Everlasting Love
From ‘The Gift of Jesus’ by Charles Stanley
The greatest gift God has ever given: Himself.
The greatest thing that exists.
The history-changing day when ‘God became flesh
and dwelt among us.’
John 1:14
3
The awesome wisdom and simplicity of the name Jesus.
Even a child can say it.
It means God’s deliverer.
When you learn about Jesus you are interacting
with your Living Savior,
'who took the form of a servant’
to have a relationship with you.
Philippians 2:7
God’s love sent His Son into the world
‘that we might live through Him.’
1 John 4:9
4
The invention of the airplane changed the course of history.
How much greater the gift of Jesus
to transform every life into peace and love
and bursting joy for all eternity?
God loves each person with a ‘love so deep to know
would break your heart.’ J. McGee
He wants to heal your body, soul, and spirit,
and fill your life with
every wondrous possibility.
We grow weary when we focus on our circumstances
instead of Him.
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In the beginning the Word was with God,
The Word was God. He was made flesh,
Jesus, and dwelt among us.’
John 1:1, 14
He set the sun, moon, and stars in place,
created all living things, breathed in His breath of life,
and sustains it all perfectly from the smallest particle
to the vast workings of the universe.
He stood in the highest place,
the right hand of the throne of heaven.
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He traveled every distance,
sacrificed everything to be with you forever.
Absolute holiness, infinite power, unfailingly faithful,
glorious splendor, infinite love.
The beautiful, powerful, majestic, and mysterious
is seen kind, loving, and approachable.
Almighty hands that formed mountains
touched blind eyes to restore their sight.
Three persons of the Trinity in perfect union and essence,
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are bringing all who will back to His very heart.
Jesus, the radiance of the Father’s glory,
shows us what it looks like when the incomprehensible God
interacts with us.
In Him we see endless mercy, love, holiness,
wisdom, creativity, justice, healing, beauty, and power.
Christ said, ‘He who has seen Me
has seen the Father.’ John 14:9
8
God arranged history to prepare for this event.
The law was given through Moses
to show us God’s standard of holiness
is far beyond our reach).
What He requires of us is overwhelming,
so we will trust Him for it, not ourselves.
The most glorious mystery is
‘Christ in you.’ Colossians 1:27
Because Jesus is alive in us,
we can be filled with His grace and power.
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And personally guaranteed
nothing will be impossible with God.’ Luke 1:37
And they will call His name Immanuel,
which means God with us.’
Matthew 21:23
He wasn’t born in a royal setting
as would be fitting for the eternal Son of God,
but on the ground in a smelly stable
to connect with the lowest place.
The infinitely perfect and beautiful One was
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looked down on, despised, rejected, betrayed,
and totally forsaken,
so He knows every place you might be or have been.
Your life has the greatest value to Him.
He gave His life to buy you for Himself.
You are never alone or helpless.
Don’t be afraid or discouraged,
I am with you.’ Isaiah 41:10
Always with you at your best and worst
to lift and make new.
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In your darkest times
He draws you closer.
Shepherds, a lowly smelly job,
treated as outcasts,
were watching over their flacks at night
when an angel of the Lord stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord surrounded them. saying,
I bring you good news of great joy
for all people,
for today, born for you is a Savior
who is Christ the Lord.
Then a vast host of majestic angels appeared
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saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace, (delight, pleasure ) to men.’
Luke 2:10-14
This awesome, loving Savior was coming
to take them from the lowest place in society to the highest.
He that overcomes will sit with Me on My throne.
Revelation 3:21
And this is ‘the victory that overcomes,
our faith. 1 John 5:4
Our Divine warrior has already won every
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battle for us: All powerful,
He never loses.
‘Glory to God in the Highest
and earth peace, to men.
Eden, the name of God's garden where
He put the man before the fall
means pleasure, delight,
telling us this astounding Savior was coming
to undo 'the works of the devil.’
