| Author | Message | ||
| Patti |
This situation is purely hypothetical, let me reassure you. But I cannot help wondering what our message would/should be to someone who has only 2 minutes to live? What would you say to someone who is dying in your arms? | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Patti, You might sing, "Jesus loves you! This you know, for the Bible tells you so; Little ones to Him belong, you are weak but He is strong. Jesus loves you! He who died, Heaven's gate to open wide; He will wash away your sin, Let His little child come in. Jesus loves you! He will stay, Close beside you all the way; He hast bled and died for you, You will hence-forth live for Him. Yes, Jesus loves you! Yes, Jesus loves you! Yes, Jesus loves you! The Bible tells you so:-)" Slightly personalized by me Pointing to Jesus........Maryann | ||
| Max |
Jesus would say, "Verily, verily I say unto you, Today you will be with me in paradise!" | ||
| Denisegilmore |
Actually, I held my Grandmother (she raised me) in my arms while she died. I wasn't what you would call converted at the time but I told her that to not be frightened because where she's going is sooo beautiful that she will be amazed. Especially when she sees our Lord Jesus Christ, who died just for her so that she could live eternally with Him. I went on to tell her, through my tears that Jesus Loves her so much and is waiting with open arms. He loves her. Then she sat up and with a look of a little child in awe, was pointing at the beautiful angels that were in the room waiting to take her home. She breathed her last and I cried. God Bless, (I cry as I write this) Denise | ||
| Allenette |
I was in the presence of an elderly Englishman who said thus, "well, I'm off." Diff strokes for diff folks. | ||
| Max |
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the following about his own approaching death. Crossing the Bar (1889) Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound or foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell; When I embark; For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar. | ||
| Cindy |
Morning Max... Your post above with the words, "I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar" reminds me of the words of Job: "I KNOW THAT MY REDEMEER LIVES, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. and after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I WILL SEE GOD; I MYSELF WILL SEE HIM WITH MY OWN EYES--I, AND NOT ANOTHER. HOW MY HEART YEARNS WITHIN ME!" (Job19-25-27) I try to live in the reality of the Kingdom of God right now, Max. But I must say I am homesick for heaven where there will be no more good-byes... or pain! I can't remember who it was (Chesterton?) who wrote that "we are Homesick for a GARDEN we've never seen..." Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Max |
Thank you, Cindy. Your sentiments remind me of this: --------------------------------------------------------------- DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, and learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. --Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) | ||
| Max |
And also this one: LITTLE BOY BLUE By Eugene Field The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands; And the little toy soldier is red with rust, And his musket moulds in his hands. Time was when the little toy dog was new, And the soldier was passing fair; And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue Kissed them and put them there. "Now, don't you go till I come," he said, "And don't you make any noise!" So, toddling off to his trundle bed, He dreamt of the pretty toys; And, as he was dreaming, an angels song Awakened our Little Boy Blue -- Oh! the years are many, the years are long, But the little toy friends are true! Aye, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand, Each in the same old place -- Awaiting the touch of a little hand, The smile of a little face; And they wonder, as waiting the long years through In the dust of that little chair, What has become of our Little Boy Blue, since he kissed them and put them there. | ||
| Cindy |
Max, Thanks for posting those... I came over to the library during my lunch hour and thoroughly enjoyed reading that poetry. I have copied the Dylan Thomas one before and have it stuck in my book of favorite Scripture, quotes, poems, songs, etc... I know you have often signed off with part of it in referring to Adventism. It is very good. The Eugene Field one, too. I hadn't read that one before. They both bring up so many emotions, thoughts, yearnings, and memories, don't they? Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Patti |
My point for starting this thread: Life is so fragile and so uncertain. We never know if we or our loved ones or acquaintances may have reached the "two minutes to live" mark. Why should our message to others be anything besides that which is unto salvation: that the doing and dying of Jesus Christ are totally sufficient for our (or your or her or his) salvation? | ||
| Max |
NIV 1 Corinthians 15:53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. | ||
| Max |
NIV Mark 5:21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" 31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, `Who touched me?'" 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." [Why did Jesus waste time healing the woman with the flow of blood when Jairus' daughter lay dying? Wasn't that terribly crass of Jesus? Couldn't he have gone to the little girl and healed the DYING one first? And THEN he would have had time to come back to tend the sick woman who was obviously not dying? For while he was "wasting" time with the woman with a bleeding history of twelve hears, the little girl died. Giant miscalculatoin on Jesus' part? Read on!] 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" 36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." 40 But they laughed at him. [Now Jesus is in DEEP trouble in that lake-side village, especially since the girl was the daughter of one of the synagogue rulers. But read on!] After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. Is it only coincidence that she was the same age as the flow-of-blood illness? The point: Our God is SOVEREIGN! He KNOWS what he's doing. ALL the time. Max of the Cross | ||
