双语灵修（葛培理牧师） ：1月26日 直面死亡

1月26日

直面死亡

“我将我的灵魂交在你手里；耶和华诚实的上帝啊，你救赎了我。”

诗篇31:5

义人的死亡截然不同于非信徒的死亡。面对死亡，他们无所畏惧。死亡只是通往天堂的一道门坎而已。保罗说，“我正在两难之间，情愿离世与基督同在，因为这是好得无比的。”（腓立比书1:23）

基督徒面对死亡，都有得胜的精神。以下一些临终遗言，令人感慨：

“我们的上帝是救赎的上帝，他让我们脱离死亡。”（马丁·路德）

​“生在基督，死在基督，肉体不必惧怕死亡。”（约翰·诺克斯）

“最重要的是，上帝与我们同在。”（约翰·威斯理）

”​我很痛苦，但我有平安，我有平安。”（理查德·巴克斯特）

《万古磐石》的曲作者奥古斯都·托普雷迪英年早逝，在他38岁弥留之际，心里充满得胜的喜乐。他宣告说：“我的灵魂已在天堂，我的祷告都是赞美。”

约瑟夫·埃弗雷特临终时说道：“荣耀！荣耀！荣耀！”他持续高呼“荣耀”超过二十五分钟。

​我自己也见证了很多圣徒的临终感言。我祖母去世前，从床上坐起来，微笑着说：“我看见耶稣，祂向我伸出手。还有本，他现在有完好的双眼和双腿（本是我的祖父，生前在葛底斯堡失去了一条腿和一只眼睛）。

我们有个老邻居，是威尔士杂货商，他去世时，我父亲就在跟前。他说：“弗兰克，你能听到那音乐声吗？有管弦乐队，诗班，还有天使的歌唱，我一生从未听过这样美妙的音乐。”然后，他就走了。

今日祷告：

天父，我们的盼望在于你，我们的生命在于你。当我们离世归天的时候，我们知道自己将会与你在一起。我们将亲眼得见祢的荣耀。奉耶稣的名，阿们。

January 26

THE DYING WORDS OF CHRISTIANS

Into your hands I commit my spirit;redeem me,O Lord,the God of truth.Psalm 31:5 NIV

Death for the righteous is distinctly different from what it is for the unbeliever.It is not something to be feared,nor is it to be shunned.It is the shadowed threshold to the palace of God.No wonder Paul declared,“I desire to depart and be with Christ,which is better by far.”(Philippians 1:23 NIV).

Most Christians have a triumphant spirit in the way they face death.Some of the statements made and recorded from deathbeds are absolutely thrilling:

“Our God is the God from whom cometh salvation.God is the Lord by whom we escape death”–Martin Luther.

“Live in Christ,die in Christ,and the flesh need not fear death”–John Knox.

“The best of all is,God is with us”–John Wesley.

“I have pain-but I have peace,I have peace”–Richard Baxter.

Augustus Toplady,the composer of“Rock of Ages,”was jubilant and triumphant as he lay dying at the age of thirty-eight.“I enjoy heaven already in my soul,”he declared.“My prayers are all converted into praises.”

When Joseph Everett was dying he said,“Glory!Glory!Glory!”and he continued exclaiming“glory”for over twenty-five minute.

In my own life I have been privileged to know what some of the dying saints said before they went to heaven.My grandmother sat up in her bed,smiled,and said,“I see Jesus,and He has His hand outstretched to me.And there is Ben,and he has both of his eyes and both of his legs.“(Ben,my grandfather,had lost a leg and an eye at Gettysburg.)

There was an old Welsh grocer who lived near us,and my father was at his side when he was dying.He said,“Frank,can you hear that music?I’ve never heard such music in all my life-the orchestras,the choirs,angels singing”–and then he was gone.

Pray for the day:

Father,our hope is in You.Our life is in You.When we die and leave this world,we know that we will go and be with You.We will see You face to face in all Your glory,in Jesus’Name,Amen.