I did not want to get old but it just happened.  The older that I get the more I think about Heaven. It was just yesterday when I was in a unique trial, I turned to Psalm 90:10-17
Moses wrote this psalm over a thousands year ago and what he says continues to be true.

"... for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away. Who understands the power of Your anger and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You? So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Do return, O LORD; how long  will it be? And be sorry for Your servants.

O satisfy us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us, and the years we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your majesty to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.

The average life expectancy for men in the U.SA. is  76.1% for men and 81% for women.  I checked all the countries in the world and for the most part life expectancy was between 70 and 80 years of age. We should not be deceived by advertisements which seem to almost guarantee that one can beat cancer and other diseases.  And then if you are given long years of life yet have no purpose, you won't even have a reason to live longer.  As believers in Christ we have the joy of the Lord and we find purpose in our suffering; it is to conform us to the image of His Son and prepare us for eternal, undiluted bliss and worship.

According to the Bible there will be a tremendous drop in life expectancy in the tribulation period.  God will be pouring out His wrath on the world and on a disobedient Israel.  Most theologians say that the last three and a half years are called the time of Jacob's trouble.  But at the end of this period He will save the whole nation by coming again during the battle of Armageddon and by destroying all the nations under the anti-Christ by the word of His mouth.


The phrase "he fell asleep in the Lord" is very encouraging.  Not all Christians have easy deaths. Spurgeon said that sometimes God puts His children to bed in the dark but even if that is the case,we still just die once and then immediately pass into eternity forever to be with the Lord.
The unbeliever will eventually end up in the lake of fire which is known as the second death.
Life Assurance is much more important than Life Insurance. Trusting in Christ alone for your salvation is the only way to get to Heaven. It is great news that the Son of God would leave the court of Heaven and pay the price for our sins once for all.  If you do not know Him, be saved today, for tomorrow is not promised to you.  SB

 

There are two important principles when it comes to grief and the Christian.
The first principle is, when faced with death, the born again believer has sure hope, because the Captain of his salvation has conquered the greatest enemy—death. In fact, the Bible proclaims that the death of saints is precious in the sight of the LORD, (Psalm 116:15). When he dies, a born again believer immediately sees Christ, (2 Corinthians 5:1-9). All sorrows are forgotten. There is no pain or grief in Heaven. There is no more curse or sin. The saved one at death is reunited with saved loved ones who have died in the Lord before them. These things are sure because of the death and resurrection of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), (1 Corinthians 15:12-26).

The second principle is that Christians, as humans, experience the overwhelming sorrow of grief, but not as others who have no hope, (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17(  Christians can be guilty of playing down the human nature of Christ (He is our great example) and also of “sanitizing” the death of a believer. Those left behind can be in severe grief for a long time.  Their humanity must be validated. Their hope of reunion must be proclaimed and made clear. A funeral of a Christian is a celebration of his life, and also a mourning of his death. The Christian believer is not immune to grief but participates in the mourning process; I Samuel 30:3, 4; John 11:33-35; Acts 8:2.

Along these lines, Robyn and I would greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue to work on our book based on the death of our daughter, Lindsay and granddaughter Emily Hope on September 11, 2001. It is difficult to write in some respects as we relive the trauma and deep sadness but we feel we have a story and testimony of His grace in grief.

Note if you would like to see statistics about all the countries of the world please go to this informative link at
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-health-rankings