As the world mourns the passing of Michael Jackson the “King of Pop”, I find myself also saddened by the news of the heart attack that took his life.

I was never a huge Jackson fan but I always liked the music that he produced. As a young boy I use to enjoy his songs on the radio and MTV, and as with everyone else, I loved the Thriller video.

Michael Jackson’s death has really caused me to reflect on the mortality of man. Even though I knew that he would eventually die one day, the reality of that really sunk in today as I heard the news. As humans we tend to think somehow we are not going to die. Yet reality kicks in and we realized that at any moment we could be on our way into eternity. The statistics are always the same… 10 out of 10 people die.

The bible says that everyone who dies will face Jesus Christ, The King of Kings. 1 Corinthians 2:10 says: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” The bible also says that man is destined to die once, and then face judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

So as I’ve pondered these things I decided to do some research on Michal Jackson’s religious viewpoints. I came across a disturbing article about Michael Jackson with this headline:

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The following YouTube video really gripped me. I’d never heard of this guy before but I was listening to John Piper and one of the related videos said Paul Washer Preaching to Reformed Rappers and since I like most Christian Hip Hop, I was enticed to click the link. I’m glad I did. This man is preaching something so lost in the modern day church. I hope you’ll take the time to watch this video. Its 54:44 in length:

Last night was the big Relay For Life 2009 Celebration where over 150 teams walked from 7 PM Friday evening until 9 AM Saturday morning. We had a great turnout with over 4,000 people in attendance.

Our team had a birthday campsite theme and we sold plain cupcakes for $0.50 and supplied a self service table where people could put their own icing and sprinkles on them. We also had birthday bags for adults and children.

Our team faithfully had at least one member on the track walking the entire time. I’m very proud of the people (including my wife) who stuck with it all through the night.

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Today was very disappointing because we had planned a very nice birthday party for our son Joshua, who was only asking for donations to Relay For Life instead of birthday gifts. However, after preparing for a large number of people, only key family members showed up for the party. This was very disappointing to him because he was looking forward to celebrating with his friends.

Of course as a parent I became indignant towards those who didn’t show up and hurt my son’s feelings.

However, as I’ve dwelled on the events of today I can’t help but be reminded that due to the curse from God because of Adam’s disobedience,  all of life has become futile.

So the very disappointment Joshua and me both feel is ultimately due to futility as stated in Romans 8:19 -21:

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Today I realized that I’ve allowed myself to get wrapped up in worldly affairs and life issues that I almost forgot that it was Good Friday. I was very annoyed that I could even possibly forget that over 2000 years ago, God in the form of Jesus Christ came down and died so that sinners like myself could be made right with God. In 3 days we will celebrate Christ’s great resurrection from the dead, a triumph over sin and death.

I pray that God will  lead my heart to focus on his Son, Jesus Christ during this Easter weekend and that I will be reminded that no matter how tough or troublesome life gets it can’t compare to what God has planned for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.  I have a hope that one day I will be raised up with Saints from all the ages to spend eternity with my Savior.

Romans 4:25 (New International Version)

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.