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Archive for the tag “physical death”

30 May 2020
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Hope for Our World

Watching the memorial service of Ravi Zacharias yesterday evening caused a great sense of grief to overwhelm me. The great defender of our faith died last week on May 19th after battling cancer. The sadness wasn’t really from his death, although it is a sad day to lose someone of such great significance, but the sadness was from the death of my own Dad a couple of years ago.

The daughter was speaking about her Dad and as she was speaking it was just a fresh tidal wave of emotion for me. The daughter’s son said that he didn’t know who he was without his Papa. He asked his Mom, what did Papa mean to you? The dam broke while I remembered my own Dad’s words to me as she spoke of her Dad’s love for her.

After my Mom died ten years ago, my Dad called me every night. Before he hung up, he always told me to remember he loved me very much. I miss my Dad. I miss knowing he was always in my corner. I miss how he instructed me when I had trouble with my golf game. (He would correct my positioning so that I could work out my slice.) He would tell me how to do something to finish a home project or he would do it himself when he was able. My Dad was a great father and he loved his family well.

The overwhelming sadness isn’t just from the death of my Dad or Ravi it’s all the death we are focusing on right now. Death just seems to be the main topic every day. I’ve lost two aunts in the last five months. The darkness seems to keep closing in. Evil just seems to be winning every day and if I didn’t know better, I would think evil will win in the end. But I know better.

I believe in eternity and no one truly dies. For those in Jesus Christ, we are given a promise of eternal life through Jesus – we just pass from this life to the true life we are meant to live – with Him forever. We are told through Scripture we will be with Him where He is at that moment of passing. There is no darkness for those in Him – only light. We also know that we will see one another again. We have the hope of resurrection and eternal life with God (Romans 8:18-25).

I may have a sense of sadness every now and then due to the events happening around me or the world, but my underlying sense is one of hope and assurance that God is in control in all things. No matter what the evil one plans, God has a countermeasure to bring good from it for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Sometimes I just need to sit in His Word and let it wash over me. Sometimes the Word needs to fill my tank just as I get filled up being with my family. My tank needs to be full. If I start running low, my emotions and my outlook seems rather dark like there is no hope for this world. God has worked many of my troubles in this life for His glory. I know He still is going to work something out for the story of loss we feel for this day for His glory too.

I believe in a Great God who can take our troubles and make them into a great testimony. We just have to surrender our plans to His. Our plans are futile without Him. God’s plan was not to heal Ravi from cancer. God’s plan didn’t include healing my Mom from cancer or my aunt either.

But this I do know, God’s purposes will be fulfilled – I read through every story in the Bible and God works it all out in the end. God didn’t save Jesus from His suffering either – but thank God He didn’t. By His suffering, we are healed and we are saved. There was no other way to have a relationship with God unless Jesus died for our sins.

I also know we all have to suffer at some point in our lives. Maybe it’s at the end like my Mom and my aunt. We are told in Scripture (Romans 5:4) suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope. God is always about building character.

It was my aunt who rejoiced in her suffering when she found out she had cancer. She knew Jesus was right by her side. She was at peace with her end. My Mom too.

I told my Mom when we first learned of her cancer, that God had given me a sense of peace about it. I thought He was going to heal her, but He had other plans which are not truly known to this day. My Mom too felt that sense of peace and reconciled to the fact God had chosen that type of death for her.

There is a 100% guarantee we will all die one day. We just have to be ready to meet Jesus no matter what. If we are given another ten, fifteen or fifty years, we still have to live each day as if it’s our last because we never know the number of our days or the time of Jesus’ return. And yes, I have hope that I will see Jesus return in the clouds for His church. I will be ready for that day. How about you? It’s time to be ready no matter what!

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8

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17 May 2020

Making a Difference

It just doesn’t make sense. The news was bad. It takes time to process and after you do, it still makes no sense. You might think I am writing about the political landscape, but what I share is death. Death is bad news. It’s loss. It’s sorrow. But when it is someone who has such a bright future ahead, you just can’t make sense of why bad things happen to good people.

