In keeping with the column on the back page of this issue concerning spiritual longevity, we consider a related idea by way of the question, "have you died lately?"

Paul said, "I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily" (1 Cor. 15:31 ). Moffat trans­lates: "Not a day but what I am at 's door." Paul is saying that his work and life as a Christian placed him in daily danger.

In like vein he said to the Romans, "as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long ..." ( 8:36 ). Again, the faith­ful Christian must be prepared to "die daily." Paul was called upon to do so, and so may we be.

But when we think about it, how long has it been since I was "killed" for the Lord? How long has it been since I "died" for his cause? You say, "but I have not been faced with a critical situation that would call for this." Perhaps so, and this is the ideal, and is probably so in most cases. But there are more subtle ways of "dy­ing" for the Lord than having to face the persecution of the world.

Have you recently been called upon to make a decision between what you might want and what the Lord might expect of you? Would you sacrifice your "feelings" in the matter to please God? If not, you refused to "die" for him.

It may be a "small" thing, such as a fail­ure to give financially for the work of the church in order to have something that you might want. In order for you to have it, you must withhold what is rightfully the Lord's. Yes, we are faced with insig­nificant decisions compared to those faced by Paul - it ought to make us ashamed.

When the well known "peer pressure" is brought to bear on you, do you yield to that rather than what God tells you is right? Does it really mean that much to look good in the eyes of your associates? The decisions you make are probably pretty good indicators of how you would act under more trying and difficult cir­cumstances.

Read Second Corinthians 11:24-33 and see what Paul had to face. Read the life of Jesus and see what he was called upon to endure. Our lives are never in danger such as were theirs - and yet they were willing to face this every day in order to be right with God. We ought to be willing to demonstrate the same spirit and "die daily" if need be. - Bill Moseley

  

 

 

 

The old timer had just celebrated his 100 ^th birthday when somebody asked him what he would do different if he had his life to live over. Without hesita­tion he said, "If I had known I was gonna live this long I would have taken better care of myself."

I guess hindsight advice (even if it is to ourselves) never goes out of style! Looks like lots of folks don't plan on living very long. And as far as flesh and blood, skin and bones are concerned, that may be the case. None of knows when our "time" will arrive. But there is one way in which all will live forever, and that is in a spiritual sense. That eter­nal existence will either be in heaven or hell.

How are you taking care of yourself? Getting plenty of spiritual exercise (cf. 1 Tim. 4:7)? Keeping yourself spiritually clean? How about your communication with God? Is it lacking, either going upward in prayer or coming down by a study of God's truths?

How long do you plan on living? Seems to me that we need to recognize that in the end of the whole affair that we really need to be taking better care of our­selves in a spiritual way. The reason is simple and obvious. Every one of us is going to be somewhere in eternity! With that sobering thought before each of us, are we taking proper care of ourselves? Might as well enjoy a healthy, spiritual eternity. - Bill Moseley