About three weeks ago I became aware of a young thirty-one year old woman named Jenny Bizaillion.
My nephew’s wife posted her name on FB and was requesting prayers for her. She had pneumonia which turned into sepsis.

 
Thousands of people were  praying for Jenny and updates were posted hourly/daily on Care Pages.
https://www.carepages.com/carepages/JennyBizaillionUpdates/patient

I did not know Jenny, yet she touched my life and the lives of countless others. From what I read about her she loved God with all her heart and lived for him to the fullest. Jenny lost her battle with the illness which invaded her body. She leaves a legacy of living the example of Jesus. It seems to me, if this were in another time we might be reading of her in Hebrews Chapter 11, the great chapter of faith.

The following words are from Care Pages. I ask that you continue to pray for her family and her friends.

Posted Feb 22, 2010 5:05pm
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Jenny Bizaillion passed from this world at 3:38pm.
She was the most beautiful, wonderful friend, perfect mom, devoted sister, loyal daughter, and best wife a person could ever have.

We will see her again.

Her memorial service was live streamed on Richland Hills Church of Christ. You may listen here:  http://www.livestream.com/rhchurch/video?clipId=pla_ffe7fe44-6c7b-470c-b3bf-aa3d448c9056

Posted Feb 26^th 9:25am
There are no words to describe yesterday’s experience.

You can’t describe Jonathan declaring in praise, “you give and take away…blessed be your Name!” three days after his sister was taken away…

You could use 1000 words to describe the moment Rick shouted the three words, “Lord, come quickly!” and still never do that moment justice.

And when Josh had us all bow our knees to Jesus as a declaration to our adversary that “we win!” and death has no victory…it was a feast of a foretaste of glory divine! Everyone there (or watching online for that matter) experienced the holiness; we just can’t explain it with mere words.

You can’t describe it but that didn’t stop people from trying. You usually don’t hear the following spoken about funerals…

“It was the best church service I’ve ever been a part of”
“I would have paid $100 to experience that…make that $1,000”
“I wanted to punch satan in the throat!”
“It made me want to go to heaven…right then…like I wished I could of!”
“I’m a college student at UT and drove in from Austin. I don’t know Jenny…in fact I don’t know anyone in the family. I feel like I do now. I’m so glad I came.”
“I’ll be a better wife and mom because of this…because of Jenny.”
“That felt like heaven will feel. I know it.”

Josh spoke yesterday about keeping the Carepage Community going (on a personal side note, I’d be in favor of a Bizaillion/Ross ‘reality’ show because they are about as ‘REAL’ as a family gets and as strong as any family I’ve met. But that’s a subject for a future post) and I don’t know what the family will do in the future with this virtual mega church, but I do know that there is still plenty we can do for the family.

Continue to pray for healing! Not for Jenny – she is completely healed! But pray for the family to be healed. May the hope that Jesse spoke about yesterday…the hope that Jenny walked in daily…heal the hurt, the loss, the pain, the anger, and the deep sadness that fills the family.

Continue to give! With over 12,000 members, I am confident that we can give even more than the $51,000 we’ve already given. With medical bills in the hundreds of thousands, funeral expenses and David’s loss of income due to the past 3 weeks (and the next however many as he and Malaya adjust to life without Jenny), the need is greater than ever. All money we give to the Gregg Pearson Foundation with “GPF Benevolence” in the special instructions goes directly to the Bizaillion family! Keep on giving.

Continue to share this site with friends and family and continue to post your super encouraging messages! The family can use our encouragement in the days and weeks to come every bit as much as they have these past three weeks. At some point every post and every comment will be made into a beautiful (and big!) book for the family. We can only imagine how God will use that book for His glory in the future!

This site was started three weeks ago today. We wanted to as many people praying for Jenny to get out of the hospital as possible. Josh reminded us yesterday that we didn’t get the answer we wanted. But as those of us in attendance witnessed yesterday, Jenny’s family knows that she got into heaven! May we all follow Jenny’s example. After all, she just followed Jesus!

May these words from the song, “Let the Waters Rise” by Mikeschair speak to our spirits today.

Don’t know where to begin
Its like my world’s caving in
And I try but I can’t control my fear
Where do I go from here?

