Tag: saved

Being Saved, Being Surrendered

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Being Saved, Being Surrendered

A lot of people walk and isle, and pray a prayer. A lot of people will ask, “are you born again?” and to that the next question, “what does that mean?” It isn’t that the statement born again is lost on me, because it isn’t, the question is, what does it mean to you? I have heard a lot of people say a lot of things in the name of Christ. I have heard a lot of people say they are believers, but the fruit they bear is as rotten as it comes. Now, I’m not judging someone’s heart, no that would be folly. It is not my job, nor am I qualified, for the plank still resides within my own eye, to judge the sins of someone else, or for that matter, the justification within someone’s heart. 

I have often wondered how people look at me. Does someone keep mistakes held against me? Does someone look to me with disgust with that common “that’s a Christian?” glare. While I fully admit, and acknowledge I am a sinner, nay, a broken, fallen sinner, who has to ask for the strength to pick myself up every day, and only by the glory and grace, and mercies of God our Father that I am able to do anything, for it is not I that accomplishes anything, but rather Christ in me. It has taken me a long time to come to the realization that I am truly nothing without Christ. Without the Father’s Spirit in me, I am but an empty decaying shell, doomed to suffer for all eternity in the pit of Hell. But I digress from my original point, what does it mean to be Born Again? What does it mean to be saved? If we are saved, and we have allowed Christ into our hearts, that doesn’t stop us from being sinner, no, in fact, what it does, is creates a gut retching, horrible feeling in the pit of our stomach at the thought, at the mere act of performing cosmic treason, against the sovereign of the universe. In layman’s terms, our conscience goes into overdrive and the acts we once enjoyed in our sin nature, becomes repugnant to our sinful psyche. Scripture tells us that when we accept Christ into our lives we are born anew, a new creation. Scripture goes on to tell us that we Christians are judged by the fruit in which we bare. So, there in lays the question, are you baring good and plentiful fruit in the name of Christ? We should all walk with a cautionary tale, a tale that it is in fact not a tale at all, but as real a warning as we could ever receive. Christ himself said, Matthew 7:22 “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ Do we bare fruit in so much as we are actually casting out demons in the name of Christ? Walking an isle, going to church, singing in the choir, helping our landlady with her garbage? Even if we are doing these things, what is our motivation for doing such things? Are we doing these things because the fruit of the spirit compels us to do them, or are we doing them for our own rewards, our own accolades? See, the difference between the two is often an addendum to the term being saved, but not just being saved, but being surrendered. We often look at Christ is savior, but we struggle with the Lord part. Many look to Christ as, and it pains me to say this, but it’s the absolute truth, “fire insurance”. It isn’t that simple. If you are looking to Christ as just a way to keep you from the fires of Hell, sadly, and while I’m not expert, but I question if you will actually get the outcome you hope for. 

When we turn to scripture, when we truly dive into it, we start to uncover the mysteries of the Lord, the Abba father who by speaking a word created everything seen and unseen. Every molecule, every star, every atom, every hair on every creature, every embryo, every child conceived, every bit of the cosmos that we can see, and the x number of lightyears of the cosmos we cannot see. God is truly the sovereign of the universe. We must learn to not just read scripture like our favorite fiction novel, but rather, learn to treat scripture like an onion and peel away layer by layer. James 4:7 for instance, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we read this, it’s easy to say, ‘sure, I need to submit to God, okay, yeah, I can do that.’ Then when we say, ‘okay, resist the devil,’ sure the Devil is some entity they tell us to scare us. The truth is, we need to read and understand scripture, and to do that we must look deeper then what our eyes can see. When we look at the human form, we see what we call skin, or the epidermis, but when you take the same skin, and look at it under a powerful microscope, the picture is vastly different. So, why then are we so quick to settle on the surface level of scripture? Don’t we want that relationship with God? Don’t we realize that the Bible is our love letter given to us by our Father? Don’t we realize that God has gifted us with a small, almost infinitesimal glimpse of the mystery of the Godhead? The truth is, in 2000 years, we have barely scratched the surface, and in many ways perverted the sanctity of scripture, and yet, for those who truly study, and remove our sinful selves from implanting our own foolish notions, Scripture is so much more than we could ever dream of. When you take the first word in James 4:7 ‘submit’, and you look up the word used in scripture, it’s hypotassō which translated can be subjected to, or to be in subjection of God. We are not just to submit, but to do so mind, body, and soul. We see this in Romans 13:1“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” We cannot be content with Christ being our savior, to keep us from Hell, because without the Lord part, the savior part doesn’t matter. We cannot look to Christ as only one half of what He truly was. 

