Life after death....

 Today marks 12 years...wow!! How did we get here??? One breath, one moment...eventually one day at a time!! There have been many moments, days I thought I would never make it through...quite honestly many I didn't want to make it through!! So how did I get here?
If you know me at all you will know what my first answer will be...the most important answer...by the grace, strength and extravagant love of God! I could and maybe should just end there...but I want to share another choice I made early on. The choice came actually before Marty died. The choice came after I tapped out...screaming at God that I could NOT walk through my husband's death, crying every day, functioning on 1 hour of sleep. You know what God told me in that moment? "Focus on life!" Thankfully I listened!! It changed the journey for me!! I decided instead of grieving Marty while he was still alive, I would make each day count...we would live each day to the fullest! And boy did we!!
The choice came again two days after Marty died. I had a boy who's birthday came...but wait my best friend, life partner, lover, husband just died how could I celebrate?? God whispers..."celebrate life!" You know what?? We did!! Cole had a "normal" 5th birthday, celebrated with lots of friends and family at Chuckie Cheese Pizza...(thanks to dear friends who pulled that off!!) From that time on I never publicly acknowledged this day, because I never wanted Cole's birthday to be overshadowed by his Dad's death. Instead we celebrate Marty on his birthday. It took 11 years for Cole to figure out that his Dad died just 2 days before his birthday!! (That is why I can post today) My point?
There are choices to make after death...you can focus on death or focus on life. I have chosen to focus on living after death...celebrating life. Please don't misunderstand me...I am NOT saying do not grieve. I am saying don't miss the life that still surrounds you by focusing only on death. This day changed my life forever...I still miss Marty...I still grieve the life I lost on this day. I had a great marriage...I looked forward to celebrating our 25th Anniversary together, watching our children grow together...watching them graduate from high school together, watching them get married TOGETHER....that didn't happen.
Marty was diagnosed with a terminal disease and I was faced with a choice...
Disease ended Marty's life and I was faced with a choice...
Focus on death or focus on life...
The choice was presented to others who were grieving over two thousand years ago...Imagine their grief...Their Savior, their hope, their teacher and friend, their brother, their son...had come into this world and changed it and now he was gone. What emptiness they felt...he left a gaping hole in their hearts and lives...We can read their story in 4 different books. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all have accounts of their story. What I have learned as I have focused on their story over the last several weeks...
1. They could have missed life by focusing on His death. Several almost did!! Jesus rose from the dead...remember we celebrate that at Easter. Those who loved him dearly were mourning him greatly! They go to his grave on the 3rd day after his death and an angel appears to them and says, "why are you looking for the living among the dead?" Jesus then appears to over 500 witnesses. Yep that would hold up in a court of law!! It really happened! His life after death changes my life after death!! Why?
Jesus came and died for my sins so I could have life...eternal life! Yes there is life after death! Know where you will spend it. His death was very important...it changed everything. But don't miss the fact that He conquered death...he was seen alive after death. His life after death changed everything! It meant he was truly God. It meant He had the authority to promise all the things he promised...it showed us there IS life after death. Those mourning him could have missed seeing him if they didn't look up! Please don't miss what God is doing by refusing to look up...
2. What does one say to those in mourning? What did Jesus chose to say to those grieving Him?? "Peace be with you". How dare he!! How could they have peace in their hearts while they were ripped apart?? They could have peace because he wasn't leaving them empty handed. He left them and us with himself...the Holy Spirit. We can have peace despite our circumstances because we have Jesus living in us...if we have chosen that. He repeatedly tells them..."peace be with you". I am NOT saying that's what we should say to each other when we are grieving! Those are words for God to speak in those quiet, heart wrenching moments. I am saying we can can experience peace after death because of what God has done. He gives us His peace so that we can have life and have it to the full...even after death!
My words to you on this day of remembrance...
Celebrate life! You are surrounded by it today. You, like me at many times over 12 years, may not like what it looks like right now...but you are still surrounded by life...celebrate it in some small way. Life is precious...each day we have is a gift! Even in grief...even when our hearts are ripped apart and the hole is so BIG we haven't a clue how to go on...God tells us we can experience peace. Be bold, ask Him for it! I promise He will supply!!
Living life after death requires focusing on life after death. We learn through death how valuable life is...live each day accordingly.

