2024-04-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Had a tough day yesterday because a dear friend of 30+ years passed away in MN. God has given me this “prime time” of His to access Him in prayer, so He can give me the strength I need to grieve the loss of my friend’s companionship until and unless we meet again in heaven. I know in my heart she is there and in far better Company than me. Other dear ones in MN are also processing their reaction to her “promotion” too. This strength and His perspective on the physical death of people we love is yet another thing that God gives us. Our earthly lives are as the "Refiner’s fire." 1 PET 1: 6-7, “In all of this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” I’m not looking for those things, but our Lord will give them anyway. We already know that He will share His glory with us at the time we appear with Him [COL 3: 3-4]. It helps us greatly to have our Lord’s perspective on our lives in bereavement. JN 11: 25-26, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me though he dies [physically] yet shall never die [spiritually]. And everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” My friend who passed away, our mutual friends, and I believe this with all our hearts.
1 COR 12: 27-28, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all, apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, help, guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.” Another gift mentioned is, of interpretation. In vs. 31, we are told to “eagerly desire the greater gifts.” I must also reiterate, 1 COR 13: 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” I haven’t begun to scratch the surface of the many blessings God gives us. God has given us an orderliness that can’t come from any other source; it is that great! He puts us together in families, He gives us the faith to want to take care of each other’s temporal needs. He gave each of us the capacity to learn to love, even though some people disappointed Him bitterly with abuse, neglect, or other forms of evil. God has given the Lord Jesus to make a final judgement on each of us, as we must give account to Him at the end of our earthly lives [DN 7: 13-14]. It is so beautiful to live a life of love and to have our Lord’s description through Paul of what love is like, in 1 COR 13: 4-8a. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves. Love never fails…”
Part of the orderliness of the church is God’s help when there has been sinful behavior within it. We are given clear direction, in MT 18: 15-18 (which I hope you will read). Vs. 19-20 give us an extraordinary promise to help us gain God’s perspective. “Again, truly, I tell you that if two of you agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather My name, there am I with them.” While we should never demand a miracle, they sometimes happen. God knows exactly the right time and way for their occurrence. We can trust in that.
And then, there is the power of healing, He makes available to us. His healing power through the Holy Spirit can be for either our physical, our emotional, our spiritual, or even our intellectual selves. The compelling story of Malala Joussef, a young girl who was shot for going to school, who later recovered, moved to England, and received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in making education available to girls in places where it is forbidden. Every day, in my ministry, I deal with people who need physical healing, having been from a family where my father was a physician. There are two ways God heals: through His miracle of modern medicine and by calling an ill person home to Him as a fully healed denizen of heaven. The minor prophet, Nahum, wrote in NH 1: 7, “The Lord is good; He protects His people in times of trouble; He takes care of those who turn to Him.” King David, in PS 6: 4, pleads for healing. “Come, O Lord, and me well; in Your kindness save me.” By far, there are more prayers than one can imagine concerning what God is doing for us.
PRAYER: O Most Holy One, as I write about all the things You give us, I can’t see an end in sight. Words, even prayers, can hardly express the extent of Your love for us and Your generosity. The very air we breathe, the Scriptures we study, [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. Your application of Your power to do good, our temporary home on earth [PS 24: 1], every dear friend we have, the sacrificial Atonement of our Lord Jesus [JN 3: 16] and so much more---all of these come from You! It seems so little we can do in return, except to keep Your commandments and make You the Center of our lives. We offer You our utmost praise, thanks, loyalty, and love—in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ.
NEXT WEEK: Oh yes! The Holy Spirit commands me to write more on what God gives us and transformation, next week. We will look into healing after emotional trauma and God’s provision. I have a story of gaining courage to share (not about me). It has been necessary for me to move on with my life after losing my husband’s company on earth. It involved appealing to God, as I was unable to do this without Him. Observing what is going on in the lives of others around me helps me to gain perspective on my own loss of loved ones. JER 29: 12, “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” RO 12: 12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2024. All Rights Reserved.
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