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“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For,

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” 1^st Peter 1:23-25.

One of the benefits of the salvation that God planned eternally, implemented and perfected by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and illuminated and convinced by the Holy Spirit, is your new birth. 

Jesus said to Nicodemus, who came to talk to Jesus this cardinal statement, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” In short, to become a member of God’s household and all great blessings he has for you, You must be born again. Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus also said to him, “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3).

The new birth or birthing into God’s household or kingdom as His child is a mystery. You cannot see it is happening like the birth of a newborn in physical terms like you won’t know where the wind comes from and where it goes. You hear the sound of it and do not really how it happens. 

Our today’s insight says that rebirth happens not of perishable seed, but it is the result of an imperishable seed. A perishable seed gives birth, as we know in the agricultural world. However, an imperishable seed gives birth to you, allowing you to born again into God’s family as His child. What is that imperishable seed? It says the imperishable seed is the living and enduring Word of God. It continues to say that all people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. What happens to grass and the flowers? It sprouts gloriously, and then it dies out or falls off. The reason is that all people, grass, and flowers are born by perishable seed. It cannot live forever or endure for long. 

Beloved, however, when your rebirth happens, it is caused by the Word of God that lasts forever. In other words, the Word of God endures forever. It never dies out or falls off. God never dies and falls off, and His Word never dies out or fall off. And you are born again by the Word of God, which lasts forever and ever as God endures forever and ever. 

Then it says, this is the Word that is preached to you. When I talk to you now God’s salvation, it is the eternal, everlasting, and ever-enduring Word that you are listening to or reading. And it is the preaching of eternal Word or the Gospel that comes to your ears. Holy Spirit bids you accept the Word because it is one hundred percent true and powerful to save you forever by forgiving your sins and mistakes, cleansing, and granting everlasting life in heaven with God.

The Word of the Gospel is good news. It is the good news that Jesus died, buried, and rose again victoriously for your sins. If you accept Him now as your savior, you will be forgiven, saved, and granted eternal life. It is the Word that is being preached to you. The word of the Gospel is this – “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13. It does not matter who you are. You may be a ‘reputable’ person or a ‘nobody’. With no partiality, God promises, “Everyone” who calls on Jesus Christ will be saved. 

Would you accept the eternal Word of God that gives you new-birth into God’s family now by accepting Christ as your savior? “Father in heaven, I know my re-birth into your kingdom and entrance into heaven is caused by the imperishable and enduring Word of God. I accept your Word- the Gospel which is the good ones that Jesus died for my sins, buried and rose again. I accept the offer of salvation by inviting Jesus into my life. I thank you for saving me now. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.” 

 

 

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” ESV. Matthew 6:6.

What was the last time you get alone to talk to God in heaven? Life gets busy daily. Work, children, shopping, selling, cooking, cleaning, taking care of others, paying bills, and the list goes on. Jesus says it is crucial to go away by yourself (alone with God), spent quiet time talking to God in prayer, and listening to what he would like to say to you.

Our today’s insight is the words of Jesus. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret, will reward you. The word used here for room means goes in private to a storeroom, inner room, or a bedroom. When you do it, God who sees you will reward you. In short, when you pray in private and pour your heart to the Lord God, there is an exceptional promise attached to it. What is it? The promise that God will reward you.

Do you want God’s reward? I am sure you do, don’t you? What was the last time you got alone in private with God in prayer? There is a verse in Lamentations 3:28, and it says, “When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer—Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face. The “worst” is never the worst.” (MSG).

When life gets heavy and hard to take, this is the secret for success. Go off by yourself to God in prayer. Be silent and spend quiet time with Him—bow in prayer. Hope and deliverance will appear. Do not run from trouble because it is not going to help you, period! When you are in private prayer to the Lord in prayer, you will face your problems with full power and force with almightly God’s help. You think you have seen the “worst,” don’t you? It says your worst is never the worst.

Listen, by praying to God in private, you never run away from your troubles, but gets the power and ability to face them in full force with almighty God on your side.

When God sees you in private prayer with him, He sees you in secret and will reward you. Why don’t you claim God’s promise by starting a private time of prayer and quietness with the Lord God in heaven?

