Posts Tagged ‘Death’

Prayer for the Injured and Bereaved in Boston, Massachusetts amd West, Texas

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

Heavenly Father, we grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and have been severely disabled by the tragic events of this past week. All of a sudden, politics and foreign conflict, the stock market and taxes are displaced by dangers closer to home. Our first thought is of people we know who might be affected. We call them to make sure they and their loved ones are safe. We pray for those who are not, who have died, who have been injured, who have been bereaved, whose lives have been changed forever by what has happened. Lord, I remember driving by West, Texas many times on my way to Dallas-Fort Worth. I remember shopping on Boylston Street, worshipping in Trinity Church, Copley Square, and staying at the Copley Square Hotel in Boston. The locations of these tragedies come alive for me in my imagination. I could have been there too. In solidarity with the victims, we pray for their healing, for their restoration, for their future hope and comfort. May they know the healing power of your love and presence.

Lord Jesus, you once spoke about those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. You said that they were not more guilty or deserving of such a sudden death than all the others living in Jerusalem (Luke 13:4).  You seemed to say that such events expose our mortality. The sudden and unexpected deaths and injuries of those involved in such tragedies touch us deeply because we identify with the victims and their loved ones.  In  the shock of their loss we see our own lives cut short prematurely. We contemplate our own future and are challenged to think about the significance of our own lives, of whether we are prepared to die and whether we are ready to face you. May these horrific tragedies cause us to turn to you, to take seriously your purpose for us, so that we may abandon trivialities and focus on seeking your righteous and holy will, and trust in your provision for our salvation.

“Lord Jesus Christ, who wept at the grave of Lazarus: we commend to your tender care and compassion those whose loss is greatest at this time, because their lives were closest and their love was strongest. In the midst of their deep sorrow give them the comfort of your powerful, resurrection presence, and the courage and faith which they need to face life again in the days to come. And may your peace be with them, Lord, both now and always. Amen.”

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He Descended to Hell or Hades or the Dead

Saturday, February 23rd, 2013

Many people have asked me why we say in the Apostles Creed: “Jesus descended into hell”? The primary passage of Scripture on which this statement in the Creed is based is Psalm 16:10, which is quoted by Peter in his sermon at Pentecost: “you will not abandon me [my soul] to the grave [Sheol or Hades], nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Peter applies this to Jesus as a prophecy:“seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave [Sheol or Hades], nor did his body see decay.” If the soul of Christ were not left in Sheol or Hades at the resurrection, then his soul was there before his resurrection; therefore after his death and before his resurrection, the soul of Christ descended into the place of the departed.

If this is so, what did he do there? What was the purpose of his going there? Many theologians say that it merely means that he experienced everything that we experience. He totally identified with us in our death experience. Others point to 1 Peter 3:18-4:6 “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah…. The gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged.”

In the early Church it came to be believed that this is what Jesus did during his time in the place of the departed. He preached the Gospel to those who had died. Does this give the departed a second chance to believe? Or is the Gospel only preached to the saints of the pre-Christian era, so that they might see the promises fulfilled in Christ? Or does this mean that those who had never heard of Christ in their day, get an opportunity to do so? These questions became issues of controversy, and the medieval church created elaborate scenarios that speculated beyond the truth of Scripture.

The core of truth in these Medieval fantasies is that Jesus perfected the spirits of Old Testament believers, and those who had trusted in the Savior without knowing him by name (Hebrews 11:40; 12:23). He made Hades into Paradise for the penitent thief, and for all others who died trusting him during his earthly ministry, just as he does now for the faithful departed (see Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). The widespread belief of the early Church was that the Lord released the souls of the Old Testament saints, and carried them with him to heaven.

