A couple of days ago I was wrapping gifts for the grandkids (something CJ always did, so fortunately they are kids and not too concerned with how pretty the wrapping job is!) I took a break and sat down at her study desk upstairs. I glanced through a women’s Bible study she had been working on up until the last 2-3 weeks of her life, when her confusion got worse due to liver failure, and she was no longer able to do anything with her hands or a clear mind. Out of the book fell 2 cards marked “My Prayer Strategy”. The last prayer she ever wrote was one was for her kids & grandkids, which I will share with them privately. The other card said this: “Oh Lord, as I exit your Earthly Domain, I will not forget the discipline of a thankful heart. It is the first step to TRUE worship: “Enter His gates with a thankful heart and enter His courts with Praise!” Help me, Lord, as I walk through this pathway of worship, to understand the procedure of coming into your presence.”

Now, please don’t misunderstand what she was praying for! She was NOT seeking some mystical path to get into Heaven. CJ knew, as any Christian should, that the ONLY path to Heaven is through Jesus, by believing he is the Son of God, that he died and rose again, and that as we trust Him with our lives he will save us from sin and resurrect us from death to a new and amazing life with him forever. And that’s where she is now, because she believed that! 

Anybody who knew CJ well knew that intimate worship was central to whom she was, and what made her the person she grew to become. She learned that worship is about God, not us; and once we rightly understand that God is God and we are not, then we can recognize there is a biblical path to enter into God’s presence correctly.  Why is it so important to get into the presence of God? Because that is what we are missing in this sinful, dark, and broken world! We were created to live WITH GOD is this world, but sin separates us from Him. CJ understood that the closer we get to God and experience His presence in our daily lives, the more peace and true fulfillment we will experience. And NOW, free from the curse of sin and her decaying, cancer-riddled body, she is experiencing true peace, joy, and just plain fun with Jesus himself!

 For all of us still here, there is unanimous consent that 2020 was a horrible year! Whether you lost a loved one as I did, or had other losses and trials in your life, we all seem to focus on COVID as the prime evil of 2020. And it was a horrible virus, killing many and causing massive destruction not only physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and materially as well. And with the vaccines coming out, we all have great hope. But as Christians we should understand, even though 2021 will hopefully be better than 2020, we still live in a world under the power of evil and sin, and that will not change until Jesus returns to destroy Satan and evil and restore the world to what it was meant to be! As awful as COVID is, thankfully less than 1% of the world will actually die from it. On the other hand, we are all under the curse of sin, and 100% of us will die of that!

Paul says in Romans 8:18-21:
¹⁸  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Pastor Timothy Keller, in his book “Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering”, reminds us that this present world is broken and is NOT the world we desire deep in our hearts! He says “Human beings were not created to experience death, pain, grief, disappointment, ruptured relationships, disease, and natural disasters. The world we were made to live in was not supposed to be like that! A frustrated world is a broken world, in which things do not function as they should, and that is why there is evil and suffering.”

Christians who understand the story of God’s plan in the Bible know two main truths:

1) This present world is a hot mess, under the power of sin, and no human solution or government is going to change that. And even though we love much of life here and find joy and fulfillment at times, we all know something isn’t right, something is missing!

2) God offers us a new future, a new hope, when Jesus returns, destroys evil, and re-creates a new heaven and earth the way it was originally meant to be. In this new world, there will be no more sin, and we will again dwell WITH GOD all the time, every day!

OK, I think we can all agree, whether you’re a Christian or not, that this present world is messed up and you would like to live in a better world! Let me suggest three areas to focus on as you enter into 2021. This doesn’t guarantee you won’t struggle, suffer, or even die in 2021. But it will help you see God’s bigger picture, recognize that He is with you and will strengthen you no matter what you face, and realize that no matter what happens, there is a great new world coming for believers in Jesus, and nothing can take that away from us!

1) Ask God to help you see your life through His eyes, every day of the year!

 In Ephesians 1:17-18 (ESV), Paul offers a beautiful prayer for all of us, saying…
¹⁷  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸  having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

– “having the eyes of your heart enlightened” means that God would focus your desires of heart and mind on what he has for you, which is far better than what you may think you want or need! Ask God to help you see your life and others the way Jesus sees them, and you will see hope and good even in the worst circumstances of life. CJ and I experienced this mindset time and time again in her 18 month battle with cancer, and it made life much more bearable.

