What He Did Best

By David A. Sargent

    Adam Kemp wrote: “Rodney Carroll always wore the right hat in the right situation.”
    Rodney lost his hair at an early age, so he was always wearing a hat.  He wore a Red Sox hat during baseball season, an “Indian Jones” style hat during Bible camp, and a flat cap for everyday wear.
    The expression – “he wore many hats” – also describes Rodney in that he not only served as the minister for Ninnekah Church of Christ in Chickasha, OK, but also as a counselor and patriarch for the Chickasha community.
    It was while he was wearing one of those “hats” that Rodney lost his life....
    He was returning from picking up his wife, Diana, at the Oklahoma City airport when the car in front of them lost traction on an icy road near Chickasha and struck a barrier.  Immediately, Rodney, age 61, put on his characteristic “helping others hat” and jumped out of his SUV to try to help the hurt couple in the car.  “That’s when a school bus behind them also lost control on the ice, striking Rod and killing him,” reports Kemp.
    The 26 church pews inside the small sheet metal building that houses the Ninnekah Church of Christ were filled to capacity on the day of Rodney’s funeral.  Memories were shared and appreciation was given concerning the life of their friend, mentor, and counselor.
    “We lost the best man we’ve ever known,” said his wife, Diana. “He left this world doing what he did best and that was helping others.”
    Rodney’s life and even the circumstances of his death reflect the life and death of the One concerning whom Rodney preached.
    You and I have wrecked OUR lives due to our sin....  But Jesus came to our rescue!  In order to save us, however, He had to give His life for us.  Only the precious blood of Jesus, God’s Perfect Son, could pay the price for our redemption (1 Peter 1:18-19).  Jesus, who lived His life seeking to help and to save others, willingly laid down His life (John 10:17-18) so that we might have forgiveness of our sins and receive the gift of eternal life (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 6:23).
    God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His word (1 John 1:7).
    Jesus lived and He died “doing what He did best"... and that was helping – and saving – others.”
    Won’t YOU accept His offer of salvation on His terms?

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

* Information gleaned from “Chickasha minister wore many hats for his community” by Adam Kemp in The Oklahoman (3/9/14) and “Oklahoma minister — who died while helping others — remembered for reaching souls, changing lives” by Erik Tryggestad in The Christian Chronicle (3/10/14).  See www.christianchronicle.org

A Man of Peace and Purity

Larimore lived in such an atmosphere of purity and goodness that he had no fear whatsoever of death . From a western city in the midst of a revival, with the burden of labor and cares heavy on his heart, he wrote to F. D. Srygley: "Some sweet day I'll breathe my last. When you tell the world I am gone, please tell them I was ready, wiling and anxious to go; that I dreaded not death"

Source:
The Man From Mars Hill The Life and Times of T. B. Larimore, by J. M. Powell, p. 97.

Goodbye

     Jason Tuskes was a seventeen-year-old high school honor student who was close to his mother, his wheelchair-bound father, and his younger brother ...
     He was an expert swimmer who loved to scuba dive. Jason left home on a Tuesday morning to explore a spring and underwater cave near his home in west central Florida. His plan was to be home in time to celebrate his mother's birthday by going out to dinner with his family that night. Jason became lost in the cave. Then, in his panic, he apparently got wedged into a narrow passageway. When he realized he was trapped, he shed his yellow metal air tank and unsheathed his diver's knife. With the tank as a tablet and the knife as a pen, he wrote one last message to this family: "I love you Mom, Dad, and Christian." Then he ran out of air and drowned.
     Thought: A dying message is something that simply cannot be ignored. What consumed the Lord's thinking during His final hours? If we listen closely to His prayer shortly before He entered Gethsemane, we get a glimpse into His heat (John 17:20-21).

Source:
KneEmail, edited by Mike Benson, date unknown.

Medical Test Results

    Maybe you heard about the man who went to his doctor for a checkup. He came back the next day to get the results from the tests.
    "Doc, how do I look?"
    The doctor said, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
    The man said, "Let me hear the good news first."
    The doctor said, "Well, the good news is, you have twenty-four hours to live."
    "Oh no! That's the good news?" the man gasped. "I've got twenty-four hours to live? Then, what' the bad news?"
    The doctor replied, "The bad news is I was supposed to tell you yesterday."

