Historical Posts
Estate Planning
Useless disagreement
One of the saddest events in the ministry of Jesus is recorded in Luke 15:13-15. It has to do with a family disagreement over how the inheritance was to be divided. One came to Jesus with the following request: “Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus responded, “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?” Then He warned: “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). To further impress this truth upon His hearers, Jesus told the story of a certain rich man whose harvest had been so bountiful that he did not have room for it all. He determined to tear down his barns and build greater ones. Then he would sit back, take it easy, and enjoy the good life. But it would not happen. That night he died. All he had was left to others.
Important items are not found in the accumulation of things
It really isn’t any different today. Many spend their lives accumulating things, only to die and leave them behind for others to fight over. Happiness, joy, peace, and contentment aren’t found in the accumulation of things. They are the byproducts of living for Christ.
Leave behind real value
Sadly, most of us have seen this story acted out too many times in the lives of friends and associates. Families have been ripped apart as brothers and sisters fought over who got what. Homes have been destroyed because mothers and fathers gave their children every “thing,” but failed to provide a foundation for life centered in Jesus.
Parents, if you want to leave your children with something of real value, leave them the memory of a mother and father faithful to God. Provide them with an example of faith, love, devotion, and commitment to truth that will live on in their hearts long after you are gone. The really valuable estates aren’t measured in dollars and cents, but in faith, love, and service to God!
Content by Roger Rush
Visit Roger at the 6th and Washington Street Church of Christ in Marietta OH.
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On Mother’s Passing
Sometime ago I read Roland H. Bainton’s book, Here I Stand, A Life of Martin Luther. In it Bainton recorded the following regarding Luther’s daughter Magdalena.
When Magdalena was fourteen years old, she lay upon her deathbed. Luther prayed, “Oh God, I love her so, but thy will be done.” And turning to her, “Magdalenchen, my little girl, you would like to stay with your father here and you would be glad to go to your Father in heaven?”
And she said, “Yes, dear father, as God wills.”
And Luther reproached himself because God had blessed him as no bishop had been blessed in a thousand years, and yet he could not find it in his heart to give God thanks. Katie (Luther’s wife) stood off, overcome by grief; and Luther held the child in his arms as she passed on. When she was laid away, he said, “Du liebes Lenichen, you will rise and shine like the stars and the sun. How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well, and yet to be so sorrowful!”
I have conducted hundreds of funerals, been at the bedside of many a dying person, and often sought to comfort grieving families. I’ve felt the pangs of sorrow as others wept for a loved one called home all too soon. But nothing has affected me like the passing of my own mother. Mom had a long and good life. She and dad were married for more than 62 years. Until the onset of Alzheimer’s, she had been blessed with good health. In recent months the effects of the disease had become more pronounced. Still, she was at worship and Bible study each week, and though she slept a lot, was happy in her waking hours. Dad, my brother, and especially my two sisters, were attentive to her every need. The past year had been notably difficult for them, but they made certain that mom’s every need was met.
As a family we were exceedingly blessed. It could have been so much worse. Now she is gone. The struggles are over. Her mind is clear again. As I have often said to others, for Christians death is not frightening, foreboding, or final. I know that to be true of mom. Yet, there is a sense of sadness at her passing which I have never experienced before. I find Luther’s words to be expressive of the sentiments of my own heart: “How strange it is to know that she is at peace and all is well, and yet to be so sorrowful.”
To each of you who called, sent a card, came to the funeral home, or kept us in your prayers, I extend our deepest appreciation. Mom left us with the greatest gift a mother can give her family, the knowledge that she died in the Lord.
When our time to go the way of all earth arrives, I pray those who are left behind will find the same comfort which we now find in Christ. Yes, we sorrow, but not as others which have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
–Roger
OCTOBER 30, 2011
Content by Roger Rush
Visit Roger at the 6th and Washington Street Church of Christ in Marietta OH.
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After Death – Mark 12:18-27
Text: Mark 12:18-27
What happens after death?
We’ve pondered the question for ages: What happens after death? Will there be anything at all?
What you believe about that, really believe, pretty much determines how you really live.
If you believe you’re finished when they pull the sheet over your face, you’re probably trying to squeeze as much fun out of life as you can. Eat, drink, and be merry, as the saying goes. This is all you’ve got.
You won’t care what some clergyman speaks over your grave.
You won’t care because you won’t know, and you won’t know because you won’t exist anymore.
Many people believe that, and that’s how they live.
We live, we die, that’s it. Game over. It’s what the Sadducees believed.
They were so sure about it that they had created what they thought was an insurmountable argument.
They’d used it before, and now they plan to try it on this up-and-coming Rabbi who had proved to be a difficult sparring partner. As it turns out, he poked a few crater-sized holes in their argument. Here’s the confrontation:
Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’ ? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.” (Mark 12:18-27).