Sometimes its so hard to pray
When You feel so far away
But I am willing to go
Where you want me to
God, I trust You

There’s a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

I will swim in the deep
‘Cuz You’ll be next to me
You’re in the eye of the storm
And the calm of the sea
You’ll never out of reach

God, You know where I’ve been
You were there with me then
You were faithful before
You’ll be faithful again
I’m holding Your hand

There’s a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

God Your love is enough
You will pull me through
I’m holding onto You
God Your love is enough
I will follow You
I will follow You

Ohhh

There’s a raging sea
Right in front of me
Wants to pull me in
Bring me to my knees
So let the waters rise
If You want them to
I will follow You
I will follow You
I will follow You

This passage from Jeremiah spoke to my heart today and I wanted to share it.

It is from Oswald Chambers book “My Utmost For His Highest”
. . . I am with you to deliver you,’ says the Lord —Jeremiah 1:8

God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally— “. . . your life shall be as a prize to you. ” (Jeremiah 39:18). That is all God promises His children. Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are to be a matter of indifference to us, and our hold on these things should be very loose. If this is not the case, we will have panic, heartache, and distress. Having the proper outlook is evidence of the deeply rooted belief in the overshadowing of God’s personal deliverance.

The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on a mission for Jesus Christ, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, “Don’t worry about whether or not you are being treated justly.” Looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will only begin to complain and to indulge ourselves in the discontent of self-pity, as if to say, “Why should I be treated like this?” If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we encounter, whether it is just or unjust. In essence, Jesus says, “Continue steadily on with what I have told you to do, and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.” Even the most devout among us become atheistic in this regard— we do not believe Him. We put our common sense on the throne and then attach God’s name to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

I liked this too from Jer 1:19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Someone I love with all my heart is experiencing some of the worst trials of their lives and it’s breaking my heart. It is also causing me to do some serious looking within. I feel frustrated and helpless; I am knocking at God’s door as did the persistent widow. I am looking for answered prayers and if they are being answered I’m not recognizing the answers. I’m on the brink of being angry with God and then I am washed in guilt and ask myself, “how dare I be angry with God” and I wait almost rebelliously for him to discipline me. My heart aches, I weep silently, and I am ashamed.

I read in 1 Peter 1 of some of the things I know will come to pass because of Gods great mercy. Having been born of a new birth into a living hope, I have an inheritance that will never decay, which is kept in heaven for me, and by way of my faith is shielded by God’s power. This makes me feel great…but then I read that “though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” WHAT?? WHY?? These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

In the middle of my turmoil, I’m now beyond knocking, I’m beating on God’s door and Satan is beating on mine. I began wondering…is my faith genuine? The battle is on and then the Spirit directs me to James 1:6-8 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Am I double-minded and unstable in all that I do? Satan would have me believe that I am!

Yes I am hurting, yes I am scared and yes I have wavered, but I have turned to God, I choose to believe, I choose to trust him with all things. I know full well that things may not be resolved the way I’m praying for. Will I understand? No, I won’t, Will it be easy? Probably not! But I will trust God.

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him. Job 13:15

Those of you who know me understand that if I could share with you what it going on that I would. Perhaps at a later time I will be able to. At this moment it is for the safety of those I love that I cannot. Please pray for all involved, God knows who they are.

The following article appeared in our local paper this past weekend. The story caught my attention and I couldn’t help reflecting on some of the young soldiers comments, especially “loving the unknowns”. 

Yet what about the other unknowns? The drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics. I could list countless categories. Often what makes someone unknown to us is their situation. If their life is completely different from ours we may shy away from them. Different beliefs, practices or lifestyles can make a person unknown to us simply because we may feel uncomfortable associating with someone who doesn’t fit into our way of thinking, or our way of doing things.

When you think about it, we were unknowns to Jesus. He lived a sinless life and came to live among sinful people. He showed us how to love those who are different than ourselves, how to have compassion on them and how to love them the way he loves us.

After reading this article I am reminded to reach out and love the unknowns, to follow the example left to me by the one who is perfect.

~Now, enjoy the story…

Arlington tomb to be guarded by brothers The soldiers from Texas are part of an elite Army group. Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Brisiel (left) takes part in a Tomb Badge Ceremony with his brother, Army Spc. Mathew Brisiel, as their mother, Cathy Brisiel, watches Friday at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va.
Luis M. Alvarez/ Associated Press
For the first time, two brothers have earned the rarest honor offered in the Army, having completed training to serve as highly regimented sentinels guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Spc. Mathew Brisiel of Spring, Texas, on Friday followed his brother, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Brisiel, when he became the 578th soldier awarded the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge since 1958.

The 24-year-old said it was the toughest thing he’s ever done. Sleep only averaged about four hours a night after 20-hour days of work, studying “tomb knowledge,” shining shoes and perfecting uniforms.

The job entails guarding the tomb at Arlington National Cemetery all hours of the day, regardless of weather. The soldiers pace silently and deliberately 21 steps in front of the tomb and pause facing the tomb for 21 seconds.

Each walk lasts a half-hour in the summer months and an hour in the winter.

Most striking, though, was what it came to mean for him when his trainers would ask if he “loved the unknown soldiers.”

“In my head, I was thinking, ‘Love the unknowns? That’s a little strong. That’s a little much,’ ” Mathew Brisiel said. 

But something changed over eight months of training.

“When I’m standing out on the plaza and I’m walking and I see an elderly woman sitting there by herself crying it sends chills up your body,” he said. “You realize how awesome it is. You represent every soldier that gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

Soldiers in the Old Guard, part of the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry, at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., can train for as long as a year to pass a series of tests to become sentinels — or move on.

They must reach near perfection in uniform inspection, outside performance and extensive memorization of the tomb’s history and meaning.

About 27 soldiers serve in the platoon guarding the tomb, 15 of whom are full sentinels. The others are in training.

All volunteer for the mission. Each soldier must be in excellent physical condition with an unblemished military record and must pass a two-week trial to pursue sentinel training.

Mathew Brisiel passed in about eight months.

He enlisted in the Army in 2008 and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., and joined the Old Guard in 2009.

Now he will train other soldiers to guard the tomb with his 27-year-old brother, Jonathan Brisiel, who has served at Arlington for the past three years.

“To see my little brother be this peer, this equal and watch him grow into such a man, it’s exciting,” said Jonathan Brisiel, who enlisted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and served in combat in Iraq in 2004.

He said the driving motto for guardians of the tomb is “Soldiers only die when they are forgotten. Tomb guards never forget.”

Their mother, Cathy Brisiel, said her sons have joined a tradition she knew as a child. She grew up in Washington, and her grandfather is buried at Arlington.

“I wish my late husband had been present to witness such an accomplishment for his boys,” she said. “I thought my heart would pop out of my chest this morning when I saw my boys in their uniforms.”
By BRETT ZONGKER Associated Press – WASHINGTON 

Native American Honesty

An American Indian, visiting his white neighbors, asked for a little tobacco, and one of them, having some loose tobacco in his pocket, gave him a handful. On the next day, the Native American came back, saying he had found a quarter of a dollar among the tobacco. After being told that he could keep the quarter, he replied, pointing to his breast: “I got a good man and a bad man here; and the good man say, ‘It is not mine, I must return it to the owner;’ the bad man say, ‘Why, he gave it to you, and it is your own now.’ The good man say, ‘That not right, the tobacco is yours, not the money;’ but the bad man say, ‘Never mind, you got it, go buy some drink. The good man say, ‘No, no, you must not do so;’ so I don’t know what to do, and I think to go to sleep; but the good man and the bad keep talking all night, and trouble me; and now I bring the money back, I feel good.” (from Practical Bible Illustrations)

I expect sleeplessness strikes all of us at some time. It’s not a pleasant thing to climb into bed, tired from the labors of our day, only to lay there tossing and turning while our mind is going full speed. (Perhaps having that “good man, bad man conversation) Mine at times seems to be as if I’m in a fast moving vehicle looking out as the scenery becomes a blur. Where is that off button when you need it? If only it were that simple.

I know I can’t change all things that weigh on my mind. I do know I can pray about them, regretfully, too often in “my” thinking I don’t pray about them as I should.  I feel helpless, I feel that “I” can’t fix this or that, which will be completely true; and it is usually at that point that I realize my faith is weak and I am treating God as small and remind myself that nothing is impossible with or for God. I have been guilty of this more than I care to admit. I also remember Jesus told his disciples they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18:1-2

In pondering all of this I came across some great quotes that express my thoughts far better than I can.

