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Death & Funeral Related

Believer’s Response to Death

The inevitable tomb is not a period at the end of the sentence of life but a conjunction connecting us with the life to com.

Believer’s Response to Death

A father gave this counsel to his married daughter on the first anniversary of her mother’s death:

“I had forty wonderful years with your Mom ” he said “the best years of my life But that part of my life is over. Finished!”

“But Dad…” “No buts listen to me.” His clear blue eyes stared intensely into mine. I couldn’t turn away from him as much as I wanted to. “They were the best years of my life ” he repeated. “Your mother is no longer with me; this truth has to be faced. But I am alive and must live the time allotted me until she and I are together again.” His voice trembled but it was not uncertain. “She is gone but no one can take away the wonderful memories. They are part of me the happy memories and the sad ones. But only a part. I can’t let them possess me or I couldn’t get through my days. Every day is a gift from God. It must be lived with joy. It is just a taste of the joy to come when we will all be together again.” I kissed him then not realizing that our conversation would one day be one of my fondest memories. Recalling that day has always been a great strength to me particularly today—the first anniversary of my dear father’s death.

Believer’s Response to Death

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse told of the occasion when his first wife had died. He with his children had been to the funeral service for her. As he was driving his motherless children home they were naturally overcome with grief at the parting. Dr. Barnhouse said that he was trying to think of some word of comfort that he could give them. Just then a huge moving van passed them. As it passed the shadow of the truck swept over the car. And as the truck pulled on in front of them an inspiration came to Dr. Barnhouse. He said “Children would you rather be run over by a truck or by its shadow?” The children said “Well of course Dad we’d much rather be run over by the shadow! That can’t hurt us at all.” Dr. Barnhouse said “Did you know that two thousand years ago the truck of death ran over the Lord Jesus…in order that only its shadow might run over us?”

Believer’s Response to Death

I am standing on a seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean blue. She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says “There she is gone.” Gone where? Gone from my sight that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me not in her and just at the moment when someone say “There she is gone ” on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout “Here she comes ” and such is dying. ──《Immortality》Loraine Boettner

Believer’s Response to Death

A little girl whose father had just died asked her mother where her father had gone. “To be with Jesus ” replied the mother.

A few days later talking to a friend the mother said “I am so grieved to have lost my husband.”

The little girl heard her and remembering what she had told her asked “Mother is a thing lost when you know where it is?”

“No of course not ” said her mom.

“Well then how can Daddy be lost when he has gone to be with Jesus?”

Believer’s Response to Death

Years ago Dr. Arthur John Gossip preached a sermon titled “When Life Tumbles In What Then?” on the day after his beloved wife had died suddenly. He closed with these words:

“I don’t think you need to be afraid of life. Our hearts are very frail and there are places where the road is ery steep and very lonely but we have a wonderful God. And as Paul puts it ‘What can separate us from His love? Not death ’ he writes immediately. No not death for standing in the roaring of the Jordan cold with its dreadful chill and very conscious of its terror of its rushing I too like Hopeful in 《Pilgrim’s Progress》 can call back to you who one day in your turn will have to cross it ‘Be of good cheer my brother for I feel the bottom and it is sound.’”

Believer’s Response to Death

As the great Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson lay sick and about to die he said “I am not tired of my work neither am I tired of the world; yet when Christ calls me home I shall go with the gladness of a boy bounding away from his school. Perhaps I feel something like the young bride when she contemplates resigning the pleasant association of her childhood for a yet dearer home—though only a little like her for there is no doubt resting on my future.”

Believer’s Response to Death

When Martin Luther’s daughter Magdelena was fourteen years old she was taken sick and lay dying. Luther prayed “O God I love her so but nevertheless Thy will be done.”

Then he turned to his daughter and said “Magdelena would you rather be with me or would you rather go and be with your Father in heaven?” And the girl said “Father as God wills.” Luther held her in his arms as she passed away and as they laid her to rest he said “Oh my dear Magdelenachen you will rise and shine like the stars in the sun. How strange to be so sorrowful and yet to know that all is at peace that all is well.”

It is this hope in the hour of death that the resurrection gives to us.

Believer’s Response to Death

There are many instances of those whose faith has triumphed in the hour of death. D.L. Moody the great evangelist of the past century said on his deathbed “Earth is receding; heaven is approaching. This is my crowning day!”

Believer’s Response to Death

This incident illustrates how the child of God can face the last enemy with confidence and courage:

Many years ago the ship known as the Empress of Ireland went down with 130 Salvation Army officers on board along with many other passengers. Only 21 of those Christian workers’ lives were spare—an unusually small number. Of the 109 workers who drowned not one body had on a life preserver! Many of the survivors told how those brave people seeing that there were not enough lifebelts took off their own and strapped them onto others saying “I know Jesus so I can die better than you can.” Their supreme sacrifice and faithful words set a beautiful example which for many years has inspired the Salvation Army to carry on courageously for God. Millions have come to recognize that born-again individuals can face death fearlessly.

Death for someone who has not come to know God is a frightening prospect. And indeed it should be for when one passes from this life there is no longer the possibility of coming right with God. In contrast the dark door of death for a Christian is only the other sie of the shining gate of life.

Believer’s Response to Death

The dedicated missionary Jim Elliot once said: “I must not think it strange if God takes in youth those whom I would have kept on earth until they were older. God is peopling eternity and I must not restrict Him to old men and women.”

Believer’s Response to Death

Samuel Rutherford a seventeenth-century Scottish pastor and theologian wrote the following to a woman when her young daughter died: “Remember what age your daughter was and that just so long was your lease of her…your lease (has) run out and you can no more justly quarrel against your great Superior for taking His own at His just term-day than a poor farmer can complain that his master taketh a portion of his own land to himself when his lease is expired.”

Enoch’s Translation to Heaven

Enoch lived to be 365 years old. The Bible says that he walked with God and God took him away. A little girl described this experience to her mother. “Mamma ” she said “one day Enoch and God took a walk together. They walked and they talked and they talked and they walked until Enoch finally said ‘Oh my dear Lord it’s getting late. I’d better go home.’ And the Lord said ‘Why Enoch we’ve been walking so long together I believe we’re closer to my home than yours. Why don’t you come home with me tonight?’” So Enoch went home with God.

