Tag Archives: life

Jan 3 – And He Died

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Genesis 8-11

Noah’s death is marked in chapter of 9 of Genesis with the words, “and he died.” Noah, who was one of only eight people saved from the flood. Noah, who built the ark according to instructions given by God Himself. Noah, who can be traced to be the father of us all. He lived an extraordinary life.

And he died.

God is reminding me today that that just about says it all for all of us. You will  have quite a few years less than Noah’s 950 years on this planet. But your days are equally extraordinary because you are the only you. Your experiences have never, and will never be repeated. Your choices are your choices. Your joys, your hardships, your dreams, your accomplishments, and your failures are yours alone.

And in every second of every day you live, God is seeking you as though you were the only person on Earth. Your’s is an extraordinary life.

And you will die.

And just like Noah, or Adam, or Peter, or Paul, or Suzie Q down the street, you will stand before God to account for your extraordinary life. The only thing that will matter at that point is your relationship with the living God. Did you believe or not? Did you obey or not? Are you a child of God according to Scripture (and not according to your own thinking) or not?

Dear God, I am reminded that this life I am living is going to end some day. I will die. And, although I don’t want to obsess about that event, I want to live my life with the goal before me. I want to enjoy these days as I prepare to meet You face to face. You, who died for me, who frees me from the chains of sin. You who loves me, guides me, molds me, uses me, and blesses me every day. You make my life extraordinary. And I love you.

Like Chasing the Wind

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I had the privilege of holding my newest great-nephew yesterday only a couple hours after he was born. Tiny fingers and toes, perfect little ears, when he opened his eyes and looked at me my heart melted.

Ok. I know he didn’t recognize me, maybe didn’t even see me other than a fuzzy blob staring down at him. But I’m pretty sure I recognized love there. Right?

Then today in my devotions, I read Solomon’s book of Ecclesiastes. You know the one, the one that laments over life itself. All is meaningless, like chasing the wind. Solomon tells us he’s tried everything to find meaning to life. He’s tried wealth, education, entertainment, sex, power. And all of it fell short of what he was looking for. His conclusion was: we all live, we all die. Life is hard and often unfair. It would be better if we’d never been born.

So I look at my nephew’s son. Is it better if he’d never been born?

You’ll never convince me of that. Because, you see, little Carson is a gift from God. He was fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator. Will his life be easy? Probably not. Will he be treated unfairly some time in his life time? Undoubtedly. Will he sin and face consequences for poor choices? He’s human so I’d say, yes. 

But I pray that he will come to know Jesus as his Savior at an early age. I pray that he will love God his whole life and serve him. I pray that he will grow to be a man who touches the lives of people for Jesus’ sake. And I pray with confidence that no matter what paths he takes, no matter in what circumstances he finds himself, God will be with him.

You see, Solomon was looking at the wrong things to find meaning to life. In fact, looking at “things” will never result in the kind of joy knowing God can bring. Looking at “self” will only bring disappointment. Jesus, however, never fails. That void in our lives can only be filled by the One who put it there in the first place.

I pray baby Carson will allow God to fill that void in him, that Carson will live his life with the joy of the Lord, that people will recognize God in Carson and be drawn to Jesus because of him. And I pray that when his life is over, Carson will spend eternity with his Savior.

Life doesn’t have to be like chasing the wind. It can have meaning and purpose. There can be peace in storms, strength in weakness, joy in sorrow because of Jesus. I hope you know him.

Dear God, thank you for Carson. Thank you for his Mommy and Daddy who love you and who are intentional about encouraging their children to love you, too. I pray that Carson will accept Jesus as his Savior as soon as he understands what sin is and his need for forgiveness. May he be a child who has you on his heart. May he grow into an adult who loves and serves you unashamedly. May he find the true meaning of life, which is Christ in him, the hope of glory. Use him, dear Lord, to draw people to you. Bless him and make him a blessing to others for Jesus’ sake.

Where Good Intentions Lead

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In 2 Samuel we read that Recab and Baanah had good intentions. Ishbosheth was David’s enemy so these two men risked their lives to kill Ishbosheth in his sleep. They cut off his head and proudly presented it to King David. I’m sure they expected a different reception than the one they got. 

David reminded them that it was the Lord who saves him from his enemies. Then he ordered his men to kill Recab and Baanah for being evil men who killed a man in his own bed.

That’s what will happen on judgement day. Some people will stand before God expecting a much different outcome than they will receive. 

“I worshiped Buddha with a pure heart”. “I attended church faithfully.” “I was faithful to my wife.” “I loved the earth and fought for the rights of abused animals.” “I never killed anyone.” “I didn’t go to church because there were hypocrites there.”

Whatever the excuse. Intentions will be meaningless. It’s like holding up the head of Ishbosheth. And the result will be the same.

Death.

Eternal separation from God. More agony than you’ve ever experienced.

The only thing that will matter on judgement day is whether or not Jesus is your Savior, if you have repented of sin, if you have accepted his grace.

Period.

Father, I pray for everyone who takes time to read this. May your Spirit draw them to you. May we all set aside the things we think we are doing for you, the rules we pride ourselves in obeying, our good intentions, and look to Jesus. He alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and none of us will see heaven unless we accept his forgiveness. Thank you for what you are going to do in the hearts and lives of people today.