2) Seek and look for God’s presence in your life every moment of every day!

Even though sin separates us from God, he promised us that when we trust in Jesus with our life, his Holy Spirit will come and dwell within us! Whatever you are doing each day, consciously ask God to help you and guide you and strengthen you. One of the names of the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and his presence has greatly brought comfort to me in these past months, even though it’s still difficult.

3) Live each day with a Kingdom attitude of joy and thankfulness!

Going back to CJ’s last written prayer for herself, I’m amazed and so proud of her that her goal was to have the proper attitude as she knew she was leaving this world and going home to her Father’s presence! I remember that last 2 weeks watching her sit quietly on the sofa, her hands folded in prayer, quietly asking God to take her home. She had learned through practice to approach God with thankfulness for all that God had done and promised to do for us in the future, which naturally leads to praising him for his power to help us overcome even death itself!  

It’s easy and natural to succumb to having a “pity party” for yourself when circumstances are difficult. CJ and I both had our share of them, and I still do from time to time. But the Bible teaches us to keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus and what he has done for us, and that moves us away from pity to thankfulness and even rejoicing, because we know God is always with us! Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4: 4-7,
⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This afternoon, a friend sent me and others a wonderful quote by Christian author and theologian Henri Nouwen called “JOY” :

Joy does not come from positive predictions about the state of the world.

It does not depend on the ups and downs of the circumstances of our lives.

Joy is based on the spiritual knowledge that,

while the world in which we live is shrouded in darkness,

God has overcome the world.

Jesus says it loudly and clearly:  ‘In the world you will have troubles,

but rejoice, I have overcome the world.’

The surprise is not that, unexpectedly, things turn out better than expected.

No, the real surprise is that God’s light is more real than all the darkness,

that God’s truth is more powerful than all  human lies,

that God’s love is stronger than death.

I pray for all of us that 2021 will be a wonderful year in many ways! But most of all, I pray you will seek God’s intimate, daily presence, and that His presence will bring you unspeakable joy, even in the midst of trials and difficulties. And may that joy lead you to an attitude of humility, thankfulness, and unending praise for God and his great love for you.

God bless you all! Have a wonderful Christmas, blessed New Year, and never forget that God loves you more than will ever know!

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  – “Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Even before my wife Claudia died on October 22, I had been thinking daily about what my future might look like after she died. After we got her “death sentence” from our doctor in February, we both discussed continually what her last months would look like if God chose not to heal her physically, and what my life might be like following that. These are not conversations you ever think you will have with your spouse, but most of us go through something like this at some point in time. I thought of such things as “Will I keep our home or sell it? Will I move to another area or state, or maybe go to Florida for 6 months a year like many? Will I stay close to be able to see all our kids & grandkids? And, will I consider getting remarried?” (Talk about a weird conversation to have with your wife!)

Well, this next year will determine the answer to many of those questions! What brings me hope and peace about the future is, in spite of several unknowns, I know that I belong to God and nothing will change that relationship. That means I know who I am, I will not change how I look at life, and my purpose for the future will not change at all! This might be described as a “Kingdom mentality”, an understanding for Christians that we are already partially in God’s Kingdom now, and will fully enter into the Kingdom in the next phase of life. Now, I know many non-believers hear talk like this and think “That sounds like all he is going to do is go to church and do Bible studies and have a pretty boring life!” While those are both part of “Kingdom life” (and are NOT boring), that is not even close to what life in God’s Kingdom is like!

Dr.  Tony Evans has done a lot of great research and teaching on God’s Kingdom. He defines God’s Kingdom agenda as “the visible manifestation of the comprehensive rule of God over every area of life”. And he defines a Kingdom man or woman as “someone who is consistently living under the rule of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ over every area of their life.” This means we see all of life from God’s perspective as Kingdom people. God created this world and everything in it, and he created us in his image to enjoy the world and rule over it. And he wants us to have an intimate, loving relationship with him and each other. In what we call the “Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus has us pray to the Father, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”… and, “Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.” When we consciously live under God’s rule in our lives, it brings us his power to live abundantly, and it brings glory to him.

