Overwhelmed (video sermon)

 

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me (poem)

 When tomorrow starts without me

And I’m not there to see;

If the sun should rise and find your eyes

All filled with tears for me.

I wish so much you wouldn’t cry

The way you did today;

While thinking of the many things

We didn’t get to say.

I know how much you love me

As much as I love you;

And each time that you think of me,

I know you’ll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me

Please try to understand,

That an angel came and called my name

And took me by the hand.

She said my place was ready

In heaven far above;

And that I’d have to leave behind,

All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,

A tear fell from my eye;

For all my life, I’d always thought

I didn’t want to die.

I had so much to live for,

So much yet to do;

It seemed almost impossible,

That I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays,

The good ones and the bad;

I thought of all the love we shared,

And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday

Just even for awhile,

I’d say goodbye and kiss you

And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized

That this could never be;

For emptiness and memories

Would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things

I might miss come tomorrow;

I thought of you, and when I did,

My heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven’s gates

I felt so much at home;

When God looked down and smiled at me

From His great golden throne.

He said, “This is eternity

And all I’ve promised you;

Today your life on earth is past,

But here it all starts anew.”

“I promise no tomorrow,

But today will always last;

And since each day’s the same day,

There’s no longing for the past.”

“But you have been so faithful,

So trusting and so true;

Though at times you did do things,

You knew you shouldn’t do.”

“But you have been forgiven

And now at last you’re free;

So won’t you take my hand

And share my life with me?”

So when tomorrow starts without me,

Don’t think we’re far apart

For every time you think of me,

I’m right here in your heart.

-David Romano

It Matters to The Master (song)

Overcome Evil With Good

 I Timothy 1:18- This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;

Most people today don't realize that we are in a Spiritual battle. Just because we can't see the enemy or physically feel his attacks doesn't mean he doesn't exist. To win the battle, we need to think the way God does.

Romans 12:21- Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

If you watch movies then you know the world believes that you overcome evil by tactics and force. But in the battle we're fighting those things won't work. To overcome a Spiritual evil you need good. But, how exactly does one go about overcoming with good?

Don't dwell carelessly. 

I Corinthians 10:12- Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

If you watch boxing then you know that the first and most important rule is to keep your guard up. Once those hands start to drop, the face becomes unprotected and the opponent zeros in on the head as the main target.

The enemy always seeks opportunity to attack; don't let your guard down. The moment you become complacent is the moment he'll ambush you. 

Don't sacrifice the eternal on the altar of the temporary.

Hebrews 12:15-17- Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Too many Christians take something they want too quickly. The devil always offers his best before the Lord sends what's right for us along. If you jump at what's dangled in front of you instead of waiting for God's direction you could end up paying for it for the rest of your life.

Don't be too quick to judge.

I Kings 20:11- And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

The King of Israel is giving some pretty wise advice here. Don't brag as if you've already won when you haven't even left the locker room. 

You may have some victories under your belt, but you can still get knocked down. Don't ever think that you've arrived as a perfect Christian. You won't be perfect until Christ calls you home!

Quiet and secure is not the standard.

 I Thessalonians 5:3- For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

There's consequences to laziness. Doing only what you have to will not get you very far in life. Going to church on Sunday mornings and living like the world the rest of the week won't earn you rewards in heaven. You can still fail as a Christian if you serve yourself during this lifetime.

You should not be the final authority. 

Jeremiah 17:9-10- The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Your heart can easily be deceived into thinking you aren't that bad. When we make ourselves the final authority then our desires become the rule of law. Sometimes we don't understand what all God considers sin. Foolish talking, jesting, doing things without faith, not controlling our words or actions, over indulgence, and much more are sin in God's eyes. 

Don't get far from God; you need him.

James 4:8- Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

The closer you are to God the better you'll be able to discern His ways. And there will come a time when you need His guidance!

That being said, don't alienate yourself from the brethren.

Pro 27:17- Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

You'll get dull eventually; you need other Christians to encourage you. Sometimes, you need other Christians just to get through some things. Being alone never ends well; any psychiatrist will tell you that self-isolation is the first step towards a downward spiral!

God is interested in quality more than in quantity. You should see progress and growth over time. If you aren't changing then you should take some time to analyze your life and see where you need to make adjustments. There should be advancements made daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

Romans 13:11- And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Wake up, Christian! It's time to prepare for battle. You need to strive to do good or you will be overcome by evil!

Getting Ready To Die

 We were recently hit with the news that my sister has stage 4 liver cancer that had already spread to other organs and her bones. To say that the news was reeling would be to put it mildly. I began to think of all the things that she would miss. Would she see her children married? Would she get to hold her grandchildren? The list goes on.

I'm the type of person that needs to do something to fix things. But I can't fix cancer. So, I started looking at what she would need to accomplish before the Lord decided to take her home.

I created a list of things to consider having prepared for those that she left behind. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for them. So, I'm sharing that list with you. Cancer gives you an ETA, but there are other ways to die that are sudden, and we should always be prepared since death is inevitable and the timing is uncertain.

1) Create an "in case of death binder" (preferably in a waterproof safe) with all important paperwork:

• Medical Documents
• Bank account numbers, both checking and savings 
• Insurance policies - life, home, auto, etc
• Investment account details 
• Safe deposit box location, number, and keys
• Social security card, birth certificates, marriage certificates, and passports, etc
• Utility and other monthly billing information
• Mortgage, deed, or lease for your home or residence
• Vehicle titles
• Internet account numbers and passwords, including subscriptions and email accounts
• Utility statements, phone bills, other monthly payment for your houshold
• Important phone numbers for family members, your lawyer, doctor, and financial planner, pastor, and your preferred funeral home.  