Fear of Death

A dying man was fearful even though he was a born-again Christian. He expressed his feelings to his Christian doctor. The physician was silent not knowing what to say. Just then a whining and scratching was heard at the door. When the doctor opened it in bounded his big beautiful dog who often went with him as he made house calls. The dog was glad to see his master. Sensing an opportunity to comfort his troubled patient the doctor said “My dog has never been in your room before so he didn’t know what it was like in here. But he knew I was in here and that was enough. In the same way I’m looking forward to heaven. I don’t know much about it but I know my Savior is there. And that’s all I need to know!”

Fear of Death

John Wayne at age 71 explained that he sometimes had difficult moments watching his old movies: “It’s kind of irritating to see I was a good-looking 40-year-old and suddenly I can look over and see this 71-year-old…I’m not squawking…I just want to be around for a long time.”

Last Words of a Dying Person

In Shakespeare’s 《Richard II》 the dying Duke of Lancaster tells the Duke of York: “O but they say the tongues of dying men enforce attention like deep harmony; Where words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain for they breathe their words in pain.”

Preparation for Death

Many people sleep under an electric blanket during winter. The only problem with this wonderful invention is that it is too good at what it does. That is an electric blanket makes a bed so warm and comfortable that on cold mornings it is very hard to get up. Some people have found that the only thing that works for them is to turn off their electric blanket so that the bed becomes much less comfortable and thus it is easier to leave their cozy spot. Perhaps God lets us deteriorate physically in our late years so that we will be more willing to leave our ailing bodies for the unexplored future that he sets before us.

Preparation for Death

When Corrie ten Boom was a girl her first realization of death came afer a visit to the home of a neighbor who had died. It impressed her that someday her parents would die. Corrie’s father comforted her. “Corrie when you and I go to Amsterdam when do I give you your ticket?” he asked.

Corrie answered “Why just before we get on the train.”

“Exactly ” responded her father “and our wise Father in heaven knows exactly when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of him Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.”

Death of the Righteous

In Sacramento California Rita and Jack were in high school together and one day she asked him to walk her home. That was 68 years ago; 65 years ago they were married. They built a home in Sacramento together. Jack Urbine drove a truck for Shell Oil for more than 40 years. They were active in their church and several Christian organizations. They had three children nine grandchildren two great grandchildren. The other morning at 9:40 a.m. in the home they had shared Jack now 87 died. Rita at first in shock was unable to cry. Then the tears came; the tears lasted for several hours. Then Saturday morning at 9:40 Rita died.

The family has found her diary. Actually it was a family history she was writing. In it they found these words: "If the Lord takes Dad first I wish that He would let me follow very closely behind." --Associated Press 3-28-90

Funerals

In Britain a butcher specified in his will that he be cremated and he specified that at his memorial service the organ was to play Cole Porter's song "Every Time We Say Goodbye". Such was the the deceased man's wish. He got half of his wish but the musician brought the wrong Cole Porter Sheet Music. At the cremation ceremony he played "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes!" --Associated Press 3-22-90

Believer’s Response to Death

A father gave this counsel to his married daughter on the first anniversary of her mother’s death:

“I had forty wonderful years with your Mom ” he said “the best years of my life But that part of my life is over. Finished!”

Believer’s Response to Death

A little girl whose father had just died asked her mother where her father had gone. “To be with Jesus ” replied the mother.

A few days later talking to a friend the mother said “I am so grieved to have lost my husband.”

The little girl heard her and remembering what she had told her asked “Mother is a thing lost when you know where it is?”

“No of course not ” said her mom.

“Well then how can Daddy be lost when he has gone to be with Jesus?” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》

Believer’s Response to Death

Years ago Dr. Arthur John Gossip preached a sermon titled “When Life Tumbles In What Then?” on the day after his beloved wife had died suddenly. He closed with these words:

Believer’s Response to Death

When Martin Luther’s daughter Magdelena was fourteen years old she was taken sick and lay dying. Luther prayed “O God I love her so but nevertheless Thy will be done.”

It is this hope in the hour of death that the resurrection gives to us. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》

Believer’s Response to Death

This incident illustrates how the child of God can face the last enemy with confidence and courage:

Believer’s Response to Death

Enoch’s Translation to Heaven

Fear of Death

Last Words of a Dying Person

Preparation for Death

Corrie answered “Why just before we get on the train.”

Death of the Righteous

Funerals

DEATH

In Valladolid Spain where Christopher Columbus died in 1506 stands a monument commemorating the great discoverer. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the memorial is a statue of a lion destroying one of the Latin words that had been part of Spain's motto for centuries. Before Columbus made his voyages the Spaniards thought they had reached the outer limits of earth. Thus their motto was "Ne Plus Ultra " which means "No More Beyond." The word being torn away by the lion is "Ne" or "no " making it read "Plus Ultra." Columbus had proven that there was indeed "more beyond." ── Source Unknown.

DEATH

On his deathbed British preacher Charles Simeon smiled brightly and asked the people gathered in his room "What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?" When they all remained silent he exclaimed "The creation! I ask myself 'Did Jehovah create the world or did I?' He did! Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus' hands I can safely commit my spirit!"

Hudson Taylor founder of China Inland Mission in the closing months of his life said to a friend "I am so weak. I can't read my Bible. I can't even pray. I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust." ── Our Daily Bread January 1 1994.

DEATH

In 1846 former president John Quincy Adams suffered a stroke. Although he returned to Congress the following year his health was clearly failing. Daniel Webster described his last meeting with Adams: "Someone a friend of his came in and made particular inquiry of his health. Adams answered 'I inhabit a weak frail decayed tenement; battered by the winds and broken in upon by the storms and from all I can learn the landlord does not intend to repair.'" ── Today in the Word April 11 1992.

DEATH

Mark Twain became morose and weary of life. Shortly before his death he wrote "A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last--the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them--and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence ...a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever." ── Mark Twain.

DEATH

Gen. William Nelson a Union general in the Civil War was consumed with the battles in Kentucky when a brawl ended up in his being shot mortally in the chest. He had faced many battles but the fatal blow came while he was relaxing with his men. As such he was caught fully unprepared. As men ran up the stairs to help him the general had just one phrase "Send for a clergyman; I wish to be baptized." He never had time as an adolescent or young man. He never had time as a private or after he became a general. And his wound did not stop or slow down the war. Everything around him was left virtually unchanged--except for the general's priorities. With only minutes left before he entered eternity the one thing he cared about was preparing for eternity. He wanted to be baptized. Thirty minutes later he was dead. ── Christian Times October 3 1994 p. 26.