1 John 3:8
All the suffering and unspeakable horrors
of time and eternity,
to be forever reversed.
14
For unto us a child is born,
a Son is given.
And the government will be on His shoulder:
and His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace,’ Isaiah 9:6,7
He will be great.
He will be called the Son of the Highest.
The Lord God will give Him the throne.
And His kingdom will never end.
Luke 1:32, 33
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Every Wondrous Possibility
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The Way Back
He alone is life
Mystical beauty that enchants billions;
the shadow of life with many faces: changing with the times,
and a single aim: to steal God’s throne.
Yet God alone is infinite, eternal.
He alone is life.
He alone is power.
He alone is infinite love.
And He holds all life and breath in His hand.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10
Belshazzar, son of king Nebuchadnezzar,
held a great feast and drank wine in golden goblets
taken from the temple of the Lord God Almighty,
and praised idols.
Right then fingers of a man's hand appeared
and wrote on the wall.
Belshazzar trembled, terrified,
and called for his wise men to read the writing.
None of them could.
The queen said, There is a man in your kingdom
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in whom is the Spirit of the holy gods.
Call Daniel and he will show the meaning.
All right answers come from God.
All scripture is God-breathed, and profitable for correction,
that we may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.
2 Timothy 3:16,17
Thoroughly furnished. It’s all we need.
Be warned against more than this my son,
Ecclesiastes 12:2
5
Man is to fear God and keep His commands:
for God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret.
Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14
We must all appear before Christ
to receive for the things done, good or bad.
2 Corinthians 5:10
Christ is the foundation.
Made in His image.
We build gold of straw: fire will reveal it.
1 Corinthians 3:11-17
6
Daniel told Belshazzar,
God gave your father a kingdom and majesty,
so that all people trembled before him.
But when his heart became proud,
he was deposed and ate grass like an ox,
until he knew that the Most High rules
in the kingdom of men,
and sets over it whoever He pleases.
You knew this but lifted yourself up
against the Lord of heaven,
drinking wine with the goblets from His temple,
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and praising gods of silver and gold
that can’t see or hear or know.
And the God who holds your breath in His hand,
Him you haven’t glorified.
Daniel 5:23
The Lord is the true God,
He is the living God, and the everlasting King.
Jeremiah 10:10
All His judgments have been to stop
the stranglehold of evil, on persons, on nations, on the world.
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Lord, You have been our dwelling place
in all generations;
from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
Psalm 90:1
A man had 2 sons.
The younger said, Father, Give me my inheritance;
then he went far away and wasted the wealth
on 'riotous living.'
When a famine came, he was hungry.
He thought, My father's servants have plenty to eat,
and I'm starving!
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I will go say to my father,
I'm not worthy to be your son.
(as we are no longer worthy to be His since the fall).
Make me one of your hired servants.
When he was still far away, his father saw him.
He was always watching
as our heavenly Father is always watching
for His own to return to Him.
The father ran to him, and fell on his neck,
and kissed him. Luke 15:20
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He said, Put on him the best robe
and put a ring on his hand
(full access to all that was the fathers.)
Luke 15:22
He that overcomes will inherit all things
and be My Son/daughter.
Revelation 21:7
When a lost sheep is found,
the man lays it on His shoulder, rejoicing!
That's the heart of our heavenly Father
when any return to Him. Luke 15
11
There is joy in heaven over one sinner
that turns back to God. Luke15:7
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through Me,'
John 14:6
Many throughout history have claimed to be
the way to heaven,
but only one proved it beyond question:
first by turning water into wine, then casting out demons,
and healing every kind of sickness and deformity.
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Everyone who touched Him was made perfectly whole.'
Matthew 14:36
He opened eyes blind from birth,
calmed storms with a word,
walked on water, and raised the dead.
Day after day
He showed His complete control over all creation.
John was there, and said, if all was written,
I don't think the world could contain the books.
John 21:25
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All His gifts are for everyone.
Jesus promised, Ask whatever in My name.
