MY WIFE DIED LAST NIGHT

MY WIFE DIED LAST NIGHT

Yes, my wife did die last night.  I do not know when 

during the night she passed away.  It could have been

from about six to twelve hours ago.  All I know is that

when I went in to see why she had not gotten up, she

was dead.

The police, the coroner and the funeral home people

have all been here.  So, why am I trying to write 

something to you while I am mourning?  It is because

I feel compelled to share with you the hope that is 

within me and keeps me going today.

You see, my wife knew Jesus Christ personally.  Years

ago she recognized that she was a sinner and headed

for a Devil's hell.  So she invited Jesus Christ to come

into her life and take over.  And in her own way she

had been living for him all these years since.  She was

a different woman.

Consequently I know that she is in heaven with her 

Lord and God right now.  I miss her.  Right now things

hurt bad.  But she is in the arms of Jesus and out of the

suffering she had in her body and the cares of the world.

As old as I am, I cannot live a whole lot longer.  But, 

when my time is ended here on earth I will be joining

her with Jesus Christ.  Then we will be together again

FOREVER.

"And just as each person is destined to die

once and after that comes judgment, so also

Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take

away the sins of many people.  He will come

again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring

salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."  

(Hebrews 9:27,28. NLT)

I HAVE A NEW BODY ON ORDER

The last time I posted from the book of Philippians

we looked at those who claim to be Christians, but

their hearts and minds are set only on the things of

this world.  In short, their body has full control and

the apostle Paul tells us they are headed for destruction.

But the very next verses encourages us who have

our hearts and minds set on the things of God and

try our best to live for him.

"But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord

Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting

for him to return as our Savior.  He will take

our weak mortal bodies and change them into

glorious bodies like his own, using the same 

power with which he will bring everything

under his control."  

(Philippians 3:20, 21 NLT)

First, living in a world that is so uncertain and evil
I am encouraged that in truth this world is not my
final home.  I am a citizen of Heaven.  And when it
is all over I'll be with Jesus Christ for ever.

I can consider my self just as those saints of old
who;

"They agreed that they were foreigners
and nomads here on earth."
(Hebrews 11:13 NLT)
That's me brother.

Second, I can be looking forward to the return
of Jesus Christ to take over this old world;

"Look He comes with the clouds of heaven.
And everyone will see him -
even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!"
(Revelation 1:7,8 NLT)

That thrills me.  We can look forward to that
great day with joy when the rest of the world
will be terrorized beyond description.

Thirdly, God is going to take this old weak
worn out body of mine and and change it to
be like the resurrected body of Christ.

You are just a kid yet so that might no mean
much to you.  But by the time you get as old
as my wife and I, that can mean everything
to you.

True I do not understand what that body will
be like.  But one time when some of those smart
religious leaders were arguing with Christ about
the resurrection he made this comment about
what our bodies will be like;

"And they will never die again.  In this respect 

they will be like angels.  They are children of 

God and children of the resurrection."  

(Luke 20:36 NLT)

PRAISE GOD.  I have something to be excited
about.  I have a new body coming.

The extra image.  Well, I just could not pass this one up.

WE ARE ON ACTIVE DUTY

We live in an age when many "professing"

Christians do not even know what a true

Christian is.  They "profess" but do not

"possess".

We covered this in an earlier post when I

ask - do you know him, or only about 

him.  That is Jesus Christ.

Bear in mind that the apostle Paul is writing

to the "Christians" here.  Not just God's creatures.

Even a snake is one of God's creatures.

But if we are true believers in Jesus Christ and

have submitted to him making Jesus our Lord,

look at the encouragement below.

First we are citizens of heaven.  This earth is not

our final abode.  We are only passing through.  And

in the passage below Paul in essence is telling us to

live like it.

"Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven,

conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of

the Good News about Christ.  Then, whether

I come and see you again or only hear about

you, I will know that you ae standing together

with one spirit and one purpose, fighting to-

gather for the faith, which is the Good News.

Don't be intimidate in any way by your 

enemies.  This will be a sign to them that they

are going to be destroyed, but that you are go-

ing to be saved, even by God himself.  For you

have been given not only the privilege of trust-

ing in Christ but also the privilege of suffering

for him.  We are in this struggle together.  You

have seen my struggle in the past, and you

know that I am still in the midst of it."  

(Philippians 1:27 - 30 NLT)

Notice that if there is the Spirit of God living

in us we will have to stand up and fight.  After

all, while here on earth we are living behind

the enemies line, i.e. in the Devil's territory.  And

that struggle will often cause us to suffer for Christ.

But notice how the early apostles took their 

suffering for Christ after being imprisoned an

beaten because they stood up for Christ.

"The apostles left the high council rejoicing

that God had counted them worthy to suffer

disgrace for the name of Jesus."   

