Rest In Peace?

 When I was reading Flipboard obituaries the other day (the older I get, the more I pay attention to death notices), one article about a famous person made one of those statements that always makes me pause. 

"He(or she) is now free of their pain". Or: "They are at peace now." Or: "They are with the angels now".

These all are touching and probably a comfort to those left in mourning. 

But...

As a Christian, I always wonder why we just assume that everyone who dies goes on to "rest in peace" or "dance with the angels" or that they are "out of their pain". What if they rejected the love of God? What if they denied His being? What if they just never even gave Him more than a passing thought?

Are those people resting in peace? I don't think so. I actually know that they are not because the Bible tells us so.

I recently lost someone I was once very close to. When I knew them, this person was ambivalent about God and, sometimes, even irritated by the thought of there being a God. When I heard that this person had died, I hoped that they had perhaps cried out to God for mercy. I pray that for everyone who disbelieves. I even hope that for the worse persons I can think of. After all, I could have died in my ignorance and complacency.

So, while I never say to anyone in mourning that their loved one is not "resting peacefully" or ballroom dancing with angels, I do have to almost gnaw off my tongue. What would be the point? The dead are past finding the salvation they ignored while living. What I try sometimes to do is remind the grief-stricken that this might be a chance to consider their own mortality.

In my shame, I have to admit that I don't always point this out when I have the chance. 

Pay attention to death, people. Our death will have more impact on us than any part of our life ever could. 

I wish I could say about every person I know that when they die, they are at peace. I wish I could say that we will all be in Heaven. But we can't wish for someone what they don't want for themselves.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. John 3:36

Notice that the verse mentions belief and obedience. So, those professing belief need to learn about obedience.

That's it for this post but in my next one, I want to talk about why I don't understand Atheism or Agnosticism. I've heard some of them claim that if God is so loving, He would not send people to Hell. I wonder if they ever realize that God doesn't send them to Hell but they go with their unbelief?

Peace

--Free

Human but Not Hopeless

 In my daily reading today, I ran across a couple of verses that especially struck me hard. My reading was Psalms 106 - 107. Here are the verses  I did second-takes over:

• Psalm 106:32  "They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account"...

My thought was: a fit of momentary anger - a heat-of-the-moment reaction - cost Moses being able to go into the Promised Land. The same people that he had stood between and begged mercy for so many times (Psalm 106:23 for example) when they had angered God are the same people that cost him this. 

I am a better person in my older age but I once had a horrible temper. I was very quick to get offended and I had the ugly habit of slapping people. I don't know how I made it to this age without someone killing me for hitting them like that. There are people who are in prison or sitting on Death Row for something they might have done in a flash of anger. 

• Psalm 106: 35-36 ..." but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them."

My mother and father raised me to be polite and upstanding. When I got to be a teenager, I began to rebel a bit. I was polite and I was, for the most part, upstanding. But I was fascinated with other teens who were not raised as I had been. I started smoking as a teenager after a friend let me try her cigarette. Her parents used to purchase a carton for her at the military commissary when they purchased their own. At first, I was just experimenting with smoking - to see how it tasted and felt - then I thought it made me look less goody-goody and made me more acceptable to other kids. I didn't quit smoking for good until about two and a half years ago. I still sometimes crave the ritual of lighting a fresh cigarette and enjoying the inhale/exhale routine. That's about 41 years of a bad habit that started with "I'll just try it once".

• Psa 107:13-14  "Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart."

This is one of many parts of the Bible where I immediately think, "This is my testimony!"

Although I was "raised in the Church", I didn't always understand what "being delivered" meant. When I actually turned to God with all my heart, I finally realized what it means to be free. I'm not free of debt, illness, or any suffering in general. But I am free. I have been brought out of the darkness that I was in. I no longer live under the shadow of death. I no longer have my hopes based on how much money I have in the bank, my looks, my intelligence, my own personal ability to withstand life. I rest in every promise that God has made to me.

It's hard for me to explain what I mean but while I am still bound to this body and it's weakness, I am free. While I am still bound to money or lack of money because of bills and a need for food and shelter, I am free. While I need treatment for illness attacking my body, I am free. While I know that I am going to die one day, I am free.

God has burst my bonds apart. I am no longer in the distress I lived in for so long.

Before I accepted Christ as my Redeemer, my life was like a teeter-totter. If things were good on the money front, the family front, the relationship front - I was balanced and well. If one of those things slipped, I had to totter some of the weight and importance on one of the other things to maintain balance. A few times, I lost my balance and very nearly fell off. I have contemplated suicide. I have lived so high up in worldly joys that I felt invincible.  With Christ covering me, I no longer have to keep my balance. I am held steady and true in my soul. 

I don't want anyone reading this to think that I don't still suffer from depression or fear or worry. The change is that I never, ever feel hopeless. 

Sorry if I went off on a little rant, but I always want to share how secure it feels to be under God's wings. This world is a hard place sometimes and I want everyone to find the hope that I have been blessed with.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings".

(Psalm 17:8)

I will try to remember to share what one commentary had to say about God protecting us the way the eagle protects her young. It was beautiful.

Peace

--Free

The Torah in Psalms

 During my Bible reading yesterday, I noticed something in my KJV Study Bible* for the first time - or, if I had noticed before, I'd forgotten!

The Psalms are divided into 5 books and each book (in my KJV) is headed with a section from the Torah. I just thought I would share this with any of you who, like me, were unfamiliar with the sections and headings.

• Book One - Psalms 1-41 The Genesis Book: Concerning Man.
• Book Two - Pslams 42-72 The Exodus Book: Concerning Israel as a Nation.
• Book Three - Psalms 73-89 The Leviticus Book: Concerning the Sanctuary. 
• Book Four - Psalms 90-106 The Numbers Book: Concerning Israel and the Nation.
• Book Five - Psalms 107-150 The Deuteronomy Book: Concerning God and His Word.

The Study Bible explains that:

"The fivefold arrangement has long been recognized, but no explanations for its origin has proved satisfactory. The most common is the early Jewish tradition that judged the five books to be an imitation of the five books of Moses..."

I just found it interesting and wanted to share the finding. None of my other Bibles detail this 5-book breakdown and I had never heard it mentioned in church before.

I am not sure that it means anything but, again, I found it interesting. If anyone has more information, please do share.

Peace

--Free 

* My Bible is the Liberty Annotated version of the KJV Study Bible. I bought it way back in 2004 in a Christian Bookstore in Anchorage. That store closed down long ago and I have not been able to find a copy of this Bible edition since. It is marked as being published both as The Liberty Annotated Study Bible and as The Annotated Study Bible, King James Version. The 1988 copyright is held by Liberty University. I have searched Amazon and see certain possible matches as "out of print".