Jump Start # 1525

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”

  This morning awakened with the news of the passing of a Christian that I knew. He was a legend. Strong, faithful and devoted as a preacher and teacher of God’s word. Well do I remember some of his amazing lessons. I have an outline taped in the back of my Bible of a lesson that he preached from Philemon. It was great.

His death is the third Christian that I have heard about this week. A neighbor of where my grandparents once lived, another Christian, passed away yesterday. He was within a few months of being 100 years old. Then, earlier this week, I heard of a man who was but 27 years old, married and a new father, who lost his battle to cancer. He, too, was a Christian.

Three Christians, one almost 100, one in his early nineties and one not yet 30, all passed within a few days of each other. I doubt that these three every knew each other. But just this week, all three were gathered by the angels to rest until the Lord comes.

Our verse today reminds us of that divine appointment with death. Jesus, Revelation tells us, holds the keys to death and Hades. We can understand Biblically, why people die. We can understand Biblically where people go after death. We can understand Biblically the basis and concept of the final judgment. Those truths are sprinkled throughout the Bible.

What is hard to understand and what is not clear in the Bible is the appointed time. Why is it that some get to live to be 99 and others only 27? I know another family that has a son that is nearing death. It won’t be long. Why so young? For others, why so old? Certainly lifestyle has a play into this. Genetics has a role in this as well. But some of this may come down to that divine appointment. I read recently of a person who was 100 years old and claimed drinking THREE Dr. Pepper’s a day was the trick. I really doubt that. I believe if most of us drank three Dr. Pepper’s every day, we’d be so big we couldn’t get out the door and we’d have all kinds of health issue. No, I think it has something to do with the divine appointment.

Folks long ago used to talk about “your time is up.” I think they had in mind that divine appointment with God. When I think about the three deaths this week, two in their nineties and one 27, the only sense I can make of it is that God determines these things. We know well the expression from James that life is “just a vapor.” It’s here and then it’s gone. That makes sense when you think about 27 years. It’s hard to understand that when you match 27 with one who was 99.

From our side of Heaven, it’s easy to think that the 99 year old was blessed and the 27 year old was cheated. Maybe from God’s side of Heaven, it is just the opposite. Getting out of this place and being with God isn’t a curse, it’s what we are after.

So here are a few observations from three deaths this week:

First, we do not know when our divine appointment is. That is a good thing. If some of us knew that we were going to live to be 99, we’d probably put things off. We’d justify the lazy bones by saying, “there’s plenty of time.” The truth is, we don’t know how much time we have. We must walk with the Lord, engage in good deeds and try to leave this place better than we found it. If we knew exactly when we were going to die, we’d become so fixated upon that date that we couldn’t function as we do. Live as if today is your last day. Prepare as if you have more days to come.

Second, use your time wisely. That is a thought taught in Ephesians. Make the most of your time. The Galatians were told, “as you have opportunity…” The 99 year old that I knew, lived a quiet life on a farm near a small little town in Indiana. He served a long time as one of the elders in the congregation he worshipped with. The 27 year, just starting in life, touched many lives with his kindness and willingness to be a helping hand. Do what you can today. Don’t be so fixed upon the future that you forget to live today. We can live thinking, if I only get out of this apartment and get my own place, then I will have some folks over and do this and that. What if you never get out of that apartment? Why can’t you do something now, on a smaller scale? If you can’t do hospitality with hotdogs, I doubt that you’ll do it later with steaks. It’s not the food, it’s the heart and the time. Make a difference now.

