No Fear of Death

 My mom told me that daddy wanted to talk to me. I went into his hospital room and sat down on his bed. He was sitting in a chair directly across from me. He said, “Son, it looks like I am going to die.”  These were words a son never wants to hear his father say. He had just been diagnosed with leukemia. His doctor told him that little could be done to save him. Daddy continued our conversation by basically handing over to me many responsibilities which I had never dreamed I would own. He asked me to  help my mother run our grocery store, and to support her  in the things she would need to do after his death.  He wanted me to help my brother who was about to finish his first year of college. Finally my daddy gave me a condensed lesson on grocery store management. There were some things he wanted me to do immediately, and there were day to day responsibilities that he wanted me to handle. 

I was scared and it was all I could do to not cry. The only thing I could think to say was, “I don’t want you to die.” I knew that the chances for daddy to survive were very slim. The doctor had told us that what he was going to try was a long shot. Daddy said, “I don’t want to die either. but I am not afraid. I am trusting God. He knows what is best. If he chooses to take me now I am ready to go.”  About that time his doctor, a nurse and a technician who would begin administering daddy’s treatment entered the room. They asked me to leave. I hugged my dad and told him I loved him.  There were tears in his eyes. He said, “I love you too.” I had no idea that that would be the last words I would hear my dad speak.

My dad was in Parkview hospital in Nashville Tennessee. We lived about 55 miles away in southern Kentucky. I drove home that afternoon to begin taking care of the business my dad asked me to do. I sat in his office looking at the things on his desk. No one was in the store. Tears began running down my cheeks, and soon I began to cry. My crying turned into the most desperate prayer I had ever prayed, “Please God, heal my dad!“  Over and over I prayed, “Please God, heal my dad!” 

The next afternoonI I drove back to Nashville to check on daddy. He had been on that powerful chemo for twenty four hours. When I walked in his room I saw my mom, brother and aunt standing around my dad’s bed. Daddy was semi conscious, convulsing in horrific pain. For the next several days my big, strong dad had declined so much that he was barely recognizable. He wasn’t able to speak or respond in any way. We would go in and hug him and tell him we loved him. He knew we were there, but that was all. Finally, just nine days since he had entered the hospital God took our dad to be with Jesus in heaven. He died on May 20, 1972, less than a month after his fifty fourth birthday.

I will never forget my dad’s last words to me, “I am ready to go. All we can do is trust him.” I don’t think a young man who is beginning his adult life with a new bride, a first job teaching and coaching, and before another year our first child could ask for any better parting words from his dad. It has been 49 years since that last conversation with my dad.  I am so thankful for that farewell talk. Now I am 18 years older than my dad was when he died. I know that I am getting closer to the day when I will go to be with Jesus. I don’t think I will be afraid to die. Why should anyone fear knowing that Jesus will be waiting for all who have trusted him in all things.

Plumbing Gone Wrong

Many years ago my mother bought one of those cushioned toilet seats. She was going to hire someone to take the old one off and put the new one on. She told my brother Mike and I what she was going to do. I told her not to hire anyone, that Mike and I could do the job. She agreed to let us try, but she was a bit hesitant. My mother knew that my Mr. Fix it skills were very limited, and that Mike’s mechanical reasoning expertise was woefully lacking. There we were two brothers who were going to attempt something that would no doubt cause our mother great anguish.  

I got a wrench and began loosening the nut under the left side of the commode. No problem. It came right off. Mike said, “Let me do the other side.” I was the big brother so I told him, “I’ve got it.” I had already proven I was the expert. I began working on the right side, but the nut wouldn’t budge. There was no telling how many years that toilet seat had been on the commode. Rust had formed on the nut, and it was stuck tight. I said. “I don’t think we are going to be able to get this off with the tools we have. Let’s call Bobby to help us.” Bobby was our cousin. Getting that rusty nut loosened would be no problem for Bobby.  My suggestion was more reasonable than what Mike chose to do. Mike thought I should give him a try before we called our cousin. He picked up the wrench and began his attempt at getting the nut off. He was having no luck. He said, “I know how I can take care of this nut.” 

Mike got up and went to the utility room where my mother kept her limited arsenal of tools. He came back with a hammer and a screw driver. I knew there was going to be trouble when I saw what he had in his hands. That’s when the argument began. I don’t remember my exact words but I think I said something like, “You idiot, are you crazy? You are not going to use that hammer on this commode!” But Mike’s replied was exactly what I thought  it would, “I know what I am doing! You shut up and leave me alone.” We had had many conversations like this before. 