Independently dependent

 I

Independently dependent

Bumper sticker theology...I've mentioned it a lot.  The above are just a few examples of what I mean.  We have these little motivational sayings we love to quote to each other when times get tough.  "When the going gets tough the tough get going!"  I know you know what I mean.  I had breakfast yesterday with a very special friend who has been through the wringer, and we talked about this very thing.  People try to encourage by saying things like, "God obviously knows how strong you are or He wouldn't give you so much to handle!"  I'm calling Bologna with a capital B on that one!!  No where is that philosophy found in Scripture!!  Here's another favorite..."God doesn't give you more than you can handle."  People!!!  Show me where it says that!!  It is bumper sticker theology and NOT truth!!! 

What God taught me through Marty's sickness and death and again through nursing school is...

"Tap out...and I will be your strength

Tap out...and I will be enough for you

Tap out...and see what I will do!"

That my friends is good theology and based on Biblical truth!  God is not interested in seeing MY strength on display, He wants to show off HIS strength used in and through me. Big difference!

So what do I mean by "independently dependent"?  God does not want me dependent on myself,  anyone or anything else.  Yes, we are not to live this life alone. We are taught the importance of other people, the importance of fellowship, God said it was not good for Adam to be alone. However the Bible does not speak of having dependence on others. In that way we are told to be independent.  If you have lost someone significant, someone you depended on...you know what I mean.  When they are gone you realize just how much you relied on them...their strength, their encouragement, their presence.  God on the other hand wants us to realize just how dependent on Him we are.  Have everything taken from you and you understand, one can forge ahead knowing God is there.  Carry an unbelievable heavy load..find yourself tapping out only to be refreshed and able to go on.  That is God!  That is being dependent on God's strength.  People look at me and say "wow you are so strong...you are amazing"  And I say...NOPE!  I tapped out!!  

Remember God's truth is often very opposite of what the world is trying to tell us!! It is NOT my strength that has gotten me through the illness and death of my husband.  NOT my strength that has raised four kids on my own.  NOT my strength that has worked full time and gone through full time nursing school.  I tapped out!!!  I am smart enough at this point to know when my load is too heavy...

Check this out...from Psalm 18:6-19

"In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help."

"He parted the heavens and came down...

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me...He brought me out into a spacious place."

David, a powerful, strong warrior wrote this.  How many of those sentences started with "I"??  David was a smart man!  He understood, REAL strength does not come from within...it does NOT come from a bumper sticker...it does not come from a pep talk on MY ability.  It comes from tapping out and being dependent on God.

"With YOUR help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall." vs. 29

Read the Psalm for yourself and see.  David was admired for his strength and ability in battle. But David knew where his strength came from.

"His (God's) pleasure is NOT in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of a warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love."  Psalm 147:10-11

Get it?  God doesn't care how strong you are physically or mentally!!  His desire is that you can recognize your dependence on Him and Him alone.

Independently dependent

Hallowed be Thy Name...

H

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name..."

Hallowed: verb...honor as holy, used to describe something that is sacred and revered.

New Living Version says, "Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9

Most of us know the Lord's prayer, even if we don't profess Christianity as our faith.  I have been in secular meetings like AA where every meeting ends with saying the Lord's Prayer.  

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

 Do I hold the name of God sacred, holy, revered?  

I'm gonna be bold here...

One of the most offensive things I find in our society today is the use of God's name as a curse word.  I would also like to point out that I have never heard the name of another world religion's god used as profanity, have you?

"Oh Shiva!" (name of one of the Supreme gods of the Hindu sects.)

"Allah condemn it" (The Islam god)

"Oh Buddha!"

Why then is the name of the God of the Bible, the Savior of our world, the babe who's birth we celebrate at Christmas, the sacrificial lamb who's death we talk about in the Spring used as an explicative, profanity, a common swear word??
 Because a slithering snake, a devouring lion, a thief doesn't want us to know there is power in that name.  There is healing in that name.
There is hope in that name.
If we reduce His name to an everyday slang, a run-of-the-mill swear word then we won't have to acknowledge His greatness, His divinity. 

Know the name?
Know the name...

