Category: Death

7/15/2024 3 Comments

Assassination Attempt

The report was shocking. How did Thomas Crooks get into a line-of-sight position after being spotted by local Trump supporters and then fire off multiple shots, killing former fire chief Corey Comperatore and critically wounding others while grazing the ear of his intended target, former president Donald Trump?[1] But for an inch . . . had the Secret Service been more vigilant, Crooks might have been neutralized before shooting anyone. But for an inch . . . Trump could have died. But for an inch . . . an entire nation might have experienced gargantuan turmoil.

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11/20/2023 1 Comment

Karma

Brita angrily kicked the wandering Cocker Spaniel, who dared to enter her front yard. Her neighbor, Betty, viewed the mean action with disgust. Two weeks later, when Brita broke her leg after slipping off her front porch, Betty noted to her husband with some satisfaction, “That’s karma. She’s getting what she deserved.”

Karma is a Hindu concept that views one’s actions as bringing upon themselves good or bad results either in their present life or in a reincarnation. It is a cosmic reward or punishment principle based on a person’s deeds. In The Logic of God, Ravi Zacharias explained, “Hinduism has two nonnegotiable beliefs: karma and reincarnation. No Hindu will trade these away.”

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8/13/2023 0 Comments

The Warrior is a Child

Dad sits at the small kitchen table with his Marine ball cap covering his scattered gray hair. His brow is furrowed, and his piercing blue eyes appear deep in thought. Slowly he adds words to a journal that increasingly makes little sense. I asked what he was writing, and he shared that he was composing thoughts on how God likes eggs cooked. I had just asked him how he wanted his eggs that morning; that thought was fixed in his mind.

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8/2/2023 0 Comments

Thinking of You

When there is a death in the family, it is so encouraging to see people rally around and step up to provide support and comfort through meals, cards, flowers, phone calls, and just being present to listen, console, and encourage. The sting of death is not erased; the pain is real and sometimes overwhelming, but a caring community can and does make a difference.

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1/25/2023 0 Comments

The Unhindered Way

Meditation
John 14:9—Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time without your knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

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12/16/2022 0 Comments

Grief

Grief is a day shrouded in fog and icy rain fed by a howling wind. It is spoiled fruit no longer fit to be savored. Grief makes its exhausted bed in a hidden cave on a barren mountain ridge called Sorrow. It rests in rare moments of silence and grows weary amidst mindless laughter. Its tears leave furrows unfilled by platitudes. When its memories are roused, new rivers flow, and expectation is uprooted, torn, and damaged.

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11/13/2022 0 Comments

The Night Before a Hanging

Esther is an amazing book that teaches why God’s people should trust Him, keep their faith, and not give in to opposition and persecution. The Israelite exiles faced elimination thanks to an antagonist named Haman, who talked his king into decreeing their destruction. Before the dreaded day of death came for the exiles, Haman constructed a gallows for his enemy Mordecai and went to sleep, confident of his diabolical plan’s fulfillment the next day.

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9/26/2022 0 Comments

Why We Exist

Gerry got back from Afghanistan, and he is not in good shape. Half his squad was on a mounted patrol when their vehicles were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), killing four and badly wounding two. Unfortunately, he had to identify the bodies and could not get the images out of his head. Now between alcohol and too many medications, his life has lost meaning, and he has frequent thoughts of ending it.

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5/30/2022 0 Comments

Remember the 15s

First called Decoration Day, Memorial Day was nationally observed on May 30, 1868, to honor Union soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War.[1] In 1873, New York officially recognized this day as a holiday, and by 1890, every other state had joined them. After two world wars, the day became an official time for remembering and mourning all service members who died while serving their country.

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3/24/2022 0 Comments

Believing Gained by Reading

Erwin introduced me to Rojan* an 80-year-old doctor born in Peru. We listened to him as he explained that there is no such thing as hell and that when he dies, he will simply decompose and return to the earth—body, spirit, and soul. There is no afterlife he said. Implied in his words were his belief that there is no God and no accountability for us in how we live. He was firm in his convictions and seemingly unconcerned of a finite life.

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11/13/2021 0 Comments

Why I Value Theology

One would think that with the uncertainties of life and certainty of death, people would be intrigued, perhaps even obsessed, with knowing if there is a Creator and, if He in fact, has a plan for His creation. It amazes me how many people I meet who seem uninterested in what happens to them when they die. Yet, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT question everyone should want to know the answer to because one second after death will be too late to decide. For this reason, among many, I value theology.

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8/28/2021 0 Comments

Withering

The Hebrew word navel, basically means wither or lose heart. It is used twenty times in the Old Testament. The word describes Moses in Exodus 18:18—warned about wearing out from trying to judge the people alone. Eleven times it refers to plants dying. Isaiah uses it to show people withering from sin (Isaiah 64:6). When you think of the condition of the world right now does it feel like it is withering? Such a thought should not be surprising for God warned us that this would happen.

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9/21/2020 0 Comments

Graduation

Barbara Jo was born on January 14, 1929 in Kellogg, Idaho. Trapped in a nursing home by Covid-19, depressed and unable to leave her room for months, she wasted away to a mere 75 pounds before finally reaching earth’s finish line at the age of 91. Fortunately, her life was not defined by her death.

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4/7/2020 0 Comments

By What Authority?

In the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, He first made His authority clear to a young, unbroken donkey which He triumphantly rode into Jerusalem. His ride stirred a quick-gathering crowd that placed their robes on the road and spread leafy branches in front of the One they hoped would be their King. Matthew wrote, “The whole city was shaken, saying, “Who is this?” (Mathew 21:10).

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3/31/2020 0 Comments

Numbers

The fourth book of the Bible is Numbers which is a translation of Arithmoi, from the Septuagint. It is titled as such because the book contains two census counts, numerous statistics, tribal and priestly figures, and other numerical data. The Hebrew name is included in the first sentence of the book and means “in the desert of ”; an accurate description of the book’s content, which follows the Israelites through almost forty years of desert wandering.[1]
The story began in the second year of the Israelites escape from Egypt, as they camped in the Wilderness of Sinai around 1444 BC. It ends 38 years later “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” (36:13) in 1406 BC.[2]

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12/18/2019 0 Comments

Futile or Fulfilled?

Ecclesiastes is a wisdom book written almost certainly by King Solomon. The book title in Hebrew is Qōheleth and translates “Teacher.” A predominant theme of Ecclesiastes is that “under the sun, all is futile.” Futility comes from the Hebrew word hevel which stresses that which is empty and transitory. This key word occurs 38 times and is used to describe outward, physical things as well as inward thoughts. [1] It is often paired with the phrase “a pursuit of the wind.”

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2/15/1997 0 Comments

Death

Meditation
Revelation 21:3,4--Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with humanity ,and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will no longer exist; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.

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