Afraid of Death?...no way
"But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Acts 7:55,56
The above words were spoken by Stephen as he was being stoned to death for sharing his faith in Jesus Christ. Stephen was the first martyr in the Church, the Body of Christ. (you can read the full account in Acts 6 and 7).
We are told in scripture that when Jesus ascended into Heaven He sat down at the right hand of the Father . In the above scripture Stephen sees Him "standing". That just blessed my heart. The heavens opened and Jesus stood to welcome Stephen into Heaven. Stephen saw Jesus because his eyes were on Jesus even though he was being stoned to death.
Friends, I will never look at death the same way again. If Jesus stood up and opened the doors of heaven to receive Stephen He will do the same for me when it is time for me to depart this earth suit. If my eyes are focused on Jesus , the death process will just be a step into His presence. Now, here I go typing myself into the Glory Zone again!!
As we studied this in Sunday School, one of the Princesses suggested that Stephen probably did not feel the first stone because his eyes were gazing into heaven and he was caught up in the Glory of God. We further discussed the fact that no matter what is going on around us we do not have to give into our pain if our eyes are focused on Jesus Christ instead of our circumstances.
"Father, I so thank you for showing me this truth in your Word. What a joy it is to experience You and Your Peace in the midst of my storms. I pray that someone reading this post today will focus totally on You and Your Glory as they face their storms. I pray that their grief will turn to Joy Unspeakable and full of Glory. In Jesus comforting Name, I pray." Amen
5 comments:
He is the peace in our storm! Great post!
http://youcanfacetodaybecausehelives.blogspot.com/
Just wanted to thank you for your visit to my blog. Have a blessed day Tiz!
I am not afraid....death should actually be a joyous time if you are a christian!
You are so right, Denise.
I have always known I would have "dying Grace" when needed and I was not afraid but I just never thought about Jesus standing to welcome me home.
My kids and I have discussions sometimes about our eternal life. I have always honestly told them the only part of my death is leaving them. I look forward to seeing my Jesus face to face.
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