You will receive it, that your joy may be full.
John 16:24
Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners, higher than the heavens.
Hebrews 7:26
The One who has ‘perfected forever’
those who come to Him says,
I will come again and receive you to Myself.
John 14:3
14
He that overcomes will sit with Me on My throne.
Revelation 3:21
Come to me, all you that labor
and are loaded down.
I will give you rest.
Join with Me and learn of Me
for I am humble and low in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
What I require is easy and light.
Matthew 11:28-30
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Easy and Light
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Our Risen Lord
He is risen
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord
sitting on a throne, high and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above the throne stood the Seraphim
(awesome six-winged beings of light).
And one called to another,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:
the whole earth is full of His glory.
Isaiah 6:1-3
3
Infinite and eternal love, genius, power,
righteousness, beauty, grace, purity,
and every good thing, is His glory.
He is the infinite fountain of it all.
His glory is first shown to us at creation
when, from His love, by just speaking,
He brought everything into existence
as a gift to all.
‘Let all the earth stand in awe of Him
for He spoke, and it was done,
Psalm 33:9
Of the Eternal King the psalmist said,
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You are more beautiful than the children of men.
Psalm 45:1, 2
In the country shepherds were watching
over their flocks at night.
The angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord surrounded them.
The angel said, ‘Don’t be afraid for
I bring you news of great joy for all people.
For to you is born today a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.’
Luke 2:8-11
5
Coming to save us from everything bad,
into everything wonderful beyond imagining.
For unto us a child is born,
a son is given.
And the government will be on His shoulder.
His name will be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6
He has been given to us.
And His wonderful counsel will bring all who will,
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to ‘sit with Him on His eternal throne.
Revelation 3:21
When the fullness of the time came,
God sent His Son,
born under the law,
to buy back those under the law,
to receive the adoption of sons.’ Galatians 4:4
Into the mess of human history came the Son of God:
the glory of holiness, the purity of heaven.
Heaven and hell stood aghast
when Jesus stepped into the arena,
a baby born in human flesh.’ John G. Lake
7
He lived 33 years
without a single wrong thought or deed,
in our place, in the place of all.
Then, condemned in our place, whipped,
and beaten beyond recognition,
nailed naked to the cross,
where all the wrath of God
against every wrong everywhere forever
was poured into His infinitely holy body.
Death was conquered and evil defeated.
and swept from all existence forever
by the pure blaze of God’s love.
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All the universe forever cleansed
from every evil, sin, wrong, and sadness,
into pure bursting awesome wonder,
glory, and joy, forever.
At the end of the sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
came to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake:
for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
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and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it.
His face was like lightning,
and his clothing white as snow.
He said, 'Don't fear.
I know you seek Jesus who was crucified.
He's not here,
He is risen. Matthew 28:2
Through His own death He destroyed him '
that had the power of death.
And delivered those
who were all their lifetime enslaved to it.'
Hebrews 2:14,15
10
All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth.
Matthew 28:18
I am He that lives and was dead;
and behold, I am alive for evermore
and have the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 1:18
John, in exile, saw the resurrected Lord:
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day
and heard behind me a great voice like a trumpet.
I turned and saw the Lord walking among
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7 golden lamp stands:
His hair white as snow, His eyes blazed with love.
His voice sounded like many waterfalls.
He had in His right hand seven stars.
His face shining as the sun.
Revelation 1:10
And you are complete in Him,
who is the head of all principality and power.
Colossians 2:9,10
As He is, so are we, in this world.
1 John 4:17
12
The One who ‘made of One blood all nations
to dwell on the face of the earth
and set their times and boundaries
that all would seek Him.
For in Him we live and move and have our being.
Acts 17:27
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing,
and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10
Nebuchadnezzar, the first world ruler,
was deposed and ate grass like an ox until he knew
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that ‘the Most High rules in the kingdom of men
and gives it to whomever He will.’
Daniel 4:32
Working it all together
for His infinite good.
Romans 8:28
The King who sets kings on their thrones
and guides all nations throughout history.
Having the greatest person on earth,
as your best friend
is nothing compared to having the One
who made them all as ‘the One who
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loves you most,’ every day, all day, always!
Who died to make us eternally One with Himself.
I in them, and You in Me,
that they may be One in Us.’
John 17:23
And leads all who will
to sit with Me on My throne
through ages without end.
Revelation 3:20, 21
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One in Eternal Glory
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Follow Me
We know that You are true
and teach the way of God in truth.
Matthew 22:15
Then we will know,
if we follow on to know the Lord.’
(The One who knows the way.)
Hosea 6:3
We are born knowing nothing.
He always knew everything.
God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.
1 John 3:20
3
He comes to us as the morning
and as the rain.
Hosea 6:3
Without the sun and rain there are no crops,
no food, no grass, no trees, no life.
The Lord, who is love,
the beautiful, eternal One, made it all.
1 John 4:8
Creation is a gift to everyone He made.
Each day, each breath a gift of His love.
4
At Athens Paul saw the whole city
was full of idols.
He spoke with many
and they asked to hear more from him.
So, Paul stood on Mars hill and said,
I found in your city an altar to the unknown God.
Him I declare to you:
God that made the world and all things in it
and made mankind in His image.
He is Lord of heaven and earth.
He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands.
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And isn't worshipped with men's hands,
as though He needed anything,
for He gives to all life,
and breath, and all things.
And made all nations
and set their times and borders
in a way that they would seek Him.
Though He isn't far from us.
For in Him we live and have our being.
And since we are His offspring,
we shouldn't think that God is like gold,
or silver carved by man's artwork.
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In times past He overlooked this
but now commands all to turn and follow Him,
for He has set a day
when He will judge the world
in righteousness
by the man He ordained.
And has guaranteed this to everyone
by raising Him from the dead.
Acts 17:24-28
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King Solomon tried it all.
He was the wealthiest man
ruling over the greatest nation
with 700 wives and 300 concubines.
He concluded: emptiness, emptiness,
it’s all emptiness.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
That's because our Almighty Maker,
made us like Himself,
to be His eternal royal family.
I created everyone for My glory.
Isaiah 43:7
To know the love of Christ,
that you might be filled
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with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:19
I made you.
I will carry and deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4, 3
Will you make Me like a lump of gold
and worship something you have to carry?
I am God, and there is no other.
My counsel will stand,
and I will do all My pleasure.
Listen to Me.
I save quickly.
I am He who comforts you.
Why follow man that withers like grass
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and forget the Lord your Maker
who stretched out the heavens?
Isaiah 51:12,13
I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord is faithful,
who will establish you,
and guard you from evil.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
He that is against Me
wrongs his own soul.
Proverbs 8:36
I am the way.
No one comes to the Father
but through Me.
John 14:6
10
The Lord will bring justice,
and with His breath will slay the wicked.
Isaiah 11:4
And then that wicked one will be consumed
with the Spirit/breath of His mouth
and the brightness of His coming.
2 Thessalonians 2:8
Our Lord spoke creation into being with His word
and destroys evil with a breath.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made;
and all in them.
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Let all the earth stand in awe.
For He spoke, and it was done.
Psalm 33:6, 9, Genesis 1
The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the baby goats;
and a little child will lead them.
He ends violence.
They won't hurt or destroy in My holy mountain.
The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6, 9
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The glory of the Lord will be revealed.
All will see it:
who measured the waters in His hand
and weighed the mountains.
Isaiah 40:12
The grass withers and the flower fades
but the Word of God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
Celebrate the Lord.
He builds up, gathers the outcasts,
feeds His flock like a Shepherd,
and carries the lambs in His bosom.
Isaiah 40:11
13
Who heals broken hearts,
numbers the stars. and calls them by their names.
Great is our Lord, of great power.
His understanding is infinite.
Psalm 147:3-5
He alone is excellent.
