What’s something you’ve done that you never thought you could?
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Shortly after I committed my life to Christ when I was 18, someone asked me to “give my testimony. This involved spending 10 minutes, or whatever, speaking about my experience. I chickened out and said that I’m too nervous to speak in public. But as time went on, I grew used to preaching in church and teaching engineering subjects and computing etc. in my secular jobs.
I preached at various churches around Ireland. Nowadays, I wonder how I did that. I remember Bob Dylan being interviewed around 1980 and wondering how he was able to write all these songs back in the 1960s. I could identify with him. I think that the Holy Spirit helped me, but maybe sometimes you just embrace the challenge and do surprisingly well for a time. So, it’s good to be willing to take things on, though I haven’t always been keen to 😀.
Now that I’m in my sixties, I sometimes wonder what’s ahead of me in this world. I’d like to just be taken off to heaven like Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament – but if everyone else has to go through illness first, I don’t see why I should expect to be excluded.
Anyway, here are verses about Enoch and Elijah.
Hebrews 11:5
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
2 Kings 2:11
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
Of course, if Jesus returns, I’ll be fine. The early church tended to focus on this rather than their own deaths, though some verses do focus on going to be with Christ through death. I tend to think that I’ll die, but either way, the return of Christ should be a key focus. People debate about the details, but you can focus on it without trying to figure out all the details. It’s a long time coming, but the first coming of Jesus was a long time coming too. But we are encouraged to be expectant – so I won’t think that the AD period will be as long as the BC period. Either way, like the Apostle Paul, I will depart and be with Christ, which is better by far:
Philippians 1:21-14
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
Though Paul departed 2000 years ago, his story and his epistles still benefit us. Maybe I could leave my blog online for 2000 years, but I don’t imagine that it’ll quite as influential as the writings of the Apostle Paul 😀.
Anyway, here are a few songs about been taken to heaven:
