"His coffin was packed."

My first thought, when I saw this subject line on an email, was of ancient pagans who wanted their coffins, and their crypts, packed full of things to take along into the afterlife. 

But then I read this wonderful quote from All In: You are one decision away from a totally different life, by Mark Batterson. And I realized that this had nothing to do with occult visions of an imaginary afterlife; the author simply meant that the man who was his subject was ready at any time to leave for the Christian's ultimate destination. 

"A. W. Milne . . . set sail  for the New Hebrides in the South Pacific, knowing full well that the headhunters who lived there had martyred every missionary before him.  Milne did not fear for his life, because he had already died to himself.  His coffin was  packed. For thirty-five years, he lived among that tribe and loved them. When he died, tribe members buried him in the middle of their village and inscribed this epitaph on his tombstone: 
 
When he came there was no light.
 
When he left there was no darkness." 

May that be the legacy of every born-again Christian! 

I woke up this morning thinking about ants, how they create entire civilizations for themselves, organize their labors, build elaborately engineered structures for their populations, and so on – all, presumably, without battling such problems as sloth, greed, malevolence or even gluttony (I, at least, have never seen an obese ant).
 
My mind danced around the animal kingdom, considering the lovely songbirds that visit my feeders every day, the gorgeous but skittish little foxes one sees occasionally on long quiet walks, the nasty coyotes that communicate with each other at frightening pitch in the dead of night. I thought about how every critter does just what its Creator has commanded it to do – even our pets, designed, I believe, to demonstrate whose relationship with our Creator we should emulate (the dog’s), and whose relationship we actually do emulate (the cat’s).
 
I thought some more, and realized that we see displayed in the animal kingdom every facet of human life, society, culture and science – the very things that mankind takes such pride in, as if we had invented it all ourselves. (Some might say that worship is missing from critterly lives, but again I would point to dogs; don’t the best of them virtually worship their humans?)
 
Then I thought once again about the wondrous fact that each group reproduces after its own kind. Genesis 1 tells us, clearly and repeatedly, that God designed it that way. Why, it’s almost as if He knew man would devise the fable of evolution to replace Him and His explanation of how He created life, and decided to hammer home the point in the first chapter of the only Bible He ever inspired.
 
None of this thinking is original; creation scientists like the late Dr. Henry Morris have written volumes about such things. I was just pondering it because of a recent conversation I had with a long-ago acquaintance who waylaid every attempt I made to bring up the things of God. For instance:
 
Him: “So what have you been up to for the last 15 years?”
 
Me: “Oh, I’ve written a couple books about spiritual matters.”
 
Him: “How’s your sister?”
 
I might as well have said that I’d done nothing but sit around and eat bon bons for the two decades.  Although I bet a statement like that would’ve been followed up with a query about what kind of bon bons I enjoyed most.
 
So anyway, that’s what got me to thinking about the wonders of the creation and how willfully ignorant we are about God. And once again, it made me ashamed of myself, seeing how I must have handled even a hint of God talk before I met Jesus Christ for myself. It also renewed my fear for friends like this, headed as they are toward a hellish eternity unless the Lord succeeds in getting their attention and saving their souls.
 
How stupid we humans are. And how wise and loving were those who, under the inspiration of God Himself, sounded such terrifying alarms in the Bible.
 
Consider the apostle Paul.
 
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,” he warned in the first chapter of the book of Romans, “who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 
 
“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”
 
Key takeaway? When we stand before Him in judgment, we will have no excuse for having missed Him, and having proclaimed our own godless views of the universe.
 
Or, as the prophet Isaiah capsulized it in chapter 5 of his self-titled book, “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”
 
So okay, my friend, you don’t want to give God a place in your thinking? Fine. And you love the earth? Great. How about spending some time looking in its direction.
 
Consider, if you will, the ant.

HERE’S HOPE: Why does God delay when we pray? None of us fully understands this mystery, but here are some observations to consider.
 
Delay causes evil doers to become over-confident so God can position them for greater defeat. Remember Pharaoh and the army of Egypt that drowned in the Red Sea?
 
Delay removes all possible saviors and solutions but God Himself for a greater finale. Remember how Jesus waited until both Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus were dead before arriving on the scene?
 
Delay increases our trust in God. It forces us to develop our faith "muscles." Remember how the walls of Jericho did not fall until the 7th day of marching and the 7th time around?
 
Delay thins out the crowd. It causes the faithful to become clearly evident. Remember how God diminished Gideon’s army before the victory could be accomplished?
 
