Wednesday, October 23, 2024

It Could Only Happen To You

 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

Something happened to me the other day while I was eating lunch; a tortilla chip got stuck in my gums between two teeth.  At first this was just an annoyance, but quickly led to an all-out panic.  After no success using the green rubber tipped GUM pick, I resorted to a string of floss.  After managing to break the string of floss between the affected teeth, and then not being able to get another string of floss between my now-compacted-gum, I was left with no other option then to phone my Dentist.  The hour wait time seemed to last an eternity as I fretted over this inconvenience.  I texted my husband and told him that I would be going up to see our Dentist for a 'deep cleaning,' and my ever-supportive husband innocently replied back, "That could only happen to you.''
Honestly, my life is prone to such circumstances.
While I was apologizing to my Dentist for having to go see him for such a 'silly' thing that probably doesn't ever happen to 'normal' people, my Dentist laughed and said, "Actually, this happens more often than you think."  Hearing those words, relieved my embarrassment, and put my 'fiasco' into perspective.  Just knowing that this happens to other people, made it easier for me to bear.
It brought to mind, Galatians 6:2.
I wondered to myself, "How many New Christians suffer in silence because they are too embarrassed to share a burden?"
Then I wondered, "How many Mature Christians suffer in silence because their pride keeps them from sharing a burden?"
Friend, that ought not to be.  Yes, there are some things that are not meant to be shared, but when you are going through something and you think, 'It could only happen to me,' just remind yourself that it has probably happened to someone else.  

Ease your burden by sharing it with a friend...
    Things that cause panic...
        Are often laughed about later...
            But that's just me!

Sunday, October 13, 2024

The Funeral

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." 2 Corinthians 5:8

Yesterday we attended the funeral of our dear friend.  It comforts us to know that our friend is in Heaven with the Lord, where there is no more sickness and no more pain.
At the close of the Interim, we watched as our friend's casket was placed inside the Burial Vault.  A Burial Vault is a lined and sealed outer receptacle that houses the casket.  It protects the casket from the weight of the earth and heavy maintenance equipment that will pass over the grave.  It resists water and preserves the beauty of the cemetery by preventing the ground from settling.  This Vault completely encases the casket and is latched closed.
As I watched his casket being lowered into the ground, I couldn't help but think of the day when the skeletal remains of all Christians who lay dormant, waiting for the sound of a trumpet and the voice of the Lord calling his children by name, will burst forth out of their graves!
Resurrected Saints will burst forth from their locked crypts as if they were made of popsicle sticks!
And I will meet my friend again in the air!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:" 
1 Thessalonians 4:16

The grave is not the Christians final residence...
    and Christians are not laid inside caskets...
        they are placed inside Treasure Chests...
            waiting to be opened by The King...
                But that's just me!




Saturday, October 5, 2024

Til We Meet Again

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.  Psalm 116:15

In the early morning hours, a dear friend of ours went home to be with the Lord after a two-year battle with cancer.
You would have never known he was dying because he was too busy living for His Lord and Saviour.
Let me tell you how he lived:
    He was stedfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord-1 Cor. 15:58
    He continued to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord-2 Peter 3:18
    He possessed the Fruit of the Spirit-Galatians 5:22-23
    He lived a sanctified life and was always ready to give an answer to every man he came in contact with to share with them the hope that was within him- 1 Peter 3:15
    He fervently prayed for others- James 5:16
    He esteemed others higher than himself- Phil. 2:3
    He edified his brethren and would bear the burdens of others-Galatians 6:2,
    He fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, took strangers in, clothed the naked and visited those in prison- Matthew 25:40

Am I exaggerating?  No.  Anyone who knew Sam, knows this to be true.  Every conversation pointed to Christ.  In his most agonizing moment, he would say there were others who were worse off.  When trying to bless him, we ended up being the ones blessed.  When he prayed, he prayed to his 'Father God.'
He was an example to all those who knew him, friend and stranger alike.

And now, he completed his course, and his race has been run and he is now with his Heavenly Father.  I can picture him seeing his Saviour for the very first time and receiving his glorified body!  It makes our loss easier to bear.
I am a better person for having known him.

My world is a little dimmer now...
    But if I listen really closely...
        I can hear Sam whisper...GLORY!
            But that's just me!

Safe in the Arms of Jesus
(Fanny Crosby 1868)
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o'ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! 'tis the voice of angels,
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea,
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world's temptations,
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears.
Jesus, my heart's dear refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages,
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wati till the night is o'er;
Wait till I see the morning,
Break on the golden shore.
Chorus-
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o'ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.