Tag Archives: death

July 7, 2015 · 6:41 AM

Nothing Is Final

Because of a recent death in the family, I had to try to explain death to my 4 year old. He wanted to know why people were crying. I told him, “Her husband went to Heaven to be with Jesus.” He then asked, “When is he coming back?” I said, “Never. Once you go to Heaven, you don’t come back. That’s why she’s sad.” As soon as I said those words, I heard God say, “What about Lazarus? What about Jarius’s daughter? What about the widow’s son that Elisha brought back?” He was right. Death is not always final. 

A few days later, God took me to Ezekiel 37. In it, He led Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones. The people the bones belonged to had been long gone. In verse two, Ezekiel wrote that the bones were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out. Then God asked a question, “Can these bones become living people again?” I’m sure Ezekiel thought like I did as he looked at that valley. He didn’t want to say, “No” because he was talking to God and knew anything was possible with Him. So he replied, “You alone know that.”

Knowing he thought it was impossible, God spoke to him and told him, “Speak to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with ski I will put breath in you and you will come to life.” Ezekiel didn’t question God. He spoke to the scattered bones and they came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons. Then muscles and flesh covered them. Finally God had Ezekiel speak life into them so they could live again.

God showed Ezekiel and us that nothing is impossible for Him. We can look at loved ones who have died and think they are gone forever, but God has the final word. We can look at relatives who don’t know Christ as their savior and think they’ll never come to know Him. We can think of the dreams we had for our lives and feel like they’ve died because of our decisions or what life has thrown at us. We can look at any scenario in our life and see what once was, but will be no more and think it’s over. When we think something is permanently gone, we underestimate God’s power.

God looks at us and asks, “Can these dry bones live again?” We know in our hearts the answer is, “No” until we remember who God is. There is no dream, calling, family member or anything else too dead and gone that God can’t resurrect. He is the God who gives life. He is the one who can turn a dead end into a new beginning. He can make a river in the desert. There is nothing impossible for Him. If He spoke it to you, it will come to life. You have to stand over the valley of the impossible and speak what God tells you. You have to believe that what He promised, He will do. Your dreams can be broken, scattered, dried out and dead, and God can speak life to it. Nothing is final until God says it is.

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December 9, 2014 · 7:00 AM

Long Term Lessons

In the summer between my Fifth and Sixth grade years of school, my parents informed me that they were taking me out of the school system I had attended all my life and we’re putting me into a Christian school. I was devastated. All I could think of were the things I was going to lose and miss out on. There was no social media so I was going to lose all the friends I had been making since kindergarten. The Christian school was small and didn’t have much of a sports program. I went from a class of 20 something students to an entire grade that had only six students.

All I could focus on we’re the things I was losing. I pled with my parents about their choice. I wasn’t happy about it and let them know it! They were focused on my bigger picture. They knew that there was a higher percent of Christians in the Christian school than where I was meaning I would more than likely make friends with good influences. They knew that a grade that had six students would mean I would get a more individualized learning situation. They knew that even though sports were a big deal to me, I wasn’t going to be a professional athlete so they focused on things that benefited my future.

Thirty years later, I can see now what I couldn’t see then. I appreciate the choices they made even though I disagreed with them. As an adult in life, I forget that ultimately I’m a child of God. Even though I call Him “Father” in my prayers, I don’t often think of us being in a father / son relationship. I think of myself as an adult and He is more like my guide. I don’t think that’s how He wants it though. The truth is, I don’t know anything about what’s best for me long term just like I didn’t as a Fifth grader.

When God makes choices to take things out of my life, I still stomp and tell Him it’s not fair. All I can see are the things I’m losing. I’m too focused on the short term comforts rather than His long term goals for my life. I feel like God speaks to me sometimes in the way he did in Job 38 to get my attention during my tantrums. In verses four and five, He asked Job, “Where were you when I made the world? If you know so much, tell me about it. Who decided how large it would be? Who stretched the measuring line over it? Do you know all the answers?”

