" God's Love And Compassion "
Dear Friends and Family,
Have you ever found yourself wondering about all the people who live in the far remote parts of the earth that haven’t heard the word of God and what was going to happen to them when they died? No one has ever told them about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Where will they spend eternity? Is it fair for someone to spend an eternity in hell if they hadn’t had a chance to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior? Or have you wondered about people who were mentally impaired? Those who are blind and also can’t hear? And the list could go on and on.
I have to admit these thoughts have gone through my mind? I am quite sure many of you have also had thoughts along these lines as well. But the thought of a loved one that doesn’t know Jesus can be even more devastating.
I would like to share with you something that happened just this past July. I believe it will be a comfort and encouragement to many of you.
In July I received a phone call from my sister who lives in Florida saying that my 86 years old mother was in the hospital. Mom had broken her back and a disk was compressed. She was in severe pain. Mom wasn’t doing well at all. She was on oxygen with a facemask so that she could breath. But the greater problem was that Mom didn’t know Jesus as her Savior.
A little over 40 years ago I gave my life to Jesus, and at that point my family didn’t want much to do with me. I had prayed that Jesus would send someone to witness to Mom, but that never happen. When I was told Mom was in the hospital, I prayed that the Lord would send a Christian doctor, a nurse, or chaplain at the hospital to witness to Mom so that she would receive Jesus as her Savior, but that never happened either.
Lena and I decided we would go to Florida because we weren’t sure how much longer Mom was to live. We decided to drive instead of flying, because we weren’t sure how long we would be there. We were on a mission, and that mission was to get Mom saved and we didn’t know how long that was going to take.
Before leaving I took my car in to have it checked out. There were some problems with the car and I wasn’t able to get them fixed right away and we were going to leave the next morning. So we ended up renting a car.
The next morning we left for Florida. On the way we were delayed in traffic for over three hours. We were planning on stopping and staying over night at a motel, but the Lord was prompting me to drive straight through. We pulled over at a rest area and took a two and one half hour nap and then continued on. I drove straight to the hospital. When we arrived there, we found Mom in severe back pain. We prayed that the Lord would take away her pain, and He did. Within the next 15 minutes the hospital was transferring her to a nursing home for rehabilitation.
We went to the nursing home with her and later my sister and her husband came. After getting Mom registered in, we all went to her room and started reminiscing when we were kids and living at home. We had a real good time. The next morning Mom didn’t know anyone. She couldn’t remember anything. The nurses had to put her wheelchair next to their station, to keep Mom from roaming around. Mom wouldn’t sleep nor eat. It was difficult even recognizing her as my mother. She was so different mentally.
If we hadn’t driven straight through to Florida we wouldn’t have arrived until the next day and I wouldn’t have seen her in her right mind. The Lord knew that and that was why He prompted me to drive straight through.
In the past when we went to Florida to visit we had to stay in a hotel. But after visiting for awhile at the nursing home my sister called me out into the hall and asked me if we had found a hotel yet and if we hadn’t, we could stay at their home.
We prayed for Mom every day for three days and there wasn’t any difference in her. She still wasn’t mentally well. I prayed to the Lord that He would have to reveal Himself to her because we couldn’t reach Mom in the mental condition she was in.
The next day Mom started to recognize us and for the next few days she got a little better a day at a time. By the weekend she was almost back to normal. We had been in Florida now for eight days, but we were going to have to leave shortly because of the expense of the rental car, and before we could leave, I knew that somehow we had to get Mom to accept Jesus as her Savior.
While driving to the nursing home that day, I was asking the Lord just how I should go about having Mom accept Him as her Savior.
After visiting with Mom for awhile, I told her that we had been praying for her and that we were going to have to go back to Michigan, but she could also pray to the Lord by herself. She said, “Oh I do inwardly”. I didn’t know how to accept that statement because I had heard it from many people as an excuse for not praying. Then Mom stopped and said, ”you know, the other day I was thinking about you two and I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be close to me”. At that moment I lost it. Tears started flowing down my face. Mom also had tears in her eyes as she told us. Here I was trying to find a way to get her to accept Jesus, and the Holy Sprit had already revealed Himself to her. Even though at the time it seemed like there was no hope because of the mental condition she was in at the time.
Now I finally felt a release to go back to Michigan, knowing that my mother had received Jesus into her heart as her Savior.
As we were leaving the nursing home and heading back to Michigan, the Lord impressed on me to tell His people the following:
There are many of you who have lost a loved one and didn’t have the opportunity to lead them to the Lord. Because of this, you have been feeling condemnation and guilt. Feeling that it was your fault that your loved one had died without accepting Jesus as their Savior.
The Lord impressed on me to tell you that before your loved one died, Jesus revealed Himself to them and gave them a chance to receive Him as their Savior. He will reveal Himself to everyone and they will all have a chance to either accept or reject Him.
You have to understand that God is no respecter of persons. He revealed Himself to my mother when it seemed as if there was no hope left because of the mental condition she was in. But the condition of her spirit was alive and well, and the Holy Spirit spoke to her spirit and she accepted Jesus into her heart. What God did for my mother, He will also do for your loved ones.
Continually pray for your loved ones and take every opportunity to tell them about Jesus. Prayer moves the hand of God. So pray that God will send someone to reach your loved ones and remember someone else is praying that God will send you to reach their loved ones. Ask God to send people in your pathway and to give you the words to say that will lead them to Jesus. Remember, Jesus is depending on you to reach this lost generation. There is no greater joy then to lead someone to Christ.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.