Daily Devotionals

Funerals are not happy events. For those who attended the April 2000 memorial services for H.M.S. Richards, Jr., the director of the Voice of Prophecy ministry and the son of its founder, the feeling of loss that his passing represented was especially harrowing.

At one point in the service, Harold’s daughter, Mary Margaret, rose to speak. The child and grandchild of beloved preachers, her voice was clear, if trembling at times, when she described that which her father and grandfather so fervently believed: Soon, in the eastern sky, there would appear Jesus and thousands of angels returning for His people—those alive and those at rest in the grave.

That “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) gripped her heart during those most painful hours of saying farewell to her father. That same hope has sustained millions of Christians through the centuries and resonates in hearts today.

For those struggling with the loss of a loved one, the promise of Christ’s return is a solid rock to grasp amidst a torrent of despair. Death does not get the final say; God does: “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

We who believe know that Jesus came to the earth the first time, and we know that the First Advent ensures the Second Advent: “I will come again,” He said in John 14:3. The last words of the Bible—Revelation 22:20—quote Jesus’ enduring promise: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

That’s a hope we can hang on to during days of joy and days of sorrow. He’s on His way!

Apply It:

H.M.S. Richards, Sr., who founded Voice of Prophecy, always ended his broadcasts with the call, “Have faith in God,” regardless of circumstances. Today, keep that faith centered on Christ’s promise!

Dig Deeper:

2 Peter 3:13; Psalm 50:3–5; Hebrews 9:26, 28

Key Bible Texts

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11 KJV)