(Acts 5:41 NLT)

Even the apostle Peter sounds a similar alarm;

"Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary

residents and foreigners" to keep away from

worldly desires that wage war against your

very souls.  Be careful to live properly among

your unbelieving neighbors.  Then even if they

accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your

honorable behavior, and they will give honor

to God when he judges the world."  

(1 Peter 2:11, 12 NLT)

Heaven is to be our final destination, but it

will come with a fight.  But Oh!, the reward that

will be ours then.

TWO MORE FUNERALS

Perhaps one of the largest funerals I ever attended was of

a former coworker.  I worked with the man for about 23

years, so was pretty well acquainted with him.

This man was a sports fan through and through.  Apparently

most of his life all of his free time was spent either in sports

such as being a coach, umpire or fan.  Also he was well liked

both at work and in the community.

When I arrived for the funeral there simply was no parking

room.  So many people had come that I had to park at a 

distance from the funeral home.  And of course the building

was packed.  It was hard to find a place to sit.

During the funeral service all they could talk about was

sports.  This man's devotions to sports.  His family talked

about his love of sports.  Even the preacher that was 

officiating the service, all he could talk about was this 

man's love of sports.

But, what kept eating at me was the man ready for death?

In 23 years I never got any indication from the man that he

had any relationship to God.  Or that he had even pretended 

to serve or live for God in any way at all.  But I did know

 that he was an alcoholic.

I know, I did not know his heart.  I do not know if in his

last years he turned to God in anyway.  But for the best I knew,

while all these people were telling what a good man this 

guy had been - HE WAS NOW BURNING IN THE DEVIL'S

HELL.

Then, there was Jeanie's funeral.

We knew Jeanie and her husband for years.

They published a small Christian newspaper

in this area for years.  Both Jeanie and her 

husband lived to serve God.  If you could be 

around them the talk was going to be about living

 for God.  They loved God with all their hearts.

They had no children or family in this area.

But all of God's children were their family.

I went to Jeanie's funeral.  Circumstances as 

they were, her husband had to officiate her

funeral.  If I remember correctly, counting all

the guests, Jeanie's husband and the funeral home

employees, There was a total of nine of us at

Jeanie's funeral.

Sad.  Yes, that is, that Jeanie had passed away.

But all of us were able to rejoice because she 

was now with Jesus Christ, the God she served

in heaven.

You guess which of the two deceased I would 

choose to be if I were in their place.

TODAY'S PROMISE

Jesus Christ said;

"God blesses you when people mock you

and persecute you and lie about you and say

all sorts of evil things against you because you

are my followers.  Be happy about it!  Be very

glad!  For a great reward awaits you in heaven.

And remember, the ancient prophets were per-

secuted in the same way."

(Matthew 5:11,12 NLT)

JEREMY TAYLOR ON CREATION

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com     

"What can be more foolish than to think
that all this rare fabric of heaven and
earth could come by chance, when all
the skill of art is not able to make an
 oyster!"
- Jeremy Taylor

LIFE'S FUTILITY

LIFE'S FUTILITY.

God has permitted me to have a few acres of woods

that I use to "get away from it all" in.  I drive over 

to this small patch of woods every chance I get just

to get away from it all.

Now I have learned a long time ago to consult with

God on the many decisions of life.  If I don't, well

I am in trouble.  But, this was one of those times that

it was just something that I wanted to do.  So, I

did it with out getting God's advice.

There is a hollow tree in my patch of woods and

by nature I am a "survivalist" at heart.  So, I wanted

to put some survival gear in that tree hid from the 

rest of the world "just in case."

I got a machete and put a protective coating on it

to keep it from rusting.

Then I made myself up a small can with a bail on

it so it could be held over a fire to boil water in,

if necessary.  And then put a protective coating on 

it to keep it from rusting also.

Lastly I took a plastic weather proof case and 

put in it [I think] something to light fires with.

A solar blanket and some fishing gear.  Stuffing

all of this in the hollow of the tree.

The last time I was over at my woods hid away

I decided to check on my survival gear.  It had 

been five or six years since it was all stuffed in

the tree.

Wow!  Just wow is all I can say.

It was like it was all buried in a pile of compost

in the tree.  I had to dig it out.

In addition the tree had grown enough that I

could not even get the tin can out with out

mashing it down.  And the plastic case.  I don't

know.  It is still stuck in the tree.  I cannot get

it out of the hole anymore.

I should know better.  Jesus Christ told us;

"Don't store up treasures here on earth,

where moths eat them and rust destroys them,

and where thieves break in and steal.  Store

your treasures in heaven, where moths and 

rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break

in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there

the desires of your hear will also be."   

(Matthew 6:19-21 NLT)   

I should have spent that time and little bit of 

money doing something worth while for God.