Third, we must stop trying to figure out why God does what He does. At every funeral, someone insists on saying something that is usually dumb and most times not even Biblical. Saying, “God needed him in Heaven more than you need Him,” isn’t true, nice or kind. Saying, “God needed another angel,” isn’t Biblical. Why does one pass away at 27 and another at 99? Only God knows. We must stop trying to figure out things that are beyond us. Some how we got the idea that we can know why everything happens. Wrong. Why did D.C. get dumbed with two feet of snow last week and I got five inches? We can look at weather maps and explain systems, moisture and so forth. But why then, why there? Only God knows. That’s hard for some of us to accept. We must have an answer. We postulate theories and ideas and speculations, trying our best to come up with the answers. Often, our answers lead to us judging others. Simply put, God has a divine appointment for death. You and I do not know when it is.

So, there will be three funerals taking place very soon. Families will gather and remember a dad, husband, grandfather. Preachers will talk about life and God. Folks will hug. Tears will be shed. Graves will be opened and filled. Three souls that walked with the Lord are now finished with their journey here. How they died won’t be the talk of the day. What they owned won’t be the discussion. No, what folks will remember, is how they lived. Their faith. Their goodness. Their trust in the Lord. Those are the very things that brighten a dark and sad day.

You and I have a coming appointment. We need to be walking with the Lord and trying to make a difference, even today.

Three Christians…three deaths…three souls resting on the other side. I wonder if they now know each other. I wonder if they are uniting with other faithful family members. I expect they are so glad to be where they are. Someday, we will join them.

Roger

Jump Start # 1225

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”

  My friend, Christy, asked me if I would write a Jump Start about “death with dignity,” especially with the news of Brittany Maynard’s assisted suicide. If you don’t remember the story of Brittany, she was the 29-year-old who was diagnosed with advanced brain cancer. Her doctors told her that she had only months to live and it would be a very painful death. She had experienced severe seizures, one which for days she did not recognize family members. She decided to control her own destiny and die with dignity. She moved to Oregon where assisted suicide is legal. It was there that her life on earth ended. It ended the way she chose.

I do not know what it is like to be in someone’s shoes like Brittany’s. I have never hurt so bad that I wanted life to end. I have never faced the reality of being told that I have months to live. Those things affect and alter how we view each day. We’d look at each day differently.

Our passage reminds us that we all have an appointment with death. That is the design of the world since Adam’s sin. This appointment is made by God. There is no escaping it. God always keeps His appointments.

Here are a few of my thoughts concerning “death with dignity” philosophy:

1. Death with dignity is a fancy and less offensive way of saying suicide. That’s the bottom line, it’s suicide. Suicide takes a right that belongs to God and puts it in our hand. It is God who has the right to make life and to take life. Under a few exceptions that are spelled out in the Scriptures, God allows certain people that right. Other than that, it is the privilege of God. When a person takes their life, they are taking something that it isn’t their right. It’s God’s. God determines when our appointment with death will be.

2. Death with dignity throws in the towel. It’s giving up. It’s quitting. There is no dignity in that. Fearing pain, fearing a long and hard journey, a person gives up. The honor is in seeing that person fight. The person struggles but keeps going. The person shows valor, courage and honor to others. There is always others. Death with dignity leaves the example that when faced with an uphill battle, give up. The painful journey of cancer is enough for some to take their life. What about a painful divorce? Or a painful bankruptcy? Where does it end? When things are hard, we simply give up. There is no dignity in that. The dignity is staying engaged and fighting as long as you can.

3. Death with dignity gives up on options, especially God. Our Lord can do things when others can’t. For those that take their lives, it’s over. There is no changing their mind. There is no coming back. A new treatment, a new drug, prayer, hope—these are the things that keep many going. My wife deals with cancer patients every day. The news is often sad and bad. For some, they come to the end and no more can be done. That was the case with my mother many years ago. She fought a hard battle with ovarian cancer. She passed with us around her. I preached her funeral. The dignity of death was being surrounded with loved ones, prayer and God. There was one afternoon when everyone was gone but me and her. Together we wrote out what she wanted me to say at her funeral. There were tears, but there was also joy and laughter. She died believing. She died knowing the Lord and knowing that when the angels carried her to the next room of God’s house, she would suffer no more. Death with dignity is selfish. It’s saying, “I’ll choose when and how I will die.” It leaves no room for God. It gives up on God.

