Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isa 5:20 NIV)
But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1Pe 4:5 NIV)
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. (1Th 4:16 NIV)We’re going to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the voice of him, that rules over heaven and earth. Presently nobody hears this voice. The voice of the archangel will join him as well as the trumpet call of God. Nobody will miss that assembly call. I am sure you’ll agree – even if we can’t really imagine how it will be. It passes all human understanding. We’ll have to let it stand like that even if we too will have to wait for that day to really know, how it will be. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ grant to your people that we will learn to follow you while it is still day and as the evening draws near we will rejoice in the prospect of seeing you face to face for you are the light, power, life and peace of your people and we praise you now and in eternity. Amen. (H.Bezzel)
The day is surely drawing near When Jesus, God’s anointed, In all his power shall appear As judge whom God appointed. Then fright shall banish idle mirth, And hungry flames shall ravage earth As Scripture long has warned us.
The final trumpet then shall sound And all the earth be shaken, And all who rest beneath the ground Shall from their sleep awaken. But all who live will in that hour, By God’s almighty, boundless power, Be changed at his commanding.
May Christ our intercessor be And through his blood and merit Read from his book that we are free With all who life inherit. Then we shall see him face to face, With all his saints in that blest place Which he has purchased for us.
O Jesus Christ, do not delay, But hasten our salvation; We often tremble on our way In fear and tribulation. Oh, hear and grant our fervent plea; Come, mighty judge, and set us free From death and every evil. (Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, 1530-1599)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Wednesday after the twenty fifth Sunday after the high holiday of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 393 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears… (Psa 39:12 KJV)
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:4 KJV)
The latest LTS Newsletter is now downloadable here: 2013,5 LTS News Today you can also download a version in US Letter format: 2013,5 LTS News US and also as a DIN A4 in a smaller version (about a quarter of the original size): 20135-lts-news[smallpdf.com] and the small US letter format too: 2013,5 LTS News US[smallpdf.com]
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. (1Th 4:15 NIV)Many millions are going to be alive, when the Lord comes again in glory. What is going to happen with them? They are not going to die. Perhaps the fear and terror they’ll experience is going to count like some death too? Perhaps their transformation to their eternal bodies will be accompanied by great pain? We don’t know about this, but we know they too will enter eternal life and their bodies are going to be like the glorious body of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. There are many things we would like to know, but which are hidden from us. We are to wait faithfully and keep watchful and alert. That’s more important than researching those things that God has concealed from our insight. We can rest assured, the Holy Spirit is going to lead us in all truth. The word of God is the truth. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ grant to your people that we will learn to follow you while it is still day and as the evening draws near we will rejoice in the prospect of seeing you face to face for you are the light, power, life and peace of your people and we praise you now and in eternity. Amen. (H.Bezzel)
1 Asleep in Jesus! blessèd sleep! From which none ever wakes to weep; A calm and undisturb’d repose, Unbroken by the last of foes.
2 Asleep in Jesus! Oh, how sweet To be for such a slumber meet; With holy confidence to sing That death hath lost its painful sting!
3 Asleep in Jesus! peaceful rest! Whose waking is supremely blest; No fear, no woe, shall dim that hour That manifests the Saviour’s power.
4 Asleep in Jesus! Oh, for me May such a blissful refuge be! Securely shall my ashes lie, Waiting the summons from on high.
5 Asleep in Jesus! far from thee Thy kindred and their graves may be; But there is still a blessèd sleep, From which none ever wakes to weep. (Margaret Mackay, 1832)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Tuesday after the twenty fifth Sunday after the high holiday of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 392 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. (Psa 129:2 KJV)
St. Paul writes: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.” (2Co 1:21 NIV)
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. (1Th 4:14 NIV)“Having fallen asleep in Jesus Christ” is a hopeful expression. Sleep is part of life and invigorates the one affected for his daily doings. If death is comparable to such sleep it looses some of its terror and fright even if it goes hand-in-hand with decay and decomposition to dust and ashes. Our Lord Jesus Christ knew this and still he called death and dying a sort of sleeping. When the Lord appears again in all his glory, then those who have died before, those buried on the continents of this world or lost at sea – they all will have finished with their sleeping. They will awake from this global graveyard. Nobody is going to miss out on his victorious parade, where all will be part of his triumphal booty. They will all be a demonstration of his almighty power and glory. This is part and parcel of the Christian faith and hopeful confidence. The time is coming, when we’ll see, what we have believed. Amen.
