Reviews and Views

…in my opinion.

A Believer’s Death – Gone From My Sight

What follows is a depiction of a believer’s death that should be told at memorial services. It is a poem written by Henry van Dyke.

Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other. Then, someone at my side says; “There, she is gone!”

“Gone where?” Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There, she is gone!” There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout; “Here she comes!”

And that is dying.

June 17, 2023 Posted by | advice, Death, Poem | , | Leave a comment

Real or Fake? You Must Decide.

“There is a lion in the road!”

Have you heard, “There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!” We all have over the last few years. Instead of a lion, you can insert whatever keeps you afraid.

Are you one to dodge your duties and responsibilities with lame and crazy excuses? Matthew Henry stated (my paraphrase) something like this, “It’s foolish to frighten ourselves from reality by imagining false dangers.” It was true in ancient times and even today. Some folks will not leave their houses to work or buy groceries. They are afraid because someone told them to be frightened. Listening to “experts” who pretend to know anything is now problematic. We see people fearful of catching a virus, cold, the flu, etc., which are all invisible because sickness or even death may occur. All types of masks are worn (however incorrectly). Some keep a six-foot distance between themselves and others. Every shot and booster containing unknown and untested substances is injected into their bodies. All this to keep from getting sick or dying. Yet, in all their vain attempts, they still get ill and die…usually alone.

God has not called us to a life of fear. Even this Christmas season, we remember the angelic voice saying, “Listen! Do not fear. For I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all people.” Luke 2:10 MEV

December 28, 2022 Posted by | Culture, Death, Hope, Propaganda | , , , , | 1 Comment

Boasting of Tomorrow


Death is unquestionable to all men as the fruit of sin or by the appointment of God. It has a fixed specific time, which cannot be exceeded, but no man knows of that day and hour. Therefore, he cannot boast of a moment of future time, tomorrow, or what he shall enjoy on a particular day. He has only today.

He cannot be sure he shall have the next. He cannot assure himself of health, honor, pleasures, riches, and friends. He may have health today and sickness tomorrow; be in honor today, and in disgrace the next. He may bid his soul to eat, drink, and be merry. After all, he has had much wealth and provisions for many years. But vainly, he says that each day will be the same with much more abundance. Yet this night, his soul may be required of him. Today, he may have his wife, children, friends, and relations about him. However, before another day comes, they may be stripped from him.

Riches are uncertain things; they may take wings and fly away. Nor should a man boast of what he will do on the morrow, either in civil matters, trade and business, or acts of charity. Whatever a man finds his duty to do, he should do it at once while he has an opportunity.

In things religious, a man should repent of his sins, amend his life, and hear the Gospel, the voice of Christ. All these things should be done today and not put off until tomorrow. Nor should true believers procrastinate the profession of their faith, nor should any duty or exercise of religion be postponed to another season. Men should work today and always abound in the work of the Lord and found so doing.

You don’t know what a day may bring. Time is like a pregnant woman. She knows not what she shall bring forth till the time comes. Will it be a son or a daughter, a dead or a living child? So are the events of time. They are the secret things that belong to God. The passage of time and seasons of things are in his power. We don’t know what the present day will bring forth. We still know less about what tomorrow will do. What changes will tomorrow produce in our circumstances, in our bodies, and in our minds? Therefore, we cannot be sure what we shall be, what we shall have, or what we shall do tomorrow, even provided we have one.

~~~ John Gill (1696-1771)

December 22, 2022 Posted by | advice, Bible, Death, Religion | , , , , | Leave a comment

Words of Wisdom – Proverbs 22:1 and Ecclesiastes 7:1

Proverbs 22:1: reads, “A good name is to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver and gold.” A good name is a name you earn by the kind of person you are, not what you are called by your parents. It is the name you make for yourself by well-doing. Carefully pursue a course of life and do those things by which you may obtain and retain a good name for yourself. Remember that great riches have baggage and bring great care, exposing the holder to dangers. 

However, a related passage is Ecclesiastes 7:1, which reads, “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.” As I enter my latter years, I realize I didn’t think about this much when I was younger. But upon reflecting over the past years, I see this truth’s importance. We need to know who we are in the eyes of God. Our name and reality are the same in the Book of Life. We should probably ask if there has been a good work of grace upon us. If we are a child of God, then the day of our departure will be better than that of our birth. A child has nothing before them but uncertainties, labors, troubles, and fears. But with death, storms were successfully battled with all anxieties and worries gone. Our refuge and hope have been secured by Christ’s sacrifice. Good friends and family await the departed. Consider your destination.

September 5, 2022 Posted by | Bible, Death, Life | , , , , , | Leave a comment