Eternal Life

Eternal life gives the believer reassurance about his/her destiny. To think in terms of eternity proves to be a difficult challenge for our finite minds. We all say that God is eternal, that is, He has neither a beginning nor an end. His existence is not related to or dependent upon time. And to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, He has promised eternal life and blessing with Him. Like two sides of a coin the Scriptures inform us that our faith in Jesus Christ is firmly planted in the hope of eternal life. But how can we grasp such a complex and abstract idea?

Though the term is used throughout the New Testament, “eternal life” is a common expression in the Johannine literature (John 3:15-16, 36; 4:14; 5:24; 6:40, 47, 54; 1 John 2:25; 5:11, 20). The Greek adjective aiwnion (aionion) “eternal” comes from the Greek noun (aion) meaning age or period of time. In its adjectival use, certain dictionaries and lexicons define aionion as “without beginning and end, never to cease, (see Thayers and BDAG).

Literally, the phrase “eternal life” means “the life of the age to come” referring to an eschatological promise. Just like Daniel 12:2 alludes to a future physical resurrection when some will be raised to “everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt,” John also indicates that eternal life will involve a future resurrection. He writes, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40, cf. 6:39, 44, 54; 12:48).

On the other hand, eternal life is rooted in a present relationship with Jesus Christ. Though we will experience future blessings in the age to come time enjoying an uninterrupted fellowship with our God, we can enjoy those present eternal blessings in Jesus Christ today. John explains how eternal life is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’” (John 17:1-3).

Not only will eternal life will be expressed in a future reality and a present experience, but eternal life is also a unified work of the Godhead. The security of our eternal life is accomplished through the work of the Triune God. When you think about your salvation, have you ever thought about Who was involved?

1. Eternal life resides in the Father:

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:21-24)

2. Eternal life resides in the Son:

“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life…He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:15-16, 36)

3. Eternal life resides in the Holy Spirit:

“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.” (Galatians 6:8)

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13)

Did Christ die for the whole world or only for the elect?

“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1-2)

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

The Importance of Knowing the Truth

"No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:14

"Error can be subtle, truth is absolute; truth cannot contain error, but error can contain truth. You can have 1 percent error and 99 percent truth but still have error. Or you can have 99 percent error and 1 percent truth and still have error. Satan has a broader choice of subtlety in his error than we have in truth. That's why it's so important we have an authority for the truth; we cannot be our own authority for truth. Scripture says our minds are deceitful. I cannot be my own authority for challenging such a big positin, and I have to state that authority and be under that authority." (Fred Smith, Leading With Integrity, 124)

Princess Warrior of the King

Here is a "must-see" blog. Recognize who it is?

http://princesswarrioroftheking.blogspot.com/.

Our Identity In Christ

Have you considered your identity in Christ lately? What an amazing thought!

• Romans 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
• Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Romans 8:1-2 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
• Romans 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• 1Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
• 2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
• Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
• Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
• Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
• Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
• Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.
• 2Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

Keep Fighting

"Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong."
-Muhammad Ali

Standing for Truth

“True Christianity calls sin sin in whomever it is found and would rather risk the accusation of being motivated by a bad spirit than not discharge explicit duty. It does not fear to speak the stern word of condemnation against error nor to raise its voice against surrounding evils knowing that it is not of this world. It does not shrink from honest reproof lest it come under the charge of displaying an unchristian spirit. The religion of both Old and New Testament is marked by fervent, outspoken testimonies against evil. To do this is a betrayal of the cause of truth and righteousness.” (Fred Smith, Sr., Leading with Integrity: Competence with Christian Character, quoting Horatius Bonar, 126)

When was the last time you confronted some sin?

Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

The following is an email from a friend of mine who is leading a small group in Albania photographing some old Greek manuscripts. Please pray for this team.

Thanks to those of you who are praying and have shown concern for our work in Albania of photographing a collection of New Testament Greek Manuscripts held in the National Archive here in the capital, Tirana. Our purpose was to work for the preservation of their manuscripts by taking high-resolution digital images of them that both accurately preserve the text, reflect their beauty, and could be preserved against the corruption of time and any potential that they would disappear.

Before coming we knew of 13-18 manuscripts that were reported to be here. We budgeted for two weeks to take all these shots-- in all. On our first day, I looked at the Archive catalogue and discovered ~46 MSS, 28 more than we ever anticipated! The importance of this discovery launched Dr. Wallace and CSNTM into overdrive. With all our equipment, it would be cheaper and more secure to extend our trip now rather than come back some other time. We are very privileged to be here at their invitation. Who knows if we would get a similar opportunity in the future. Dr. Wallace decided to send another replacement team to follow this one and asked me to stay until Aug. 3 to lead the new group. Our goal is to photograph all of them, but, trust me, this is no small task! Our work is tedious and back-braking as we use two very high end cameras to take up to 1,750 images a day. The Center still is in great need of more gifts to fund this extension--as God lays it on your heart, please consider giving. You can access that information and the Center's address at www.csntm.org.

