Post by Richard on Apr 25, 2007 10:16:54 GMT -5
NEVER ALONE
_________________________
Romans 14:7-9 (NRSV)
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
_________________________
To this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
- Romans 14:9 (NRSV)
_________________________
THE question came from a fellow soldier after our combat unit had moved into a field in the hedgerow section of Normandy, France, during World War II. "How come you are a Christian?" he asked me. I answered him the best way I knew at the time. I said, "A person would have to be really dumb not to be a Christian, for you live better and you die better."
I don't remember if my answer satisfied him or not. But now, after having lived about 85 years, I can reaffirm that same simple answer. I am convinced that people of faith do live and die better, for they are able to face life's storms with greater peace than those who walk without faith that God is walking beside them. As we live and as we die, people of faith have assurance of God's presence with them.
Today's reading assures us that our Lord wants to walk with us through both life and death, that Christ is Lord both of the dead and the living. If we have the inner peace that comes with God's presence which "surpasses all understanding [and] will guard [our] minds and [our] hearts in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7), then we can live and die with confidence.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we love you and trust you to walk with us through our living and our dying. Thank you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
How am I sensing God's presence beside me today?
-- Jack G. Ammon (Florida, U.S.A.)
PRAYER FOCUS: Those fearful of living and of dying
_________________________
Romans 14:7-9 (NRSV)
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
_________________________
To this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
- Romans 14:9 (NRSV)
_________________________
THE question came from a fellow soldier after our combat unit had moved into a field in the hedgerow section of Normandy, France, during World War II. "How come you are a Christian?" he asked me. I answered him the best way I knew at the time. I said, "A person would have to be really dumb not to be a Christian, for you live better and you die better."
I don't remember if my answer satisfied him or not. But now, after having lived about 85 years, I can reaffirm that same simple answer. I am convinced that people of faith do live and die better, for they are able to face life's storms with greater peace than those who walk without faith that God is walking beside them. As we live and as we die, people of faith have assurance of God's presence with them.
Today's reading assures us that our Lord wants to walk with us through both life and death, that Christ is Lord both of the dead and the living. If we have the inner peace that comes with God's presence which "surpasses all understanding [and] will guard [our] minds and [our] hearts in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7), then we can live and die with confidence.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we love you and trust you to walk with us through our living and our dying. Thank you. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
How am I sensing God's presence beside me today?
-- Jack G. Ammon (Florida, U.S.A.)
PRAYER FOCUS: Those fearful of living and of dying