old blog- When Death Comes Knocking 8/11

August 11, 2008 10:07 p.m.

When Death Comes Knocking…..

In the past two days, we have lost two prominent celebrities – Bernard Jeffery McCullough bna Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, Mr. Hot Butter Soul Man himself. Both will be sorely missed. The comic antics of Bernie and the smooth seductive voice of Isaac. Both are known to us all around the country but death has also knocked on our community door as well. Just this past week, The Swift family buried Alfred J. Swift, Sr. and the Johnson Family laid to rest Ellis Johnson, Jr. Alfred’s children went to Jones with me and Ellis Johnson’s grandson is a classmate of mine. He was touched on both sides because Mr. Swift was his future father-in-law. Another classmate, Raymond, aunt passed away the same weekend as our reunion.

When I think about others as well, it makes me even MORE thankful that God has given me another chance. In the words of Chester Baldwin, its more than a second chance because I’ve used that up a long time ago. My heart ached for the couple who were on their honeymoon in Antiqua and were killed. The groom just died a couple of days ago. Both had promising careers but tomorrow wasn’t promised to them. I think about the children who are missing and presumed dead- they won’t have the chance to take the state tests, participate in their high school activities nor apply to colleges let alone attend.
I think back to June 20, 1997 when my beloved father went home to be with God. I really do miss him but his body was tried and we had to let him go. It was a very emotional time and still is when certain things take place. Were we ready for it? No, we were not.
We were totally taken off guard, but death doesn’t wait for no one.
This brings me to my main point……

When death comes knocking for either you or a love one, will you be ready? We hear in church allllllll the time, “You better get your house ready!” Some folks think that it means to clean up the house that they live in but the “house” that they are referring to is that which is you- physically, mentally, spiritually, and financially.

Many of us help death physically because we don’t take care of our bodies. Our bodies are plagued with diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and cholesterol, kidney disease, lung disease, acid reflux you name, we’ve got it. A lot of it has to do what we eat. Mentally, we are so stressed by the pressured of life that we can’t handle things and we restore to other things to help us maintain which sometimes leads us to death. We aren’t able to grasp realistically what has taken place and in some cases, we totally lose it-especially at the services. Spiritually, we are so disconnected from God’s will because of our own will that we don’t understand it when a saint goes home. We question God of why would He do this to us? I asked God this and He gave me the answer – I was so depended on my father that I forgot to depend on Him. He’ll grab your attention one way or another. Financially we are ready because we leave our families in a bind. We don’t have any life insurance or annuities or even a will with directions. We walk around like we have all the time in the world, but we don’t. We don’t know when our number will be called so we can’t live life as if it is promised to us forever. The only thing that we can say for certain that if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior and LIVE for Him, (not doing the lip service of saying it but doing a whole other thing) we are promised eternal life.

So let’s wrap this up… when death comes knocking make sure you are ready physically, mentally, spiritually and financially. Take care of your bodies so that your body won’t be a hindrance. Get yourself together mentally by watching what you feed your mind, who you allow in your world and the way that you think about yourself. Spiritually, get to connected to the source of life, to the one who can give you eternal life. God has already told us that he would never leave us nor forsake us. Financially, make sure that your family isn’t having to beg in the newspaper or sell chicken dinners on the side of the road because they can’t bury you since you didn’t leave them any provisions!!! Get some life insurance!!!!!! And above all, LEAVE A WILL!!!! One of the biggest destruction of a family is when one dies and folks don’t know how to act sensibly. Trust me, I’ve seen it, heard it AND experienced it as well. It’s not a happy picnic- many feelings are hurt or bruised; thus families begin to disband. If you didn’t know it or not, satan loves it when families don’t stay together. As Bro. Tyler Perry has stated, “A family that prays together, stays together.”

My family, let’s make sure that we continue to encourage, lift up, show compassion and support one another so that when death comes knocking, you’ll be able to handle it on ALLL levels and I want have to watch them pack your crazy butt out of the church for falling out!!!

Be Blessed and love you all!!!!!

11:31 p.m.