TOGETHER IN THE CLOUDS!

 

Friday, August 21, 2026

 

TOGETHER IN THE CLOUDS!

 

1 Thess 4:16-18

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

 

          Many of my family and friends are already gone. Others are simply out of reach because they live many miles away. I’ve often longed to gather them all together in one place for a glad reunion. Well, that time is coming!

 

          The word “rapture” is nowhere found in the Bible. We get the idea from verse 17 and the words “caught up” which is derived from the Greek harpazo which denotes “to seize; to catch away; and to pluck up!” Suddenly, unexpectedly and wondrously believers will be taken away and gathered together. How I long to embrace those who are gone!

 

I SHALL KNOW HIM

Fanny Crosby

When my lifework is ended and I cross the swelling tide,
When the bright and glorious morning I shall see;
I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side,
And His smile will be the first to welcome me.

Chorus:
I shall know Him, (I shall know Him,) I shall know Him,
And redeemed by His side I shall stand;
I shall know Him, (I shall know Him,) I shall know Him
By the print of the nails in His hand.

Lord, thank you for the promise of a glad reunion.

 

FRUSTRATED?

 

Thursday, August 20, 2026

 

FRUSTRATED?

 

Ezra 4:4-5

4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

 

Total span from Cyrus’s accession to Darius’s reign:

From 559 BC to 522 BC = 37 years.

 

Gal 2:21

21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

 

          Only twice in our Authorized Version do we find the word “frustrate”. Once in the Old Testament and once again in the new. Let’s take a look.

 

          Ezra was trying to rebuild a damaged Temple and was frustrated by the people of the surrounding lands. Here the word is the Hebrew parar and it means “to break up or to violate.” The idea is to slow the progress of the Temple or to cause the work to cease. That’s what happens when we are frustrated. Our purposes are being hindered. Things aren’t going our way, or the progress is painfully slow.

 

          Paul, in Galatians, uses the Greek word atheteo which means “to set aside, to disesteem, or to neutralize.” He explains that he does not want to frustrate God by trying to purchase a salvation by his own works that has already been paid for on Calvary’s cross! I imagine the frustration of a teacher trying to get through to a “slow” student who persists in doing things the wrong way.

 

          If you feel frustrated today, then pay attention to the “IT” in our closing verse. Actually, the it is in italics indicating that it was included to make it more understandable in English. The phrase is “He shall bring to pass.”

 

Ps 37:5

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

 

Lord, it is frustrating to keep trying to do what You do not want done, but I am self-willed and obstinate. Lord, I do not know Your purpose, but please bring IT to pass. AMEN

 

THEY SHALL LAUGH!

 

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

 

THEY SHALL LAUGH!

 

Luke 6:21

21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

 

          The word “smile” appears nowhere in our English Bible. However, the word “laugh” appears 18 times in 17 verses. Did the characters in Bible times never smile? I think they did.

 

          A smile is much more subtle than a laugh. A smile can indicate a variety of things including deceit. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a "Duchenne smile". Smiles performed without the eye contraction may be perceived as insincere. Among humans, smiling is an expression denoting pleasure, sociability, happiness, joy or amusement.

 

          This old world is not a happy place. Jesus addressed those that wept and told them that their weeping could be turned into full blown laughter! The ultimate destination for believers is laughter and joy – uncontained and overflowing joy!

 

Ps 30:4-5

4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for turning mourning into rejoicing. AMEN