WHEN WE ALL GET TO HEAVEN

"When we all see Jesus - We'll sing and shout the victory"

It was midday on Saturday, December 30, 2017 when I got the phone call that he was gone.  Another important father figure in my life had closed his eyes in sleep and I would be starting the New Year off by saying "Goodbye" to another dear soul.  He had been sick for a while, so there was a sense of "relief" that he was no longer suffering, but ... there was a selfish part of me that wished he'd hung around just a little bit longer so I could have told him "one mo time again" how much I loved him and what he meant to me.

I met Bro. Raphael Barnard over a decade ago, when for some foolish reason, I began dating his son.  (Hahaha, inside joke).  While my relationship with Ron didn't last, by the time we parted, my ties to the family were cemented.  "Bro. B" (as he was affectionately called) and his wife, "Sis. B" became important Christian figures in my life.  When I had my hysterectomy in June 2004, they came over several times, carrying gifts of food and love to nurture me as I healed.  When I experienced the deaths of my grandparents, they stepped into those roles and prayed with and for me through the years.  Much to Ron's chagrin, whenever Sis. B made her famous curried goat or ginger beer, I was included in the pot and bottle.  And when they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with the wedding they never had, I not only served as a hostess, but at Sis. B's insistence, gave a speech about what it meant to be married for 50 years.  [Uh...Hello!  I'm single, never been married, over here!]  Bro. B was a quiet man, who didn't tolerate fools or foolishness, but he loved me and called me his "girlfriend", even when his wife was right there in the room!

The last time I saw Bro. B was on his last visit to church, in late November / early December 2017.  I remember saying to him, "don't go anywhere, I need to take a picture with you."  [He was notorious for avoiding the cameras]  Of course, he smiled at me, shook his head and when I came back from wherever I had run off to, he was gone.  You never know when the last time you see someone is the last time you will see that person.  That is why you MUST tell people that you love them.  You MUST tell people that they are important to you.  You MUST.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells of the hope of the resurrection.  It tells us, comforts us and reassures us that death is NOT the end.  There will be a time (soon and very soon is my hope) when the clouds above us will split open and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will come back to gather His children.  Those who went to sleep in the Lord will be awakened and those of us who remain alive, will be caught up in the air for the biggest party and reunion ever known to man.  We will be reunited with mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, grandparents and friends whom we have loved and missed and mourned.  It's gonna be a great day when that happens.

Bro. B is resting until the Creator God that he loved awakens him.  When next his eyes open, he will be reunited with his son Fred and his wife Jane, who preceded him in death.  He will see his son, Ron, who faithfully cared for him over the last several years.  He will see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and any children they may have.  And if I live my life as I should, he'll see me in the great crowd of people excited to see him as well.

Until that day ... be blessed.

©2018 Kristina E. Smith

SERMON NOTES: “Suffering and Comfort” – Pastor John Nixon, II

I don’t take notes during sermons at church. Haven’t for a while. But today’s sermon, preached by our new Pastor at my church, was one that was heaven sent and noteworthy. When Pastor Nixon started his sermon, he remarked that “some of you will not like this sermon. But it’s coming STRAIGHT FROM THE BIBLE, so you know it will be true, and that will make it ok with you.” (Ok, my paraphrase of what he said, but you will see my point by the time you finish reading this.)

The scripture for his sermon was 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. When it was read in church, I was … put off. Don’t know if that is the right phrase, but Paul, the author of the book, has a way of tangling up stuff so that you don’t immediately know what he is talking about. (Ever heard of that verse: “the good that I should do, I don’t, but the evil that I shouldn’t, I do”? Yeah, that’s an example of a verse written by Paul.) Anyway, so I hear the verses read and go, “Ok, where is he (the pastor) gonna go with this confusing mess of scriptures about suffering and comfort and salvation?” Well, here is where he went:

POINT ONE: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: God does not say that you will not suffer, but He does say, that in your suffering, He will provide comfort.

All of us go through stuff. As Christians, that is just part of the package. There are some trials that you (and I) will go through JUST BECAUSE we are followers of Christ. For these trials, God comforts you freely in proportion to the suffering you suffer. (Ok, now I’m beginning to sound like Paul! Ugh!) In other words, as long as you are in the will of Christ, doing what He asks you to do, there will be trials. There will be people who will despise you JUST BECAUSE you serve God. As a result, they will persecute you, strive to cause you harm, make your life miserable. In these trials, you can rest in the peace and the comfort, that God gives you – knowing that He will work things out for your good.

But then there are the trials that are the result of our own stubbornness and foolishness and our will NOT to do God’s will. In those trials, we will never have the peace of God. Ok, when Pastor Nixon said this, I went still to my very core. I won’t go into details, but I KNOW a trial I am going through that is a direct result of my unwillingness to give up something that God has commanded me to give up. (Stubborn to the core). Y’all pray for me. Just because I am His Favorite don’t mean that I am not also spawn of the debla. And I’ll leave that there and move on.

POINT TWO: 2 Corinthians 1:5: God provides comfort in your suffering, so that you will provide comfort to others when they are suffering.

How many of you know that until YOU personally experience something traumatic: loss of a loved one, go through a divorce, miss a step in your walk of faith – you do not have sympathy for others going through that same trial? If you have never grieved the loss of a parent, you cannot say to someone who just lost theirs “I know what you are going through.” BUT ONCE YOU HAVE, you are never the same again. God uses our trials, our sufferings, and the comfort that we receive from Him during those times to help us be able to minister, strengthen and uphold others when they go through the same or similar trials. I didn’t have the heart I have for “caregivers” until I became one myself. I bet you can emphasize with this reality as well.

POINT THREE: 2 Corinthians 1:6-7: God allows suffering in order that you can find salvation in Him.

Some trials that we go through are placed in our lives for the sole purposes of drawing us closer to Christ in order that we can be saved eternally with Him. Now THAT is a paradigm shifting statement if you really think about it. We go through things – trouble in our family lives, loss of loved ones, stress on our jobs – because, it is through our trials, our suffering, our tribulations, that we draw closer to Christ and the salvation He offers us. Wow. How many of you know the TRUTH that when you are going through something, you spend more time in the Word, on your knees, and in the presence of the Lord? I know this is true for me. I wish it weren’t so, but when things are “going good”, it is easier NOT to do the things that strengthen your relationship with Christ so that you can handle the times when things are not “going good”.

So, that’s what I took away from Pastor Nixon’s sermon today. I wonder what else I might have taken away, if I’d taken notes.

Be blessed.

©2013 Kristina E. Smith

If you want to watch the sermon for yourself, see what I missed, our church services are broadcast over the Internet at http://www.decaturchurch.comcastbiz.net/decatur_rebroadcast.html. Search for today’s date (June 1, 2013) or the title SUFFERING AND COMFORT. I guarantee, if you open your heart, you will be blessed.