If your week has been like mine, you have experienced many emotions. Attending the funeral of Dianne Boon on Tuesday, Karen and I sought to support David and family members in their grief. We learned that Dianne had battled cancer from the age of two. Her parents were told that she would not live, but God had other plans. Dianne grew up in Murdochville (in the Gaspe region of Quebec) and moved to Montreal. She survived other cancers and courageously coped with multiple sclerosis, while encouraging others in our home church in Verdun, before her earthly journey ended earlier this month.
Karen and I always looked forward to seeing Dianne and David in the small group that met every two weeks before the pandemic arrived. David told corny jokes and Dianne would roll her eyes and say “Oh, David!” while everyone laughed. As Solomon wrote, there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Please pray for David and Dianne’s family as they grieve.
Have you noticed that God’s name is being used in some television shows? We watched an episode of SWAT (which stands for a highly-skilled police force) and one of the officers said “God willing” which I don’t remember hearing in a popular series before. Maybe one of the writers of the show is a believer. At any rate, this week’s episode centered on a fatal shooting of one of the SWAT members, a young woman who was gunned down in a raid in Los Angeles. As hundreds of thousands of Americans have died of COVID-19, death is on the minds of everyone, including the writers of fictional works. The words of James come to mind (please see “Scripture for the weekend” below).
For those who love the Lord, we have many, many promises in His Word that will sustain us and help us through challenges and changes. The Lord Jesus told His disciples in John 14 that there are many dwelling places in His Father’s house. He also told them that He was going to prepare a place for them. One of His disciples, Thomas, picked up on a statement that Jesus made – “And you know the way where I am going” (v. 4) – by saying “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” (v. 5). Maybe you have read some of the Bible, but have never understood how someone can have a personal relationship with the Lord. In His last days on Earth, Jesus was determined to explain clearly to His followers how they (and we) can have an abundant life now and be with Him in heaven forever. In John 14:6, Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” If you have never asked God’s forgiveness for your sins, I urge you to not delay any longer. You will experience indescribable peace and joy when you receive Christ as your Saviour and Lord (Romans 15:13).
Scripture for the weekend: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.’” James 4:13-15 (NASB)
Thought for the weekend: “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.” – John Newton
Steve