The Trumpet Call of God

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

In the last days, the Lord Jesus will come down from heaven.

He will come with a loud command.

With the voice of the archangel.

And with the trumpet call of God.

The dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, those of us who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds.

We will meet the Lord Jesus in the air.

And we will live with the Lord God forever and ever. 

What a glorious day!

Christ Has Been Raised From the Dead

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 

Jesus has been raised from the dead.

Raising those who have fallen asleep.

Since death came through Adam, the resurrection of the dead also came through one man, Jesus.

As in Adam we die, so in Christ we will be made alive.

And we will live with Him in heaven.

Praise the Lord!

God's Word Is Alive and Active

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. —  Hebrews 4:12 

God's Word penetrates into my soul.

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart and finds that I fall short.

Each time I read it, I get something new from passages I've read over and over all my life.

It permeates my joints and marrow, letting the Holy Spirit convict me when I start to go against it.

Or when I start to move in an opposite direction or ignore God's Word.

It divides my soul and spirit.

The Word of God is alive and active.

The Sword of the Spirit is sharper than the sharpest double-edged sword in this world.

It is my one offensive weapon in the battle for the Lord.

The Lord Will Come Down from Heaven

The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 

On the day of Christ's return, God himself will come down from heaven.

We will hear the trumpet call of God.

The dead in Christ will rise first.

After that, we who are still alive will be caught up with them.

Together we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

We will hear the voice of the archangel.

And we will be with the Lord forever.

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

The Resurrection of the Dead Comes Through a Man

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Jesus has been raised from the dead.

He is now alive!

Death came through a man, Adam.

And the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man, Jesus.

Christ is God's son.

Through Him all will be made alive.

Praise the Lord! 

The Word of God Is Active

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12

God's Word is alive.

It speaks to me differently that it did a year or two ago.

Each time I read a passage of Scripture, God has a new insight for me.

He is continually teaching me through His Word.

It is alive and active.

Sharper than any two-edged sword.

It penetrates to my soul.

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart.

And then helps to steer me back to the path God intended.

God Made Us Alive With Christ

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. — Ephesians 2:4-5

God's love for us is great.

He is rich in mercy.

Even though we don't deserve it.

He has made us alive in Christ.

By God's grace I have been saved.

Yesterday, our Aunt Jean passed away.

She is now with her Lord and Savior Jesus.

Here she is in 2017 on the occasion of her 90th birthday. 

She was amazing, and we miss her already.

In Christ All Will Be Alive

For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-21

Today I got word that the candidate for our job, accepted my offer!

Praise God for His goodness and provision.

I think this is a record for the company, to have filled the position less than two weeks after our previous person left.

Of course, she won't be able to start until May 10, which will put it at 30 days.

To God be the glory for sending just the right person our way.

And we will have another opening in our department in the next few weeks, so we are continuing the interview process.

Fortunately, I will most likely not have to supervise that person.

Four writers is plenty for me right now.

Christ Has Been Raised

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. — 1 Corinthians 15:20-21

Our friend Melanie's dad passed away earlier this month.

He told the family he was ready to see his Lord.

Fortunately, Mel had been back to visit him several times over the past year.

They will have a memorial celebration for him in July.

And the family will fly back to Iowa at that time.

Today They were all worshiping at church together.

In Christ we all will be made alive.

Praise God!

Encourage One Another

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. — 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

During this time of anxiety and divisiveness, it's easy to get caught up in our own world.

I find myself defending my position and not listening to those who feel differently.

But God calls us to encourage each other.

Even if we disagree.

Especially with our enemies.

And to do it with His Word.

What a concept!

Help me, Lord, to obey You.

According to the Lord's Word

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.— 1 Thessalonians 4:13

My coworkers surprised me with cake, a fruit tart, flowers, and cards yesterday in celebration of my birthday.

Kirk prepared a delicious dinner for us and our friends brought some amazing wines to celebrate.

Today our church choir sang "Happy Birthday" to me before our service.

I received lots of birthday texts and wishes.

God has blessed me.

Alive in Christ

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. — Romans 6:11

Since Easter, we have been celebrating Jesus' resurrection.

He died but came alive again and now lives in heaven with God.

We have been born again with Christ.

We are dead to sin.

At the same time, we are live to God in Jesus.

What a marvelous mystery!

Because Jesus lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because I know he holds the future.

And life is worth the living just because Christ lives!

The Attitude of My Heart

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12

Today at church we will be reading God's Word and worshipping Him together as a family.

Kirk and I take our Bibles with us so we can follow along with the Scriptures, take notes, and meditate on God's Word throughout the week.

Each year I read through the Bible, seeing it again through the new eyes of my life at the time.

God's Word is alive and active.

Each time I read it, He shows me something new that applies to what I'm going through that day, week, month or year.

God's Spirit works in me to help me understand the passage more deeply and with different insights.

He also convicts me of areas in my life where I haven't had the best attitude.

And areas where I don't want to turn control over to Him.

Help me today, Lord, to turn my thoughts and attitudes to you.

Take away my selfishness and focus on myself.

Show me where you need to work in my heart today.

God's Word Is Sharp

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. — Hebrews 4:12

Today our new pastor spoke from 1 Timothy 5 about take care of our human family members and also taking care of our older church family members who do not have family to care for them.

It was a thought-provoking message.

Yesterday we celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with some of our friends and family.

Abby did a great job pulling it all together and making it a special day.

Here's Kirk with our friend Ernie.

Ernie is wearing one of the Hawaiian shirts from the collection of Kirk's dad.

Very sweet that he chose to wear it for our party.

And Marion made us a hand-crafted anniversary card.

On the right is our neighbor from Budapest, Hungary.

He works at the same company as Ernie's daughter, although they are in different divisions.

God's Word is alive and active.

We are amazed and grateful for so many wonderful Christian friends.

God Has Given Me a Heritage

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. — Psalm 61:4-5

Sunday I had the privilege of working in our church preschool during the early service. What a blessing to share God's Word with children from under 2 to almost 5. 

They loved looking in my hand mirror as we sang, "God cares about [Josh]" to each child. And when we talked about Jesus dying for us, one of them said, "That makes me sad," and I had to agree, it makes me sad, too. 

But that's not the end of the story. And their faces brightened up as we talked about how Jesus came alive again and now lives in heaven. We practiced telling our friends, "Jesus loves you."

And we finished with blowing and catching bubbles and dancing with joy.

The sun is shining and the birds are singing. What a beautiful Palm Sunday day.

You, God, have heard my prayer. You have given me the heritage of these who fear your name.