DEATH

Alexander the Great seeing Diogenes looking attentively at a parcel of human bones asked the philosopher what he was looking for. Diogenes' reply: "That which I cannot find--the difference between your father's bones and those of his slaves." ── Plutarch.

DEATH

"Here lies Jamie Smith wife of Thomas Smith marble cutter. This monument was erected by her husband as a tribute to her memory and a specimen of his work. Monuments of the same style 350 dollars."── from Springdale Ohio.

DEATH

I was driving with my children to my wife's funeral where I was to preach the sermon. As we came into one small town there strode down in front of us a truck that came to stop before a red light. It was the biggest truck I ever saw in my life and the sun was shining on it at just the right angle that took its shadow and spread it across the snow on the field beside it. As the shadow covered that field I said "Look children at that truck and look at its shadow. If you had to be run over which would you rather be run over by? Would you rather be run over by the truck or by the shadow?" My youngest child said "The shadow couldn't hurt anybody." "That's right " I continued "and death is a truck but the shadow is all that ever touches the Christian. The truck ran over the Lord Jesus. Only the shadow is gone over mother." ── Donald Grey Barnhouse.

DEATH

Peter Kreeft tells us that in the Latin rite for the burial of an Austrian emperor the people carry the corpse to the door of the great monastic church. They strike the door and say: "Open." The abbot inside says: "Who is there." "Emperor Karl the king of..." The response from inside: "We know of no such person here." So the people strike the door again. "Who is there?" asks the abbot. "Emperor Karl." "We know of no such person here." So they strike a third time. "Who is there?" asks the abbot again. "Karl " say the people. And the door is opened. ── One World May 1982.

DEATH

"You don't go look at where it happened " said Scott Goodyear who starts 33rd [speaking of race-car drivers who have been killed in crashes at the Indianapolis 500]. "You don't watch the films of it on television. You don't deal with it. You pretend it never happened." The Speedway operation itself encourages this approach. As soon as the track closes the day of an accident a crew heads out to paint over the spot where the car hit the wall. Through the years a driver has never been pronounced dead at the race track. A trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Racing Museum located inside the 2.5-mile oval has no memorial to the 40 drivers who have lost their lives here. Nowhere is there even a mention.── Source Unknown.

DEATH

Sarah Winchester's husband had acquired a fortune by manufacturing and selling rifles. After he died of influenza in 1918 she moved to San Jose California. Because of her grief and her long time interest in spiritism Sarah sought out a medium to contact her dead husband. The medium told her "As long as you keep building your home you will never face death."

Sarah believed the spiritist so she bought an unfinished 17-room mansion and started to expand it. The project continued until she died at the age of 85. It cost 5 million dollars at a time when workmen earned 50 cents a day. The mansion had 150 rooms 13 bathrooms 2 000 doors 47 fireplaces and 10 000 windows. And Mrs. Winchester left enough materials so that they could have continued building for another 80 years.

Today that house stands as more than a tourist attraction. It is a silent witness to the dread of death that holds millions of people in bondage (Heb. 2:15). ── Our Daily Bread April 2 1994.

DEATH

Thursday December 21 1899 after cutting short a Kansas City crusade and returning home in ill health D. L. Moody told his family "I'm not discouraged. I want to live as long as I am useful but when my work is done I want to be up and off." The next day Moody awakened after a restless night. In careful measured words he said "Earth recedes Heaven opens before me!" His son Will concluded his father was dreaming. "No this is no dream Will. It is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me and I must go." ── Moody December 1993 p. 70.

DEATH

In one of his books A.M. Hunter the New Testament scholar relates the story of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply he heard a scratching at the door and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It's my dog. I left him downstairs but he has grown impatient and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door but he knows that I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the Door but you know that your Master is there." ── Christian Theology in Plain Language p. 208.

DEATH

A few days before his death Dr. F. B. Meyer wrote a very dear friend these words: "I have just heard to my great surprise that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you I shall have entered the palace. Don't trouble to write. We shall meet in the morning." ── Quoted in Consolation by Mrs. C. Cowman p. 70.

DEATH

I read that when a terrible plague came to ancient Athens people there committed every horrible crime and engaged in every lustful pleasure they could because they believed that life was short and they would never have to pay any penalty. In one of the world's most famous poems the Latin poet Catullus wrote "Let us live and let us love and let us value the tales of austere old men at a single halfpenny. Suns can set and then return again but for us when once our brief light sets there is but one perpetual night through which we must sleep." ── Morning Glory January 29 1994.

DEATH

The bitter news of Dawson Trotman's drowning swept like cold wind across Schroon Lake to the shoreline. Eyewitnesses tell of the profound anxiety the tears the helpless disbelief in the faces of those who now looked out across the deep blue water. Everyone's face except one -- Lila Trotman Dawson's widow. As she suddenly walked upon the scene a close friend shouted "Oh Lila ... He's gone. Dawson's gone!" To that she replied in calm assurance the words of Psalm 115:3:

But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.

All of the anguish the sudden loneliness that normally consumes and cripples those who survive did not invade that woman's heart. Instead she leaned hard upon her sovereign Lord who had once again done what He pleased. ── Charles R. Swindoll Starting Over Multnomah Press 1977 p. 67.

DEATH

Before his death in 1981 American writer William Saroyan telephoned in to the Associated Press this final very Saroyan-like observation: "Everybody has got to die but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?" ── Today in the Word April 11 1993.

DEATH

Edith Rockefeller McCormick the daughter of John D. Rockefeller maintained a large household staff. She applied one rule to every servant without exception: They were not permitted to speak to her. The rule was broken only once when word arrived at the family's country retreat that their young son had died of scarlet fever. The McCormicks were hosting a dinner party but following a discussion in the servants' quarters it was decided that Mrs. McCormick needed to know right away. When the tragic news was whispered to her she merely nodded her head and the party continued without interruption.── Today in the Word September 29 1992.

DEATH

When you have had a loved one go to be with the Lord do not feel like you're the only person who has had this experience. There is an Eastern legend about a Hindu woman whose only child had died. She went to a prophet to ask for her child back. The prophet told her to go and obtain a handful of rice from a house into which death had not come. If she could obtain the rice in this way he promised to give her the child back. From door to door she asked the question "Are you all here around the table -- father mother children -- none missing?" But always the answer came back that there were empty chairs in each house. As she continued on her grief and sorrow softened as she found that death had visited all families. Yes death is universal; our painful experience is not the only one of its kind. Because God is faithful because Jesus Christ is alive so is your loved one and mine. ── Hugh Salisbury Through Sorrow Into Joy p. 58.