For me, that means that all the enjoyable things I do in life are part of God’s plan for me, as long as I do them under his direction and see them from his perspective. So I plan to play a lot more golf this year, which also allows me to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation and develop new relationships with friends that may lead to eternal friendship in the Kingdom. I will go boating in my pontoon, fishing, and pulling the grandkids on the tube. This will help them learn the value God has given us for strong and healthy family ties. I will enjoy healthy dining in some of the great Michigan restaurants (an important retiree pastime!). I will enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in Michigan as I walk the magnificent beaches, dunes, and trails, and kayak on the rivers. I will enjoy the coastal towns and marinas, and shopping in the specialty shops. (Nah, not really! CJ loved the shopping, but I just loved being with her and walking around while she shopped!) And I will certainly enjoy blogging, and teaching small groups and men’s book and Bible studies. These groups have brought both CJ and I our closest and most supportive friends throughout our life, and have been the Christian brothers and sisters that we have lived everyday life with. The greatest thing about Kingdom life is that we have a Christian family of friends that will last for eternity!

As much as many aspects of my life will remain the same, it will of course be drastically different without CJ!  43 years of sharing life with someone as wonderful as CJ now leaves a large chasm in my heart that will only be bridged and healed by God’s touch and grace, in His timing. While I grieve her loss daily and wish she were back with me, I know she is amazingly happy in the presence of God now, and so I would never want her to leave the glory and beauty of God’s presence to be back here in this broken, sin-stained world, even though it would selfishly make me delighted.  Phil Paonessa, a good friend who lead music with CJ in our Clawson experience, told me of a song he had written for another friend years ago that had lost a son. The gist of the song was that our loved ones in Heaven are in a greater reality than we are, face to face with God. We live here by faith, trusting in God who we cannot yet see. But if I imagine Jesus holding CJ’s hand in Heaven right now, I can also reach out in faith and hold his hand from this side. Thus, the closer I am to Jesus, the closer I am also to CJ. And with Jesus holding our hands, we will see each other again in the future, and everything is going to be fine. That image brings me great comfort and hope!

CJ and I talked several times about the possibility of me getting remarried. (Weird, I know!) The thought of “dating” scares me to no end. I mentioned to CJ that I wasn’t that great at dating 43 years ago, and I’m probably not any better now! She graciously didn’t say anything, but I’m sure she was thinking “You’ve got that right, buddy!” After several talks, I decided that I have so enjoyed sharing every aspect of life with CJ for 43 years that I really can’t see myself staying alone for the (hopefully) 20 or so years I may have left. CJ said that would be ok, as long as the grandkids didn’t like the new person better than her! I assured her that as amazing as she was as Grandma, that would not be possible.

So, if there ends up being a woman in my future who is willing (and maybe foolish?) enough to date and possibly even marry me, there is one primary factor I will look for the most. And that is that she be a “Kingdom woman”, a Christian who looks to God to guide in all aspects of her life, and in the future to direct us in our marriage as well. CJ was such a woman for all the time I knew her, and her love and trust in God helped me become the kingdom man I am today. How could I possibly go backward? To marry someone who didn’t attempt see life from God’s perspective would weaken my relationship with God and that would in turn be unfair to her as well. And how sad would it be to marry someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus and know that after death you may never see them again for eternity? Anyway, these are some of the strange thoughts I wrestle with that I never thought I would have to. Like most men, I thought I would die first and CJ would have to deal with this stuff. I certainly wish it would have been me and not her, but it wasn’t, so my life will go forward with God’s help!

I close with a thought from Paul in Philippians:

¹³  Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵  Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.  – Philippians 3:13-15 (ESV)

Of course, I will NEVER forget my wonderful 43 years of life with CJ! She was the love of my life, and always will be. But I do know that God is always calling us to move forward, pressing on toward the goal of eventually being fully with God in Heaven, and then returning to live with him in the future on the New Earth and Heaven forever. What a day that will be!

Please pray that God will give me his wisdom, peace, and patience as I move forward into the new aspects of life that he has for me. I know they will be good, because God is good!

And I will pray for God’s hand to guide you all as well, as you seek to live as Kingdom men and women of God.

