DAY 1 – June 1, 2009
TITLE: “NOW WE KNOW”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” II Corinthians 5:1
We know that death is a reality. We all live in the earthly tent that will some day be destroyed by death. Joan Mitford wrote that we have tried to avoid the presence of death from our everyday lives in every way possible. The “death care” industry has sought to change language and concept to some how make death less tragedy and difficult to deal with. Mitford listed several rules for language changes sent down by the industry over the years. For example, the term hearse has been replaced by a casket coach. The term graveyard has been in transition for years. In the nineteenth century it was change to cemetery which comes from the Greek for sleeping place. Now the preferred language is memorial park. Undertakers have become funeral directors and funeral parlors are now chapels. The death certificate is now more often referred to as the vital information card seeking to void the term death as much as possible.
We know that death is a reality, for the earthly tent we live in will be destroyed. The good news is that we know Jesus came to give us eternal life. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24. In Christ we have the assurance with Paul that we have a building form God, an eternal house in heaven.
The funeral for Pastor Bob Russell's father was held on a
cold, blustery day in
In his own words, Russell says: "We plowed through ten inches of snow into the cemetery, got about 50 yards from my dad's grave—with the wind blowing about 25 miles per hour—and the six of us lugged that casket down to the gravesite. We watched the body lowered into the grave, and we turned to leave. I felt something was undone, so I said, 'I'd like for us to have a prayer.' The six of us huddled together, and I prayed, 'Lord, this is such a cold, lonely place.' And then I got too choked up to pray any more. I kept battling to get my composure, and finally I just whispered, 'But I thank you, for we know to be absent from the body is to be safe in your warm arms.'"
This is the promise of life. Now we know that death is a reality, but it is no more real than eternal life. The promises of heaven fill us with eternal hope. Some day our earthly tents will be destroyed, but we will be safe in the warm arms of the Lord in our eternal house in heaven. Praise His name that we know this to be true.
DAY 2 – June 2, 2009
TITLE: “LIVE BY FAITH”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “We live by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7
What comes to mind when you think of the word faith? Take a few moments to reflect on these thoughts on faith.
o “Faith
has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at
hand.” Thomas Aquinas
o “God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.” Martin Luther
o “Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.” Oswald Chambers
o “God does not expect us to submit our faith to him without reason, but the very limits of our reason make faith a necessity.” Augustine
o “The more we know of God, the more unreservedly we will trust him; the greater our progress in theology, the simpler and more childlike will be our faith.” J. G. Machen
What comes to mind when you think of the word faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” What does it mean for you to live by faith? Take a few moments to pray and reflect on what it means for you to live by faith today. Consider this poem as you reflect on what it means to live by faith.
“I care not today what
the morrow may bring, If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything, And all of my
worries are vain.
Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise, Obscuring the brightness
of life,
I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies— The Master looks on at the strife.
I know that He safely
will carry me through, No matter what evils betide;
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow, If Jesus walks close to my
side.
Our Lord will return
for His loved ones some day, Our troubles will then all be o’er;
The Master so gently will lead us away, Beyond that blest heavenly shore.
Living by faith in
Jesus above, Trusting, confiding in His great love;
Safe from all harm in His sheltering arm, I’m living by faith and feel no
alarm.”
J.L. Heath
DAY 3 – June 3, 2009
TITLE: “AT HOME WITH THE LORD”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” II Corinthians 5:8
Gene Sherburne tells that Ernie just wanted to go home.
Nobody knows why Ernie the cat abandoned his family in the first place. Chris and Jennifer Trevino were cruising down
a
Did the black-and-white tomcat lean the wrong way on a corner somewhere out
there in the desert 600 miles west
of his
instinctively lunge at a passing insect without realizing that he would come down
beyond the bed of the Trevino’s moving truck? It’s anybody’s guess.
By the time Ernie’s owners missed him, they were many miles down the road.
“We ought to go back and look for him,” they said, but it was dark by then, and
they didn’t know where to start looking, anyway.
Imagine their astonishment when a week later the errant Ernie showed up at their
that far through unfamiliar terrain, only God knows. Ernie’s worn claws and the
sores on his feet convinced his veterinarian that the lucky cat had covered lots
of rough real estate. Like everyone else who heard of Ernie’s trek, the vet was
amazed that a cat could cover so much distance in so short a time. “But,” he said,
“I wouldn’t put anything past cats.” With so many questions unanswered, one
thing is clear. Ernie wanted to go home.