I don’t always agree with the decisions God makes in my life, but I’m learning that He knows what’s best long term for me. He may take away people or things from my life so that He can put prepare me for what’s ahead. He may do things that look like sacrifices now only to reveal years later that it was for my good. I wasn’t there when He laid the foundations of the earth. I don’t have the answers, but I do know the One who does. In times when I feel like I’m losing important parts of my life, I’m learning to trust His overall plan because He will do what is best for me long term.

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December 8, 2014 · 7:18 AM

No More Tears

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In the past week, we had two separate friends and a family member pass away. To say it’s been one of the toughest, emotional weeks of our lives is an understatement. I can’t remember when I’ve cried so much. As my wife and I were reflecting on each of their lives and how they had impacted ours, I said, “You’d think we’d run out of tears by now.” But no matter how many tears were shed, our bodies keep producing more. It makes me look forward to a time when tears will be no more.

I had to go find the scripture that I had heard all my life. I found it in Revelation 21:4. It says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” What a day that will be. We won’t have to cry over loved ones who die, because death will be defeated. I Corinthians 15:54-55 says, “And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the scripture that says, ‘Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?'”

A friend of mine wrote on her Facebook wall, “The reality of pain let’s us know this is not our home.” For now, the pain is more than we can seem to bear. It feels like Death has won and we lost. But this victory is only a temporary victory. In the end, we know that Death is defeated. We can rest assured that when Jesus died on the cross, He took the keys of Death, Hell and the Grave as Revelation 1:18 tells us. He will not leave us in our sorrow forever, but he allows that pain to remind us that we are headed to our forever home to meet up with those who have gone on before.

Death is inevitable in life. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that it appointed unto man once to die. That’s the door we must walk through to get to the other side. Knowing that jesus holds the keys to that door brings some peace. Knowing that Death will not have the victory gives me hope. Knowing that one day I will see my friends and family again puts a smile on my face even while tears are running down my cheeks. The sting of Death feels all to real right now, but I know that my Redeemer lives and He has not failed me. He will wipe these tears away and bring the comfort we so desperately need. His peace passes all understanding and in the end, He wins the fight over Death.

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July 25, 2014 · 8:05 AM

Is It Well?

It’s Free Friday! Today is the day you let go of the things in your life that keep you down or hold you back from all God has for you. To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy of “It Is Well” by Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence. Keep reading to find out how to enter.

I was 23 when my mom passed away from cancer. I remember praying every day for her. There were no social media sites around to get tons of people to pray, but there were email lists. I sent emails to everyone on my list asking them to pray for her. I had faith that God would heal her. As I was going about my business at work one day, I answered the phone. My brother told me to get home as quickly as possible. In a panic I began trying to hurry things along. I then realized I hadn’t hung up. I held the phone to my ear to see if he was still on the line. I heard my dad say, “Don’t kill yourself getting here, son. She’s already gone.”

A day or so later, I sat down to write an email to all those who were praying. As I wondered what to write, the words of an old hymn came to my mind. “When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well.'” I began to write to the people who had prayed so diligently to thank them for their prayers. I let them know that she had passed, but also that it was well with my soul. As much as I wanted her to be healed, I understood that God’s reasons were better than my own.

We each have a choice when something we really, desperately want to happen doesn’t. We can choose to be bitter at God over it or we can choose to say, “It is well.” It doesn’t mean that I agree with the decision that God made. It simply says, “I trust you, God even when I don’t agree.” We somehow think that our selfish desires are more important than His holy plan for the world. We argue, scream and fight with Him when things don’t go our way. We sometimes see it as Him attacking us or mocking us, but it’s the farthest thing from it. He sees the whole picture from eternity’s perspective. I see a pixel of it from a moment’s perspective.

I don’t know why God does what He does. I don’t know why things happen that hurt us. I simply know that nothing happens in my life without Him knowing about it. He knows what I need to go through today to prepare me to be the person He needs me to be tomorrow. He knows what I need to go through now so I can help someone in the future. I can get through my grief. I can rise from the ashes of a life that has been burned to the ground. I can rebuild what has been torn down. With that in mind, I can find the courage to say, “It is well.”