DEATH

John Bacon once a famous sculptor left this inscription on his tomb in Westminster Abbey: "What I was as an artist seemed of some importance to me while I lived; but what I was as a believer in Jesus Christ is the only thing of importance to me now." ── John Bacon.

DEATH

Howard Hughes: Worth 2.5 billion dollars at his death he was the richest man in the United States. He owned a private fleet of jets hotels and casinos. When asked to claim his body his nearest relative a distant cousin exclaimed "Is this Mr. Hughes?" He had spent the last 15 years of his life a drug addict too weak in the end to even administer the shots to himself. His 6'4" frame had shrunk to 6'1" and he weighed only 90 lbs. Not a single acquaintance or relative mourned his death. The only honor he received was a moment of silence in his Las Vegas casinos. Time magazine put it this way: "Howard Hughes' death was commemorated in Las Vegas by a minute of silence. Casinos fell silent. Housewives stood uncomfortable clutching their paper cups full of coins at the slot machines the blackjack games paused and at the crap tables the stickmen cradled the dice in the crook of their wooden wands. Then a pit boss looked at his watch leaned forward and whispered "O.K. roll the dice. He's had his minute." ── Time December 13 1976.

DEATH

Napoleon Bonaparte: Responsible for the death of 500 000 French men in battle approximately 1/6 of the population. Was exiled by the British for the last 6 years of his life on the Island of St. Helena. His wife Marie Louise never wrote him and married another man while he was still living. He never heard from his son again. he was confined to the house and grounds needing the escort of a British soldier whenever he ventured anywhere on the island. The tombstone on his grave read simply "here lies."── Source Unknown.

DEATH

Adolph Hitler: Lived the last 4 months of his life in Berlin. It is believed that he went prematurely senile or insane. On April 29 he married Eva Braum and dictated his political testament in defense of his actions. On April 30 he said farewell to a few remaining military men retired to his suite and shot himself while his wife took poison. Their bodies were burned in accordance with their instructions. ── Encyclopedia Britannica.

DEATH

The last days of British statesman and colonial leader Cecil Rhodes were marked by grave disappointment. He died from heart disease at a time when he was beset by personal scandals and discredited by unwise political decisions. Lewis Mitchel who was at Rhodes's bedside in his cottage near Cape Town South Africa heard the dying man murmur "So little done so much to do." Yet there's more than this to the story of Cecil Rhodes. He migrated to South Africa from Britain for health reasons. It was there that Rhodes made a vast fortune in gold and diamond mining. Even though he died feeling he had much more to do he has left a lasting legacy because he used part of his fortune to endow the famous Rhodes scholarship program. ── Today in the Word July 28 1992.

DEATH

A young soldier while dying very happily broke out in singing the following stanza: "Great Jehovah we adore thee God the Father God the Son God the Spirit joined in glory on the same eternal throne: Endless praised to Jehovah three in one." The chaplain then asked if he had any message to send his friends. "Yes " said he. "Tell my father that I have tried to eat my meals with thanksgiving." "Tell him that Christ is now all my hope all my trust and that he is precious to my soul." "Tell him that I am not afraid to die--all is calm" "Tell him that I believe Christ will take me to himself and to my dear sister who is in heaven." The voice of the dying boy faltered in the intervals between these precious sentences. When the hymn commencing "Nearer my God to thee " was read to him at the end of each stanza he exclaimed with striking energy "Oh Lord Jesus thou are coming nearer to me." Also at the end of each stanza of the hymn (which was also read to him) commencing "Just as I am--without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me And that thou bid'st me come to thee O Lamb of God I come " he exclaimed "I Come! O Lamb of God I Come!" Speaking again of his friends he said "Tell my father that I died happy." His last words were "Father I'm coming to thee!" Then the Christian soldier sweetly and calmly "fell asleep in Jesus." ── Anonymous Confederate soldier--1861-65/died in battle in the War Between the States.

DEATH

Margaret Wilson a Scottish girl of eighteen was tied to a stake where the tide was due to come in. The water covered her while she was engaged in prayer; but before life was gone they pulled her up till she recovered the power of speech when she was asked by Major Windram who commanded if she would pray for the king. She replied that "She wished the salvation of all men and the damnation of none." "Dear Margaret " said one of the by-standers deeply affected "say God save the king." She answered with great steadiness "God save him if he will for it is his salvation I desire." "Sir they cried to the major "she has said it; she has said it!" The major approaching her on hearing this offered her the abjuration oath charging her instantly to swear it otherwise to return to the water. The poor young woman...firmly replied "I will not; I am one of Christ's children! Let me go." Upon which she was again thrust into the water and drowned. ── Margaret Wilson--Early 1680's--drowned for faithfulness to the Reformation.

DEATH

According to an old fable a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the Grim Reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die but only on one condition--that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. Weeks winged away into months and months into years. Then one bitter winter evening as the man sat thinking about all his possessions Death suddenly entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder. Startled the man cried out "You're here so soon and without warning! I thought we had an agreement." Death replied "I've more than kept my part. I've sent you many messengers. Look in the mirror and you'll see some of them." As the man complied Death whispered "Notice your hair! Once it was full and black now it is thin and white. Look at the way you cock your head to listen to me because you can't hear very well. Observe how close to the mirror you must stand to see yourself clearly. Yes I've sent many messengers through the years. I'm sorry you're not ready but the time has come to leave." ── Daily Bread February 29 1991.

DEATH

When Corrie Ten Boom of The Hiding Place fame was a little girl in Holland her first realization of death came after a visit to the home of a neighbor who had died. It impressed her that some day her parents would also die. Corrie's father comforted her with words of wisdom. "Corrie when you and I go to Amsterdam when do I give you your ticket?" "Why just before we get on the train " she replied. "Exactly " her father said "and our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things too. Don't run out ahead of Him Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time." ── Today in the Word MBI October 1991 p. 30.

