PREFACE

Older sheep need better feeding than younger ones ( Hebrews 5:12-14 ) ; we cannot live on milk all of our life ( although many attempt it ). The old disciples are fast approaching a time when they shall almost be in view of Home, and their concern is to be ' ready to depart ' ( Philipp.1:23 ). The old are aware of a decline in many areas of their life, but there is no necessity for spiritual decline. These Readings are written to encourage elderly believers, to help lift the mind onward and upward, - a comfort which only God can give with His Word. May the Spirit work with His Word in us.

None of us knows if we are on the last page of the last chapter of our life in this world, and from that perspective these readings are profitable for all ages.

Rev J.Clark. BA(hons.) MA. BSc(hons) MSc. MEd. MTh.

JANUARY 1 

" Mnasson...an old disciple." Acts 21:16.

An old person is not necessarily an old disciple. Some are not converted until old age, and have only been ' on the road ' following Christ for a few years. Mnasson, however, had been a disciple for many years and grew old following Christ. The hardships of his life are not recorded but were no doubt many, as were the joys. Whatever the age of the Christian ' pilgrim ' he will always be a learner, a ' disciple '. We need to be taught every day, sometimes the same things every day. The Holy Spirit has made us willing to come to Him and to learn from Him. All believers. young and old, learn in the same school ( John 6:45), all are taught by God. God still uses old disciples, just as He did Mnasson. Some people say that he didn't do much, but he was valued by the Apostle Paul and His name is recorded by God - how many have that honour ? In this world we are not good learners and need constant correction, but it is all done with Divine love and patience. " Three steps forward and two steps back," is how Swindoll describes our course here.

As we are finite, this learning process will go on in heaven, but there we will be taught ' face to Face ', with no more failures or misunderstandings on our part there. There we shall ' follow the Lamb '( Rev.14:4 ) as we ought and we shall be what He promised and what we desired. " Which when I saw I wished myself among them." ( John Bunyan)

JANUARY 2

" Yet is their strength labour and sorrow." Psalm 90:10.

The infirmities of old age bring their own labours and sorrows, some new, some which have accompanied us for years. We are affected in our senses, strength, and in our physical activity. Christians are affected with the same afflictions as others in old age, but they have the upholding power of God in their souls while the body grows annually weaker. Moses was remarkably preserved but in this Psalm he speaks of the common experience. We must adapt to our infirmities and limitations as we grow older, and also recognise them as precursors of death, the final weakness. Job, another old believer, reminds us that the consolations of God' are not small ', and how thankful we should be that we have them. Many are simply ' waiting for the end ', but we are waiting for God. Patience is necessary but not always easy in the midst of loneliness and failures. But God knows our fragile frame ( Ps.103:13,14) and looks on with the love and pity of a Father. If we love the Son we know we are loved by the Father, no matter how dreadful we may feel some days. When heart and flesh fail us, He does not ( Ps.73:26). We get through some days and we wonder how - it is because we were carried. Why ? Because He has said, " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." We pray as Bunyan's pilgrim did, " Hold out faith and patience."

JANUARY 3

" They shall still bring forth fruit in old age." Psalm 92:14.

" Old age can become a favourable time for exercising and improving faith. 

Why ? Because the activity of the life of sense is declining, and thereby many things are removed which before obstructed the growth of the spiritual life." ( W.Romaine) The young are tempted ( often successfully) to judge of things by their feelings and not by the Word of God. Feelings can give a false assurance and a false peace, but old age brings less of self-dependence and more dependence on things outside of ourselves, on God and His Word. Thus faith can grow and flourish because it is less dependent on other things. There is less of sense and more of faith in the life, less walking by things seen but by things not seen. The outward physically decays while the inward spiritual grows ( 2 Corinth.4:18. 5:7).

This spiritual vigour is not the result of natural processes but entirely of grace. Grace distinguishes the believer from others who have no Divine supports when all human supports fail. The believer is " happy in God, he has patience given to him to bear his sufferings and the grace to profit from them." ( W.Romaine) Great weakness makes more room for the power of God to operate in us ( 2 Corinth. 4:7. 12:10). This grace keeps us from fainting inwardly. Slowly our earthly tabernacle is being taken down ( 2 Corinth.5:1 ) but He does it with much tenderness and love. We join the others of whom it is written, " These all died in faith." ( Heb.11:13). " I am poor and needy, but the Lord thinks upon me." ( Ps. 40:17) This is our eternal comfort.