At every stage of life, we have experiences where we think “I’ll never be able to do that again”.  It might be because we grow up, or because of financial reasons, or maybe because we are not as athletic as we used to be. But as I watched my wife Claudia succumb to the death sentence of “months’ our doctor gave us last February, it became very obvious that the process of death itself is a cruel, unrelenting task master of “never again” experiences. There were many, but let me focus on walking. CJ loved to walk! After that horrible diagnosis, she was still able to walk back in the woods behind our house for about 1 ½ miles in 3 inches of snow. When the snow melted, we took shorter walks on the hilly roads near us, and she would pick up rocks and label them the 1 hill, 2 hill, or 2 hill + rocks. We prayed for healing, and her goal was to get stronger and return them all as she healed. She returned the 1 hill rock, but the other 2 are still in our dining room. In spring, we returned to Ludington, our favorite Lake Michigan destination. She was able to walk out to the lighthouse, a substantial distance. A month later, she could only go about 1/5 the distance. On our last anniversary, July 22^nd, we returned to Ludington, and our kids surprised us by all being at the Ludington beach. CJ was able to make it down to the water’s edge and we had a wonderful celebration for about 1 ½ hours. But we never went to Ludington again. At home, walking was reduced to 3 houses down the street, then a slow walk around the house outside, then inside only. She could no longer climb the stairs to our bedroom, and I realized I would never again sleep in the same bed with my wife. Her last month she needed a walker, and struggled to walk from the bedroom to the bathroom to the living room, about 30 feet total. On her last Sunday, we moved the hospital bed to the living room because she could no longer walk to the bathroom or bedroom. Two days before she died, 2 women friends and I struggled to get her 5 feet from the sofa to the bed, where she stayed and died 2 days later.

I say all of this not so you will feel sorry for me or CJ! Everyone, especially near death, goes through these “never again” experiences. It can make you question God, ask “Why me?”, get angry at cancer and the seeming unfairness of life. We had our share of those thoughts!  But what I really want you to know is that these “never again” experiences are actually NOT TRUE!!

What gave CJ and me hope and strength to go forward is the promise that we, like Jesus, will be resurrected and live forever with God in a redeemed and restored earth! Yes, CJ ‘s body  is gone and she will never again walk in this phase of life. But the entire message of the Bible is that God originally  intended us to live forever with him and never die, and eventually , for those who trust in Jesus, he will reverse the course of sin and restore us to that original plan, giving us new bodies that will never get sick or die!

What does that mean?

1) Heaven, in the final phase, will be back here on earth as Jesus renews and restores this world to become the New Earth and the New Heaven combined! And God himself will dwell with us forever!

Matthew 19:28 says, “At the RENEWAL of all things, when the son of man sits on  his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones ,judging the 12 tribes of Israel.”

This future Heaven and New Earth is described in Revelation 21: 1-5:

¹  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴  He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ⁵  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

2) CJ and all other believers in God who have died are now in an “intermediate” version of Heaven, with God, and it’s amazing! No, we do NOT become angels!  Angels are a separate part of creation, but we are human beings, made in the very image of God, and we will always be human beings. We don’t get our resurrection bodies until Jesus returns to judge and destroy all evil, restoring the earth   to what it was meant to be originally.  Then all believers will get new bodies and live in God’s presence forever!

3) In this New Earth and New Heaven, all the pain, suffering, and “never agains” of this sinful world will be reversed, and we will live as we were meant to live, abundantly, joyfully, and with God all the time!

In his book “Heaven”, Randy Alcorn describes what won’t be in Heaven:

“No death, no suffering, no funeral homes, abortion clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug rehab centers. No bigotry, no muggings or killings. No wars, no unemployment. No handicaps, no cancer, no taxes, no bills, no weeds, no bombs, no drunkenness, no traffic jams and accidents. No unwanted emails. Close friendships but no cliques, laughter but no put downs. Intimacy, but no temptation to immorality.  No hidden agendas, no backroom deals, no betrayals.

Imagine mealtimes full of stories, laughter, and joy, without fear of insensitivity, anger, gossip, hurt feelings, or anything that eclipses joy…  We won’t need to be drawn into God’s presence, because that is where we will live, constantly and consciously. We’ll thank God profoundly, and worship and praise him together, whether we’re working in a garden, singing, riding bikes, or drinking coffee.”

