One of our friends and youth ministry members was taken to the hospital with heart trouble. They even had to jump start him twice through it all. He has a stent in now and is doing far better.
While talking with my daughter, Meghan, about this, because we were possibly going to visit him and his wife, she declared in no uncertain terms and tone that she wanted to go too and read him her very favorite book, a book of family pictures, because that will help him get better.
Knowing him, he would certainly get a very heart-touched (pun intended) smile, and it just may work. The faith of a child is what God wants consistently from us yet we have so much difficulty allowing ourselves to give Him that much.
The simple faith of a child, trusting so easily and fully that God will do what He promises, seems so far out of reach many times. Why? Because we are sinful creatures and stupidly give Satan just enough leeway to be able to hear the lies he spews forth to cause us to doubt our ALMIGHTY GOD!! And we then continue to sin by justifying our doubt as "being realistic" or "that's just not the way God works" or "God's not going to do that for me" or even the very selfish prideful line of "God could never use someone like me".
Now granted, there is some truth to the study of our God and how He works. Yet we hold that "the Lord works in strange and mysterious ways." Let's face it, God is not a genie to cater to our whims, no matter how noble they are. But I believe we are causing Him to hold back so many wonders, miracles, and blessings because of our doubt.
Possibly the greatest Biblical example of this that comes to my mind is the feeding of the 5000. Remember that was just the men that were counted, no doubt there were some women and children too so we're talking anywhere from 5000-20,000 people that day.
I can just see the Lord Jesus Christ look down at the little boy, smile and wink as he whispers to him, "Watch this!!" That boy had faith in Jesus' ability to use what seemingly insignificant bit of food he could give to help a great many people.
The grown, mature, "smart" disciples for the most part didn't even so much as ask Jesus what HE could do to feed them. No. They panicked and were asking what THEY could do and where THEY would get enough food. Surely they were just being realistic.
Child-like faith in our LORD JESUS CHRIST takes a few dinner rolls and a couple of sardines, and completely feeds an entire town full of people......til they were full no less, and even has an abundance of blessing.We could move mountains if we had faith as big as a mustard seed. When you stop to think about it the truth is, the faith of a child is even greater than a mustard seed.
What else do our children remind us about?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
A Sister in Christ Suddenly Promoted
We all have friends and relatives that we talk to on the occasional basis. We even have people in our church family that while we care about them, we don’t connect with very often. Sometimes this is due to sinful pride. Sometimes due to opposite schedules. Sometimes due to connecting with other people rather than with each other. Whatever the reason, if we and they are Christian’s, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are family. And in the body of Christ, when one members hurts, we all should feel it to some degree and do what we can to help that member and those around that member to heal. With that said, I don’t pretend to have a relationship with the one mentioned below. However, we are both children of God and therefore the pain is real, as it should be. In the body of Christ analogy, we weren’t as close as the fingers, but weren’t as separate as the end of a head-hair and a toenail either. I would say that we were more like a finger and shoulder. The pain of one has a greater effect on the other than the relationship of the hair to the toe.
She was beautiful, very young (in her early 30’s), and full of life. She was a loving wife, a nurturing mother, and caring friend. Her bright smile and eyes were dangerously contagious. She opened her heart and home in a Christlike example of His love and view of us, to a child that needed a good family. She had so much on her plate to do. But God called her home. Why?.....I have no idea. I wasn’t even remotely close to her and her family. We attended the same church for a while. Previous to that we attended the same college, now called Davis College. We knew of each other, but had different lives that barely ever crossed. We were friends on myspace but still didn’t connect all that much. We were more aquaintenses. Even some of her closer friends that I knew as well were still basically distant friends. So why has her promotion from this temporary life here on earth to her eternal life with our Father in heaven bother me so much?
>Perhaps because of the little bit that I knew her and her family was just enough to cause this sadness.
>Perhaps because we were close in age is why it hits home some.
>Perhaps because I am thinking about my own young daughter and the pain that she would have to endure with me if God called Stephanie home before the rapture or before we are kicked off this planet because we are too old. She left her husband and children here. Being thrown into single fatherhood, while not impossible, is mind boggling. I just can’t and don’t want to imagine life and my kids growing up without my wife, their mother. It’s the husband/father that is left behind, and I am a husband/father, therefore we have a common bond. We share the same burden of leading and providing for our families. And now his helpmate is suddenly gone. I can’t fathom it.
>Perhaps it’s because not one of us will know WHY God took her home instead of healing her of the infection which worked so fast to end her life.
>Perhaps it’s because death is something that no man can reverse once it finally occurs. We can’t fix it. No matter how great the pain, no matter how much it saddens the children, no matter how much we cry and beg and plead, the very much loved one is gone.
>Perhaps because of the pain that her family and friends are entering into and enduring is so great and we are all God’s family that I am hurting with them. After all, this is the body of Christ and how it is supposed to work. When one hurts we all hurt and help that one and those closest to that one to continue on with what God has called them to do.
>Perhaps it’s all of the above.
>Perhaps the answer lies in the question itself.