Eternal, almighty God you are the God of life and death. We praise your mercy and grace that your dear Son Jesus Christ has granted us a assured confidence of eternal life even in this vale of death so that we can already rejoice in the coming glory and blessed salvation assigned to us by him. Fill our hearts and being with this wonderful hope founded on the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and stone grave at Easter. Grant this comfort and respite especially to those, who are pained by the death of their beloved ones. Let them believe that all things serve to the best of those who are yours – even death can not separate us from the love of God, which is in Jesus Christ. In this faith let us give thanks to you for all that we go through – be it joy or sorrow, life or death. More than all else keep us alive in faithful communion with your son Jesus Christ that we remain his whether we’re awake or asleep and praise and thank his holy name together with the entire Christian Congregation. Amen. (Church Book of Hesse 1904)
Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be; Lead me by Thine own hand, Choose out the path for me. I dare not choose my lot; I would not, if I might; Choose Thou for me, my God, So I shall walk aright.
Choose Thou for me my friends, My sickness or my health; Choose Thou my cares for me My poverty or wealth. Not mine, not mine the choice In things or great or small; Be Thou my Guide, my Strength My Wisdom, and my All. (Horatius Bonar, 1857)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for Monday after the twenty fifth Sunday after the high holiday of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 391 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.” (2Sa 22:2 NIV)
Jesus Christ says: Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. (Luk 6:47-48 NIV)
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. (1Th 4:13 NIV)Christian hope is a very strong comfort even as we stand at the graves of our loved ones. This hope is focussed on the glorious return of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ together with all that is his including the resurrection of the body, the gathering and communion of saints with him and eternal salvation. Our verse bases its hope on this faith, sure trust and confidence. The apostle does not go into any detail concerning those who are sleeping in Christ. This eternal life in Christ is such an assured deposit of the Christian faith and hope even if there is no proof given for this in the new Testament. Yet people sometimes look for such proof as if all depended on it. However there is none forthcoming. We have but Moses and the Prophets – and thankfully also the Lord’s and his apostle’s witness and blessed testimony. That is far stronger and more helpful than any proof, we would seek. It is also quite fruitless to ponder the question, whether this or that one is now indeed saved or not. This is not for us to judge or even to know, but to commit to the Lord. His is the righteous judge and he will surely see to it that his own reach his most blessed destiny with him in heaven. For those who live and die in the Lord, they will surely rise bodily to the blessed life of eternal salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
O Lord, we are but migrants and pilgrims here on earth. Our life is like a fleeting shadow and there is no turning back as we move consistently towards your heavenly judgement in eternity. We lift up our voice to you even though we are but dust and ashes. You have raised your dear son Jesus Christ from the dead. You have sent him to bless us and to save us from all our sin. You have prepared a rest for your people so that we will at last rest from all our doings. We thank you for the hope that you have given us concerning our abode in your heavenly home. Confirm us once again through your most holy word, which we hear by your grace and mercy and let us rest in peace now and forever. Amen. (Agenda of the old Prussian Union 1931)
Jesus Christ, my sure Defense And my Savior, ever liveth; Knowing this, my confidence Rests upon the hope it giveth Though the night of death be fraught Still with many an anxious thought.
Jesus, my Redeemer, lives; I, too, unto life shall waken. Endless joy my Savior gives; Shall my courage, then, be shaken? Shall I fear, or could the Head Rise and leave His members dead?
Nay, too closely I am bound Unto Him by hope forever; Faith’s strong hand the Rock hath found, Grasped it, and will leave it never; Even death now cannot part From its Lord the trusting heart. (Otto von Schwerin, 1616-1679 tr Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878)
This is a rather free translation of Wilhelm Löhe’s devotion for the twenty fifth Sunday after the high holiday of the Holy Trinity. It is found on Pg. 390 in Lob sei Dir ewig, o Jesu! (Eternal Praise to you o Jesus!) edited by A. Schuster and published in the Freimund Verlag, Neuendettelsau 1949.
“Therefore I will teach them– this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD. (Jer 16:21 NIV)
Through Jesus Christ we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. (Rom 1:5 NIV)
Wilhelm's space 