Isaiah 37:8-39:8; Ephesians 5:15-6:9

Thought from Today’s Old Testament Passage: [Isaiah 38:1] The sentence of death was delivered to Hezekiah by Isaiah. It is true that this sentence of death rests upon each one of us, although we do not know the day nor the hour. But we do know this: “… it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). This is a divine date. If each one of us knew the exact time, our life-style would change. Some years ago I received a letter from a fine young minister who had been told by his doctor that he had cancer and that his days were limited. He sent out a letter to some of his friends, and I was privileged to be included in that list. Here is a brief quotation from his letter so that you might know the thinking of a man under the shadow of death: “One thing I have discovered in the last few days. When a Christian is suddenly confronted with a sentence of death, he surely begins to give a proper evaluation of material things. My fishing gear and books and orchard are not nearly so valuable as they were a week ago.” I conducted this young preacher’s funeral. And many years later I had the experience of having cancer myself. My doctor told me he thought I had only about three months to live. I can bear witness to the accuracy of the young preacher’s statement. It was amazing how certain things suddenly became very unimportant. One of those things was my home. I thought I would not be living in it but a few more weeks, and it certainly became unimportant to me; but where I was going became very important. J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible Commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, © 1981 by J. Vernon McGee.