Source:
Unknown

Outlive Yourself

By Steve Higginbotham

     My wife and I just returned from a visit to Mt. Airy, NC, the home of Andy Griffith. Since we’re fans of the Andy Griffith show, we thought it would be fun to go to Mt. Airy, Andy’s real-life home town, and the model town for the fictional town of Mayberry. We went through the Andy Griffith Museum, took a few pictures, and headed home. Within hours, we learned that Andy Griffith had passed away. 
Since hearing the news of his passing, I listened to an interview he gave a couple years ago. The interviewer asked him if he could remember all the episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. Surprisingly to me, he said, “no.” Oh, he remembered many of them, had some favorites, but just didn’t remember all of them. I found that amazing because there are thousands of people across the country who remember every episode, can tell you what’s going to happen next, and even quote lines. But Andy, himself, couldn’t. 
     That caused me to reflect on how our influence can long outlive our lives. Some of the episodes that Andy Griffith actually participated in were not remembered by him, but thousands of people who simply “looked on” remember every detail. What that tells me is that I had better be cautious about my words, attitudes, and actions. What I might say or do today, and forget about tomorrow, may never be forgotten by an “onlooker,” even long after I am dead and gone. 
     The passing of Andy Griffith reminded of a truth spoken by the apostle Paul, “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself” (Romans 14:7). Make sure that the influence you have on others is the kind that you want to outlive you. 

Source:
- Steve Higginbotham preaches for the Karns Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at http://www.karnschurch.org

The Brevity of Life

    The court jester was overcome with grief. His world was at an end!
    For a long time he had served the Caliph at Baghdad and his court, keeping them amused whenever they called upon him. But in a moment of thoughtlessness he had displeased his ruler who had ordered that he be put to death.
    "However," said the Caliph, "in consideration o the merry jests you've told me all these years, I will let you choose ho you are to die."
    "O most generous Caliph," replied the jester, "if it's all the same to you, I choose death by old age."

Source:
Unknown.

Funeral

Charles Bancroft Dillingham, theatrical manager and producer, while carrying the coffin of Harry Houdini, said, "I bet you a hundred bucks he ain't in here."

Source:
Firm Foundation, Feb. 2002.

It Is Appointed

The French Riviera town of Le Lavandou has banned death. Anyone who doesn't have a reserved burial plot is now forbidden from dying within the city limits.

Source:
Firm Foundation (date unknown)

The Miser

    There was a man who had worked all of his life and had saved all of his money?  He loved money more than just about anything, and just before he died, he said to his wife, "Now listen, when I die, I want you to take all my money and place it in the casket with me. I want to take my money to the afterlife." And so he made his wife to promise him with all her heart that when he died, she would put all the money in the casket with him. 
     As it does for all of us, the day came when he died. He was stretched out in the casket, the wife was sitting there in black with one of her friends sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said "Wait just a minute!" she had a shoe box with her, she came over with the box and placed it in the casket. 
     Her friend said, "Girl I know you weren't fool enough to put all that money in the casket." "Listen," she said, "a promise is a promise, and I can't go back on my word. I promised him that I was going to put that money in that casket with him, and I did." 
     "You mean to tell me you put all of his money in the casket with him?" 
     "I sure did, " said the wife. "I got it all together, put it into my account and I wrote him a check." 

Source:
Footprints in Time, Thomas E. Broadbent, editor, October 2004, p. 4.

Safe Rooms for the Rich

    For anywhere from $25,000 to a couple of million dollars you can have your very own safe room strong enough to withstand an attack by a small rocket or a big storm.
    The rooms can be bare, safe-like structures designed for one person, or large, living room-sized shelters lavishly equipped with all sorts of amenities, depending on how much you want to spend.
    Built of concrete and steel, some come with wired and wireless communication systems, a variety of alarms and even closed circuit TV monitors which scan the areas outside the rooms, according to theInternational Herald Tribune.
    Because of their cost, only the very rich are likely to buy safe rooms. And safe rooms are anything but status symbols. owners don't brag about them or show them to their friends - for security reasons, having one is a very hush-hush matter. "Thus, a casual guest, or even a good friend, would probably never know that behind that built-in bookcase or bedroom mirror lies a bulletproof cell" (NewsMax, Apr. 26, 2002).
    The "safe room," parenthetical, does not protect form the grim reaper, for "it is appointed unto man once to die" and it does not protect form the lake that burns with fire and brimstone in which all will be case who do not have their names written in the book of life. The only "safe room" is at the foot of the cross. It is nice to be rich, but silver and gold cannot bur a tome in heaven.

