Let us pray

 

Dear Father God, you have promised us that where we gather in your name that you will be with us.  We humbly welcome you into our presence and we ask that you would open our hearts and minds to your words.  We thank you Lord that you will bring a special and personal blessing to each and every person that this message brings, because we know that these words come from you Lord.  We bring this prayer before you as an offering and for your blessing in the name of your Son Jesus who died on the cross so that we may be saved.

 

Amen

 

Life and death

 

If you were tasked to do something, which you never had any previous experience to do, what would you do?   Most of us would probably just give up without even trying.  What if your life depended on it?   That puts a different perspective on things doesn’t it?

 

How aware are you of the fact that sooner or later you will die?   One only has to look at the obituary columns in any newspaper.  Or perhaps you might drive past a cemetery and see all the gravestones.  What goes through your mind?  

 

We might enjoy birthdays, but for every passing year we are reminded also that none of are getting any younger.  Perhaps you may have attended a funeral and if it was someone that was close to you, that brings on its own pain and sorrow.  

 

Ecclesiastes 7:2 tell us “Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.”   

 

As much as you might try not to think about it, death is inevitable and when each of us passes away there will be those that will attend our funeral or memorial service.   What will they think of the life that you have lived?   How quickly this one brief life passes by.  To ruin it by choosing the wrong way of life would be a terrible waste.  Yet how can we be sure of life’s true purpose and direction?  How can we be certain that we have made the proper preparation for what lies beyond death?  

 

Perhaps we have got our lives reasonably sorted out and things aren’t that bad, there is a routine to what we do and a plan for living might be in place.  But what about death and what happens to us afterwards?  Have you made a plan for your death?   What about the afterlife?  Are you sure that you have it worked it out and you know for certain what’s going to happen?

 

A good place to start would be to accept that the Bible is THE book.  We can be sure of this because of the following facts:

 

 

 

                                                             

There are many more confirmations that the Bible is the true Word of God and I urge you to read the Bible to find more.   

 

Taking this idea further and having established that the Bible is God’s Holy Word and that if we believe this to be true we must also believe that the whole Bible is true.  We cannot take this or that part and say that some of the things that are recorded in the Bible are “open to interpretation.” 

 

Just as the Bible is our “map for life” reading the Bible, learning from it and applying this to our lives will also provides us with a “map for death” and the hereafter.

 

Romans 14:8 – “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”  

 

If we have accepted Christ as our saviour and we are obeying his commands, then it follows that we are living in Christ.   In Mathew 28:18 – 20 Jesus said that we should “make disciples of all nations” and at the same time He gave us his authority to do so.  When we serve the Lord and perhaps spreading the Gospel in places where we have never been before; we do so with the full support and love of Jesus.  

 

In the same way then we need to accept that just in the same way that Jesus has shown us his love and support in this life, so will it be when we depart this life on the journey of death.

   

Zechariah 13:9 “This third will I bring into the fire. I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.  They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say.  “They are my people,” And they will say “The Lord is our God.”

 

Yes we will be tested and the devil will seek out our weakest parts and try to take us away from the love of God.   There might even be times when we would cry out and be in the deepest dark places of despair and heartache.  From being lifted up we could so easily be cast down again.   And through all these bad and tempting times it will be our continued belief and trust in God that will carry us through.

 

God has provided us with a “map”; his very words given to us in the form of the Bible so that we can read and learn how we should be living this life.   When it comes our time to depart this world we need not be afraid because the same promises and love of Jesus that carried us through all our worldly trials and tribulations will be there in person to greet us as we pass through the heavenly gates. 

 

Prayer

 

Lord our Father thank you for the wonderful gift of your living word that is contained in the Bible.  Help us to be more self-disciplined and to make time to read and learn from your words every day.  Be with us when we find ourselves to be faced with the trials and tribulations that are of this life.  Help us to recognise the subtle ways in which the devil tries to sweep us along with all the bad things that are happening in the world today.  We you thank you that you have given us your power and authority to be triumphant and overcome the entirety of the scheming ways of the devil.  And as we go our separate ways Lord, we ask that you would continue to fill our lives with your Holy presence.   We bring this prayer to you in the name of your precious Son and our Saviour, Jesus.

 

Amen

 

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