If you would like to win “It Is Well” by Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence, go to the Devotions By Chris Facebook page here and “like” it. I will randomly pick one person tomorrow (July 26, 2014) who has liked my page. If you have already “liked” my page, you are already entered for this drawing. I would appreciate it if you would invite your friends to like my page so they can receive encouragement from God’s Word too.

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May 13, 2014 · 7:42 AM

Times Of Rain

Rain is something we need, but don’t really want. We associate it with bad. It started when we were children singing the song, “Rain, Rain, go away. Come again another day.” Rain disrupts the times of sunshine and happiness. When it’s rainy outside, we say it’s gloomy. We think of the gray clouds and we think of depression. It changes our path, our timing and our plans. It messes things up for us so we resist it. We forget that rain is a necessary part of life. We forget the good that it does.

I’ve got several friends right now who are experiencing rain in their lives. Several friends have had loved ones pass away unexpectedly. I’ve got a couple of friends who can’t seem to find a job. I’ve got a few friends whose lives have been turned upside down because of choices their spouse made. For them, it seems like the rain just keeps coming. It feels like their lives are being flooded with negative things. Matthew 5:45 came to mind. It says, “It rains on the just and the unjust.”

I’ve read or heard that scripture my whole life. I was always under the impression that it just meant that bad things happen to Christians and non Christians alike because I associated rain with bad times. When I read it in context and then in several versions and interpretations of the original Greek, the Message Bible stood out. It said, “This is what God does. He gives His best – the sun to warm and the rain to nourish – to everyone regardless.” The times of rain in our lives are meant to nourish us. Just like our yards, lakes and crops need rain for nourishment, so do our lives.

When bad things happen, it usually pushes us closer go God. We spend more time in prayer. We take the time to talk to God and to read His Word to try to find answers. Days of sunshine rarely push us to spend time with God. When we go so long without rain or without spending time with a God, we enter a desert. God knows that we need rain. Of course, with lots of rain, it starts to flood. Jesus told a parable about that. He said the wise man built his house upon the rock so that when the rains came down and the floods went up, his house would stand firm.

What’s your house built on? The one way to test it is with lots of rain. If your faith erodes when the floods come, you’ve built your house on sand. The good news is that of that’s the case, God is there to help you rebuild your life after laying a firm foundation. If the floods came and have damaged your house, but your foundation is firm, God will be there when the rain leaves to help you make repairs. Either way, the rain should drive you closer to God and nourish your spirit. Times of rain are painful, but needed. Don’t run from them.

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January 23, 2014 · 6:51 AM

Your Obituary

There is a lady I used to work with who enjoyed reading obituaries in the paper. I was curious as to what intrigued her about them. She told me she thought it was amusing how many different ways a writer could come up with to say someone had passed away. She showed me some said, “this person went to be with Jesus”, “they went to receive their reward”, “they expired on this date”, “they got their wings”, “they bravely lost her battle” and the list went on. She told me that she wondered what they would write in hers and what her legacy would be.

I think that’s a good thing to wonder about. If you were to live until you were old, what would you want your legacy to be? What would you want others to say about you so that you could feel like your life was a success? Now work yourself backwards in life. What will you need to have done in order to have accomplished that? What can you start doing today to start moving down that path? You won’t accomplish your goals in this life or God’s will for you unless you have a plan to accomplish them and act on it.

Saul was a man who the Bible describes as “head and shoulders above the crowd.” God chose him to be Israel’s first king. After he was anointed, he prophesied and was transformed into a new person. He started off well, but he had no plan for what his legacy would be. He just assumed that because God had done these things for him that he could coast in that favor for the rest of his life and his legacy as king would succeed through his sons. With that lack of vision and planning, his life began to wander.

