Stay Rapturable

Stay Rapturable

We need to constantly remind ourselves as Christians that we do not have an abiding city in this world. These words of Hebrews 13:14 should continually echo in our ears: “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”

To take us to our abiding home, genuine children of God are expecting an event, called the rapture, which the Holy Spirit describes in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17, saying: “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: 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.”

One truth we should take cognisance of from the above scripture is that only the dead in Christ will be raised at this event. The “dead in Christ” does not include those who died as backsliders; only those who died as genuine Christians will be raised when Jesus comes again. That is why the Lord said in Mark 13:13: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” To be rapturable therefore, you must dig in and take a stand for Jesus Christ, even though this may attract persecution or tribulation. However, we must endure these. Persecution and tribulation are not strange to the Christian faith, as our Lord already told us they will happen (Matthew 5:11-12).

Those of us still running the Christian race today must be more careful because there are many distractions in the world today than there have ever been before. So many things are happening that can distract us, so much so that we may forget the great event we are expecting, which will determine where we will spend our eternity. We should therefore not be caught unawares, because in Luke 17:26-27, the Lord said: “And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drink, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until they day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

Those who will be raptured are those who are in Christ at His coming (John 1:12), those who earnestly desire His appearance (Titus 2:13, Phil 3:20), those who love the Lord wholeheartedly (Phil. 3:7-10), those whose citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20-21), those who live holy even as He is holy (Heb. 12:14).

I therefore beseech you by the mercies of God to ensure you are not conformed to this world, and to constantly present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2).

Father, please help me to continually live a rapturable life in Jesus’ Name.

Sources: https://rccgonline.org/open-heaven-25-august-2018/

https://rccgcovenant.com/sunday-school-review/sunday-school-review-rapture-purpose-and-qualification/