from Gary Hamrick
... Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Chapel
for Sun 08/09/2026

... Because Christ will surely return, His people should be found faithfully serving Him when He comes.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 NIV (devotion translation)

This passage reminds us that the Christian life is lived with a settled expectation that Jesus Christ will return.

The believers in Thessalonica had received the gospel under difficult circumstances. Their faith brought opposition and suffering, yet they did not abandon Christ. Paul describes how they had turned from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven. Their conversion changed both whom they served and what they were waiting for.

Biblical waiting is not inactivity. The Thessalonians were called to remain faithful while anticipating Christ’s return. In the same way, believers are not called to withdraw from ordinary responsibilities because Jesus is coming. We are called to serve Him faithfully, obey His Word, love others, and bear witness to the gospel while we wait.

The certainty of Christ’s return should also shape our pursuit of holiness. Scripture does not give us a date for His coming. Our responsibility is not to calculate when He will return, but to live faithfully because He will return. The same Jesus who died for our sins, rose from the grave, and ascended to the Father will come again according to God’s appointed time.

There is grace in this promise as well. Paul identifies Jesus as the One who rescues His people from coming wrath. Our confidence before God does not rest in our ability to make ourselves worthy. It rests in Christ, who bore our sin and secured salvation for everyone who trusts in Him.

So waiting for Jesus is neither fearful speculation nor passive religion. It is a life of steady faith, obedient service, and confident hope rooted in the finished work of Christ.

Let the certainty of Christ’s return lead you to examine not the calendar, but your walk with Him.

Lord Jesus, keep me faithful as I wait for Your return. Teach me to serve You with obedience, pursue holiness, and rest in the salvation You have secured for me. Amen.

• 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ↗ - The immediate context: turning from idols to serve the living God and waiting for His Son from heaven.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 ↗ - Believers are not appointed to wrath but to salvation through Jesus Christ.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ↗ - God faithfully sanctifies His people and will complete His work as they await Christ’s return.
• Matthew 24:42-46 ↗ - Jesus calls His servants to remain watchful and faithfully carrying out their responsibilities until He returns.
• Titus 2:11-13 ↗ - God’s grace teaches believers to live godly lives while eagerly awaiting Christ’s appearing.
• 1 John 3:2-3 ↗ - The hope of seeing Christ motivates believers to pursue purity and holiness.
• 2 Peter 3:11-12 ↗ - Knowing that Christ will return should shape the way believers live in holiness and godliness.