Source:
Firm Foundation, July 2002, 29-30.

What Do You Want to Hear?

    Three friends die in a car crash, and they find themselves at the Gates of Heaven. Before entering, they are each asked a question by St. Peter himself. "When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"
     The first guy says, "I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor and a great family man."
     The second guy says, "I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a huge difference in our children."
     The last guy replies, "I would like to hear them say ... "LOOK!!! HE'S MOVING!!!"

Source:
Unknown

Just in Case

If I knew that tomorrow there would be no dawn on earth for me;
    That I should have gone in the dark of night into eternity,
I should do so many things for those I love.
    But, oh, I should be happy too, with those above!

So - just in case I might be viewing morning in celestial skies,
    Lord, bring me those who need my love today.
For otherwise the night may close a door on words I meant to say.
    And morning find my empty house - with me away.

Source:
Source:
The Sower, Sharpe Church of Christ, Benton, KY, November 5, 2000.

Undivided in Death

    E'en for the dead I will not bind my soul to grief,
    Death cannot long divide.
    For is it not as though the rose that climbed my garden wall
    Has blossomed on the other side?
    Death doth hide,
    But not divide;
    Thou art but on Christ's other side!
    Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me;
    In Christ united still are we.

Source:
Streams in the Desert, by Mrs. Charles Cowman

Up From the Grave

     In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs
of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. 
     It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her.  On the marker were inscribed these words:    
     "This burial place must NEVER be opened."
     In time, a seed, covered over by the stones, began to grow.  Slowly it pushed its way through the soil and out from beneath them.  As the trunk enlarged, the great slabs were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps were wrenched from their sockets... 
     A tiny seed had become a tree that had pushed aside the stones.
     The dynamic life force contained in that little seed is a faint reflection of the tremendous power of God's creative word that someday will call to life the bodies of ALL who are in their graves.  Jesus said, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29).
     The Divine Guarantee of our OWN resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.        “But now Christ IS risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits [i.e., the first of many to follow] of those who have fallen asleep [died]. 
     For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Jesus] also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21).
      The resurrection of Jesus Christ is an integral part of the Gospel (“Good News”) of salvation through Christ (READ 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).  The GOOD NEWS is that the righteousness of God is imputed to (or credited to the account) “those of us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised for our justification” (Romans 3:24-25).
     Unbelief CANNOT deter the resurrection. But faith in and obedience to the risen Christ opens the door to blessings that His resurrection guarantees -- a glorious new spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:35-58) AND a home in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-5).
     Robert Lowry proclaimed the power of Jesus’ resurrection in the lyrics of the song,
“Up From the Grave He Arose”: “Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes....”
     And because of Jesus, WE can share in His victory over sin and death!
     Won’t YOU, out of an obedient faith (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance
(2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and be buried with Him in baptism so that you can be raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4)?

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

Death Is Checking Out of a Temporary Hotel

The Roman Cicero, who lived before Christ, was a very respected orator and politician. Without the insight of Christ's revelation, he said something very important concerning life and death: "I am sure that my friends who died before me did not cease to live. In reality, only their present state can be called life. I believe this because I am duty bound to do so by my logic and because of my respect for the greatest philosopher of the past. I consider this world as a place which was never meant to be our abode forever. I never considered my departure form this world as being chased out of my permanent residence, but rather as a checking out from a temporary abode such as a hotel or an ill."

Source:
Pulpit Helps, date unknown.

You Are Dead

By David A. Sargent

     Donald Miller Jr. was declared legally dead in 1994.  He had vanished from his home eight years earlier.  Miller, 61, told Hancock County Probate Court Judge Allan Davis, that he disappeared in the 1980s because he had lost his job and he was an alcoholic. His ex-wife claims that he vanished because he owed $26,000 in overdue child support payments.  Miller lived in Florida and Georgia before returning to Ohio around 2005.

     He said his parents told him about his "death" when he came back to the state.