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
Psalm 148:13
And He is leading all who follow
straight into His heart.
He forgives all sins, heals all diseases,
and crowns us with His love.
Psalm 103:1-5
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He that forms the mountains,
and creates the wind,
and tells man His thoughts (communion),
that makes the morning darkness,
and treads on the high places of the earth,
The Lord, The God of hosts, is His name. Amos 4:13
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Crowned with Love
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With Christ
With Me in paradise
One of the thieves crucified with Jesus
said to Him,
Lord, remember me
when You come into Your kingdom.
And Jesus said to him,
Truly I say to you,
today you will be with Me in paradise.
Luke 23:42,43
Enoch walked with God,
Noah walked with God.
God has showed you, O man, what is good;
and what the Lord requires of you:
to do justly,
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to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God.’ Micah 6:8
God that made the world and all things in it,
seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth,
doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands,
and isn’t worshipped with men's hands,
as though He needed anything,
since He gives to all life, and breath,
and all things.
And He made of one blood all nations of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth,
4
and set their times and boundaries of their dwellings
in a way that they would seek Him,
though He isn’t far from every one of us:
For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.
Acts 17:24-28
The Lord told Moses
on the journey to the promised land,
My presence will go with you
and I will give you rest.
Exodus 33:14
Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? No!
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We were buried with Him by baptism
and raised with Him
to walk with Him
in newness of life.
Christ being raised from the dead
dies no more
but lives to God.
So, count yourselves also to be dead to sin,
but alive to God
through Jesus Christ our Lord:
Romans 6:1-10
children and heirs of God,
joint heirs with Christ,
glorified together with Him. Romans 8:17
6
I am crucified with Christ,
but I’m still alive; not I, but Christ lives in me:
I now live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loves me, and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
If then we are risen with Christ,
let’s seek those things which are above,
where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1
For you are dead, and your life is hid
with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
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In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon,
Daniel had a dream
and visions of his head upon his bed.
Then he wrote the dream, and told the meaning:
I saw by night, and watched
as the four winds of the heaven strove on the great sea
(world ruling empires battling through the ages).
I watched until the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of days sat,
whose garment was white as snow,
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and the hair of his head like the pure wool:
His throne was like fire.
One like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of days,
and they brought Him near before Him.
And He was given dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations,
and languages, would serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion and
will never be destroyed. Daniel 7
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All power is given to me in heaven and in earth,
said Jesus in Matthew 28:18.
And I saw thrones, and ones that sat on them,
and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:4
Each person who trusts the gift of eternal life
is safely preserved from evil
in the heart of His love.
I am with you to save you
and to deliver you, says the Lord.
Jeremiah 15:20
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Who do you fear that you don’t remember Me?
Your own works won’t profit.
Let these others deliver you;
the wind will carry them all away.
But he that puts his trust in Me
will possess the land
and inherit My holy mountain.
For the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy says;
I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit. Isaiah 57:15
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I have seen their wandering ways, and will heal them,
and lead them, and restore comforts to them. Isaiah 57:18
Whenever we read of Jesus or think of Him,
we are with Him in our heart.
Draw near to God
and He will draw near to you.
James 4:8
The night of Jesus’s arrest,
while they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed it,
and broke it, and gave it to the disciples,
and said, Take, eat; this is My body.
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And He took the cup, and gave thanks,
and said, Drink all of it
for this is My blood which is shed for many
for the deliverance from sins.
I won’t drink of this fruit of the vine,
until that day I drink it new
with you in My Father's kingdom.
Matthew 26:26-29
The Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trumpet of God.
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And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we will be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air:
and we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
God, who is rich in mercy,
for His great love with which He loves us,
even when we were dead in sins,
has made us alive together with Christ,
(by grace you are saved;) and has raised us up together,
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and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6
I will come again and receive you to Myself;
that where I am, you will be.
John 14:3
When Christ, who is our life, appears,
then we will appear with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:4
15
I am with you always