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: 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. 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.
Soon appeared the great white cloud. It looked more lovely than ever before. On it sat the Son of man. At first we did not see Jesus on the cloud, but as it drew near the earth we could behold His lovely person. . . . The voice of the Son of God called forth the sleeping saints, clothed with glorious immortality. The living saints were changed in a moment and were caught up with them into the cloudy chariot. It looked all over glorious as it rolled upward. On either side of the chariot were wings, and beneath it wheels. And as the chariot rolled upward, the wheels cried, “Holy,” and the wings, as they moved, cried, “Holy,” and the retinue of holy angels around the cloud cried, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” And the saints in the cloud cried, “Glory! Alleluia!”
We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, when Jesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads. He gave us harps of gold and palms of victory. Here on the sea of glass the 144,000 stood in a perfect square. Some of them had very bright crowns, others not so bright. Some crowns appeared heavy with stars, while others had but few. All were perfectly satisfied with their crowns. And they were all clothed with a glorious white mantle from their shoulders to their feet. Angels were all about us as we marched over the sea of glass to the gate of the city. Jesus raised His mighty, glorious arm, laid hold of the pearly gate, swung it back on its glittering hinges, and said to us, “You have washed your robes in My blood, stood stiffly for My truth, enter in.” We all marched in and felt that we had a perfect right in the city.
A voice, richer than any music that ever fell on mortal ear, will be heard saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Maranatha p. 305
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Prayer Requests
—–Please pray for Connie who is having extreme back pain.
—– Continuing to need prayer for clear open direction forward for our family with determination to move forward with His Will…not anyone else’s. Nicole
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Dear Friends
As Ron and I were driving home from church, we began reminesce about my driving habits. When I was young, I drove very fast. In town, I kept my speed to about five over the speed limit, but outside of town, I habitually drove between 90 and 115 miles per hour. (The fastest I’ve ever driven was 140!) We often joked that I had a 1961 Mercury Meteor and I thought it needed to live up to its name.
After Eileen was born, my speeding lessened to about ten miles an hour over the posted limit. Over the years, I’ve slowed down even further. Now I drive the speed limit most of the time. As Ron and I talked about this change, I remarked how free it made me feel. When I obeyed the speed limit, I did not have to worry about any policemen who might be around.
Suddenly, I understood why James speaks of the Law as “the law of liberty.” James 2:12 How often we think of God’s Law in the same light as I had always viewed speed limits—very restrictive. Yet, obeying His Commandments brings true freedom. “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient.” 1 Tim 1:9 James advises, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:19-25
One day, Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matt 22:36-40 So we see that love is the key to obedience. Without love, obedience is worthless. By obeying the first four commandments, we show our love for God. If we truly love our Great Creator, we will give Him first place in our life. We will not spend our short life focusing upon the things of this world. We will not be irreverent. We will delight in spending God’s Holy Day with Him through Bible study, prayer, and enjoying the works of His Hands. Likewise, by obeying the last six commandments, we show our love to those around us. If we truly have love, we will respect our parents. We will not kill either in actuality or by gossip and cruel treatment. We will keep our body pure for our husband or wife. We will respect others property. Others will be able to trust what we say and what we do. We will not desire what another has, but will be content with the blessings God has given us.
May we obey our Loving Saviour because we love Him. (1 John 4:19) May our life declare as did Paul, “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.” 1 Tim 1:5 May we “love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, and with all [our] soul, and with all [our] strength, and with all [our] mind; and our neighbour as [ourself]” is my prayer. Luke 10:27
Rose
Translation of the Righteous