It was almost 15 years ago on Christmas day that I raced home to see my dad take his last breath. I was not a Christian at the time, far from it. The grief of losing dad devastated me and my family into absolute ruin for three years. One of the greatest regrets in my life was that my dad never got to meet Christina and see me saved. I have fond memories of my dad studying the Bible every night and loving to tell people about Jesus. But I did not know Jesus when my dad died. Last month, a man that I called dad for the last 40 years, David Stewart also passed away. It has been a very different experience. Because with the passing of David, I knew he was going into glory. In 2010 the Lord called me out of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son and adopted me as a child of light. God forgave my sin and granted me eternal life on the basis of Jesus Christ’s perfect, sinless life offered in my place 2000 years ago. God gave me, through the powerful Gospel found in the Bible, faith to trust in that sacrifice of Jesus, Who was raised to life from the grave and is alive today.
My dad would be so proud of me now, as David was, right to the end, to see the wonderful wife God has given me and to see that we are now going to the Master’s Seminary to gain the tools to spend the rest of our lives serving the King of glory as a pastor/ preacher. When I reflect on my future, I reflect on my past. I want to praise the glory of God’s rich grace. As I grieve the tough loss of David, I actually have joy. Joy in knowing Christ and joy in knowing David had been saved by Christ. And I know that I am going to see my Heavenly Father, the Lord of all creation and the Lord of sovereign grace in whom I find my refuge…and my greatest delight….and my greatest desire to serve. As we approach moving to seminary I am still feeling the pain of loss but still celebrating the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ which both my dad and David, both of whom were my dads, believed and trusted. Not only will I spend the rest of this life remembering God’s grace in their lives to save them, but I will spend the rest of my life preaching the truth of Jesus Christ as the only means of escaping God’s wrath and entering into glory for eternity.
Christ alone can save. By Grace alone, through Faith alone. According to Scripture alone. for God’s Glory alone. And when my days are done preaching the Gospel, I will enter into eternal rest, worshipping my Heavenly Father in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the son of God Jesus Christ along side of Frank Giesbrecht and David Stewart, two of the greatest men I ever met.
“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
Update
As we look ahead to March, we have begun planning for our garage sale. At the moment, it will be held at our home in our yard. But we are considering the possibility of finding a different location. Those that have been to our home, will know that our street is narrow and lacks parking. While we can ‘make it work’, it is not ideal. Also, we do not actually have a garage, so everything will need to be set up outside. This creates a problem if the weather doesn’t cooperate – March tends to be on the rainy side of the weather. If anyone has suggestions for alternate locations, please let us know. It would be great to find a place where we could have some indoor space (like a small gym or hall/room) where we could set up the night before. We are hoping to have the garage sale on March 28th.
Our fundraising to date sits at just over $9000. We continue to collect cans and bottles and accept donations for the garage sale. We also continue to sell items on Facebook Marketplace. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8). “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
“Do not be grieved, for the Joy of the Lord is my strength”. Nehemiah 8:10
Faithful 