The following article came to me recently and I contended that I should pass it on. It has been slightly edited and a conclusion added.

 

     A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her father. When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

    The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. "I guess you were expecting me," he said. "No, who are you?", said the father. The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up."

    "Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the minister shut the door. "I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day four years ago my best friend said to me, "Johnny, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest."

 

    "Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'. "Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right now."

 

     "So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."

(Continued)

 

 

(Continued)

 

     The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the church.

 

  

 

  Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her daddy had died that afternoon.

 

     "Did he die in peace?" he asked. "Yes, when I left the house about two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange about his death. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"

 

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that."

 

Dying in peace is very much desired by all mankind. However, living in peace is also a very needful thing in life if one is going to be able to obtain a Full-Life. Jesus said that He had come so that man might have life and have it more abundantly or to the full (John 10:10). It is not until one understands who Jesus is and makes a commitment to be His disciple that a person can grasp what really being born againï is all about (John 3:5) Life can be shorter than we think We have all been to the funeral parlor without expecting to be there. Then upon departing we have asked ourselves, who is next? Of course we never think that we could be next, do we?

 

Plainly, don't get short changed. Let's be ready to meet our Maker.ïThe Bible teaches that to avoid hell and gain heaven - one must:

 

1) Believe In Jesus As Savior (Acts 16:31) 2) Repent Of Sins(Acts 17:30) 3) Confess Christ Audibly (Acts 8:37) 4) Be Baptized In Water (Acts 2:38)
5) Live A Christian Life (Acts 14:22) 6) Be Active In the Church (Acts 2:47)

 

KYOWVA Evangelistic Association * 1541 S. 7th Street * Ironton, OH 45638

Web Page: www.kyowva.com * Free Bible Course Upon Request