1 Corinthians 10:13 English Standard Version (ESV) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Yesterday’s devotion was a warning against wasting time over seeking knowledge that draws us away from God’s will for us. The reason I gave that warning is because it happened to me. The temptation to know things that are hidden from our sight may happen to others. I am no different and if it could happen to me, it might happen to others.

The important thing to understand here is that God is faithful. When we get distracted from our relationship with Him, He knows how to draw us back into relationship. How He does that will begin with a gentle nudge. If we persist He will step up the pressure to return to Him. If we allow it to get out of hand, then we may find ourselves in the realm of chastening.

As a child of ten I went to play with a friend. My grandmother was visiting and watching over me while my mother was out shopping and I lied to my grandmother about where I was going. When my mother got home she check on me and found I was not where I said I would be. Mom sent out a search party and they found me doing something extremely dangerous.

My punishment was not for doing something dangerous, it was for lying to my grandmother. It was the worst beating I ever got and the last. She put the fear of mother in me.

I tell that tale as a warning that we should not place God in a position of sending out a search party to haul us back into relationship. Do not tempt God to put the fear of God in us. Appreciate the loving relationship.

1 Thessalonians 4:17 English Standard Version (ESV) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Allow me to make this one point very clear, this is my personal opinion and only carries as much weight as my personal relationship with individuals will allow. It is my opinion and not of any pastor, teacher or theologian.

The etymology of the word rapture is Medieval Latin. There is an inherent danger in things coming out of that era, error. The letter was written in Greek and caught up in Greek is harpazo and its primary definition is to seize, carry off by force. I consider this as an act of my Lord who sits on the throne taking what is His, when He wants, and without explanation. He answers to no one.

The reason I am leery to breach this subject is directly related to the secular definition of rapture. According to Merriam Webster it is an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion. The subject of this willful act of God stirs up such passion within the church community as to cause us to lose focus on our calling.

Whenever we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our emotions we endanger ourselves of losing focus on God’s will, His purpose for us in the moment and the spreading of emotions rather than God’s agape love.

There are way too many unanswered question surrounding this coming event to know of a certainty the time and method of this event. This subject has been hashed over and over for hours, days and weeks to no consensus except to say, God’s will be done.

What are we ignoring that should be done while we waste time examining an event we might not even be alive to see happen? The answer to that is God’s will in this moment. Stop reading this and seek God’s will.