DEATH

In the 18th century Archibald Boyle was the leading member of an association of wild and wicked men known as "The Hell Club" in Glasgow Scotland. After one night of carousing at the Club's notorious annual meeting Boyle deemed he was riding home on his black horse. In the darkness someone seized the reins shouting "You must go with me!" As Boyle desperately tried to force the reins from the hands of the unknown guide the horse reared. Boyle fell down down down with increasing speed. "Where are you taking me?" The cold voice replied "To hell!" The echoes of the groans and yells of frantic revelry assaulted their ears. At the entrance to hell Boyle saw the inmates chasing the same pleasures they had pursued in life. There was a lady he'd known playing her favorite vulgar game. Boyle relaxed thinking hell must be a pleasurable place after all. When he asked her to rest a moment and show him through the pleasures of hell she shrieked. "There is no rest in hell!" She unclasped the vest of her robe and displayed a coil of living snakes writhing about her midsection. Others revealed different forms of pain in their hearts. "Take me from this place!" Boyle demanded. "By the living God whose name I have so often outraged I beg you let me go!" His guide replied "Go then--but in a year and a day we meet to part no more."

At this Boyle awoke feeling that these last words were as letters of fire burned into his heart. Despite a resolution never to attend the Hell Club again he soon was drawn back. He found no comfort there. He grew haggard and gray under the weight of his conscience and fear of the future. He dreaded attending the Club's annual meeting but his companions forced him to attend. Every nerve of his body writhed in agony at the first sentence of the president's opening address: "Gentlemen this is leap year; therefore it is a year and a day since our last annual meeting." After the meeting he mounted his house to ride home. Next morning his horse was found grazing quietly by the roadside. A few yards away lay the corpse of Archibald Boyle. The strange guide had claimed him at the appointed time. ── Paul Lee Tan.

DEATH

The story is told of a nobleman who had a lovely floral garden. The gardener who tended it took great pains to make the estate a veritable paradise. One morning he went into the garden to inspect his favorite flowers. To his dismay he discovered that one of his choice beauties had been cut from its stem. Soon he saw that the most magnificent flowers from each bed were missing. Filled with anxiety and anger he hurried to his fellow employees and demanded "Who stole my treasures?" One of his helpers replied "The nobleman came into his garden this morning picked those flowers himself and took them into his house. I guess he wanted to enjoy their beauty." The gardener then realized that he had no reason to be concerned because it was perfectly right for his master to pick some of his own prize blossoms.── Source Unknown.

DEATH

On a bitterly cold January day several years ago five-year-old Jimmy Tonglewicz chased a sled onto the glazed ice of Lake Michigan. In a blink of the eye he disappeared beneath the ice. The last words his dad heard were: "Save me Dad!" Jimmy's panic-stricken father plunged into the freezing water but the cold quickly rendered him helpless and he left the scene in an ambulance. For over twenty minutes Jimmy remained submerged beneath the icy waters. When his limp lifeless body was pulled from the lake by divers he had no pulse. But he had a lot going for him--especially the cold water! Scientists call what happened the "mammalian diving reflex." The shock of the cold water allowed Jimmy to live without breathing an abnormally long time. Slowly he came around and today Jimmy lives a normal life.── Today in the Word May 1990 MBI p. 9.

DEATH

The courage of Civil War leader Stonewall Jackson in the midst of conflict can be a lesson for the believer. Historian Mark Brinsley wrote: A battlefield is a deadly place even for generals; and it would be naive to suppose Jackson never felt the animal fear of all beings exposed to wounds and death. But invariably he displayed extraordinary calm under fire a calm too deep and masterful to be mere pretense. His apparent obliviousness to danger attracted notice and after the first Manassas battle someone asked him how he managed it. "My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed." Jackson explained "God (knows the) time for my death. I do not concern myself about that but to be always ready no matter where it may overtake me." He added pointedly 'That is the way all men should live and then all would be equally brave." ── Mark Brinsley.

DEATH

Victoria Principal a star of the Dallas television program was nearly killed in an automobile accident when 19 year old. Upon recovering she said she had a new sense of her mortality and rather than turning her thoughts to eternity she abandoned herself to hedonistic living for the next two to three years. She didn't want to die having missed any of life's experiences.── Source Unknown.

DEATH

When I moved to the U.S. I was impressed with the number of total strangers who visited my home to wish me well...they all sold insurance! One day my visitor was talking about the necessity to be prudent in the preparation for all possibilities. "If something should happen to you Mr. Briscoe--" he started to say but I interrupted with "Please don't say that. It upsets me." He was a little startled but tried again "But with all due respects sir we must be ready if something should happen to us." "Don't say that " I insisted. He looked totally bewildered and said "I don't understand what I said to upset you." "Then I'll tell you " I replied. "It upsets me that you talk about (Life's) only certainty as if it's a possibility. Death isn't a possibility it's a certainty. You don't say "if " you say "When " whenever death is the subject." ── D. Stuart Briscoe Spirit Life.

DEATH

George McDonald wrote to his sorrowing wife when their daughter died. He began by telling her that she wouldn't find consolation in lovely but empty sentiments that he called "pleasant fancies of a half-held creed." He then pointed out that the Great Shepherd had gone before and prepared the way for their daughter. McDonald reminded her that they were both moving along day by day toward that same destination. In closing he said "We seek not death but still we climb the stairs where death is one wide landing to the rooms above." ── George McDonald.

DEATH

A Christian railroad engineer was speaking to a group of fellow workers about heaven. He said "I can't begin to tell you what the Lord Jesus means to me. In Him I have a hope that is very precious. Let me explain. Many years ago as each night I neared the end of my run I would always let out a long blast with the whistle just as I'd come around the last curve. Then I'd look up at the familiar little cottage on top of the hill. My mother and father would be standing in the doorway waving to me. After I had passed they'd go back inside and say 'Thank God Benny is home safe again tonight.' Well they are gone now and no one is there to welcome me. But someday when I have finished my 'earthly run' and I draw near to heaven's gate I believe I'll see my precious mother and dad waiting there for me. And the one will turn to the other and say 'Thank God Benny is home safe at last.'"── Source Unknown.

DEATH

In one of his lighter moments Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. He didn't profess to be a born-again Christian but it seems that he must have been influenced by Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here's what he wrote: The Body of B. Franklin Printer: Like the Cover of an old Book Its contents torn out And stript of its Lettering and Guilding Lies here Food for Worms But the Work shall not be wholy lost: For it will as he believ'd Appear once more In a new & more perfect Edition Corrected and amended by the Author.── Benjamin Franklin.

DEATH

The hymn writer Fanny Crosby gave us more than 6 000 gospel songs. Although blinded by an illness at the age of 6 weeks she never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!" One of Miss Crosby's hymns was so personal that for years she kept it to herself.