JANUARY 4

" The path of Life." Psalm 16:11.

If we are alive in Christ we are on that path. As we approach our destination our thoughts are more and more in contemplating the end of the journey. The people of the world talk much about journeys they are about to take eg. to a city or holiday destination. Likewise, no-one goes to heaven without anticipating it or talking about it. It would be strange if those on the path of life did not ! We begin the process of dying when we enter the world.This is certain but sin has the power to keep our minds on other things. The young count on many years ahead, the old live one day at a time, and without Christ they can only be lonely days. We limp along but the Christian has someone to lean upon, the Beloved Son ( Song of Sol.8:5 ). When we speak to others we speak as dying men to dying men. Sheep need to be fed and guided all their days. We are confident in this, ' The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.' It is His Word to us, for comfort and guidance. Christians do not die alone, the Shepherd is with them and ' in God's House forever more their dwelling place shall be. These simple promises comfort us, although they are still considered " foolishness " by the world. But how do they die ? !

JANUARY 5

" LORD, make me to know my end... What wait I for ? My hope is in Thee."Psalm 39:4,7.

The idea of eternity can sweeten or embitter our life in this world. The best healthcare in the world cannot halt our slow march towards death. Moreover, dying and death are spiritual matters and not just biological. Having a philosophy of life is not as important as having a theology of death. People are living longer, according to statistics, but statistics also tell us that death is 100%. Neither does living longer produce faith ; indeed, there are very few conversions in old age - but there are some. faith sees the way through life and the way through death - the way Christ made and took, He came through death, out the other end of it into heaven, and He calls sinners to follow Him through. Knowing this way gives us a joy and hope which the world does not have and therefore cannot understand. We have discovered the meaning and purpose of life, and it has changed us forever.

As we increasingly grow weaker each year our faith is increasingly looking forward to a place ' where we can be young again.' There is conformity to Christ in heaven, there is no aging process in heaven, only perfection of soul and body. We judge the value of things by their end. The ship may have engine troubles on the long crossing, but when it reaches the farther shore this is not thought of, only the joy of arriving. It is how we finish that matters. " My mind was ever beyond the river that has no bridge. " ( Bunyan).

JANUARY 6

" He weakened my strength in the way." Psalm 102:23.

He did it, it was His plan and timetable for this experience on the way to heaven. A sense of weakness is a good thing, it reminds us of our limitations. We have never been perfect in our strength, especially in our spiritual matters. Fears and failures have been part of our lives for many years. We have always been weak, but now we feel it more. Our journey began with a sense of weakness, we realized we were ' without strength ' ( Rom.5:6) and so our dependence on Christ for everything began ( Phil.4:11) ; this is how we live, with childlike faith, leaning on Him ( Song of Sol.8:5).

A sense of weakness is a restraint on pride and fantasy ; the real world is imperfect, as are we. We are passing through this world, we were not made for this world but for the next. This is a world of thorns and wounds ( Gen.3:18. 2 Corinth.12:7) where people get hurt and joys are not constant. Weakness keeps us on the right way, it sends us out of ourselves for strength. We are weak but never abandoned, He will ' hold up our goings '. We move more slowly but just as safely as before. " In heaven we shall be more happy but not more secure ( than we are here). " ( A. Toplady)

JANUARY 7

" I die daily." 1 Corinthians 15:31.

" We are fitted for heaven by learning to die daily." ( Spurgeon) Paul was daily ready to die. Thus death would not surprise him, he was waiting for it. Alas, some are surprised when death comes, they are not ready to die. We are helped in this by meditating more on the world to come and thus less on the attractions of this world. Prayer maintains our contact with the Ruler of the invisible world as we loosen our ties with this one. The Gospel invites us to leave the land of the dying and travel to the land of the living. The journey is by faith, by a persuasion from God that there is such a place and that Christ has gone to prepare it for us. Meanwhile we must be prepared to depart, and ' die daily.' It is easy to think that ' all are mortal except ourselves ' despite the funerals every week to remind us. We read in newspapers that such a one ' dies peacefully ', but was it peace with God ? Surely that is what matters. We cannot help thinking of Home and as we come nearer to it we are concerned to leave a testimony behind that Christ spoke the truth about all things. We are ready to answer His call,' Come up hither,' " The last words of Mr. Honest were ' Grace reigns ', and so he left the world." ( Bunyan)

JANUARY 8

" Come up hither." Revelation 11:12.

The journey to heaven ends as it began, with a Voice - a great Voice, a Voice of command and power. When we are born into this world we immediately start going the wrong way. It is only when God intervenes and we hear a Voice behind us saying, " This is the way, walk ye in it '( Isaiah ) that we are compelled to turn around and to being following the Shepherd, the One who called us to follow Him ( John 10:27 ) It is when we now turn around that we recognise the Speaker and rejoice that all that we had heard about Him is true. Our life is now spent following Him according to His Word ( as recorded in the Bible). It is not a flawless following but He keeps us on track, having to restore us sometimes. It is the Voice of the Trinity," Come up hither." The Father calls His children Home, the Son has prayed for their return ( John 17:24 ) and the Holy Spirit detaches the soul from the body to enter heaven ( for we cannot be glorified until we see Christ face to Face). The Spirit keeps the union between the body and Christ and He knows where to find our bodies when He returns at the end of the world ( John 5:28). And when He comes He shall address the body, " Come up hither." One day that Voice will call for us, that we are wanted at Home. The dying thief said, " Lord remember me ", and He did !

JANUARY 9

" I am eighty years old...Can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink ? " 2 Samuel 19:35.

Barzillai said to David," How long have I to live ? " ( vs.34) He could see in himself the signs of age, the lack of taste, the sensitivity to pain, the sluggishness of his movement. He also could not enjoy what he did in his youth ( vs.35), and had adapted to his limitations. He knew what he could do and what he could no longer do. He could have pleaded old age as a reason for not getting involved in King David's controversy with his enemies, but no, he did what he could to help David, even when David was unpopular and had few followers.It is even so with Christ the King. His loyal followers will follow Him to the end, despite the unpopularity. Many follow Christ only until the going gets rough and then they opt out and retire from the battle against the rebels. This shows that they were only into Christianity for the gains, the losses sifted who was on the Lord's side and who was not. In the end David won, as Christ shall. Barzillai was concerned for his family and he requested that David take his son with him, so that he would grow up in his company ( vs.37). This is also our desire for our own families. We shall only be with them a little time longer and we pray that Christ will take them to be with Him for eternity. He is the King, and He has the grace and power to do so. As we leave this world we commit ourselves and also our families into His care.

JANUARY 10

" My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle."  Job 7:6.

How quickly the years have passed. Events of 40 years ago seem like last week, and what changes have we seen since then. This perception of time is an indication of how swiftly the coming days shall pass, no matter how long each day seems. Looking back, the days pass so quickly that we can only remember some of them. No-one can define " time ", it is mysterious, but by its nature time is soon gone, never to return. The thought of those who had been with him for a time ( especially members of his own family ) and were now no longer seen, stirred up Job to think of that place which was presently invisible and unreachable. But when his time ended here he would instantly be there ; in the place he was made for.

When time stops it will be a sudden stop. We need to be aware of that, and have " our bags packed " in order to be ready to move on. There cannot be many days ahead, and they also shall pass ' swifter than a weaver's shuttle.'

JANUARY 11

" Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.

This crown is a gift, not a reward. No-one overcomes all the opposition which lies before us and gets to heaven by his own strength. The race is not yet won, the battle continues until the end of life - it's how you finish that matters. Every believer is a priest ( 1 Peter 2:9) and this means a life of consecration, with access at any time. We must pray for strength each day and pray to be kept. We have many temptations to compromise our faithfulness, especially powerful are those coming from the inside. But God is faithful to us and He will restore our souls when needed. One of the Puritans was rebuked by a worldly person as being " too precise." " I serve a precise God," he replied. Many a ship has sunk within sight of the haven because of carelessness at the close of the voyage. Not far from the border of heaven is still to be outside it. As we draw nearer to death we are increasingly aware of our spiritual frailty and also the need to leave a clear testimony to those we leave behind on earth. This is why elderly disciples ' pray without ceasing.' In their weakness they shall seek God, and they shall find Him faithful to all His promises, including this one. 