Wide doors are open, but there is also much opposition (1 Cor 16:9). Yesterday we were trying to photograph Codex Beratinus, one of the oldest and more precious MSS in the world. We are literally the first people to see this manuscript since its leaves were hermetically sealed over 30 years ago! Although this is an awesome privilege, it is also a huge challenge. The manuscript is found now in nine volumes. Each leaf is sealed in its own airtight protective cover and that is in a plastic binder envelope that has small waves. Those waves can create glare. Wow! My expert team worked together to try and devise ingenious solutions I will have to save for another communication. To sum up, we don't have a perfect solution yet. We are still working on getting good images. To top it off, our 16.7mpxl camera just broke! We are not sure why, but it is not responding to the computer. Compound that with the fact that Albania has daily planned power outages to conserve electricity limiting our time some days to only four hours of shooting and you can see that we are hard pressed--we need your prayers. I need your prayers!

A second critical opposition that requires your urgent prayer is that yesterday as we were leaving we were handed a contract to sign in a ceremony Monday morning. Dr. Wallace is looking through it to see how we can make this work, but we cannot agree to the terms as currently stated. They have left us no time or room to negotiate! I hope we can work something out on Monday, but it is possible that by the time you come to work on Monday we will have had the door closed to us to photograph further. Even so, pray for us would you--that God would keep the doors open to photograph these MSS and that we would rest on good terms with the Albanian National Archive.

I could of course say more, but hope this helps give you a whiff of what we are doing and gives you fuel for prayer. I cannot emphasize enough our need for your urgent prayer for a good day Monday. This team leaves Tuesday night. A new team comes the following Sunday.

Thanks for your
prayers!

Greg for the CSNTM Albanian team

Center for the Study
of New Testament Manuscripts (http://www.csntm.org/)

Free, not Forced

“Though actuated by the Holy Spirit, the holy will is nevertheless a self-moving and uncompelled faculty. Holy inclination is the will’s right self-motion because of the Divine actuation, or “God’s working in the will to will.” Sinful inclination is the will’s wrong self-motion without Divine actuation. But the motion in both instances is that of mind, not of matter; spiritual, not mechanical; free, not forced motion.” W. G. T. Shedd, Dogmatic Theology 3.300

False Hope

A horse is a false hope for victory." Psalm 33:17

In the Bible, horses were primarily connected with battle and war. Because of their strength and swiftness, armies could easily overpower and conquer other armies. Their sheer power and fearlessness guaranteed victory. However, God warned Israel not to place their trust in the power of these animals, but to lean on His strength. In what “horses” have you placed your faith in?

Failure

“It is more than comforting to realize that it is those who have plumbed the depths of failure to whom God invariably gives the call to shepherd others. This is not a call given to the gifted, the highly trained, or the polished as such.” - J. C. Metcalfe

Dikeytsomo

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."—John Keith Falconer

"I love to live on the brink of eternity," remarked David Brainerd. And so is the passion of every missionary who serves our Lord Jesus Christ. To proclaim, serve, live, and model the gospel before those without Christ is the greatest challenge and yet the most enriching task given to men and women. Those who faithfully serve our Lord both domestically and internationally do so with the highest calling. As Spurgeon once stated, “If God has fit you to be a missionary, I would not have you shrivel down to be a king.” What an honor to know individuals who stand in the gap between time and eternity proclaiming along with Isaiah “Here am I.” One such individual is a special family member (let’s call her “Dickeytsomo”).

Her quest began at Falls Creek Youth Camp located in the heart of the Arbuckle Mountains in Davis, OK (click here to learn more about Falls Creek). Falls Creek, the world’s largest youth camp, hosts over 40,000 youth every summer. In addition to recreation, Bible study, singing, and fellowship, Falls Creek centers on glorifying God through worship and praise. During the summer between her senior year of high school and college, Dickeytsomo attended the youth camp which altered her life forever. That summer the Lord validated the call to international missions.

"It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home." Hudson Taylor

Still fresh on her agenda, she attended Oklahoma Baptist University where the Lord laid down the foundation for her life particularly through two books. First, John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad! emphasized the importance of making worship the main focus of missions. I’m often spurred by the fact that He has called me to worship Him in a place where few others worship Him and I know a lot of that came from the foundation of that book/class. As important as missions and evangelism is for Dickeytsomo, her passion is harnessed by her desire and fervency to her Savior. Without such a yearning, no ministry will ever be successful. When asked what impacted her from Piper’s book, she said,

“God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Another book, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (eds. Ralph D. Winter, et. al.), challenged her thinking about the 10/40 window and those who were considered unreached peoples. Her first research paper was on Uzbekistan, formerly of the Soviet Union, where the Lord spoke to her about closed countries. The time spent researching and developing her paper opened her heart for the great need for missionaries in these closed countries. It wasn’t just the paper but the whole class. The focus of my paper had me thinking that’s where I wanted to go for a little while. Therefore, she decided to earn a degree in international business in order to enter these countries.

