A Visit To A Cemetery In Hilo

By David J. Stewart | October 2013

Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Hebrews 9:27, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it... And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Above: I like to stop and visit cemeteries whenever I find one. It brings me closer to the Lord, thinking about where others will spend eternity. I took these pictures today while driving on route 19 at the north end of downtown Hilo. There's an old joke that says, “Everyone's dying to get into a cemetery!” It's true, from one perspective. I just hope and pray that you're ready to meet our Creator. That is, have you been born-again, cleansed of your sins by the precious blood of Jesus Christ? I like to look at the dates on tombstones to see how old the person(s) were when they died. I try to form a picture of their situation, their life, heartaches and what may have happened.

A Remarkable Story From The Grave

My heart was touched when I read the adjacent dates (as seen on the gravestone to the right). It appears to have been a Japanese father, mother and child. The father was born in 1884 and lived to be 72 years old, passing away in 1956. The husband was 15 years older than his wife. The mother was born in 1899 and gave birth to a child at age 24 in February of 1923.

What struck me right away was the same birth and death year for Hajime... 1923. The child died three months after being born, in May of 1923. The wife lived to be 75 years old and died in 1974. So she likely spent the last 18 years of her life as a lonely widow. I discerned all this information from pondering the dates.

At first glance it seemed like a very sad story to me; but then I realized that it is a precious story if you consider that they had a family. It is a sad thing to live and die without ever conceiving a child. The child of this Japanese couple died, but bless God, they did have a child. That baby was a human being, created by God, occupying a place at the table for 3 months of life. I don't know if this is the accurate story, but it likely seems to be the case. You can learn so much if you just care enough to take the time to think about OTHERS.

I also thought about the evils of abortion. This baby only lived for 3 months, but was a legitimate person, worthy of a name on a gravestone. I am not a fan of Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife. Ozzy has spent his miserable life performing heavy-metal music and promoting Satan worship through his works of darkness. HIS WIFE SHARON HAS BEEN HIS LITERAL MANAGER THROUGH IT ALL! What a wicked pair! Yet, I tremendously admire Sharon's honesty. When asked on national television what her biggest regret in life is, she immediately replied by saying that she regrets having an abortion at age 17. She said her mother pressured her into having the abortion, killing her baby in the womb. Now, years later, there has been an empty place at the table as she has watched her other precious children grow up.

By JENNY JOHNSTON
The Daily Mail

Brutally Honest

You can level many charges at Sharon Osbourne, but she is brutally honest, and it is her vulnerability that makes her likeable.

"Everybody has something in the closet, and I reckon the best policy is always to be honest, then it can't come back to haunt you," she says. And she holds her hands up to her own "big mistakes". The biggest brings her to tears. "I had an abortion at 17 and it was the worst thing I ever did. It was the first time I'd had sex, and that was rotten. I'd always thought it was going to be all violins, and it was just awful.

"I was two months gone when I realised. I went to my mum and she said, without pausing for breath: 'You have to get rid of it.'

"She told me where the clinic was, then virtually pushed me off. She was so angry. She said I'd got myself in this mess, now she had to get me out.

"But she didn't come. I went alone. I was terrified. It was full of other young girls, and we were all terrified and looking at each other and nobody was saying a bloody word. I howled my way through it, and it was horrible.

"I would never recommend it to anyone because it comes back to haunt you. When I tried to have children, I lost three - I think it was because something had happened to my cervix during the abortion. After three miscarriages, they had to put a stitch in it.

"In life, whatever it is, you pay somewhere down the line. You have to be accountable."

SOURCE: Abortion - Sharon Osbourne Testimony

Oh ladies, don't let the Devil steal your baby! YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!! Sharon lost three more children due to miscarriages and attributes their deaths to the abortion ruining her body.

God heard the cry of Abel's blood from the ground when Cain murdered him. Do you think God has missed the cry of 54,000,000 murdered human lives from the ground in America? God hears the cry! ...

Genesis 4:10, “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

I cannot help but wonder if the Japanese couple under the gravestone went to Heaven. Of course, the child did! Amen! Today, less than 0.5% of the 120,000,000 people living in Japan profess to be a Christians. That's less than 600,000 out of 120,000,000 people who claim to be saved. And you know that most of them are unsaved Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutherans and Seventh Day Adventists. I dare say that only 1-out-of-1,000 people in Japan are truly born again Christians. Sadly, 60% of the population in Japan are professing atheists! It is tragic! Oh how the world needs Jesus Christ!!!

Above and Below: Here are several photos that I took of a local graveyard in Hilo on route 19. There's a large Asian population in Hilo, evidenced by the Asian language on the gravestones. They cook great, work diligently, take care of their customers and are wonderful people to know.

Ye Must Be Born Again!

Some people foolishly claim that the dead are unconscious. Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses both teach this false doctrine, called “SOUL SLEEP.” When the Sadducees (who denied the resurrection of the body) asked Jesus which of 7 husbands would a wife be married to in Heaven, Jesus rebuked them by saying in Mark 12:27, “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.” Amen! God is NOT the God of the dead, but of the living!!! A person never ceases to have consciousness upon death. The rich man died in his sleep and immediately was conscious in the flames of Hell. Lazarus died and immediately met angels who came to welcome him home to paradise. A person's soul never ceases to be conscious. God is the God of the LIVING!!!

Are you saved friend? Please read the following excellent explanation concerning the Gospel by former Moody Memorial Church pastor, Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951)...

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Dr. Harry A. Ironside, from the sermon: What Is The Gospel?

Clearly, Ironside correctly taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel. Amen! Don't mess with the Gospel. Just believe it! You can be saved by simply receiving the gospel as full-payment for your sins. Jesus died, was buried and resurrected three days later from the dead. That's the good news of the gospel (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If you'll come as an admitted sinner and trust upon the Savior, you'll be saved. Our faith plus the gospel equals eternal life (Hebrews 4:2).

END OF ARTICLE

“Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do!”
—Pastor Jack Hyles, a quote from the MP3 sermon titled: “God's Reversal Of Psalms 51”

1st Corinthians 16:24, “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”