God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our own. Regardless of what you are facing, though God delays, let us not lose heart or cease crying out to Him.
 
Here’s why—-“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:7-8 ESV)
 
MAY HE FIND US FAITHFUL! “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” (Luke 18:1 KJV)

​Marsha Headley is author of Prayer Dynamics, a 31-day Prayer Journey, and co-author of Decisions of Destiny.

Dear professing Christian,
 
Once again, you have tried to set me straight on the character of God. You have let me know that He is nothing but love; that He adores just about everyone, regardless of belief or lifestyle, because after all He made each of us just the way we are; and that your take on Him is uniquely valid, because He told you these things personally, as opposed to those of us who believe that ancient and obsolete tome known as the Bible.  
 
And that, as usual, is the end of the conversation. You have no interest in discussing the matter further.  
 
Which makes me really sad, because it makes God sad. It is His will, you see, for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). He is in fact “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
 
But I know this is irrelevant to you, as a scripture-free theologian. So let's instead delve more deeply into your worldview.  How do you answer questions like these? 

• Why is there suffering in the world? Is this God of yours unaware of it, not being truly omniscient? Is He unconcerned about it, not really being love? Or is He incapable of stopping it, being a power or two short of true omnipotence?

 

• If the Bible’s moral dictates can be safely ignored, then who decides what’s right and what’s wrong? You? Your friends? Your political allies and heroes? Or is it just a subjective free-for-all, wherein we each get to decide for ourselves what’s right or wrong based on our deepest thoughts?

 

• If so, what happens when your idea of “right” conflicts with someone else’s?

 

• If Jesus' atonement for man's sin applies to all without regard to our relationship with Him – if in fact we can deny Him entirely and still go to heaven – then can we just go on rampantly breaking His law? Do we even have to be kind to one another? Are adultery, murder, theft and idolatry among the acts that are perfectly okay with Him? If not, where is one to draw the line?

 
The thing is, no human being has ever been able to come up with coherent, consistent and non-contradictory answers to such questions simply by thinking about them, or by listening for voices from heaven. There is in fact only one source that does answer them all coherently, consistently and without contradiction, and that’s the Bible.
 
Which leads me to a number of things I’m dying to ask you:

• What if you’re wrong?

 

• What if you must indeed be born again to see heaven (see e.g. John 3:3)?

 

• What if there really is no salvation apart from repenting of what God defines as sin (see e.g. Luke 3:3)?

 

• What if your denial of Jesus as He revealed Himself really will result in His denial of you before the Father (see e.g. Matthew 10:33)?

 

• Are you so sure of what you believe that you’re ready to persuade a holy God that He should let you into His heaven for all eternity?

 
I’d love to hear your answers to all these questions. I’m not trying to win an argument here; my sole motive is to persuade you to hear the gospel gladly, and to become heaven-bound through repentance and trust in the Savior.  
 
Sincerely,
Kitty

I’ve heard this sentiment time and time again in today's covid 19 era: “Well, sure, our safety’s in the hands of a sovereign God, but He doesn’t want us to take stupid chances.”
 
A masked friend said something like this to me just the other day. And if I hadn’t been biting my tongue, I would have told her, “Rubbish!”
 
The reason? I’d just finished reading The Story of John G. Paton, or Thirty Years among South Sea Cannibals (Compass Circle, 2019, originally published around 1892).  
 
Born in Dumfries, Scotland, in 1824 and raised by devout parents in the Reformed Presbyterian church, John G. Paton became a passionate homeland evangelist in his youth. Then, as a young man, he was introduced to the pioneering missionary work of the Rev. John Inglis in the New Hebrides–a South Pacific archipelago now known as Vanuatu, with at least some of its islands once famously populated by tribes of cannibals.  
 
Paton spent most of his adult life on two islands there, first Tanna and then Aniwa. In spite of disheartening disease and deprivation, terrifying attacks by violent and well-armed locals, and many narrow escapes from death, he managed to learn the native languages, to translate key parts of the Bible into these tongues, to teach many to read, and ultimately to lead many to the Lord.
 
Heartily recommended to our Bible study group by our favorite church historian Dr. David Saxon and his wife Jamie, The Story of John G. Paton is a remarkable book on many levels.
 
Most superficially, it’s astoundingly well-written—not at all what I expected from a 19th Century missionary whose only formal training appears to have been as a manufacturer of stockings. What’s more, it wasn’t at all graphic on the subject of cannibalism; thankfully, he left that abomination to the reader’s imagination.
 
