Bible Archives - Kristina Lunde

May 29, 2026 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Deathly Fears in Light of Heavenly Promises

How do we cope with our future, the unanswered questions of what may come? Our deathly fears may include concerns about pain, suffering, unconsciousness, and the dying process. Death is a certainty that impacts all of us. When, where, and how are unknown aspects surrounding our inevitable end to this earthly life. The heavenly promises in God’s Word help shed light on the fears surrounding death. The biblical descriptions of eternity with Jesus help us fight the fears of death and dying.

What is our ultimate outcome?

Physical death is the unavoidable conclusion to earthly life. Although people may make changes to improve health and lifestyle, they cannot escape dying. Notice though, that the Bible gives us two instances when God took people without them dying. Enoch (Genesis 5:24 & Hebrews 11:5) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) did not experience death on earth. So those two, plus the ones who are alive at Jesus’ second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:17), will not face death. But the rest of us can be certain of death as our life’s outcome. Yet God offers us more beyond that death.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

God’s son Jesus came in person, explaining His love and forgiveness of sins to all people. Jesus gave a personal invitation to eternal life for all who would choose to belong to Him.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27-28

When we believe in Jesus, He offers forgiveness and eternal life with Himself and God the Father. After Jesus spoke of preparing a place in His Father’s house for believers (John 14:1-4), He explained the connection:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

What will heaven be like?

Heaven is also called life everlasting, paradise, eternal home, and the Promised Land. Interestingly, God created that longing for immortality within us.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

We may not fully understand God’s plan, but His Word presents aspects of eternal life with Him. One of my favorites describes what heaven will be like when sin and death are vanquished.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

How do we fight deathly fears with heavenly promises?

In Peter’s book, he writes of the day of the Lord, judgment, the new heaven, and the new earth. This is one verse that gives us hope for God’s promise of heaven:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13

But this is not a passive looking forward. Instead, we live confidently with God’s assurance of eternal security.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

The perspective of eternity with God helps us turn our hearts from deathly fears to God’s eternal glory in heaven.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Lord God, help us fix our eyes on You, fighting deathly fears with the promise of spending eternity with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

April 27, 2026 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

God’s Word Versus Our Deathly Fears

Death is an inescapable conclusion to this life. Although death’s outcome—cessation of physiological signs of life—is inevitable, the when and how details are often unpredictable. Yet isn’t death, albeit a serious outcome, one of the many unknowns that life presents?

As humans, we face life’s unknowns—over and over. Where do I go? What now? How will I get through this? What do I do when faced with life’s challenges? Just as I submit my current situations to God’s will, so I need to trust Him with future unknowns.

My transition from earth to heaven remains an unknown. What will my last days in this world look like? Cancer? Stroke? Car accident? Dementia-related decline? Will I find out in five, ten, or twenty years? Or will death surprise me in months, weeks, or even days?

A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. Job 14:5 NIV

How my earthly life will end, I cannot predict. But I trust the one true God who will be with me through dying, death, and my transition to heaven.

A cross may stand above my buried bones some day, or my remains may be scattered across the ground. No matter what happens to my body after I die, my soul’s certainty is because of the cross. My Savior Jesus Christ died on that cross, thereby saving me from my sins and the resulting eternal punishment. Jesus took the penalty of my sins—and the sins of all who believe in Him—to that cross. Jesus’ death on the cross makes all the difference to me, both in this world and the next. God’s Word tells me that because I believe in Jesus, I am assured of eternal life with Him in heaven.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

From Jesus on His cross to the repentant thief on a nearby cross:

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

That is my ongoing hope and future: to join my forgiving Savior in paradise when I die. I have no idea about God’s timing for my transition from earth to heaven. So my focus for now is to continue serving Jesus while I live on this earth.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

Lord God, please teach me to submit everything to your will. Not just death, but help me trust your way in every unknown I face. I want to entrust my future, however long or short it may be, to your timing. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

March 31, 2026 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Deathly Fears and God’s Word

Two octogenarian ladies recently confided their fear of dying to family members. When I heard about that, I felt surprised. These women have loved and served Jesus for over half a century. I could not imagine that they would question their relationship with God or their heavenly destination. For decades, I have witnessed how they lived and loved others in Jesus’ name. How they could be fearful of death confused me.

Deathly Fears

For those who fear death, does the decline from health to the last heartbeat scare them? For example, the potential of a long illness, terminal diagnosis, or painful suffering might provoke anxiety. The idea of facing death alone may seem overwhelming and uncontrollable. Fears of death also relate to what is left behind: unmet goals, unreconciled relationships, or an unfulfilled legacy. There may be unfinished tasks, like a house full of stuff left to children who don’t want anything. Although looking forward to being with Jesus, do they fear that interval between their last heartbeat and heaven?

Although I didn’t speak with these ladies about it, I thought about my own attitudes toward death. Some of those fearful aspects could happen at any time. My current healthy life could stop instantly in a car accident. My father died in a plane crash at age thirty-six. A sudden pain may result in a terminal diagnosis or sudden death. The oncologist told my seemingly-healthy seventy-six year-old mother that she had the body of a sixty year-old. Pancreatic cancer took her life less than five months later. My first husband dropped dead of a heart attack at forty-five, without cardiovascular symptoms or risk factors. From my family history, I have learned that death’s timing is unpredictable—for humans. But not for God.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16 NIV

In Second Corinthians, Paul pictures our body as an the earthly tent that we live in. When that tent/body is destroyed by death, we go to the eternal house in heaven that God built:

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Jesus also described His Father’s house as a real place where we would go to be with Jesus:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-2

Paul describes our desire to leave this earthly tent for our heavenly home. Expanding the metaphor of tents to clothing, Paul pictures heavenly life overcoming our mortality:

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 1 Corinthians 5:4

No matter what my own death will look and feel like, I can trust the one who conquered death. First Corinthians 15 quotes Hosea 13:14 in the proclamation of Christ’s victory over death. I pray that any anxieties about death, that I or these two precious ladies have, be reassured by God’s promises. As believers who are forgiven because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, our destination after death is heaven.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

May 22, 2025 by Kristina Lunde 1 Comment

Book Launch: Henry the Heron Teaches Me About Grief

In Henry the Heron Teaches Me About Grief, a heron’s migration provides an engaging metaphor for grieving children. Geared to four through eight year-olds, this book centers on a biblical perspective of eternal life with Jesus (John 3:16). Lively watercolors depict sweeping landscapes and flying herons as a boy processes his grief.

Storyline

Expressed in rhyming verse, this first-person narrative follows a young boy as he befriends a heron in his new neighborhood. The boy creates an imaginary friendship with the heron and learns about migration. After the death of his grandmother, the boy experiences grief and discovers a comforting metaphor in Henry the heron’s migration.

Abigail Porter’s illustrations of a child’s grief experience echo the poignant emotions expressed in Kristina Lunde’s rhymes. Written for children, and the adults who help them process grief, this picture book presents concepts of death and heaven from a Bible-based perspective. As the boy begins to understand his grief, he compares and contrasts death with the migration of a heron.

Grief Support

The pacing of the book’s content offers discussion opportunities geared to the child’s level of understanding and interest. Beyond serious depictions of grief, whimsical illustrations and the boy’s imagination offer many ideas for lighthearted conversations. For example, a child not yet ready to discuss grief might focus on the humorous heron illustrations.

When working with grieving children, experts suggest being open to discuss grief concepts whenever children are ready. In this book, the story line and varied illustrations present many topics, ranging from silly to serious. Children may want to discuss grief or a cheerful topic like the boy’s imagination—or both. Henry the Heron Teaches Me About Grief is a picture book designed to introduce grieving children to God’s comfort.

March 23, 2018 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

God’s Encouragement in My Valentine Eggs

Crack, plop. Crack, plop. The eggs dropped into the mixing bowl, as my foggy brain tried to keep track of the count. Ten eggs was more than I usually used for cooking or baking, but this was an egg bake I was preparing for our Valentine’s Day MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) event.

As a mother without preschoolers, or “mah-wop” (MWOP) as my husband Craig jokingly calls me, I volunteer with our local MOPS group as a mentor mom. That morning I was bleary-eyed, having “pancake-flip-flopped” my way through three hours of insomnia the night before. At least I would be in good company that morning; most MOPS do not sleep through the night either.

As I grabbed one of the eggs from the carton, I looked closely and noticed a surprise:Printed inside the Goldhen egg carton I had purchased from Aldi, I found a Bible verse. The small print inside the egg carton lid spelled out Psalm 118:24 (RSV): This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 is a special verse for our family. Craig and I realized that our mothers had hung that verse, printed on the same mini-banner, in their respective kitchens in our childhood homes. My father began his daily professional dictations in the 1970s by quoting Psalm 118:24. Craig and I chose that verse as a theme for our wedding ceremony.

And there, on Valentine’s Day morning 2018, was the reminder that the day is the Lord’s and therefore worth rejoicing in. I called Craig over to read it, joking that he should take credit for placing our wedding verse there as a Valentine’s greeting for me. No, Craig could not take credit for that valentine. I gave credit to our Creator God, whose word energized me when I felt exhausted before a long day.

The Bible says that God’s word will always complete what it is meant to bring about. God promised that through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 55:11, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Studying the Bible helps us learn about the blessings and purposes of God’s word.

I am so grateful that God used His words, printed on an egg carton, to surprise and encourage me on Valentine’s Day.