My mom changed addresses Sunday, March 8, 2009. She moved to a far better place than she had
been living in - she moved to heaven. This is a time of celebration and rejoicing. My mom was ready to
go and had stated this on Saturday. The next day the moving angels came to escort her to her new
home.
People expressed condolences. I can't tell you how many times I heard this statement, "God took her
home." I absolutely do not believe this because there is no scriptural basis for it.
No matter what denomination, most of us have been taught that God takes people to heaven when He
is ready for them. If we study our Bible, we will see that this does not fit scripture. Christians have been
taught that God "takes us when it is our time and there is nothing we can do when it is our set time."
This is not based on truth and it has confused and angered people for years.
This false teaching is probably based on one scripture verse in the Bible in Hebrews 9:27 which states,
"it is appointed unto men once to die..." and possibly the way the King James version states that the
Lord would "take" someone to heaven. They fail to see that the people were ready to go.
For God to take someone would negate free will. God has given us free will to choose to get saved, to
choose to serve Him, to choose to obey His commandments, to choose to walk in His promises, and to
choose all aspects of our walk with Him. If our entire walk with Him is based on free will, why would that
change when it comes to leaving this earth and going on to heaven? It wouldn't.
The use of the word "appointed" in KJV Hebrews confuses because in our modern language, we think
of it as an "appointment." We believe we have an appointment with death we can't cancel. With a little
study, we'd see that the Bible does not support the belief that we have a certain, specific time to die.
Other translations make it more clear: "...it is destined that men die only once," "It is certain that all men
die one time," and "Since human beings die only once..."
We will all die one time; our physical bodies will die once. We then have eternal life in heaven to look
forward to; those who have not taken Jesus as their savior have eternal life in hell. The only difference
between us is WHERE we will go.
So why do so many people suffer great indignities in their physical bodies before they finally leave this
world? The elderly sit in nursing homes not really here due to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. I will
not set myself up as an expert on why they can't step on over. I can tell you story after story of people
who made the decision to leave and left. Just a couple:
A minister shared about a woman he knew who gathered her children around and told them she would
be leaving "next Tuesday" and told them goodbye (like Abraham). They didn't believe her and didn't
take her seriously. Yet that next Tuesday, she was carrying a bucket, walking out to milk her cow, and
her spirit simply left her body. One of her children decided he'd better check on her anyway and found
her lying in her front yard, with the milk can next to her.
I particularly remember one elderly lady who asked my husband to pray with her that she could leave
her body and go on to heaven. After he prayed and had her tell God she was ready to leave now, that
she felt she'd finished all she was to accomplish here on earth, it was a matter of weeks and she simply
went to sleep one day and never woke up. She was satisfied.
In the Bible, several people gave up the ghost, their spirits. Giving up the ghost just means "to breathe
out; expire." I especially liked Abraham in the Lit translation; he "expired and died in a good old age,
aged and satisfied." This goes along with Psalm 91 - "With long life will I, God, satisfy him, and show
him My salvation (freedom, deliverance and prosperity)." That is the way I am going - a good old age,
satisfied!
Satisfy means "to fill to satisfaction, have enough, to have plenty of..." In no way does this imply God
will take us before we are ready. He gave us the free will to be satisfied before we leave here. A loving
Father does not say one thing in the Bible then do another in our lives. He does not show favoritism; if
those in the Bible chose when to leave, that is also available to us today.
I believe people stay there because it has a lot to do with what they believe. If one believes that God
will come and take them home, they will sit and wait for Him to do that. No one knows what is really in a
person's heart, what they really believe. People say one thing but in their heart, they don't believe what
they said. It is probable that many people are waiting in vain for something that will never happen.
While people wait for God to take them, their physical bodies are waiting for the spirit to leave the body
so it can shut down (our spirits run our body; without our spirits, the body no longer functions). When a
person does not release their spirit, their bodies can begin to break down because they are waiting for
something that can not happen, God taking them. Paul had that choice, "I am betwixt the two, whether
to go to heaven which is gain for me or to stay which is gain for you".
I remember when my grandmother died in her late 90's. She had dementia for several years before
she died. When she finally died, my aunts asked what she died of and the physician stated, "She didn't
die 'of' anything. Her body just gave out."
It was only after my mom understood and one day firmly stated she was ready to go on to heaven that
she left. She may have been unhappy being here after dad died but whenever I asked her if she was
ready to go to heaven, she'd always reply, "no". That Saturday she told me she was ready. Her
hospital roommate said that it was all she talked about that evening after I went to the house - that she
was ready to leave and go to heaven. The next day, she left.
I celebrate my mom's home-going and am so glad to know I will see her again!
Musing Copyright © 2009 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
been living in - she moved to heaven. This is a time of celebration and rejoicing. My mom was ready to
go and had stated this on Saturday. The next day the moving angels came to escort her to her new
home.