"Those who know Your name trust in You, for you, Lord have never forgotten those who seek You." Psalm 9:10

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man-kind by which they must be saved." Acts 4:12

There is a disadvantage to the English language and translation of the Bible.  In the original text, Greek and Hebrew, there are many different names used for our word "God" or "Lord".  The different names God used for Himself teach us about who He is.
These are a few of God's name that I have come to know and depend upon...

Elohim- Creator

El Roi- The God who sees me when no one else seems to...

El Shadday- God Almighty...who parts rivers providing for escape.  The God who provides a way out of trouble when there seems to be no way out....

Yahweh Yireh- The Lord will provide...oh how I know this name!  When I have $20 to my name and the bills are due, power is being shut off, and the kids are hungry...

Yahweh Rophe- The Lord who heals, when your heart is broken, the loss is overwhelming, the skies are DARK and there seems to be no end to the pain and hurt...

Yahweh Tsuri- The Lord my Rock...where I can find shelter and safety when the storms hit

Yahweh Roi- My Shepherd who leads me along the green, pleasant, calm paths and the same one who leads me THROUGH the valley of death and darkness...

Abba- Daddy, Father...when my earthly Dad is gone and I need Daddy wisdom, protection, "atta-girl" motivation...

The next time you or someone around you calls out God's name...pause and think about all that is behind that name...
That name is the only name that can truly save, truly heal, and truly provide hope...

He knows each star and calls them by name, (Psalm 147:4) and He knows your name (John 10:3)...I am quite sure He doesn't use your name as profanity because He LOVES you!!!

Hallowed, honored, holy....

That's not fair!

G

Grace...

I have heard grace defined as, "unmerited favor"...or receiving something that is not deserved.

Oh how we scream when we don't get something we think we deserve!  From the time we are babies we have this innate sense of what we think we deserve, what we think we have the right to have and dog-gone-it  we are gonna fight for it!  "That's not fair!" we all have heard it...perhaps we have even said it ourselves.  As parents we say back to our tantrum throwing child, "Life's not fair!  (get used to it!!)  And yet as adults we still carry the same mantra...Life should be fair shouldn't it??  I should get what I deserve, what I work for, what I want...

 

Let me say, that mind set should come with a huge WARNING!   

Think about the times when you get something you DID NOT deserve, work for, want.  Do we still throw the tantrum??  Transitioning from level 4 to 5 in the nursing program, I was incredibly humbled by receiving something I didn't feel I deserved anymore than some of my friends, one of my closest friends.  I didn't study more than she did, I didn't work as many hours as she did trying to provide for her family, I didn't "deserve" to move ahead anymore than she did.  Why me and not her?  Try that on for size.  Instead of always throwing the temper tantrum when you think you deserve more, try stomping your feet and raising your fist to heaven when you receive unmerited favor!  Do we do that?

 

Back to the warning...

What is it that I deserve?  What do you deserve?  Who tells us what we deserve anyway?  

"For the wages (the cost) of sin is death.."  Romans 6:23

I am a sinner, I can admit that.  The Bible tells me the cost for that is death.  That is what I deserve.  PERIOD.  There is a cost for Adam and Eve's original sin and that was separation from God, death.
But God!  But God lavishes us with His unmerited favor, His grace!

"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (the rest of Romans 6:23)

Look for the word grace in the Bible and what will you find?  It enters in the New Testament...why?  Because that's when Jesus enters.  He enters our world and pays the price once and for all for our sins, not His; MINE, YOURS.  I think that was worthy of some feet stomping, fist raising, screaming, "this isn't fair!!"  Is that what we see??  NO!!  We see grace...a sacrificial lamb, punished for something He didn't do, take a whipping, have thorns pushed into His head, nailed to a cross, look to the heaven's as He breathed his last and say, " IT IS FINISHED!"  I have paid the price once and for all, for ALL.  Receive the gift, the undeserved, life's not fair, He paid the price for my sin, He took the whipping for my wrong doing, free gift of grace from our Savior.

Be careful the next time you wanna yell, "this isn't fair!"  Remember, who had the right to scream that but didn't!  Instead He suffered to demonstrate His love and grace to us.  Receive the gift?  Or stomp your feet and refuse saying, "but it's not fair".  You're right it isn't fair!