The Memorial Service for Deacon Ray Anderson will be held Saturday, October 25, at 10:00 AM at Fellowship Baptist Church in Liberty Hill, TX. I shared these words with our church family in light of his sudden call home to be with Jesus on Tuesday. – Pastor Way
The Bible tells us that death has been defeated. The grave is no threat to the one trusting Christ.
We ask then, why do Christians die if death is defeated? How can death be conquered? Grave yards are still being filled all around the world. Maybe death will not really be defeated until some time in the future when Jesus returns.
No. Death is defeated now. Paul under inspiration of the Spirit mocks death, “Where is your sting, O Death? Where is your victory, O Grave?” (1 Cor. 15:55).
How can he mock that which takes our loved ones?
Because Paul understood this truth – believers do not die! They may be absent from the body, but they are not dead. “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord,” he tells us (2 Cor. 5:8).
Our God is God of the living, not the dead (Luke 20:38). For those who have left this world to be with Him are indeed still alive, even more so as they are now forever free from sin, sorrow, and sickness. They are alive with Jesus Who tells us, “I Am the resurrection and the life…whoever believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
This is what Jesus said. Our comfort in the midst of tremendous grief is this, if we trust Jesus, we will never die. We may be separated for a time from those we love, and they from us, but if we are in Christ, we are alive forevermore.
For those of us who grieve today, I pray that we seek God’s face. Only by grace can we find peace and comfort. Only by His Spirit through His Word may our faith be strengthened and proved. Only through Jesus can we know what it means to live and never die.
Providence Reformed Baptist Church 
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