The longer Saul was king, the further he went from his intended legacy. He became paranoid, arrogant and proud. He forgot his mission from God. Without direction or a plan, his life wandered into disobedience. During his reign, God anointed another man to be king and ensured that Saul’s line of successors to the throne would end with him. I Chronicles 10:13 records his obituary. It says, “Saul died in disobedience, disobedient to God.” His legacy was tarnished because he didn’t go to God for help and turned away.

Saul did some great things for Israel in his life. He freed them from oppression and won many battles. He started well, but finished poorly. When he sinned, he became arrogant instead of repentant. His heart became hard. He didn’t look to the end of his life and wonder what it would look like if he had followed God’s will. He didn’t think ahead to what a successful life would look like. Instead, he took each day as it came and never knew he was off the path because he had never looked at the path.

What does your path look like? Where is it leading? What will your obituary say about you? I know it’s kind of morbid to think of the end of your life, but I believe that’s how you create a legacy. Where do you want to be at the end of your life and how if you get there from where you are today? When you have that path, you’ll know when you get off of it. When that happens, repent and get back on that path to fulfilling God’s will for your life. Your obituary can read, “This person lived life fully, loved God and died in obedience to what God had for them.”

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April 1, 2013 · 7:41 AM

Seeing Isn’t Believing

Yesterday we celebrated Easter. To me it’s the most important day in Christianity. If Jesus had not died and resurrected, His birth would have been pointless. Even His death was not enough. His resurrection not only showed He had paid for our sins, it proved He had power to do so. It was in the resurrection that victory was won. We don’t have to live defeated lives. We have a victorious savior who fights for us.

I can imagine that Sunday morning in Jerusalem. Since Friday evening at sunset, they had not been able to do anything about Jesus’ death. They had all day Saturday to sit and wonder about what just happened. They were in shock. A week before, Jesus had triumphantly entered Jerusalem. Surely He was about to set up His earthly kingdom and overthrow Rome. His death was a pill they couldn’t swallow.

They had barely enough time to get Him into the tomb on Friday before the Sabbath began. They needed to embalm Him better and find a more long term solution for His grave. This tomb was simply borrowed in order to house Him until other arrangements could be made. So Mary Magdalene and some others went as dawn was breaking in order to get an early start. They were unprepared for what they found.

The stone had been rolled away and the tomb was empty. She ran back, woke the others up and told them. They ran to the tomb expectantly. When they saw the empty tomb, they remembered what they had read in the scriptures and what Jesus had told them. They went away believing, but Mary stuck around. She was distraught. With tears coming down her face, she looked in the tomb again.

Two angels were sitting where Jesus had been laid. They asked her why she was crying and she told them. She then turned around and walked out of the tomb into the garden. She saw someone else who asked her why she was crying. She said, “Sir, if you have taken Him away, please tell me where you have put Him and I will go and get Him.” Then she heard, “Mary!” It was Jesus who was talking to her. She then recognized Him, grabbed Him and hugged him tightly.

I started thinking, “How many times does God show up in our lives and we don’t recognize Him? How often are we seeking Him or His will when He is right there in front of us?” We search for Him and think we know what we’re going to find, but we aren’t really looking. Mary had allowed her mind to cloud her vision. She couldn’t see the Savior standing there in front of her because her mind wasn’t open to it. The disciples didn’t see Him when they went looking, but they believed anyway. They found their answer in the empty tomb.

What are you looking for? What are you believing God to do? Are you allowing your mind to control what your faith sees? Or are you like the disciples who didn’t see what they were looking for, but believed anyway? Jesus said it best in John 20:29. He said, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” We don’t have to have that face to face meeting like Mary did in order to believe. The truth is that many of us have had that experience and didn’t recognize Him. Trust God today to bring you the victory even when you can’t see Him.

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January 4, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Friends in Need

I have several friends going through some difficult times right now. Some have lost a parent, others have been given news that one of their parents has a terminal disease, one is fighting for her life in ICU and another going through a painful divorce. I’m sure there are others who have kept their struggles private not wanting to bother anyone else. This year has started off very difficult for a lot of people I know.

