Lord I Want It All #6

Today we are going to conclude our series, "Lord I Want It All!" I do hope this series has been as much a blessing for you as it has for me. This week our subject thought is, "With Happiness or Joy In Life, I want Peace In Death."

Someone made the statement one time that we will not get out of this life alive. In other words we are all going to die someday and stand before God's judgement throne. That being true, since we can have the joy in life that we talked about last time, should we not have peace when death comes our way? God's Word tells us this can be the case for us. Paul wrote to the Philippians when he was in some very dark and difficult times in his own life, and he made some great statements. He spoke in Philippians 1 :21 and said," For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (NIV)

If I stay here on planet earth, it is good as I continue to serve the Lord in whatever way He gives me strength. If, however, I go to be with the Lord, it is also a good thing because it is the reward of life from God and Christ. This world can ultimately do nothing to me that will not in some way glorify my God through my life.

Jesus looked at His small handful of faithful disciples just hours before He was crucified and promised absolute victory , the ultimate conquering of death itself. He said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." (NIV)

The words of Christ Himself should mean more to us than all the difficulties in life that we can experience. The first century Christians had a standard greeting when they met on the street or in their homes to worship; Maranatha. This has always been a difficult phrase to translate. The closest we can come in our English language is this; "Lord, come quickly." The Christian is not to be a person who fears things to come, even if that means death. We need to live with the confidence of a people waiting for the Lord to come and bring us greater glory than we could ever imagine. If you are reading this devotion today and you are not an heir to that promise, you can claim it today by obeying the Words of Christ Himself. "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised (immersed) will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16) (NIV)

If you are an heir and it does belong to you, it is time to tell it to others who need it before they stand at the judgement. Hebrews 9:27 states, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement," (NIV). Find peace in death as you have joy in living for Christ.

God bless until our next time.