Pre-Rapture Preparations

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

(I Thess. 4:16-18)

It is an irrevocable prophetic promise: The Lord Jesus Himself will come and those Christians who have already passed away will rise and we who are saved and living at the time Jesus returns will be caught up to be with Him….and so shall we EVER be with the Lord. This is not our final stop. Every person regardless of status, station, position, or profession will leave here by way of the grave or the rapture. Proponents of the “cancel culture” cannot cancel this event called the Rapture. Presidents nor political powers can prevent Jesus from coming to get His Church. The last prayer, in the last book, in the last chapter, in the last verses of the book of Revelation was prayed by John the Apostle and his prayer was: “Even so come Lord Jesus”. The most important question is: Are we ready…are we prepared for the coming of the Lord? So…what does that look like?

*Place Your Trust In Jesus. It’s one thing to believe in God and quite another to TRUST in Jesus as your personal Savior. It is possible to believe in God yet, die lost and spend eternity in Hell. James 2:19 tells us that even the devils believe in God. To trust in Jesus means to trust in His death on the cross as the payment for our sin and believe that God raised Jesus from the grave---He’s alive forevermore! This is not about what we have done or how people see us. The question is: Have we made the decision to trust in Jesus as our Savior? If you haven’t…. you can right now.

*Abide In Christ Jesus. (John 15:6-7). Salvation is not defined by praying a prayer and trying to do better and attending church, at our convenience. Salvation is a day-to-day relationship with Christ…. we abide in Him. We don’t just say a prayer for salvation, check the box and go about our business living and doing as we always did…. we must abide in Christ. How? We do that by daily spending some time reading God’s Word and praying to God. We grow in our relationship with the Lord by being in God’s Word, praying and worshipping Him. There are no shortcuts.

*Influence others for God. Jesus said: “Let your light SO SHINE before people that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). Most importantly-influence your family for God. Sharon and I want our children and grandchildren to know God and walk with God. Time is of the essence. Our world is spiraling out of control. Our children and grandchildren are going to need God as never before….. influence them towards God.

The words of Jesus give us vital instruction for the times we are in:

“Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44)