As always my mother walked in to get involved in our argument. When she saw what Mike was about to do she told him not to continue with his stupid plan. She didn’t say it like that, but I knew what she was thinking. Of course Mike didn’t pay any attention to what she was saying. He put the end of the screw driver on the nut and began hitting the end of that screw driver with the hammer. Tap, tap, tap. The nut didn’t move. The next sound we heard was a louder tap, and then the sound of porcelain crashing. The water in the commode gushed out all over Mike’s head and onto the bathroom floor. The right side of the commode was completely destroyed. My mother was speechless. I don’t know why, but I began laughing. “Good job Mike! At least you got the nut off. 

Mike was young when this fiasco happened. Our dad had just died. Mike was !9 years old and in his first year of college. I know he wanted to help mom with whatever she needed done. Sherri and I had only been married a year. Mike was the man of the house. He was going to take care of small jobs even if he didn’t know how. I think everyone of us have taken on responsibilities which were beyond our reach.  That’s when we need help the most. We can find direction in the Bible just for times we are not sure what to do. Here is great advice for removing the unmovable rusty problems that all of us will have some time  in life. 

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

This verse tells us to pause before diving head long into uncharted waters. Stop and seek good advice from those who have learned from years of experience. Listen to God. If you go it alone you might end up drenched by a flood of toilet water, so to speak.

Trading God For The World

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

This verse does not work for us if we do not trust God. Love and trust always go together. We cannot truly love God if we do not trust him. Too many Christians ask God for help but doubt that he will help. They doubt because they do not fully believe in him to provide.  When we know what God wants us to do and do not obey we have a serious trust and love problem. We go our own way, a way which leads to sin. What we are actually doing is trading God for the sin we have chosen. This is why so many Christians are struggling.

For instance, when a man and a woman stand before God to be wed they vow to love each other, to trust each other, to be true to each other and to remain together until they die. They make a sacred promise to God. And God obviously promises to honor their union by providing them with his constant blessings. But at some point in the marriage the wife allows herself to wander away from her husband into another man’s arms. They enter into a passionate affair sleeping together, and she breaks that sacred vow she had made to God. A husband’s eyes become focused on another woman, and he burns with lust. He pursues her and wins her affection. The two of them chose to enter the bed of adultery, and the husband also beaks the sacred vow he made to God. 

These are examples of two Christians who have traded God for a sinful, adulterous relationship. Their choices damage their relationship with God. What they have chosen to do brings hurt to many. The lives of their children are greatly damaged no matter their age. Their parents, friends and their church are also hurt. Nothing good comes to them when they trade God for their lustful, bad decisions. The most tragic part of this is that they traded the richness of their Heavenly Father for the filth of the evil world. 

Let us not use the verse that all things work together for those who love God when we don’t trust our Lord to keep us and help us in times when we are tempted.

Something That Will Never Be Destroyed

Sports fans have noticed that the best teams are like a well oiled machine. The players work together, unselfishly, without worrying about who makes the most points or receives the most accolades. They give all they’ve got from the beginning of the game until the horn blows to end the game. Real fans enjoy watching a team that plays together and works hard whether the win or lose. There is a big difference in true fans and fair weather fans. 

On the negative side, a team loaded with players who loaf, play for themselves, and complain are not fun to watch, at least for me. I’ve stopped watching games of any sport. I don’t like college teams that recruit these super stars out of high school. I think that this has ruined college basketball. I think players who stay four years and learn to play together not thinking about going to the NBA before they get their degrees are the best teams. But fair weather fans, coaches who want to make millions of dollars and school administrators who want to fill their gyms to have large gate numbers will never allow basketball to be played the way it should be. 

Politics, political correctness, lack of respect for country, authority and team mates have turned this old man off to sports. These things lead to divisions and animosity.  One day Jesus was accused by the Pharisees of being possessed by Satan after he had healed a man who had a shriveled hand.  He had healed the man on the sabbath in the synagogue. Jesus told a parable in his defense. He told them that a kingdom divided against itself or a house divided against itself cannot stand. A team divided cannot stand. A church divided will not stand. A nation divided will fall. A marriage divided will crumble. All around us today we witness the destruction of institutions, from marriages, to churches to powerful corporations. Satan has turned people against each other. When this happens people are deeply hurt. Divisions cut like a sharp knife tearing hearts apart. Selfish unforgiving people ignore God’s teachings and fall for the lies of Satan. Even Christians allow Satan to destroy the reputations which God has built in their lives,  

There is one thing that will never be divided and will never be destroyed. That is the Kingdom of God. His kingdom is powerful and eternal. Christian,  you are part of God’s Kingdom right now. We need to obey our King. We need to trust him and never allow Satan to destroy the sacred things in our lives. You have been given power to overcome the temptations of the evil one. Don’t allow him to divide and destroy the precious gifts that  the Heavenly Father has given you.

