Home
>
Spirituality
>
Terminal Diagnosis and Putting Our House in Order

Terminal Diagnosis and Putting Our House in Order

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD... 2 Kings 20:1-3a (NIV).

The prophet Isaiah approached an ill man by the name of Hezekiah long ago and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover." It was a divine oracle advising Hezekiah to prepare for death.

In his blog entitled, Momentary Inspection #1 [http://www.stupidchurchpeople.com], the writer asked "What do you wish you would have done before you die?" I wonder, what we would do if we knew we only had 24 hours left to live. Most of us are not in this position (or do not know that we are) so perhaps you couldn't care less to ponder it. We rise in the morning without ever giving a second thought to the possibility of death or the judgment bar of God.

We live in a time where we do not seem to regard the things God has so generously given to us as being precious and dear to our hearts. From all appearances, we take everything for granted. Not only do we take God for granted, but from my observations, we also take our husbands, our wives, our children, our homes, our automobiles and so on and so on and so on.

We get into our cars confident that it is functioning properly and will perform its duty of getting us to our destination without a hitch. Thus, we do not bother to whisper a prayer of protection to the Father. We go about our daily business and chores fully in control of our lives, or so we think.

Having worked in hospice setting for a number of years and being at the bedside of those who only had a few months and then days left to live, I have come to believe that if we knew definitely that our time was limited, we would look at the world with different eyes. We would suddenly begin to see things more clearly.

There is something of the ancient priests and Levites in all of us on ordinary days. We look the other way of those who are in need; we direct the Lazarus' who comes begging to us for crumbs to the welfare office ? after all we are providing for them through our taxes. We close our eyes to the sick and elderly, who are confined, ill and lonely in heart. We do not have time for our friends and relatives who may call on us in the wee hours of the night ? just to talk out their problems. We are too busy, too tired, too sleepy, too ungodly and too much in a rush going nowhere.

Think along with me, what would you do if one with respected knowledge said to you, "get your house in order, you will not recover." We know that it happens daily when we consider the hundreds of people who are told by medical authorities "your illness is terminal."

When Hezekiah heard the news of his impending death, he turned his face to the wall and prayed. And isn't that what we need? Do we not need more praying Christians, more praying clergy, more praying parents, and more praying officials? I still believe that one of the biggest mistakes we Americans ever let happen, was to allow prayer to be taken out of the schools.

We must put our house in order.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.

You are welcome to visit amen ministries: your soul's service station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.

Blessings to all!

bedroom cleaning professionals Highland Park ...

In The News:

Michigan's new prison scoring system claims 30% better violence prediction, but Recidiviz says it doesn't actually use AI to classify inmates.

University of Texas at Arlington researchers reveal how AI analyzes public Instagram posts to craft spear phishing emails that feel personal.

VOLTA-AUTODOXER malware uses AI to analyze stolen data and rank victims by potential value, helping criminals target the most profitable accounts.

Daimler Truck's Oregon demos show how a Freightliner Cascadia's automatic emergency braking responds when dummy cars suddenly cross a moving truck's path.

Facebook ads promising to recover stolen funds are targeting scam victims again, and Meta confirmed removing flagged accounts after investigation.

Tesla Cybertruck production is winding down at Gigafactory Texas to make room for Cybercab robotaxi manufacturing, but key questions remain for owners.

Identity theft can hide in phone accounts, medical records and utility bills long before it shows on a credit report. Eight places to check now.

JR East's towering ZIZAI ZX-3 chainsaw robot tackles dangerous branch-cutting along Japan's Koumi Line while a trained operator controls it remotely.

A massive DHS data leak exposed records of over 41,000 employees, revealing links to undercover ICE operations, Palantir tools and AI platforms.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

UCLA's PhoneBot turns old Android phones into the brain of a two-legged humanoid robot that walks, follows people and stands up after falling.

A fake Amazon invoice charging $988.18 for an iPad lists the same customer support phone number three times to steer panicked victims into calling.

A handful of food delivery robots from Uber Eats and other platforms have gotten kicked and knocked over in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Data broker opt-out forms may not protect your family. People search sites can still expose your info through a spouse's or parent's profile.

Apple's first touchscreen MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 with a PROLED XDR OLED display, but the non-touch M6 model costs $900 less at $1,999.

Black Friday deals are already drawing scammers who use fake delivery notices and gift card payment requests to steal your personal financial information.

Apple's iPhone Duo reportedly outlasted the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 by over three hours in battery tests, but its weight and repair costs raise concerns.

Florida Polytechnic University's Jetson ONE eVTOL police vehicle named Astro still awaits FAA authorization before officers can fly operational patrols.

OpenAI's new locked chats feature lets you protect ChatGPT conversations with a PIN, Face ID or Touch ID, but there are key privacy limitations.

A phishing email disguised as an Evite fooled a man even after he emailed his friend to verify it, revealing how compromised Gmail accounts aid scams.

Microsoft's AI diagnostic system identified 83% of complex medical cases in a study, more than doubling the 36% accuracy of generalist doctors.

Account takeover threats go beyond stolen passwords as criminals exploit session cookies, SIM swaps and MFA fatigue to bypass your login security.

SpaceX is reportedly pursuing access to 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a major wireless carrier rivaling Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

Tech advocacy groups warn that foreign nationals at AI companies like OpenAI and Google pose a national security threat amid a lack of federal oversight.

Singapore researchers built the world's first touchscreen woven into clothing, surviving 50 machine washes while displaying images and responding to touch.

Terminal Diagnosis and Putting Our House in Order

Spirituality