Kenneth Osbeck author of several books on hymnology says its revelation to the public came about this way: "One day at the Bible conference in Northfield Massachusetts Miss Crosby was asked by D.L. Moody to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated then quietly rose and said 'There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul's poem. Sometimes when I am troubled I repeat it to myself for it brings comfort to my heart.' She then recited while many wept 'Someday the silver cord will break and I no more as now shall sing; but oh the joy when I shall wake within the palace of the King! And I shall see Him face to face and tell the story--saved by grace!'" At the age of 95 Fanny Crosby passed into glory and saw the face of Jesus.── Source Unknown.

DEATH Humor

A bank in Binghamton New York had some flowers sent to a competitor who had recently moved into a new building. There was a mix up at the flower shop and the card sent with the arrangement read "With our deepest sympathy." The florist who was greatly embarrassed apologized. But he was even more embarrassed when he realized that the card intended for the bank was attached to a floral arrangement sent to a funeral home in honor of a deceased person. That card read "Congratulations on you new location!" ── Our Daily Bread May 25 1992.

DEATH Humor

A young business owner was opening a new branch office and a friend decided to send a floral arrangement for the grand opening. When the friend arrived at the opening he was appalled to find that his wreath bore the inscription: "Rest in peace." Angry he complained to the florist. After apologizing the florist said "Look at it this way -- somewhere a man was buried under a wreath today that said 'Good luck in your new location.'" ── Bits & Pieces June 23 1994 p. 4.

DEATH Humor

An evangelist asked all who wanted to go to heaven to raise their hands. Everyone in the audience did so except one elderly man sitting near the front of the auditorium. The preacher pointed his finger at him and said 'Sir do you mean to tell us that you don't want to go to heaven?' 'Sure I want to go but the way you put the question I figured you were getting up a busload for tonight!' ── Source Unknown.

FUNERAL

When John Todd a nineteenth-century clergyman was six years old both his parents died. A kind-hearted aunt raised him until he left home to study for the ministry. Later this aunt became seriously ill and in distress she wrote Todd a letter. Would death mean the end of everything or could she hope for something beyond? Here condensed from The Autobiography of John Todd is the letter he sent in reply: "It is now thirty-five years since I as a boy of six was left quite alone in the world. You sent me word you would give me a home and be a kind mother to me. I have never forgotten the day I made the long journey to your house. I can still recall my disappointment when instead of coming for me yourself you sent your servant Caesar to fetch me.

"I remember my tears and anxiety as perched high on your horse and clinging tight to Caesar I rode off to my new home. Night fell before we finished the journey and I became lonely and afraid. 'Do you think she'll go to bed before we get there?' I asked Caesar. 'Oh no!' he said reassuringly 'She'll stay up for you. When we get out o' these here woods you'll see her candle shinin' in the window.'

"Presently we did ride out into the clearing and there sure enough was your candle. I remember you were waiting at the door that you put your arms close about me--a tired and bewildered little boy. You had a fire burning on the hearth a hot supper waiting on the stove. After supper you took me to my new room heard me say my prayers and then sat beside me till I fell asleep.

"Some day soon God will send for you to take you to a new home. Don't fear the summons the strange journey or the messenger of death. God can be trusted to do as much for you as you were kind enough to do for me so many years ago. At the end of the road you will find love and a welcome awaiting and you will be safe in God's care." ── Vernon Grounds.

Believer’s Response to Death

The inevitable tomb is not a period at the end of the sentence of life but a conjunction connecting us with the life to come. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》

DEATH

Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry. ── Mark Twain.

DEATH

Last words:
"Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation: God is the Lord by whom we escape death." ── Martin Luther
"Live in Christ live in Christ and the flesh need not fear death." ── John Knox
"Thou Lord bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied since it is from Thy hand."── John Calvin
"The best of all is God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!" ── John Wesley
"I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness--satisfied satisfied!" ── Charles Wesley

DEATH

It is a poor thing to fear that which is inevitable. ── Tertullian third-century church father speaking about death.

DEATH

It is possible to live under a delusion. You think you are kind considerate and gracious when you are really not. You think you are building positive stuff into your children when in reality if you could check with them twenty years later you really didn't. What if you could read your own obituary? How do people really see you? Here is the story of a man who did.

One morning in 1888 Alfred Nobel inventor of dynamite awoke to read his own obituary. The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error. You see it was Alfred's brother that had died and the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother. Any man would be disturbed under the circumstances but to Alfred the shock was overwhelming because he saw himself as the world saw him. The "Dynamite King " the great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives. This as far as the general public was concerned was the entire purpose of Alfred's life. None of his true intentions to break down the barriers that separated men and ideas for peace were recognized or given serious consideration. He was simply a merchant of death. And for that alone he would be remembered. As he read the obituary with horror he resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life. This could be done through the final disposition of his fortune. His last will and testament--an endowment of five annual prizes for outstanding contributions in physics chemistry physiology or medicine literature and peace (the sixth category of economics was added later)--would be the expression of his life's ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him. The result was the most valuable of prizes given to those who had done the most for the cause of world peace. It is called today the "Nobel Peace Prize." ── Source Unknown.

DEATH

John Wesley preached his last sermon of Feb 17 1791 in Lambeth on the text "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found call ye upon Him while He is near" (Isa 55:6). The following day a very sick man he was put to bed in his home on City Road. During the days of his illness he often repeated the words from one of his brother's hymns: I the chief of sinners am But Jesus died for me! His last words were "The best of all is God is with us!" He died March 2 1791.── W. Wiersbe Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers p. 245.

DEATH

Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.

DEATH

When you're old as I am there are all sorts of extremely pleasant things that happen to you...the pleasantest of all is that you wake up in the night and you find that you are half in and half out of your battered old carcass. It seems quite a tossup whether you go back and resume full occupancy of your mortal body or make off toward the bright glow you see in the sky the lights of the city of God. ── Malcolm Muggeridge Christian Times September 3 1982.

DEATH

Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I and you are you and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched unchanged. Whatever we were to each other that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play smile think of me pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort without a ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you for an interval somewhere very near just around the corner. All is well. ── from the book September.

DEATH

Thou oughtest so to order thyself in all thy thoughts and actions as if today thou wert about to die. Labor now to live so that at the hour of death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear. ── Thomas a Kempis Imitation of Christ.

DEATH

Around 125 A.D. a Greek by the name of Aristeides wrote to one of his friends trying to explain the extraordinary success of the new religion Christianity. In his letter he said "If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world they rejoice and offer thanks to God and they accompany his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby." ── Today in the Word April 10 1993.

