I've been thinking a lot about death since our usher died. I realize that I could die at anytime; I could very well die today. However, even though I'll miss Herb, I know that I have a hope as a Christian. I have the hope of the Resurrection. Since Jesus is my Lord and Saviour, I will go to be with Him someday. I'll be able to see Herb and everyone else who's gone and ever will go before me.

"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. For 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 word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until 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 one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

5729734 Amen, brother! Hurrah!

5729752
I look forward to that day, but until then, I'm holding on to His promises.

Come, Lord Jesus.

5729734

about those who sleep in death

who have fallen asleep in him

?

5730086
What are you confused by, exactly?

5730280
Just sounds kinda like one of the Jehovah's witnesses beliefs

5730299
Oh, yeah. The "soul sleep" thing.
No, I was using NIV, I think. The term " fallen asleep" in the Bible means "died." So the passage is talking about the dead in Christ rising. Not at all about "soul sleep." Hope that helps.

5730304
Ohhhhh ok

5730315
Glad to help.

5730324

5729734 So, Christians should party instead of cry on funerals?

5730430 yes... heck even in our old baptist church said we should celebrate instead of moan the dead Christians since they have finished their journey and are resting with our father in heaven.

5730430
We mourn, but not like those who have no hope.

5730481 5730697 If there was a church fire and all your loved ones burned to death, would you party like it's 69?

5730862
Don't be absurd. There are both times to mourn, and times to rejoice. To deny sorrow is to deceive ourselves. However, we must learn to move on, and to depend on God for strength (think Job).

5730862
No, we party like it's 1699.

5730898 ignore the troll

Yeah. . . kinda hard when he's my brother. . .

5731769
Dragon isn't a Christian (from what I've seen), and therefore not your brother.

5737716
I mean YOU, bro, seeing as you were the the one with the smart remarks.

5737721
Well, Akemi was referring to DRAGON, not me. He was commenting on Dragon's remark about Christians partying like it was 1969.

5737716

It's not for you to decide whether others are faithful followers of Christ. Keep your locus of control within yourself, because it's the only thing you have power over in this mortal life.

5738091
If you read Dragon's comments on other threads, I think it's obvious that he isn't a Christian.

5738160

Only God can know what a man is inside. Unless you are Him, you'd do best to keep the judgment to yourself. All men on this earth are our brothers. To cast one brother aside as a lost cause is to cast them all aside. If you were lost and wandering, would you want to be thrown away so casually by one who could help you find your way back to the path?

5738265
The only people who are our brothers and sisters are those who belong to our Father.

5738307

Now we're just getting into semantics. What a pharisee you are.

5738859
It's not semantics, it's just what the Bible says. Your brothers and sisters are your fellow Christians because you have the same Father.

5739441

And yet you say a man can't join the family?

5739441 5739724 Interestingly enough, I recently converted to Christianity.
http://www.fimfiction.net/group/204964/atheist-bronies-v22/thread/298285/i-was-converted-to-christianity-tonight

5739758
5739441

See? As always, I'm right.

Hail Satan.

5739758

Interestingly enough, I recently converted to Christianity.

I...did not know that. For a while, it seemed like you were an atheist (like Narwhal Assassin) who just hung out on a Christian forum for some reason.

5739758
The experience you had was pretty interesting. I've heard about things like people having dreams and visions about stuff like that (I have a Pentecostal background) If it led you to Christianity, I guess it must have been the Holy Spirit giving you that dream. The Lord does move in mysterious ways, after all.