"Now is the time of God's favor,
now is the day of salvation." [2Co
6:2]
Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol
him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithful
ness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD, JESUS, The way and the truth and the life. [Ps 117; Jn 14:6NIV]
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise
to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. [PS 105:1,2]
"I saw the Spirit come down from heaven
as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the
one who sent me to baptize with water told me, `The man on whom you see
the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw
Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" [Jn
1:32-136]
When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed
Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"
They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher),
"where are you staying?"
"Come," he replied, "and you will see."
So they went and saw where he was staying,
and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had
said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that
is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are
Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which,
when translated, is Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said
to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote
about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth,
the son of Joseph."
"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here
is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were
still under the fig tree before Philip called you."
Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are
the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."
Jesus said, "You believe because I told
you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that."
He then added,
"I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of
God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."(Jn 1:37-51)
"Brothers,
we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve
like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose
again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen
asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who
are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly
not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words." [1TH
4:13-18]
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do
not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace
and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains
on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise
you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We
do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like
others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those
who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith
and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God
did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep,
we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build
each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who
are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest
regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And
we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help
the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong
for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt.
Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May
your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
[1TH 5:1-24]
He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. [Eph 4:10]
In James 5:7-9, The Word of GOD, encourages us to "Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
[Revealed 3:20] "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
(REV 22:20,21) He who testifies to these things
says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
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