Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lord and Savior -- Lord of my life and Savior of my soul, lead my heart and my steps today.
"Listen, I will tell you a mystery. We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' ... Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:51-57).
I am sitting in my chair watching the tragic updates from Sunday’s shooting in Monterey Park, Ca where 10 people were killed and others wounded. Those 10 people killed see You now "face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12). "In the twinkling of an eye" their work on earth was done and they now rest forever in Your embrace. In the everlasting joy and eternal peace of Your resurrection power, they are "away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Here on earth, as I sit in my chair, I struggle, we all struggle to try to make sense of the senselessness of the horrific mass murders by an elderly man in his 70’s shooting mainly other elderly people in the middle their Lunar New Years Eve celebration. We will try to seek answers. We will try to seek justice. We will try to seek and make adjustments to try to guard against the terror and tragedies of this kind of evil in our world. But for every one of them who had You in their hearts, their fight with the evil of this broken and fallen world, of trying to seek answers, justice and make adjustments, is finished. Death has lost its sting; death has found no victory, for You snatched them out of the grip of death and delivered their souls into the arms of their Father forever.
One day the last trumpet will sound and all who have lived or are living in personal relationship with You as Lord and Savior "will be caught up in the clouds together ... to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). But in a sense, the trumpet could sound just as suddenly, just as unexpectedly for any one of us or for any one of those we love, in any place, on any day.
So whether we're the one going home to be with the Lord or whether we're among the ones left here to mourn and grieve through the sorrow and anger, we all need You. We need to know You're with us, You're for us, and that You'll love us and lead us through whatever death or devastation we may endure until it's our day for all to be changed in the twinkling of an eye. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give (us) peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with (us) all" (2 Thessalonians 3:16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen
My family, I pray you will live every day with the peace of Christ in your heart, ready at any moment to be with Your Savior forever. I pray you will leading those around you to live in that peace of Christ as well, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same of me. God bless you, my friends!
I join with you in prayer for all those who are grieving and struggling with this tragic loss of life in from the shootings in Monterey Park.
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