I lost my aunt a couple of weeks ago from cancer. She faced a long battle that finally ended for her. It was expected. But I woke up this bright, sunny morning going through my routine when I jumped onto Facebook to see what my friends and family had posted. I was shocked to learn of this young man’s life cut short by a new motorcycle and a good evening to ride.

I didn’t know him. I saw him around church. He was the kid everybody wanted to hang with. He was energetic and flashed a big smile. He spoke to everyone – even me – just one who passes by. I noticed when he left to go to college how everyone congratulated him and wished him well. When he came home, the people in his circle were so excited to see him. He seemed to be a really good guy.

But as I read the posts by my friends and church family, I noticed how big a loss this truly is to our church body. It’s a sad day. To make it worse, there’s no gathering together to mourn the loss. There’s no comfort of hugs as people come together to remember. I felt this loss when I went to see my aunt for the last time. There was no comfort found in mourning alone. But as I reflect on my aunt and this young man, I don’t mourn their loss of life because they are more truly alive today in heaven than what they ever experienced here on earth.

It’s hard to explain to those who do not understand this joy when we face these times of sorrow. We do not mourn as those without hope. We have the hope of Jesus – the One who defeated death and claimed victory for eternal life. Yes, we experience sorrow. But oh the joy we find in Jesus. If this young man’s legacy is as it appears to be, even in death his light will shine. This isn’t the end of his story. He already has a legacy even at his young age.

It was a death of a friend that reached into my heart and changed me. And I believe God can do it again with someone else who is on the fence looking in and wondering about their own eternity. My friend died at a young age too; a little older this young man. My friend was a godly woman. It was a tragic accident too. But what set this death apart from all the others I had experienced up to that time was she was around my age. It was shocking. I knew people died young. But not ones I knew. Maybe this young man’s death can be a catalyst for change in someone else’s life. I pray it may be so.

When my friend died years ago, I was faced with my own mortality. Even thought I have known about Jesus all my life, I didn’t know where I would go when that day of death occurred. You see, my life had taken a detour for a few years. I wasn’t living as one who had given their life to Jesus. Basically, I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t have a relationship with Him. I didn’t even know that was a thing.

From my years of church life, I just thought you said a prayer and it was a done deal. But when my friend died, I had to know for sure where I stood with Jesus. I began the journey to find Him. My friend’s death changed my life. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We just have to trust God in our circumstances and remember He is our good Father who loves us and weeps with us in our sorrow.

We will all die one day. My hope is that you will know where you will go when you do. Let this young man’s life touch you too. We are to make the most of what God gives us – each and every day. God will make the most out of our days even when it’s such a short time. We just have to surrender each day as if it’s our last. This young man’s life has made a difference – even to the one who just passed by.

Jesus said to her (Martha), “Your brother will rise again.”

Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who was to come into the world.” John 11:23-27

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11 Aug 2018
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Time is Short

Have you ever woken up feeling out of sorts? That’s the way I woke up this morning. I woke up after having a strange dream. I actually woke up in a sweat. I was so angry in the dream. And hurt – heart ache not physically. Someone had done me wrong and I didn’t know how to fix it. And I thought my friends were laughing at me too. It’s hard to shake off a dream like that. Usually I don’t remember dreams, but this one happened at the point of my waking up. It felt like it took forever to get out of that dream. So I woke up feeling sweaty and perplexed. Not a good way to start the morning.

Because of the way I felt this morning, it was hard sitting down for my quiet time; especially controlling my wayward thoughts. There’s restlessness in my spirit. Although my dream caused some of these unsettled emotions, most of this is coming because of my Dad’s health. He’s not doing well and I don’t think God is going to fix it this time at least on this side of heaven.

