Subj : For Whom the Bell Tolls
To   : All
From : Newborn
Date : Fri Sep 09 2005 23:08:00

In 17th Century England, church bells tolled out the news of what was taking
place in a parish.  They announced not only religious services but also
weddings and funerals.

So when John Donne, author and dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, kay desperately
sick with the plague that was killing people in London by the thousands, he
could hear the bells announce death after death.  Writting down his thoughts
in the devotional diary that became a classic, Donne urged his readers, "Never
send to know for whom the bell tolls.  It tolls for thee."

How true!  The book of Hebrews teaches that we will all face death one day:
"It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement" (9:27).

But if we are believers in the Gospel, news of death does not  need to arouse
dread.  We know, as Paul joyfully assurd us, that by His resurrection Jesus has
broken the power of death and "brought life and immortality to light through
the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10).  Death has been "swallowed up in victory" by the
Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:54).  It's sting is gone (v.55).

When the bell tolls for the Christian, it announces the good news of Jesus'
victory over death.


Newborn

Christianity is a personal relationship, not a religion.
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