 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. <Previous Messages · Archives ·  Archive/print editionThursday, July 30, 2009  We passed this interesting flower post the other day on a rural road in York County, PA. It's a way to display several hanging flower baskets at once!  Listen to us share this message on your audio player"The Doctrine Of Death" "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" (I Thessalonians 4:13).  Gerald, a friend in our church, recently passed along a message to me that I in turn have adapted and want to share with Daily Encouragement readers. It is a brief meditation that followed the obituary for M.K. Abraham (pictured), an Indian Christian who recently went to be with the Lord at the age of 100. He had accepted the Lord early in life and surrendered his life for the Lord's work. As I read the material I was especially intriqued by the phrase "doctrine of death", something I have previously rarely considered as a doctrine, but it surely is. In the Christian life it is not possible to have fruits unless we have roots. We must know our doctrines; that is what we believe and why we believe them. We must know about the doctrine of God, doctrine of the church, the doctrines of salvation, works and faith and so forth. In the daily text the Apostle Paul wrote, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (die)." The doctrine of death can be especially developed from 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter. 1. Death is Inevitable "For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:53) It is not morbid to accept the fact that all die. The death rate is the same the world over - one death per person (Hebrews 9:27), and there is no breaking of the appointment. 2. Death is Inexplicable "Listen, I tell you a mystery." (1 Corinthians 15:51a) Death is a mystery. There are some things we do not understand about it and therefore cannot explain. To accept this fact is to be on our way to comfort. 3. Death is A Transition "We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51b) The Bible clearly tells us that there is more after this earthly life. Death is not the end; it is the entrance to heaven to those who know Jesus personally as Savior and Lord of their lives, and to those who do not know Jesus personally it is an entrance into hell. Death is not a destiny; it is a door. 4. Death Can Be Tragic "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:19) We often hear or read of a tragic death through the news media. It may be due to the type of death or age or fame. As I prepared this I received a notice of a 38 year old minister who had passed on leaving a wife and young daughter. When we lose a loved one there's always a sense of tragedy. But what is not reported and often not even considered is the supreme tragedy it is to live and die and go into eternity without God. When we know Jesus personally and live a life of faith till our final breath we thank God for our life and the legacy we leave. A tragic death is ultimately not determined by the manner of one's going but by his spiritual unpreparedness at the time of his going. 5. Death Can Be Triumphant "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:57) Death can be triumphant, because of our personal relationship with Jesus. It is not easy to distinguish the picture of a sunset from the picture of a sunrise. To the unbeliever, death is a sunset; but to the Christian, it is a sunrise. Our victory over death, with all its appalling haunts, fears, and heartaches, is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I humbly ask you the simple question, do you know Jesus? Do you know if you were to die today where you will spend eternity (heaven or hell?). Do you want to be in heaven for sure? Then why not pray this simple prayer with me, "Lord Jesus, come into my heart, I repent of all my sins, forgive me and cleanse me from all sins. Make me your dear child and give me the assurance of salvation. I choose to follow and live for you and to live according to your Word. Thank you for listening my prayer. I pray this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen! Be encouraged today. Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Please consider the prayer in the last paragraph of the message either for the first time or to reaffirm your commitment to Christ. M.K. Abraham was born December 17, 1908 and went to be with the Lord July 8, 2009. His son is the founder of a ministry in India called Hopegivers.  We were blessed to have some interesting visitors at our midweek service last night. As I was preparing for the service Pastor Britto and Missionary Lowell Smith dropped in and inquired as to whether we were having a service. They both serve the Lord in India and added an interesting dimension to our Bible Study since we shared in our Bible Study the message of "The Doctrine of Death" and referenced the life of MK Abraham, a Christian from India as well. (Pastor Britto did not know Abraham personally.) Pastor Britto shared of his service for Christ, his times of persection, and being beaten up by radical Hindus for sharing Gospel literature. Living here in America and escaping any physical dimension of suffering for Christ (thus far) it was heartening to fellowship with one who has endured such persecution. They are attending various churches telling their story. Although they merely dropped in to join us for Bible Study we shared for a few minutes following the service and they told me the story of their association. Lowell had become a Christian about 15 years ago and developed a web ministry called "Fill The Void" with online teachings. Pastor Britto, who was in ministry at the time but was discouraged, typed in "fill the void" in a search box and came across Lowell's ministry. He emailed him and thus began an interesting ministry association and friendship with Lowell visiting India several times and Pastor Britto coming to the states. Fill The Void Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources Click on the link to open and play. (In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.) "In Christ Alone" Video Stuart Townsend This is an example of a song written in our generation with outstanding, theologically sound lyrics. The lyrics are here. "Romans 8:28,32" From the Integrity Scripture Memory Series (Open here and click on "play") Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne |
 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 05/08/09  Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this daily encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thanks! See here for details. (2009 YTD financial offerings through 7/29/09: $6,915.00)SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. This newsletter is never sent unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR a friend forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. or as an email subscription update through feedburner. Subscribe to Daily Encouragement Updates by EmailCancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If these messages no longer meet your needs (providing encouragement) you can remove your address by merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Please feel free to pass these messages on! "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) Last updated with the story of Mildred Swanson, who joyfully discovers her "spiritual gift" is sending forwarded emails! (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. We are distributing this CD without charge in our ministry. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. If any reader in this series would like a CD merely write us and request one.  Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD!Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. © Copyright 2009 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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