We must not only ask Christ into our hearts, but we must also bend a knee. We must learn to be of complete service to our Lord. We cannot bare fruit if we say the prayer, ‘Jesus I want you in my life, please come into my heart’, and then on Saturday party and act a fool. It isn’t just, ‘oh darn, I sinned again, but it’s okay, God will forgive me.’ I think 1 John 3:4 sums up what that mindset of a license to sin actually looks like, “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.” If we truly believe we are saved and yet have a license to sin, we don’t truly understand or accept the nature of what salvation and submitting to the Lord Jesus looks like. We cannot continue sinning as if nothing changes in our life. If we wash away our old selves, put away our old selves and in its place a new creation is born, then we must also put away our old lives, our old ways, and make a true, and honest effort every day to not sin. We are called to be little Christ, and in that, we must feel the weight of our sins. We must feel the cosmic treason of our sins deep in the pits of our stomachs. Sinning in essence should not feel good. We should feel the guilt of our sins, and look upon true repentance, thus forsaking our old selves, and looking forward to tomorrow, allowing the old self to burn away. We should be like the purification of gold, melting and allowing the impurities to be wiped away, only to go back into the fire once more, to push away more of what we are not, to allow the reflection of Christ to shine through us. Only when we do this can we truly go beyond saying we are saved, and surrendering our lives to Christ. Scripture says often that the writer is a bond servant, Romans 1:1, Paul states that he is a slave, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,” but what does this mean? The Greek word is  doulos, and it means to give up ones self, to “devote to another to the disregard of one’s own interests” (blueletterbible.org). This means to be of complete service, a life of servitude to the Lord, thus being fully submissive, not just being saved, but being saved by our saviors sacrifice, and accepting Him, as Lord over all. For we know that in the beginning was the word, and the word was with Him (God) and the word was God. John 1:1. 

There is no future for us if we do not submit ourselves to believe and understand the one truth that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Savior. No one gets to the Father but through Christ. If we are to understand that, then we must accept the Hard Love, and realize our old selves but be burned away, purified, Justified, Sanctified, and we must strive to be more righteous each and every day. This process takes time, and it is not always easy. In fact, truth be told, the process of being Christ like can be downright painful. But, growing is in its nature, a painful process. It’s something that we know the juice is worth the squeeze. We must remind ourselves every day that the world is darkness, and we are to reflect as the moon does, the light of Christ. We make no light of our own, but in the darkness the moon shines and brightens the path. We are to be the moon in this dark world, living in it, but never becoming a part of it. Go forth, and sin no more, go forth and tell all the world, not of a savior, but of a Lord and Savior.

Who Are You Today?

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Who Are You Today?

I was thinking about the story of the Potter and the Clay. I was also thinking about the enemy and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that all of us are facing challenges in this life, this new normal of being forced to lock down in our homes. I know that all of us are trying to find ways to deal with the isolation, the lack of finances, the lack of church, the lack of work, and the lack of anything else you can think of. I have been wondering, myself included who am I today? Are we falling apart in these troubled times? Are we bonding together to be stronger? Are we becoming someone the enemy fears, or are we becoming someone the enemy cheers? If we are truly clay, who are we allowing to shape us? I know that a tool like any other in the wrong hands can be used as a weapon. As Bruce Wayne once said “One man’s tool is another man’s weapon” (Dark Knight Rises). 

I have often wondered why so many bad things happened to me as a child. I wondered why so many awful and hurtful things happened to me as an adult. I realized some of those things where of my own doing even in a passive sense. In many those things I blamed God for my troubles, not always for causing them, but allowing them to happen. I have faced challenges, and even when I haven’t gotten them right, I’ve realized that for every challenge faced there is an opportunity. That being said, “God only knows the real you.” (God Only Knows, by for King and Country). Since we all have a face that we hide away, the potter is the one that knows us best. That being said, we can be shaped by one of two potters. We can be shaped by Satan, or Jesus. 

We are all facing things we never thought would happen, or things we could never think to prepare for. Our behavior shows who we are and what kind of person we’ve become. In these days are you behaving in a way that would make the enemy fearful? We cannot see what’s in someone’s heart, but we can make an educated guess based on a person action. It’s said in the Christian walk a person’s witness is so important because we outwardly represent Christ. A persons walk shouldn’t be impacted by the sins and mistakes of a person, but sadly that’s not the world we live in. People believe that those who follow a religion are a representation of that religion. 