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, how easily I can get your attention and your reward! I can go to an inner room in private and talk to you in prayer. What a privilege it is! I do not need to go to any special temple, building, or sacred places to pray. My inner room would be enough to get your attention to my problems. You promised when you see me in secret, you will reward me. I believe in your promise. Help me to start private prayer time with you beginning today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

“Weeping may stay for the night,
     but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5(b).

We do not typically see the light at the end of the tunnel through difficult times and sorrow, do we? The night may seem too long. However, God says joy comes in the morning regardless of the lengthy nature of the night. Psalm 30 is one of the songs King David wrote. In his troubled, fearful, and pain-filled times David poured out his heart to God through his poems or songs. When God gave deliverance and joy, he wrote songs of praise and joy. His songs are in the book of Psalms in the Bible.

David, who went through frequent up and down experiences in his life, was a man who experienced fears and sorrows and God-given victories and joys. His life centered his life around the Lord God that he faithfully recorded his feelings in his songs. These songs became the praise and worship hymns of the Israelites.

David wrote. “weeping may stay for the  night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” David was faced with unexplainable pains, troubles, and persecutions for a long time from the first king of Israel, Saul. David had been on the run, fearing Saul, and he could not stay in his home. He had to hide in caves and even in the wilderness. He experienced weeping and loneliness for a long time. Now he looks back and testifies the truth, “weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” David says in another song that God delivered him from all his troubles. You see, David’s eyes were on the Lord during his difficulties. He prayed and trusted in the Lord even though he could not understand why all these bad things were happening. Now we know why God allowed weeping and painful troubles in his life. His songs became the word of God, comforting countless people down through the centuries. Still, his songs recorded in the book of Psalms in the Bible comforts the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit.

The secret of David’s success, although he has gone through heartbreaking events, was this. He focused his eyes on the Lord for deliverance. He did not take matters into his hand. He prayed and waited for the Lord to act on his behalf. No wonder David was called by the Lord, “a man after my own heart.” Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22.

No wonder this pandemic called COVID-19 brought untold miseries, sorrows, fear, and a sense of hopelessness to people around the world. However, if you put your trust in the Lord God like David did pour your feelings and sadness to Him, and wait, I bet this – even though weeping may stay here for a long night, however, joy is assured in the morning from God. God takes note of a person who would trust Him with all his heart amid manifold trials. He will bring deliverance and full joy eventually as he did to David. There are numerous examples of God bring comfort, joy, and deliverance to his people in the pages of the Bible. Job, Joseph, and Daniel are few such examples. However, the greatest examples is Jesus Christ. God turned around the crucifixion and death into a marvelous morning of resurrection and joy. God used the hopelessness felt by the fearful disciples due to the death of Christ to open the gospel of good news to the world to anyone who would come and accept His Son, Jesus, as his or her savior by granting forgiveness, peace and eternal  life. Because Jesus lives we will also live eternally by coming to Him.

God promised this in Isaiah 61:3. Listen carefully. “I will give them a crown to replace their ashes,
and the oil of gladness to replace their sorrow,
and clothes of praise to replace their spirit of sadness.
Then they will be called Trees of Goodness,
trees planted by the Lord to show his greatness.”

The ‘ashes’ portrays the picture of deep anguish, sadness sorrow. The oil, crown, and clothes portray the anticipation of festival, joy, and rejoicings.  They would become like trees of goodness planted by the LORD to show his greatness. God replaced the sadness, fear, and sorrow of His servant David with crown and joy. He became an example of what great things God would do for a man who would trust Him. We still enjoy the fruit of the tree of goodness planted by the LORD. David was the fruit tree planted to show God’s greatness down through the centuries. This is what you can also expect when you pray, lean, trust, and wait on the Lord with focused eyes on Him.

“Father in heaven, thank you for your counsel that said weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning. You said you will replace our ashes and sorrows with your crown and goodness and we will praise your greatness. I believe, pray, trust and wait upon you, Lord. I accept Jesus as  my savior and Lord because he died, buried and rose again for my sins and shortcomings. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.”

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you hear the word God, what comes to your mind? Some people think God as an unpleasant being who has an ongoing anger issue and waiting to punish you always. The one who has a stick in his hand to beat on your head. Especially, if you are brought up in certain religious systems that always feared God, more likely, your heart would be filled with fear.

