[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order-surround":63},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":13,"columnName":45,"date":46,"description":19,"extension":47,"image":48,"meta":49,"minRead":50,"navigation":51,"path":52,"postType":53,"publication":54,"publicationUrl":48,"seo":55,"stem":56,"topics":57,"__hash__":62},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order.md","Is Your House in Order?",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12],"2 Kings","Luke","Romans","1 Peter",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":41},"minimark",[16,20,23,26,29,32,35,38],[17,18,19],"p",{},"When King Hezekiah was ill and close to death, the prophet Isaiah told him, \"This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you will die; you will not recover.\" Badly shaken by this news, Hezekiah prayed and wept bitterly. In a remarkable turnaround, the Lord healed Hezekiah and added 15 years to his life. However, like the rest of us, Hezekiah eventually died and \"rested with his fathers\" (2 Kings 20:1-6, 21).",[17,21,22],{},"Since none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, much less 15 more years, it's wise to put our houses in order while we can.",[17,24,25],{},"Is your spiritual house in order? It's foolish to put your relationship with God on hold. King Belshazzar celebrated his achievements in a bawdy, idolatrous banquet where the wine flowed freely, but soon he saw the handwriting on the wall. He had been \"weighed on the scales and found wanting,\" and that very night he lost his life (Daniel 5:30). By contrast, here are the words King David uttered near the end of his life: \"Is not my house right with God? Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part?\" (2 Samuel 23:5).",[17,27,28],{},"Is your relational house in order? People remembered Nabal as a mean, surly, selfish fellow who drank heavily and insulted others (1 Samuel 25). By contrast, consider Jacob's legacy. He was far from a perfect father, but near the end of his life Jacob gathered his sons together and prayerfully blessed each one (Genesis 49). Are there family members and friends with whom you need to mend or deepen your relationship? Why wait to reach out to them?",[17,30,31],{},"Is your financial house in order? Remember Jesus' parable about the rich fool? A farmer tore down his barns and built bigger ones to store his grain, telling himself, \"You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.\" But that very night, the man's life was required of him. The point of the parable? It's foolish to store up things for ourselves instead of being \"rich toward God\" (Luke 12:15-21). Have you invested your money wisely? Have you prepared a will? One of the delights of old age is the joy of sharing God's blessings with others.",[17,33,34],{},"Is your emotional house in order? Have you verbalized your love for those dearest to you? The Bible says, \"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone\" (Romans 12:18). Shouldn't we also make every reasonable effort to die at peace with everyone we can? Have you offered sincere apologies to those you have offended? Have you mended any broken hearts you helped to break? Have you eased the emotional burden on your children and grandchildren by planning for your funeral and talking frankly about your death—and the hope you have in Christ?",[17,36,37],{},"This kind of talk isn't morbid; it's prudent. The Bible gives many examples of wise leaders who prepared their loved ones for their upcoming deaths, including Jacob (Genesis 49), Moses (Deuteronomy 31), Joshua (Joshua 23), Paul (2 Timothy 4), and Peter (2 Peter 1). Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that he was going to die, and when their hearts were filled with grief he reminded them to trust in God. Then and now, his resurrection guarantees our \"living hope\" (1 Peter 1:3).",[17,39,40],{},"So if you have been saying, \"Someday I'll put my house in order,\" don't wait. \"Someday\" may be too late. There is no better day than today.",{"title":42,"searchDepth":43,"depth":43,"links":44},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2001-04-29","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":19},"articles\u002Fis-your-house-in-order",[58,59,60,61],"Biblical Theology","Christian Unity","Holy Week and Resurrection","Intergenerational Ministry","Kc5S8TLgiuf-e70pxjWXhdquUG2V9JDO50Waxq78qR0",[64,69],{"title":65,"path":66,"stem":67,"description":68,"children":-1},"Is This Fight Really Necessary?","\u002Farticles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary","articles\u002Fis-this-fight-really-necessary","On Easter Sunday, April 16, 1865, a battle took place between Union and Confederate forces in West Point, Georgia, near the Alabama border. Early in the morning about 3,700 Union Cavalrymen opened fire on Fort Tyler, which was defended by Confederate General Robert C. Tyler and approximately 120 men.",{"title":70,"path":71,"stem":72,"description":73,"children":-1},"Is Your House Right With God?","\u002Farticles\u002Fis-your-house-right-with-god","articles\u002Fis-your-house-right-with-god","My wife Candy recently celebrated an important birthday. I shouldn’t identify the milestone she hit, but it rhymes with “mix tea.” I hit the same milestone a few months earlier, so I felt it was my husbandly duty to tease her about it."]