In John 11:25-26, it says,
²⁵  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

That’s the key question we each have to answer! Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God?

 If so, Jesus says that even though we die now, we will live again and never die!

I believe that is true, for CJ and for me!

I can attest that watching your spouse or any loved one die is horrible! I have been slowly grieving the loss of my wife for 9 months now, watching all these seemingly “never again” milestones take place.  

But I ALSO know that death is not the final word! Not only do I KNOW that CJ is alive with God now, but that she will someday return to a new earth where I will see her again, and we will both have amazing new bodies. Interestingly, we will not be married in this new Heaven, so we will be wonderful, amazingly close friends, more like brother and sister in Jesus. And I can picture her picking up a new guitar, and with her amazing restored voice, she will lead some of us in brand new worship songs she learned in Heaven. And, not only will she walk again, but she will walk amazing trails with Jesus, with me, and with you, and we will all do this over and over again and   it will never be boring! (And, personally, I hope there are golf courses and I can eventually get better at it!)

So, please pray for me my friends. Pray that God would heal my broken heart and bring his peace and even joy to me, and that I will keep my eyes focused on the amazing Hope that lies before us!  And I will pray for you as well, that you would have this same unbreakable, everlasting hope and joy. Live in faith and hope, without fear!

Not only is everything going to be OK in the future. It’s going to be amazing! God bless you all!

When I refer to CJ’s “status”, most folks think of her physical status in relation to her cancer. To be honest, it is not good. She is getting weaker each week, and struggles with shortness of breath and water retention as symptoms of this cancer. Fortunately, the pain has been quite manageable and the medication is doing the trick in keeping the pain down. It’s also good that she is still fully alert and enjoys reading, watching TV, listening to praise music, doing her Bible studies, and is still active on social media with friends. Saturday all of our kids & grandkids came over for the day and that was wonderful to have all 17 of us together!

While we both continue to pray for God’s  physical healing and have no doubt he can do that, and we know many of you are praying that as well, it is becoming more likely that God is not going to do that. CJ’s body is dying, and we are certainly aware of God’s presence and leading as we go through this process. As humans there is no easy way to go through this process, and to put it in human (not spiritual) terms, dying sucks! We both grieve those things we will never do together any more, and CJ grieves especially not seeing our 9 grandkids grow up, get married, etc. As those of you who have gone through this experience of losing a spouse, child, parent, relative, or friend, you know life is never always fair and the way we think it should be! It is easy as we face the process of physical death to fall prey to fear, discouragement, and hopelessness, especially if you don’t believe there is life after death.

BUT FOR THE CHRISTIAN, WE CAN HAVE HOPE AND ASSURANCE THAT THE DEATH OF OUR BODIES IS NOT THE END, BUT RATHER A CONTINUAITON AND FULFILLMENT OF A WONDERFUL NEW LIFE FULLY LIVED IN GOD’S ETERNAL KINGDOM!

In God’s viewpoint, CJ’s status is not is not of one a dying person but that of a daughter of the King, who will live forever with God in his coming Kingdom of Heaven. Remember that when Jesus came his message was of the good news of a coming Kingdom, to begin in the lives and hearts of his followers which is the Church, but to be fulfilled in the future when he returns to earth and establishes his Kingdom forever! CJ is already a member of the Kingdom because of her faith in Jesus and what he did for us on the cross, NOT because she is a “good person”. (Now, before I get in trouble for that, realize that compared to most people, and to me, she is an exceedingly wonderful person! But the Bible makes it clear that NONE of us are “good enough” to get into the Kingdom on our own works or goodness, and that is why we must trust in Jesus alone):

¹⁶  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17 (ESV)

SO, KNOWING THAT ALL OF US ARE GOING TO DIE PHYSICALLY AT SOME POINT, WHAT IS THE  HOPE AND PROMISE THAT GOD HAS FOR US TO COUNTER OUR FEARS AND DISCOURAGEMENT?

1) Even though our bodies will die, WE will not!

