By Beth Fore
“One thing I ask of
the LORD, this is what
I seek: that I may
dwell in the house of the
LORD all the days of my
life, to gaze upon the
beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in
his temple.”
(Psalm 27:4 NIV)
Crossing Over to the Other Side
Holy Father, as I rest here quietly
in sweet repose upon my bed.
My mind wrestles with consciousness,
and my thoughts go where they are led.
I can vaguely hear distant voices
of loved ones attending to me.
I feel the warmth of their gentle presence
as they touch my body lovingly.
Sometimes I see the smiling faces
of loved ones who are now a memory.
Sometimes I hear joy and laughter,
precious moments with friends and family.
And then I see the kind face of Jesus,
shining brightly aglow with light.
He speaks softly with a smile on His lips,
“Child, you are precious in my sight.”
I feel the essence of life slip away
as I breathe my last breath of air.
I see Jesus extending His hand to me,
as He answers my last earthly prayer.
by Beth Fore
*One of the greatest motivations for Christians choosing to accept Jesus as their Savior and to live a life of love and obedience to Him, is that they know they will one day be in heaven with Him and will be able to worship, praise, and adore Him all the time.
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to see him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4 NIV)
Every person has a unique journey with God, and we can’t know for sure what a person experiences in the last few months, weeks, days, or minutes of his life. I have been present with my parents and my sister when they were dying, and I’ve witnessed some very interesting things. Sometimes you see people squirming and getting agitated in their sleep, as though they are hashing out some things about their lives with God. Sometimes, you see a person smiling and calling out to loved ones who have already died. It is as though the person sees their loved ones in heaven and they look forward to going to heaven to be with them.
I think that there are times in the weeks and days before a person’s death when they are in an altered reality, or a semi-conscience state. They know what’s going on here on earth, but they also seem to know what is going on in the world beyond the grave. It seems as though God is preparing them for what is yet to come.
Unfortunately, many people are in great pain before they die. They are usually given much stronger doses of pain medicine to relieve them. They may have hallucinations about their death and their destination after death. This may be very pleasant or very unpleasant depending on their destination. Sometimes people who are dying talk about what they see in these dreams , or hallucinations, and it can be very frightening if they are seeing hell rather than heaven.
The Christian’s greatest desire is to see God in all His power and holiness and to stand before Him in heaven and gaze upon His face as he worships and praises Him. The Christian looks forward to the beauty and perfection of heaven and the fact that there will be no sickness, sadness, or sorrow in heaven. The Christian waits to hear the voice of Jesus and knows that his Savior will take him by the hand and lead him to his new home in heaven!
Applications
- Even though the Bible teaches us that there is a heaven and a hell, many choose not to believe in either of them, or, at least, not hell. Why do you think this is so?
- How do you picture God in all of his beauty?
- Have you, or anyone you know, experienced some things that seemed supernatural, or very revealing, at the time of a loved one’s death? Share them.
- What do you fear about death?
- What do you think a Christian’s attitude toward death should be?
If you have questions about how to follow Jesus or deepen your relationship with Him, email us at NLBIministry@gmail.com.
Here’s an article about becoming a Christian. https://woww.newlifebehavior.org/what-it-means-to-follow-jesus-how-to-become-a-christian/
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