James F. Kay of Princeton Seminary, quotes John Calvin’s view that the descent into hell refers to the sufferings of Christ on the cross: “The point is that the Creed sets forth what Christ suffered in the sight of men, and then appositely speaks of that invisible and incomprehensible judgment which he underwent in the sight of God in order that we might know not only that Christ’s body was given as the price of our redemption, but that he paid a greater and more excellent price in suffering in his soul the terrible torments of a condemned and forsaken man.” Kay goes on to comment: “Christ died in the place of sinners (Isa.53:4-6). As such, he suffered in body and soul the torments of damnation, of God’s severity, wrath and judgment. ‘No wonder, then, if he is said to have descended into hell, for he suffered the death that God in his wrath had inflicted on the wicked!’ This is shown in the ‘cry of dereliction’ from the cross: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Ps.22:1; Matt.27:46). Calvin comments, ‘And surely no more terrible abyss can be conceived than to feel yourself forsaken and estranged from God, and when you call upon him, not to be heard.’ In other words, hell in the Creed is defined by the cross of Jesus Christ. Hell is godforsakenness. To enter into this state is what it means to descend into hell.” (James F. Kay in Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed, ed. Roger E. Van Ham, pp.125,127,128)

Jesus took upon himself the judgment we merited, and endured for us, as our substitute, so that we could be forgiven. He identified with all “suffering humanity in the grips and clutches of hell. By descending into hell, God in the person of Jesus Christ places the worst that can befall human beings within the redeeming embrace of the cross.”

Jesus went into the regions of darkness so that our souls might never come into those torments that are there. By his descent he freed us from our fears. “By his death he destroyed him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

(Excerpted from Ted Schroder, BURIED TREASURE, pp.177-184)

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The Battle Ground of Life

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

This excerpt from Pennar Davies, Diary of a Soul, about life as a battle ground, is worth sharing.

“I saw great weakness and frailty in the face of one dear to me and I have been in the presence of a friend’s anxiety and sorrow. Our lives are battle grounds. The Dark Death, the Great Executioner, the General-in-chief of the cohorts of Hell, who can raise his terrible banner over every human body and parade with terrifying pride over every member. But the Christ will reign.

Oh Lord Christ, the Resurrection and the Life, the First-born from the dead, take this precious life into your breast. Jesus, who wept in the past, accept our tears as a witness to the strength of Eternal Love who insists on calling his dear ones out of the grasp of the dust. Consecrate our grief to the glory of the Name which is above every name.

The grief of the friend who is left is bitter. But the fierce anguish of the rent testifies to the strength of the partnership. The life together was not in vain: it is part of the Life together which is to eternity. Does not the cry ‘My God, My God, why have you deserted me?’ convince us that God never leaves us?

Oh Lord Jesus, King of the Jews, King of kings, King of the world, accept our homage; for in You there is every virtue and every praise. Your Cross is part of the fabric of the whole world, part of the pattern of man’s history, part of the witness of our conscience – the part which gives meaning and light to the whole.

We have been one in sin; we are one in untruth. But this is the oneness of hell, the deadly oneness which divides us against one another and against our selves! Deliver us from evil. Unite us in your Own Love.

We can see the false unity in the contempt of those who were passing by and saying: ‘Save yourself and come down from the cross’; in the words of the chief priest, ‘He saved others but he cannot save himself. Let us see the Messiah, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him’; in the blasphemy of the wrongdoer who was crucified with You, ‘If you are the Messiah, save yourself and us’; in the mockery of the soldiers, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ We see the divided humanity uniting to insult Your Love!

But you are interceding for us on the Cross. Oh the wonder of the universe, unite us for ever in the endless forgiveness which glorified heaven and earth.

Comfort all the Companions of the Cross this day. The needy, the sorrowful, the widow, the orphan, the one without hope and the one without succor – take us all. You who were lifted from the earth, draw us to Yourself. To whom shall we go but to You?”

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John Stott 1921-2011

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

I have just received word from England that John Stott died this afternoon. An old friend, George Cassidy, retired bishop of Southwell, emailed that John’s secretary, Frances Whithead, his niece, Caroline Stott, his former study assistant, Matthew Smith and Philip Herbert were with him. They read a few Psalms and his breathing became very shallow and he slipped away. George commented: “End of an era; and gratitude to God for his wonderful life!”

Antoinette and I were hoping to visit him later this year in his nursing home. He celebrated his 90th birthday in April, and was very frail. He was ready and eager to go on to be with the Lord he so loved and served.

