How To Live So You Can Die
Robert A. Glass
Life is a unique thing, we never usually think about life until someone dies or is about to die. Truly, how a person lives IS important, but how someone dies is MORE IMPORTANT.
(Genesis 2:7) “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” We are not just alive; we have the BREATH OF LIFE! This gift is given to a baby when it is born. Every single day of our lives, from day ONE is a gift of God. If we have a TOMORROW, it TOO will be a gift of God.
Having the blessing of life requires the obligation of living forthrightly for God. We do INDEED have life, But ONLY for this MOMENT. This MOMENT will NOT last forever. (Hebrews 9:27) “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Two things are apparent in this verse. ONE, we will die and TWO, There will be a judgment.
So, keeping this in mind, HOW should we LIVE so we can DIE? No one WANTS to die, but HOW should we LIVE? It would seem simple to follow God. (Jeremiah 10:23) “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”
Scientists have PROVEN that a man, unaided by physical cues for geographic location, will THINK he is walking in a straight line, when in REALITY; he is walking in a circle. We cannot direct our own steps!
Our First STEP: Is to study. You can’t know Math, English or God we you don’t study. Paul proved this point when he wrote to the young preacher Timothy. (2 Timothy 2:15) “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We study so we can learn about God. We study so we can be APPROVED by God as a WORKMAN. A workman is a man who works in a chosen field. OUR BEST OCCUPATION is Christian! If not, Why Not? Only LIVING as a Christian can allow us to DIE as a Christian. Would you want to die any other WAY except CHRISTIAN?
When we STUDY, we build Faith. Paul wrote in (Romans 10:17) “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” We can ALSO “hear” by reading and STUDY! (Acts 17:11) “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (1 Peter 2:2) “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (James 1:21) “Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Each one of us has an appointment with death. For some that appointment may be sooner than for others. I myself, through Operation Teddybear, have been to more than 200 funerals for children from age Birth to age 10. That said; No one can know WHEN we will die. Dr’s are good, but NOT that good.
Children die young and seniors die AGED. Every one of us is somewhere between birth and our own appointed day. Some folks live to 110 or MORE. BUT! (Psalms 90:10) “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. So, 70-80 is out HOPE! But our life is soon cut off and then we fly AWAY. I have a STEAM coffeepot; I have often watched the steam as the coffee percolated in the pot. STEAM doesn’t last LONG! (James 4:14) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. A vapour is a steam. It like us, will not last forever.
Our SECOND part: Is to Pray. Pray in the morning. Pray in the evening. If you get a RED LIGHT in the car, PRAY. When you eat, Pray! If the Dr tells YOU that you have cancer, pray double time! But pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Be in a prayerful mind. When we pray, GOD Listens and effectual fervent prayer avails MUCH! (James 5:16) When we fail to pray, nothing happens. (Matthew 7:7) “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” What will you receive, what will be opened if you don’t ask? How many blessings are stranded in Heaven because we NEVER pray for them?
Our THIRD part: Is to be at every service. I remember when the question was NOT “are” you going to church. It was YOU ARE going to church. (Hebrews 10:25) “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” (Joshua 24:15) “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
(Numbers 23:10) “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! No one can number the descendents of Jacob, BUT a plea was made for HOW TO DIE. (Let me die the death of the righteous) The death of the righteous meets us in the 23rd Psalm, “Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear NO evil.” Does the death of unrighteousness give such comfort? NOT LIKELY! I’ll end with what Paul wrote to the church in Ephesians 6:10-18.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints,
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Has this gospel made an influence on your life? Are you dying to live or living to die? The wide road leads to destruction, The narrow road leads HOME. Which road are you on?
Do you believe that Jesus is the only Begotten Son of God? John 8:24 “For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
Are you willing to repent of your past sins? Jesus said, “Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Unless we repent, we perish. That is the consequence of SIN.
Are you willing to Confess that Jesus is the ONLY begotten Son of God? Jesus said in Matt10:32 “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. (33) But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Are YOU willing to be baptized for the remission of sin, in the Name of the Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost?
If by chance you are a member of the Church, and you’ve let your faith slip. You’re not the Christian, God wants you to be. Now is the time to act. (Jas 5:16) Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another. No condemnation, just a prayer to God, on your behalf, for forgiveness of sins.
(2 Corinthians 6:2) Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
To die right, you have to LIVE right. Let today be the day you begin to live FOR the Lord, so you can DIE in the Lord.
The lesson is yours, The Invitation Is yours. COME NOW!