" Hitherto has the Lord helped us," said old Samuel, and He is not going to change now.

JANUARY 12

" Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth..." 1 Kings 2:2,3.

David gives us an example of what we should say to our family as we end our days here. It is important that we leave a testimony behind ; it is the most important thing we can leave behind. We commit them to the lord in prayer,and it is our hope that they will follow us. David had his faults, this he did not deny, but he was forgiven his sins by God because of Christ. It is important that our family seek forgiveness too, it must be dreadful to die unforgiven ! But David was an example of perseverance in the faith despite his weaknesses. He began to follow in faith, struggled on in faith and died in faith - and it's how you finish that matters. Those following need wisdom from God and power from God to be consistent. This needs to be prayed for as no-one is perfect in holiness on this side of the grave. Solomon was given wisdom, but was not careful (after a good start ) to resist evil. However, late in life, he returned to God in repentance, died in faith and joined his father in heaven. God alone can guide us and preserve us.

  " By what means shall a young man learn his way to purify ?

   If he according to Thy word thereto attentive be." Psalm 119:9. ( Metrical)

JANUARY 13

" For He is not a God of the dead but of the living." Luke 20:38.

Below is what Spurgeon said upon the death of the Earl of Shaftsbury in October 1885.

" The church of God has sustained a serious loss. I certainly should put him first for usefulness and influence. He was a man most firm in his faith in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, a man intensely active in the cause of God and truth.He was sincere, true and consecrated. Those things which have been regarded as faults by the loose thinkers of this age are prime virtues in my esteem.They called him narrow,and in this they bear unconscious testimony to his loyalty to truth. I rejoiced greatly in his integrity, his fearlessness, his adherence to principle in a day...when human thought is set up as the idol of the hour. He felt there was a vital and eternal difference between truth and error ; consequently he did not act or talk as if the matter was unsure. "

Is this not how we would like to be remembered ? We are all going to be remembered somehow. What testimony to Christ are we going to leave behind us ? Shall our life be identified with His ? Paul said well, " Whose I am and whom I serve." ( Acts 27:23). This is a good summary of a Christian life, and made public to those who were in danger of dying without Christ. Who knows who we can influence in our last moments ? " Be thou faithful unto death." ( Rev.2:10)

JANUARY 14

" So Job died, being old and full of days. " Job 42:17.

To say that Job went through hard times would be an understatement, nevertheless by God's power he made it through the battle of life. What lessons can be learned from his life ? Firstly, that earthly greatness and prosperity, even for God's people, is always a changeable matter. Job, in one sense, lost all that he had, except his God ( like Paul, Philipp.3:8). We see also that Satan will not give up his hatred of God's people. He cannot destroy them but he can hurt and disturb them, often using other people to do so, besides direct attacks ( which only the victim can perceive). We also see that a man can endure much more than he thought he could, because the Holy Spirit's power to keep him is greater than the power of sin or Satan ( 1 John 4:4). In this also we see the unfailing faithfulness of God in His promises to His people, despite appearances and despite their afflictions under God's Providence. " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," is His promise. He has kept His promise and preserved His people. It takes faith to fight on through our fears.

Whatever we have here, whether it be afflictions or temptations, are temporary. We have always ' need of patience.' There are aspects of the character of God towards us which can only be experienced when we suffer. Job died a veteran of the warfare on earth. He had great experience to pass on to others. Let us do likewise.

JANUARY 15

" I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5.

There were times when we felt we were left on our own, but later facts showed that our feelings were mistaken. Nevertheless, there have been times when we felt lonely although we had the faith to know that we were not alone. We know that we cannot live on feelings, but we know that life is not possible without them either. The great tests come when it is ' faith against the world ', when the senses fail but we remember God in the background of our lives still. There is a loneliness in boredom also, the daily routine, when today is just like yesterday. As we get older we also do not like changes, and therefore routine is not so bad after all ; it is easier to get through the day with it than without it. The stillness of the night can be a dreadfully lonely time, alone with our thoughts, struggling to have spiritual ones. Doubtless there has been progress in experience, but we do wonder if there is spiritual progress, and we do wonder how to quantify that, especially when our inner condition seems to fluctuate each day.

