We’ve all heard people give examples of situations and events and say, “When your life depends on it”. But have you ever considered the phrase “when your death depends on it”?
For me when it comes to death, I am sure that if you have given your heart and your all to God, you can be assured of eternal life with God. Therefore, when we die our future depends on the decisions and promises we made during our life.
I therefore urge you to make sure you decide your future long before you die, by giving your all to God today.
Are you a person who is always very early for every event, or are you always running about at the last minute to get there just in time?
There are some things in life that it doesn’t really matter whether you get there on time or not, such as:
shopping
parties
meetings
lunch or dinner dates
bus or train
You may not agree with some of those things, but really does it matter if you’re late for them. i.e. is it a matter of life or death?
Speaking of life or death, there are some life events that you probably don’t want to be late for:
birth of your child
death of a love one
It’s not the end of the world if you do miss these events, but if for example you aren’t with a loved one when they die it can be difficult to forgive yourself for not being there for them, and for you when they most needed you.
There is one other life or death situation we must not be late for, and that’s giving your heart and your all to God. If we’re too late at doing this, i.e. we die before we get round to accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour, it’s too late, our future has been decided.
Let us each be a blessing and honour God’s names, because one day we will be together with the blind man Jesus healed, and the saints from all the ages, our friends and family who have gone before us, and we will be with God for eternity. On that day we will know for sure that everything we endured during our lifetime was for our good, and for the glory of God.
So today and tomorrow and the day after, remember that whatever we face, God is with us. And because of that we must accept his blessings and do our best to bless others and honour His glorious name.
I liked this picture when I first read it on a friend’s Facebook timeline. I wasn’t entirely sure why I liked it, but then it struck me, it’s probably because it tells us about something we don’t like but then immediately explains why experiencing that is actually good for us.
For example, maybe we think we feel sad all the time, that our life is not a happy one, but then we experience true sadness when someone close to us leaves us or passes away. It only then we realise how happy we really were in their presence, because now the sadness is so overwhelming.
So please have another read, thinking about how you can see yourself feeling each of those emotions or situations and simply, remind yourself just to appreciate what you currently have, because when it’s not there any more, there’s often no way to get back to where you are now, so you can truly appreciate what you have.
I was recently given a CD which had been created from a old tape recording of Rutherglen Citadel Songsters when they visited Southend Citadel on Sunday 2 June 1991, having been part of the massed songsters at the Royal Albert Hall the previous evening.
The first thing to say is it maybe wasn’t the best quality recording having been transferred from an old tape to a CD, however it was great to sit back, close my eyes and think back to the memories I have of that wonderful weekend, as well as remember those family and friends who were with us that weekend, who sadly are no longer with us.
I was songster pianist at that time, so it was quite interesting to hear the songsters, and me accompanying them, as I’m not sure I’ve heard myself accompanying the songsters before. As I listened to the recording I was reminded when the songsters started to sing one particular song, that as well as songster pianist I was also deputy songster leader at that time too. Here’s the Ladies voices singing Wonderful under my leadership:
As well as bringing back lovely memories of a great weekend, I was also reminded that there were a number of family and friends who were with us that weekend, who sadly are no longer with us. I was also reminded just how busy a life I had in the Army then too with three meetings on a Sunday plus open airs and helping in the Sunday School, as well as all the mid-week practices and many events that the various sections took part in locally as well as further afield. Being songster pianist and deputy songster leader, I also had additional practice and preparation to do for practices/meetings. So much so I now wonder where I got all the time to do all this, as I was working full-time!
Life most definitely was much busier for me in terms of my time/involvement at the Army in those days, but that doesn’t mean that these days my love of God is any less these days just because I’m maybe less involved and spend less time at the Army these days.
A lot has happened in my life in the 27 years since Rutherglen songsters visited Southend Citadel, and I’m the sure will be the case for you too. But is your love of God stronger today than it was 27 years ago, or have you turned away from God in that time?
Maybe today is the day to remember all God has done, and continues to do for you, and rekindle that love of God by reminding His power – I Seek The Power which we sang during our visit to Southend Citadel in 1991, is one of my favourite song, and it’s message then is just as relevant today as it was then:
Yesterday I spoke about the postcards we used to send our family and friends when we went on holiday, and how many times they would tell them “wish you were here”.
There are of course other times when we say “wish you were here”, and sadly at those times, that wish will never come true. When someone we love dies, it is of course a very emotional and difficult time, and so we may find ourselves saying we wish they were still here with us.
While we may wish those we love and care about will be with us forever, in reality it isn’t going to happen, because the only certain thing about life is that we will all die at some point. I don’t mean to make this a really morbid post, so I simply want to remind you that even through the hurt and heartache of losing someone we love, we must hold onto the precious moments we have spent with them. It won’t take away our heartache, but it will help you remember them just the way you loved them.
So yes, we wish our loved ones were still here with us, but if we keep focused on our memories, when we close our eyes, they will almost be here with us again.
Some things in our lives can’t be predicted: exactly when we’ll be born, or exactly when we’ll die. Even what happens to us in between those two life events isn’t really predictable as it’s only as we grow and learn that our personality is shaped, and we make choice that then start to define where and what our future will hold.
I must when I’m starting something, I like to know what the possible outcomes are, as I’m not very comfortable with uncertainty. Which is odd isn’t it because the whole of life is filled with uncertainty!
Maybe it’s because for me, the uncertainty about life and what lies ahead seems different from the uncertainty about taking on a task, because I know my future is already known to God, and so my future is already planned. Therefore no matter what lies ahead, I know God is already prepared for it, and is ready to help and guide me through whatever storms I may face.
Life may not be predictable, but God’s presence and His love for us is!
Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences. Christ’s death was also a one-time event, but it was a sacrifice that took care of sins forever. And so, when he next appears, the outcome for those eager to greet him is, precisely, salvation. ~ Hebrews 9:28 (The message)
Are you ready to greet Jesus when he next appears on earth?
Are you ready to receive salvation – deliverance from sin and its consequences? If you have faith in Christ, you are well prepared for Christ’s second coming.
If I were to ask you what one thing represents hope to you, what would you say?
For me it comes back to the cross, and more specifically, the empty cross – Because of Jesus we have hope for a brighter tomorrow where our sins have been washed away and we all believe that God loves each one of us.
