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Friday, June 14, 2024
"More Alive"
Message summary: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior (born of the Spirit)? Are you living for God? We live by faith, not by sight. Are you ready to meet God and go home? A healthy view of death is seeing it similar to graduation. We finish the allotted course of our life on this earth and graduate to a much better and lasting place. At that time we shall be more alive than we are now!
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"I appeal
to you
therefore,
brothers, by
the mercies of
God, to
present your
bodies as a
living
sacrifice,
holy and
acceptable to
God, which is
your spiritual
worship"
(Romans 12:1).
Just up the
road from our
house is a
small country
cemetery. It
is where we
have bought
plots for the
temporary
placement of
our earthly
remains.
Walking
through a
cemetery is
comforting for
some people
but it can
also be scary
and even
morbid for
others.
Brooksyne's
dad was a big,
strong man but
he did not
like walking
through a
cemetery alone
(haunting
memories from
his
childhood).
But a healthy outlook is the following perspective as expressed on this epitaph we saw in our neighborhood cemetery:
Remember
friend as you
pass by.
As you are now
so once was I.
As I am now so
you must be.
Prepare for
death and
follow me.
But
there is
another
experience
that a walk
through a
cemetery can
bring, and
that is
inspiration.
Last night I
walked through
the cemetery
and saw this
tombstone.
We
don't know
this couple
but they are
similar in age
to us and were
married four
months after
us. Realizing
the
inevitability
of death they
had their
tombstone made
before either
of them died
which is also
a sign of
their
commitment to
their marital
vows until
their final
breath!
I suppose if the rapture occurs before they die it would make this a rather poor investment to any scoffers who remain, but I sure don't think it will be on their hearts through eternity!
Evidence
of their faith
in God is
expressed in
the verse they
use at the
bottom.
A
healthy view
of death is
seeing it
similar to
graduation. We
finish the
allotted
course of our
life on this
earth and
graduate to a
better place.
The
chosen verse
is very
thought-provoking
in itself but
especially so
as used on a
tombstone,
after all, at
this point
they are dead.
However it's
actually a
great faith
statement as
well.
Before D.L. Moody died he wrote,
"Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all-out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal; a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned like unto his glorious body. I was born of the flesh in 1837. I was born of the Spirit in 1856. That which is born of the flesh may die. That which is born of the Spirit will live forever."
Have you
accepted Jesus
Christ as your
Savior (born
of the
Spirit)? Are
you living for
God? We live
by faith, not
by
sight.
Are you ready
to meet God
and go home?
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, I can
confidently
choose to live
by faith, not
by sight after
I'm born of
the Spirit
because in
doing so I
take hold of
Your
unchanging,
steadfast
hand. You
order my
steps, Lord,
and though I
may stumble or
fall along the
way I am not
cast down for
You uphold me
with Your
righteous
right hand and
keep me on the
path of
righteousness.
Surely
goodness and
mercy will
follow me all
the days of my
life on this
side of glory
until I cross
over to dwell
in the house
of the Lord
forever. Amen.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Almost
Home"
Watch
on YouTube
MercyMe
"Abide"
Watch
on YouTube
Aaron
Williams
Many songs,
both new and
old, have a
verse
expressing the
inevitability
of death.
As I enter rest
I depend on You
I depend on You
For eternal life
To be raised with Christ
I depend on You
I depend on You
Erwin Lutzer writes, "At death we cross from one territory to another, but we'll have no trouble with visas. Our representative is already there, preparing for our arrival. As citizens of heaven, our entrance is incontestable.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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