The Devil’s Going Down!
Sunday's Devotion (6-15-08)
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 (KJV)
We shouldn't fear physical death. We shouldn't live our lives afraid of everything like some people are. Too many of us are afraid of what MIGHT happen to us IF something goes wrong, or IF something happens. But why be afraid of "Might's," and "Ifs?" Instead we should focus on what's for sure... IF something happened to us, we would go home to be with Jesus if we accepted Him into our hearts. So, we shouldn't be afraid, but instead we should actually be WILLING to go home when the Lord calls us. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, so why are we so afraid of dying? Some of us are just afraid of what'll happen to our loved ones when we're gone. However, the Lord is in control of all of that! That's His concern, when we're gone that's no longer our concern as hard as it is to accept. He is in control of our life and our death, if we die then that means we've served our purpose here.
Some of us aren't afraid of dying, but we're afraid of losing our loved ones. I fall into this category at times. I've lost a lot of loved ones... A lot of people my age haven't grieved the loss of many or even any loved ones, but I've lost a lot of family and a few friends. It's not easy to take comfort in someone's death, especially when some of them never accepted Jesus. When they never accepted Jesus that's a burden. That makes me feel like I should've done more to bring them to the Lord, but when they have accepted Christ... That makes things that much easier. I can take some comfort in knowing that they're with Jesus. I was really sad about the loss of mine and Lori's friend, Earl for example... I cried a long while, but then a smile came to my face and I'll tell you why: Because Earl was a man of God. There's no doubt in my mind about that. So, I'll see him again. With that being said, did I really LOSE that friend? Nope, let's just say he went away for awhile. We should be happy for those who are gone away with Jesus. The ones I'm really sad for are those who've left us without Christ in their hearts. That's why we all need to step out in faith and share the gospel, share the message of Christ. We can't pick who we want to share it with either, we just have to share it at every turn. Imagine if everyone at your work-place had a disease and you knew how to cure it... You would share it with each and every one of them, right? Well, the world has a disease (sin,) and you have the cure (Jesus.) What are you going to do?
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this message and for all things. Please forgive us of all our sins as we forgive all those who've sinned against us. Please help us to spread the gospel effectively to everyone that we encounter. Also, don't let us fear death. In Jesus name. A-men!
God bless!