In John 11:25, 26 it says
²⁵  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Both Peter & Paul refer to our bodies as “tents” in the New Testament. I like this analogy, because tents (or today’s version as motor homes) are great places to spend a few nights, but they are not meant to be permanent dwellings. Paul explains in II Corinthians 5 that we will eventually get NEW bodies in the Kingdom, which will never die or get sick:

¹  For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²  For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³  if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴  For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵  He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. – 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (ESV)
Just a word of caution: while all of us will continue living after death, Jesus teaches that only those who put their trust in him and ask for forgiveness and trust their lives to his Lordship will enter his Kingdom. All others, who freely choose not to follow him, will be separated from God forever in what Jesus describes as Hell. So, please choose wisely! 

⁵  Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
⁶  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  – John 14:5-6 (ESV)

Although I hate what this cancer has done to my wife, and the pain and suffering she is going through, I find great comfort, peace, and hope in knowing that physical death will not be the end of her life at all! I believe with complete confidence, without a doubt, that this beautiful, kind, talented, amazing God-honoring  woman that I have shared life with for 43 years will at some point step out her body and walk into the arms of Jesus. Her life will be better and more amazing than we can imagine. And I’m sure that I will join her and many others in this amazing new life in God’s kingdom, a life that God meant us to have from the beginning of creation.

2) God can use the worst in life to bring us closer to him and offer us hope for a wonderful future of redemption and restoration of what was meant to be!

Consider some of these classic passages from Pauls’ writings in Romans 8:
¹⁸  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ²⁸  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ³¹  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²  He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³⁵  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This near 18-month journey of CJ’s cancer has been at times discouraging, fearful, and has brought us to question God’s plan and the depth of our own faith at times. But it has also brought many unexpected “God moments” where he has spoken to us and others through this trial.  In spite of questions, I believe we have each drawn closer to God and trust him now more fully than ever. In many ways it has also brought CJ and I closer, appreciating just how much God has blessed us in 43 years together! It has brought our family closer together, and enabled us to talk about more serious issues in life and express how much we appreciate each other, and how proud we are of our sons and daughters-in-law. CJ has had wonderful conversations with old friends on Facebook or in person that would not have happened otherwise.  And through the marvel of the internet we have had wonderful conversations with you folks on CJ’s Facebook update page and my blog page as well. Your thoughts and prayers for us have not only strengthened us, but they have a profound effect on others in our circle as well. God has used our faith journey to speak to and strengthen other as well. SO, as awful as this has been, he has used it to strengthen us, strengthen many of you, and hopefully convince most of us that as we trust in Jesus, we have a future forever with God that is better than we can imagine!

  3) God wants us to work together as brothers & sisters to “walk each other home”, along with Jesus, of course.

Recently we heard someone express the idea that we Christians are here to “walk each other home”.  I like that idea. We need each other to navigate through this sin-stained world and make it to our future destination with God in his Kingdom.  King David had a similar thought in Psalm 23, although he pointed out that God is our shepherd and will lead us on our journey home:

 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. ³  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.- Psalm 23:1-6 (ESV)
What a great reminder! God leads us to still waters, he restores our soul, he leads us down his path for our life, and when the time comes, he will walk and guide us through the valley of the shadow of death, so that we can dwell with him in his Kingdom forever!

However, the walk for us is not clear all the time. We trust God, we encourage each other, we read and obey God’s direction in the Bible, and then we walk by faith through life. After Paul talked about our bodies being “tents” and the Kingdom our destination, he goes on to say that right now we must walk by faith in God, because we don’t see clearly all that God has in store for us:

⁶  So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷  for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸  Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (ESV)

My friends, I ask that you walk with us on our walk home to Jesus, as you pray with us and encourage us. We are so grateful that you  have done that in amazing ways over these last 18 months, and it has gotten us to this point, and we know with your support and Jesus’ guidance, we will get home just fine.

Truth is, none of really know when our walk will end and we finally get home.  Each of us walks one day at a time, by faith.

But the good news of the gospel is that when we finally get home, we will no longer walk by faith, because then we will see God clearly and finally understand his goodness and grace and his plan for our life. Then, we will walk by sight!

Please pray for CJ and me, as well as yourself, that our walk will be filled with God’s peace and joy, and that God will lead us home gently and holding our hand all the way!

Walk together, and walk with God!