     Miller went to court this week to ask the Probate Judge to reverse the 1994 ruling that declared him legally dead.  He wants to obtain a driver’s license and reinstate his Social Security number.

     But Judge Davis, admitting that this is a “strange, strange situation,” turned down his request, citing a three-year limit for changing a death ruling. "I don't know where that leaves you, but you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned," the judge said. *

Consider...

     Because of our sins, YOU and I are dead!  The Apostle Paul diagnosed the condition of those in Ephesus before God saved them:  “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:1-2).

     Even so, WE are dead in our transgressions and sins – separated from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), under the condemnation of death (Romans 6:23), and completely unable to resurrect ourselves!

     Despite our sins, however, God loves us and has provided the Way for us to have eternal life.

     To those who were dead in their transgressions and sins, the Apostle Paul wrote: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us ALIVE with Christ even when we were DEAD in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).

     Because of His great love for us, God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

     He suffered the “death penalty,” so that you and I can have eternal life!   “He died for us so that... we may live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:10).

     God has promised to raise those who are dead in their transgressions and sins when they place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).

     The Apostle Paul explained to Christians in Rome how God had raised them up:

“Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

     We are dead in our transgressions and sins but God provides eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son.

     Won’t YOU submit to the Savior so that He can give you new life?

* Information from: The Findlay (OH) Courier, http://www.thecourier.com

- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

The Last Day of Your Life

By Alan Smith

   The following quotes are reported to come from an actual newspaper contest where entrants ages 4 to 15 were asked to imitate "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey":
      Give me the strength to change the things I can, the grace to accept the things I cannot, and a great big bag of money. --Age 13
      It sure would be nice if we got a day off for the president's birthday, like they do for the queen's. Of course, then we would have a lot of people voting for a candidate born on July 3 or December 26, just for the long weekends. --Age 8
      Democracy is a beautiful thing, except for that part about letting just any old yokel vote. --Age 10
      For centuries, people thought the moon was made of green cheese. Then the astronauts found that the moon is really a big hard rock. That's what happens to cheese when you leave it out. --Age 6
      As you make your way through this hectic world of ours, set aside a few minutes each day. At the end of the year, you'll have a couple of days saved up. --Age 7
      Often, when I am reading a good book, I stop and thank my teacher. That is, I used to, until she got an unlisted number. --Age 15
      The only stupid question is the one that is never asked, except maybe "Don't you think it is about time you audited my return?" or "Isn't it morally wrong to give me a warning when, in fact, I was speeding?" --Age 15
      If we could just get everyone to close their eyes and visualize world peace for an hour, imagine how serene and quiet it would be until the looting started. --Age 15
      I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life? --Age 15

   Who can argue with that last statement? But it raises an interesting question. If you knew (with full certainty) that this would be your last day on this earth, how would you live it? Would you spend the day in Bible study and prayer? Talking with people about Christ? Relaxing with your family? Or would you spend it washing clothes, cleaning the house, going to work and doing all the "mundane" things that you do every day?
   We are told to "watch" at all times, knowing that the second coming of Christ will be as unexpected as a "thief in the night" (I Thess 5:1-6). It could be within the next few hours! And since none of us are promised a certain number of years, this may well be our last day of life on this earth. So how should that affect the way we live?
   If we really believed that, it would cause us to rearrange our priorities. It would cause us to ask ourselves, "Is what I am doing important from an eternal viewpoint?" Mundane tasks such as washing our clothes remain necessary, but we all find ourselves spending much of our time doing things that seem to be important at the moment (from an earthly perspective), but which have no eternal significance.
   "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober......For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." (1 Thess. 5:6,9-11)

