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Posted on 04/30/2021 10:23:24 PM PDT by JustAmy
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Bible in a Year:
We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
As the cabbie drove us to London’s Heathrow Airport, he told us his story. He had come alone to the United Kingdom at age fifteen, seeking to escape war and deprivation. Now, eleven years later, he has a family of his own and is able to provide for them in ways unavailable in his native land. But he laments that he’s still separated from his parents and siblings. He told us that he’s had a hard journey that won’t be complete until he’s reunited with his family.
Being separated from our loved ones in this life is hard, but losing a loved one in death is much harder and creates a sense of loss that won’t be made right until we’re reunited with them. When the new believers at Thessalonica wondered about such losses, Paul wrote, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). He explained that as believers in Jesus, we can live in expectation of a wonderful reunion—together forever in the presence of Christ (v. 17).
Few experiences mark us as deeply as the separations we endure, but in Jesus we have hope of being reunited. And in the midst of grief and loss we can find the comfort we need in that enduring promise (v. 18).
Reflect & Pray
How has loss marked your life? How does Jesus provide the help and hope you need?
Father, there’s nothing on earth that can fill the places in my heart made empty through loss. Draw me to You and comfort me with Your love and grace.
Hope you had a nice Sunday! I worked all weekend in various gardens, going back to work at regular job Monday morning. Am sure I will not work as hard on Monday as I did this weekend. 😅
I had a nice day! No gardening today though...just had to get out on the motorcycle after nearly a week of rain.
The rain predicted for here stayed south of us today. Got a lot done and it was cool and cloudy again. Very nice.
Yes, the gardening time always goes by fast and the inside job goes very slowly.
Bible in a Year:
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
Although Sam had done nothing wrong, he lost his job on the assembly line. Carelessness in another division led to problems in cars they built. After several crashes made the news, wary customers stopped buying their brand. The company had to downsize, leaving Sam out of work. He’s collateral damage, and it isn’t fair. It never is.
History’s first collateral damage occurred immediately after the first sin. Adam and Eve were ashamed of their nakedness, so God graciously clothed them with “garments of skin” (Genesis 3:21). It’s painful to imagine, but one or more animals that had always been safe in the garden were now slaughtered and skinned.
There was more to come. God told Israel, “Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord; morning by morning you shall provide it” (Ezekiel 46:13). Every. Single. Day. How many thousands of animals have been sacrificed because of human sin?
Their death was necessary to cover our sin until Jesus, the Lamb of God, came to remove it (John 1:29). Call this “collateral repair.” As Adam’s sin kills us, so the Last Adam’s (Christ’s) obedience restores all who believe in Him (Romans 5:17–19). Collateral repair isn’t fair—it cost Jesus’ life—but it’s free. Reach out to Jesus in belief and receive the salvation He offers, and His righteous life will count for you.
Reflect & Pray
When have you suffered for someone else’s mistake? When have you benefited from someone’s success, and how should you think about both situations?
Jesus, I believe in You, and I know Your life counts for me.
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LOL! You may send it to me if you wish! :)
Hey that’s me....up way too late, not tired...tired in the morning from lack of sleep. 🥱
Rained here too. Still like the cooler temps though. 😀
I would love to share!
Oh I do too! :-)
Always! LOL!
Thanks Amy! Great to see you.
Almost midsummer already here.
Winter days drag by slowly, summer flies by.
Bible in a Year:
Even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen.
When Conner and Sarah Smith moved five miles up the road, their cat S’mores expressed his displeasure by running away. One day Sarah saw a current photo of their old farmhouse on social media. There was S’mores in the picture!
Happily, the Smiths went to retrieve him. S’mores ran away again. Guess where he went? This time, the family that had purchased their house agreed to keep S’mores too. The Smiths couldn’t stop the inevitable; S’mores would always return “home.”
Nehemiah served in a prestigious position in the king’s court in Susa, but his heart was elsewhere. He had just heard news of the sad condition of “the city where my ancestors are buried” (Nehemiah 2:3). And so he prayed, “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, . . . ‘if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name’ ” (1:8–9).
Home is where the heart is, they say. In Nehemiah’s case, longing for home was more than being tied to the land. It was communion with God that he most desired. Jerusalem was “the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”
The dissatisfaction we sense deep down is actually a longing for God. We’re yearning to be home with Him.
Reflect & Pray
What’s your idea of home and why? In what ways do you sense yourself longing for God?
Father, help me understand that only You can satisfy my longings. Help me be at home with You, no matter where I am.
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