• When you have accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace; God is awake. ~quote
• I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day. Abraham Lincoln
• In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without heart. John Bunyan
• In prayer, we are aware that God is in action and that when the circumstances are ready, when others are in the right place, and when our hearts are prepared, he will call us into the action. Waiting in prayer is a disciplined refusal to act before God acts. Eugene Peterson

On my last post I said I would share some of the thoughts that the story of Eddie Rickenbacker sparked in my mind; of how others perceive us and how we perceive others.

While living in California, you may recall that I was in the printing business for many years and our shop was located in an older area on West Main Street. Many of the buildings were outdated and needed a lot of TLC. Located on the same block were a Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center, Dry Cleaners, an Asian Grocery Store, a Law Firm, Multi-Cultural Arts Center, Comic Store, Gun Shop, Jewelry Store, Sewing Machine Repair Shop, a Bank and a Computer Store, a great little Café and a closed Movie Theater. At the beginning of the very next block was a very old Hotel which at that time, housed lower income people, some who were slightly mentally impaired and also some who were just released from prison. I share all of this to give you an idea of the people in that small area of downtown and the many different walks of life from which they came.

In the story of Eddie Rickenbacker, the author mentioned that “Ed might seem like ‘a funny old duck.”  There were several people I saw on a daily basis who fit that description. I don’t know much about them or what happened in their lives that put them in the circumstances they were in.

There was one woman I think everyone in town either knew of or had at least heard of her. She (sadly) was referred to as “Crazy Mary”. She was a woman of slight build with pure white hair. She always pushed a grocery cart and had a small dog on a leash with her. She walked many miles daily. She usually wore a dress and sweater and always looked cleaned and well kept. I was told that she had lost her entire family in a fire, as well as her previous dog and that she pretty much lost her mind after that. I really don’t know if that is her story or not, but it was the same one I got each time she was mentioned.

There were others who frequented our store often and it was obvious they had problems of different kinds. Most of them were very sweet and almost childlike and sometime I would have to gently remind them that I had to “get back to work” as they all seemed starved for attention and would spend the whole day at work with me if I would let them. I never discouraged them from coming in, they all seemed to like me, but I liked them and often marveled at their great attitudes and innocence. Many people didn’t want to be bothered with them and ignored them.

There was one woman though that frightened me on more than one occasion. She was supposed to be on medication and often refused to take it. The times that she didn’t take it she became very violent. She would get upset with the copy machine and start hitting it and cussing at it. I would have to ‘intervene’ and that upset her even more. I could tell from her eyes that she would do me great harm if I wasn’t very careful. I had to call the police on her once as she was so out of control and she became very combative with the officer’s.  Other times she would have arguments with someone only she could see and hear.

Some who came would without fail, tell me the same stories over and over, stories of long ago. I was in that same location for sixteen years and had contact with these people, often on a daily basis. The ones I have mentioned were just a small part of our customers, their purchases certainly could not have kept the doors open, yet after all these years I can still recall all of their names, their faces and their specialness. I look back now and wonder if God put them in my life to help me understand how each one of his children has a purpose and to help me understand my own precious daughter Annette.

If you have been reading my blog from the beginning you may recall that my second daughter Annette was born profoundly mentally handicapped, she has never uttered one word and she is now 43 years old. You can read about her in the archives under “Annette”. Over the years because of the seriousness of some of her medical conditions I have had numerous phone calls from doctors and hospitals telling me that she wouldn’t make it through the night. They were giving me their honest medical opinions, what they don’t know is that God still has a purpose for her. She is still touching lives in her very own special way.

I know I have rambled, I just want to encourage you, the next time you come across what may appear to be a “funny old duck” try looking for their specialness. You may be blessed beyond measure.

Finally, remember what was said about Jesus. Many thought him to be someone or something other than the Messiah; he was cruelly treated and called many names. He was feared, lied about, misunderstood and finally put to death.

A friend sent this to me recently. It made me think about how others perceive us and how we perceive others. It has set my “wheels to turning” and I plan on sharing the thoughts it sparked in my mind in the near future. I really love the story.

 ~A Bucket Full of Shrimp~

It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.

Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier.  Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp.  Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself.  The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.  Everybody’s gone, except for a few joggers on the beach.  Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts…and his bucket of shrimp.

Before long, however, he is no longer alone.  Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier. Before long, dozens of seagulls have enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly.  Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds.  As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, ‘Thank you.  Thank you.’

In a few short minutes the bucket is empty.  But Ed doesn’t leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place.  Invariably, one of the gulls lands on his sea-bleached, weather-beaten hat – an old military hat he’s been wearing for years. When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away.  And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.

