Are You Afraid to Die?

 Are you afraid to die?  If you are truly believing and trusting in Jesus Christ, you don't need to be afraid.  While other religions stress the works to be done, Christianity says "it is finished".  This doesn't mean we can live like the devil and go to heaven anyway when we die.  If we are living comfortably in blatant sin...guess what?  We aren't Christians.  If you love your sin and don't want to let it go, Christ is not in you.  The end.

     Jesus told the adultress that she was forgiven when she believed and placed her faith in Him,  but to go and sin no more.  As Christians, we will falter, stumble and sin.  But sinning won't feel comfortable any longer.  We will quickly turn from our sins out of thankfulness for His gift and love for our Savior.  We are new creations. 

     God does not intend for Christians to doubt their salvation.  And the Bible really does tell us plainly and God doesn't want us to speculate.  God desires us to know where we are headed. Today, I can honestly say, "death, where is your victory?  Grave, where is your sting?"    Read these verses and let it sink in...

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW you have eternal life."  1 John 5:13

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. " Romans 10:9

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should NOT perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE." John 3:16

I borrowed today's blog post from a well-known pastor and writer.  I never want to grow weary of sharing the greatest of all messages.  This is the answer to all our questions.  This is the key to eternal life and peace on earth.  Take your mustard-seed of faith and grab hold of the gospel.  We are strengthened by it every day.

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

by: John Piper

What's the Gospel?

What’s the gospel? I’ll put it in a sentence.
The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.
That’s the gospel.

You Can't Outgrow the Gospel

You never, never, never outgrow your need for it. Don’t ever think of the gospel as, “That’s the way you get saved, and then you get strong by leaving it and doing something else.”
No! We are strengthened by God through the gospel every day, till the day we drop.
You never outgrow the need to preach to yourself the gospel.

How the Gospel Strengthens

Here’s an illustration, and I use it not because it’s any big deal to speak from my life, but because it’s what I walked through and where I most pointedly in the last year experienced the power of the gospel to make me strong. (Many of you are walking through things much heavier than prostate cancer—much heavier.)
Do you remember the verses that I shared with you back in February that were almighty for me? It was that moment right after the doctor says, “I think we need to do a biopsy,” when this stab of fear comes. It didn’t last long, mercifully.
And then came—what? 1Thessalonians 5:9-10. It’s just as pure gospel as you can get.

God has not destined you for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,who died for you so that whether you wake or sleep you will live with him.

Settled. Peace like a river.

The Gospel Is Perfect for Your Needs

That’s just gospel—perfectly timed, perfectly applied, perfectly suited to my need. That’s why the Bible is so thick—because there are so many different needs that you have. And there are suitable places where the gospel is unfolded for you, so that if you immerse yourself in the whole book, always with an eye for what Christ has wrought for you and purchased for you in this thick, glorious history of God’s interaction with people, he will give you what you need.
Therefore, everything in me says, and I hope to say until the day I die, “Now, to him who is able to strengthen me, according to Paul’s gospel, to him—to that God—be glory forever and ever.”
God came into history in Jesus Christ; he died in order to destroy the power of hell and death and Satan and sin; and he did it through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A Plea to Believe

I know that there are people reading this who are not trusting Jesus Christ, and therefore can only expect condemnation. So I’m just going to plead with you here at the end, lay down that rebellion. Lay it down. And simply embrace the gospel that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Righteous One, died for your sins. He was raised on the third day, triumphant over all his enemies. He reigns until he puts all of his enemies under his feet. Forgiveness of sins and a right standing with God comes freely through him alone, by faith alone.
I plead with you, don’t try to be strong in your own strength; it will not be there when you need it. Only one strength will be there—the strength that God gives according to the gospel.
Don’t put it off.

Freedom from Mothering Fears...Ongoing

     I once fancied myself the best mother ever to my young children.  I was the mom who created the happiest birthday parties, cool educational outings and the home where all the kiddos in the neighborhood were welcomed with open arms.  I was blessed to stay home with them and give them cuddles, kisses and yummy home-cooked meals.  This created happy children and a contented mom.  It seemed mothering was my purpose...more important than God to me if I'm being honest with myself.

     Fast forward ten years.  I now have teens.  One is a strong-willed 18 year old.  Although I still strive to be the very best and do everything right, I'm continually defeated and come up short.  Why don't they believe all the things I taught them?  Why do they make choices that leave me in a tailspin of insecurity and depression?  Some days I want to throw in the towel and head to a faraway land.  I certainly don't want to talk to those moms of perfect teens who inevitably assume my bad parenting is to blame for my children's choices.

     But in the midst of the turmoil, something beautiful and exciting has happened.  I've begun to commune with God.  I'm learning what it's like to trust in God and not in my own understanding.  And yet, as I give up my struggles to Him, I begin to believe He won't fix it they way I want and I take all that fear back again and wrap it around me like a security blanket.  But like a slow-learner, I again realize I can't do it by myself.  Only He can.  I give it back to Him again.

     I'm coming to realize bad things might happen.  My children may know hurt and hardship for a very long time.  But I also know that He is listening to my near-constant prayers and I can trust Him because His answers are perfect.  I must also trust in His perfect timing. 

    I believe we are driven into corners to realize how necessary God is.  We suffer in all kinds of ways and God will use the suffering to bring us to Him.  Prayer is my new way of life.  And the Bible has become my sword as I bring up it's promises over and over in time of need.  Through my mothering struggles, God has become my only hope.  I've fallen in love with Him in a way that wouldn't have become possible if all had remained perfect. 

     Do you have struggles and fears?  He's calling out to you to put it all on Him.  He can handle it.  Nothing is hopeless because Jesus lives.  He wants your total dependence.  I can no longer function any other way.

     "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7