[Anglican Devotional 27 November 2021] Topic: Sleeping In Christ – God’s Great Gift!

Posted by: Henry || Categories: Devotional

TOPIC: Sleeping In Christ – God’s Great Gift!

READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NKJV)

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
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 by no means precede those who are asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And 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. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore comfort one another with these words.
THE MESSAGE:

One of God’s greatest gifts is the gift of sleep, especially sleep which is peaceful and deep. A deep night’s sleep can be so refreshing, one of life’s great pleasures! Paul referred to death as sleep for Christians (verses 14-15). This seals the hope we ought to have, as a man who sleeps will certainly wake up. At the Feast of All Saints (November 1st) and in the month of November, we remember, first, the Saints in heaven, and then the souls of the faithful departed. Indeed, November right into the early part of Advent is also a part of the Church’s Calendar when we begin to ponder the last things: Death, judgement, heaven and hell.

Life changes as we grow older and one day, we will die. But for those who have found faith in Christ, even in death, there is hope. And that was Paul’s message to the Thessalonica Church and for us today. Unfortunately, the practice of meditating on death and the afterlife has fallen out of favour in recent years. However, we do not only meditate on the dark abyss of death as the end; Jesus Christ died for our sins, saving us from death. In the Christian context, the light of Christ streams through the darkness of death and fills it with the hope of heaven.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, may Your death give us the faith we need – that those who die in You will live forever.

Related posts:

1. [Anglican Communion 26 November 2020] Topic: The End Of A Fulfilled Life
2. [ANGLICAN DEVOTIONAL 19 FEBRUARY 2021] Topic: SERVING TWO MASTERS
3. [ANGLICAN DEVOTIONAL 12 JUNE 2021] Topic: NICODEMUS AND THE NEW BIRTH
4. [ANGLICAN DEVOTIONAL 20 JUNE 2020] Topic: HAVE NO ANXIETY
5. [Anglican Devotional 24 September 2021] Topic: Believe And See
6. [Anglican Devotional 18 February 2022] Topic: He Told Me All That I Did
7. [Anglican Devotional 21 April 2022] Topic: Open To Me
8. [Anglican Devotional 24 April 2022] Topic: Hope Against Hope
9. [Anglican Devotional 1 September 2022] Topic: Whose Servant Are You?
10. [Anglican Devotional 31 October 2022] Topic: Life Is Profitable: Only In Christ Jesus