Tag: Death and Dying

Today’s Word Is FINISHED

Good Friday
Fri-Apr-10-2020

The foundation of our salvation is the combination of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. There is not one without the other. It would be like asking, “Which is more important, breathing out or breathing in?” The Crucifixion is the breathing out – getting rid of the carbon dioxide, the poison, the sin. Breathing in is the Resurrection – filling with oxygen, new life, the Holy Spirit.

Today we focus on the Crucifixion. It was foretold in prophecy in numerous ways. Isaiah Chapter 53 is all about Jesus … (v.3) He was despised and rejected by men — (v.4) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows — (v.5) But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities — (v.7) He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,  yet he opened not his mouth — (v.9) although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth — (v.17) because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

King David said some prophetic things about Jesus in Psalm 22. And, among the seven “words” of Jesus from the cross, there is a quote from Psalm 22:1 … “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34)

In my early years, I had to struggle and come to terms with that verse. Many explanations that I heard did not make sense to me. Like this one … because Jesus took on our sin, God had to turn away from him because he couldn’t look at all that sin. Well, my thought is that God looks at sin all the time. He may not like the sin, but it is in his people, and he loves his people.

Another thought I have is that I thought Jesus’ death on the cross was part of the plan. So why would God have to look away from Jesus as he carried out the plan they made together?

If you read all of Psalm 22, you discover by the end that although David felt in his humanity that God had forsaken him, David finally affirms that God was there for him, and he was not really forsaken, but he did feel like it. This is what I think Jesus was experiencing. He knew the plan, that he would have to go to the cross. But while on that cross, he felt alone and helpless. It’s not that God was now rejecting him, it’s more like he was experiencing from a human standpoint what death and suffering felt like.

Besides his human emotion on the cross causing him to cry out to God about feeling forsaken, there is another angle to this. If you read all of Psalm 22, you will see that, just like Isaiah 53, it is a description of Jesus, with many details about the Crucifixion.

Psalm 22 (v.7-8) All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” — (v.16) For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet — (v.18) they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Now, the Pharisees and teachers standing at the cross should know about Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, right? And here is Jesus, dying on the cross as described in that Psalm. So, Jesus quotes the first verse as his expression of pain and helplessness. The teachers and rabbis who take students to school them in Scripture do an interesting thing. They will quote the first verse of a Psalm, perhaps, and the student is supposed to know the rest of the Psalm. It’s almost like Jesus is inviting them to quote the rest of the Psalm and discover that they are crucifying the Messiah … that they are, in fact, fulfilling a prophecy!

There is one other of the seven words of Jesus that relates to Psalm 22 … When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

He was, in effect, quoting the meaning of the last verse of Psalm 22 (v.31) They shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.”

Yes! Yes! Yes! He has done it! It is finished! To his last breath he was obedient!

This terrible, dark day of the Crucifixion is for you and me. And, since we are now 2,000 years removed and understand its meaning, it is in one sense both the worst day and the best day. We get tears and agonize over his suffering, while at the same time find ourselves filled with thanksgiving and praise. We know we are not worthy of such love, yet we love the Savior who did for us what we could not do for ourselves — paying the price for every sin we ever committed or ever will commit.

Glory to His Name!

Chaplain Mark

The Crucifixion and the Resurrection Work Together in Salvation

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures …” (1st Corinthians 15:3)

And then … “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Today’s Word Is BELIEVING

Mon-Apr-6-2020

The old phrase, “seeing is believing,” is only half the truth. Do you really have to see something first to believe it, or are you supposed to believe it first before you can see it? In the ministry of Jesus, it happened both ways. Sometimes “believing precedes seeing.”

For instance … And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:20-22) She believed first and as a result received her healing.

On the other hand, after Jesus had chosen his first disciples, he attended a wedding with his mother. It was there that he turned water to wine. “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11) They saw first and then believed.

Both of these scenarios happened many times in the ministry of Jesus. Sometimes people believed first and then the miracle came. And as a result of that, many others believed after they saw it.

