Category Archives: Praise

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HERE I COME!


1 THESSALONIANS 4:16

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 

I know people who are afraid they are going to miss Christ’s return. Seriously? He’s coming with a shout, the voice of the archangel and a trumpet. If you are a believer, your ears will be tuned to that frequency. There will be no missing this. HE will make sure of that. You will know He has arrived. Yahoo!

I can’t wait! I am so ready to go to glory. But…there are many of my friends, neighbors and loved ones who, if He came right now, would not be joining me. That makes me sad. That breaks my heart. I want them to go, but I can’t sneak them into heaven. They have to make that decision on their own. And that is only possible by surrendering to Jesus.

APPLICATION

Ask your child today who they want to go to heaven with. Now, I know, they are not going now, but ask them. Let them name everyone they can think of. Now make sure they understand that in order for them to go with them they ALL have to be Christians. They all must have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Encourage your child to share Christ with them, if they are not saved. People will respond to little children sometimes quicker than they will to an adult.

Of course, your child must also make this decision. No child gets into heaven based on their parents’ faith. Once they have reached that age where they understand the gospel (age of accountability – which is whole other subject), they must make their own decision for Christ. Then automatically, their ears get tuned into that trumpet call. Then they will hear that shout and the voice of the archangel.

Are you ready? Are your friends and family ready? If not, get ready! He’s coming. It could be today. It could be tomorrow. But He is coming. If you are ready, do all you can to reach as many as you can as fast as you can. 

You are returning one day, O Lord. I am ready. Help me reach all I can before that great day!

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NOT FIRST


1 THESSALONIANS 4:15

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” 

Come on now, be honest. Don’t you like to be first in line? We want that from our childhood. When children line up to go to lunch or recess at school, many of them want to be the first in line. Most teachers avoid this fight and assign daily line leaders. We don’t want to be bring up the rear. We want to be first.

But Paul tells us that if we are alive when Christ returns, we will NOT be the first to go. All those saints who have died before His return will precede us. They will burst forth from their graves, or wherever their bodies were laid, a precede us in the air to meet our Lord and Savior. But don’t worry. It will happen so fast you won’t even realize it.

APPLICATION

The next time your little Johnny or Susie fight to be first, read them this verse. First isn’t always better. Show them in this verse that if we are alive when Christ returns, WE will get to see that. Wouldn’t that be grand? Get your child to draw a picture of what they think that might look like. That’s worth being second, isn’t it?

Also, by giving up that fight to be first all the time, we have the opportunity to serve others and lead them to Christ. All those who have gone before us don’t have that opportunity anymore. But while we wait on Jesus to return, we can talk to others about Him and perhaps they can join us on that day.

What are you waiting for? Are you pushing to be first all the time? Don’t! Step back and let others go ahead of you. That can even work in traffic (God forbid, lol). Yield to Jesus. Let Him always be first.

I fight this battle every day, Lord. I want to be first in all my endeavors. Let me learn the humility of being in back of the line so I can serve others.

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IF WE BELIEVE


1 THESSALONIANS 4:14

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” 

Man, that’s a huge statement! IF WE BELIEVE! Do you get what Paul is saying here? If you truly believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to give you new life, why in the world would you NOT believe that He will bring us with Him when He returns? Even this early in the history of the church speculations were abounding. People were saying He had already returned. Others were denying His physical resurrection and ascension. Hmmm, sounds like today, doesn’t it?

If you believe, I mean really believe, won’t you trust anything He says in His Word? If He said it, that settles it. Your belief in it doesn’t change the factual truth of His Words. But your belief in Him and what He says about His return will give you hope in the darkest days.  Hallelujah!

APPLICATION

Ask your little Gertrude if she believes you when you tell her something. Now hopefully you don’t have a habit of lying to her. If she says she does, ask her why. She may say something like, “Because you love me” or “Because you are my daddy.” Such simple trust, right? That’s how we need to trust our heavenly Father. He is totally and completely trustworthy, unlike us.

If you have ever broken the trust of your child, make that right. Remember, your earthly family (as a believer) should mirror your heavenly family. It should be one that is full of peace and love and trust, not anger and tension and conflict. Ask your child that tonight. Does their family reflect Jesus?

Boy, this is tough, isn’t it? Who would have thought today’s verse would have sparked this discussion. IF YOU BELIEVE! Do you? Do you really? Then trust that He is coming back for you. Who knows when, but He is. Are you ready? Is your family ready? Are your neighbors? 

Father, I know You sent Your Son once and He is returning. I know and believe that the saints will return with Him. I look toward that day with anticipation.

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IT’S NOT COMPLICATED

1 THESSALONIANS 4:4 

“that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,”  

Don’t read too much into this verse. It’s pretty simple. Not too complicated. Paul is telling us to control our bodies. As Christians, the Thessalonians needed to be reminded that even their bodies were a reflection of Christ. The same goes for us today. So, what does that mean? 

It does NOT mean that we get obsessed with exercise. While that is good and necessary, this earthen vessel is just that – an earthen vessel. It is going to get old and broken. We can’t stop the aging process. But we can honor God by how we treat it. Our body is deserving of sanctification and honor because it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Shouldn’t He live in a nice place? 

APPLICATION 

Take your children on a ride to the part of town where the houses are run down and in need of repair. Then take them to a newer neighborhood and show them some new homes. You are not trying to say anything about the people who live there. You are just looking at the structures. 

Ask them which house they would want to live in? I am sure they will pick the new house. Explain to them how their bodies, if they are believers, is like that. We must care for our bodies since it is where the Holy Spirit lives, and it’s the very thing that people see about us.  We all get sick and may get diseases. We are not referring to that. But we must do all we can to let our “vessels” honor the Lord.  

Okay! Here comes the hard question. How is your vessel looking? God loves you no matter what your body type. But He desires us to honor Him with what He has given us. Abusing our bodies dishonors the Lord. Abusing our vessels may make it unusable to the Lord. Keep yourself ready for the journey. You never know where He may ask you to go. 

Lord, I want to be used by You. Help me discipline my body to be prepared for whatever task You have for me. I thank You that You have given me the strength to serve. 

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PAYBACK


1 THESSALONIANS 3:9

“For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account,”  

Most of the time when you hear the term “payback” you think about getting back at someone for something they have done to you. That is NOT what Paul meant in this verse when he said “render to God.” The word “render” means payback. So, what did Paul mean?

Paul was caught up in a moment of praise and thanksgiving to God for these Thessalonians. As he is reflecting on his memories of them and on the report he had received from Timothy, he erupts in thanks to God. He is literally paying back God for all He has done in and through the Thessalonians. Paul just lost it in praise!

APPLICATION

Have you ever seen your children “lose it” when they got overjoyed about something? They get so excited they can’t even talk, and then they scream and yell and shout! Right? Maybe you have surprised them with that long, awaited trip to Disney World. They can’t put the words together to thank you. They want to “render” to you the thanks they feel, but they don’t know how.

The next time that happens, stop and get them to calm down. Then lead them in thanking God for the blessing they have received. Make sure they know that all praise goes to Him. He is the only one who deserves it. Paul knew that. So should we.

Who are you thanking? Who are you giving praise to today? Point all your praise to your heavenly Father. When we do that the Word says He inhabits it. Now that is incredible. He loves our praise so much He lives in it. What are you waiting on? Praise Him!

I praise You, O Lord. There is no other one I can thank for all that has come to me. I give You the glory!

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