DEATH

God buries His workmen but not His work. ── Henrietta Mears.

DEATH

Before British actor Robert Morley died he asked that his credit cards be buried with him. Since his funeral the London Times's letters pages have been filled with the thoughts of readers pondering their own deaths and their perpetual needs. -Wrote M.L. Evans of Chester: "In the unfortunate event of the miscarriage of justice and several thousand years ensuing before my sentence is quashed I will take a fire extinguisher."
-Heather Tanner of Woodbridge specified a good map. "I have immense trouble finding my way in this life " she said "so am extremely worried about the next."
-A pair of earplugs would accompany Sir David Wilcocks of Cambridge "in case the heavenly choirs singing everlastingly are not in tune."
-Maurice Godbold of Hindhead would take a crowbar "in case the affair proved premature." Even in the hereafter there will always be an England. ── U.S. News & World Report June 22 1992 p. 26.

DEATH

I am not come hither to deny my Lord and Master. ── Anne Askew--July 16 1545--burned at the stake after torture on the rack at the age of 25.

DEATH

Let me pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees. ── General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson--wounded by his own men he died shortly after.

DEATH

Neil Simon who wrote The Odd Couple and Barefoot in the Park was asked on the Dick Cavett Show whether making a lot of money concerned him. The studio went dead silent when Simon answered "No...what does concern me is the fear of dying." ── Leighton Ford Good News is For Sharing p. 31.

DEATH

Many accidental deaths result from taking risks. That's the conclusion of an organization in Canada that is seeking to decrease accidents between cars and trains. Roger Cyr national director of Operation Lifesaver puts most of the blame for fatalities on drivers who are risk-takers. "Studies have shown that when people hear a train whistle their minds tell them to accelerate their speed " says Cyr. About 43 percent of the accidents occur at crossings equipped with flashing lights and bells or gates. Cyr also said that many drivers "even have the audacity to drive around or under gates." They take the risk thinking they can beat the train and somehow miss the collision--but with tragic consequences! ── Daily Bread April 6 1991.

DEATH

When John Owen the great Puritan lay on his deathbed his secretary wrote (in his name) to a friend "I am still in the land of the living." "Stop " said Owen. "Change that and say I am yet in the land of the dying but I hope soon to be in the land of the living." ── John M. Drescher.

DEATH

We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Adam the first great benefactor of the human race: he brought death into the world. ── Mark Twain.

DEATH

The bodies of those that made such a noise and tumult when alive when dead lie as quietly among the graves of their neighbors as any others. ── Jonathan Edwards.

DEATH

Our civilization is founded on the shambles and every individual existence goes out in a lonely spasm of helpless agony.── William James.

DEATH

All ends with the cancellation of forces and comes to nothing; and our universe thus ends in one vast silent unappreciated joke. ── Stephen Leacock Canadian humorist writer professor.

DEATH

In his excellent little book When Loved Ones Are Taken in Death Lehman Strauss made some interesting comments about the Greek word translated "departure." He wrote "It is used metaphorically in a nautical way as when a vessel pulls up anchor to loose from its moorings and set sail or in a military way as when an army breaks encampment to move on. In the ancient Greek world this term was used also for freeing someone from chains and for the severing of a piece of goods from the loom. This is what death is as described in the Bible. Here we are anchored to the hardships and heartaches of this life. In death the gangway is raised the anchor is weighed and we set sail for the golden shore. In death we break camp here to start for heaven."── Lehman Strauss When Loved Ones Are Taken in Death.

DEATH Statistics and Stuff

John Climacus a seventh-century ascetic who wrote "Ladder of Divine Ascent" urged Christians to use the reality of earth to their benefit: "You cannot pass a day devoutly unless you think of it as your last " he wrote. He called the thought of death the "most essential of all works" and a gift from God. "The man who lives daily with the thought of death is to be admired and the man who gives himself to it by the hour is surely a saint." "A man who has heard himself sentenced to death will not worry about the way theatres are run."── Gary Thomas in Christian Times October 3 1994 p. 26.

DEATH

Late faith is unavailing. There's little use accepting arks once the rain begins to fall. Death is such an instant storm that by the time you reach for an umbrella you already need your water wings.── Calvin Miller The Valiant Papers p. 20.

DEATH

Every hour 5417 people die.

DEATH Humor

"It's not that I'm afraid to die I just don't want to be there when it happens." ── Woody Allen.

DEATH Poems

I have no wit no words no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numbed too much for hopes or fears;
Look right look left I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes but dimmed with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus quicken me.

My life is like a faded leaf
My harvest dwindled to a husk;
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall--the sap of Spring;
O Jesus rise in me.

My life is like a broken bowl
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perished thing
Melt and remould it till it be
A royal cup for Him my King:
O Jesus drink of me.

── Christina G. Rossetti.

FUNERAL

The poet James Whitcomb Riley has a poem in which he tells of the death of a worker in a shop. He pictures his fellow workmen standing around on the day of his funeral talking about him. One man tears in his eyes after saying some complimentary things added "When God made him I bet He didn't do anything else that day just set around and feel good."── Morning Glory January 8 1994.

FUNERAL

Keep us Lord so awake in the duties of our calling that we may sleep in thy peace and wake up in thy glory.── John Donne.

FUNERAL

When you're old as I am there are all sorts of extremely pleasant things that happen to you...the pleasantest of all is that you wake up in the night and you find that you are half in and half out of your battered old carcass. It seems quite a tossup whether you go back and resume full occupancy of your mortal body or make off toward the bright glow you see in the sky the lights of the city of God.── Malcolm Muggeridge Christianity Today Sept 3 1982.

FUNERAL

Funerals of pastors are solemn affairs. At times when I attend one however I am struck by a strange kind of irony. After a lifetime of ministry supposedly focused on grace we bring the poor soul to his grave with eloquent eulogies and high tributes that give the lie to it all. All the deceased's good works are magnificent and of course all shortcomings passed over. I am often reminded at such times of Lincoln's remark at the burial of one of his generals: "If he had known he'd get a funeral like this he'd have died much sooner." It is our vexing temptation isn't it not only in death but throughout life. We think we are a gift to God himself instead of remembering that ordained ministry is a gift to us.── Herbert Chilstrom.

FUNERAL

God buries His workmen but not His work.── Henrietta Mears.

FUNERAL

FUNERAL Commentary

C.H. Spurgeon poignantly stated it this way: "A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you. So carve you name on hearts and not on marble."── Steve Farrar Family Survival in the American Jungle Multnomah Press 1991 p. 48.