Listen, the Bible says God is the Father of compassion. Secondly, He is the God of all comfort. Thirdly, God comforts us in all our troubles. Quite different from your estimation, right? Why do we have compassion? Why do we comfort others who are in trouble and danger? Why do we love our children and dear ones? Why do we get angry when unfair and wrong things are exposed? You see, we are made in the image of God. Although God’s image tarnished in us due to the original sin and subsequent disobedience and rebelliousness of people, it is not fully eradicated. We are still able to show love, compassion, and comfort. 

Our today’s insight reminds us God, who is revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.

You see, we never understand the love, care, compassion, and comfort of our Father God in heaven until we need these desperately and cry out to Him. The Bible says God is near to the brokenhearted and listen to the next phrase- not only He is near to the brokenhearted, but it says He saves the crushed in spirit. I experienced God’s compassion, unconditional love, and comfort when I needed it desperately. Have you? If so, our insight says to praise God for His compassion and comfort you experienced in your life. Can we together praise God because His love, compassion, and comfort with which He comforts us in all our troubles?

Troubles are varied and come back again and again. This is why it says ‘in all our troubles”. In each of it, you are weighed down and sometimes get to the point of discouragement and hopelessness. However, it says in all your troubles He comforts you. David would say, in his heinous sins of adultery and the resultant murder, God showed His compassion and comfort, when he truly repented and called upon the Lord of all compassion. 

It also means when you are despised and mistreated, his compassion and comforts are on you. When you are in bed with sickness, he is closer to you than ever before. When you are financially bankrupt, He is there with you in your poverty. When you go through the valley of the shadow of death, He holds your hand close and tight and leads you to his presence of ever-present joy and gladness. 

Beloved, you would know God as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts you in all your troubles when you connect with His Son, Jesus, as your savior and Lord. God the Father gave His one and only Son Jesus Christ to die in your place for your sins and trespasses. Jesus bore your sin on his divine and sinless body and became a sacrificial lamb to free yourself from the judgment of sins and mistakes. When you enter through the gate of His Son, Jesus, who showed true love by dying and then rising again for your sins, you are welcomed into all the compassion and comfort of the loving God in heaven. You became a recipient of all God’s love, compassion, and comfort all through your life here on this planet earth and after your departure from here.  

Got a moment for today’s prayer?

Father in heaven, I know Jesus is the door through whom I can receive all of God’s endless love, compassion, and comfort. I believe Jesus died for my sins, buried, and rose again. I accept Him as my savior and Lord. Bless me and lead me into all the amazing blessings you have in store for me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen. 

“For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

When you look at me, I am the product of all my previous good and bad decisions. So are you. The person you and I are today is made up of the sum of the choices and decisions we made in the past.

Making good/right decisions is one of the major keys to success in our lives. However, when we make a choice or decision, we may not consider the seriousness of its effect on our lives. Therefore, we make choices in a hurry and without proper thinking.

I still remember an evening I sat in the upper chamber of my cousin’s house. I made up my mind to accept the US visa and come to the USA by leaving a new good-paying job in India after a brief time of reflection on the potential issues. At that time, I was torn between two options- remain in the place I was or leave the country and to another one. I did not give much importance to that choice at that time of my life. I arose from my chair and decided to go to the USA, leaving everything behind. My Economics graduate degree books, files, and notes were all still inside the rented room in India. I only thought about coming to the USA for a few years and then returning to India. However, that choice made in the evening completely changed the direction of my life. I lived in the USA for the last 33 years and gone through the unimaginable course of changes in my life- real bad and some magnificent changes and experiences. It resulted in a mixture of good and bad results in my life. I raised children, a career, theological studies, and spiritual growth.

During this time of history, frequently, we end up making quick decisions in a limited time frame, don’t we? Sometimes we make decisions without thinking much about it only to find later that such rapid and seemingly small decisions had a significant impact on our lives. We all are human. We end up making good and bad decisions. However, had we known better, we would not have made a few of those choices, do we? This is why we need wisdom. Wisdom does not merely mean knowledge. Wisdom includes understanding, insight, judgment along with the acquired knowledge. Besides, we make decisions without knowing the future. We do not know how it will all turn out.

