There is a song the Lord’s people sing that says, “Some glad mornin’ when this life is over I’ll fly away To a home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away”. What the world teaches is quite the opposite. What does the world teach you? Sad is the proclamation of the National Association of Biology Teachers who in 1995 stated, “The diversity of life on earth is the outcome of evolution: An unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable and natural process of temporal descent with genetic modification that is affected by natural selection, chance, historical contingencies and changing environments” 9NABT0. In other words no hope of life beyond this life, no Creator behind the magnificent design found in all things, and nothing personal your born, you live, you die and you’re eventually eaten by worms and forgotten.
God’s people are not like them, for we are not without hope! We rejoice, knowing we have eternity awaiting us and our Faithfulness is Power! • We know every soul will enter eternity – whether it be eternity with the Father (Heaven) or separated from the Father (Hell). Because we live for eternity, because our eyes and hearts are focusing on the things yet to come, Jesus and an eternal rest, all the trials, all the suffering, and all the persecution received for Christ, will not shake our resolve, for our faith is power, and by it we are already victorious.
Paul offers solutions we can employ to achieve our ultimate goal—eternity with God. How we can live, and survive, in an ungodly world that is increasingly hostile to the faithful in Christ. Unlike the statement from the (NABT) who claim “unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable” we do have a Creator that is personal, and has predicted over 300 prophecies since the beginning of the world which have all been proven to come to pass. Not one has failed. The Lord said, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me [a]void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
When we are faithful to the LORD our God, we live for the promise of His coming, waiting for Eternity, WAITING TO SEE THE FACE OF GOD!
In this 2nd lesson from Paul’s first letter to church of the Thessalonians Paul offers them, and the church today, some encouraging words. First, in chapter 1 and verse 4 the reminder is that God counts you more valuable than all of creation in the you know “your election” is by God. Second, as a child of God, you have something no other person has: The word of God which came to you in power, and in the Holy Spirit (v.5). Thirdly, you received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, which empowers you with truth about God, about the church, about Jesus, and about eternity. Forth, as a child of God when your faith goes out from you to others the body of Christ grows, and when that happens you know Brethren, “you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves [e]in heaven” (Heb.12:2).
I hope that this series of lessons will help believers by strengthening their foundation which is in Christ, and also for those who have not yet known the way of truth that the word of the Lord will motivate you to obey the gospel of Christ.