lord himself (Jesus) will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers 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.”

How is this all going to end – our lives, our souls and this era in which we live? Is there some kind of eternal reward for our faith? This scripture clearly describes Jesus’ second coming.

We typically think that because the earth is round, people on one side have no idea what people on the other side are doing. That will not be the case when Jesus returns. Everyone everywhere will hear the angels’ voices, hear the trumpet of God and see the throng gathering in the sky. Believers will receive instant confirmation that they made the correct decision! Graves will open revealing glorified eternal bodies reunited with their souls. Living believers will be caught up in the air so that Jesus can win the final battle and be our escort as we enter the forever Kingdom.

There will be a New Heaven and a New Earth, God-created for the next age! I believe the New Earth will be a lot like the Garden of Eden, a perfect world existing just as God designed it before mankind messed it up, but that’s just my opinion.

We are given these words as encouragement!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Hope!

For Tuesday, November 19, 2024:

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NLT: “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.”

The original Greek reads, “...believers who have fallen asleep,” and there’s a certain rationalization in this. Remember that Jesus was crucified and died, but later was resurrected, brought back to life. So to the casual observer, it may have appeared that Jesus was simply sleeping, then later re-awakened. In fact, a primary argument of non-believers was that Jesus hadn’t actually died!

But we know that Jesus did in fact die. No heartbeat; no pulse; no brain waves. Believe me, the centurions knew what they were doing when it came to crucifixion! Believers uphold the miracle of resurrection, someone who died being brought back to life. If Jesus hadn’t died, there’d be no reason for a resurrection miracle! If he was just sleeping and woke up, it wouldn’t be worth celebrating! But we know the truth!

Consequently, we have hope as promised in 1 Peter 1:3: “According to his (God’s) great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” In other words, just like Jesus, we will be blessed with a life after this life. Believers won’t die, nor will we sleep forever. Jesus confirmed our reservation in the heavenly Kingdom!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Holy Living!

November 18, 2024 Monday Message:

1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 NLT: “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

Since God’s laws are now written on our hearts, we should instinctively know right from wrong. So sinning becomes intentionally rejecting God and his commandments. Bad choice!

Those who walk with the Lord daily will remain under his protection. But those filled with intentional disobedience have already rejected the Lord. Look for them in the group where Jesus says, “I never knew you!”

It’s really not so hard to walk through this life holding God’s hand. Go ahead – give it a try!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship