This was another book I read soon after your death. I can't remember who gave it to me but it's written by Greg Laurie who is a pastor whose son was killed in an auto accident (his son was 33). I read it before I started taking notes on things. I re-read it yesterday and now I will read it and take notes.
Chapter One Where Were You, Lord?
story of Lazarus and his two sisters
"But just because you're serving the Lord doesn't mean you'll avoid tests, trials and tragedy in your life. Far from it!"
His son's name is Christopher, they called him Tof or Topher for short (reminds me of those books we read in Junior Church)
God can bring good out of bad
What we can learn from the story of Lazarus:
#1 The life will have its sorrows
unexpected deaths, etc.
#2 God loves us
"God will never allow anything to happen in your life as His child that is not motivated by His everlasting love for you."
Jeremiah 31:3: I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
The one that You love is sick
God's love for us may be demonstrated in ways we won't always understand
Jesus delayed his response-because He wanted to do more than they were expecting
God always looks at the big picture
2 Corinthians 4:17: For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! (I love it when Scripture has exclamation points!)
It's not wrong to tell God exactly how you feel
Psalm 55:22: Pile your troubles on God's shoulders--he'll carry your load, he'll help you out (paraphrased)
story of Job
ok to ask God why as long as you don't think He owes you an answer
"Never trade what you don't know for what you do know."
(Here the author makes a list of things he knows. I made a list like this on the blog one time.)
Make the choice to stand on what I know instead of what I don't know
Chuck Swindoll: God never promised He would inform us about His plan ahead of time. He just promised He has one. Ultimately it is for our good and His glory. He knows and we don't. That is we shrug and say, 'I don't know." But I do know this: The death of His Son was not in vain. Christ died for you. And if you believe in Him He will forgive your sins and you will go to live with Him forever. You will have heaven and all the blessings of it. I know that. It is a tough journey getting there. Full of confusion and struggles, shrugs, followed by a lot of 'I don't knows.' But when the heavens open and we are there, there will be no more shrugs, and we will be able to say, 'Now I know.'
"the secret things belong to the Lord"
we don't need His answers as much as we need Him
not necessarily a peace that gives understanding but transcends understanding
Our lives are in His hands, and we must trust Him
Message: Death is not the end. This is temporary. One day I will get rid of death altogether, and whoever believes in Me will live forever.
#3 Jesus weeps in our times of pain
He not only carried your sin, He carried your sorrow
Psalm 56:8: You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in your bottle! You have recorded every one in your book.
Tear bottle in heaven that God has collected
Jesus wept in anger at death too
"Death is not the end. Life, in another form and in another place, goes on."
#4 God can be glorified through human suffering
Sometimes God is glorified through the adversity
Suffering can strengthen us, make us more like the Lord
"When a Christian suffers and gives glory to God through it all, it reassures the rest of us that there will never be a valley so deep that God will not get us through it."
"The trials and hardships give the believer a platform from which they can give witness to their faith in Christ. Why? Because they are actually living it out in the real world."
What is "Better"?
Philippians 1:23: For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (word used means far, far, far better)
"The best is yet to come when we meet the Lord in heaven."
It is better for him
Where was He on (August 20, 2015 at 7:35 am) when my son died?
He was with me...comforting me in my moment of deepest anguish and sadness
He was with (Hayden)...ushering him into the glory of heaven
"We will never, never be alone."
Chapter Two What Do You Live For?
"I have never doubted for one moment that he went immediately into the presence of the Lord. It's just that I miss him. Terribly. Beyond my words to describe."
Believing What I Have Taught
"My desire to be in heaven is greater now than ever before, and heaven is more real to me now than at any time I can remember. Why? Because I have an investment there now."
Haven't "lost" my son, because I know where he's at and I will join him one day
Headline about your son dying shattering to read (Hayden Smith dies)
It's not really true-he's not dead
"When you are a believer in Christ, you will never die."
the real you-your soul, your spirit-goes to heaven or hell
life is short, death is inevitable, and eternity is real
What Do You Live For?
Psalm 90:12: Teach us to number our days and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should...You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.
Only those who are prepared to die are really ready to live
Andi, your son is alive. In fact, he is more alive than he has ever been. Because Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. (John 11:25-26)
(This has been helpful to me to make some of these things personally to me)
For Me To Live...
For to me, to live is Christ
Those who think of the next world do the most for this one
"But when you have loved ones on the Other Side--and perhaps someone who has just recently made that journey--then the promise and hope of reuniting in that place brings great joy, and something to look forward to."