The Apostle Paul preferred to be home. Not just home in some particular place on the planet, but home with the Lord in heaven. Paul preferred and longed to be home with the One who made him. Paul preferred to be home with the Lord who died on the cross so he could have eternal life. Do you prefer to be home with the Lord? With confidence we can know that a great day is coming when we will be home forever with the Lord. It will be worth the journey when we see Christ.
“Life’s day will soon
be o’er, All storms forever past.
We’ll cross the great
divide To glory, safe at last.
We’ll share the joys
of heaven, A harp, a home, a crown.
The tempter will be
banished; We’ll lay our burdens down.
It will be worth it
all- When we see Jesus.
Life’s trials will
seem so small-When we see Christ!
One glimpse of His
dear face- All sorrow will erase.
So bravely run the race-Till we see Christ.” Esther Kerr Rusthoi
DAY 4 – June 4, 2009
TITLE: “WILL YOU MAKE IT TO YOUR GOAL?”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” II Corinthians 5:9
Are you a goal setter? The Apostle Paul set a goal that set
the direction of his life. In the story,
Well-known commentator and author, Eric Sevarid,
said that the best lesson he ever learned was the principle of the “next mile.”
He recalled how he learned the principle. He said, “During World War II, I and
several others had to parachute from a crippled Army transport plane into the
mountainous jungle on the Burma-India border. It was several weeks before an
armed relief expedition could reach us, and then we began a painful, plodding
march out to civilized
Will you make it your goal to please the Lord one day at a time each day? Pleasing the Lord can become vague until we break it down to pleasing the Lord one step at a time and one day at a time. Be specific in your goal to please the Lord. Each day make it your goal to please the Lord. Don’t be satisfied with pleasing the Lord in the past. Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” I Thessalonians 4:1
Aim carefully and moment by moment of every hour, make it your goal to please the Lord. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, in every conversation, one conversation at a time make it your goal to please the Lord. Praying about everything in every activity you participate in and every thought you think, make it your goal to please the Lord.
A PRAYER: Precious Lord, help me today to please You one moment at a time. Lead me today down the path of
activities and thoughts that will please You. Help me
to make my goal today to please You wherever I am.
DAY 5 – June 5, 2009
TITLE: “NO ONE IS EXEMPT”
WEEKLY SCRIPTURE
DAILY SCRIPTURE
KEY VERSE: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” II Corinthians 5:10
Pastor and author Will Willimon
wrote, “Early in my ministry, I served a little church in rural
The preacher pounded on the pulpit and looked over at the casket.” He said, "It's too late for Joe. He might have wanted to get his life together. He might have wanted to spend more time with his family. He might have wanted to do that, but he's dead now. It is too late for him, but it is not too late for you. There is still time for you. You still can decide. You are still alive. It is not too late for you. Today is the day of decision."
Then the preacher told how a Greyhound bus had run into a funeral procession once on the way to the cemetery, and that that could happen today. He said, "You should decide today. Today is the day to get your life together. Too late for old Joe, but it's not too late for you."
Will Willimon said, “I was so angry at that preacher. On the way home, I told my wife, "Have you ever seen anything as manipulative and insensitive to that poor family? I found it disgusting.” She said, "I've never heard anything like that. It was manipulative. It was disgusting. It was insensitive. Worst of all, it was also true."
The truth is not always appreciated, but it is still
true. As Tertullian said so many years
ago, “Truth does not blush.” The situations, experiences or feelings about life
do not change the truth. Flannery O’Connor said, “The truth does not change
according to our ability to stomach it.”
The truth is that we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ.
Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “Just as man is
destined to die once, and after that to face the judgment.” No one is exempt. The truth is that we are all
accountable to Jesus for what we do and the way we live. Paul wrote to the
church at
Scripture has given us the truth so we can be prepared. Today is the day of preparation. Around the first of the year I received a letter and packet information from the wonderful person who does our taxes. In the packet was some printed material that told us what to bring so we would be prepared if we were going to have a meeting. Now is the time to prepare for our meeting with God. It will happen. It may be today or tomorrow, but it will happen for all of us. We must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ. No one is exempt.