The dream may have been a way for me to express anger I didn’t know I was holding within me. Am I angry? I didn’t think so but anger comes out through times of grieving. Am I grieving? Probably, but I have been grieving for the last two plus years. My Dad hasn’t been right since he had an infection a couple of January’s ago. Since that time, we haven’t had a decent conversation nor has he been able to do anything he would normally do.

I know this is part of the process of growing older. Parents get sick and die. We children have to deal with it the best we can. It’s the order of life and death – the way it’s supposed to be. When the order is reversed, it’s harder. When loved ones die that are not meant to die before their time, that is the hardest. Either way, death is hard to deal with – even when it’s expected.

Time is short. Scripture tells us we are like grass that withers and dies. No one but God knows how long we are given to live out this life. Our days are already numbered at the first breath. God knows the beginning and the end of us. He has seen it all. Scripture also tells us to count our days – make the most of the time we have. We are not to withhold forgiveness or anger or even love. We are to forgive everyone who has wronged us. We are not supposed to go to bed angry. And we are told to love everyone – even our enemies. Life is short. Conflict with anyone needs to be resolved now.

Some of my thoughts this morning have been about my time with my Mom in her last month of her life. There were many meaningful moments in that time. We shared healing conversations. We had those moments of expressing love, seeking forgiveness and thoughts of the future. It was a sweet time. I am a bit sad that I won’t have this kind of time with my Dad. We express things differently between us. Mom and I had that girl thing going on.

However, the time I have spent with my Dad over the last few years has been sweet as well. Dad loves me – he has shown this throughout my life. I don’t need his assurance of that fact. I know it within my heart. My time with my Dad over the last couple of years has been just sitting with him; being close and that’s enough for us. Everything has been said that needs to be said. This is the time of just resting in that love.

When I sat down this morning for my quiet time, I didn’t have the words to express in a coherent way. I didn’t have to express my heart to Him. He already knows what I am feeling. I sat with Him and read His Word. My earthly Dad gave me an understanding of a good heavenly Father who loves me beyond my imagination. There was nothing my Dad won’t do for me. Dad has taught me many things throughout the years, but I will always be grateful for showing me the heavenly Father as a loving Dad.

The same way a loving father feels toward his children—
that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us,
your beloved children, who live in awe of you.
You know all about us, inside and out.
You are mindful that we’re made from dust.
Our days are so few, and our momentary beauty
so swiftly fades away!
Then all of a sudden we’re gone,
like grass clippings blown away in a gust of wind,
taken away to our appointment with death,
leaving nothing to show that we were here.
But Lord, your endless love stretches
from one eternity to the other,
unbroken and unrelenting toward those who fear you
and those who bow facedown in awe before you.
Your faithfulness to keep every gracious promise you’ve made
passes from parents, to children, to grandchildren, and beyond.
You are faithful to all those who follow your ways
and keep your word.

Psalm 103:13-18 (TPT)

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20 Jul 2017
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Curve Balls

You just can’t tell when life will throw you a curve ball. Swoosh! Car accident. Swoosh! Fall off a ladder and break a leg. Swoosh! Someone you know dies suddenly. Those balls can come fast and furious. In every event, a new normal takes shape. Life continues on; we move on, sometimes slowly; but we go on. Things will never be the same again. However, nothing is a surprise to God. He saw it coming. In His Sovereignty, He allowed it to happen. He could have stopped it from happening. But for some reason, that “thing” happened. But God always has the last word on it.

I started this blog posting about three weeks ago. However, there was another word that was pressed upon me at the time. I woke up this morning with these words circling in my heart. You just never know when life will throw you a curve ball. What a difference a year can make or even a month or even more a day. The future is uncertain right now for me and my family. There is a season for everything, and the season is about to change. It’s a matter of when not if. A new normal is about to take shape.

Three weeks ago, my family celebrated my Dad’s 90th birthday. Today, he lies in a hospital bed. We don’t know the time when God will call any of us home. We just never know when things will happen that will change our future. Sometimes we ask why and we only get silence. We want life to be fair, but it’s anything but fair. We want justice, but there is no justice to be found. How can we live with this uncertainty with a peace beyond our understanding? Because of Jesus. When Jesus is in the picture, there is peace.