We have the same Father. Therefore we are brother/sister. I am not talking about biological parents. No. Whom I am referring to is our Father in heaven, our Abba Father, God. While we know that she has entered into the everlasting kingdom of our Creator, we so badly want her back here in this painful world to work alongside us all and help the rest of us and others get through it. We don’t want any of us to leave here until our work is done, we are ready to leave or retire from this wretched sin-filled place, and are too old to do anything else. Even better would be if Christ came back for us all so we wouldn’t have to taste the long lasting bitter waters of death.
Yet amidst all of this pain and sorrow and grief……God is still on the throne. She is surely rejoicing and dancing before her God at this moment. No doubt her big bright eyes are tear filled as she gazes on her Saviour, Jesus Christ. Those tears may be allowed in heaven. Perhaps it’s the tears of pain and sorrow that are not allowed, when the Bible says there will be no more tears. With thoughts returning to her family and friends and even distant friends and spiritual family, she may even be excitedly asking God if it’s time for everyone to come up yet. For no one knows when the moment of Christ’s return will be.
Whatever she is doing right now, we miss you down here and in no way were any of us ready to let you go home yet. We will honor you and the Saviour here on earth. We will have our time of mourning and work through our grief and our missing your presence. But we will also honor what God and you would have us to do, spread the Gospel of Christ and the news of the reality of the heaven and God that you are now beholding to everyone that will listen. We will love our children, our spouses, our friends, our families and continue to reach out and connect with them, checking in on them, helping to build them up in Christ as that is what you along with all those that have gone on before us and seen heaven may be screaming at us to be doing with far more intensity.
We are praying Christ will come get us soon that we may see you again Carissa.
She was beautiful, very young (in her early 30’s), and full of life. She was a loving wife, a nurturing mother, and caring friend. Her bright smile and eyes were dangerously contagious. She opened her heart and home in a Christlike example of His love and view of us, to a child that needed a good family. She had so much on her plate to do. But God called her home. Why?.....I have no idea. I wasn’t even remotely close to her and her family. We attended the same church for a while. Previous to that we attended the same college, now called Davis College. We knew of each other, but had different lives that barely ever crossed. We were friends on myspace but still didn’t connect all that much. We were more aquaintenses. Even some of her closer friends that I knew as well were still basically distant friends. So why has her promotion from this temporary life here on earth to her eternal life with our Father in heaven bother me so much?
>Perhaps because of the little bit that I knew her and her family was just enough to cause this sadness.
>Perhaps because we were close in age is why it hits home some.
>Perhaps because I am thinking about my own young daughter and the pain that she would have to endure with me if God called Stephanie home before the rapture or before we are kicked off this planet because we are too old. She left her husband and children here. Being thrown into single fatherhood, while not impossible, is mind boggling. I just can’t and don’t want to imagine life and my kids growing up without my wife, their mother. It’s the husband/father that is left behind, and I am a husband/father, therefore we have a common bond. We share the same burden of leading and providing for our families. And now his helpmate is suddenly gone. I can’t fathom it.
>Perhaps it’s because not one of us will know WHY God took her home instead of healing her of the infection which worked so fast to end her life.
>Perhaps it’s because death is something that no man can reverse once it finally occurs. We can’t fix it. No matter how great the pain, no matter how much it saddens the children, no matter how much we cry and beg and plead, the very much loved one is gone.
>Perhaps because of the pain that her family and friends are entering into and enduring is so great and we are all God’s family that I am hurting with them. After all, this is the body of Christ and how it is supposed to work. When one hurts we all hurt and help that one and those closest to that one to continue on with what God has called them to do.
>Perhaps it’s all of the above.
>Perhaps the answer lies in the question itself.
We have the same Father. Therefore we are brother/sister. I am not talking about biological parents. No. Whom I am referring to is our Father in heaven, our Abba Father, God. While we know that she has entered into the everlasting kingdom of our Creator, we so badly want her back here in this painful world to work alongside us all and help the rest of us and others get through it. We don’t want any of us to leave here until our work is done, we are ready to leave or retire from this wretched sin-filled place, and are too old to do anything else. Even better would be if Christ came back for us all so we wouldn’t have to taste the long lasting bitter waters of death.
Yet amidst all of this pain and sorrow and grief……God is still on the throne. She is surely rejoicing and dancing before her God at this moment. No doubt her big bright eyes are tear filled as she gazes on her Saviour, Jesus Christ. Those tears may be allowed in heaven. Perhaps it’s the tears of pain and sorrow that are not allowed, when the Bible says there will be no more tears. With thoughts returning to her family and friends and even distant friends and spiritual family, she may even be excitedly asking God if it’s time for everyone to come up yet. For no one knows when the moment of Christ’s return will be.
Whatever she is doing right now, we miss you down here and in no way were any of us ready to let you go home yet. We will honor you and the Saviour here on earth. We will have our time of mourning and work through our grief and our missing your presence. But we will also honor what God and you would have us to do, spread the Gospel of Christ and the news of the reality of the heaven and God that you are now beholding to everyone that will listen. We will love our children, our spouses, our friends, our families and continue to reach out and connect with them, checking in on them, helping to build them up in Christ as that is what you along with all those that have gone on before us and seen heaven may be screaming at us to be doing with far more intensity.
We are praying Christ will come get us soon that we may see you again Carissa.
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