This devotion is a monthly ministry of the Pee Dee Baptist Association, comprised of 31 Southern Baptist churches in Dillon and Marlboro Counties.  For more information call 774-8062. Featured this month is Rev. Jim Warren, the pastor of Fork Baptist Church, Fork.

Dead Men Walking
It seems 2016 had barely gotten started before the funerals began. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, friends young and old alike, leaving our physical presence left and right. People we counted on in so many ways. If nothing else, just to be there for us. Death is the cruel reality of our daily lives. We, each of us, are “dead men walking!”
Death is not a subject most of us like to discuss, yet it cannot be avoided. All of us will have to face death, and our loved ones are never prepared for the emotional consequences that result when we die. Death was not a part of God’s original plan for mankind. The Bible reflects on death as sad and unnatural. The apostle Paul spoke of death as our “enemy” (1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Death, then, is a mysterious life event that cruelly impacts every person and remains beyond mankind’s capability to control.
Many people today either think this life is all there is or simply avoid thinking about death altogether. This is a disastrous approach with eternal consequences. However, there is “Good News!” God, in His Holy Word the Bible, provides the only solution to man’s physical death.
In fact, the Bible even gives us the reason or the cause of death. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, the author of the book of Romans, the apostle Paul, tells us that death is caused by mankind’s sin or disobedience to God’s commands.
Paul also reveals that God offers a gift to each of us, a gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Notice he uses the terminology “our Lord.” If we desire God’s free gift of eternal life, we must make Christ Jesus the Lord of our life. If we give our life to God because we understand the reality of His Son Jesus and that Jesus paid the price we cannot pay for our sins, then God gives us life with Him for all eternity.
This gift of eternal life is also spoken of in the Gospel books of Matthew, Mark Luke, and John. John says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes I Him should not perish but have everlasting Life.” This is “Good News.” This is the only hope mankind has… eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ! Without Jesus Christ in our lives as Lord and Savior, we are dead men walking. You may say, “I am alive,” and so you are in the physical body. However, spiritually, without a relationship with Jesus Christ, you are dead.
By now, if you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, this article has maybe made you either mad or upset. Whichever is the case let me challenge you to read the Book of John in the New Testament. Read it slowly and meditate on the life of Jesus Christ. Talk with a minister of the Lord and His Word the Bible today. Attend a church that teaches the Bible and consider this gift God offers today.
Walking around in a dead body is dangerous and unnecessary. Accept God’s gift of eternal life today through His Son, Jesus Christ. Physical death will come, but God desires to give you an eternal, spiritual future with Him forever!