Peace beyond understanding. God is still Sovereign and on His throne. He is still glorious. His ways are still higher than ours. His thoughts still transcend ours. God still triumphs over evil – even when it looks like evil is winning. Whatever Satan has planned, God has a counter move. What Satan has planned for evil, God will make good out of it. It’s just the way God works. Satan can throw whatever he has at us, but when we have the peace of God, nothing will move us away from Him.

Satan will attempt many things to throw us off-balance. The curve balls can be his attempt to move us away from God. When we walk with Jesus, we are Satan’s target. Those curve balls will try to separate us from the only one who can keep us in the game. I heard a statement Tuesday night attributed to a singer who was questioned about Jesus being a “crutch” for all us Christians. The singer replied Jesus isn’t a crutch to him; Jesus is his stretcher. Jesus carries us. Sure we lean on Him, but it’s so much better when Jesus just picks us up and carries us through.

Levi Lesko wrote a powerful book written from a place of brokenness after he lost one of his daughters several years ago during the Christmas season. Right after they said goodbye to their precious one, Levi’s wife asked him to hand the hospital staff an invitation to the Christmas Eve service. In the midst of his pain, he handed the staff an invitation to make good out of a bad situation. Because of that invitation at a time when these parents could have walked away in their grief, they reached out and two of the staff came to know Jesus. Levi didn’t just lean on Jesus during that time. He couldn’t have delivered a message that would change people’s lives unless he was carried through it.

We never know how God will use the time of our greatest pain, but He will. We have to be open in those moments for God’s glory to come through. We have to be able to see the curve balls for what they are in this moment in time – God’s grace and mercy for such a time as this. There are hurting people all around us. Let us give them the gift of hope and let them be carried to the throne room of grace. Good can come out of a bad situation. Let God have the last word on it. And hit the curve balls out of the park, the game is already won but we can add to the number!

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)

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23 Mar 2017

From Here to Eternity

The question asked in our small group on Tuesday night was “Do you think about eternity?” Actually, I have to say “yes” especially this week. This is the twenty-third anniversary of a friend’s death. On that morning, she woke up in good spirits with excitement to do something she enjoyed doing. She loved to parachute and on that day she jumped into eternity. Her tragedy became one of my turning points in my life. Because of my friend’s death, I began the journey to find Jesus and make my life secure in Him.

About fifteen years ago, I struggled with thoughts of my death. When I would lie down at night, I would wrestle with the thoughts of heaven and hell. Well, more like be terrified with the thoughts of hell. I don’t remember what else was going on in my life at that time. I don’t know why Satan was tormenting me about those things. Eventually, I was reassured of my security in Jesus and hell was not going to be my eternal dwelling place. Jesus said He was going to make a place for me where He is (John 14:1-2), and I believed His Word to be true.

As I was contemplating this topic this week, a conversation with a college friend came to mind. Back on that day, I was questioning her involvement in church. She went to church but she was not a Christian. She said she knew she was going to hell, and she had already bought her air conditioner. Her comment unnerved me. How could she joke about something like that? I knew that was the place I didn’t want to spend my eternity. I had heard enough about hell that I didn’t want to end up there.

A study was quoted on Sunday in my pastor’s message that around 75% of the (American) population believes there is a heaven, but only 40% believes there is a hell. My pastor said that what you believe about eternity shows how you will live your life. If you believe there is no hell, then there are no consequences to your wrongdoing (sins). However, the default for everyone’s eternity is hell. Since Adam and Eve made the mistake of believing Satan’s word over God’s, hell has been our destiny. Because of the original sin, from that point on our fellowship with God was broken; and we have no right to be in His presence.

