IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE.

If I Should Die Before I Wake

 Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken,  or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.  Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.        Eccl. 12:6-7

            People often wonder what heaven is like, but I have never met anyone who died and came back to live on the earth.  A few are mentioned in the New Testament such as Lazarus, and the young girl whom Jesus raised from the dead.  Also, there was a young man who died and was in a funeral procession and Jesus touched him and he came back to life.  The prophet, [Elijah 17:22] prayed and a boy rose from the dead.

            Over the years I have heard stories of people who died and then came back to life and told stories of things they had seen in heaven, including family members and friends who had died earlier. However, there are many scriptures that tell us when you die and go to heaven you will not return to earth. 
            Hebrews 9:27 plainly tells us, “.... it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”.  God set up this plan from the beginning so a person could only die once.  Then we will be judged for what we did or didn’t do in our lifetime.
            Jesus told a story in Luke 16:26 about a rich man and a beggar. The beggar died and went to heaven, but the rich man died and went to Hell.  He begged for the poor man in heaven to bring him some water, but there was a great gulf between heaven and hell and no one could ever cross the gulf. After death, no one will leave heaven.  Of course Jesus is able to return and we are looking for his coming.
            When King David’s son died, he told his servant. "But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."  He knew he would not see the child on this earth again, but would see him in heaven someday. 
            Throughout the Bible we see great men of God like Daniel, Paul and John who went into a trance and saw things they could not tell about.  In fact, they didn’t know if they were in the Spirit or in the body.  When people say they died and went to heaven, it’s difficult to understand how.  Job 7:9 tells us “Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.” 
            Perhaps this scripture will help explain why the Bible says you can only die once and after that the judgment.   “Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.  Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”  Eccl. 12:6-7   I’m going to give you something to think about.
            While a child is growing in the mother’s womb, it is attached to a cord.  The child is being fed what it needs to live and to grow through this cord.  Once the baby is born, the cord is cut after the birth and the child’s life no longer depends on that cord for survival, but must change to fit in with its new life.
            This scripture explains that when life really ends, the silver cord that God has given us must be loosed or severed from the life we now live so we can move on to our heavenly home.  The other items mentioned like the golden bowl, a broken pitcher and a broke wheel, show the end of life as we know it.  Then our spirit goes back to God who gave it to us in the beginning.
           I have heard a number of stories from people who think they died and came back to live.  Many tell how they hovered over their body and saw family grieving over them.  Some tell of going to a heavenly place of peace and beauty where they are told they cannot stay, but must go back to live on earth.  Could it be their bodies have suffered a terrible ordeal and yet the ‘silver cord’ had not been loosed and so their spirit had to return to their body?
            Can one actually die, go to heaven and return to life here.  Well, Jesus did, but he was God’s son.  Certainly God can show us heavenly things such as he did Paul and John, but they didn’t die and come back to life. 
            The truth is that we never know when our maker will call us home, the best thing we can do is to make sure of our salvation, so when we do die; when the silver cord is cut, we will begin a new life in heaven with our Lord and Savior.

 

 

 

 

POWER IN THE BLOOD

Power in the Blood

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with

another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

            As I sat in our Good Friday service, the praise team sang beautiful songs about Jesus and the Cross.  One song touched me deeply, even though I had heard it many times before; “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus.”  It goes like this:

O precious is the flow,

That cleansed me white as snow.

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

The tears began to fall, as once again I thought about my salvation and what Jesus went through so my past sins were washed away.

            Later that day I went to therapy and listened to my therapist gently and lovingly witness to a young boy about Jesus.  I could barely hold back the tears of thankfulness for the presence of the Holy Spirit.      

            Saturday, I went to the funeral of a precious saint in my church.  Her daughter, husband and her mother could not hold back their grief.  I grabbed my daughter’s hand, who was sitting next to me, and began to weep as I whispered to her, “I could never bear to lose one of my children.”  As sad as this was, the presence of the Holy Spirit was in that place and I was once again reminded of what Jesus did on the cross.

            Romans 8:28 gives us amazing insight as to one of the most asked question of Christians, “Why do people get sick and die when we pray for them to live?”  The Bible tells us that Jesus took stripes on his back so we might be healed, so why aren’t they healed? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God...”  God knows our beginning and our end and even though we can’t always see the outcome, He is working things out for the good.  Some day we will know and understand.

            “Nothing but the blood of Jesus, He shed his blood for that young boy in therapy who doesn’t yet know him.  He shed his blood for that dear lady from our church and she was washed clean and right now is rejoicing with Jesus.  There is so much more power in the blood of Jesus and we don’t even realize it. 

            Some churches never talk about the ‘Blood’ because it makes people uncomfortable.  Yet, how can you talk about Easter, or salvation, or healing without understanding the power in the blood of Jesus?  The blood grants us forgiveness of sins (Col 1:14).  The blood gives us peace and obtains eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12).  The blood cleanses us from all sin (I John 1:17).  When we take Communion, we are sharing in the New Covenant which is through shedding of the blood of Jesus (Luke 22:20).

            The Blood of Jesus is a Holy and powerful thing, that without it, not one person would go to heaven when they die.  The power in the blood of Jesus has conquered death and the grave.  The enemy, Satan, will be destroyed eternally by Jesus’ shed blood. 

We cannot ignore the power in the blood of Jesus when we read in Matthew 26:27-28 that we should take communion as a remembrance by eating bread to signify his body broken on the cross.  “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

            Easter is one of my favorite celebrations of the year; Jesus rose from the dead and it was a new beginning.  No wonder trees, bushes and flowers begin to grow, bringing new life to the earth this time of year.  It always reminds me of a special scripture in Lamentations 3:22-23; “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”  Just think! Every morning God’s mercies are new.  This Easter is the perfect time to renew your faith and by the Power in the blood Jesus, be cleansed and filled with peace.

