Memorial Day, Monday, 28 May 2018

I have to share that I was deeply moved by today's Focus on the Family program for Memorial Day.  It is about a woman who lost her husband in one of our wars...  One very interesting thing that caught my attention was that her husband nearly died many years prior to his final death... what struck me was the way she said there was no expectation of him dying because he was just going to the swimming pool for training.  We just never know what our days will bring, and that is why it is so critical to be ready to leave this world.

I am now in my latter years, so I see the possibility of dying any day... and I am already a Christian, so I don't worry about what happens after we die.  I do fear for the eternities of those I love, and those I don't even know.  If you don't go to heaven, the consequences are horrible.

In the night hours I was praying about the issues between those who are saved and those who are not.  I always remember the saying I heard years ago... something like this ::

The only joy the lost will know is in this world;
The only sorrow the saved will know is in this world.

It really impacted me... and continues to do so.  The mantra of the lost is the "joy" they have from sin.  They don't think about the consequences.  They don't discover the pain it causes until later on in their lives, and it is too late to stop the consequences.

Now that I have been committed to GOD for so many years, and remembering those years of searching and suffering and consequences, I know the difference between the lies of the world, the deceptions of Satan, and the goodness that GOD brings with our commitment to Him.  We may still suffer after becoming a Christian, but the process is so very different than when you don't know the Lord, don't see the wisdom GOD shared with us in the Bible, and the benefits of learning how to hear the Holy Spirit.

I am aware of the potential deceptions that the Internet brings into our daily lives, but I believe GOD has the final Word in how the world will impact us.  We belong to Him, and what happens to us becomes His decision... even when it may seem terrible.  I am not talking about the evil choices of men... they are the result of their free will as an individual soul, an individual person.  We suffer, I believe, because of the choices of others the same way others suffer for our bad choices.  There are things GOD allows in our lives because they are part of His Will for us and for the others who share our lives.

I prayed for someone recently and it led me to share a thought I believe... that sometimes these things that happen to us take us to people and places who need a witness for Him... for Christ... for salvation.  I guess diseases can be the product of other's poor choices (greed, etc.), but they can also be a tool GOD uses to move us around in our existence, so we can witness of His goodness.  We don't have to be deceptively "holy" in our mission, but real enough to go through the process with Him and share the difference it makes to have Him as our GOD, and Christ as our Savior.

In my own life, I am meeting each day as though GOD is in charge.  Leaving the details of my length of life to Him.  Doing what I can each day, and not worrying about what doesn't get done.  I don't know all the reasons why people die in different ways, including war, but I think it is true :: nothing happens without its attachment to GOD's Will for us and the world we share.  I think we say, no one dies until it is their time.

Whatever is coming for us as Christians, heaven is the main goal.  Keep your salvation, it is all that matters.  We cannot save anyone else... they must believe on their own.  GOD knows their heart, knows how to reach them.  My prayers these days are for GOD to do all that is needed to save the ones I love, and as many others as He can.

I pray for a lot of people who are not saved... how many do you pray for?

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May GOD save all those we love, without too much trauma and battle.
May we do our best to keep our faith in GOD to the end of our lives.
May our world find the goodness that GOD brings to this life.


PS... I updated my website over the weekend... I had some problems with the updating process, but hope that it is going to reach the world and be responded to.  I made a new PayPal link for ordering a TRIAL Membership for only $10 USD, with the option of giving one as a gift.  The TRIAL Membership is a quarterly communication by email only... an update newsletter to keep people informed of how we are progressing and things they may need to know.  I hope you will join this effort to get the growth process going.  Thanks.

http://work2gather.us/PayPal.TRIALmembership.html