thanks again to everyone who has been praying for scott & erica and their entire family. little caden went to be with our Lord on friday, 2/2. the funeral was held yesterday and it was such a great service. there were around 500 people who attended and it was such a nice celebration of caden's short life. the Lord's presence was evident through all aspects of the service. the slide show, caden's favorite songs from church, the scripture, the words from the pastor, the music - everything. while we can't fathom why the Lord decided to bring caden home so early, isn't it comforting to know that he is in the presence of Jesus! please continue to pray for scott, erica, cameron and paige. as well as their entire families and all those who are grieving this loss. the support that everyone has shown so far is so encouraging - especially from all of you who have never met scott & erica. thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.
i want to share some scripture that my mom shared with me a few days ago. these are from king james so you can look it up in another translation if you would like. she sent about 3 pages worth of scripture and meditation that the Lord laid on her heart and i am just taking a few of the verses and her thoughts that stood out to me.
Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”
1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 26, 55-57 “…by man came death…also the resurrection of the dead…in Christ shall all be made alive. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…where is thy victory?..But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 14:8 “Whether we live, we live for the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
1 Corinthians 3:21 “All things are yours; whether ……the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours. And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
Philippians 1:20-21 “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Additional Thoughts from Mom:
God views death from an eternal perspective. In the course of all eternity, the death of the physical human body is victory – it leads to the perfection of eternity with God. We look at death through the eyes of our flesh. We feel the finality of never again in this life being with the one we love. Since our frame of reference is only in this life, we feel that the All-Powerful, All-Knowing God in whom we trust, has taken away from us the one we love. In God’s eternal perspective, as the One who created us and this loved one of ours, does He take away from us, depriving us of time with that loved one? I wonder if our hearts would be comforted if we could see death as God sees death? Physical death of those He loves is precious to Him (Ps. 116:15). When a person’s body dies, his soul is immediately carried into the presence of the Creator, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Faithfully-Loving God. According to Isaiah 57:1-2, God’s children are “taken away from the evil to come”. We have no idea what that might mean for each individual. Yet God, Who sees and knows everything for all eternity, the All-Wise God, is always acting in mercy and grace.
I conclude that, although we cannot comprehend the reason for premature death, we MUST TRUST the One Who understands, the One who “causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We MUST TRUST our souls and the souls of the one we love to “our Faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). We have His Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God and reveals to our spirit those things we cannot comprehend on our own.
“Eye has not seen and ear has not heard all that God has prepared for those who love Him…we have the mind of Christ” 1 Cor. 2:6-16.
My emotions make it difficult to comprehend God’s view of physical death. But to God, it’s the spirit of a person that is important – not the body. If we can ever accept that same mindset, I believe our emotions can catch up to our reality.
“…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
i want to share some scripture that my mom shared with me a few days ago. these are from king james so you can look it up in another translation if you would like. she sent about 3 pages worth of scripture and meditation that the Lord laid on her heart and i am just taking a few of the verses and her thoughts that stood out to me.
Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones.”
1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 26, 55-57 “…by man came death…also the resurrection of the dead…in Christ shall all be made alive. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…where is thy victory?..But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 14:8 “Whether we live, we live for the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”
1 Corinthians 3:21 “All things are yours; whether ……the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours. And ye are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”
Philippians 1:20-21 “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Additional Thoughts from Mom:
God views death from an eternal perspective. In the course of all eternity, the death of the physical human body is victory – it leads to the perfection of eternity with God. We look at death through the eyes of our flesh. We feel the finality of never again in this life being with the one we love. Since our frame of reference is only in this life, we feel that the All-Powerful, All-Knowing God in whom we trust, has taken away from us the one we love. In God’s eternal perspective, as the One who created us and this loved one of ours, does He take away from us, depriving us of time with that loved one? I wonder if our hearts would be comforted if we could see death as God sees death? Physical death of those He loves is precious to Him (Ps. 116:15). When a person’s body dies, his soul is immediately carried into the presence of the Creator, All-Powerful, All-Knowing, Faithfully-Loving God. According to Isaiah 57:1-2, God’s children are “taken away from the evil to come”. We have no idea what that might mean for each individual. Yet God, Who sees and knows everything for all eternity, the All-Wise God, is always acting in mercy and grace.
I conclude that, although we cannot comprehend the reason for premature death, we MUST TRUST the One Who understands, the One who “causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). We MUST TRUST our souls and the souls of the one we love to “our Faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19). We have His Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things of God and reveals to our spirit those things we cannot comprehend on our own.
“Eye has not seen and ear has not heard all that God has prepared for those who love Him…we have the mind of Christ” 1 Cor. 2:6-16.
My emotions make it difficult to comprehend God’s view of physical death. But to God, it’s the spirit of a person that is important – not the body. If we can ever accept that same mindset, I believe our emotions can catch up to our reality.
“…thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
(1 Corinthians 15:57-58)
Many times, our labor is our faith.
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