Therefore, to make the right choices and decisions, we need wisdom, understanding, insight into the future. Where do we get it? Our Bible verse today says, “The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” If the LORD gives wisdom, then it is important to listen to him because from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

We live in a culture that says, listen to your heart or listen to your intuition. However, our heart or intuition would be false and lead us to wrong choices and actions if we do not listen to the LORD to make sure it comes from his mouth. The reason is that there is only one source of wisdom, and that is the LORD God. You can acquire knowledge from many places, but get wisdom only from God.

Proverbs 2:9 says, “He shows how to distinguish right from wrong and find the right decision every time.” TLB. Choices made based on people’s or popular opinions would not hold for a long time because people and culture are temporal and transitory. People’s and popular views change over time.

I would say the safe place is to listen to the LORD, who gives wisdom and understanding. Two things you can do in this matter. Pray and seek God for His wisdom. Study the pages of the Bible because all the words in it are God-breathed, that would make you much wiser.

“Father in heaven, I thank you I can pray to you for wisdom and guidance when I make a choice. I also can read and study the Bible to know the wisdom from heaven in making good and right decisions. I  pray Lord. help me to seek you for true wisdom. Help me not to get cues from culture,  popular opinions, and personal intuitions but always check with you and your word (the Bible) to make sure my steps are according to your plans. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

“My grace is sufficient for you.” 2nd Corinthians 12:9

What God offers you surpasses all that the world ever provide you. There is no match to God’s love, grace, compassion, and care. He offers you is according to His foreknowledge and pre-determined plan. God, who knows you good in all ways, planned and offered you the very best. It surpasses in value than anything you would ever receive.

God says He loves you. His love is based on His unchanging character. It is not based on any condition of your behaviors, works, and efforts. God is the perfect and the true father of you because He is the creator God who knitted you together when you were in your mother’s womb. God said in Isaiah 54:1, “For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, who has compassion on you.” The departure of mountains and the removal of hills is not something ordinarily happens. Even if such an unordinary thing happens, God says his steadfast love shall not depart from you. He makes a covenant of peace with you, and it shall never be removed. Therefore you do not be scared of God. He is not angry with you. He established his eternal covenant of love and peace with you.

God says even if the closest one forgets you or forsake you, he will hold you close. Psalm 27:10 says,” For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.” (ESV). However, the NLV says, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Did you hear what it says, “He (the LORD) will never leave you nor forsake you? Therefore do not be afraid or terrified.

God says, He will forgive you. No matter where you have been, and no matter what you did, God is the true and only safe and secure refuge you have. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” What is God’s riches of grace? What is the meaning that God lavished His grace on us? Read slow and think about this verse again. He forgives your trespasses and mistakes, according to the abundant riches of His grace, which he lavishes. Do not think you can’t get back to normal. Do not think God cannot forgive you. In God, there is the lavishness of grace and forgiveness. Psalms 103:12-13 says, “as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”

Do you know how far is east from the west? I don’t know, and nobody knows. He would remove your transgression as far as the east is from the west. It will never come back to you or haunt you. Bible says 1st John 1:9, |f we confess our sins; he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” From all means from all. Nothing is unforgivable for God in Christ Jesus.

God says he has a beautiful and prosperous plan for your life. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “or I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” There is no doubt. He has a plan for your life. He said I know the plans I have for you. It means he has a definite plan for you. That plan has two aspects. Positively He assures it will prosper you, give you hope and future. Many man’s plans are not prosperous ones. They do not give hope and a bright future. However, God’s plan for your life has all these three wonderful blessings-make you prosperous, provide you with hope and future. Negatively it says his plan will not harm you. It will never harm you. His plans protect, safeguard you no matter what happens in this world. His plan protects and guides you through the experiences of suffering, sickness, and even death.

I have much more to say about what God offers you. It surpasses your wildest imagination about life, and it is better than all that the world offers you. You have the security of unending love, never leaving presence, the forgiveness of your sins and shortcomings, a prosperous, hope-filled, and exciting future in God.