I have heard it said “How can a loving God send people to hell?” However, it should be said “How can a loving God not provide a way out of hell!” He provided a way out by sending His Son Jesus to restore our relationship with God. Jesus exchanged our cloak of sinfulness for His cloak of righteousness. And by His righteousness, we are allowed into the presence of God Almighty – Holy and Righteous One. It’s not by our goodness, because we don’t have any; but the goodness of Jesus.

I know lots of “good” people in this world that say they are going to heaven because of their good deeds. But it’s not about being good but being holy. Why would a holy God allow unholy people in His presence? He wouldn’t. Through His grace and mercy, Jesus shows us a different standard. Yes, Jesus is good, but He is also holy and righteous and a perfect representation of God the Father. Through Jesus, we become holy and righteous and are given the right to join Him in the Kingdom of God.

One of the stories written in the Gospels (found in Matthew 8, Mark 5 and Luke 8) tells of Jesus healing a man (or two) from a legion of demons. The demons knew Jesus and they knew their fate. Yet, the demons begged Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs instead of going into their eternal torment (“Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”). In James 2:19, the passage mentions that the demons believe in the one true God and they shudder. We are told in Luke 12:5 “Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.”

Our loving God wants us to spend eternity with Him. His desire is for all of us to be with Him in His Kingdom. Hell is total separation from Him. His desire is for all of us to walk with Him today – from here to eternity. Like He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, He has made a way for us to have that kind of relationship today. But this is our choice. While we are on this earth, we decide about eternity now. We will not be given an option after we die.

From what I understand, the death rate of all people is 100%. We are so concerned with our few years here on earth, but we should really be concerned with our eternity; and the eternity of our family and friends. There maybe someone you know that needs to know the Good News today because tomorrow they may be jumping straight into eternity. Do you think about eternity?

“The time promised by God has come at last!” (Jesus) announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” Mark 1:15 (NLT)

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06 Nov 2013

Born to Live

For the third time in the last couple of weeks, I have heard a message from the passage of the “lost things” in Luke 15. Okay God, I’m listening! The message this time around was about the Father and also the fact that celebration happens at the end of every parable in this chapter. I have always loved these parables, but this time around it felt like an epiphany. It was all about the celebration in heaven over finding those lost things. Jesus came to find the lost; He came for the sinners of this world. When one person is found or saved from destruction, there is a mighty celebration in heaven going on. I got to thinking about death soon after this message; I guess because I was studying the Cross of Jesus at the time and my Mom’s fourth year in heaven was right around this time. And the thoughts started following concerning death in general.

We are not born to live but born to die. The minute we are born, the clock starts ticking. We all have a death date according to Scripture. We don’t know how long we have to live on this earth. We are born to die; however, Jesus changes things. We are all born physically alive but spiritually dead. Only through Jesus are we born spiritually alive – this is our second birth (see John 3). Once we received the grace of salvation through belief of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we become spiritually alive. At that point we are no longer born to die, but we are born to live. We exchange a physical death for a spiritual life – we will live in abundant life for eternity. We will have some sort of exchange from this life to the eternal life – some would call this a physical death – I would surmise that we really don’t die at all but pass from here to there in an instant. Our last breath here on earth is our first real breath of fresh air ever taken. Isn’t that an amazing thought? We will no longer struggle with this physical limitation, but will truly be living in a new reality!

God has been working on this dying thing (or surrendering) for me for a couple of months now. We are told to die daily to our selfish desires (nature). Now, if I could only do it! After Jesus was resurrected, He went back to heaven so the Father would send us a helper (the Holy Spirit) to live within us. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to live as we should. I know I can’t do it alone. I’ve tried. It’s too hard. My selfishness is too much a part of me. Paul states in Romans 7, we do the thing we do not want to do because of our sin nature that lives within us. The Holy Spirit is at odds with our sin nature. It’s only when we die to the sin nature that the Holy Spirit will help us live in the abundant life. Yes, I am born to live abundantly only after I die daily. Ah ha! Got it.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:4-7

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