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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, July 12, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Dead Will Be Raised Bible Verse:1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 "On a different subject, we want you to understand something about those who have died in Christ, so that you will not mourn and grieve for the dead like those who have no hope. For once a person understands that Jesus died and then rose again from the dead, he also should understand that God intends to do the same for those who believe in Christ. Literal 13 Now not we want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning the sleeping, so that not to grieve like the not-having-hope others. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, just so god the having-gone-to-sleep through Jesus will take with him. DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - 1 Thess. 4" Message:
If you look at the full chapter of 1 Thess. 4, you will see that verse 12 ends a distinct section; it is a puzzlement why Bishop Langton (who, in 1227, devised the chapters and verses we use today) did not start a new chapter here. Beginning in verse 13, Paul addresses a completely new subject, eschatology (a word worth learning, as we will be using it a lot). It means, literally, “study of the end” or “study of the last”, and it specifically refers to what will occur when Christ returns to earth and the Kingdom of God is fully established.
Despite Paul’s warnings to the contrary, the people of Thessalonica believed that Christ would return immediately; they woke up each morning believing that “this is the day”. As time went on, members of the community began to die and be buried. For some reason, many of the church did not understand that the dead would be resurrected. Many theories about their confusion exist, but for whatever reason, they believed Christ would “assume” — that is, transform and bring to Himself — those living in a state of salvation, and since they expected the Second Coming any day, this is the only path to the Kingdom they had considered. Apparently, they believed those who died were lost forever.
This may sound preposterous to us, today, but we should put ourselves in their place: They had no Bible and their teacher had been run out of town soon after their conversion. Perhaps Paul had not had a chance to flesh out the meaning of Christ’s resurrection fully; or perhaps they had forgotten what he said, or there were new converts. At any rate, many of them were distraught and grieving over their friends and family who had died before Christ’s return.
Remembering that this is probably the oldest book in the New Testament, we can see these verses as the foundational statement of a doctrine we take for granted; it is where we first learn that Christ’s victory over death belongs to us, as his heirs, and that we may expect eternal life even if we die in the flesh. Paul is not correcting a silly or even hysterical misapprehension by the Thessalonians. Rather, acting as Christ’s apostle, he is announcing the doctrine of eternal life specifically for those who have died.
Meditation : Prayer : Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked will I return. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.......Amen |
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