These should be signed copies or originals. You could also put scans of these on a thumb drive.

Generally you will update this every January with all new current documents.

If you are looking to get life insurance, then I recommend Term Life. Follow this link to see what the difference is and why it's best to get term life instead of whole life.

2) Add a trusted person to your bank account so that they can pay the bills. If you have any safe deposit boxes add that person as a co-owner to those, too. IF you have a co-owner on your account, then they can sign in and use your funds to pay the bills. The only person that has access to a safe deposit box is the owner- if you don't have co-owner no one is getting into that box without going through the courts!

Adding a person to your bills makes them liable. You could add someone to your utility bills so that they can speak to the companies on your behalf, but you may not want to saddle them with your loans or credit card bills so leave their names off those.

If you don't want to a person to your bank accounts, add the children as "payable on Death" beneficiaries to your accounts. Most banks and credit unions offer this. This will allow them to access the monies with just an ID and your death certificate.

No one can legally sign on your behalf if you are incapacitated without going to court (this is also where a POA comes in, see item 4).

3) Last Will & Testament (to whom you want your property and responsibilities to go) with three different people in order to take care of guardianship and other matters- i.e. my mother {NAME}, but if she is unable or unwilling, then ....

If you don't have a will, this will go to intestacy and the judge gets to decide everything. With a will you decide where all your assets (and non-probate assets) go. Be specific. If you want a specific person to have your vehicle, name it. If you want your wedding rings to go to your daughter, call it out. The more specific, the easier it will be on your loved ones.

With this step, decide if you need to set up a Trust Fund for any assets, bank accounts, retirement or life insurance monies, etc. The Secure Act requires that these monies need to be used completely within ten years after the date of death of the original owner. A trust would put a Trustee in charge to decide how to divy the funds out over the next ten years. Look into "eligible designated beneficiaries".

4) Medical and Financial Power of Attorney. These can be the  same person or different people. The wording can give them the authority only if you are incapable of making those decisions yourself- I also recommend these for any disabled person or special needs person in your family. If you can add a successor onto these, in case the first choice is unavailable, you should do that as well.

5) Long term care plan for special needs or disabled persons. If you have a relative who is suddenly saddled with your kids and a person with special needs it might overwhelm them. Giving them a plan to follow will make things a lot easier and less stressful.

6) Living Trust (paperwork) that tells what you want to happen after death, and plan what you want done at your funeral, if you want buried or cremated, and where you want laid to rest. This is will take the burden off of them in trying to figure it all out. You could even write your own obituary for them to have on hand so they don't have to struggle with coming up with the right words while grieving.

7) Update your beneficiaries on all your policies with primary and contingent beneficiaries. You can word it so that if your child gets married, and then passes before you, that their portion of your willed benefits goes to their children and not their spouse.

Beneficiary driven assets are not "frozen" by the court upon death, and can be accessed without having to hire an attorney and go through succession/ probate process. 

8) End-of-life documents- a DNR (Do not resuscitate), POLST Physician orders for life sustaining treatment), and similar documents—these are medical orders that you must ask your doctor to draft for you. 

While you can do all of this without any legal consult, there are benefits to hiring an attorney. Some heirs find themselves having to go through probate because the will was void due to not following legal requirements. EXAMPLE-Louisiana is different than every other state. Only two types of wills are legal in this state. One is olographic (written entirely by hand) and the other is notarial (signed by a notary and two witnesses).

9) I prefer to make this a Legacy Binder. Add in a section with your stories. What it was like growing up with your family. Did you face any particular hardships? How did you meet your spouse? Did you create a family tree and how far back does it go? How did you get saved?

The last thing would be to make sure you know where your soul will spend eternity. The Bible says you can know. You may spend days or even months preparing for when you die, but if you don't prepare for your soul then all that time for you, personally, was wasted.

This is something that we should all think about, regardless of age or health. None of us know the day of our death. There's no expiration date stamped on our bodies- which is both a blessing and an annoyance.

Ecclesiastes 8:8- There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

We will all die someday, and after that we will stand before God. But we can be saved from what the Bible calls the "second death". The second death is the eternal death of the soul.

Revelation 20:11-14- And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Our soul has a debt that must be paid. Either we accept that Christ was the son of God manifest in the flesh who died to pay the debt for our sin on the cross, was buried, and rose again the third day proving that He was God, OR we pay for it ourselves in Hell. The choice can only be made by you; and not making a choice is actually defaulting to paying it by yourself. You must ask God to apply Christ's payment on the cross to your sin debt to get your name written down in the book of life.

It's really very simple. Just believe, confess, and ask. For more information on preparing your soul for death, please follow this link.

I Found It All (song)

A Psalm Of Life (poem)

 Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 

   Life is but an empty dream! 

For the soul is dead that slumbers, 

   And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real! Life is earnest! 

   And the grave is not its goal; 

Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

   Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

   Is our destined end or way; 

But to act, that each to-morrow 

   Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

   And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

Still, like muffled drums, are beating 

   Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world’s broad field of battle, 

   In the bivouac of Life, 

Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

   Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant! 

   Let the dead Past bury its dead! 

Act,— act in the living Present! 

   Heart within, and God o’erhead! 

Lives of great men all remind us 

   We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 

   Footprints on the sands of time; 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 

   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 

   Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, 

   With a heart for any fate; 

Still achieving, still pursuing, 

   Learn to labor and to wait.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow