- An Experiment in Criticism - C. S. Lewis
- A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
- The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
- Clive Staples Lewis: A Dramatic Life - William Griffin
- The Southern Poets - William Lander Weber
- The Chimes - Charles Dickens
- Glorifying God: A Yearlong Collection of Classical Devotional Writings - Thomas Watson
- Holy Bible: English Standard Version
- A Severe Mercy - Sheldon Vanauken
- The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
- That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis
- Walking with Bilbo - Sarah Arthur
- Diary of a Jackwagon - Tim Hawkins
- C. S. Lewis, My Godfather: Letters, Photos and Recollections - Laurence Harwood
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 04, 2017
December Reading
Friday, December 09, 2016
Top Twenty Books by C. S. Lewis Read This Year
A good portion of the 132 books I've read this year have been by C. S. Lewis, so I decided to do a list dedicated just to those. Of course, who can really rank Lewis' books? But everyone has his or her favorites. Here is how I decided to do this one: I will rank each book according to how much I enjoyed reading it. Certainly, I would recommend all of them.
- Mere Christianity
- The Great Divorce
- Surprised by Joy
- Out of the Silent Planet
- Of Other Worlds: Essays & Stories
- Miracles
- Letters to an American Lady
- An Experiment in Criticism
- The Abolition of Man
- Perelandra
- Reflections on the Psalms
- A Preface to Paradise Lost
- That Hideous Strength
- The Screwtape Letters
- Till We Have Faces
- Narrative Poems
- The Problem of Pain
- Christian Reflections
- Letters to Children
- A Grief Observed
Monday, July 27, 2015
Not So Dearly Departed
"And he departed with no one's regret." -2 Chronicles 21:20 (ESV)
Such is the testimony about Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He became king when he was 32 years old. He was 40 years old when he died. He died from an incurable bowel disease, which was in reality a judgment from God because Jehoram led the people of Judah into gross idolatry. If that wasn't bad enough, the people didn't like him. I'm sure he was a tyrant, along the line s of Herod the Great. (Herod had arranged for many people to be executed when he died so that the people would be sure to mourn on the day of his death.) When Jehoram died, "the people made no fire in his honor," nor did they bury him "in the tombs of the kings" (2 Chronicles 21:19-20). They were glad to see him go.
What about you? What will people say about you after you're gone? Will they miss you? Have you become offensively odious to all around you? Will you die with no one's regret?
If you answer "no" to that last question, then fantastic! What a blessing to have that knowledge!
If you answer "yes," don't panic just yet. There is hope for you. Don't make the same mistakes that Jehoram made. Let me urge you, with whatever time you have left on earth (only God knows), to reverse the curse that you have become. Instead of demanding the sun, moon, and stars, be a generous giver. Invest in the lives of the people around you. Give them your time and genuine care. Do what is right. Don't even give the appearance of evil. Sure, people will be extremely skeptical for a while, but in time, if you persevere in doing what is good, you will prove your sincerity. One more thing--you can't do it alone. Ask God to forgive you for all those years of rebellion against Him. Then ask those you have offended for forgiveness. It's a tough step, but its worth can't be measured. Then ask God to change you into a person who will be greatly missed when it's your time to die.
God help us all!
Such is the testimony about Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah. He became king when he was 32 years old. He was 40 years old when he died. He died from an incurable bowel disease, which was in reality a judgment from God because Jehoram led the people of Judah into gross idolatry. If that wasn't bad enough, the people didn't like him. I'm sure he was a tyrant, along the line s of Herod the Great. (Herod had arranged for many people to be executed when he died so that the people would be sure to mourn on the day of his death.) When Jehoram died, "the people made no fire in his honor," nor did they bury him "in the tombs of the kings" (2 Chronicles 21:19-20). They were glad to see him go.
What about you? What will people say about you after you're gone? Will they miss you? Have you become offensively odious to all around you? Will you die with no one's regret?
If you answer "no" to that last question, then fantastic! What a blessing to have that knowledge!
If you answer "yes," don't panic just yet. There is hope for you. Don't make the same mistakes that Jehoram made. Let me urge you, with whatever time you have left on earth (only God knows), to reverse the curse that you have become. Instead of demanding the sun, moon, and stars, be a generous giver. Invest in the lives of the people around you. Give them your time and genuine care. Do what is right. Don't even give the appearance of evil. Sure, people will be extremely skeptical for a while, but in time, if you persevere in doing what is good, you will prove your sincerity. One more thing--you can't do it alone. Ask God to forgive you for all those years of rebellion against Him. Then ask those you have offended for forgiveness. It's a tough step, but its worth can't be measured. Then ask God to change you into a person who will be greatly missed when it's your time to die.
God help us all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)