The reason I raise this question at the beginning of Holy Week is because the day is coming on Easter Sunday when something difficult to believe, from the world’s standpoint, is about to happen … the resurrection of Jesus. It was well-known that Jesus foretold this. Not only did his followers know it, but so did the Pharisees and Temple guards. After Jesus was put in the tomb, the following discussion took place.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” (Matthew 27:62-64)

Jesus had begun his ministry at age 30, and up to that point in Jewish history, several resurrections had already happened that all Jews, especially the Pharisees, would know about. The prophet Elijah raised one. And the prophet Elisha raised one. Plus, there was the guy who, fortunately for him, had his dead body laid down in Elisha’s grave, and then came to life!

And now, here was Jesus, hundreds of years after the prophets, saying publicly, at least indirectly, that he was the Chosen One, and seemingly saying that his death was imminent, and even further, comparing himself to Jonah’s three days in the whale. (See Matthew 12 below.) He was explaining prophecies about the death and resurrection of the Messiah that were not being taught in the synagogues!

So, let’s go to one week before the annual Passover celebration in the third and final year of Jesus’ ministry, when a sad thing happened … Jesus’ good friend Lazarus got sick and died. Then Jesus told [the disciples] plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (John 11:14-15) So, Jesus and the disciples journeyed to Bethany, arriving four days after his burial. This was a personal loss to Jesus, as he often stayed in the home of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha.

When Jesus arrived, Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) And in verse 25, Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

I’m sure everyone there, including Martha, knew that Jesus had previously raised two from the dead, a widow’s son and an official’s daughter. But this was her brother. This was personal. That is the moment when we are tested greatly … when it is about “me.”

There are many times that my faith needs strengthening, and sometimes what I must do is relive this moment when Jesus looks Martha in the eye and says, “Do you believe this?” When I think of Jesus standing face-to-face in front of me, I pretty much start melting, and my eyes moisten. He is nothing but pure love. And whatever it is that I am having difficulty with, I can already begin to sense that he knows my struggle and that I am going to be alright.

I believe Jesus wanted Martha, when asked “Do you believe this?’, to immediately say “yes,” even though Lazarus was still dead. He wanted her to believe that there is a resurrection of faith and life about to happen.

What seems impossible to us is altogether possible for him. We don’t have to “see” in order to say, “I believe.”

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Matthew 12:38-41

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

Today’s Word Is STING

Wed-Mar-11-2020

“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)

Having talked about death yesterday, I realize there is more to say – and an important healing you or someone you know may need. Many years ago, I was in a powerful reunion service with 300+ in attendance in which the Holy Spirit fell on the room and dozens of people wept immensely or fell to their knees and received a healing from an affliction I had never thought of.

Before I describe that event, let me say something about my comment yesterday that I “lost” a dear pastor friend.

Why do we say, “I lost a loved one”? That’s a misleading phrase for a person of faith. Yes, we lost someone, in the sense of their physical presence. But neither my friend who died nor I have been living all these years as if we only had hope in this life.

It is a central faith issue to me to know that I didn’t really “lose” my friend in the sense that people of no faith would interpret it. The family of God has members on both sides of the veil. I am on this side, he is now on that side, but not far away. He is not lost in the sense that he no longer exists, or that we won’t see him again. It is only that I have lost the chance to see him at meetings or to have lunch with him. However, he’s just as important to me as ever. His influence is just as real. We still both belong to the same owner, the God that made us. And someday day I will see him again.

I hope you feel some kinship with persons who have died and gone on before you. Eventually the sadness diminishes and gives rise to a sacred connection. A season of sadness is normal, but through God’s comfort, we eventually receive a sense of peace and thankfulness.

Those who go before us are compared in Hebrews 12:1 to a “cloud of witnesses.” So now my friend is one of my witnesses. And his faith story is part of my encouragement.