One more thing-God says He revealed his beautiful and eternal plans in Christ Jesus and what he carried out for your sake. (Ephesians 3:11). Your offer described above is all wrapped up in His Son, Jesus Christ, who died, buried, and rose again for you. And Jesus says and affirms to you, no matter what goes around you, “my grace is sufficient for you.”

Would you pray with me?

“Father in heaven, I know you offer surpasses in value what the world and people offer me. Your love, grace, presence, forgiveness, and bright future all come in the person and the work of Jesus for me. I believe Jesus died, buried, and rose again for me. I accept Him as my savior. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

“And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image”. 2nd Corinthians 3:18(b) NLT.

We discussed yesterday, a person who accepted Christ as the savior goes to heaven to the presence of the Lord at the time of his death. Moreover, he or she will get glorified and brand new body with no disabilities or weaknesses at the time of rapture when the Lord Jesus descends to the clouds with a shout, voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of the Lord.

Moreover, our today’s insight says the Lord makes us more and more like him as we live here on this earth by transforming into his glorious image. This process of ongoing transformation into Christ’s image is called sanctification. Every child of God who truly accepted Jesus as the savior has the privilege of this glorious transformation as they live here on this side of eternity.  Romans 8:28-29 says, God calls people to His Son, Jesus Christ according to His purpose, and God foreknew and predestined them to become conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Chapter 8 of the book of Romans highlights the works of the Holy Spirit of God in your life to make you conformed to the image of Christ.

Beloved, you cannot become like Christ or even produce Christ-like character by your self-efforts, disciplines, or hard works. You can make all resolutions, determination with all perfect and best intentions in your heart. However, none of these are good enough in themselves to develop Christ-likeness in you.  It is God and His Spirit, who enables you in your sanctification process to become more and more like Christ.

Bible says in Philippians 2:13, “ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Did you listen to what it says?  God is working in you. Secondly, it is the God who gives you the desire and the needed power to do what pleases Him. Man’s salvation, sanctification, and glorification all are the works of God. Self-efforts achieve none of these.

Now, of course, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility go hand in hand. I do not know how to explain how both work together to achieve God’s good and divine purposes. However, the Bible says it is essential to submit to the Lord, yield to the Holy Spirit of God, walk by the Spirit. Your transformation process begins with your acceptance of Jesus as your savior and Lord. Without Jesus in your life, you would not get transformed into His image. Secondly, as you pray, study the word of God (the Bible), yield your decision and choices in obedience to the word of God to the best of your ability with all your weaknesses and failures, the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, the Christ-like transformation is produced in you by the work of the God and His Spirit. It is so amazing that even the desire and the power to do what pleases God is granted by God Himself.

Over the years, was  any Crist like transformation happened even in a small way? Check it out. Compare today with ten years back. Did any Christ-like fruit develop in you? If Christ-like images occurred in you, even in a small dose, it is because God gave you the desire and the needed power for it. Praise and thank God for his supernatural work in your life.  Remember, the Lord makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image day by day.

“Father in heaven, I understand no matter what happens in this world, my future is safe and secure in Jesus Christ, my savior. Thank you for granting me salvation and eternal life in heaven with you. I believe Jesus died, buried, and rose again for all of my sins and shortcomings. Not only is my future safe, but also, your Holy Spirit works in me to make me look more like Jesus Christ. Please conform me to his image and use me for your name and glory. In Christ’s name, I pray, Amen.”

“But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy– your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” Isaiah 26:19.

In yesterday’s insight, we discussed what happens at the time of death. Death is simply the separation of your soul from the body. “The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7. At the time of death, the spirit God gave inside you pass away or fly away from you. However, your soul or spirit went home to be with the Lord in heaven, does not stay in a dis-embodied condition forever.

2nd Corinthians 5:2-3 says, “That is why we look forward eagerly to the day when we shall have heavenly bodies that we shall put on like-new clothes.  For we shall not be merely spirits without bodies.” TLB. Bible says we look forward to a day when we put new glorified bodies on us like new clothes, for we shall not be merely spirits without bodies. The intermediate state after death and before the resurrection of the bodies and the desire to be clothed over is in view here in these verses of 2nd Corinthians. 