TO DIE IS GAIN

Paul might be expected to feel thus; for he was a prisoner of Nero. Life was growing burdensome and friends were few.

Incurable sufferers might be expected to feel thus; and those whose hearts are bowed down with continuous sorrow.

The aged might be expected to feel thus.

But death is not gain to all. The atheist cannot say this; nor the worldling whose treasure is here.

To the Christian only “to die is gain.”

I. Because it secures to us unfading joys

II. Because it puts an end to toil and weariness

III. Because it frees us from the possibility of pain and sorrow

IV. Because it delivers us from the assaults of the evil one

V. Because it united us to the great and good of every age

VI. Because it introduces us into the immediate presence of Christ

How can we ensure these important blessings?

“For me to live is Christ.”

The word of Christ must be the rule of life.

The grace of Christ must be the principle of life.

The glory of Christ must be the object of life

── Seeds and Saplings

THE DEATH OF GOD’S SAINTS

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

God regards the death of His saints with special interest.

I. Because of the cost of their redemption

II. Because of the blessed change that it produces in them

III. Because it adds to the number of the glorified

IV. Because it exerts a beneficial influence upon the living

── Seeds and Saplings

"REFLECTIONS ON THE LOSS OF A LOVED ONE"

INTRODUCTION

1. The loss of loved one is a difficult burden to bear...

   a. Only those who die young and before others escape this burden

   b. All others will bear this burden at some point in their life

2. The Lord certainly knows our grief...

   a. He wept when as He saw those weeping over the loss of a loved one

      - Jn 11:33-35

   b. He sought to prepare His own disciples for when they would lose

      Him - Jn 14:1-3

3. Indeed
God can be a wonderful source of comfort...

   a. In the here and now - cf. 2 Co 1:3-5

   b. In the hereafter - cf. Re 21:4

4. In the death of my mother...

   a. I found God to be the God of all comfort

   b. Indeed
I found that He provided many avenues of comfort

[As I reflected on my mother's passing
I found myself thankful for His

many comforts.  Perhaps you might find my thoughts helpful should you

find yourself losing a loved one...]

I. SOURCES OF COMFORT DEFINED

   A. HOPE IN CHRIST...

      1. As Christians
we grieve
but not as those with no hope - 1 Th

         4:13

      2. In Christ
we have the hope of resurrection and reunion - 1 Th

         4:14-17

      3. This hope is a wonderful source of comfort - 1 Th 4:18

      -- I was comforted to have a mother who died in Christ

   B. PRECIOUS MEMORIES...

      1. Memories can be a source of comfort - e.g.
Ph 1:3

      2. Especially when they involve one's faithful service to Christ

         - Ph 1:4-5

      3. Such memories add to the confidence of our hope - Ph 1:6

      -- I was comforted to have a mother who was a faithful Christian

   C. LOVE OF FAMILY
BRETHREN
FRIENDS...

      1. One way that God comforts us is through other people

      2. Who comfort us with comfort they have received from God - 2 Co

1:4

      3. In times of loss and suffering
it often brings out the best in

         people

      -- I was comforted by many expressions of love and kindness from

         others

   D. THE WORD OF GOD...

      1. The Word of God is a source of peace and strength - Psa 119:

         165; 1:1-3

      2. If such was true of the Law
how much more the words of Jesus

         and His apostles!

      -- I was comforted by God's words of peace
love and hope

   E. PRAYER...

      1. Prayer is likewise a source of peace and strength - Ph 4:6-7

      2. It is an avenue in which to find grace and help in time of need

         - He 4:14-16

      3. Many people wrote to tell me that I was in their prayers

      -- I was comforted by both personal and public prayers
offered by

         so many

   F. SONGS...

      1. Songs of joy
faith
and hope were sung at the funeral

      2. Later
a congregation devoted an entire service to song in

         memory of my mother

      3. With hymns
psalms
and spiritual songs
singing both praises

         God and edifies one another - Ep 5:19; Co 3:16

      -- I was comforted (and moved most
providing an outlet for my

         grief) by songs of hope and faith that we have in Christ

[With so many sources of comfort
I found the loss of my mother to be a

reminder of how richly blessed I am
and how kind God has been to me.

Yet I am aware that not all enjoy such blessings during the time of

their loss.  Which leads me to say a few words about the following...]

II. SOURCES OF COMFORT DEVELOPED

   A. HOPE IN CHRIST...

      1. Our wonderful hope is for those who are faithful to Christ till

         death - Re 2:10

      2. If we desire to have this hope
and to leave it as a legacy for

         those left behind
we must be faithful servants of Christ

      -- Do not wait until it is too late; you will only add to the

         grief of your loved ones

   B. PRECIOUS MEMORIES...

      1. Now is the time to be making memories

      2. Especially memories of your faithful service to God
your

         kindness to others
etc.

      -- What kind of memories have you been creating lately?

   C. LOVE OF FAMILY
BRETHREN
FRIENDS...

      1. Loving relationships take time to develop

      2. Don't think only of family
you might outlive all of yours;

         remember brethren and friends

      -- What kind of relationships with people are you developing now?

   D. THE WORD OF GOD...

      1. It also takes time to become familiar with the Word of God

      2. To learn where to turn to find comfort
peace
and strength

      -- Are you familiarizing yourself with the Bible so it can help

         you in your grief?

   E. PRAYER...

      1. Prayer is of value only if we are right relationship with God

         - 1 Pe 3:12

      2. Prayer is comforting only if we are already close to God

      -- Are you drawing closer to God by frequently talking to Him in

         prayer?

   F. SONGS...

      1. Like the Word of God
songs comfort us when they are familiar

         to us

      2. When we've had time to reflect
to understand what we are

         singing about

      -- Do you sing spiritual songs enough to find comfort in them now?

CONCLUSION

1. The death of a loved one has been made easier to bear because of

   God's grace...

   a. Jesus died to deliver us from the fear of death - He 2:14-15

   b. The death of a righteous person is precious in God's sight - Psa

      116:15

   c. The loved one has finally gone home; if we remain faithful
the

      separation will be temporary

2. The blessings that God affords His children in time of death are so

   many...

   a. But they must be received and acted upon

   b. We must act now to benefit from them in the future

Are you preparing for the reality of death?  Are you doing things today

that will make the "death-day" of your loved ones (and your own) easier

to bear
even a cause for celebration...?

－－《Executable Outlines》