Living out her calling in the 10/40 window, you will never hear about her on FOX or CNN, but Dickeytsomo faithfully serves our God witnessing about His glory through His Son among Buddhists. Fortified by the gospel, she has dedicated her life to full time missions.

Ever wonder what drives missionaries? While I was speaking with Dickeytsomo about her ministry, I thought about the sacrifice one takes when stepping out on faith. She is rarely recognized, she can spend days and months without a single conversion, and I can only imagine the loneliness and discouragement that she faces so far away from home. However, I am reminded of a quote by Thomas à Kempis, “God evaluates by this criterion: How much love you invest in what you do is more important than how you do. The one who loves much is actually the one who does much.” What drives Dickeytsomo is a love for God’s renown and a purpose that is greater than any purpose in life: to serve God. This is what truly matters to Dickeytsomo!

What can we do?
Pray for those who serve in these areas of the world.
Share their experience and passions (listen to their heart, take a missions trip, etc.)

A couple of verses that have deeply impacted Dickeytsomo:

Romans 15:20-21 “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man's foundation; but as it is written, “they who had no news of him shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.”

2 Timothy 1:11-12 “for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

For you chopper fans!

Check out the latest Hot Bike and V-Twin magazines (July/August 2007) and look for the editorials highlighting the industrious work of my brother-in-law, Tony Baustert. Visit his website, click here. Oh, that's him on the right (and that's not one of his bikes!)

What's Your M.O.?

In a recent lesson in Ephesians 4, my Bible community teacher concluded the lesson with a thought-provoking challenge. His discussion centered on the differences between the practices of the old nature compared to the ways of the new nature. He asked, “How does futile thinking lead to corrupt living?” Extremely important in the mind of Paul, he commands us to diligently remove the attitudes resulting from the old nature and be engaged in rightful and godly thinking. Paul exhorts, “…be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:24). We all are given the challenge to be in a pursuit of godly thinking. When our minds are harnessed by the Word of God, the result will be a life of holiness and righteousness. On our own strength, we are incapable of living this life. It involves realizing who we are in Christ. The Word of God tells us that we are indeed new creations in Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:17— Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

So why do we continue to struggle with our sins? If our old nature has been crucified with Christ and we have been given the new nature, then why do we so often resort to our old condition? J. Miles Sanford (The Complete Green Letters, 147) helps us with a few considerations:

1) to reveal the depths of sinfulness from which we were saved.
2) to teach us to count ourselves dead to the old ,and alive in the new.
3) to teach us to abide in the Lord Jesus—above.
4) to teach us to walk in the Spirit—below.
5) to glorify the Father and manifest the life of the Lord Jesus despite a fallen nature, body, and world.
6) to give us good cause to watch His appearing.
7) to give us a greater appreciation of eternal glory.

Tell Him!

“Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, it's pleasures, and it's pains, to a dear friend. Tell him your troubles, that he may comfort you; tell him your joys, that he may sober them; tell him your longings, that he may purify them; tell him your dislikes, that he may help you conquer them; talk to him of your temptations, that he may shield you from them; show him the wounds of your heart, that he may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and others. If you thus pour out your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subject of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back, neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of their heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.”

Francois De Salignac Fenelon, French theologian and author (1651 - 1715)

Instrument of God’s Grace

“The sermons and messages of men who have a great deal of learning and information but who lack an experiential knowledge of the internal things of the Spirit—such men can make up many stories, give elegant descriptions, acute discourses, elaborate theses, and yet regardless of how much it seems to be grounded in the Scripture, what these men give us does not contain the word of God. It is but the words of men adulterated with false gold. Such men actually corrupt Christians, feeding them with wind and with vanity. As a result both the teacher and the one taught remain empty of their God.” (Michael Molinos, The Spiritual Guide).

Have you ever thought about how God works through each of us to touch someone else’s life? Two things happened to me this week that impacted me. First, I have been reading Dan Allender’s book To Be Told explaining how God has written every detail of your life and desires that you share your story with others. The second event that happened to me was through my wife’s prayer. During one of our devotionals, she began our time in prayer and asked the Lord to reveal the meaning of my story. As I quietly listened to her words, I began to realize that each of us has a story. Though our life narrative may not have been what we would have liked, God has orchestrated every event and every detail in our life so that He can reveal Himself to us and that we will allow our stories to become conduits of His grace and love. There is not one person that can say their life is useless. Through His creativity and power, He displays His glory through many people with varied backgrounds and testimonies. Though your story may be filled with pain and heartache, it is your story. Take every opportunity given to you to share what God has done. Allow people to see the real you with all of your flaws and brokenness, yet redeemed because of the hope that you have in our Lord.