4. Death with dignity fails to see the greatest point of all and that is, death isn’t the end. Death isn’t the worse thing that can happen to us. We are made in the image of God. Our passage reminds us that there is something after death. After death is God. After death is a judgment. The sufferings in this life are nothing compared to the sufferings in the next life. For the believer, all the problems, all the pains, all the sorrows of this life, end when we die. There is hope for the believer. There is the hope of comfort, peace and Heaven. There is the hope of fellowship with God forever. There is the hope of seeing other believers who have passed on. For those who are not believers, what follows death is a horror that they never expected. Jesus said do not fear the one who can kill the body and do no more. Fear the one who can kill the body and the soul. He was referring to God. Death with dignity is not the thoughts of a person who believes in God.

Going to Oregon and having a doctor administer drugs so a life ends, sounds appealing and nice to some. It’s no different than taking a bottle of pills or finding a gun and doing it yourself. Suicide is suicide.

Those early Christians didn’t die very dignified. Many were crucified, including the apostles. Many were tortured, eaten by lions or burned alive. Their deaths were horrific and painful. They died placing their destiny in the hands of a God that they loved and would not turn their backs on. They died, not on their terms, and not being selfish, but with the faith and knowledge that they would soon be with the Lord. They were not trying to escape death. They were willing to experience it, knowing that they would soon be with the Lord forever. That’s the Biblical approach.

There are other stories of folks with brain cancer who have stayed engaged in life. Soon after Brittany’s suicide, there was a story of a young female basketball player who had terminal cancer. She was playing in a game. She was trying to help her team win. That’s dignity. That’s honorable. How we live and how we die leave examples for others. I think of my friend Bill, who died early this year, from cancer. To the very end, he was cheerful, hopeful and a believer in Christ. His death, though sad, left a great example for all of us who saw him. He never felt that life cheated him. He never gave up. That’s dignity. That’s the way a believer dies.

Some day, unless the Lord comes, we must all face our death. We don’t like to think about that. It is sad. It is also hopeful for those of us that believe. We know what awaits us. We know what’s in the next room. We know.

The dignified thing is to walk by faith. Put our hope and our trusts in the hands of the Lord. He will be there for us, as He is every day. Don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel because things are hard or painful. Don’t quit. Hold to God’s unchanging hand…

Live as if you have one foot already in Heaven

Roger

Jump Start # 964

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”

Death is a divine appointment that awaits each of us unless the Lord comes first. The thought of death is a topic many do not like to talk about. I suppose some feel that if we don’t mention it maybe it will go away. It never does. Death is all around us. Every night on the news we learn of car wrecks, shootings, crime and other accidents that ended in death. Death comes to all. It doesn’t matter what age you are, who important you are, how needed you are. It has taken politicians before they have completed their term. It has taken authors before they finished their books. It has taken young mothers, college students and star athletes. I had three friends die this year suddenly. The oldest was 61. I have two friends currently who are seriously ill with cancer. One, is a father who is in his mid-40’s. I remember my grandpa once saying that he knew more people who were dead than alive.

Becoming a Christian changes everything, even how we look at things. This includes the subject of death. Death through the lens of the Bible, and through faith in Christ is a whole lot different than it is for those who are not a Christian. Even the way we refer to death is different from a Christian perspective than a person of the world. The Bible uses expressions such as: gain, hope, reward, blessing, being with the Lord. The world uses terms like: gone, departed, ceased, kicking the bucket, never more.

