Category: Uncategorized

Recently I lost my Wife Bonnie. On the way to her Celebration of Life, I wrote a poem that expressed my feelings at that point. I don’t know what God’s plans are for me; I just know I miss my sweetheart and feel as if a part of me has been ripped out.

Why Did You Leave Me
How do you say goodbye to someone who is so much a part of you that your heart finds it hard to beat, and your lungs demand answers before they allow you to breathe?
Why did you leave?
I repeat, why did you leave?
Was God upset because I loved you so much, and lived for your touch, and the sound of your voice?
He gave me a choice; He should rejoice that I learned to love so deeply.
Did he call you home to bring me closer to Him?
Had my love for you become sin?
Did He open heaven’s doors and welcome you in to save me from being locked out?
Forgive my confusion and doubt.
I want to shout thanks for the time we had, but it still hurts too bad.
It still hurts too bad.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NLT)
My son John lives in Avon Park, a small community in central Florida. When he heard that I planned to spend Easter weekend with him, he went online to see just how far we would have to travel to find a special Easter service. Don’t get me wrong, every service that exalts our Lord and Savior is special. John and I are just spoiled from years of attending mega-churches.
   John decided that we should attend the 9 AM service at Grace Bible Church in Sebring, Florida. He arrived at my motel which was just about a mile from the church at 9:40. We were in the church parking lot by 9:45.
   The problem was there were no other cars. There were no other people, and there was no sign on the door to explain what happened.
   “John, I said, “The rapture happened, and we missed it!”
   I paused to consider the frightening consequences of being left behind. John interrupted my cogitation with an explanation: the Easter service had been moved to a coliseum on the other side of town. It was only a ten-minute drive, so we were in our seats before the service began. The music was familiar, there were baptisms, and the pastor gave a memorable message in which he started with Genesis and touched on all the books of the Bible, giving a short explanation of how all 66 of them point to Jesus.
   As we left the service I thought about my comment, “The rapture happened, and we missed it.” Of course, we didn’t. But what if it happens tomorrow, or the next day? Am I ready? Are you ready? Is anyone ready?  
The Bible tells us there is a way to be sure we are ready:
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9 
The message from Romans is, “Don’t be bashful about your faith. Better to be embarrassed, criticized, mocked, or condemned than to one day find yourself standing in an empty parking lot wondering where all the Christians went.

It was the third car in line. It looked as if it hadn’t been washed in this century, but that was the least of the vehicle’s problems. The ear-splitting screech let everyone know that the car had a loose fan belt, a vacuum leak, or some other random auto ailment.

The car in front of his had been loaded with groceries, so our friend with the screeching car slowly rolled forward until Brett, one of the food bank volunteers, signaled for him to stop. Stepping forward, I leaned in and asked, “What’s going on with that car of yours?”

“Damn—I mean, darn if I know. I’ve tried to find out what’s wrong, but it has me baffled.”

“Well,” I offered, whenever I have a problem I can’t solve, I pray about it. Shall we pray for your car?”

“Sure, man. I’m willing to try anything.”

Putting my hand on his shoulder, I closed my eyes and practically shouted in order to be heard above the noise. I prayed, “Lord, my brother here has a problem with his car. Please help him.”

Instantly the noise stopped! My eyes popped open, and the driver looked at me with one of those looks I presume you only see when someone believes they’ve just experienced a miracle.” “What happened?

Smiling broadly, I said, “God works in mysterious ways.” I guess our food bank is now a place for car reprayer.”

A few weeks later my friend returned to the food bank and wanted to tell everyone about his miracle. “Thank God for your blessing.” I advised him, “But please keep this story to yourself. I have no desire to become the patron saint of old cars.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.  James 5:13 (NLT)

Dear Friends,

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

This week, The Lord called home a dear Christian lady named Joyce Liegler. Heaven’s gain is our loss. As we met with her husband of 63 years, we asked God to give us words that would comfort and strengthen him in this difficult time.

Which brings us to the question, “How do you offer comfort and support to someone who has lost a loved one?” The above verses from second Corinthians offer what we feel is a good starting point. Reflecting on the times that God has comforted you in times of trouble can bolster your faith and prepare your heart.

In the third chapter of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded that there is a time and season for every activity under the heavens … a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. In those initial hours, when someone first enters a season of mourning, they may wonder if they ever again will feel like laughing or dancing, or even embracing. Expect tears —theirs and yours. Even Jesus wept for the friends and family of Lazarus.

While we know and believe the words of Romans 8:28, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose;” we also know that that in that initial season of mourning, it’s really difficult to see the good.

“In Proverbs 20:12 we read, “Ears that hear and eyes that see—The Lord has made them both.” God gave us two eyes that can help us see someone’s pain and two ears that allow us to hear their story. Everyone expresses grief differently. For some, just listening to their stories is a good way to offer comfort. For others, sharing stories from our experience can help them begin the healing process.

When it comes to prayer, asking, “Would you like me to pray with you?” is far more comforting and powerful than merely saying, “I will pray for you.” “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20

Sometimes it helps to remind those who mourn of the reason for our hope. The Scriptures are replete with verses that talk about the hope we have in Christ. Blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4

“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

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John 11:25 (NLT)

 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” 2 Corinthians 5:1 (NIV)

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,” Philippians 3:20

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” Hebrews 3:1

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4

What should Christians do or say when the person who has died did not know the Lord, or when the one who mourns is a non-believer? I attended one memorial service where the pastor offered what could best be described as a “Hell-fire-and damnation” sermon. Many of those in attendance were of differing faiths or had no faith. The reaction to the sermon was not good.

That pastor would argue that as Christians the most loving thing we can do is introduce people to the love of God found in Jesus. I’m not sure how many people walked away from that service feeling the love of God. We prefer the Proverbs 16:24 approach: “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” The best thing we can offer to anyone who is mourning is our love — “Love is patient and kind.”
1 Corinthians 13:4.

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ

Dear Friends,

We read about the burial of Jesus in the book of Matthew. “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:57-60 (NIV)

When Bonnie and I visited Israel, part of the tour included visits to two different sites, each of which is purported to be the place where Jesus had been buried. The first, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, was originally ordered built by Emperor Constantine about 325 AD. Over the centuries it has been destroyed, rebuilt, and renovated a number of times.

According to tradition, the site includes Calvary or Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified, and Jesus empty tomb, from whence he was resurrected. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is controlled by several Christian denominations: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and to a lesser extent Copts, Syriacs, and Ethiopians. Protestant denominations are not represented.

In the early nineteenth century, protestant Christians who questioned the authenticity of traditional religious sites in the Holy Land began to search for alternate sites. The second tomb site we visited on our tour is located north of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem.

Commonly referred to a Gordon’s tomb, this location which has become a pilgrimage site for protestants, features a garden tomb, hewn from a steep cliff, on a hill that resembles a skull; which seemed to conform to the description found in John 19:41-42: ^“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”

Which site — if either — is the exact location where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead? We’ll just have to ask Him when we meet him in Heaven.

Pilgrims to either site should be encouraged by the words the angel spoke to the women at the empty tomb: “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.”

Jesus only borrowed the tomb. He is risen; He is risen indeed!

Verse for the Week: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1

Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