Day 248, or September the 5th. Real Security.
Our thoughts today come from Hosea chapter 13 verse 14.
I will deliver this people from the power of the grave.
I will redeem them from death.
Where O death are your plagues?
Where O grave is your destruction?
Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
Hosea's messages come to a close as he tells the people of their God's plans for restoration.
Despite their failure, God has remained faithful.
The people continue to sin, but God continues to save.
And now today's action step.
I remember a preacher being introduced at a conference and the fact that his wife had
recently died was mentioned.
The chairman said, We are so sorry to hear that you have lost your wife.
His response brought gentle laughter from the congregation.
Oh, I haven't lost her.
I know exactly where she is.
Exactly.
Death is inevitable for all of us, unless Christ returns while we are still alive.
However, whichever way it works out, we are secure when we are in Jesus Christ.
Our Western society doesn't like talking about death, because it reminds them of their
own mortality.
In ancient Egypt, the first job of a new pharaoh was to plan his own burial, and sadly, even
with such forward planning, there wasn't enough time to complete all that had to be
done for the funeral of Tutankhamun.
In our civilized society, we refer to people slipping away, not being with us anymore,
gone to the big whatever in the sky, etc., etc.
We say anything rather than the dreaded D word.
Hosea tells the people that God has power over death.
Jesus proved he had by bringing people back from the dead and then, in final victory,
coming back from the dead himself.
Few of us want to die, because we don't want to leave our loved ones.
But what a privilege to be certain of being with God after we die.
Significantly, this security is free, and only has to be genuinely requested.
Today may be a great time to listen to Day 21 again, to be certain.