Source:
http://www.tftd-online.com/content.asp?CID=14479

The Dog and the Rabbit

By Gary Payne

    Once upon a time there was a family who owned a beautiful German Shepherd. It was a good dog, except for one thing -- it always gave the neighbor's pet rabbit the evil eye.
    Then, one day the inevitable happened. Looking across the fence they say their dog with its teeth clamped around the lifeless body of their bunny, shaking it back and forth for all its' worth.
    It just so happened that the neighbors were gone for vacation. So, the owners of the German Shepherd devised a plan. They took the rabbit and gave it a bath. They washed all the blood and dirt of its white coat. For the finishing touch they blow-dried its fur. Then, they stuck it back in the cage.
    The next day the rabbit's owner and dog's owner  were out in their yards. The rabbit's owner said to the other, "You know, the strangest thing happened to our rabbit." "Oh?" came the reply. "Yeah. Our rabbit died before we left. We buried him. And for the life of us we can't figure out how he got back in his cage."
    We are taught to make every effort to add the grace of virtue. [II Peter 1:5]. Virtue means moral courage. It involves honesty and integrity, especially when it would be easier to tell a white lie or make excuses.
    The Christian life demands such character. God is seeking to build better people out of us. Wouldn't be great if everyone had such character?

Source:
Meadowbrook Church of Christ, Anderson, IN, Feb. 24, 1991.

Saving Your Life

By David A. Sargent

     Kathleen Murphy claims that golf saved her life....
     Here’s her story in her own words:  “Six years ago, when I was 58, I was playing in the Tuesday-morning women's league at Exmoor Country Club just south of Lake Forest, Ill. … On the long par-4 16th we all hit our drives to the same area in the fairway. I was first to hit. I smacked my dependable 3-wood pin-high but 15 yards right of the green, and the ball disappeared as it settled into the rough. Anticipating that looking for my ball might delay play, I sidestepped to the rough and began walking forward to get a head start. The group's next shot, struck by Lois Burns (with whom I was playing for the first time), was a shanked 3-wood that flew sideways and hit me directly in the back of the head. I can still remember how the sound exploded in my ears.”
     Immediately Murphy’s teammates loaded her into the golf cart and carried her to the Emergency Room at the nearby Highland Park Hospital.  A CAT scan and an MRI confirmed that her skull was not fractured, but the doctor began asking Murphy some questions: “Have you been experiencing headaches, bouts of dizziness, etc.”  Murphy said no.
     The doctor was asking her these questions because the scans had revealed an apple-sized tumor that occupied nearly the entire right side of her brain.  The doctors estimated that the tumor had been growing there for perhaps 15 years.  More tests revealed related problems and immediate threats to her health, so surgery was performed.
     Murphy reports: “The surgery and my recovery were successful. Six weeks later I walked down the aisle [at her son’s wedding], my hair styled ably to hide the scar, and was followed by a glowing bride.” *
     Kathleen Murphy claims that golf saved her life, because it was only after being hit in the head with a golf ball that tests were performed that led to the discovery of the life-threatening tumor.
     What will it take for YOU to consult the Word of God?  Curiosity?  Encouragement from a friend?  A tragedy in your life?
     Whatever it takes, it needs to happen because God’s Word reveals our true TERMINAL condition: we are all sinners, desperately in need of spiritual “surgery,” because “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
     But the Word of God also reveals that the Great Physician – Jesus Christ, God’s Son – has provided the means for our life-saving surgery.  He paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross in our place (Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  Then He made new life – and eternal life! – possible for us by being raised from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-4).
     The Great Physician removes the “tumor” of sin from our lives and gives us new life (and eternal life!) when we: place our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31) confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38).
     DON'T WAIT... for an errant golf ball to strike YOU on the head before you go to the Word of God and learn of your true condition as well as the Savior’s remedy.  Allow Him to perform the life-saving surgery that you need TODAY.  He will save your life, eternally.
     Won’t YOU?

Source:
- David A. Sargent, minister for the Church of Christ at Creekwood in Mobile, Alabama, is also the editor of an electronic devotional entitled Living Water."  To learn more about this excellent resource contact David via their website: http://www.creekwoodcc.org

* Kathleen Murphy, “Golf Saved My Life” in Golf Digest – www.golfdigest.com.  10/8/12.  Many thanks to Gary Davis of Lavonia, GA, for sharing this article with us!

Nothing Ever Dies

By Helen Steiner Rice

Nothing ever dies
that is not born anew -
The miracles of nature
all tell us this is true ...
The flowers sleeping peacefully
beneath the winter's snow
Awaken to the sunshine's warmth
when spring winds start to blow,
And all around on every side
new life and joy appear
To tell us nothing ever dies
and we should have no fear,
For death is just a detour
along life's wending way
That leads God's chosen children
to a bright and glorious day.

Source:
Macon Road Church of Christ bulletin, date unknown