Tragedy or Triumph?

Coral Ridge Ministries

Tragedy or Triumph?

Philippians 1:21

August 21, 2023

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
— Philippians 1:21

If you knew that you were going to die today, how would you feel until the moment arrived? Death can be either the most frightening or the most delightful prospect to an individual. How a person feels about death depends totally on his or her relationship with the Lord. Consider how one man changed his perspective on facing “the king of terrors” as his relationship with Jesus Christ changed.

John Wesley was an unbeliever and a clergyman all at the same time, at least in the early part of his ministry. He knew all the facts about Christianity, but he hadn’t developed an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. During this time of unrecognized spiritual confusion, Wesley was sailing on a ship bound for England when a great storm overwhelmed the vessel, ripping its sails to shreds and threatening to destroy the masts. Wesley was terrified. As the wind howled in the darkness of that night, Wesley felt certain he’d soon face his Maker. He knew that he was getting ready to leap into the darkness of death, and he didn’t know where he would land.

Suddenly, over the howling of the winds, Wesley heard the sound of singing. He looked to see where it came from, and he saw three men holding onto the other side of the ship, singing praises to God. Wesley staggered over to these men and shouted against the wind, “How can you sing? You are going to die this very hour!” To his astonishment they replied, “If the ship goes down, then we go up to meet the Lord!”

“How can they know that?” thought Wesley. Only later, in London, would he discover their secret—the secret of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

Dying means totally different things to the saved and the unsaved. At death, the unbeliever is ripped from the arms of the world and cast into the fires of Hell. But the Christian leaves this world to rest eternally in the everlasting arms of Jesus, who has made our entrance into Heaven possible by His death.

What’s your attitude toward death? If you feel fear, you needn’t. You can trust your life to Jesus Christ, accepting His free gift of grace, your passage to Heaven when this life ends. And as you receive that gift, you can experience the joyful anticipation of an even greater life to come when this life ceases.

QUOTE:
“The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!”
— John Wesley’s Dying Words

Living Thankfully

August 31, 2023

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” — Colossians 2:6–7 A secular author was researching the subject of gratitude. As he did, he examined two large dictionaries of modern psychology and could find no mention of the terms “gratitude,” “thankfulness,” or “giving of thanks.” He then scanned the card catalog of a large university library containing hundreds of thousands of volumes. Through his search, he found not one single card giving any reference to the terms “gratitude” or “thankfulness.” Indeed, as one humorist put it, “If you’re looking for gratitude, you’d better look in the dictionary. That’s the only place you’re going to find it.” If someone looked into your heart today, would that person find thankfulness and gratitude? Someone once said that thankfulness is the least of the virtues and ingratitude the worst of the vices. We consider gratitude an easy virtue to attain, yet so few people distinguish themselves by their thankfulness. Meanwhile, in the first chapter of Romans, Paul, in cataloging the descent of humankind into the mire of depravity, begins by saying that “although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” (Romans 1:21, emphasis mine). He then describes humanity’s fall into all sorts of base immorality. The slide from godliness into wickedness begins with ingratitude. Shakespeare once said, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” But the Bible repeatedly calls upon us to remember our blessings and express gratitude. It says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). What blessings can you thank God for today? Beginning now, cultivate a grateful heart. Make it a regular practice to thank the Lord for who He is and for all He has done for you. “As a rule, a man’s a fool. When it’s hot, he wants it cool. When it’s cool, he wants it hot. Always wanting what is not.” — Anonymous

To Rear a Child

August 30, 2023

“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept. Line upon line, line upon line, here a little there a little.” — Isaiah 28:9-10 If you’re a parent or hope to be one someday, then you’ve probably already considered how you’ll raise your children. Allow me, if you would, to put my oar in the water and give you a few thoughts about godly parenting. When we first look at our newborn children, we are full of hopes and dreams for them and their future. To guide our children toward reaching their potential, we can rely on promises and principles from God’s Word. Biblical parenting boils down to two main things: We must train our children in God’s Word and discipline them according to God’s principles. “Training our children” means teaching them line by line, precept by precept, a little bit here, a little bit there about the things of God. A father must fulfill his role as spiritual head of his household, teaching his family the things of God: “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). This includes teaching the Ten Commandments, the gospel of Christ, the importance of memorizing Scripture, and how to pray. And because our lives speak louder than our words, we must teach by both precept and example. Disciplining our children must be done in love, not anger. We shouldn’t raise our voices. We should listen to our children and refrain from disciplining them until we hear all the facts. We should set explicit and reasonable boundaries, enforce them consistently, and make it clear that Mom and Dad will always have the final say. We should encourage good behavior by offering positive rewards. A father once paid his son to read certain books and write book reports on them. When in college, the son often expressed gratitude to his father, because his knowledge of those books put him far ahead of his classmates. This father’s initiative helped the son reach his potential. Parenting is tough but worth every effort we make. As we train our children in God’s ways, we can feel confident that our children will reach their full, God-given potential. Today, pray for your children. Ask God to help them grow in Him. And ask Him to give you the wisdom you need to train them in the way they should go. “You cannot change your ancestors, but you can do something about your descendants.” — Anonymous

Hope

August 29, 2023

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope …” — 1 Peter 1:3 What’s your outlook on the future? Do you view the future with hope for great things or with despair? Two thousand years ago, Cicero said, “Where there is life, there is hope.” These words ring true to a certain extent. When we struggle against all sorts of odds, even if we face imminent death, as long as we have life, we have hope. However, for many people, the following statement seems more relevant: Where there is not hope, there is not life—nothing but darkness, despair, and death. When we lose hope, we lose all of our joy. Just imagine facing any one of many difficult trials—betrayal, loss of a job, death of a loved one—without having any hope. Without hope, we have no foundation to stand on when the going gets rough. We also lose the meaning of life when hope slips away. When we have no hope, nothing has purpose. Under these conditions, the everyday struggles of life become burdens too heavy to bear and too difficult to endure. But we need not lose hope. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have great hope for our future. We don’t just hope for something that is to come; we find our hope in something that has already taken place. The Resurrection, a documented fact in history, is a solid, unmovable rock, and everyone who hopes in it has great joy. Christ has vanquished death and Hell. We have the hope of going to Heaven to spend eternity with Him. And even in this life, Christ has promised never to forsake us. Christ gives us hope. If you’re feeling a little low on hope today, ask Jesus to give you some. Remember that He has secured your future, and in that truth you can have great hope for today and every day. QUOTE: “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.” — Martin Luther