Virtue of Leadership: Maturity

"As a potential leader moves into ministry, God develops his leadership abilities by taking him through four stages. (1) God challenges the leader into ministry. This is called entry. (2) He develops skills and spiritual gifts to enhance the leader’s effectiveness. This is called training. (3) He enables the leader to relate to people in ways that will motivate and influence them. He also teaches him how to set up the means to accomplish these goals. This is called relational learning. (4) He helps the leader see spiritual principles that govern ministry that please Him. This is called discernment.”
-J. Robert Clinton, The Making of a Leader, 79

Any one of us will acknowledge the importance of physical, intellectual, and emotional growth in life. It is extremely important that we all take time to develop theses areas in our lives in order to live a well-balanced life. As a new dad, I realize the importance of spending quality time with my daughter. Though she is only three months old, the time on her activity mat stimulates her mind and strengthens her eye-hand coordination. I carve out much of my day to talk and play with her on the couch and in the crib. Letting her listen to my voice and feel the warmth of my hand when I hold her reassures her of my presence. All of these things are so important for her growth.

If this is true in the physical world then it is much more in the spiritual realm. Any true leader recognizes the importance of spiritual maturity. There is no such thing as instant spiritual maturity. Our spiritual growth does not happen overnight; but it is a life-long process. After spending the last ten years in school, I have realized that no amount of books can replace my spiritual walk with the Lord. Within the trenches of life where we learn to trust God through our sufferings, depend upon His promises in His Word, and strive to learn more about being made in the image of His Son, we develop an intimate, lasting relationship with Him.

Sadly too many of us have lost our focus and find ourselves in a spiritual rut. We have lost the joy of serving Christ for various reasons: lack of personal commitment and discipline, bitterness, neglect in prayer and time in God’s Word, unyielding, complacent…

“Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be. “Good enough” becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new. Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course—downhill. They draw false strength from looking back.” (Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, p. 15)

When I take my daughter to the doctor for her monthly checkups, they lay her down on the table and mark her length to see how much she has grown since the last visit. The nurse takes a chart and explains to us where she ranks in the percentile of growth of babies her age. If you were to measure your growth spiritually, where would you rank? How are you doing on your quest? Or have you become complacent?
May we take time today and reignite our relationship with the Lord. May you catch a glimpse of His power and glory and draw closer to Him. Do not allow the enemy to discourage you and hinder your walk, but look to the Author and Finisher of our faith who has conquered the enemy and set the example for all of us to follow.

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
(Hebrews 13:20-21)

Freedom: Happy 4th!

Freedom. Wester defines freedom as "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another; or the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous." Arising out of the bed this morning, I realized how often I take my freedom for granted. We live in a free nation today because of the sacrifice and dedication of so many men and women who voluntarily place their lives on the line for our great country.

Though I chose not to enter the military, many of my family members bravely protected our country during the war. My father served in Vietnam on the USS Coontz.










Both of my brothers faithfully served in the US Navy. Dean Kirby served our country from 1991-1995 based in Charleston, SC. He performed his duties on the USS Wainwright (CG 28 Guided Missile Cruiser). My youngest brother, Doug Kirby, served in Sardinia, Italy from 1993-1996 on the USS Simon Lake (AS33 Auxiliary Supply Repair Ship).

To these men who mean so much to me, I salute your courage and bravery. Sadly, many of us only remember our living and fallen soldiers during days of celebration like July 4th. Our country is what it is today for the greatness found in sacrifice. Americans across our nation must never forget the foundation of what our country was built upon. Let us take a moment today and embrace the historical and ideological relics of freedom that has resulted in much sacrifice and bloodshed.

The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence begins: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Our founding fathers held a deep faith in their God who brought them over from Europe and gave them a new beginning in a new land. They left for us a legacy that continues today. However, many are stripping that faith and freedom given to us by our forefathers and countless others. Now is the time to stand for the truth.

French Writer and politician Alexis de Tocqueville noted over a century ago:“I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in the fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good -- and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”

Hope Beyond the Grave

"When he was in his final illness, D. L. Moody made this statement: 'Soon you will read in the newspapers that Moody s dead. Don’t you believe it, for I shall be more alive than I am now.' More alive than now is what we celebrate in a Christian funeral."
– Joseph Bayly, The Last Thing We Talk About, 99.

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 15:54-57

What a hope we have in our living Savior who conquered death and one day we will rejoice when we are finally in His presence!