1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 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.

 

Yesterday, I shared with you a vision the Lord gave me. It was a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ; all denominations, walking together. They were each dressed differently, including everything from formal clerical robes to tee shirts and leather jackets. Locked together arm in arm, and they were all chanting in unison, JESUS IS LORD! What a vision!

 

Throughout the New Testament, we read this same message over and over again: UNITY, UNITY, UNITY. Jesus prayed for unity. He taught that a divided house would not be able to stand. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, the Corinthians, the Ephesians, and the Philippians and PLEADED for them to be unified. Luke wrote of the importance of a unified Church in the Book of Acts. We read this same message in the Book written by Peter and again in Hebrews.

 

In the Fourth Chapter of the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he describes the Rapture of the Church. In the sixteenth and seventeenth Verses, he wrote: 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.

 

If not before, at the time of the Rapture, the Church WILL come together in unity. ALL those who are dead in Christ will rise and those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together. No one denomination will go first, and no one will be closer to the Lord. We will all be together as His Church; His Bride. Hallelujah! Once and for all, we WILL BE UNITED!

 

The message of unity is a consistent, underlying message throughout the entire New Testament, and yet, to this day, the Body of Christ insists on being divided. This absolutely baffles me! I don’t understand why leaders of congregations pit their people against other Christians.

 

I believe this is the work of the enemy and the evil spirit of division. Jesus told us that a divided house cannot stand. He also said that if Satan worked against himself, he would not stand either. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. (Mark 3:26)

 

Are we going to have to wait until the Rapture of the Church to be unified? I pray not. Let us lock arms together and boldly speak the Name of Jesus, declaring Him to be Lord so that the lost and dying world may know He is the Son of God.

 

This will take a change of heart on the part of many Christians, but you know what? That’s what God does. He changes hearts.

 

Only God can change a heart and only God can……..turn the tide

 

Praying for changed hearts,      Doreen

 

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