TODAY'S PROMISE

Image courtesy of:www.Pixabay.com  

"All praise to God, the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is by his great mercy that we have been born again,

because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we

live with great expectation, and we have a priceless

inheritance - an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you,

pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

And through your faith God is protecting you by his power

until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be

revealed on the last day for all to see." 

(1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT)



TODAY'S PROMISE

"If you then, being evil, know how to give

good gifts to your children, how much more

will your Father who is in heaven give what

is good to those who ask Him."  

(Matthew 7:11 NASB)  

TODAY'S QUOTE

Image courtesy of: www.Pixabay.com  

"If you do not worship God seven days a week,

you do not worship Him on one day a week.

There is no such thing known in heaven as

Sunday worship unless it is accompanied by

Monday worship and Tuesday worship and

so on."

-A.W. Dozer  

WASTED, WASTED, WASTED

I know, it seems that I have only one song to sing

anymore.  And not being able to sing maybe only

one note to play.  But when you are living on borrowed

time, you look at things differently.

Even in my own life and home I now see so many.

excesses and surpluses that I am ashamed of myself.

Like so many professed Christians we are living on

the abundance of God's mercy and supplies.  We live

like there is no tomorrow.

God's word tells us that we brought nothing into the

world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Try arguing with that.

But Jesus Christ gives us hope even in the matter of

accumulated "treasures".   He said:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves 

break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves

treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust

destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

for where your treasure is, there your heart will

be also."

(Matthew 6:19 - 21 NASB )   

For myself,

I want the excesses beyond my necessities to be

"forwarded" to heaven where I can enjoy them

not only for a few years  - but forever.

It was C.T. Studd who said;

"Only one life, twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last."

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Therefore whoever humbles himself

as this little child is the greatest in

the kingdom of heaven."

(Matthew 18:4 NKJV)

BEWARE OF BARGAINS

Yep!

That's a tie.

It's a poor photo, but a nice tie.

I confess, I admit and I apologize, that there was a time

in my life when it was proper for me to wear a white

shirt and tie every day.  Sorry about that.

But then, I did one of the smartest things in my life.

I wanted off of the merry-go-round of that life style.

So I moved to the hills more than forty years ago.

And, yes, this culture does not require a tie.  Even

on Sunday.  If you see someone coming with a tie

on - WATCH OUT.

It is true that a tie is proper once in a while.  So I 

might wear a tie once or twice a year, maybe.

Now I have a wife who tries to take good [That's,

GOOD.] care of her husband.  Also, she cannot

pass up a bargain - even here in the hills.

The result was that over the years she had accumulated

about seventy five ties for me.  AND, I DON'T EVEN

WEAR TIES.

Where is the bargain in that?

God told us;

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures

on earth, where moth and rust consume

and where thieves break in and steal, but

lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither month nor rust consumes

and where thieves do not bread in and

steal.  For where your treasure is, there

will you heart be also.

(Matthew 6:19-21 RSV)

THIS WORLD IS NOT MY HOME

Are you getting tired and feed up with this old
world and the condition it is in?

(Images courtesy of:www.Pixabay.com)


If you are, and you have invited Jesus Christ 
to take control of your life - you can sing

Albert Edward Brumley's song. 

"This world is not my home I'm just a-passin' through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue

The angels beckon me from heaven's open door

And I can't feel at home in this world anymore"

Jesus Christ said to his followers,

"If you belonged to the world,

then the world would love you as its own.

But I chose you from this world, 

and you do not belong to it;

that is why the world hates you."

(John 15:19 GNT)

OVER THE HILL OR UNDER

We have an expression "Over the hill" meaning

we are past our prime.  Our best or most useful 

days are gone.  We are more useless now.

I heard a grandfather make the statement;

"It is better to be over the hill than under the 

hill"

But is it???

It just depends.

If in truth we have a vital living obedient
relationship with God - the truth is; being
under hill is better.  Few of us are in a hurry,
but being under the hill would only be our
body.  But our real self, our soul, would be
with God in heaven.

But if we do not have a real born again living
relationship with God - we had better pray we
can stay on top of the hill because the alternative
will be hell forever.

MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

This is a couple I know.

I feel their's is a marriage that was made in heaven.

They are fitted for each other like a hand and a glove.

They genuinely love each other.

They have a common God given goal in life.

But you and I know,

that if they don't live together,

their marriage will fail.

There is another marriage being made in heaven.

God of course does things on a grandiose scale.

That is why he created the universe.

That is why he created the earth

That is why he created the human race.

God wants a numberless race of human beings to be his

marriage partner for ever.  From this earth full of people he

is pulling out a people for himself.

You may believe in God.

You may love God.

You may have summited (married) yourself to God.

But if you go your own way and will not live with God daily.

What makes you think your relationship with God

 will endure?