They’d probably stumped quite a few teachers in their day, and they were eager to see Jesus wilt under their inescapable logic. But Jesus was no ordinary Rabbi. By quoting one Scripture he exposed their biblical ignorance and theological bias.
They denied the afterlife not because there was no evidence, but because they didn’t want to believe in life after death.
- You are quite wrong, Jesus says.
- I’d say that’s a pretty huge thing to be wrong about.
Imagine living your life as if this is it, only to die and find out there’s more. Much more. An eternity more. Imagine:
- Accumulating the toys and chasing the dreams and squeezing every ounce of fun out of life . . . only to realize that you missed the whole point.
- Realizing that God wanted you to live a selfless life to prepare you for something infinitely better than the passing fancies of a self-centered life here.
- God as the God of the living, not the dead.
- Eternity with him.
Believing there is life after death completely changes the way we live.
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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How Much Things Change – John 11:25
Text: John 11:25
It’s amazing how much one thing changes everything.
It happens in life – a job, a marriage, a baby – and suddenly your world is never the same.
It also happens in areas that matter even more.
The apostles were sometimes so spiritually blind.
At least it seems that way to us.
They once tried to prevent Jesus from going to Jerusalem to die . . . for their sins, and ours.
How could they?
Why would they think of calling down fire from heaven on a village of people who wouldn’t listen to them?
How could they leave Jesus alone on the night before he died?
The truth is, they weren’t any different from us.
They were no less spiritual or mature, no more shallow or superficial.
But they could only see a portion of the picture that was yet to be completed.
As Mark finishes describing the Lord’s transfiguration, he gives us a clue:
Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. (Mark 9:9-10).
That’s an interesting phrase, isn’t it?
… what the rising from the dead meant.
They had no idea, not really.
Not having the advantage that we have of reading the completed Bible, they struggled.
Why does he talk about dying? What’s this about a cross? And a resurrection?
Then they went to an empty tomb on a Sunday morning
And it changed them.
Forever.
Peter denied Jesus on the eve of the crucifixion but later gave his life for his faith.
His good friend James ran from the soldiers in Gethsemane but a few years later lost his head to an axe when he wouldn’t stop preaching about Jesus.
In fact, all the apostles except John were executed because of Je
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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2 Timothy 04:06-18 Why Paul Died a Happy Man
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Text: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 18
Introduction
1. The Bible is silent regarding the death of the apostle Paul
a. The tradition is that Paul, as a Roman citizen, was beheaded on the Ostian Road just outside of Rome – ISBE
b. We have the concurrent testimony of ecclesiastical antiquity that he was beheaded at Rome, by Nero, in the great persecutions of the Christians, by that emperor, A.D. 67 or 68 – Smith
2. The Bible does reveal Paul’s anticipation of death
a. He knew when it was imminent – 2 Timothy 4:6
b. He expressed a strong confidence concerning his demise – 2 Timothy 4:7-8, 18
3. How was Paul able to approach death with such serenity and joy concerning the future?
Body
I. HIS VIEW OF DYING
A. AN OFFERING
1. I am already being poured out as a drink offering – 2 Timothy 4:6
2. His death was just another way to offer himself as a sacrifice to God
a. He encouraged all to offer themselves as spiritual sacrifices – Romans 12:12
b. Thus he sought to magnify Christ, even in the manner of death – Philippians 1:20
3. Have we thought of how we die as a way to magnify Christ?
a. We may not die a martyrs death, as did Paul
b. But we can demonstrate the death of a believer with hope
B. A DEPARTURE
1. the time of my departure is at hand – 2 Timothy 4:6
a. departure – a metaphor drawn from loosing moorings preparatory to setting sail
b. The true idea of death is that of loosening the bands that confine us to the present world; of setting us free, and permitting the soul to go forth, as with expanded sails, on its eternal voyage. With such a view of death, why should a Christian fear to die?
2. Like Peter, who also did not view death as ceasing to exist
a. Peter viewed his death as exit – 2 Peter 1:15
b. An allusion to the Israelites going out of Egypt, and marching for Canaan’s land; this world being, like Egypt, a place of wickedness, misery, and bondage; as heaven, like Canaan, a place and state of rest and happiness.
3. Paul looked forward to departing to be with Jesus – Philippians 1:23
a. To be with Christ is far better – 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
b. Jesus would have the promise to be with Him to be a comfort to us – John 14:1-3
4. Do we view death as the beginning of a journey?
a. A journey long anticipated?
b. A journey for which preparation has been made?
5. One’s view of death will determine ones attitude toward it. Paul’s view of it as an offering and a departure helped him approach dying with a joyful anticipation.
II. HIS PRECIOUS MEMORIES
A. HE FOUGHT THE GOOD FIGHT
1. I have fought the good fight – 2 Timothy 4:7
a. The Christian life is often described as a conflict or a war – Ephesians 6:10-17
b. That noble conflict with sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil, Paul now says he had been able to maintain.