Beloved, even though the spirit is separated from the body at the time of our death, this separation of the spirit from the body or the intermediate state is not permanent. It says, “But your dead will live, LORD; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy– your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives more details about the resurrection day when the departed spirit would be clothed with new and glorified bodies. One day soon, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came down to pay the price of your sin and then ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), will come down from heaven to the clouds, with a loud shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet call of God, all the dead in Jesus Christ will wake up and rise from the ground. The soul of a person, who believed in Jesus as his or her savior, goes home in heaven at the moment of death. Later, at the time of the rapture, when the Lord descends from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God, he will rise from the ground. Where ever and however died, they will resurrect from there-ground, or sea or in ashes. God, who created everything from nothing by His powerful voice, would be able to raise your corpse or body from wherever you went down. 

The first thing that happens at the time of the rapture is the resurrection of the dead in Jesus Christ. Along with it, the dead in Christ-believers in Christ, who live at that time and never died, will be caught up together to the clouds. We all will meet the Lord in the clouds. 

The salvation God grants would be complete at that point. Your spirit in the Lord’s presence in an intermediate state, because death already happened, would be clothed with the brand new, beautiful, glorified, celestial body at the time of the rapture. Those believers who live when the rapture happens would never face death. They would be instantly transformed and caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord. We will be with the Lord forever. Bible says to be joyful and comforted in this blessed hope of our beautiful future.  

Therefore, death is not a bad thing for a believer in Christ. A person who accepted Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord, death is not non-existence. It is just a separation of his spirit from the body and at home with the Lord in full awareness and bliss. Although he is in an intermediate state, a believer never dies and he gets the glorified body to put over as a new cloth. 

Remember, Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Your source of resurrection and life is Jesus Christ. The one who professes his or her belief in Jesus will never die but continues to live.

Beloved, did you accept Jesus into your life? Did you believe in Him? If not, it is not late even today because you haven’t died yet. Would you pray and accept Jesus as your savior now?

“Father in heaven, I believe You sent Your one and only Son Jesus to forgive me, save me and grant me eternal life in heaven. I believe Jesus died for my sins, buried, and victoriously rose again. I accept Him as my savior. Please save me. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen.

“If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.” 2nd Timothy 2:13.

Today’s insight gives us two natures of God. Number one-God is faithful. It means he is one hundred percent trustful. You can trust Him and His words in the Bible. The words in the Bible are God-breathed. All those words came out of God, who is entirely faithful.

It goes one more step further. Not only is God faithful and trustworthy, but he also remains loyal to you when you prove yourself faithless. Humanly it is hard to understand, isn’t it? When people’s actions are unfaithful, they generally dust off their trust and faith in them as well. However, God is different. Even when you become unfaithful or faithless, He remains faithful. It means a lot to you and me. God and all His promises remain faithful to you. This truth empowers you to go back to God and trust in His love, mercy, and forgiveness. If nothing is learned from the story of Prodigal Son and Father, this is the lesson you would not forget. Son was not faithful, but his father remained faithful to him. The true nature of God the Father in heaven. (Luke 15).

Make a note of this. ‘If we are faithless’ is used in the present tense in the meaning of the settled mind of the absence of obedience and faithfulness toward God. Some of you who are reading or listening to today’s insight is in a place of settled mind of rejecting Christ. You may be remaining unfaithful to Him. Listen to the insight- He remains faithful. His love, mercy, forgiveness, and promise of eternal life with Him in heaven are still open for you. He remains faithful. There is one barrier between you, and such a faithful God, and that is not making up your mind to come to him if you have never been or return to Him if you went astray.

The second nature of God is also highlighted in our insight. “He cannot deny Himself.” He cannot deny himself means he would not change His character. Other translation says because He is true to himself. Bible emphasizes the fact that God never changes. God remains the same all through the ages-yesterday, today and forever. He and His love, mercy, faithfulness does not change over time. It does not vary based on your thinking or actions. He remains the same from eternity past to eternity future. There will be many shocking and shaking circumstances in your life. Everything around you changes. Your friends, dear ones, health, age, and family-all are prone to change. Your hope and comfort are on God’s unchanging nature. Theologian has a term for it – immutable. God is unchangeable. He is unchangeable over time. His promises are unalterable. It means the one who loves you remains faithful toward you through the shocking, shaking events of our life. This knowledge alone gives hope, encouragement, and strength to you.

