Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Closer To You


Closer to me I'm tired and I'm weak
And every breath within me is longing just to be
Closer to You
So I face the road ahead
Cause I know there's no comparing
To what's waiting at the end

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm smiling
After all I've been through
It's cause I'm just a day closer to You

Closer to me I hear You whisper on the wind
You say although my life is ending
A new one will begin
Closer to You
And I know I'm not alone
Cause I can hear You in the distance
Saying, you are nearly home

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm dancing
Though my days may be few
It's cause I'm just a day closer to You

Closer to me You're in the laughter and the tears
Of the ones I leave behind me
Who have prayed me through the years
Closer to You
And I know it won't be long
Till You're running down the pathway
Just to take me in Your arms

So let the rain start falling where it will
And I will run through this valley
Just to climb to that hill
And if they ask why I'm singing
Though my life's almost through
It's cause I'm just a day closer
I'm just a day closer
I'm just a day closer to You



by Mark Schultz


Monday, May 30, 2016

Interesting tidbit - 25

Q:  "I am a new Christian, and my mother just passed away. Do the dead know nothing?"


A:  While it is true that "the dead know nothing" (Eccl 9:5), this refers to how the dead know nothing of what goes on here on earth. We read something similar in Job 14:10,21:

But a man dies and is laid low...His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
Also, Isaiah 63:16 says:

For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us...
Finally, in 2 Kings 22:20, God says:

...I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place...
Having said all that, it must be remembered that while the dead know nothing of what is going on here on earth, this does not mean they are not conscious, aware and even able to speak in heaven, as we see in Revelation 6:9-11:

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"  Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

The Law


In the life of the believer, the Law can be an excellent thermometer, revealing how hot sin is running in his life, but it has no power to act as a thermostat, i.e., it is powerless to regulate sin (Romans 7).