{"content":[{"text":"tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James \n 4:14). \n Men fear death because #1. The pain and misery which accompanies it; #2. The darkness and \n corruption of the grave which follows it; and #3. The uncertainty of the condition and destiny \n beyond it. This is why Jesus, who is God, “became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His \n glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14). The \n Hebrew writer put it this way, “Therefore, since the children (human nature) share in flesh and \n blood, He Himself partook of the same ( human nature as mankind), so that through death He \n might render powerless (make useless) him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and \n might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews \n 2:14-15). As Christians we should not be fearful of physical death but should look forward to \n spiritual life eternally with Christ. The apostle Paul wrote that “Christ died for our sins \n according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised” (1 Corinthians \n 15:3-4). Because of this Paul reminded us, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is \n your sting? The sting of death is sin, (because it is by sin that death gains authority over man) \n and the power of sin is the law (because the law stirs up sin Romans 5:12); but thanks be to \n God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, \n be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that you toil is not \n in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:55-58). \n How can we know, when we die in the flesh, that we will be with the Lord eternally? We have \n been given the opportunity to hear the gospel, believe, repent, confess, and be obedient in the \n waters of baptism. The apostle John wrote “God is love, and the one who abides in love abides \n in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected (made complete) with us, so that we \n may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world”(1 \n John 4:16-17).","bbox":{"left":0.117686,"top":0.093965,"width":0.762877,"height":0.459154}},{"text":"www.sanjuanchurchofchrist.org","bbox":{"left":0.117686,"top":0.593422,"width":0.255092,"height":0.015152000000000054}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}