Thought of the Day—Need an extra dose of humility today? Try walking through the military section of a cemetery and allow those that have gone before us remind you of what real courage and sacrifice means…
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 (NIV)
Thought of the Day—We can learn from the songbird; for he emerges from the violent storm, singing out louder and stronger even still…
Thought of the Day— Does history REALLY repeat itself or is it just Déjà Vu?
Thought of the Day—You may have a closet full of clothes reflecting many different sizes, but only one size truly fits. So it is with life; God has tailored a life that fits only you. Don’t allow anyone or anything to attempt to force you into a life other than what God has intended for you…
Thought of the Day—Sometimes thoughts are like borrowed books; once they are gone, it’s hard to get them back…
Today is the tomorrow you prayed for yesterday…make the most of it!
Desperately trying to hold on to the past will leave you with nothing more than a scarred heart and scraped knuckles…
When I was growing up, our family would sometimes take a Sunday drive in the afternoon, either to visit relatives or just for fun. The two older siblings would share the back seat and I, being the youngest, would sit on the floor board on either side of “the hump”. While driving around, we would pass several familiar sites including cemeteries. Invariably, one of us would smugly state, “people are just dying to get in there!” followed by an instant head turn from mom, a disapproving glare followed by a chiding comment of how we shouldn’t disrespect the dead. All the while, we siblings would respond with satisfied smiles and quiet giggles.
As I look back, that comment seemed so funny at the time but certainly less so as I get older. For in youth, a day seems like an eternity but as the stark reality of midlife adulthood creeps in, you begin to experience the sting of death as you lose loved ones and soon acknowledge that your own life is but a mere vapor in the wind. Sounds pretty morbid, huh? Well, it depends on your perspective.
You see, there are many differing views about death and if there is “life on the other side”. Some believe there is simply nothing after death, the light switch is merely set to the “off” position and you become a buffet for all sorts of creepy crawlers. If that was the case, I guess I would have an epitaph that reads, “I was serious about life but now I’m just a fungi”…Others believe that you are reincarnated as another creature or human depending on how good or bad you were in your previous life. I guess if you came back as a dung beetle, you could easily figure out why…Still others believe they will be rewarded in paradise by what they did on earth; their reward being measured by the number of virgins they receive in paradise based on how much they pleased their God. I wonder if their hell was also based on something similar but they quickly ran out of virgins and would have to support all of them for eternity…
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to make light of death as much as bring a different perspective to light. Death is part of life; “From ashes to ashes, dust to dust; we came from the earth and to return we must”. We mourn those we have lost because we miss them terribly; there is a huge gaping hole left in our heart that only God can heal. But for the followers of Christ, there is a hope that extends beyond the grave. John 3:16 (NIV) states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 14:2-3 (NIV) reflects, “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” If I truly trust God’s word in its’ entirety, then there really is a concrete hope that we can hold on to, not only that we will see our loved ones again that trusted in Jesus, but we will live eternally with Christ!
And so we hold on to that very hope and truth as we go about our day to day lives; knowing that it is not about when or how we die but actually how we live and Who we live for in this life that makes an eternal difference in the next. That’s why it is so vitally important that we know the One who created us, who loves us more than we could ever imagine; being a living testimony of Christ in us until the day comes when we take our last breath. I will then be in peace and at peace, one of the grateful dead. For having lived and being loved in life, I must then await my final judgment but knowing I have an advocate with my Father.
My only hesitancy in death is leaving my loved ones in pain and grief. For as I know from pain filled experience, there is a peace to know your loved one is with the Lord but we humans have to deal with the emotional fall out of their passing and the huge void left in their place. But be comforted in the fact that we can be united once again. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 reads, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” When Christ returns, I can’t wait to be caught up with everyone else for that great reunion. I bet I won’t even have that fear of heights anymore. I’ll just be eternally grateful for the grace given to a wretch like me.
