1 Thesseloonians 4 Today

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God Bless You Today, Lena B
Live to Please God
1Finally, dear brothers and sisters, F7 we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You are doing this already, and we encourage you to do so more and more. 2For you remember what we taught you in the name of the Lord Jesus. 3God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. 4Then each of you will control your body F8 and live in holiness and honor—5not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways.
6Never cheat a Christian brother in this matter by taking his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7God has called us to be holy, not to live impure lives. 8Anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human rules but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9But I don't need to write to you about the Christian love F9 that should be shown among God's people. For God himself has taught you to love one another. 10Indeed, your love is already strong toward all the Christians F10 in all of Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we beg you to love them more and more. 11This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. 12As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs.
The Hope of the Resurrection
13And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.
15I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. 18So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
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FOOTNOTES:
F7: Greek brothers; also in 4:10, 13.
F8: Or will know how to take a wife for himself; Greek reads will know how to possess his own vessel.
F9: Greek brotherly love.
F10: Greek the brothers.