My friend Carmen and I were walking to the park and she noticed the bed of what looked like dead cactus at a house on the corner. We stood there observing the cactus and how it did not seem to have life.
Then our eyes were opened and to a spiritual meaning. The cactus was not dead; it was sleeping until it was time for it to be full of life again, after the weather was warmer. I told Carmen that a message could be written from what we observed. We talked about God’s creation and how His magnificent handy work is seen through it. God is amazing!
This is what the dead looking cactus meant to me.
Sleep – The children of God don’t die; we rest from our labors until it is time for Jesus to give us our rewards. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on (Revelation 14:13). When we go to bed or fall asleep at any time, this does not mean a cessation of life (the fact or process of ending or being brought to an end), we are resting.
To some this may look like a contradiction, but that cannot be true, because the Word of God does not contradict itself, this is the very reason we are told to study and see what the verse is saying and what it is not saying. Did Jesus tell the disciples that Lazarus was dead?
These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.” (John 11:11). You will see die in this verse, which means Lazarus was sleeping. And he who had died [was asleep] came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”(John 11:44)
Let’s take it a step further: Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again. “Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:23-25)
Another scripture says Jesus defeated death. So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)
This sums up! We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.(2 Corinthians 5:8)
Taken from Strong's Concordance- Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, death was a significant and often feared event, surrounded by various cultural beliefs and rituals. The New Testament context, however, presents death with a dual perspective: as a consequence of sin (Romans 6:23) and as a defeated enemy through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
Saints of the Almighty true and living God, be encouraged! Let’s look forward to being in the presence of the Lord!
His handmaiden, Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org
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