sleep
ACTS 6:60 ‘Stephen’ cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
There is nothing I love more than what I am doing. Days are extremely hard though. After a hard day, I love going to sleep. I have found that nothing good happens after 10 PM any way.
Sleep is nice. The older I get the more I like it. Sleeping heals. Although sore, I feel mentally healthier after a good night sleep. Sleeping is good because it gives us a chance to start all over again once we wake up. The beauty of believing in Jesus is that every day is a fresh start. Sleepiness comes after the daily battles over. When the smoke clears, I am sleepy. Sleep is like a pause. A time to regroup. Rapid Eye Movement *REM* happens after 40 minutes, and it stores our happenings of the day in our computer that we call our brain. The eyes move rapidly because you are actually looking around in your dreams. If you don’t get REM you will go crazy. If you go 10 days without REM, you will probably die.
When you wake up from a good night sleep everything is fresh. Like a white flower popping up out of coal dust. Especially when you have Jesus in your heart, soul and mind.
In the Bible, they say ‘sleep’ instead of death a lot of times. I love that. From the eyes of God, I think it’s the same thing for a believer on his or her way to heaven. They fall to sleep, after a long battle. They wake up in heaven, where everything is fresh, like the flower growing out of coal dust.
We lost a lot of neighbors in our neighborhood this past month. I try to use that concept when I am talking to the parents or loved ones of the deceased. I always feel so much when I am counseling the grieving. Pray for the right words in my mouth. Pray that they are filled with grace, wisdom and tact.
It is best to give counsel BEFORE the time of death though. It is even BETTER when they are young.
Naked we come into the world, naked we leave. The important things you carry with you, even when you are asleep. That is why we want all the kidsto have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Dean Peters