2. Paul could look back over his life with satisfaction
a. Not that he was sinless, but he had found mercy – 1 Timothy 1:12-16
b. Not that he was perfect, but he always tried to do better – Philippians 3:12-14
3. Will we at life’s end be able to look back at a fight well done?
a. Having received the mercy Jesus offers for our sins?
b. Having fought the good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life? – 1 Timothy 6:12
B. HE FINISHED THE RACE
1. I have finished the race – 2 Timothy 4:7
a. Paul compared the Christian life to running a race – 1 Corinthians 9:24-26
b. An endurance race, not a sprint – Hebrews 12:1-2
2. Paul could look back over his life with contentment
a. He had run the race to win, with certainty
b. He had not given up, but pressed on to the goal – Philippians 3:13-14
3. Will we at life’s end be able to look back at a race well run?
a. Completing the race of faith set before us?
b. Or letting the sin of unbelief to easily ensnare us? – Hebrews 12:1
C. HE KEPT THE FAITH
1. I have kept the faith – 2 Timothy 4:7
2. Paul could look back over his life with happiness
a. He had kept and guarded the faith (Gospel) entrusted to him – 1 Timothy 1:11
b. He had maintained faithfulness to Jesus, despite great suffering – 2 Timothy 1:12
3. Will we at life’s end be able to look back on a faith that has been kept?
a. Holding fast to the words of eternal life in the gospel of Jesus Christ?
b. Remaining strong in our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior?
4. Paul could die a happy man because of his precious memories. Looking back, he could take comfort in knowing he had fought hard, run well, and kept the faith.
III. HIS GLORIOUS HOPE
A. THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
1. There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness – 2 Timothy 4:8
a. Crown – the wreath or garland which was given as a prize to victors in public games – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
b. metaphorically the eternal blessedness which will be given as a prize to the genuine servants of God and Christ: the crown which is the reward of the righteousness – Thayer
c. Also described as the crown of life – James 1:12; Revelation 2:10
2. Which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day – 2 Timothy 4:8
a. Jesus has been appointed to judge the world one Day – Acts 17:30-31
b. He will judge the living and the dead – 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Corinthians 5:10
c. For some, a day of condemnation; for others, a day to be glorified – 2 Thessalonians 1:7-12
3. Not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing – 2 Timothy 4:8
a. The same hope, the same reward, is available to others
b. Provided they likewise desire His coming – e.g., Revelation 22:20
c. Thus we are to set our hope on the grace that is to be revealed – 1 Peter 1:13
4. Are we looking forward to same reward that Paul had?
a. To be received on the Day of Judgment?
b. Such that we love and eagerly look forward to His appearing?
B. DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL
1. The Lord will deliver me from every evil work – 2 Timothy 4:18
a. Deliverance from the efforts of evil men and Satan to destroy him
b. he expected afflictions as long as he was in the world, but he knew that God would support him under them; and in his own time and way deliver out of them;
2. Not deliverance from death per se
a. He knew his martyrdom was near – 2 Timothy 4:6
b. But in the Lord, even death can be a deliverance from evil – Isaiah 57:1
3. Do we have the same confidence of victory that Paul had?
a. Knowing that the Lord will always be with us?
b. Trusting that the Lord will deliver us through any hardship?
C. PRESERVATION FOR THE KINGDOM
1. And preserve me for His heavenly kingdom – 2 Timothy 4:18
a. Paul looked forward to future manifestation of the kingdom
b. The same everlasting kingdom of which Peter wrote – 2 Peter 1:11
c. The same kingdom Jesus promised to those on His right hand – Matthew 25:34
2. Paul had confidence in the preserving power of the Lord
a. Knowing that God could finish what He started – Philippians 1:6
b. Knowing that He would provide a way of escape in every temptation – 1 Corinthians 10:13
c. Thus praying for the preservation of others – 1 Thessalonians 5:23
3. Do we have the same trust in the preservation of the Lord that Paul had?
a. Knowing that the Lord will likewise keep us for the kingdom?
b. Knowing that we are kept by the power of God through faith? – 1 Peter 1:5
Conclusion
1. Paul was able to die a happy man, because of:
a. His view of dying
b. His precious memories
c. His glorious hope
d. For such reasons one can truly say, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on – Revelation 14:13
2. If we also approach death
a. As an opportunity to praise God and the beginning of a journey
b. Having fought the good fight, having finished the race, and having kept the faith
c. Looking forward to the crown of righteousness, knowing he will deliver us from evil, and will preserve us for his heavenly kingdom
d. Then we too will say concerning the Lord, To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen! – 2 Timothy 4:18
e. May our anticipation of death one day mirror that of the apostle Paul
Content by Donald W. Treadway
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