IF I were a drunk, an abusive man, cruel, and yet on Sunday I’m in church sitting the pew and praying the prayers, am I a good representation of Christ? No, of course not. If someone saw me they would have a negative thought of Christianity. With so much idol time on people’s hands, and with social media being all the buzz, it’s more important than ever to watch what we say, watch what we do, and check ourselves and our actions. IS what we are doing bringing Glory to the Father, or are we making things easier for Satan and his army? We have a choice to change how we act, how we talk, what we post, how we deal with people, and even the support we show one another. 

Life has thrown us all challenges, and while we are struggling with our own problems, we must remember that first; We are not alone in this walk. Jesus is with us every step of the way. Second, we are called to be there for one another baring one another’s burdens. We are also told that we are responsible for ourselves and our own actions. 

Galatians 6:7-10 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” 

We have a responsibility to our homes, and our brothers and sisters. We have a responsibility to own up to our mistakes and in doing so, we face who we are. In the last several weeks I’ve seen a lot of selfish response to the crisis gripping our world. I’ve seen a lot of decisions made based on fear and ignorance, We all need to take a step back, relax, and evaluate how to manage our struggles. We’re all in this together and we need to encourage and lift one another. WE all have an opportunity to grow, and we should spend more time loving on one another, and of course most important, growing in Christ. 

Today, if I’m honest I’m hurting. The days are long and run together. The struggle to see what I see and manage the impending challenges is a mountain and a half. I have found myself spending the day listening to Christian music, and praying to take this thorn from my life. I know that in all things I must find contentment, Philippians 4:11 (NKJV) “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:” I have been praying to the Lord to let me say the word and have the mountain jump from my path. I am not a foolish man, but regardless that I know the truth and that this is a mountain I must walk, I still tell my Father my hearts desires. The heartbreak I feel, and the impending storm brews in the distance, I can hear the thunder, and as Kylo Ren says “I know what I must do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it” (Star Wars). Will I have the strength to get through this? I have prayed to God to continue to give me the strength, to renew my strength, to build upon my faith and increase both. Today I feel like I’m weak and I know that I’m not, but the spiritual attacks are heavy. I know that Jesus is my chain breaker, my way maker, and I know that Jesus has set me free of the chains that held me, and I know that Father above hears me, hears my cries, hears my heart cracking, and I know that I will not be alone in this fight, but rather I know I will have Christ by my side. I know there’s a crack in my armor, but I know as the flaming arrows are landing all around me Christ stands next to me guarding me with his Shield. I will make it through this, and I know when I do, it’ll be by the grace and mercy of Jesus, not of my own doing. On bended knee, I lift my prayers to the King of Kings, the Great Healer, The Chain Breaker, The Savior, The Right Hand of the Father, Jesus Christ. 

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The Need for Validation

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The Need for Validation

My biggest fear is that of abandonment, being left behind and forgotten as if I weren’t important. My biggest failing is my need for validation: “recognition or affirmation that a person or their feelings or opinions are valid or worthwhile.” Throughout my life I’ve struggled with this as one event after another have left me in a state of perpetual question of my importance. There is a valid reason a validation of my fear of abandonment, and those facts aren’t in dispute. Overcoming that fear now that it’s been realized in the most horrible way is a priority, however even as something can be important, that doesn’t mean the fix is easy. It takes time to rewrite a lifetime of software. Validation however is different. The validation of my feelings, expecting the worst outcome to be the most likely within particular situations, and example would be the following: I send a text message and someone doesn’t get back to me. I can see they’ve read it, or I call them and it goes to voicemail. Hours go by and no response, then a day, or more goes by without receiving a single hint of communication. My first thought is what did I do to upset them. Then it’s, I’m not important enough for them to take the time to send me a message. Then it ends with they don’t’ care about me at all. This escalation happens almost every time in my head and believe me, it’s not a pleasant place to be.

I realize people have lives and I also realize those lives don’t revolve around me. I realize life happens and sometimes you just can’t. Though perhaps it’s my priority that my friends are of my highest priority I spend a great deal of time responding to and sending texts and messages to those who do contact me. I would say that this fear is a learned behavior.

Psychology Today has an article that’s interesting on how to validate someone.

“The first Level is Being Present. There are so many ways to be present. Holding someone’s hand when they are having a painful medical treatment, listening with your whole mind and doing nothing but listening to a child describe their day in first grade, and going to a friend’s house at midnight to sit with her while she cries because a supposed friend told lies about her are all examples of being present.” The Article goes on to talk about how to validate yourself. “Being present for yourself means acknowledging your internal experience and sitting with it rather than “running away” from it, avoiding it, or pushing it away. Sitting with intense emotion is not easy. Even happiness or excitement can feel uncomfortable at times.

