Friends in Christ: I lost a very dear Christian friend recently that I hope to see soon on the other side. This is written in his memory, as Christian friends are hard to come by lately. It may be weird to say, but I envy him that he is now with Jesus and we are still down here in this chaotic maelstrom with our only seeming hope of things getting better is our Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13). He used to walk amongst us, Many considered him a friend, We searched the dates together, As we got closer to the end. But the wind has changed direction, And the waves now splash the pier, All the places we thought would never change, Now echo voices we used to hear. Acquaintances from the past, All too often fade away, As the leaves of the trees change their color, Tomorrow will be different than yesterday. It’s not those rivers that flow through time, Or neglected bridges that are to blame, As people grow they change as well, Nothing can ever be the same. One day we will reunite and embrace again, The shadows of familiarity still burning within, Though our paths diverged down different roads, Our future in Eternity will soon begin. The friendships of old will burn anew, A wonderful new paradigm without any care, The temporal schism that separates us now, Will soon give way to Paradise that we all will share. May God give us strength to endure until the end and may He come soon so that we can be reunited with our loved ones. God bless you all! Humbly Humbly, I am truly sorry for your loss. That was a great tribute! May God let your friend know of the tribute. I have seen so many people die, every age; from birth to the aged; believers and non believers; friends, colleagues, acquaintances, family, and patients. It is never easy for those left. I would agree that many times I too have envied the believer to have gone on first. Never having wished them back, even with the pain and heartache that may have accompanied the death. Many of us look forward to the day when the sting of death is finally gone. :prayer-hands: Thank you Tammie! Subsequent to my Christian friend passing away, I just had another friend pass away this weekend. He was NOT saved. Years ago, I tried to witness to him, but he told me not so politely to leave and not come back into his house until I promised not to preach to him again. I honored that wish and we continued to be friends. However, now as I reflect upon it, just as my friend told me to leave his house and not come back, Jesus told him upon death to leave the Father's House and not come back. It is painful to think about the suffering that he is now enduring -- and will be enduring for eternity. He was a decent man, although not saved (like so many in our world). I don't know if I can ever truly come to terms with this horrible scenario of my friends and family members burning in agony in eternity while I am still here on this earth in a mortal body. I tried to witness to them, but they would have nothing to do with it. Like I said in another thread -- you can't drag people kicking and screaming to a saving faith in Jesus: they each have to come to that conclusion on their own. When they don't, I guess that is on them. Not much we can do about it. It is just so, so sad! Humbly My condolences as well! You may still be surprised once we get up there! TR Very sorry for your loss as well. Humbly. As for the death of the wicked, we know that the Lord takes no pleasure in it. And yet, as I have often said to others over years, the only people who are going to end up in heaven with Jesus are those who want to be there. The Lord is not going to drag people in against their will. Man's free will continues to operate within the permissive sovereignty of a holy and righteous King. How utterly tragic that the vast majority of humanity will choose the broad path that leads to destruction, while the narrow path that leads to life will eternally remain by far the road less traveled. Some days, and seemingly more frequently of late, these verses from Chapter 22 in the Book of Revelation seem like they are applicable to today: 11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. Maranatha!!! Well said. Doesn't get any simpler than that! God offers so much, and asks for so little. Who wouldn't want to have a love affair with God?! Like Satan, when you are in love with yourself, there is no room for anyone else! TR In agreement ... until their last breath .. they still have a chance ... there have been many deathbed conversions. Friends: Time is short and I think I'm losing my mind! Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality would determine that my id is operating to provide me immediate gratification for all my endeavors in my conscious mind. He would also assess that my superego is unconsciously internalizing ideals (which I have acquired from life’s learning and past experience) to suppress my realistic urges and to behave morally. Due to my current state-of-mind, he would conclude that my ego is desperately attempting to mediate between my desire to remain under the radar so as not to be attacked any more by satan and his minions – while simultaneously trying to make good decisions, forsake temporal pleasure, and to reach out to the lost in these final stages of normalcy before the Tribulation rocks this world. So what is my point? You got me! I guess I've gone off the rails and I'm just one messed up individual! Any practicing psychologist would diagnose me as delusional for confessing my sins at the foot of the Cross, for sacrificing earthly desires, and would place me into some type of psychoanalytic group therapy. Any respected psychiatrist would heavily-medicate me for my Rapturous illusions and fantasies. He would reason that Christianity is a restrictive hindrance that deviates into Heavenly compulsions, Divine obsessions, and Spiritual visions. Actually, I wouldn't argue with any of that analysis and diagnosis -- heck, I suffer from all of these!! A frantic cry would soon echo down through the halls of the sanitarium -- “Forget about the zip code, this Christian psychopath needs to be shock-treated!” However, no matter what the treatment (I don’t care much for inkblots, psychoanalysis is a drag, and Free Association only makes me reconcile the Old Testament prophecies concealed with the New Testament prophecies revealed), they can form their own conclusions -- I'll still believe in Jonah’s whale. They can certify me as crazy, they can lock me up and shut me down in a cell of padded foam, they can take my car, steal my 401k, evict me from my home, and continue to call me insane -- but they can never change the first sentence of the Bible whereby "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..." Those that can't believe that first sentence shouldn't waste their time reading the rest of the incredibly-inspired Word of God. Nobody can steal my Eternal Salvation, or diminish the power of Jesus’ Name!!! They can try to implant an "innocuous tattoo" into my arm or a translucent mark into my forehead, but they will need to decapitate me first. I guess that I am currently struggling to find a happy medium in life and I am failing miserably. Thus, Freud’s conclusion that I will become tense, anxious, or angry has become an eventuality. I am tense because this world (as prophesied) is upside down: right is misconstrued as wrong, wrong is considered right, good is misrepresented as evil, and evil is perpetuated as good. I am anxious because I want desperately out of a world that I am stuck in against my will. I am angry because I no longer want to be told that I am in the minority and I need to shut up and take my narrow attitude outside. I am at the end. I have tried to divert the paths of nonbelievers toward our eventual destiny -- Heaven. I have tried to dissuade ego-centric individuals from their path down the highway to hell -- but to no avail! I have not been strong enough to overcome their rebellious hearts. I have not been able to overcome the id of my family, friends, and acquaintances that want to tolerate evil and remove me from their presence. Having said all that (did I really say all that? -- God forgive me!) I will not give in, I will not give up, I will not back down, I will not remain silent, I will not be forced to deny that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior -- with my last breath on this earth I will share our Blessed Hope with anybody ready, willing, and able to listen! May we continue to plant our seeds where we can, may we continue to water any seeds planted before us, and may we continue to praise Jesus Christ for bringing the increase!! God bless you Sisters and Brothers in these final moments! Humbly :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: We will all receive our blessing together, when He returns! TR
Beautifully written. :good: :prayer-hands:
12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
