Thursday, June 30, 2011

No More Dying to Do




Cathy Asbridge June 2010
Photo Shoot for Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Anna Maria Island, Florida


Friends, 
As many of you know the last 6 months of my life have been a little rough...to say the least! After 20 years of being with the most amazing woman I've ever met I now find myself alone. On March 29, 2011 Cathy, my best friend, went to be with Jesus.  Tough as it is...we'll make it!  As my 12 year old son, Tripp, said at Cathy's celebration service, "We are going to make with or without mommy, because we have Jesus!"


I recently received this note from Gloria Copeland and I felt it was worthy enough to pass a portion of it along to all of you. Enjoy....


"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
(Hebrews 2:9)


Dear Charles, 

.......Death. It's not a popular topic--even among believers. In fact, a great many are just plain scared of it. Oh yes, they talk about having eternal life. Yet when the devil tries to threaten their earthly survival with sickness or calamity, they panic.

Why? Because they haven't learned to look at death through God's eyes. Even though their spirit has been made immortal, they haven't renewed their minds to include that truth. If they had, when the devil tried to push their panic button, they'd just laugh and say, "You can't scare me, devil. I've done all the dying I'm ever going to do!"

That's true, you know. The Word of God says that you, as a born-again believer, are never going to see death (John 8:51). Jesus has been your substitute. He suffered death, so you wouldn't have to. And when He was raised, Hebrews 2:14-15 says, "He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And delivered them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

If you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, the only death you'll ever experience is behind you now. It occurred the instant you received Christ. At that moment, your old self--the one whose nature was to sin and rebel against God--died. Your body didn't die, but your spirit man--the real you-- died to Satan and all of his works. You became "a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17), immortal and absolutely incapable of death!

When you're finished with your work on the earth, you're not going to die. You'll simply shed your earthly shell and relocate to a far more glorious place.

Go to the Word and get God's perspective on death. Make a study of it. Once the reality of your immortality begins to dawn on you, the devil will never be able to threaten you with it again..... - Gloria Copeland



Wow, I can't tell you the joy it brings me to know Cathy is alive with Jesus! 


I love you all, 
Charles