Often one of the reasons other people are uncomfortable with intense emotion is that they don’t know what to say. Just being present, paying complete attention to the person in a nonjudgmental way, is often the answer. For yourself, being mindful of your own emotion is the first step to accepting your emotion.

People may mask their feelings because they have learned that others don’t react well to their sensitivity. This masking can lead to not acknowledging their feelings even to themselves, which makes the emotions more difficult to manage. Being able to accurately label feelings is an important step to being able to regulate them.

When someone is describing a situation, notice their emotional state. Then either name the emotions you hear or guess at what the person might be feeling.”

 The Article goes on to the next steps, and the next is understanding the history of someone’s past. Realizing that their feelings or actions may be justified based on situations from earlier in their life. It’s important to realize for yourself that if you feel a particular way why that may be the case. Normal feelings, are just that, normal to have and feel, and checking the facts of how strongly you feel based on the reasonable level per individual event.

While all of this is great, as you know this is a Christian Blog, so what does all this have to do with Jesus Christ, and God? EVERYTHING! The scripture is full of validation.

John 3:17 Christ came to save us, not to condemn us. Psalm 17:8 We are the Apple of God’s eye, he will hide us in the shadow of his wings. Colossians 3:23 “23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” We often seek approval from our fellow peers and this often leads us to disaster. People often let us down because one of a thousand reasons. The only real validation we need is that from God. People judge left and right and even when the scripture says otherwise people judgments hurt. I myself have been harshly judged on my mistakes even if they were justified from past experiences. I’ve been harshly judged on my looks, my ideals, and those judgments hurt.

I recently sought validation about a decision I had made, and the response didn’t go as I thought it would. This left a huge rift and hurt. I wasn’t expecting my decision to cause such uproar but it did. This on top of my fear that if someone doesn’t get back to me in a text or by phone, or doesn’t send me anything for days that I am some how not important to them. All these things together can be wrapped up in one word, LIES. The Devil wants us to feel badly about ourselves. The Devil wants to rip us apart and pull us away from God. When we make mistakes and we let the fear of those mistakes dictate how we proceed we are falling into that lie. We make ourselves believe that we are worthless, without the possibility of redemption, or even that we don’t deserve it. All of this is just a big fat lie that the Devil wants us to believe. Rewriting how we feel isn’t easy. We might have to tell ourselves every day that we have forgiven ourselves, and that we know God has forgiven us for whatever wrong we may have committed. God don’t care where you been, He cares where you’re going.” (Dr. M. David Chambers, Senior Pastor)

We know that God loves us and we know that regardless of our mistakes or sins God loves us. We know that if we truly repent and ask for forgiveness and give Christ our entire heart we will be accepted into the Kingdom. We are always given chances, and we are always given grace. Will we be punished if we disobey, or blatantly sin or go against God, sure we will because God or Abba (Father) will treat us like a father and discipline his children when they need it. Remember don’t be so quick to pass judgment; it’s not for us to do so. Try and consider the needs of those around you. If we allow God to work through us we can help touch and mold lives and by understanding someone’s emotions, by respecting them, and taking the time to learn, we can be more then just an ear, we can be an inspiration, we can be a guide, and we may actually be able to make a difference, if we allow God to use us.

Duality

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Duality
When something is liked and disliked at the same time, loved and hated, and okay and not okay at the same time.

When you wait all day for an absolution that would never come, when you look for peace that never seems to come. Waiting for God to send His Angels to pull you out of the wreckage of your life. When the Angels never come, but that voice inside your head tells you God’s with you. The snakes are nipping at your heals and you keep climbing higher and higher to get away, the beautiful escape. We never plan for the world to crumble, and we never plan on falling to our knees at the brink of a broken world, screaming to the heavens to save us. You’ve been a good soldier, a faithful man and in that moment the snakes, the vultures are tossed away. Saved by God, moved from broken to mending.

The faith it takes to overcome the world is Jesus. So why do I hate myself so much? Why do I feel so low about whom I am? The going gets rough and some hate God, some hate people, some hate themselves. That’s where my own duality comes into play. I both love and hate who I am. The fact that God loves me I know I’m special. I know I’m someone worthwhile, but I’ve largely not been treated well by others throughout my whole life. I’ve not been beaten and tortured, I’ve suffered loss, and blame. God thought tells us that we cannot put our faith in mankind because man is sinful and that sinful nature will let you down, will hurt you, and the Devil through Sin will find any little chink in the human armor and infiltrate like a virus, replicating, until sinful desire is all that’s left.

The same goes with the little whispers inside my own head. The negative whispers I hear are the Devil or his minions telling me lies, that hidden war going on all around us that we cannot see. The truth is the helmet is supposed to help, and it does so long as we keep our head in the Bible and don’t let ourselves get distracted by the world.

Don’t shut God out; don’t keep the gates closed from God. God doesn’t want us to be alone, God wants us to have someone, God wants us to know that He is always with us. God’s blessings and guidance, and the army of Angels are always by our side. When we finally realize this, when we finally tear down the walls we will realize that Love has been there all along. The season of love is always. We can’t let the trials of this world build walls and defenses. Love concurs all. Love is the strongest of emotions, strongest of actions, and that Love shows me that there is no Winter of love, no Fall of love, there’s just love. We will suffer heartbreak from love, but Love is a gift from up above, and that’s the only Love that really matters.

Take the duality inside and shatter that mirror and let God take up both sides in your heart.

From the Ashes

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From the Ashes

 Even through the most gut wrenching tragedies we can find comfort in the ashes that are left behind. If a house burns to the ground, as long as the foundation is solid you can rebuild. I’m by no means saying this is an easy or short process, but nothing in this life worth having is easy to get.

In loosing your house the things inside may not all be replaceable, but the true meaning is that which you hold in your heart. Its just stuff, and that stuff can be replaced. The important thing is you have your life. The same goes when a relationship figuratively burns to the ground. We must realize that from those ashes new beginnings, a new stronger, better relationship awaits us. As we all want comfort in this world, we all want to feel loved, the comfort of another person cannot come first. Our first relationship must be, and always be Jesus.

Jesus is the one relationship we must have. Jesus must come first and the rest will fallow. Fallow faithfully and God will not let you down. The people on Earth may, things may not always go the way you want it, but if you lift your heart, and let heaven rule over you, that foundation will not be cracked or broken in anyway.

God’s alive in our hearts, and shows us his power every day. As David wrote Psalm 23 “23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

 No matter the trials we face, or the hurt we survive, we must always rise out of the ashes from our lives stronger, more beautiful and better then before. Sometimes the best survival stories are those that the heart is all we have left. With our heart centered on God we can overcome anything. Just as Job’s life was destroyed, everything he held most dear, everything he loved was taken from him. Job 42:6 “Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.” Within scripture there is one story after another but things working out, happening right when it’s supposed to. People are right where they need to be when they need to be there. Look in Esther, she was in the right place at the right time to save her people to help her Uncle unveil a treacherous plot.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” In this it’s Gods time and grace that saves us. When hope is gone, when flesh has failed, when love is lost, when death is all around you, when fear fills your lungs and every breath.

As I stated earlier Psalm 23:3-4 “3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Do not be afraid of the fire. Do not be afraid of the ashes. Embrace the fire, and rise above. Climb up through the filth and survive and thrive. Make new what was once lost. Rebuild better, rebuild the way you want your life. If you are living with God by your side, being the person God wants, the future holds endless possibilities.

Be Strong Against the Wolves

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We are lost and wary, we are low and sad, we feel as if the whole world is against us. Our lowest days are true test of our fortitude, our faith. The loss we feel when we are betrayed, the loss we feel when our loved ones pass. We are cheated, we are attacked but who’s doing the hurting, who’s doing the attacking? The hardships in life we face are not always hardships we have control over. Sometimes they are caused by acts more powerful then us, and sometimes it’s caused by a persons power to choose. Many ask why was I created, why am I here? The simple answer is because God loves us and he created us to know us and for us to know Him. What does that mean? Before we were born God knew us, God loved us from conception till we return to Ash. God’s hope for us is for us to know and love Him. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” We are placed on this world with our feet in the sand. We are not alone in our walk. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” “Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.” Never do we understand all things, but we are called to a higher understanding. We will be tempted, we will be battered, and we will be beaten for our belief. Matthew 10:16-17 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;” We will fight the war on a spiritual level. We will be attacked for what we believe, we will be hated for it, and it may come to pass that we are placed on trial for it. Matthew 10:22 “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Do you have the strength to stand against the enemy, against the devil himself? Can you stand toe to toe and facing death choose eternal life? Never forget that this life will end one day with or without the help of the masses. Death is certain, it comes for us all, but in that death we can be certain when we die if we just believe in Christ as our Lord and Savior, we too will truly live. We shall not die an eternal death for we are saved by it.