November 4

1 Thessalonians 4

Paul informs the Thessalonians regarding the Lord Jesus Christ’s second coming.

INSIGHT

Death is a mysterious, unavoidable experience. For the most part a fearful and foreboding process, death is a common factor in human experience: We live to die. Understandably, the most profound question human beings ask is: What happens when we die? Death is fully addressed in the Scriptures – and the answer is one of the most satisfying answers in the Bible: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16-17).

PRAYER

Praise God that Christ’s death and resurrection removed the sting of death:
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God (Psalm 14:2).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, and pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• Deeper understanding of Scripture
• Missionaries in west Africa
• Whatever else is on your heart

Close your worship time with this prayer:
I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. (Psalm 7:17)