(I like how this book keeps referring to the "Other Side" because that's how I referred to it in the message I sent to Tina Curry which is another blog post)
Fill In The Blank
To live is Christ
Our body is like a tent-not a permanent structure and not meant to last forever
2 Corinthians 5:1: For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
moving from a tent to a mansion
"We will exhale our last lungful of earthly air and take the next breath of celestial air on the other side."
Peace that passes understanding (without our questions being answered)
Warren Wiersbe: As God's children we live on promises, not on explanations. And you know as well as I do the promises of God. When we arrive in heaven we will hear the explanations, accept them, and we will say, "May God be glorified."
You go to Christ to find heaven
Chapter Three Songs in the Night
Praise the Lord
You were created to give glory to God
Hebrews 13:15: Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
whether we feel it or not
Psalm 29:2 Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
So Why Should I Praise God?
#1 Because He is in Control
Proverbs 16:9: We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Jeremiah 10:23: O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Proverbs 20:24: A man's steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?
divine providence
The "good" that God promises won't be fully realized until we get to heaven.
#2 Because God is good
what we think is good can be bad and vice versa
#3 Because God is wiser than I am
He knows best
A Mission into the Dark
Paul and Silas-missionary journey
kept from ministering where they had planned to minister
devil is going to oppose it when the gospel is making some headway
God can give songs in the night
Psalm 42:8: But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.
An Audience in the Night
people are listening to us, especially through tragedy, who would not have listened otherwise
God is worshipped 24/7 in heaven
"Always Be Full of Joy.."
Rejoice in the Lord always
He is worthy of praise...no matter what
Chapter Four The Inconsolable Longing
desire for "more"
God has placed eternity in our hearts
Eternity in our Hearts
homing instinct
"But when (Hayden) died unexpectedly and went to heaven, I became far hungrier for knowledge of where he now lives."
What Helps...and What Doesn't
phantom pain-in the place where he once was there is an ache that's bone deep--an excruciating pain and sense of loss
sometimes best thing you can do is say nothing at all
when you are mourning, you are vulnerable
"For the believer,...,death is not the end of the road. It's only a bend in the road...a path that Jesus Himself has walked. And because of what He accomplished on the cross for us, the grave is not an entrance to death but to life, because death has been swallowed up in victory."
the more I think about heaven, the better things are
Thoughts of Heaven
set your minds on things above
for the Christian, heaven isn't simply a destination, it's a motivation
So What is Heaven Like?
Heaven is a place
it is an actual place
will be no less than what we experience on earth
paradise
country
heaven is what is real, earth is what is temporary
Will we know each other?
we will know more, not less in heaven
1 Corinthians 13:12: Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Erwin Lutzer, from One Minute After You Die: You will know more there. You will love more there. Your love for family and friends will be a stronger, sweeter, purer love. Death breaks ties on earth, but they will be renewed in heaven. Heaven is a perfecting of the highest moments of our present Christian experience.
What will our new bodies be like?
superhuman bodies
Do people in heaven know what's going on down here on earth?
people in heaven know a lot more about what is happening on earth than we may realize
#1 When people believe in Jesus on earth, it becomes public knowledge in heaven
joy in the presence of angels
those who have been martyred, asking how much longer, etc.
they've just been relocated
aware of passing of time
connection between believers in heaven and those on earth
people in heaven may be watching us right now and cheering us on
cloud of witnesses
people of faith who have gone before us
Earth can't deliver on its promises, but heaven can
Chapter Five A Choice of Eternities
2 Samuel 12:23: I will go to him, but he will not return to me.
Christ defeated death!
when you see the body of a person you had known and loved, it doesn't even look like him or her anymore-because the real person has moved on into eternity
where will you live forever?
story of the rich man and Lazarus-both men fully conscious and aware on the other side
Chapter Six "I Still Believe"
"Lord, he is Yours. I dedicated him to you when he was a little boy, and I dedicate him back to You again."
"I still believe. God is real, and He is present. Our faith is true. The Lord is with me moment by moment, and He will be with you in your darkest hour, too. You don't have to be afraid."
When we let God choose for us, He will choose better than we could ever think of choosing
"...my son could very well be saying, 'Dad always chose what was good for me. But my heavenly Father has chosen best of all.'"
Chapter Seven Our Times...In His Hands
will probably never know why son was taken so young-one day, however, I will
God has His purposes
no unwritten promise of long life
real life is about bringing glory to our Creator, learning His will, and following it
Only one thing is essential
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