"Death Comes Unexpectedly!"

If you have ever watched the original classic Disney movie, Pollyanna, with Hayley Mills, you may remember the pastor emphatically yelling the title of this post from the pulpit.

In this fallen world death is all around.

Dead trees, dead animals, dead pets, dead people we do not know, dead people from crimes, dead people from accidents, dead friends, dead family...

Death is everywhere. We can not get away from it.

Ben Franklin is famous for many things, but this quote is one in which many people have heard: 

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Many times death slowly takes a person's life, and yet, Karl Meldan's line as the preacher in Pollyanna is true, death can certainly come unexpectedly.

In general, people are afraid of death, but perhaps, in this day and age, the number of those who are not afraid is growing. The evil world is wooing, and people become caught up in it.

Death is part of life, but it won't always be this way.  It began thousands of years ago in a beautiful garden .  This is when Adam and Eve did the first thing wrong. This wrong thing is called sin. It is rebellion against God. Rebellion's cost is death and so Adam and Eve and all who came from them will die, physically and spiritually - separated from God. This is our curse, but there is an answer to solve this curse.

Although our world of people seemingly keeps going and going, this verse, 

Genesis 3:15b, "He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.”  

expresses to us that, right then and there, when the first sin happened,  Adam and Eve were told by God that He would send a Savior through their family. Thus, the first couple always anticipated the answer to the curse with each new baby boy.

The answer is the Savior, Jesus Christ. He was the plan before creation, explained to the first man and wife, spoken of in prophecies throughout the Old Testament,

Isaiah 53:12c "... He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors."  etc...

and then brought to fruition in the New Testament

Matthew 1:20-21 “...Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  (Isaiah 7:14)

The answer to all of our fears concerning death is to seek the Truth in Jesus. The Truth in Jesus is easy to find, although the world has always squashed it, hidden it, perverted it, veiled it, mocked it, suppress it, twisted it, water it down, laughed at it, criticized it, rewrite it...

You can find the real truth of Jesus as the world's Savior in a well translated Bible. Even if you don't know or can't understand how Jesus can be your Savior, you can cry out to Him in prayer.  The LORD always hears the cries of those who want to know Him.

Romans 5 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 

And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 

The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 

For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 

The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Death may come unexpectedly,

but even you 

can have life in Jesus by accepting Him as your Savior!

Glory to God!

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John 3:16-21 

" “For God so loved the world,

 that He gave His only begotten Son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, 

but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son 

into the world to judge the world, 

but that the world might be saved through Him.

He who believes in Him is not judged; 

he who does not believe has been judged already, 

because he has not believed 

in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

This is the judgment, 

that the Light has come into the world, 

and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, 

for their deeds were evil. 

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, 

and does not come to the Light 

for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But he who practices the truth 

comes to the Light, 

so that his deeds may be manifested 

as having been wrought in God.”

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