I Don’t Care What Anybody Says, The World Ain’t Fallin’ Apart

Doom and gloom! There’s a lot of that going on today. I guess it is easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom, the world is going to end theories that some are predicting. Someone sent me a video of a man who was sure the world is going to end soon because the planets have already begun to line up in a certain way. I found a list of world ending predictions dating back from 500 BC to the present. There were 47 predictions listed. John Wesley, John Smith, H.W, Armstrong, Edgar Cayley, and even Jerry Falwell who in 1999 predicted that the rapture would take place in the next 10 years are just a few of the ones who seemed to know when the world would begin to fall apart. I remember back, probably 40 years ago, a religious cult was so convinced of the day when the end was coming that they sold all of their possessions, quit their jobs and camped out on a mountain to wait for the rapture. When this event didn’t happen they continued to wait but before long they left homeless, broke, with no jobs and with no hope.

Who can know the time when Jesus will return? Guess who reported that even he did not know the time that the rapture would happen? Jesus! He told the disciples that he had no idea when he would be coming back to fulfill the promised rapture of his followers. No man, regardless of his biblical knowledge, his scientific expertise or his so called mystic capabilities  can possibly know the time when Jesus will return. Those who make such predictions are foolish and those who believe this nonsense are also very foolish. We must not get caught up in these doom and gloom predictions. Christians are not supposed to be fearful and down cast worrying when some quack tells us that he knows the time of the end. The scripture is clear that we are to wait and be ready for the day when Jesus returns. 

The last year has been tough. The election, COVID, thousands of deaths, business closings and job loses, and the hate filled divisiveness which has plagued our nation sparking the fires of the gloom and doom movement. Guess what? God is still in control. No mater how bad things get, Christians are to share the joy of their faith, and be light to those who do not know Jesus. Speaking of Jesus there is passage that assures us of his control over our world. “He is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of all creation...For by him all things were created,..And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17 

When the world seems to be falling apart remember this, Jesus holds all things together. He is the holy glue holding tightly onto everything so that this world remains in place. There can be nothing we can do or say that will speed up God’s timing for Jesus second coming. Just hold on to Jesus because he is holding on to you.

The Bridegroom

 Mike, Lisa, Sherri and I have been having morning devotions together since we got to Florida. Sherri has been leading our devotions. We have enjoyed reading the scripture, listening to the words of one song which speaks about our topic, listening to a short devotion message that Sherri reads and praying and adoring Jesus for the particular characteristic that we focus on for the day. 

Today we adored and praised Him for being our Bridegroom. We are his bride, and we are to live pure and holy lives. In the biblical times a bride groom journeyed to the house of his bride. It didn’t matter how far away she lived he came to her. There were no phones or means of long distance communication in those days, so the bride and the wedding party didn’t know when the groom would arrive. They had to be ready for the moment when he finally arrived. But the point we focused on was that the groom journeyed to wherever his bride was because he loved her so much. He may have to travel miles across the desert or climb over rough, steep terrain, even run the risk of meeting robbers who would try to kill him, but still he came to his bride. The bride did not try to come to him, she just patiently waited and she was ready when he came. 

We must note the real significance to the parable about the bridegroom and the bride.  Jesus is the Bridegroom and the bride is the church. The bride is all those who have believed that Jesus is the Son of God and have committed their lives to follow him. Jesus left his place on his throne in heaven and traveled to us, sinful men and women to the love of his heart, the church, you and me. He accepted the place of humility for his bride. He came to be poor, meek, lowly, despised, persecuted and finally to die, all because he loved his bride. His journey was hard. His journey was filled with danger and he accepted this reality because he loved his bride. 

Now another thing we must know is that the bride can not go to him. We cannot do a single thing to bring him to us or help him come to us. All we can do is wait and be ready when he comes, watch for him, and open the door when he knocks. We can only see him through our spiritual eyes. It is as though we are looking through a small window to see him and the joy of each day that he brings to us. There is beauty and glorious wonder for those of us who have opened that door and let him in. Satan will do every thing he can to darken that window so that all we see is doom and gloom. 

Let me express something that some of you may not like. It’s about the election. Many of you are so blinded by the results of the election that you cannot see what is truly important. You continue to refuse the joy that Jesus wants you to have because you are so consumed by hate for the Republicans or the Democrats. You continue to have disdain for President Biden or former President Trump. You are foolish to allow Satan to blot out the joy and peace that you should have in your hearts if you truly belong to the Bridegroom. The messages that some of you spew out are nothing but evil darkness that come straight from hell. Friends, bride of Christ, you are better than that. The Bible says that if you are in Christ Jesus you are more than conquerors. That means that you are super conquerors. You are overcomers. You, through the power of the Holy Spirit, are able to defeat the evil one every time he comes along to steal your joy, your peace, and your Christian influence. We are to be like Jesus, not like Satan. 

Remember, the Bridegroom traveled a great distance at a great price to be with you, his precious bride. He came because he loves you so much.