Our passage reminds us that there is an appointment with death. God made this. We want to know why. Why do we have to die? More specifically, “Why did dad have to die?” or, “Why did my friend have to die?” The answer to the “why” is because God introduced death into the world as a consequence of sin. The question is then asked, “Why do babies die?” and “Why do young children die?” They have not sinned. We do not die because of our own sin, but as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin. We have not inherited their sin. We do not bear the guilt of their sin. We are not born sinners. However, a consequence to their sin, is that the human race is punished. We can scream ’Not fair.” We can grow an internal hatred for Adam. The reality is, had it not been Adam who sinned, we would have. Romans 3 reminds us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We choose the temporary over the eternal. We choose the pleasure, even when it is wrong, over what is right. We choose to listen to Satan rather than God. What Adam did, we have all done in our own way. We die because the human race is cursed.

Until Jesus came, death was Satan’s greatest weapon. Everyone who died stayed dead. We know that. The few that were resurrected eventually died again. I can only imagine what that would have been like. Jesus was the first to die and rise from the grave to never die again. He conquered death. He defeated Satan. He destroyed the greatest weapon Satan had. Death has been turned into a victory because of Jesus. Paul would taunt, “Oh death where is your sting?” There is a victory over death because of Jesus.

For the Christian, death is not the end of the journey. Our story does not have a “the end” to it. We live on and on as the hymn says. Death becomes a door, only a door, to take us to the next room in God’s house. A door, called birth, brought us into this world and another door, called death, allows us to go into the next room. The world gets fixated upon death. The world is stuck on death. The world fears death. Not the Christian. It’s just a door. Forget the door, look what’s beyond the door. That’s where the Christian has his hope. This is how a Christian endures. This is how the early Christians could allow Roman persecutors to kill them without resistance, because they knew they were going to another room in God’s house. They longed for that. They wanted to be there.

What a contrast. The world is afraid of death and the Christian longs for it. The world is stunned by death, the Christian rejoices. The world can’t get past death, the Christian sees the wonderful world with Christ beyond death. To get there, one must pass through the door.

This morning, I’ve turned on a light because it was dark in my study. Won’t need a light in the next room, Christ is there. My furnace is running because it’s cold outside. Won’t need furnaces or air conditioner in the next room. My door is locked and the alarm is on. Won’t need those things in the next room. When I’m finished writing, I will get something to eat. Won’t need that in the next room. Won’t need a pill in the next room. Won’t be any sad or bad news in the next room. In the next room, I will get to see the face of God. In the next room, I won’t be tired, sore, hurting. In the next room, I won’t need glasses, false teeth, hearing aids, artificial hips or any of those things. In the next room, I won’t be discouraged, afraid or doubting. In the next room I won’t be tempted by Satan or plagued with my own failures.

The next room is amazing. There is nothing like it. It is where God is. The more I really think about that the more I just want to get up and go through that door. This is what death means to a Christian. It is Heaven. It is God’s home. Where God lives is perfection. Everything is the best because God is the best. There won’t be any second thoughts or wishing I was somewhere else. My only thoughts would be I wish the rest of my family and friends could join me right now.

My lovely wife has thrown me two surprise birthday parties. I am not a fan of those. I don’t like all the attention, and worse, it seems everyone, but me knows what is going to happen. The impression I get from the Gospels is that Jesus is very excited to take us to Heaven. He’s from there. He knows what it is like. We are like the guy at the surprise party, we are unsure. I sense a divine excitement from Jesus about Heaven. Maybe we should grasp that as well.

Have you ever noticed how many hymns we have about Heaven? There’s a bunch. They reflect upon the beauty, the joy, the peace and the fellowship with God. These songs are sung with an anticipation. Won’t it be wonderful there, is how one song sums it up.

Every time I attend the funeral of a Christian I think to myself, “lucky guy.” He’s out of this place. He’s in the room with God and I’m stuck here having to carry on. Is the death of a Christian sad? Yes, especially for the family. Tears flow, but not in hopelessness.

We sing about Heaven. Our favorite sermons are about Heaven. We like talking about Heaven. We ought to be thankful when one of us gets to go. Home safe. Home and never having to leave again. It’s not a weekend get-a-way. It’s not a brief tour. Heaven becomes our home. Heaven is forever.