The Lord is always near to those that love Him. We still think of him and we think of our thoughts, although we are not as ' sharp' as we used to be. We pray, but are aware of gaps in our concentration.We pray...and then we think,' did I finish that prayer ? ' It is difficult to maintain focus for long. However, ' a little and often ' is a good practice now. His promise ( Heb.13:5) is to abide with us, and this means we shall ever abide with Him.

JANUARY 16

" The LORD is thy Keeper." Psalm 121:5.

This answers many fears, for we know by experience that we cannot trust in our own efforts to maintain our safety. There are too many unknowns in life ( and death ) for us to deal with, and our strength is not sufficient for unceasing vigilance in any case. Physical and spiritual stumbling all confirm our need to be kept by a greater power (1 Peter 1:5). Others may feel the need in the first two areas of life, but the lord's people are more concerned with the third, the spiritual dimension. The promise is that ' He shall keep the feet of His saints.' ( 1 Samuel 2:9. Jude 24). we need to be kept every day on the road to the Celestial City, as Bunyan calls it ( Heb.11:10,16).The LORD ( Trinity) has taken this responsibility for keeping us to Himself ( John 17:11) ; this is the title by which He has made Himself known, " Thy Keeper." He is never ' off duty ' but always beside us, our ' Immanuel.' The weakest believer thus has the strongest defence. We look to Him in our need, and we are struggling to. He knows this and also knows that only He can help us, and He will.

JANUARY 17

" Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty. " Isaiah 33:17.

This will be the end point of our journey through this world, to see the King's Face ( Rev.22:4. 1 Corinth.13:12 ). There is no heaven without Christ, He is essential to its constitution, and His reign there as Mediator is necessary for our presence there also. Heaven is not just an escape from all the woes of this world, or just an improvement of what the world calls happiness. There is a spiritual and holy dimension there which the world does not understand. To see Him we must be like Him ( 1 John 3:2). To have the right motive and aim is essential to arriving there ( John 14:6). As it is Christ's Will ( John 17:24), our arrival is guaranteed by His power, and we have the faith to trust Him. It is a great wonder to us, and moves us to adoration, that He wants His people to be with Him for ever, for we know we are sinners by nature. But this great change is what His grace accomplishes ! When the Pilgrim came to the Interpreter's House he was asked, " And what is it that makes you so desirous to go to mount Zion ? " He replied," Why there I hope to see him alive who did hang dead on the cross...and there I shall dwell with such company as I like best." ( The Pilgrim's Progress)

JANUARY 18

" And Rachel died and was buried in the way." Genesis 35:19.

The familiar face had gone, and a cold emptiness pervaded every place. Jacob was reminded of his wife every time he looked at the faces of Joseph and Benjamin. he still thought of her last day here and tried to balance it with thoughts of where she was now, peacefully happy with their Lord and Saviour. Their communion with Him cemented their communion with one another as they journeyed towards meeting Him. Rachel had been ' sent on ahead ', as Samuel Rutherford comments, and this made him think more of heaven than before. She would be the second person he would look for when he himself arrived.Their sorrow here because of death, with other sorrows flowing from it as it affects others, like a shockwave as it ripples out. 

Bereavement is a common sorrow, but it has a spiritual effect on believers which is lacking in others. For Jacob there was loss and recovery. not only did he lose ( temporarily) Rachel's presence but also her support and ' constructive criticism '. There is a sense in which he was never the same again, and we do see a change in his character. He is not so impulsive or worldly now. He had a firmer grasp on the eternal dimension, a stronger grasp of how temporary things are here. He looked forward more intensely to that final change when we leave this world, a change which every believer looks forward to, as it is " far better." ( Philipp.1:23).

JANUARY 19

" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116:15.

