Dear Ones,
Hope you wake with gratefulness for another day. The question this week is, have you had a near death experience sometime in your life?  
 Devotions from Judy’s heart 
How important it is to keep heaven in view as we live our earthly life. If our eyes are only on our days in this world, we will live very differently than if we are setting our eyes on things above.
   Saturday, we went to the funeral of a pastor who lived with his wife in our apartment complex for several years. His son and daughter and grandchildren all spoke of him as the kindest person they had ever known. They used loving terms describing how much he meant to them and how he was willing to go out of his way to help others; they had no doubt that he loved them very much. That says a lot of a life well lived, for even if we do many good things and get man’s applause, if it isn’t done in love it doesn’t count for much. What we do in this life affects eternity and when we go to a funeral, it helps us get an eternal perspective.
  Just last week a 76year old man was playing volleyball at the place where I go for my exercise class. He suddenly collapsed on the gym floor and people immediately rushed to help him. Just happened that day that there were also present two nurses, an EMT, and an anesthetist, who quickly began CPR. When they called 911, they were asked if he had a pulse, but there was none and he was already cold. A pastor was also there and along with others, began praying for the man and for the team who was working on him. The Life Flight landed right in the parking lot and quickly loaded him into the helicopter. They said the outlook was poor as they flew him to the hospital where he was put on Life Support. He was that way for 2 days and not given much hope, but then a miracle happened….all of a sudden he woke up and asked how he had gotten there. He was taken to surgery and a stent put in his heart and he is now home from the hospital. I’m sure this man never knew when he went to the gym that one morning that his life would hang in the balance.
   It is so important that we are ready to go, whenever it happens to us. If we know the Lord, we have nothing to fear for we have an eternity with Him and all who have accepted Him. Like the last verse of the song (In Christ Alone) goes, that we sang in church Sunday:
     “No guilt in life, no fear in death,
      This is the power of Christ in me;
      From life’s first cry to final breath,
     Jesus commands my destiny.
     No power of hell, no scheme of man,
     Can ever pluck me from His hand:
     Till He returns or calls me home,
     Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.”
Challenge for today: Make plans to be ready to meet the Lord whenever that may happen.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy