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MAX LUCADO: From empty tomb to eternal home, what happens when we die

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Several years ago, I received an urgent call to visit a dying man in the hospital. I didn’t know Ray well, but I knew him well enough to know he was paying a high price for his hard living. Though he’d make peace with God through Christ, his liver was in conflict with his body.

When his ex-wife phoned me, she was standing at his bedside. Ray, she explained, was knocking at death’s door. Though I hurried, he entered it minutes before I arrived. The hospital room had a “just happened” feel to it. The ex-wife saw me enter and looked up. With eyes and words, she explained, “He just left.”

Ray silently slipped out. Departed. One moment here. The next moment … where? He passed, not away, but on. Yet on to where? And in what form? To what place? And, once there, what did he see? We so desire to know.

Who in your life “just left?” When the breathing of your spouse ceased, the beating heart in your womb stopped, or the beep of your grandmother’s monitor became a flat-lined tone, what happened in that moment?

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And what will happen to you in yours? Barring the return of Christ, you will have one … a last breath, a final pulse. And … then what? What will we be after we die? What will happen? Answers vary.

Nothing, some people say. We will decay and or disintegrate. Death is a dead end. Our works and reputation might survive, but not us.

Or, we become part of the universe. Eternity absorbs us like a lake absorbs a raindrop. We return to what we were before we were what we are… we return to the cosmic consciousness of the universe.

Christianity, on the other hand, posits a new, startling idea. “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54 NIV). According to the promise of the empty tomb, my friend Ray awoke in a world so wondrously better than this one that it would take God himself to convince Ray to return to earth.

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This is the Christian hope. This hope is verified by the Easter miracle, that stunning moment we celebrate as Easter. Do you know this miracle?

It was Sunday morning after the Friday execution. The sky was dark. The disciples had scattered. And the Roman executioner was wondering about breakfast or work or his next day off. But he was not wondering about the fellow he had nailed to a cross and pierced with a spear. Jesus was dead and buried. Yesterday’s news. Right?

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Wrong.

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” (Matt. 28:2-6 NIV)

And out he marched, the cadaver-turned-king, with the mask of death in one hand and the keys of heaven in the other. He has risen!

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We know what happened to Christ when he died. What happens to those who believe him?

Simple, because the tomb is empty, the promise of Christ is not. If you trust Christ with your life, he will take care of you in death.

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When you die, your spirit will immediately enter the presence of God. You will enjoy conscious fellowship with the heavenly Father and with those who have gone before. Your body will join you later. We believe this is true because of scriptures like this one: “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8 NIV).

When Ray’s ex-wife asked me what happened to him, I could rightly say, “He is away from his body and at home with the Lord.”

Have you made this the hope for your life? If not, doesn’t it make sense that you do so? Doesn’t it make sense that you know your destination?

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Travelers do. I’ve engaged in dozens of airplane conversations in my life. When I’ve asked, “Where are you headed?” people always have an answer.

Every traveler worth a flight mile knows that the purpose of the plane is to carry us from one place to the next. Do you understand that the purpose of this life is to do the same? You were made for more than airplane peanuts and in-flight entertainment. You were made to go home.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead, not just to show you his power, but to reveal your path. Just like he did for my friend Ray, He will lead you through the valley of death. He will lead you home.

“Death has been swallowed up in victory” (Cor. 15:54).

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Trump greeted at UFC 327 in first sporting event appearance since start of Iran war

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President Donald Trump was greeted by a packed crowd at UFC 327 in Miami Saturday night during the president’s first appearance at a sporting event since the start of the Iran war. Fans in attendance erupted into raucous applause as Trump walked into the venue. 

Trump made his way out with UFC CEO and president Dana White and went around to the announcers and had an exchange with Joe Rogan, who was sitting at the announcers’ table. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was standing nearby the seats right before Trump walked out, then leaned in to Trump and started whispering very closely to the president, cupping his hands over his mouth and they each exchanged a few words. Trump then turned around, pumping his fist to those sitting behind him, smiling and waving, then pointed a few times to the crowd. 

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Trump has been a frequent fixture at UFC and other combat sports events during his presidency, during his 2024 campaign and even dating back to his first term.

In 2025, Trump attended UFC 316 and Miami fight night. In 2024, he attended UFC 302 in June and UFC 309 in November.

In 2019, he attended UFC 244.

Before Saturday, the last major sporting event Trump attended was the College Football Playoff national championship game between Indiana and Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19.

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Trump was notably absent from this year’s Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Italy and didn’t attend any other events after the Iran war broke out.

But after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, Trump has returned to sport. Trump addressed the ongoing situation with Iran at the White House before departing for Joint Base Andrews to travel to Miami for the UFC event.

“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump told reporters. “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the fake news or not.”

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Heather Graham says classmates dismissed her as ‘nerdy’ before Hollywood breakthrough proved them wrong

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Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.

The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.

“I was nerdy. … You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson.” 

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“So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’

“[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”

Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.

“It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”

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Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”

She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”

Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.

Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.

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The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.

Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they’re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox … and a bunch of lasery things.”

“Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”

The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”

“I feel like some people get facelifts and they just kind of end up looking like … I mean, there are people that get it, and it’s good. But I just don’t want to be one of those people that got it and look freaky,” she said. “But I don’t know if [when] I got older, I wouldn’t completely rule out. Who knows, in the future.”

Graham also tries to maintain a balanced diet and get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. She said she uses yoga as a way to stay in shape and manage stress, calling it “so cathartic.”

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Seven-foot statue unveiled honoring Magawa, award-winning rat who found more than 100 landmines in Cambodia

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A landmine-sniffing rat who won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a massive stone statue.

Magawa, a rat who gained fame in the country for sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square feet) in his five-year career — more than any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and died at age 8 in 2022.

The African giant pouched rat was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO to use his keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.

In Cambodia, more than 1 million people live and work in areas dotted with landmines, according to BBC News.

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In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, which recognizes heroism in animals.

He was the first rat in the organization’s history going back to 1943 to win the award.

Magawa was able to walk over areas with land mines safely because of his light weight and would alert his handlers to a mine by scratching the surface, according to Smithsonian magazine. He would then receive a treat.

“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in 2022, while announcing his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing life or limb.”

Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.

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APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia.”

The statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, just in time for International Day for Mine Awareness April 4.

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