We see death as a loss, but the lord views it as a gain, a bringing-Home. We can never get used to it as it is ' unnatural ', not part of the original creation. But it is God's appointed way to bring most of His people to heaven. He describes them as his ' saints ', those who have received grace, grace as the result of having the Spirit of grace. When we come to die, especially if we are old, our trust in Christ has to be simple, stripped of all unnecessary additions. There is only one direction to look. All His saints are ' bought with a price ', and the giving of His Son shows the value they have in His sight. Nothing will separate them from Him, Christ has conquered death for them. We see no value in ourselves, except the one He has placed upon us because chosen in Christ.

We are not told much about death and it is natural to have some fears about the unknown. " When I think my Lord's thoughts, I shall cease to be so afraid of death." (A.Smellie) Soon we shall leave the land of the dying for " the land of the living," (vs.9), hardly noticed by the world but none of us unimportant in God's sight.

JANUARY 20

" I have set the Lord always before me." Psalm 16:8.

This is how the Christian lives, ' looking unto Jesus.' ( Heb.12:1,2) But it is not easy to hold our gaze here, there are many influences at work to distract us. There are hindrances in the path of faith. " There are rivals claiming the supremacy which should be His alone.There is sin in the heart,the usurping and insistent world, and the power of unbelief." ( A. Smellie) The eyes strain here to maintain our study of Him. We are in the world as in a boarding school, learning what we need to know in order to take our place in His heavenly kingdom. We need His guidance through this world and it is sometimes difficult to get a clear view of Him in the midst of the storms of life.It is a ' narrow path ' on which we follow Christ, and we get too near the edge sometimes. This is how the Christian dies, still looking to Him. He is before us and is the first Face we will see on the other side. Some are concerned about, ' What shall I say when I see Him ? 'But it is He who shall do the first speaking; " Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matt.25:21,23. ) The joy is ' set before us' too, and soon there shall be no distractions.When the appointed time comes He shall command our presence.

' My Lord says,Come up hither,

 My Lord says, Welcome home.' ( Rutherford )

JANUARY 21

" Who redeemeth thy life from destruction." Psalm 103:4.

David also says, ' and don't forget this,' ( vs.2). Memory has a ministry, it is a personal history of God's grace towards us. And " we shall only lose confidence in God for the future in proportion as we forget what He has done for us in the past."( Theodore Beza). He has given us life in Christ and will keep us alive in Him, even when we do die. This remembrance ought to make us grateful, but we are so sluggish that David talks to himself to remind himself daily what God has done for him. How we need to be stirred up in our enthusiasm towards God and His cause in this world. It is also a reminder that when we fall God shall raise us up ( Micah 7:7-9). We lose spiritual battles on the way, and it hurts, but if we go on patiently through each one we shall experience victory in the end. Let us remember all God's gracious interventions in our lives, especially that initial deliverance, and call all that is within us to bless His Name (vs.1). Thanksgiving is a healthy sign that we are alive in Christ. He has overcome all opposition, and will bring us through it all also.

JANUARY 22

" That ye sorrow not even as others, who have no hope." 1 Thess.4:13.

The Apostle is talking about bereavement, a frequent occurrence on earth.He reminds them that ignorance of Christ and the hereafter is the reason for despairing sorrow. The Christian has hope in his sorrow when someone of ' like precious faith ' dies. Unlike the world, who leave all their pleasures behind when they die ( Ps.49:17), we know our brethren are going to their fullest joy when they die ( Ps.16:11). The world perhaps wonders why Christians do not show excessive grief, no ' ceremonial weeping ' when a loved one dies. The reason is that we know where they are. " They have " been sent on ahead " ( Rutherford) and we are on our way to join them. But we leave the time to Him ; our times and eternity are in His hands. One day the messenger will come for us also, just like for Bunyan's pilgrims as they waited on this shore, waiting to cross over. Meanwhile our joy in the midst of sorrow is a witness to the world that ' here we have no continuing city ' ( Heb.13:14), we are still travelling towards the permanent.And we say to others, as Moses did to his father in law, " Come with us."

JANUARY 23

"Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in peace." Luke 2:29.