By Stephen R. Wilson
It’s not about the bunny or the patent leather shoes
It is not about the colored eggs or mama’s brand new do,
It is not about the spectacle of baskets with candy heaping full
It is about the selfless love God has for me and you.
***
For God so loved the world that He gave his only son
To take our place, to take our shame, to die for everyone,
And on that first Easter morn when God raised Christ from his tomb
Hope also arose for all mankind, that our destiny would not be doomed.
***
So as you celebrate Easter, celebrate also the empty cross
And praise the name of Jesus Christ without whom we would all be lost,
For it’s not about the bunny but yet a sense of life renewed
Eternal life for us is possible because of the empty tomb.
A few weeks ago, the beautiful rolling hills of the North Carolina foothills were blessed with snow. Not the two to four inches predicted by our spot on Meteorologists, but eight wonderfully fluffy fun filled inches of the white stuff. And while some folks probably spit from utter frustration, the fact that it was a Saturday and we hadn’t seen the frozen crystals in a while made for some authentic excitement.
So what did we do in response to our icy gift? I had always been taught work before play so we got out the snow shovels and went about carving paths through the driveway until we had the pavement cleared enough for the sun to take over. Next was fun time!
Our daughter and son-in-law had taken our granddaughter to “reintroduce” her to the frozen fun. None of us had sleds so I pulled out a boogie board from the garage as a makeshift sled. We proceeded to pull little Crystal up and down their driveway. Meanwhile, Grandma got momentarily blessed with a spark of childhood and fell backwards into the snow, making inanimate snow angels in the yard. During this flurry of activity, the cell phones were out in number, recording these events. I had my phone camera at the ready as well and was capturing different snow scenes when I snapped the one reflected above.
The snow laden statue in its’ current state seemed too familiar. Of course this WAS our statue, named after our daughter, Alison, in our own yard, but there was something else. I’ve seen people throughout the years look exactly like this and I have experienced it myself. But it wasn’t snow weighing heavy upon their shoulders; it was layers of burdens. For just like that statue, sometimes we get so “snowed under” with the very burdens of life, we are frozen in place from fear, grief, pain, worry, doubt, addictions, sin and/or despair. And just like that statue, sometimes we allow the burdens to become so great and we get buried under to the point of not being about to see clearly or hear distinctly.
Of course our mouth is still unhindered and we find ourselves uttering all kinds of cursing and exclamations as we furiously shake our fists at the sky and declare, “I didn’t deserve this!” “Why me Lord?” “Why am I being tested like this?” “Why did God allow this to happen to such a nice person?” I’m afraid I am short on answers but here’s a question for you…why not? If you are human (and I bet every one of you reading this actually is), you WILL have a mixed nut variety of good times and bad times that stirred together, add up to…well…life.
God didn’t promise anyone an easy life or even another hour; He only promised that He would be there with us in the midst of the good times AND the bad times. I think the following may sound familiar to most of you: The 23rd Psalm (NIV) says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Somewhere along the lines, I think we may have forgotten that God truly is our heavenly Father and we need to lean on Him totally, giving all of our burdens to Him and trusting that He is ALWAYS looking out for our good, not for our wants necessarily but our needs. Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) reflects, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
When we truly give our burdens to God, you can practically feel the weight lifted from your shoulders. Relief melts away the fear and dread of our burdens as we allow Him 
to put life back into its’ proper perspective. There’s an old hymn chorus that reads, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” (Trust and Obey by John H. Sammis, 1887) One of the verses says, “Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, but His smile quickly drives it away; not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear, can abide while we trust and obey. Such truth in this refrain! For even when the storm clouds of life seem to linger, we know the sun is still shining and burns away the doubt clouds of our hearts.
So the next time you get hit alongside of your head with a snowstorm of worries and you find your joints beginning to cease up from fear, just remember that God is as close as your next heartbeat and the whispered plea from a sincere soul. He can melt your doubts and give you direction as long as you trust…and obey…
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. Ephesians 3:16-18 (NLT)
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 20:20 (NLT)
lifesimplyspoken 