In his commentary on 2 Timothy: Guard the Gospel, John wrote these words on chapter 4, verses 6-8:

“The apostle uses two vivid figures of speech to portray his coming death, one taken from the language of sacrifice and the other (probably) of boats. First, ‘I am already on the point of being sacrificed.’ Or ‘Already my life is being poured out on the altar.’ He likens his life to a libation or drink offering. So imminent does he believe his martyrdom to be that he speaks of the sacrifice as having already begun. He goes on: ‘the time of my departure has come’. ‘Departure’ (analysis) seems to have become a regular word for death, but we need not necessarily conclude from this that its metaphorical origin had been entirely forgotten. It means ‘loosing’ and could be used either of striking a tent or of ‘release from shackles’, or of untying a boat from its moorings. The last is certainly the most picturesque of the three possibilities. The two images then to some extent correspond for the end of this life (outpoured as a libation) is the beginning of another (putting out to sea). As the anchor is weighed, the ropes are slipped, and the boat is about to set sail for another shore.” (p.113)

            After further exposition of having fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith, John concludes.

“This then is ‘Paul the aged’…His little boat is about to set sail. He is eagerly awaiting his crown….Our God is the God of history….He buries his workmen, but carries on his work. The torch of the gospel is handed down by each generation to the next. As the leaders of the former generation die, it is all the more urgent for those of the next generation to step forward bravely to take their place….We cannot rest forever on the leadership of the preceding generation. The day comes when we must step into their shoes and ourselves take the lead. That day had come for Timothy. It comes to us all in time.” (p.116)

            I owe more than I can tell to John Stott. He took a callow youth as his assistant and mentored him, then launched me into ministry. Over the years he kept in touch by letters and visits. His books have been a constant inspiration. My testimony can be echoed by hundreds or thousands of others all over the world.

Thank you Lord, for the privilege of knowing him personally and for being recipient of his brotherly affection and fatherly care. May his legacy continue to bear fruit. May his influence grow. May he ever be remembered as the Prince of Preachers of his day, and the friend of believers of all races throughout the world.

“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Cor.2:5)

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Answered Prayer

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Dennis Lennon, writing in “Fuelling the Fire: Fresh Thinking on Prayer”, on answers to prayer.

“The most helpful approach to ‘prayer for healing’ I’ve encountered recently was at the Community of the Holy Name in Derby. Sister Lilias is herself confined to a wheelchair yet conducts a remarkable prayer-ministry for the sick who come in to her regular meetings. At each gathering she explains that God could answer prayer in any of four ways.

  1. He can, and he will, heal you tonight.
  2. or he may say ‘I will heal you but later. There are things going on in your life that must be dealt with first.’;
  3. or his answer to you may be, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’;
  4. or he may tell you, ‘I’m preparing you for death.’ (Sister Lilias commented on the remarkable interest people show in this fourth possibility, as if it is a liberation to be allowed ‘officially’ to embrace the possibility of death.)

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Going Home

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

 

I first met Corrie ten Boom when she spoke at my home church in 1955. I was 14 years old and she challenged me to accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I did, and the rest is history. I am rereading her book, Jesus Is Victor, and was blessed by these words, entitled, “Are You Going Home?”

 Are you going Home to be with the Lord?

You are not afraid, are you?

Afraid of what?

To feel the Spirit’s glad release,

to pass from pain to perfect peace,

the strife and strain of life to cease?

Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?

Afraid to see the Savior’s face?

To hear his welcome and to trace

the glory gleam from wounds of grace?

Afraid of that?

Afraid of what?

To enter into heaven’s rest

and yet, to serve the Master blessed,

from service good to service best?

Afraid of that?

Think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven, or taking hold of a hand and finding it God’s, or breathing new air and finding it celestial, or feeling invigorated and finding it immortality; of passing through a tempest to a new and unknown ground; of waking up well and  happy and finding it home.”

At Easter time we need to be reminded of our final destination – that we are saved by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:22). It puts everything else, all the troubles of the world, and our own doubts, into perspective.

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