Beloved, you may be faced with painful and heartbreaking incidents. However, God’s commitment toward you remains intact. God alone guarantees security for your life here now and after death.
As faithful parents, we think, plan, and act for our children’s future. God, your true Father in heaven, loves you more than your earthly parents, already thought, designed, and worked for your secure future. That is why He sent His one and only Son Jesus Christ to pay for your sins and shortcomings on the cross where He shed his blood as a ransom for you to make you His own.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I praise and thank you because even when I am faithless, you remain faithful. Faithfulness is your attribute. I know no human can be faithful like you. O Lord, this is such a comforting thought that you are faithful, and your faithfulness is my hope and motivation to do your work. Lord, you remain faithful because that is your nature. You are immutable. I love you because people change and circumstances change all over  my life.  However, you and your words are would not change. It is not based on my circumstances. I believe you sent your Son Jesus to this world to die for me to make me your child. I accept the salvation you offer in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Please save and bless me. In Christ’s name, I pray. Amen.”

“And how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God.” Ist Thessalonians 1:9 (b).

The Bible says the idol worship begins with man’s departure from the loving, living, and only one creator God. It is the result of the apostasy in people’s hearts toward the truth revealed to them. People’s imagination that God is not interested in their personal lives because God is up there in heaven and least bothered about the affairs of humans. The belief that God created the world and then left it alone because he is so high and separate from his creation. Deism holds the view that God does not intervene with the functioning of the natural world in any way, allowing it to run according to the laws of nature. However, the Bible reveals God’s transcendence and immanence (nearness) as his unique attributes.

Bible reveals even though God is so high and above and He is glorious more than our wildest imaginations, He still involved with the details of all the heavens, the earth, under the earth and our personal lives daily. The thought that God may not be interested in our lives led some even in the 2nd generation of Adam’s race to depart from Him and seek the intermediaries for help. From there onwards, people through the generations found intermediaries in heavenly bodies like sun, moon, and stars. They also found intermediaries for help in some prominent figures because of their seemingly ‘good standing’ with God. They thought it would help them to get favor from God by appealing to higher classes like heaven’s shining and helpful items or even in those people about whom they assumed had a good rapport with God during their earthly life.

Romans 1:21 says even though people knew the truth about God in their hearts, they did not honor Him as God. God’s invisible and powerful attributes were clearly observed through His works of marvelous creation. In addition they knew God internally from their inside. (1:19-20). Sadly, they did not have a thankful heart or honor toward the one true living God. As a result, their heart was darkened and became foolish in their speculations. The result was idol worship according to Romans 1:23. It says there, “they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and birds, animals and so forth.” Verse 25 says, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie. This resulted in worshipping and serving the creature rather than the creator.

Now some innocent people got into this false belief system because they are born into the families or communities of those who exchanged the truth of God for a lie. You see such people may never have questioned the cultural system they were in. They also became part of the lie system without much thoughts behind it. Average person has a tendency to go with the flow.

Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 1:9 this. Listen carefully. It says to remember, “how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” It illustrates how did the transfer happen in their lives in the preceding verses. The Gospel, the good news, came to them not just in its words but also in its power. This meant they heard the preaching of the Gospel, (vs.5a) which is the truth of God and the Holy Spirit of God convicted them(5b). As a result, many people in the city of Thessalonica turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.

Beloved, this is the only way to turn from idols to true and living God who is the creator of all. The Gospel informs God loves you and He is intimately involved with your personal life. God cares about you and your future. As a result, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place to pay for all of your sins so that you can come closer to God and enjoy loving fellowship with Him in and through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Got a moment for today’s prayer? “Father in heaven, I believe in the good news – the Gospel- that You loves and cares about me and you are intimately involve in my personal lives.  Although You are transcendent you are immanent as well. I believe as a proof of Your love, You sent Jesus Christ for my sin. Jesus carried my sins on His body and paid a ransom for all of my sins. Now I can have fellowship and friendship with you when I accept Jesus as my savior and Lord. I accept Jesus and believer in Him. Please save me, bless me and grant me your promised eternal life with you in heaven. In the  name of Jesus Christ, I  pray. Amen.”