Talked with Rose last night, she
passed her driver’s test. Today she
drove to school for the first time, by herself.
Her parents are confident in our
skills, and because they are so am I.
This is another ‘right of
passage’ that our children go through, an indication that they are maturing into
responsible adults and can be trusted - AND as Wendy says, it is ‘bitter sweet’
as she watched her drive down the driveway.
I can just imagine what it was
like for her father.
Galatians 3:5-9 He therefore that
ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by
the works of the law, or by the hearing of
faith?
6 Even as Abraham believed
God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that
they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.
8 And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the
gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.
9 So then they which be of
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
And 26-29 For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as
have been baptized into Christ have put on
Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye
are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's,
then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.
Get your Bible out and read the
whole chapter! What a testament to us,
who are not Jews, that we have the same promise and love from God that they
have!
This morning I just can’t stop
praising Him for that promise! It surges
within me, it is lifting me up and I am flying above the clouds!
What a promise!
As many of you know, yesterday
Carla’s sister, Mary, was taken home to be with the Lord. She is now gaining the rewards of that
promise from God.
We miss her, we are going to
grieve over her loss, and we are praying for her family - but every one of us
knows she is in a better place. Free
from the pain and illnesses that inflicted her here on earth. They can rejoice in that promise and know
that she is in heaven with other family members in the protective arm of
God.
I can remember, many years ago,
we were talking about someone, who had recently died, in our Adult Sunday School
class one time. I have no idea why or
how it came up.
One of the comments made by a
member was that the person was in a better place. The person had made no outward commitment to
Christ and while they may have done so before they died, we don’t know.
Now, that comment is often made
to comfort family and friends, we all want to believe that our loved one is now
safe. I do not criticize anyone that
says that, even if we aren’t sure it is true.
We had a retired minister, C.K.
Barnes, in our class that was a fire and brimstone preacher who didn’t mince
with words. His question, immediately,
was ‘who says?’ Now, that isn’t
something you would say to a grieving family – and I seriously doubt he would –
but it is a good question, for us to answer, NOW. We may not get another opportunity.
Death can come at any time; will
we be in a better place when it does?
It is never too late, while we
have a breath to breathe we can confess our sins and ask His forgiveness – He
will give it to that person just as He gave it to the thief on the cross.
In Mary’s case, it is God
Himself that ‘says’ she is in a better place, because she accepted Christ early
in life and lived for Him from then on.
She has that promise!
I love the Hymn that says “When
we all get to heaven – what a day of rejoicing that will be – when we all see
Jesus, we sing and shout the victory!”
Mary has a loud voice; I can see her dancing, praising God joining with
her fellow Christians in heaven – shouting the Victory! Her voice is reverberating in the streets of
heaven – there is no doubt she is being heard!
The Jews have been persecuted
and killed throughout history. They have
suffered for their faith; they have sacrificed all to serve Him. They are His chosen people, through Isaac the
son of Abraham who is the Father of the Jewish nation.
Jesus came from that
lineage. He was the Messiah that was
promised them, and His death and resurrection enable, not only them, but,
everyone – everyone - the opportunity to join the family of Abraham and live
with God eternally.
We will miss Mary, Gary and her
children and grandchildren - those closest to her - will miss her the most, but
we all know! – we all have the
confidence and assurance as to where she is, how she is doing and one day we
will join her as we ‘shout the Victory!’
Later, Art :-)
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