April 11, 2020 CAC Living Water Devotional :- ASLEEP IN CHRIST JESUS
Read previous CAC Living Water Devotionals here
CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH
THE LIVING WATER {Jan ~ June, 2020}
DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE
Saturday, April 11, 2020
TOPIC: ASLEEP IN CHRIST JESUS
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
[13]But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.[14]For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.[15]For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.[16]For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:[17]Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.[18]Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
MEMORISE: 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 (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
EXPOSITION
The hope of the Christian is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the living believers, at His Second Coming. This is the primary theme of 1 Thessalonians, especially 4:13; 5:10. In fact, it is significant that this book is also the one with the largest number of specific references to Christ’s Second Coming. If it were not for this hope, we would have no hope for the future. ‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ’, Paul submitted, under divine inspiration, ‘we are of all men most pitiable’ (1 Cor. 15:19).
The Bible uses the term, “sleep” to describe death only in the case of Christians, and never for non-Christians (cf. Jn. 11:11). No wonder the Amplified Bible renders, in part, our memory scripture as, ‘Now also we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about those who fall asleep [in death]. The idea of falling asleep here, is that of experiencing death, but this time around, in the Christian context. There is genuine sorrow, of course, when a believer dies, but that sorrow is softened and sublimated by the “blessed hope” of Christ’s return (Tit. 2:13). ‘For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus’ (1 Thess. 4:14).
The souls of those who have accepted the Lordship of Jesus before tasting death, whose bodies are asleep, are not in a place of torment now. They would be the first to see the LORD before the living saints (1 Thess. 4:16b, 17).
Only those who die in peace can ‘rest in peace’. And who is he who dies in peace? He is that person who has experienced genuine conversion to Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), thereby having His peace in Him, through sanctification by His Spirit and Word. Death to that person is a mere transition from mortality to glorious immortality with the King of Peace (Jn. 14:1ff). No one who dies outside Christ can ‘rest in peace.’ This is the blessed hope of believers in Christ Jesus, who are waiting patiently for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. Keep that in mind as we celebrate the One who came, died and resurrected to redeem us, this Easter.
PRAYER POINTS
1. O God of heaven, grant me the grace not to be found wanting, when the trumpet of rapture shall be sounded.
2. O Lord, preserve my life through the power of Holy Spirit, until the day You have appointed for me to return.
3. Pray for as many as possible widows/widowers and orphans.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Joshua 23 – 24 & Acts 14
Author: C.A.C WORLDWIDE
Remain blessed!