Faith In God.
Many thanks to the doctors, nurses, and other staff from the Sixth Floor Cancer Ward and the Intensive Care Unit at Royal University Hospital for taking care of my dad! You have done all you could for dad and we are forever grateful. God, however, had other plans. We grieve the loss of an ever so godly and faithful servant and at the same time we delight in the joy of the realization that dad is with his Heavenly Father.
There are no words that describe the peace we have in our lives. It shouldn't be there, yet it is. Without a doubt it has been a long year. Numerous "ups" and "downs" have outlined the many previous months. But a stability and constant has always kept us with a clear focus and purpose. The stability, the constant I speak of, is God. He drives us to praise what He has done in our lives through dad's struggle with sickness and death. We cannot help but be overcome by the testing of our faith because we know it develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1). To be like Jesus Christ, God's living example of how to live life, was dad's focus and drive in life.
With family and friends gathered around, dad, weak in bed at the hospital, led the room full of fellow servants of God in the song "Because He Lives". The words read: "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives." What compelled my father to never give up, to never look back, to always strain forward--the fact that Jesus Christ is alive today! (Matthew chapter 28 comes to mind.)
The word relationship means a connection, bond, or link with someone. This is what we experience with the Creator God. Yes, the very Being who spoke the universe into existence! He is alive and active in my life! He speaks to me through the Bible, people, circumstances--in countless ways. He cares enough about me to bestow peace on me as I watched my father take his last breath! There is absolutely no substance in the denial of this God I speak of. There is no denying what He has done in my life--in the lives of my siblings and mother. Friends, relatives, pastors, and aquaintances all speak of the power of this same God.
He is the reason why I wake up in the morning and smile and laugh about the things I have been through in my life. My life is so full of joy in the midst of the pain and grief that inevitably come with the loss of a loved one. I think about dad and how he will be using his gifts and talents in the presence of God. I can picture him laughing and smiling and looking around at all the other people adoring God. I bet he is procaiming the name of Almighty God to all gathered!
I mess up. I was created to do good things and to acknowledge my Creator--we all were. "God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27), in His "likeness" (Gen. 1:26). That means we possess personality, morality, and spirituality (man is made for communion with God). But along the way we messed up and broke off the perfect commune with God we had (Gen. 3). We listened to ourselves and did what we wanted (we still are doing this). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And there is a penalty to be paid for this sin that goes against God's very nature. His wrath against this sin has to be satisfied. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). Alas, there is hope for us: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Christ paid the ultimate price for my sins and yours. He shed his blood on the cross so that we could experience forgiveness from the sin that separates us from God. All we have to do now is believe that God has done this for us and trust in Him, in Jesus Christ. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). "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).
I know for a fact that when I die I will be in the presence of the very One who gave me this life. God has assured me through His word, the Bible. As I search deeper into His word, I am only that much more convinced this is the only way to not spend eternity in hell (a very real place). It is not by going to church that I am freed from the sins that tie me down. It is not because I give to the poor or sing songs of praise to God. It is nothing I can do or have ever done. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
God wants to re-establish the commune we once had with Him. He loves you so much! All it takes is faith on your part. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). Talk to Jesus today and tell Him that you believe. Trust that His words are true and dig deeper into the Bible!
Read the Bible Online
(PS - I have changed my settings so that anyone who wants to can leave a comment by clicking on the "comment" link right below this post. You do not have to be a member of blogger.com to do this.)
There are no words that describe the peace we have in our lives. It shouldn't be there, yet it is. Without a doubt it has been a long year. Numerous "ups" and "downs" have outlined the many previous months. But a stability and constant has always kept us with a clear focus and purpose. The stability, the constant I speak of, is God. He drives us to praise what He has done in our lives through dad's struggle with sickness and death. We cannot help but be overcome by the testing of our faith because we know it develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1). To be like Jesus Christ, God's living example of how to live life, was dad's focus and drive in life.
With family and friends gathered around, dad, weak in bed at the hospital, led the room full of fellow servants of God in the song "Because He Lives". The words read: "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives." What compelled my father to never give up, to never look back, to always strain forward--the fact that Jesus Christ is alive today! (Matthew chapter 28 comes to mind.)
The word relationship means a connection, bond, or link with someone. This is what we experience with the Creator God. Yes, the very Being who spoke the universe into existence! He is alive and active in my life! He speaks to me through the Bible, people, circumstances--in countless ways. He cares enough about me to bestow peace on me as I watched my father take his last breath! There is absolutely no substance in the denial of this God I speak of. There is no denying what He has done in my life--in the lives of my siblings and mother. Friends, relatives, pastors, and aquaintances all speak of the power of this same God.
He is the reason why I wake up in the morning and smile and laugh about the things I have been through in my life. My life is so full of joy in the midst of the pain and grief that inevitably come with the loss of a loved one. I think about dad and how he will be using his gifts and talents in the presence of God. I can picture him laughing and smiling and looking around at all the other people adoring God. I bet he is procaiming the name of Almighty God to all gathered!
I mess up. I was created to do good things and to acknowledge my Creator--we all were. "God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1:27), in His "likeness" (Gen. 1:26). That means we possess personality, morality, and spirituality (man is made for communion with God). But along the way we messed up and broke off the perfect commune with God we had (Gen. 3). We listened to ourselves and did what we wanted (we still are doing this). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And there is a penalty to be paid for this sin that goes against God's very nature. His wrath against this sin has to be satisfied. "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). Alas, there is hope for us: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). Christ paid the ultimate price for my sins and yours. He shed his blood on the cross so that we could experience forgiveness from the sin that separates us from God. All we have to do now is believe that God has done this for us and trust in Him, in Jesus Christ. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). "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).
I know for a fact that when I die I will be in the presence of the very One who gave me this life. God has assured me through His word, the Bible. As I search deeper into His word, I am only that much more convinced this is the only way to not spend eternity in hell (a very real place). It is not by going to church that I am freed from the sins that tie me down. It is not because I give to the poor or sing songs of praise to God. It is nothing I can do or have ever done. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:8-10).
God wants to re-establish the commune we once had with Him. He loves you so much! All it takes is faith on your part. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1). Talk to Jesus today and tell Him that you believe. Trust that His words are true and dig deeper into the Bible!
Read the Bible Online
(PS - I have changed my settings so that anyone who wants to can leave a comment by clicking on the "comment" link right below this post. You do not have to be a member of blogger.com to do this.)
posted by Kevin @ 11:26 p.m.
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