Far more important, this missionary demonstrated beautifully how to live out Jesus’ instructions for the Christian walk: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23, NKJV). Paton’s passion was bringing these bloodthirsty pagans to Christ, whatever the personal cost; and indeed, by the end of his ministry, it was said that the entire island of Aniwa had claimed Jesus as Savior.
 
Through countless trials, Paton exhibited a level of agape love, patience and courage that could only have come from the indwelling Holy Spirit. It was his love of all men that attracted so many once-hostile natives, and his unrelenting patience and courage that allowed him to stay the course through personal tragedy and devastating illness.

How grateful I am that he lived to write about it all: What joy there is to read about the lives of these men and women as they became new creatures in Christ! 
 
Some of Paton’s difficulties have been experienced by many missionaries over the centuries, and continue to this day for the bravest. Just consider such fundamental challenges as learning an unwritten language, transforming it into the written word and translating such foreign concepts as salvation and sanctification to people whose theologies revolved around hatred, revenge and fear.
 
But what fascinated me most about this story was Paton’s fearlessness in the face of circumstances that would have sent most of us packing. His explanation? “As I had only once to die, I was content to leave the time and place and means in the hand of God.”
 
Once, when a group of tribes had banded together for a great feast and decided to include Paton and his early converts among their victims, the Christians locked themselves in the mission house. For many hours, they listened to the rampaging natives tramping about the premises, whispering to each other, listening at window and door.
 
Terrifying? No doubt. But as Paton wrote, “Our safety lay in our appeal to that blessed Lord who had placed us there … He that was with us was more than all that could be against us. This is strength; this is peace: to feel, in entering on every day, that all its duties and trials have been committed to the Lord Jesus, that, come what may, He will use us for His glory and our own real good!”
 
And more: “All through that dreadful morning, and far into the afternoon, we thus abode together, feeling conscious that we were united to this dear Lord Jesus; and we had sweet communion with Him, meditating on the wonders of His person and the hopes and glories of His kingdom. Oh, that all my readers may learn something of this in their own experience of the Lord! I can wish them nothing more precious.”
 
I think John G. Paton would have been perplexed by the timidity of today’s followers of Jesus Christ.  He took plenty of “stupid chances,” after all; what could be more reckless than planting yourself amidst tribes of men and women who would have enjoyed nothing more than executing, cooking and feasting on you?
 
As it turned out, Paton was perfectly justified in entrusting his life solely to the Lord. After completing his earthly duties, he died in the oh-so-civilized world of Australia at age 82.
 
His message to us?
 
“Reader, in your life, as in mine, one last Chapter still awaits us. By His grace, who has sustained me from childhood till now, I would work out that Chapter, and live through these closing scenes. With this book still open before you, I implore you to go alone before your blessed Saviour, and pledge yourself so to live, and so to die, in the service and fellowship of the Lord Jesus, that you and I, who have companied with each other through these pages, may meet again and renew our happy intercourse in our FATHER’S HOUSE.”
 
I can’t wait to meet this most inspiring brother in Christ. In the meantime, I join the Saxons in wholeheartedly recommending his autobiography.

Here we go again: ​a recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reveals that any amount of running will reduce your risk of death from every cause imaginable, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. “Even small ‘doses’ of running appeared to improve health and longevity,” the researchers gushed.
 
This would seem to at least partially confirm the findings of  a 12-year Danish study of 1000 healthy joggers, published in 2015. "A light jog a few times a week may help you live longer,” said the Danish researchers. But don’t go crazy, they warned: “Those who jogged strenuously were just as likely to die during the study period as those who were sedentary."

So the latest scientific knowledge returns once again to recommending moderation in all things. But never fear: A year or decade from now, there'll no doubt be another study reserving long life to high-speed, pavement-pounding marathoners.  

What's missing from the ever-changing brilliance of modern secular science? Just this singular fact, noted by King David 3000 years ago: "And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them" (Psalm 139:16b).

This is why secular science's most heartfelt solutions for extending our longevity are doomed to fail. The truth is that we each have a divinely scheduled appointment with death. And nothing can possibly change it -- not even all the medications or diets or exercise regimens the world can possibly dream up.

But here's the best news: You will live forever. The only question is where you'll spend it. 

So if you haven't done so already, why not take some time today to plan your destination for all eternity?