Isaiah 45:5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.
Some links for the story here here and here.
My cousin 21 years old was killed last week in a random shooting(in the head) in Omaha Nebraska. For those of you who don't know I used to live in Omaha and a large majority of my family still resides there. Brittany Williams and I went to church for years together although I did not talk to her much since I've been, older I was shocked at her death. Her Funeral is tomorrow January 29/2008. Please pray for my family during this time and pray that people who are lost would be saved and turn to their only hope-that is Christ and Christ alone!!
We see a lot of death nowadays and have pretty much as people become accustomed to it so much so that we don't feel sorrow about people dying until it hits close to home. I personally stopped watching the news when I was around 14 years old. It really sickened me and I just did not have a yearning to hear about the madness in this world. At a young age I always have had an interest in the things I did not know. Questions such as; where to people go when they die? Where did God come from? How should we view death? Is God Sovereign in death and suffering?
I would like to delve into a Biblical view of death and see what God says about it. Personally I view death as a beautiful thing regardless of how it happens. Let me clarify myself here. Death is only beautiful for the believer and for the non-believer it is the worst thing beyond our imagination. Let us look at 2 Corinthians 5:11 (Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. ) Other translations say (Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord), I particularly like that phrasing a little better. This is somewhat hard to say when we look into Hebrews 11 and see people like Isaiah being sawn in two by a wooden saw-OUCH!!! But in the Psalms it says, Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints. I would love to get into the history of what the means in context but I believe that would take us into an entirely different direction.
I would encourage the reading of this entire passage-it is such a great hope. Paul begins to speak of how we know that our earthly bodies are only temporal but we are searching for a house in heaven not made by human hands. Paul is speaking about when Daniel also spoke of this long time before this. He says our bodies continue to groan until we are finally completely fulfilled in Christ at his Second Advent. Romans 8:23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. He also says in verse 9-So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. Do you make it your goal to please the Bishop and Overseer of your soul, Christ Jesus?
And here-15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
This is just a wonderful passage of scripture. I am so amazed of the treasures we find in scripture and the more I get to know Him the more I begin to delight in Him. How is your relationship with Christ? Stagnant? Non-existent? Do you take the grace of God for a license to sin? Do you act as if you think Death will never come to you? Assess your walk with Christ in light of His Word. I recall going to so many churches where the children and adults alike hear a sermon on sin and how their sin is disgusting to God but get in their car after church and bob there heads to the music in which people sing about the very things they just got through hearing about-SIN. Boastful Pride of life, Lust of flesh, and lust of the eyes. Or your tongue-does it reflect Christ? Is Christ in YOU? Do you have a changed heart as mentioned in verse 17? Do you have any evidence or fruit of your conversion?
These are good questions-do not think that you could not have been the victim? I can hear people saying, "oh yeah you're right" But are you going to let these questions resonate in your mind for more than a couple of hours? Probably not but I hope so!! Death has a 1 to 1 ratio and only one has escaped it and if you are not putting your hope and faith in Christ and forsaking your fake Christian life of filthy righteousness-my friend YOU will face the terror of the Lord!! This is pretty near and dear to my heart because I used to be one of those church goers who had the act down, but in reality I did not have a changed heart and a changed life. I believe this is something that really needs to be wrestled with by all who profess to know Christ. Don't get me wrong here, it is a sad thing anytime someone so young gets killed in that manner, but in comparison to the terror of the Lord-it is a small thing. Everyone will die one day and that is how it has always been since the fall of Adam and will always be until Christ returns for His church. Christ has not promised we will not have trials and quite honestly He says the exact opposite. We just have to keep a eternal perspective in absolutely everything.
God is totally sovereign in absolutely everything. This is hard to believe during times like these but it is Biblical Truth. GOD is surprised by nothing. My prayer is that when things happen like this that it will make people really examine themselves and not to just look at life from a temporal perspective but let us be heavenly minded in all things-Knowing the Terror of the Lord-we try to persuade men. In Christ Alone
