Broken Chains of Death

September 23

(Psalm 116:15-19 NIV) “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. {16} O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. {17} I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. {18} I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, {19} in the courts of the house of the Lord -- in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.”

(Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV)  "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- {15} and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."

(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV)  "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. {14} We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. {15} According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. {16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. {17} After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. {18} Therefore encourage each other with these words."

To the unbeliever, death is a feared enemy that must be defeated at all costs. We spend billions of dollars a year fruitlessly trying to beat it back and delay the inevitable. In the end, death always wins. But to the disciple of Jesus, death is an enemy that has already been defeated by our Lord. Christ paid the price. We are set free from the chains of death. Death is no longer our master. Just like darkness, it no longer rules in the life of the believer. Though our flesh will fail, our spirit will triumph. Because of Jesus, we have eternal life. When we die, we will go to be with the Lord forever. He will not abandon us to the grave. We will rise again. Fear has been replaced by faith. This is why the death of saints is precious in the sight of the Lord. It is a homecoming -- a reunion -- a victory! Thank Him. Keep your vows to Him. Praise the Lord! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day