This is how death ought to be viewed by the Christian. If you are not in Christ, this is a most terrifying subject. The room behind the door of death is the most horrific thing ever if you are not in Christ. We do not become a Christian just to escape Hell, but it is one reason.

One final note for those who have read this and may think that I have failed to mention Hades. Someone will write and remind me that when we die we go to Hades first. This is true. The thrust of the New Testament is not getting to Hades, it is Heaven. The room is not Hades, it is Heaven. Recently I flew to Minnesota. I had to fly to Chicago, switch planes and then go to Minnesota. When asked where I was flying to, my answer was not Chicago. Technically, I was going to Chicago, but that was not my destination. I was going to Minnesota. My destination is Heaven, not Hades. I may have a layover in Hades, but Heaven is where I am heading. Heaven is what awaits us.

Die once. Go through the door. God is waiting for you. Not so bad. Even angels are sent to carry us there. Better yet.

Roger

Jump Start # 314 

Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment”

  A friend of mine passed away today. She was an older lady and a wonderful, wonderful  Christian. She and her husband have been delightful encouragers to me for a long time. Her death came as a shock.

  Death is ugly. Modern times have tried to make death seem fascinating and cool. In video games, the bad guys are blown to pieces. In movies, death is more common than kissing. Many TV shows are based upon investigators figuring out why someone died. Actors, pretending to be cops, discuss things over a dead body on a morgue stretcher. Doesn’t seem so bad—but it’s all pretend.

  This all changes, when someone you’ve known and loved passes away. All of a sudden death is not so fascinating any more. Death isn’t so cool. Death is a thief that robs and death is so final. A person doesn’t die on the weekend and then they are back to work on Monday. That doesn’t happen.

  Our passage today reveals two principles about death. They both start with the letter “A.” First, there is an appointed time. God sets that time, not us. We don’t know when it will be. Some die very young. Some die very old. We can explore many reasons why things are like that, such as lifestyle, genetics, habits and so forth, but I think the bottom line is they had a appointment with God. This is one appointment you will not forget to keep. This is one appointment that you cannot escape. I recently heard of a man who died while vacationing in Hawaii. He was 93 years old. He was a Christian. He left one paradise for the eternal paradise. You have an appointment coming. It doesn’t wait for you. It doesn’t allow you to get ready. When it comes, it comes.  That is what our passage is telling us.

  The second thought here, is that there comes something after death. The passage says, “after this comes the judgment.” After this…Death is not the end of the journey. Death does end it. There is an “after this” that follows death. The after this is what ought to concern us. Some focus on living and dying and not what happens afterwards. There is an old joke about the funeral of an atheist. A friend commented that he was all dressed up but had no where to go. Actually, he did. There is something after death.

  Death is not a place that we go to, it is a process. Death is a doorway that takes us from one place to another place, or more accurately, from one room to another room, all in God’s house. Birth is a doorway that brings us into this room. And death is a doorway that takes us into the next room.

  Because there is an “after this” that follows death, suicide is never a good option. Suicide doesn’t end the misery, the pain as some believe. It throws all the burdens upon someone else and the person fails to realize that with death comes the “after this.”

  After this, we will be judged. After this everything changes. After this we stand before God. After this we will be sent to Heaven or cast into Hell forever. That takes place after this, but it is all based upon what we do in this life. Some have the notion that God owes us Heaven. They think that if you have had a miserable life here, then you deserve Heaven. No. No one deserves Heaven. Others got the notion that if you have sacrificed your life and gave your life to save others, such as a fire fighter or someone in the military then that guarantees you a spot in Heaven. No, it doesn’t. Heaven is for those who have walked with Jesus in this life. They have made the Lord their Lord and have obeyed Him, worshipped Him as He wants to be worshipped and put Christ first in their life. Heaven is for those who have chosen Heaven in this life. Those that are just too busy right now, those who have other obligations, those who have put God on the back burner, need to realize that there is an appointment coming and there is something after that. Now is the time. Now is your opportunity. Death knocks and then everything changes. God doesn’t owe us anything, especially Heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.