People expressed condolences. I can't tell you how many times I heard this statement, "God took her
home." I absolutely do not believe this because there is no scriptural basis for it.
No matter what denomination, most of us have been taught that God takes people to heaven when He
is ready for them. If we study our Bible, we will see that this does not fit scripture. Christians have been
taught that God "takes us when it is our time and there is nothing we can do when it is our set time."
This is not based on truth and it has confused and angered people for years.
This false teaching is probably based on one scripture verse in the Bible in Hebrews 9:27 which states,
"it is appointed unto men once to die..." and possibly the way the King James version states that the
Lord would "take" someone to heaven. They fail to see that the people were ready to go.
For God to take someone would negate free will. God has given us free will to choose to get saved, to
choose to serve Him, to choose to obey His commandments, to choose to walk in His promises, and to
choose all aspects of our walk with Him. If our entire walk with Him is based on free will, why would that
change when it comes to leaving this earth and going on to heaven? It wouldn't.
The use of the word "appointed" in KJV Hebrews confuses because in our modern language, we think
of it as an "appointment." We believe we have an appointment with death we can't cancel. With a little
study, we'd see that the Bible does not support the belief that we have a certain, specific time to die.
Other translations make it more clear: "...it is destined that men die only once," "It is certain that all men
die one time," and "Since human beings die only once..."
We will all die one time; our physical bodies will die once. We then have eternal life in heaven to look
forward to; those who have not taken Jesus as their savior have eternal life in hell. The only difference
between us is WHERE we will go.
So why do so many people suffer great indignities in their physical bodies before they finally leave this
world? The elderly sit in nursing homes not really here due to dementia and Alzheimer's disease. I will
not set myself up as an expert on why they can't step on over. I can tell you story after story of people
who made the decision to leave and left. Just a couple:
A minister shared about a woman he knew who gathered her children around and told them she would
be leaving "next Tuesday" and told them goodbye (like Abraham). They didn't believe her and didn't
take her seriously. Yet that next Tuesday, she was carrying a bucket, walking out to milk her cow, and
her spirit simply left her body. One of her children decided he'd better check on her anyway and found
her lying in her front yard, with the milk can next to her.
I particularly remember one elderly lady who asked my husband to pray with her that she could leave
her body and go on to heaven. After he prayed and had her tell God she was ready to leave now, that
she felt she'd finished all she was to accomplish here on earth, it was a matter of weeks and she simply
went to sleep one day and never woke up. She was satisfied.
In the Bible, several people gave up the ghost, their spirits. Giving up the ghost just means "to breathe
out; expire." I especially liked Abraham in the Lit translation; he "expired and died in a good old age,
aged and satisfied." This goes along with Psalm 91 - "With long life will I, God, satisfy him, and show
him My salvation (freedom, deliverance and prosperity)." That is the way I am going - a good old age,
satisfied!
Satisfy means "to fill to satisfaction, have enough, to have plenty of..." In no way does this imply God
will take us before we are ready. He gave us the free will to be satisfied before we leave here. A loving
Father does not say one thing in the Bible then do another in our lives. He does not show favoritism; if
those in the Bible chose when to leave, that is also available to us today.
I believe people stay there because it has a lot to do with what they believe. If one believes that God
will come and take them home, they will sit and wait for Him to do that. No one knows what is really in a
person's heart, what they really believe. People say one thing but in their heart, they don't believe what
they said. It is probable that many people are waiting in vain for something that will never happen.
While people wait for God to take them, their physical bodies are waiting for the spirit to leave the body
so it can shut down (our spirits run our body; without our spirits, the body no longer functions). When a
person does not release their spirit, their bodies can begin to break down because they are waiting for
something that can not happen, God taking them. Paul had that choice, "I am betwixt the two, whether
to go to heaven which is gain for me or to stay which is gain for you".
I remember when my grandmother died in her late 90's. She had dementia for several years before
she died. When she finally died, my aunts asked what she died of and the physician stated, "She didn't
die 'of' anything. Her body just gave out."
It was only after my mom understood and one day firmly stated she was ready to go on to heaven that
she left. She may have been unhappy being here after dad died but whenever I asked her if she was
ready to go to heaven, she'd always reply, "no". That Saturday she told me she was ready. Her
hospital roommate said that it was all she talked about that evening after I went to the house - that she
was ready to leave and go to heaven. The next day, she left.
I celebrate my mom's home-going and am so glad to know I will see her again!
Musing Copyright © 2009 Nan C Loyd
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
| DOES GOD TAKE PEOPLE? |
| Copyright © 2004-2009 Dancing Bulls Advertising All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
Eddie Richards Cook
December 13, 1923 to March 8, 2009
December 13, 1923 to March 8, 2009
| JoyUs Musing Edition #09-10 |