The stroll

I want to thank all of you who prayed for my young friend’s surgery yesterday. She got very good news in that she did not have malignant cancer that has spread throughout her body and I praise God for it. However she still faces a dangerous life threatening situation where a transplant of a major organ is needed very soon. She is on the list awaiting a donor. I would ask that you continue to pray for her and the donor and their families in the ensuing weeks.

Isn’t it odd that someone else must die in order for her to live? Usually a young person dies in a tragic accident which makes the organs become available and that is all the more disconcerting. The doctors have given a time frame of how many weeks that they estimate it will take in order to obtain the needed organ. It’s eerie when you think about someone’s death predictably looming ahead.

The Bible tells us that we should think about death often. That command seems odd at first, but after careful thought, as usual we can begin to understand God’s wisdom in saying it. Death is the natural end to life as we know on it on this earth. Death and taxes are guaranteed (and with our new President and his friends in congress we can rest assured that the part of the statement concerning taxes is an axiom and not a theorem.)

We all face death and we all must pass through it unless we happen to be around for the Rapture. I say pass through it because death is not a period, it is a comma. Life continues on after death and assuming we have accepted the Lord as our Savior, we should not fear it. On the other hand, if someone is not a believer they should be terrified of death.

In Psalm 23 David describes death as a “walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. He goes on to say that he will “fear no evil” because God will be with him and will comfort him. Hmmm Enough said! Think about this description. Death is merely a walk with God through a valley that is described as a shadow. A shadow is harmless. It just casts some fleeting darkness behind us. We walk towards the light of Jesus Christ and the shadow disappears and He comforts us. Nice!

David goes on to state that the Lord prepares a table before Him in the presence of our enemies. That tells me that satan will be defeated and will be tortured to know that we are there at the table with the Lord enjoying His entire splendor, while satan and his followers are in hell suffering for their sins. Sons of disobedience lost for eternity lamenting their poor decisions and rebellion. Payback!

David ends this chapter by saying, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”. Hmmm When God asks us to think about death often, we should think of it in this context. Yes we must grieve those who go on before us for a short time, but we, (Christians), “all” are heading towards a glorious time and untold marvels and wonders that “eye has not seen or ear ever heard”. God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death, sickness, suffering, grieving, tragedy, depravity, politicians, or taxes.

God loves us more than we can understand, and when Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished”. He arose three days later and triumphantly defeated death and transformed it into a harmless shadow by taking the sins of the world upon Himself. That ensured that all believers will join Him at the table that He has prepared and we will live in the mansion in heaven that He has also prepared and given to us. (He will not be handing us any keys, because there will be no need for locks and no one will foreclose on that baby I tell you.)

We all will face death. Maybe today, maybe fifty days or years from now. Prepare for it by turning your life over to Jesus Christ. Rely on the Lord and rest in His promises when it comes to the nasty business of death, (going for a stroll with the Lord who will be right at our sides).

Please if you find it in your heart to do so, pray for my friend. Her family, her infant son and her friends. We do not need for her to leave us so soon. The Lord heard our prayers yesterday and He will hear them this morning. Thank you in advance

Psalm 34:17
The righteous cry out,
and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all
their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who
have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a
contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the
righteous,
But the Lord delivers him
out of them all.