  I will miss my friend who passed away. She always came to a ladies Bible class that I taught. She wore a smile with every outfit. She was generous, kind, godly and thoughtful. Her life included difficulties and tragedies as most of our lives do. But a long time ago she accepted Christ and was baptized. She began a journey with Him and never looked back. She taught, she influenced, and she illustrated with her life the hope that is in Jesus Christ. Her death won’t stop the press. There will be no TV trucks parked at her service. She lived a simple, godly life and touched many people for good. She has left her mark and now her journey is finished. What awaits her is the “after this” part. She believed in a coming resurrection, Heaven and forgiveness from God. She had talked to me about Heaven when I preached her son’s funeral a few years ago. She was a good one and I wish the world had more of her kind.

  I am thankful that there is an “after this” that follows death. How sad death would be if that was the end of the road. It’s not. The faithful have the hope of being with each other and seeing each other again. We long for that time when we gather around God’s throne, singing praises to God, joined with the angels in sweet, sweet worship of our Lord.

  Thank you, Lord, for allowing our lives to intersect. That you, JoAnn, you were and remain a dear soul! 

  Now, for the rest of us, there is that “after this.” Each day builds upon that “after this.” Don’t get so caught up in bills, and shopping, and ballgames and stuff that we forget the “after this.”   The death of God’s children reminds us of what is important.

Roger

Jump Start # 229

Hebrews 9:27-28 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we all have a divine appointment. It is an appointment with death. This is the punishment that God placed upon mankind for Adam’s sin.  Paul told the Corinthians, “through one man came death…” It’s easy to say, that’s not fair, but the reality is by the time we reach adulthood, all have sinned.

  So we have this divine appointment. We know this, everyone dies sooner or later. A few reach 100 but sooner or later they keep that divine appointment.

  This passage does not tell us when that appointment will be. If you knew, you’d most likely be a mess just thinking about that date. In the back of our minds we know this appointment is coming, but we go on and do not worry about it much.

  This passage also tells us that death isn’t the end of the journey. After death, comes judgment. The judgment is before God. He is a righteous judge. The final chapters of Revelation show us the judgment scene. The dead stand before the white throne. The book of life is opened and God judges.

  An appointment with death…followed by a judgment by God. No one escapes this. You can’t opt out. You can say, “I didn’t ask for this,” but it will still happen. Now you can be obsessed with these thoughts and stay in bed with a blanket over your head and it will still happen. You can live recklessly and say, “I don’t care…” and it will still happen. Or, you can live in Christ! That is the answer. Death isn’t the end, because of the resurrection. Judgment takes a different look when one stands forgiven.

  The end of our passage today affirms that. Christ bore our sins. He will appear a second time. Those that eagerly await Him will find eternal peace in Heaven (the salvation without reference to sin).

  God tells us what will happen. It’s not an adventure into the dark. It’s not a surprise. We know. Christ is coming. I have an appointment with death. I will be judged. Those three statements help define my life. I live realizing life is precious. You only get one. I live responsibly towards God, He will judge me. I live with Christ, He is my Savior.

  These things are revealed not to scare us but to inform us and to motivate us to live in Christ. The journey doesn’t end at the cemetery, it takes us to God. There may be some who get away with murder, they will stand before God. There may be some things that don’t seem right, God will take care of it in His time.

  Why is it that some die young…some middle aged…and some very old? It must be that divine appointment with God. Life isn’t measured in how long you live but by how you live it. Each day is a blessing and a gift from God. Each day should be lived to the glory of God. Some day I will be out of days and what will matter is how I lived.

  This passage puts all in perspective. We need that. We tend to forget.

Roger