THE STUBBORN DONKEY

The Stubborn Donkey

 

    “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied,

and a colt with her; loose them and bring them to Me.”  Matthew 21:2

      Forty-some years ago, my children wanted a story about Palm Sunday and after some thought, I came up with this fictional story about the donkey that Jesus rode through the streets of Jerusalem.  The crowds lined the streets and threw down their cloaks on the ground.  They cut down palm branches and as He rode by they waved the branches and cried out, “Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna!”  Now for the rest of the story!

       In a small village outside of Jerusalem, two donkeys stood in the heat of the day.  The larger of the two was the mother; the smaller, her son, a colt.  The mother donkey stood quiet and patient, but the colt stamped about; occasionally braying loudly.  “Will you ever learn to behave yourself,” asked the mother.  “The man who owns us will soon get rid of you because you are naughty.”

      The colt refused to carry a rider or even a small load to the market place. He was so stubborn that many times he refused even move.  At other times, if someone came near he would kick up his hind legs just to frighten them.  Yes, it was true; his owner would soon sell him if he was of no use.  

       This day the little donkey was even more restless than usual.  He had a feeling that something very exciting was about to happen.  He told his mother how he felt, but she only brayed loudly, which is the way donkeys laugh. 

 

      A short time later two strange men came walking up to the donkeys and began to untie them.  The own came running out of his house shouting, “What are you doing with my donkeys?”

       “The Master sent us for them,” replied the men.

       “And who is your master?” asked the owner.

      “Jesus of Nazareth”, they answered.

      The owner’s face softened and with a big smile he happily agreed they could borrow the donkeys as long as they were needed.

      The men led the two donkeys down the road until they came to a group of people standing around a tall, dark, kind-looking man.  “Here are the donkeys, Master.  We think you should ride the big on who is quiet and well trained.  The colt is very frisky and has never been ridden.”

      The Master looked at the donkeys as the mother stood patiently waiting to carry the rider, but the colt pawed at the ground and brayed loudly.  “No one is going to ride on me” said the colt to himself.

      Then Jesus laid his hand gently on the young colt.  “This is the one I will ride,” he said.

The colt felt the gentle touch and heard the soft voice; he quieted down and stood still while the disciples placed their cloaks on his back.  Then he felt the strange weight when the Master carefully sat on him.  Without a word of command the young donkey started down the road toward Jerusalem.

      As they neared the city, crowds of people joined them shouting, “Hosanna in the Highest; Jesus, the Christ, the King of Israel.”  They went through the city waving palm branches and singing.  The little donkey held his head higher and began to prance.  He was so proud he had been chosen to carry the King.

      In the evening the colt was returned to his home.  He was so happy to see his mother and nuzzled her, then stood quietly.  His mother was amazed at the change in her son. “I can’t believe you would carry a man on your back.”

      “Mother, he wasn’t just a man.  He was the Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” 

      At times we are like that little donkey, stubborn and restless.  Yet, when we feel the Master’s touch, our hearts are filled with love and joy, we too will wave palm branches and sing, “Hosanna to Jesus, King of the world.”

      Palm Sunday is one of my favorite days at church, waving a palm branch and singing “Hosanna”.  Closing my eyes, I am taken back in time; I hear the crowds, feel the dust rising from the press of people.  I gaze on the face of Jesus as he goes by; my heart is thrilled and my faith is full.

 

 

 

 

IS GAMBLING A SIN?

Is Gambling a Sin?

“You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!”   Haggai 1:6 (NLT)

            Originally the Christian churches decided gambling to be a sin because of the scripture surrounding the death of Christ on the cross.  “And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots [dice] for them to determine what every man should take.” (Mark 15:24)  Yes, the Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus clothes.  They were not Christians so it had nothing to do with the Christians, but it was termed a sinful practice from then on.  However, the Catholic Church sees nothing wrong with it and even promotes it in their churches.  Yet they also offer counseling for those who are addicted to gambling, but in most cases addictions are caused from practices that are considered to be sinful.

            This is a controversial subject in the church today, so I felt the need to address this issue.  You may not like what I’m teaching on, but, as always, let’s see what the Word of God says on the subject. Even Isaiah wondered about it, “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?”    Isaiah 55:2

                Let me say here that gambling is not a sin unto death.  Gambling is not going to keep you out of heaven! However, there are a variety of reasons people gamble and some of the reasons are very ungodly and are counted as sin.  Let’s look at I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”  The ‘Love of money’ is the problem.  We all need money to live, but we don’t need to be obsessed with it.  The ‘love of money’ causes some to sin, like stealing, murder, turning from God.

            The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”   When we are obsessed with storing more money away, we become a slave to money. Usually those obsessed with getting more and more give little away; they don’t tithe, don’t help the poor and needy, or give of themselves.

            Money can separate you from serving God. How do we know this, because I John 3:17 explains what happens: “But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him—how can God’s love be within him?”  When we gamble by going to casinos, playing cards for money, or buying lottery tickets, we are not sinning. However, if we can afford to do those things, then we can afford to help others.

            Some people are so addicted to gambling; they may not pay their bills or have money for food, so they can gamble. Some people sell things out of their home just so they can have money to gamble. The truth is that more people lose than win.  God tells us in Hebrews 13:5 “Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”   God will give you what you need if you trust him. 

            Gambling looks like fun, if you can get past the environment of all the drinking and smoking. Casinos are not what you call a healthy or godly atmosphere.  My family love games; board games, card games and thinking games; just not for money.  God wants you to enjoy life and serve Him to the best of your ability.

            No - gambling is not a sin unless you make it an idol; unless you spend more time with it than with God, or spend all your money gambling and give God nothing.  Do you have a great financial need?  “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19