February 4th Follow-up

1 Thessalonians 4
While we wait for his return

One day soon, each of us will be going about our day as normal, and there will be the sound of a trumpet, and those of us who are followers of Jesus will find ourselves with Him. As the saying goes – “I can’t wait”. But that is exactly what we are doing right now. Waiting for His return. While we wait we should be watching and preparing for His return.

The Bible teaches us that looking for His return has a purifying effect on our lives spiritually. Because it leads us to press into Jesus each day, relying upon the Holy Spirit to live holy and righteous lives.

So, how do we prepare ourselves?  You can find many teachings that address this issue, but I spoke of 2 things in yesterday’s teaching.

First, make it your aim to please God. One of our goals in life should be to have lives that are pleasing to God. But every day we are faced with the choice of either pleasing God or pleasing ourselves. When we make it our aim to please God, it will be easier to do so when we are faced with those daily choices.

Second, keep your life free from patterns of sin. We need to distinguish between acts of sin and patterns of sin (or sin that is ongoing in our lives). On this side of eternity, we will find ourselves regularly falling short and sinning. When I fail to repent of those sins, those acts of sin can become patterns of sin.

Jesus is coming soon. I understand that believers will have different points of view as to when the rapture will happen. But we can agree that He is coming for His bride, the Church. Make sure you are waiting, watching, and preparing for His coming.