Many obituaries in the newspapers read that the deceased ' died in peace ', but was it peace with God ? Was it peace by believing, peace through the blood of Christ, the peace of reconciliation with God ? This is the only peace worth having, the peace which we can take with us. Simeon was glad to be found in this peace ( 2 Peter 3:14) when his Master called for him to depart out of this world. It had been difficult in this world to maintain peace of conscience, as we sin each day, but in heaven it is all peace - there is no more sin there. Daily our peace is restored by repentance ; ' confession is good for the soul.' An old preacher once said to the world, " Criticize God's people as much as you like, they die well ! " The atheist has no-one to go to in his death, he dies terribly alone. He may put a brave face on it, but is afraid inside.For the Christian death is the final transition, the adventure into the known. Known because, as Simeon said,we have His word. " According to Thy word," he said, and His word you can trust. Simeon talks to God as he dies, he is not alone.

JANUARY 24

" Thine eyes shall behold the King in His beauty... [in] the land that is very far off."  Isaiah 33:17.

There is a promise of happiness to the believer, not an improved version of the world's happiness but a spiritual happiness, a happiness that revolves around Christ. To see the King face to Face is our purpose in desiring to go to heaven. This is what we are looking for when we arrive there, this is the desire implanted in the believer's heart at conversion. There was a time when we saw no beauty in Him ( Is.53:2), but He opened our eyes, and these eyes now desire Him and look for Him. This built-in desire can only be satisfied with seeing Him ( Ps. 17:15). Our happiness is in knowing Him, this is what we were made for ( John 17:24). How shall we get there at death ? It is a land that is " very far off ", and we have no strength at death. He says He will carry us over, just as the Shepherd carries the sheep over ' the river that has no bridge ' ( Ps.23:4). In heaven we shall see and enter into the brightness of the glory of Christ ( Heb.1:3). The world cannot satisfy our longing for Him, because the world didn't give it. He not only gave it but will bring us to it ; this King is faithful to His promise and has power.

JANUARY 25

" And he kneeled down and ...he fell asleep." Acts 7:60.

Stephen's last day on earth was a hard day. He didn't die in bed but in active service. He fell on the battlefield. But when he fell, he fell forward, into Christ's everlasting arms ; He catches us when we fall. Stephen was no longer sensible to the turmoil around him. It was time to go Home to rest. " There the weary cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest." ( Job 3:17 ) He was kneeling in worship, in prayer when he died. Immediately he saw the Face of the One to whom he had prayed over many years. Before he died he prayed for Paul, the man holding the coats of those who stoned Stephen. Like Rutherford said of John Brown, " I believe that Christ has something to do with him." " Stephen's prayer gave us Paul," said Augustine.

As we come to die we look around at others, some of them receive our dying words. Now it is time to sleep, with the promise of awakening - the soul first, and then the body at the resurrection. Stephen prayed for the glory of Christ, and Christ prayed for Stephen to see it.

JANUARY 26

" I am now ready...I have finished my course." 2 Timothy 4:6,7.

When Christ called out to Paul ( in Acts 9), it was to run towards Him. The race began, and it had to be 'run with patience ' ( Heb.12:1). It was a marathon, not a short sprint. Many think it is a sprint and soon lose enthusiasm after hardship is met on the way or exhaustion sets in. These are the ' stony ground hearers ' of Mathew 13. By discerning his outward circumstances and convicted by his inner awareness Paul knew that his race through time was now ending. He would finish in eternity. It only takes one step to cross the finish line. Paul had been on the road now for about 35 years, and how much he had accomplished in the second half of his life. The first half was against Christ, the second half was boldly for Him, with the joys and also the hurtful consequences involved in serving the Lord. He had been told what it would cost him ( Acts 9:16 ) but there was no looking back ! He had seen others start out around the same time as he had ; some finished before him, some just dropped out and ran no more with Paul and his fellow-runners. We are thankful to Christ that he saw us going the wrong way and called us to follow him, to where He is now.

JANUARY 27

" This year thou shalt die." Jeremiah 28:16.