While every circumstance is unique, their pains and fears can be empathized with. When I went through a difficult period in my life, I was the one who didn’t want to bother others with my pain. People didn’t know how to respond. Some would say, “Time heals all wounds.” Others would say, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Then there were those who would not know what to say and simply say, “I’m sorry.” I’ve often thought about what could someone have said to ease the pain.

For me, I think there was nothing anyone could have said. Pain, loss and suffering are part of the furnace of life. It’s what molds us, strengthens us and pushes us onto other paths. There were no words that could have brought the healing I desperately needed. Looking back, I simply wanted someone to love me enough to stand by me in the hard times. Someone who would put their arm around me and say, “You’re not alone in this.”

One of my friends, who is going through one of these situations right now, once said, “When you have someone to stand with you through thick and thin, pain is divided and joy is multiplied.” While I can’t take the hurt, fears or questions away, I can stand with my friends to help divide their pain. Platitudes don’t bring much relief, but actions do. One action each of these friends can use right now is prayer.

When you struggle through difficult times like these, you need others who will lift you up and pray for you. When you don’t have the strength or words to pray for yourself, it helps to know that other believers are standing in the gap and fighting on your behalf. Psalm 28:7 says the Lord is our strength and shield. That’s what these people need. They need strength to make it through each day. They need protection from other things that would come against them when they’re down. They need peace that passes all understanding to come into their lives.

When there are no answers to the question of “Why”, God can still give peace in the midst of a storm. We may not understand why each of us experience these difficult times, but we can rest in the peace of knowing our God walks with us in difficult times. We can find comfort in knowing that God is still on His throne and He sees us in our dark times. He still heals. He still comforts. He still answers prayers. He still comes to those in need. May He do all of these to my friends in need and anyone reading this in need.

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December 14, 2012 · 8:07 AM

Jesus and Tom Landry

Since I was a child I have known that the shortest verse in the Bible was “Jesus wept” in John 11:35. What I haven’t known is why He cried. At first I thought I was because Lazarus had died, but Jesus knew his death was temporary and specifically went there to raise Him from the dead. If that was the case, why would He cry over his death? It made no sense to me. And it wasn’t just a regular, tears streaming down the face cry either. It says He wept which implies a lot more.

I was watching an American football documentary earlier this year on the life of Tom Landry. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that name, he was the coach of the Dallas Cowboys and always wore a “funny hat”. He had a complex system that changed how football is played. He was also very stoic. A player was once asked if he ever saw Landry smile. He said, “No, but I was only on his team for nine years.”

Despite his ingenious methods of coaching, he had six straight losing seasons with the Cowboys. At the end of the sixth season, after losing to Vince Lombardi again, he broke down and wept in the locker room in front of his players. For the next twenty years, the Dallas Cowboys had winning seasons with five Superbowl appearances. When asked about what made the change, the players all pointed to that moment when he cried. For the first time, they saw him as human.

I wonder if the same thing happened when the disciples saw Jesus cry. They had watched him perform miracles every day for a while. Could they have focused so much on the God side of Jesus that they failed to see His human side? Could they have been following Jesus without being emotionally attached to Him? Did this event change how they saw Jesus and then changed their focus and enthusiasm? I don’t know. I think it’s a possibility though.

Jesus understood relationships. He valued them as we should. He knew we needed to see His human nature as well as Hid God nature. He understands what it means to cry. He knows what it’s like to have someone you love die. He has been wounded by a friend that turned their back on Him. He experienced a wide range of emotions while here and can empathize with you in your pain and suffering. He was fully God and fully man.

I’m glad that John recorded the smallest verse in the Bible. I think it is actually one of the biggest verses there is. It reminds us of His human nature that allows us to emotionally connect with Him. It shows that He had feelings. It also leads to the part where He raised Lazarus from the dead reminding us there is nothing He can’t do. I hope the next time you come read the shortest verse in the Bible, you don’t skip past it. I hope you stop and think about what it means to you to know he wept and felt pain just like you.

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