Are you watching, are you waiting, are you ready, are you anticipating Jesus coming for you? Are you the Bride of Christ, are you the friend of Christ, are you the servant of Christ or are you all three? He could come at anytime and take His own out of this world and possibly sooner than you might think, the question to ask yourself is: Will you be taken or will you be left? The answer to that question is according to whether or not you are the Bride, the Friend, the Servant or all three. The following verse is what will happen to those who belong to Christ. It will be a glorious day for them!1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (KJV) (16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
For those who do not belong to Christ listen to these words:
1 Thessalonians 5:3 (Amp.) When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.
Now hear again the words that are written to those who belong to Christ:
1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 (Amp.) (4) But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethern, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. (5) For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or darkness. (6) Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). (7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. (8) But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (9) For God has not appointed us to [incur His) wrath [ He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (10) Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ's appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life. (11) Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.
Are you His? If not do you desire to be His? If so this is what it takes so that you will be taken and not left.
First you must confess that you are a sinner and are in need of a Savior and repent and turn away from your sins.. 1Jn. 1:8-9 (Paraphrased) (8) For if you say that you have no sin [refusing to admit that you are a sinner], you are deluding yourself and leading yourself astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in you and does not dwell in your heart. (9) But if you freely admit that you have sinned and confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Next: Romans 10:9-13 ( paraphrased) (9) you must acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe and rely on the truth that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. (10) For with your heart you believe, trust and rely on Christ and thus you are justified and made acceptable unto God and with your mouth you confess and speak out freely your faith and this confirms your salvation (11) and no one who trusts in Christ Jesus will ever be put to shame or disappointed (12) for there is no distinction between jew or gentile the same Lord is Lord over all and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him in faith. (13) For everyone who calls upon the name the Lord Jesus Christ [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.
True salvation will bring true change and a heart after God and His righteousness, which only comes through the power of the Holy Spirit which now lives within the one who has truly been saved. The Spirit of Jesus which now lives inside of you will draw you to Himself, but the Bride will have a longing desire to know Him more intimately (on a personal level which is greater than just a servant or friend). Just as a Bride and Groom they will long to commune and spend time with one another as they get to know each other more intimately. Until next time I leave you with this:
To love Him is to know Him and to know Him is to love Him! And the Bride's heart longs to be with Christ Jesus and will watch and wait for Him to come for them. The Bride is always prepared and the true friend and servant of the Lord will also anticipate His coming at any moment!