My mom, dad, sister, and others are also part of my cloud of witnesses. And being “surrounded” by this cloud of witnesses, by these people who have died in the faith, is not supposed to be depressing. It is intended to be life giving and refreshing. It’s sort of like running the race of life and seeing far enough ahead that there are people past the finish line waving, jumping, and cheering us on.

Back to the church gathering in which so many were healed – it happened at my daughter’s church in California. An apostolic woman widely known across America, who was very advanced in age, walked to the podium to say something the Lord had given her. She read this verse to us, talking very slowly and distinctly, pausing to let each phrase sink in …  (1st Corinthians 15:54-55) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Then she spoke a few minutes which sums up to something like this, “Some of you in this room have had a death in your life that you have been unable to recover from. This is because of an affliction or spirit that has given you a “sting.” The sting of the death of this particular person has stayed with you so profoundly that normal grieving and healing has not taken place. You are suffering from the “sting of death” and it will not go away. I come to you today in the Name of the Lord to break this sting of death off of you. Sting of death, be gone! Come Holy Spirit and heal!”

During her words, a few people in the room had already begun weeping. By the time she finished, some were on their knees. Some lifted their hands as if to receive what the Holy Spirit was doing. The outcry spread throughout the room. Some ran to the front to kneel and pray. Chairs were being moved around as people ministered to one another. The entire room was filled with the electric sense of God’s healing presence. It must have lasted for an hour, as continually more people realized what this sting had done to them. By the end, there came a holy silence, as everyone in reverence understood the cleansing that had just taken place.

I have a word of hope for you … if there is a death in your past experience that still has a “sting” to it, ask God for this healing. Don’t give up or think that this sting is meant to be permanent. That is not true, and is not from God’s Word. God wants us to be surprised and relieved when this sting goes away, so that we ask, “death, where is your sting?” … because we realize it is gone. And all the glory belongs to God!

Blessings,

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is DEATH

Tue-Mar-10-2020

I have suffered the loss of a dear pastor friend this past week, and two weeks before that, sat with a couple whose wedding I performed a year ago, as they suffered the loss of a child after 24 weeks of pregnancy. Death is not a fun subject, but it must be discussed at some point. I frequently deal with death and tragedy. It is heart-rending to sit with a mother whose son has just died from an overdose, or with a husband at the bedside of his wife who just took her final breath, or with a couple whose child expired before being born. Sometimes there just are no words, and the only thing to do is to be present and, if necessary, to remind folks that God is also present.

There are many people who haven’t prepared to deal with death and dying. All of us know that we will deal with it eventually – either the death of a loved one – or facing our own death. Medical personnel want to help us work toward healthy progress and avoid serious physical issues. But they also know that we must stay prepared for life-threatening emergencies. I have seen a trauma team assisting a patient while at the same time trying to help a friend or family member who faints, panics, freezes, or falls apart during emergency response. I have occasionally seen the same thing at funeral homes, where a room full of mourners contains a few who are screaming, arguing, or out of control.

There is a fine line here. Death brings out intense emotions. It is natural and normal. The question I am posing today is whether there is a way we can prepare ourselves for our own death or the death of another. My answer is “yes … sort of.”

The best and only method I know of that works is the faith method. My faith journey has involved going deeper and deeper into the love of God. Whenever I think I have figured out how much God loves me – it turns out there’s more. This creates a peace so profound that panic, stress, and anxiety can’t survive very well, because God is gradually removing the negative soil of fear that these hurtful emotions grow in and is replacing it with the fertile ground of his love, which tends to produce better fruit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

In my experience, people of the Christian faith (of which I am one), on average seem to handle death and tragedy better than those whose faith is non-existent or shallow at best. And those Christians who mature farther, who draw closest to God, and closest to healthy, sincere, wise, loving believers – in other words they are practicing their faith – these are the ones who do not panic or lose control when death is imminent or a reality. My siblings and I stood beside our father’s bed for the last few hours of his life. We sang his favorite hymns and told stories of his serious and humorous moments.

