Day 4

Scripture to Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:16

The return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His church (every believer who has not been called home yet) is going to be AWESOME! As God led Paul to describe it in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, we read that our Lord is going to come back. The announcement of Christ’s coming is going to be spectacular. The announcement is described as “a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” Now, this may be a description of one sound heard three different ways or possibly three different proclamations. What we do know is that the coming of our Lord for His church will not be silent, but it will be magnificently proclaimed. Maybe only believers will recognize the shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God, while non-believers may only hear a thunderous noise. Similarly, when Paul listened to our Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, those who were with Paul did not understand the voice of Christ as He spoke to Paul (Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9). We also read today that the dead in Christ are going to rise first. The bodies that have been left behind will be resurrected brand new, just like Christ’s resurrected body, perfect and complete. No one knows what kind of body the saints in heaven currently have. What God has confirmed, in John 12:26; John 14:3; 2 Corinthians 5:8; and Philippians 1:23, is that to be absent from these earthly bodies means we will be home with our Lord.

Challenge & Application

1. What did God teach you today about Christ’s return and about those who are already with Him? 2. Who can you share God’s Truth with this week so they may know Him as you do?

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

God knows that we, as His children, live in a world where we face tests, trials, and tribulations. God wants us to be ready when those tests, trials, and tribulations come. One of the trials that we face is when a friend, family member, neighbor, or someone close to us is called home. Death is hard for us to understand because God has designe...

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Day 2

Believing that Jesus died for all sin, for all mankind, and then defeated death by rising from the grave is the foundation of our faith. If we do not believe the fullness of the Gospel of Christ, then our faith is worthless. God the Holy Spirit wrote through Paul that our belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ ...

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Day 3

God’s Word is a collection of 66 Books with One Author, God. God’s Word was written over a 1500-year time span, which means it was written over 40 generations. God had His Word written by more than 40 writers, from every walk of life: kings, peasants, philosophers, fisherman, poets, etc…. God did all of this so we would know Him and know who ...

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Day 4

The return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His church (every believer who has not been called home yet) is going to be AWESOME! As God led Paul to describe it in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, we read that our Lord is going to come back. The announcement of Christ’s coming is going to be spectacular. The announcement is described as “a shout, with the vo...

Read

Day 5

The day of our Lord’s return is going to be a glorious day. No one knows when that day will actually happen except God the Father. Jesus made it clear that only the Father knows the time and the day of His return in Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; and Acts 1:7. But, the day when Christ does return is going to be a day of awe and wonder. As we saw ...

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Day 6

Most of us have had a friend, family member, neighbor, or someone close to us die. When death comes, it is never easy. Though we know that death is going to occur, it still is difficult when someone is called home by our Lord. God gives us His Word and He gives us His Holy Spirit so we, as believers, experience His peace, comfort, and support...

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Day 7

Though we have finished unpacking 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, let’s examine a few more Scriptures to understand better that this earthly body will not last. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness, ’is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in...

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