SEPTEMBER 9

2 Corinthians 4:11, 12

JESUS DESTROYED DEATH (I)

There is one thing that we know for certain – we are mortal beings and will die someday. Some people can live to a ripe old age. Some die young because of accidents or illnesses. Some babies do not even survive a day.

Do you want to know the day of your death? Just imagine that you know you are going to die on 12 December 2012. You will probably keep thinking about that date, more as you draw closer to your death. Also imagine that you die after a long and painful illness. Or you meet terrible accidents before you die. Or imagine your parents and siblings dying in a horrible car crash with you.

Even though we don’t know when our death is, we know for sure that we won’t live on earth forever. Only God knows our future. He knows the end from the beginning. Our lives and deaths are in His hand.

In the New Testament, the apostle James says that our life is like a mist. A mist disappears when the sun rises in the morning. Our life is like that. We are here one day and gone the next. We are like a candle flickering in the wind. At any moment our life can be snuffed out.

Some people think a person just disappears after death (this means he is annihilated). Also, some people think they will be reincarnated after death;that’s to say, they think they will be reborn into this world to live another life. These are all wrong ideas.

If we die without accepting Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, God will cast us to hell because we are sinful in His sight. How then shall we have eternal life in heaven? When Jesus died on the cross, He sacrificied Himself to pay for our sins.God loves us that much. And God forgives Christians of their sins because of what Jesus did. When Christians die, they start eternal life with God in heaven.

David in his psalm sings, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of __________, I shall __________ no evil; for __________ art with me; thy rod and thy staff they __________ me” (Psalm 23:4).

Thought: What will happen to a Christian after he or she dies?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and to save me from hell. Thank You that when I die, I will go to heaven to be with God. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.