| Allenette |
....then there are those amongst us who must pontificate until their last breath gggg | ||
| Max |
You or me or both of us? | ||
| Cindy |
Max, I've often thought about the story of the bleeding woman and the dying girl and the mention of the years involved!! The woman started bleeding when the girl was born... And the bleeding continued for the twelve years as the girl grew up. Their stories and lives coincide on the same day with healing for BOTH of them from the Great Physician! JESUS' control of the whole situation is inspiring; His timing so different than ours. And He is the absolute LORD over Life, and/or Death! I often think of the words from the Francis Thompson poem where he writes: "clinging Heaven by the hems..." Sometimes I have felt that is all I can barely do...but I realize, that is Enough! As it says later in Mark 6:56: "And wherever He went--into villages, towns or countryside--they placed the sick in the marketplaces. THEY BEGGED HIM TO LET THEM TOUCH EVEN THE EDGE OF HIS CLOAK, and ALL WHO TOUCHED HIM WERE HEALED". Grace always, Cindy | ||
| Allenette |
....LOLOL prob both of us brutha ggggg Live long and prosper....;-) | ||
| Max |
Spock! | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Patti, The song: Jesus loves me this I know....Jesus loves me He who died....He will wash away my sin....Close beside me all the way....Thou hast bled and died for me, I will hence-forth live for Thee....The Bible tells me so; Is one of the most profound gospel sermons ever preached?! What a wonderful and complete sermon to sing to someone in the last 2 minutes of their life?! I apologize for not answering your questions yet. I spent 2 hours the other day looking for it! Unless you tell me where it was, I will have to wait for the keyword search to be fixed to find it! Maryann | ||
| Max |
What if it were our sovereign Lord's will that the person who had reached the "two minutes to live" mark be resurrected from the dead as was the case with the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus? | ||
| Max |
Jesus told the dying 12-year-old NOTHING! | ||
| Patti |
Max, I have no idea what your point is here. We are not Jesus. We are not the Resurrection and the Life. Our duty is to proclaim Jesus, to the living and the dying. Because in Him alone is life. | ||
| Max |
NIV Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority ... with the following instructions: ....preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead.... | ||
| Maryann |
Hi All, I got to thinking again;-) For me that is dangerous;-) Actually, I was reading a neat story and came up with a fictional story of my own. So here goes: Upon arriving at an open air tent campmeeting one cold fall evening, Janie and her husband John who was that night's preacher, came upon a man slumped near the entrance near death. He was obviously homeless, hungry, cold and near death. He had no hat, his shoes had barely enough leather left in them to stay on his sockless feet. His coat was full of holes and worn very thin. Janie and John stopped and talked a minute to each other about the probability of this unfortunate man's soul being doomed. With this in mind, they decided to feed this man the gospel by setting him up on the front row and then take him to their cottage after the meeting to take care of his physical needs. Sitting beside Janie, the homeless man moaned his last dying breath, "Jesus, Jesus? Who is this Jesus? I need a warm coat, socks, shoes, hat, warm fire, hot cup of a tea and most of all a loving hand on my shoulder from a human that cared for me." Upward and onward.....Maryann | ||
| Max |
SCRIPTURE SUPPORTS MARYANN'S STORY NIV Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 "He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment...." | ||
| Cindy |
Maryann and Max, Good Morning! Looks like these people in Jesus' story were so SELF-centered they could not, and would not, treat others as equal recepients of God's grace. And when the Lord told them they had not helped HIM, they were oblivious to the fact that by loving other HUMANS, they were showing their love for the LORD! I think it was Mother Teresa who said when asked about her helping the outcasts and very poor of India; something to the effect of seeing these people as "JESUS in disguise".... But what is Jesus telling us in this story? That we must feed the poor, clothe the hungry, visit the prisoners, etc. to have eternal life? I think some could view it this way... Instead, the ones to whom the King says, "come, you who are blessed by my Father;" are the ones who are "blessed"!--the ones who have believed on JESUS' PERFECT TREATING OF OTHERS--the only condition of eternal life! Only Christ is able to really fulfill the needs of the hungry and thirsty, clothe the naked, take in the stranger, heal the sick, and free the prisoner! As Christ's "grace ambassador's" :-)) we only scratch the surface in helping with their physical needs. Yes, we humbly try and help others'physical needs, yet always pointing them to their real lasting and spiritual help, the True Bread of Heaven. Living in this reality, those who rest in Christ's perfection alone know the equality and preciousness of each human being, and so live IN Grace somewhat unconsciously (WHEN did we see You in need, Lord?) and with the right motives of helping others; not to gain salvation, but because they possess it already as a child of the King! Grace always, Cindy |
