Till We Meet Again

Today, I went to a memorial service for a very good Christian man.  He loved the Lord with all his heart, and he and his wife, have given so much to others in serving their Lord and Savior with all their hearts.  His name was Jake Miller, and his wife June depended on him so very much.  Someone mentioned that you couldn't say "Jake without saying June, too."  That is how closely they worked together and served with such joyful hearts.

I lost another dear friend this week, in my accountant Robert Miller.  He and his wife have been helping us with the shop accounting ever since we have had the business.  His wife Joan, helped him so much in his business, and kept him on track.  My heart was heavy, as I know Bob just kept going forward, even when he should have stopped.  He really worked until the day he died. He loved doing what he did, so very much.  He personally called me, two weeks ago, and told me he wanted to do our books, one last time.  I told him he didn't have to do that, but he said, "Yes, I want to do that for you."  His dear wife, called me Tuesday, and said, "she just wanted me to know they were doing all they could, to get the books done for me, and they wanted to do that for us."  How do you repay a kindness such as that?  How precious is their friendship, that in the midst of their pain, they cared so much for us?  I am humbled by such devotion to duty.  Such kindness in broken hearts.

I met June and Jake after going to some meetings, and they shared about their ministry to the people at the local rest home (it is no longer there).  I went a few times, to be there, as I have a heart for this type of ministry, too.  At the time, both Roy and Jolynn were pretty young, so they had to come along with me.  The people there loved seeing young children, and they would always want to talk with us afterwards.  June and Jake poured out so much love upon these precious people.  They were patient, and kind.  They helped me so much and they, too, enjoyed having the kids there to be a part of these services.  I always felt bad, when I could no longer keep going, but we had moved and it was harder to co ordinate the time factor.  I always prayed for their ministry, because it is so very important.  They continued going to the rest home in San Andreas,  when the local one shut down, due to the highway bypass going up.

But do you know how June remembered me today?  By our business.  She was so touched by how we had taken care of them the two times we worked on their vehicles, and when she saw me, her face lit up, and she said, "I know you, you're from Gold Rush, and you took care of our vehicles for us those two times we needed them fixed. You know when the last time when the car was so crushed.  Thank you so much for coming today."  I about cried.  I had thought she'd remember the times I had been with them with the rest home ministry, but instead, she remembered us from our business.  I took that in such a positive light.  You see, a friend shared a passage of Scripture with me today, from her Bible reading, that I had thought of a while back.  It is in Colossians 3:23 & 24 "Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.  Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward.  [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah)."  What a privilege to know that in doing our work, we had shown Christ shining through.  Thank you, June, for that precious compliment.

So, I remember these two men, men who shared the same last name, but as far as I know, were no relation to each other.  Men, who did their best to be upstanding and righteous in how they did their work.  Men, who left a legacy behind them, of integrity and love.  I find it interesting that the heritage of their names, means that at some point in time, someone in their family was a miller.  That is someone who ground up the grains people needed to live on.  They gave them their "daily bread" so to speak.

I want to live my life in such a way, that the "daily bread" that I give to others will be Life giving bread.  Just like my friend shared with me, the Life giving Bread of God's Word today.  I want others to be lifted up and encouraged to find hope and healing, life and abundance through the words that I speak.  I want those words to be Life giving from God's throne of grace.  I pray that each of you, want to live your lives the same way.  Giving something good to others, so that in some way, each of us will have a part in touching a hurting world with the Life of Christ.  Our lives don't end at death, it is just the beginning of eternity.  Where we end up is our choice.  How we live our lives now, does count for something.  What you choose to do, does matter.  You touch someone's life every single day.  Your choices affect others, either for good or for ill.  Two little girls made the difference in the life of the woman, who Roe vs Wade was about.  They brought the light of Christ to her hurting heart.  It changed her.  They didn't know who she was.  They just wanted to love her, like Christ loved them.  "Love covers a multitude of sin."  God's love covered the multitude of sin we on this earth had brought forth.  Let us cover each other with the love of Christ.  I love you all.  Thank you for sharing these memories with me.  God bless you all.

Can You See Through The Mist?

I was praying about what I should share tonight, and God gave me a picture of the day Isolino and I drove back from our Anniversary Trip.

We went through Hwy 4, from Lake Tahoe, and along the way we passed Mosquito Lake.  This is how it looked on that day.  The mist was only there for a short period of time, and then it was gone.  It looked really neat and a bit like a mystery story would.

The words I kept hearing, as I remembered this trip, and this moment in time, was "Can you see through the mists?"  I pondered those words.  What did they mean?  How did they apply to these encouraging words blogs?  How could that statement be encouraging?   God tells us in His Word that "now we look through a glass darkly, but then (on the day of His return), we will see clearly".  That is encouraging.  One day we will see more clearly.

I believe that we do go through life, with a bit of a mist surrounding us, and our not being able to see things as clearly as we'd like to.  That is where prayer and listening for God's Voice, come in.  He tells us to "stay in step with the Spirit."  That we will "hear a voice telling us to go to the left or go to the right.".  I love Proverbs 3:5 and 6, which says, "Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge God and He will direct your paths and make them straight."  That sure does help us to have more clarity through that mist that surrounds us, doesn't it?

Our Pastor gave a sermon today on angels, a continuation of 3 messages so far, on how we recognize and know God's angels, the devil's angels, and today, how angels help us and are with us, when we die.  How encouraging.  You will not die alone, if you know Jesus as your Saviour.  He sends angels to escort you to heaven.  The mist between this world and heaven are blown asunder, as these angels come and minister to the saints when they die.  These angels escort the saints quickly to heaven, which our pastor brought out, must be quite a distance from earth, so how nice to have a fast escort to take you there.  Now, not only is there one angel, but two, who come to bring you home.  Maybe even more, we don't know, but at least two.  This is one of the ways we will see clearly.  Those who die before Jesus' return get to see things sooner than we do.  How glorious.  The passage our pastor read was, "How precious in the sight of God is the death of His saints."  The death of saints is precious.  God doesn't want you to be alone, even in death.

So, if you think the future is a bit misty.  If you feel alone, and like your life is quickly passing you by.  If you are close to the end of your days and are in fear of what is on the other side.  I encourage you tonight, to trust God.  To lean on Him, and not on your knowledge.  Let Him guide you through the mist.  Let Him give you insight and help, by His Spirit telling you which way to go and what to do.  He loves to help us.  One of my most favorite passages of Scripture to quote is this:  "If God is for you, who can be against you."  You will probably hear me quote this often.  I say it to myself to remind myself that the battle is not mine, but God's.  He fights on my behalf.  He clears the mist away, so I can find the path.  He sends angels to minister to me, you, and every believer out there.  He even sends angels to help those who He is calling to Him, who don't even know Him yet.  He fights your battles too.  He helps you find the path too.

Our hearts should be filled with thanksgiving for all the ways He helps us.  David often quoted to himself, "O my soul, why are you so downcast within me?  Hope in God and praise His Name."  He knew that his soul was deceitful.  it would bring him down and surround him with the mist of depression.  He chose to use the cloak of thanksgiving to bring himself out of that mist.  He chose to hope in God.  To praise God.  To continue to remember the ways God had delivered the children of Israel from their enemies.  That is how we need to come out of the mist too.  We need to remember God's goodness to us.  The places He has delivered us or those around us.  To praise Him for being Who He Is.  The Lord God Almighty.  The Maker of heaven and earth.  The Alpha and Omega.  The Beginning and the End.  God, our God, the God of wonders and miracles, bless you wholely and completely.  May your steps be guided to your destiny and your future.  May you be encouraged with the wonder of a "Red Sea" parting before you.  May you be guided by a cloud by day and a fire by night.  May you hear God's sweet words to you, healing you, encouraging you, and bringing you to a place of firmness and stability.  I love you my dear friends.  Be encouraged.  You have the most powerful, wonderful Lord on your side.  Be encouraged.