Best Gift Ever
An ongoing nemesis of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise (yep, I’m a Trekkie) is Q of the Q Continuum. He is a very colorful character and brings havoc every time he shows up. I find him to be a comic relief and fascinating (as Spock would say). Q never grows old, and he is eternal. He can zap anywhere anytime but seems to enjoy tormenting the crew and captain of the Enterprise most of all.
Eternal life is so appealing to the audience that they continue this character. Wonderfully we have that ability of eternal life also. That is some do, some do not. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15, KJV)!
Thankfully I am going to live FOREVER! And not just that, but I will be with GOD, Y’shua, and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). I will be with my 2 babies who have gone before me, my grandmother, mother, Steve’s dad, my friends Steven, Steve, Janet, Leona, and more!
In the past 13 months, I have lost (here on earth) five very dear friends. This seems to be the season that we are all experiencing right now. *While it has been a time of grief, it is also a time of rejoicing in their new life in heaven. This all has come to mind for me, because of a recent incident my daughter had. Toi was visiting a dear believing friend and discussing a Bible study she leads. A young friend of the lady came over on an errand and was informed of the conversation in progress. After the introductions, Toi asked: “Do you believe in Jesus?”
The young woman then replied: “No. I was baptized, completed the confirmation class, and now I teach Sunday school to the little kids. I enjoy telling them a Bible story and singing hymns with them. But now that I am a university student, my boyfriend and I do not believe in God. We think there are many sincere paths out there, and each person gets to make their own choice. Sure, there is something greater than us in the universe, but we just do not know what that is. We would like to send our future children to church because of the good morals and the nice people.”
Toi’s friend was absolutely floored! After the young lady left, Toi’s friend said “I have known this girl all of her life! I believed that she was a Christian. I am shocked.”
Interestingly they were discussing the parable in Mathew 13 about the wheat and tares:
Y’shua put before them another parable. ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them up?’ But he said, ‘No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time. Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.’ (Matt. 13:24-30, CJB)
Not everyone in the church is a believer. Jesus said there are tares among the wheat. We have met pastors that have denied Christ and had pastored for several years (one over 25 years!).
So, what am I trying to say?
Do not be naïve. Share this wonderful gift. How sad to think we may be worshipping with people who just do not understand that going to church does not take you to heaven (just like going to McDonald's does not make you a hamburger). Be an active member. Ask questions in your small groups. Our faith does not lie in a book of confession, church attendance, etc., but on the blood of Y’shua alone!
Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death [separation from God], but the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom. 6:23, KJV).
The babe of Bethlehem made a sacrifice for an eternal, non-refundable, one-size-fits-all gift. If you received this gift from God, then share it! If you have not received it, then do not let a day go by without it. Do not mock His blood by ignoring the precious price – take it and rejoice in your eternal life.
Thank you for being part of the AOHE Mishpaha (family)! We love and pray for you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love from my heart,
nanC
P.S. After recently attending the funeral of a precious friend, a fellow mourner and sweet sister shared a tragic encounter. When she began crying while talking about our friend who had passed, a church person rebuked her for crying about someone going to heaven and suggested she needed counseling. Hmm. Listen my friends, grief is a love word. Y’shua himself cried at the funeral of Lazarus when He saw how Mary and Martha were suffering after the burial. The Bible “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15, ESV). Do you believe God Almighty was jumping up and down and clapping His hands when Y’shua died? Indeed, mourning is a process the Bible understands well. Joyfully, there will one day be no more mourning: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying” (Rev. 21:4, KJV).
Someone once wrote “Our tears are also special treasures to the God who makes our bodies. ‘Put my tears in Your bottle,’ the Psalmist prays (Ps. 56:8). When we weep at the graveside, there is our Father, catching each tear as it falls from our eyes.”
Do you have a prayer request? Please share it with me. I would love to hear from you.
Nancy Cohen is the Director of Women's Ministries at Apple of His Eye
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