It is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. § The Spirit of truth … will tell you things to come. § Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus … 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 thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Evening Daily Light

 The things which will take place after this. 

I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished… But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. When all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, … the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: … “Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm… These stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.” § This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. § Witnesses chosen before by God … who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

 Our friend . . . sleeps. 

The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. § There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. § The first man Adam became a living being. § The spirit of the sons of men … goes upward. While we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord … We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. § With Christ, which is far better. § I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

 The spirit will return to God who gave it. 

How are we to react when one of our loved ones dies in the Lord? Some Christians fall apart emotionally. Others, while sorrowful, are able to bear up heroically. It depends on how deep our roots are in God and how fully we appropriate the great truths of our faith.First of all, we should view the death from the Savior's standpoint. It is an answer to His prayer in John 17:24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory…" When our loved ones go to be with Him, He sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied (Isaiah 53:11). "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalms 116:15).Then we should appreciate what it means to the one who has died. He has been ushered in to see the King in His beauty. He is forever free from sin, sickness, suffering and sorrow. He has been taken away from the evil to come (Isaiah 57:1). "Nothing compares with the homegoing of a saint of God…to go home, to leave these old clods of clay, to be loosed from the bondage of the material-welcomed by the innumerable company of angels." Bishop Ryle wrote, "The very moment that believers die, they are in paradise. Their battle is fought. Their strife is over. They have passed through that gloomy valley we must one day tread. They have gone over that dark river we must one day cross. They have drunk that last bitter cup which sin has mingled for man. They have reached that place where sorrow and sighing are no more. Surely we should not wish them back again! We should not weep for them but for ourselves." Faith appropriates this truth and is enabled to stand firm like a tree planted by rivers of water.For us the death of a loved one always involves sadness. But we sorrow not as others who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We know that our loved one is with Christ, which is far better. We know that the separation is only for a little while. Then we will be reunited on the hillsides of Immanuel's land, and will know each other under better circumstances than we have ever known down here. We look forward to the Lord's coming when the dead in Christ shall rise first, we who 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 (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This hope makes all the difference.And so the consolations of God are not too small for us (Job 15:11). Our sorrow is mingled with joy, and our sense of loss is more than compensated by the promise of eternal blessing.

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"…those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 4:14 NASB)

For Reading and Meditation:      2 Timothy 1:1-18Several of the world's religions, when faced with the perplexing issue of Christ's return from the dead, explain it in terms of reincarnation. A proponent of one of the Eastern religions says: "Christ's resurrection was really a reincarnation - another soul in another body." I once heard a Christian minister declare that Paul's reference to Christ as the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1:18) was a clear allusion to reincarnation. There is no doubt that our Lord came from a virgin womb and a virgin tomb, but the body that emerged from the sepulchre was not fashioned in the tomb as it had been when He was an infant in Mary's womb. The body was the same one as before. Others try to explain Christ's resurrection as living on in the recollection of others. "To live in the minds and hearts of those we love," goes a well-known saying often heard at funerals, "is not to die." It has to be acknowledged that some live so vibrantly that it is hard to think of them as dead even after one has attended their funeral. But when we talk about Christ's resurrection, we are not saying He survives in our memories. Recollection is not resurrection. The body which died upon the cross and was laid in the cool tomb on the evening of the first Good Friday was miraculously infused with life once again early in the morning of the first Easter Day. It is as literal and as factual as that. This - nothing less and nothing else - is what we mean by the resurrection of our Lord from the dead.Father, I am so thankful that in bringing Your Son back to life You brought 'life and immortality to light' through the gospel. I know this to be true for in You there cannot be such a thing as death. Life is so sure - as sure as You are. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Ephesians 1:1-20</li><li>Romans 4:25</li><li>1 Corinthians 15:3-5</li><li>1 Thessalonians 4:13-15</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Paul say was of first importance?</li><li>What does this mean for those who have experienced resurrection life?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

" ... our Savior, Christ Jesus ... has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light ..." (v. 10)

<h3>Believers Who Have Died</h3> 13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed<cr>1</cr> about those who sleep in death,<cr>2</cr> so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.<cr>3</cr>

 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed  about those who sleep in death,  so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

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