Ideally the Christian should so live that heaven is but a step away, and that we should be familiar with the country to which we are going because we have thought much about it. Sadly, most Christians barely think about heaven, and when they are close to death they have to ' read up on it ', and make up for lost time. It is strange,is it not, that we do not spend much time thinking about our destination, about the end of a process which has been going on inside of us each day since regeneration ? Jesus said He had gone ' to prepare a place for us ' ( John 14:3). We cannot afford to put off thinking about heaven until the last minute. We are not going to be released from school to go Home until we have learned all our lessons here, and some lessons cannot be learned until the last period of the day. Dying does focus the mind, but on what ? May we think more upon our destination.

JANUARY 28

" There failed not...any good thing which the LORD had spoken.  Joshua 21:45.

Anything God said would happen did happen, whether threats or promises. It is of course much easier to see this looking back than when in an anxious state waiting for promises to be fulfilled. The people of God had their fears as they passed through the wilderness of this world, but all those who received the promise in faith ( trusting God ) did enter the Promised Land. However, if we had 100% trust all our lives it would be just as easy to see it looking forward. We are more like those people in the worldliness than we think, and what a hard time Moses had in leading them ! He lost patience with them, and it is a cause of great thanksgiving ( and wonder ) that God bears with us so patiently.So faithful is He to His promise, that no believer who is loved shall perish ( John 3:16). Sometimes, when it seems to us that God is slow to act, we can feel alone and afraid. But He has His own timetable and cannot be hurried. His wisdom is for our good, and His promises encourage us to press on. None shall fail, none can !

JANUARY 29

" Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed to the LORD." 2 Kings 20:2.

Hezekiah had just received a ' terminal diagnosis. He turned his face to the wall. It was a time for privacy, a time for prayer. He wept because he felt he could have done more with his life. However, he did not attempt to give God instructions. We only have one life to live. It shall not be perfect on this side of eternity but if it is lived by faith in Christ it is an accepted life ; " the just shall live by faith." Every man's life is a plan of God. It seems somehow presumptuous to want to live it all over again. Would we really have done it better, with the capacities we had at the time ? If we are alive in Christ, that is what matters ! Hezekiah did not have any sensational vision at his death, nor did he look for one. He used the time to be near to God, and wanted to be nearer. The sands of time were sinking. Some famous Christians, like John Knox and George Gillespie were disturbed by a final onslaught of Satan on their deathbeds, but by God's grace they wrestled through. We shall not get ' dying grace ' until we come to die. " His mercy endures forever." ( Ps.136 ).

JANUARY 30 

" So Joseph died...and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." Genesis 50:26.

Man was born in the garden of Eden, and as a result of sin coming into the world, the coffin lies in Egypt. But that coffin was not only a sign of mortality but also a symbol of hope. That coffin had to be taken by the present slaves into the Promised Land when God would come down for them and free them from the slavery into which sin had brought them. This is the promise of the Gospel, that those who believe in Christ, though they die, yet shall they live, for he is " the Resurrection and the Life." ( John 11:25). We know that Christ passed through death and He will bring us through with Him, as there is a bond of trust between us. Meanwhile we are to wait patiently, as the Hebrews had to, until He does visit us to take us out of the world ( which is likened to Egypt in Revelation). This coffin was a visible reminder to the world of God's promise and their faith. In due time Moses would take the body of Joseph with him and the body would be buried in Canaan. Joseph could say with David, " My flesh also shall rest in hope." ( Ps.16:9).

JANUARY 31

" Inquire of the LORD by him [ Elisha], saying, shall I recover of this disease ? "  2 Kings 8:6.

It is notable that this pagan king had no time for a minister of God until he thought he was dying. Christians are not thought to be of any value, until death comes. Because the world has no answer to death, they will be interested in what Christianity teaches when it comes. But their interest is to escape hell, not go to Christ. They are afraid of death, and do not see it as a door to heaven. Nor do they see death as the end of their fight against sin ( Rom.7:23-25). They are sadly lacking in the marks of true conversion, and were they to recover they would return to their former way of life.

This pagan king desired heaven but he did not desire Christ. It was a sick-bed religion. We do not read that he prayed for himself ( like king Hezekiah). He wanted an answer about his future, but he did not commit himself and his future into the hands of the Son of God. Ignorance produces fear, but faith in Christ will produce faith and hope in Christ. When the pains of death come, the Christian can still say, " I love the Lord..." ( Ps.116:1-8) - this is how the Christian dies.