If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like ‘a funny old duck,’ as my dad used to say.  Or, ‘a guy that’s a sandwich shy of a picnic,’ as my kids might say.   To onlookers, he’s just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp.

To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty.  They can seem altogether unimportant ….maybe even a lot of nonsense. Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Busters. Most of them would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida … That’s too bad. They’d do well to know him better.

His full name:  Eddie Rickenbacker.  He was a famous hero back in World War II.  On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down.  Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.

Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific.  They fought the sun.  They fought sharks.  Most of all, they fought hunger.  By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food.  No water.  They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were.

They needed a miracle.  That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle.  They tried to nap.  Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose.  Time dragged.  All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft.

Suddenly, Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap.  It was a seagull!

Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move.  With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck.  He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal – a very slight meal for eight men – of it.  Then they used the intestines for bait.  With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait……and the cycle continued.  With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued (after 24 days at sea…).   

Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first lifesaving seagull.  And he never stopped saying, ‘Thank you.’  That’s why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.

Reference: (Max Lucado, In The Eye of the Storm, pp.221, 225-226)

PS:  Eddie was also an Ace in WW I and started Eastern Airlines.

Prov 15:13-14 A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.

I don’t have much of a “Poker Face”. If something is eating away at me, I might have a smile on my face but my eyes will betray me every time. My eyes reveal my emotions, happiness, sadness, anger, and pain. There is a phrase I have heard about our eyes being the windows of our souls. Perhaps the thought comes from the following scriptures.

We read in Matt 6:22-23 that our eyes are the lamps of our body, if they are good our whole body will be full of light, if they are bad, out body will be full of darkness, and in Matt 12:34 we see that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Later in Matt 15:19-20 we see that out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

Our expressions as well as our words can reveal much about us. A cheerful face suggests a positive attitude and reflects our inner joy and our speech Heartache, as stated in the Proverb above crushes the spirit and it too can rule our face as well as our mouth.

I love to sit in busy places such as a mall or an airport and observe people. It’s fascinates me, the things I see and hear and it sets my mind to wondering.

Prov 15:15 For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

These verses guide us in building values for shaping the kind of heart described in vv 13-15.

Prov 1:7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Just my jumbled thoughts for today~

In a recent conversation a friend of mine told me she had been speaking to a friend of hers who is not a Christian. She was gently asking him questions about his views on God, Jesus and the bible. She wants to teach him and encourage him to become a Christian.

 My friend is not pushy, yet the person she was speaking with told her, in a nice way, that he didn’t want to be pushed. As she was sharing that part of the conversation with me I imagined the following scenario taking place….in Hell.

I pictured people in hell asking each other why they were there and many of them answering-“Oh, I’m here because of my Christian friends, they were always trying to teach me about Jesus, it’s their fault I’m here. They knew I didn’t want to hear about it, they kept on and on and I kept resisting; yessiree, they pushed me right into hell.”

I am reminded of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-42 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.

There won’t be any second chances in hell. If only….

We must love those who are lost, love them enough to keep on “pushing”, planting the seed, praying for them and being an example to them. We must not fear rejection, it isn’t us they are rejecting it is Jesus.

 From my own personal experience I can tell you before I quit resisting, I stone-heartedly sat through some earth shaking sermons. I cleverly avoided those who I knew might try to convert me and the only reason why I did is because I did not want to give up my life of sin, my deeds of darkness. I truly shudder as I look back on those days and realize that this peace and salvation that I now have could have remained hidden from my eyes forever. I could have been “pushed into hell” by my own stubbornness and pride. I thank God over and over for the people who didn’t give up on me or consider me a lost cause. Most definitely I was aggravated with them and wanted them to leave me alone. Thankfully, they loved me too much to do that. Our days are brief, should our final day close and we remain unsaved our condition will be without remedy, without hope.

For those who read this who have not obeyed the gospel of Christ, I pray you will make that choice to do so this very day. I guarantee you can find someone willing to hear you confess that Jesus is Lord and baptize you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Be thrilled and be honored that someone loves you so much they want heaven for you!

For those who have grown weary from trying to teach and encourage those you love and those you want to be with in eternity, I encourage you not to give up. You will never push anyone into hell, but you may take someone to heaven with you.

Acts 2:38-39 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”