Thank you Ginnyrose and again thank you to all who are praying for Sue. That's neat Ginnyrose, to hear about that nurse who was able to spread such cheer, especially in the midst of the pain that was all around her!
Concerning this lady Sue, initially the doctors had been thinking that she would have weeks to live, but now they are saying that it may likely just be days that she has left.
Tonight, my wife sent her an email, and I wanted to share it with you all, as it may help you to continue to think of Sue, and to pray for her. I was very happy with what my wife shared with her, here. The analogy my wife came up with about the burger and the hair, I feel is a very good one, that can be used to help people understand what it means to say that, 'our righteousness is like filthy rags in God's sight'.
God bless you all!
In Jesus,
John
Dear Sue:
I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear of your diagnosis! I guess we all know that this life will end for each of us at some point, but it is certainly shocking when it comes knocking on our door. You have always been such an incredible encouragement to so many people. I feel truly blessed to have been able to work with you and got to know you!
I guess that when I heard of your diagnosis, it made me keenly aware of the shortness of time. As someone who cares very much for you, I felt that I wanted to ask you if anyone has ever shown you from the Bible, how you can know that you will go to Heaven when this life comes to an end?
I will have to admit that I find it hard to ask this question because I tend to fear offending people. However, eternity is a long time, and knowing Christ as I do, and how He "is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" 2 Peter 3:9, I feel very much that I need to share this with you.
Our Problem:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
Our problem as people in general is that we have not lived our lives to God's standards (ie. never lied, never taken something that didn't belong to us, never taken God's name in vain etc.) I have certainly messed up! Sometimes God's Holiness is hard for us to grasp because we as imperfect people tend to not expect perfection from others. God however is totally Holy and cannot tolerate any sin, therefore there is no sin allowed in Heaven. It is not good enough to be a good person because no amount of good deeds can make up for our sin. "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags". Isaiah 64:6
The best analogy I can think of to help me understand God's standards, is this.
Imagine going to McDonalds and ordering a burger. You open it up and see a fly on your hamburger. You return it to the clerk. She responds, " It's just one fly, look at the juicy burger, fresh tomato, the beautiful pickle. The bun is very fresh and soft. What is your problem?" We would be unimpressed because we cannot tolerate even one fly in our burger. In the same way, God cannot tolerate even one sin in our life.
Based on this and how we have all sinned, we are in trouble. We have sinned and yet there is no sin allowed in Heaven.
Solution:
God knew that we would sin and be unworthy of Heaven. In anticipation of this and because he created us, loves us so very much, and wants us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven, God made a way for us to have eternal life. Despite how our sin has offended God, he sent Jesus to die in our place, to pay our penalty. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
Instead of us having to pay for our sin (eternal death), he paid the debt we could not pay through His death on the cross. He took our place. As the verse says, it is a gift offered to us. As with any gift, it is up to us whether we will receive this gift.
How to receive God's amazing gift of eternal life:
1. We must come to Jesus and admit that we have sinned and that our good works could never get us into Heaven. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
2. Repent and ask Him to forgive us. "Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is near".
3. Confess and believe in Jesus. "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord', and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
I thank Jesus every day for His mercy and grace toward me! Despite how I have failed Him and messed up more times than I can count, since I have received His amazing gift of salvation, He has proved over and over to me that his love is deep and enduring!
I pray that as you read this that you will understand how much I care for you and deeply desire that you would spend eternity with Christ! If you have any questions about anything I have written, please e-mail me or call me. I would be thrilled to talk with you talk with you further!
Your friend, Janelle :)
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