Can we be prepared? The reason that I said above – “yes, sort of” – is because even if we are mature and grounded enough to deal with various difficulties in life, death events still impact our emotions deeply. Tears are normal, loss is heavy sometimes. When a death occurs it is OK to say, “I was prepared, but I wasn’t prepared.”

It has been said of the statesman Hubert Humphrey that he “taught us how to live well, and he taught us how to die well.”  To do so ourselves, we can affirm that God will be there for us in our time of need. If it is our own death, God can comfort us through it. If it is the death of another, we can receive assurance that God will hold us in our future, so that when a moment of loss comes, we don’t have to panic as if to conclude, “What am I going to do? I am lost. I can’t go on.” We may “feel” lost and unable to go on, but even though we may not want to go on past this loss, the Spirit will speak into our hearts that we can go on because of him.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

I am thankful for readers who have ventured forward in faith and who help others make it through difficulties.

But, I also want to speak to someone who realizes that you are probably just treading water in the spiritual pool, someone who realizes that you probably aren’t prepared for handling tragedy, someone who needs to let God take you on a faith journey, sort of like a rafting adventure, to get out of the pool and into the river, to get tossed about a bit, to fall overboard a couple of times and experience God lifting you back into the boat, and thus learn that he will not let you sink. It’s an adventure in faith-building. If you are this person, hold tightly to God. If you know someone who is like this, encourage them to go deeper in faith and trust.

And later, when tragedy or death comes along, we will not panic. We will trust. Sadness, yes – destroyed, no.

“…If God is for us, who is against us? … Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31 selections)

I’m living by faith, even in the worst moments!

Chaplain Mark

Today’s Word Is TRANSPARENCY

Thu-Feb-6-2020

I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” – King David (Psalm 42:9-10)

I had the great privilege during my seminary days at Emory University of attending a lecture by Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, author of the classic book, On Death and Dying. The book was based on her many years of working with patients who had terminal illnesses and introduced the concept of the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.

During her lecture she told us about an incident when she was in the hospital room of an elderly lady who was dying of cancer, and who was angry at God, expressing it quite openly. Dr. Ross listened patiently through all the complaints and emotions. When she left the woman’s room, she encountered a pastor who had been outside the door listening to what was going on.

(At this point, you need to know that Dr. Ross was born in Switzerland, was very short and thin in appearance, and spoke with a delightful European accent. But as I observed her during her lecture, I surmised that despite her small stature, she was probably pretty feisty.)

The pastor was waiting outside the door with a reprimand. “Why did you let that woman say awful things about God like that? I heard it all the way out here. She was insulting God! You should have stopped her from saying such irreverent things!”

Dr. Ross put her hands on her hips in a scolding manner, and looking up at the much taller pastor, said with a shake of her head, “I think He’s big enough to take it!” And off she marched, leaving the pastor to reconsider his theology.

What this cancer patient was being allowed to do was to practice transparency with God. Her feelings were strong. She was unhappy with her condition and ready to “let God have it!” This openness obviously helps us more than it helps him. He knows our situation and how we feel about it.

If you’re waiting for things to get better in your life before you spend some time or improve your relationship with the Lord, or if you’re afraid to talk to God because you wouldn’t have anything nice to say at the moment … well … It would probably be better just to let it out. God wants to hear all those things. It’s all part of staying on track with God. If this transparent approach to your relationship with him is a new thing for you, I understand. But if you need to shout and complain to God, I feel confident in saying that it won’t knock him off his throne!

Honesty with God helped King David to vent his feelings, as in the Scripture above. But one thing David does in many Psalms is to teach us how to come back around to God’s point of view. The next verse after the above Scripture says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:11)

I’ve heard my share of complaints from people who are suffering from trials and tribulations, including hospital patients. I want to imitate my heavenly Father and be “big enough to take it” and still care about the complainer.

Have a blessed day,

Chaplain Mark

BY THE WAY, the movie The Apostle, starring Robert Duvall as an evangelist, has some pretty good “transparency with God” scenes. (Warning, it’s a little rough in places.)