“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thess 4:16-17 (NIV) If you are a child of God, then there is no need to fear death. You will either experience the rapture or the resurrection. If you are still alive when Jesus comes for His Bride, you will be raptured. You will be snatched up from your earthly existence. However, if you die before the the Rapture occurs, you will not experience the sting of death (I Cor. 15:55). To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-8). The moment you take your last breath on earth, you are ushered instantaneously into the Presence of the Lord. Are you Rapture ready? Have you solidified your spiritual status? Do you have the assurance of salvation? The Bible is clear that you can know that you have eternal life. “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV) “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 (NIV) Revisit the day of your salvation. Spend some time tracing the spiritual markers in your life. Thank God for His assurance of your salvation. Now that you are Rapture ready, invest your life in making a Kingdom impact for the glory of God. Make your life count for eternity! Pursuing God Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
Category: Eternity
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:16-18 (NIV) Adversity is not terminal, but it produces eternal results. Our current adversity is achieving for us an eternal glory. One day we will receive our glorified body. We will be delivered from this fallen world. We have been justified by God’s grace. We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ and we will be glorified. The best is yet to come. Don’t give up! Don’t throw in the towel! “Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” 1 Cor 15:51-53 (NIV) “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Rev 22:3-5 (NIV) Adversity will cease and God’s peace will reign. Our battle with sin, sorrow, and sickness will end. God’s glory will be revealed and we will reign with Him forever and ever! Are you ready for Heaven? Fix your eyes on Jesus! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” John 4:13-14 (NIV) Nothing in this life will satisfy like the water Jesus provides. Water is essential for survival on planet earth. Our body needs water to function properly. Water quenches our physical thirst. However, there is a thirst that water cannot satisfy. There is a thirst that only Jesus can quench. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Eccl 3:11 (NIV) “They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.” Isaiah 49:10 (NIV) God has placed eternity in our hearts. There is a longing that can only be satisfied by the living water that Jesus provides. In His compassion, God draws us to Himself. “‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.’” John 6:44 (NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV) God has made the gift of eternal life available to us. There is frustration in trying to share with others something you haven’t received personally. Make certain that you have personally received God’s gift of eternal life. Now seize opportunities that God gives you to share the gift of eternal life with others. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor
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Something Great (3)
Do something great by keeping an eternal perspective. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21 (NIV) Imagine flying at an altitude of thirty-thousand feet and scanning the colorful blocks of land on the earth’s surface. There is something about the view that gives you such a unique perspective on life. You begin to realize how small you are and how big the earth is. How do you view your life? Are you just breathing oxygen and taking up space or are you living on purpose by keeping an eternal perspective. God’s story is both massive and eternal. His plan includes you. You are an integral part of God’s redemptive story. God saved you, filled you with His Spirit, and gifted you to fulfill His purposes in your lifetime. Paul embraced an eternal perspective. He never lost sight of his win-win situation. If he lived, Christ lived with him. If Paul died, then he would live with Christ. Paul allowed his eternal perspective to fuel his courage and boldness for the Lord. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Phil 3:20-21 (NIV) Will you choose to live this year with eternity in mind? Remember, there’s more to this life than what you see. There is life beyond the grave! Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Pastor of Leadership and Pastoral Care