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My niece was murdered 😢
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<blockquote data-quote="Northkill" data-source="post: 1985084" data-attributes="member: 110890"><p>My friend, your circumstances break our hearts. As you poured out your heart, I shed tears for you. This seems a bit presumptuous on this forum, but if you all can pardon me, I'll share a few thoughts from a sermon that I delivered after a young person died in our church community. (and pardon the length...)</p><p></p><p>Though we say and believe that God is good, when tragedy comes knocking on our door and our hearts are crushed by pain, loss, and anger - we are left searching for some greater expression from God Himself to demonstrate to us that we can completely trust Him and His sovereignty. We find it at the cross! There, where any one of us would have stood and cried out in desperation "This is so wrong – God, You must stop this!" our Savior made heaven's greatest good, come out of what seemed to be earth's greatest tragedy. He showed us His heart at the cross. And it's a heart that we can trust.</p><p></p><p>Life is full of hardships, sorrows, and disappointments – this world and this flesh is under the curse of sin & death. But as our flame of hope begins to flicker and die from the pain and despair of it all, and the darkness seems about to consume us, we look up and see a glimmer of light that appears all the more brilliant midst the darkness around us. Just as awaking from a terrible dream with the realization that the dream wasn't reality makes us appreciate reality more – so it is that the hardships and anguish of life will be caught up into the glory that is to come in such a way that they will make the glory all the greater for having once been broken!</p><p></p><p><em>"O Father – the Way, the Truth, and the Life - we stagger to Thee under a weight of grief and anger we can hardly bear. We confess that we so often lose sight of the things that really matter. That we too often get distracted by all the clamor & the glitter of this life, and we forget and we take for granted the things that are most important. Forgive us for our shortsightedness and for our blindness. May we allow these experiences of grief – the reminders of eternity – to stir us to consider the end of the choices we are making today - to reorder our priorities. We thank You, O Lord, that You have entered into our sorrows – that You are acquainted with grief; and that You understand when we cry out as Mary & Martha, seeking for answers to make sense of the pain and sorrow that has befallen us. We thank You for Your willingness to suffer for us and for the abundant life that can be ours – that we sorrow not as those without hope, because there's an empty grave – the stone is rolled away – and our Savior yet lives interceding for us & preparing a place for us and for our faithful loved ones beyond the shores of this life. Father, we pray for our friend Easter and his family – and the dear little motherless children, Lord. You promised us You will be a Father unto them. May Your everlasting arms undergird them as they face the bitter weight of grief today and the agonizing journey of sorrow before them. Help them Lord to find the grace to forgive as You have forgiven us. Not so much for the sake of the evil - we know You'll take care of that - but for their own sakes, lest the root of bitterness strangle their souls. Lord, lead them as Your beloved sheep and the little lambs to green pastures and still waters. Restore their souls, O Father. Prepare a table before them in the presence of their enemies… May Your goodness and mercy follow them in this journey of pain. We thank You for showing us Your heart on the cross. Because of You, death is only a shadow. Because You live, there is life beyond the grave - a life more glorious in a place where there is no more death; no more evil; no more murderers; no more tears; where all is peace for evermore. We now commit ourselves and this dear family in faith to Your divine purposes, & for Your eternal glory.. Amen"</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Northkill, post: 1985084, member: 110890"] My friend, your circumstances break our hearts. As you poured out your heart, I shed tears for you. This seems a bit presumptuous on this forum, but if you all can pardon me, I'll share a few thoughts from a sermon that I delivered after a young person died in our church community. (and pardon the length...) Though we say and believe that God is good, when tragedy comes knocking on our door and our hearts are crushed by pain, loss, and anger - we are left searching for some greater expression from God Himself to demonstrate to us that we can completely trust Him and His sovereignty. We find it at the cross! There, where any one of us would have stood and cried out in desperation “This is so wrong – God, You must stop this!” our Savior made heaven’s greatest good, come out of what seemed to be earth’s greatest tragedy. He showed us His heart at the cross. And it’s a heart that we can trust. Life is full of hardships, sorrows, and disappointments – this world and this flesh is under the curse of sin & death. But as our flame of hope begins to flicker and die from the pain and despair of it all, and the darkness seems about to consume us, we look up and see a glimmer of light that appears all the more brilliant midst the darkness around us. Just as awaking from a terrible dream with the realization that the dream wasn’t reality makes us appreciate reality more – so it is that the hardships and anguish of life will be caught up into the glory that is to come in such a way that they will make the glory all the greater for having once been broken! [I]“O Father – the Way, the Truth, and the Life - we stagger to Thee under a weight of grief and anger we can hardly bear. We confess that we so often lose sight of the things that really matter. That we too often get distracted by all the clamor & the glitter of this life, and we forget and we take for granted the things that are most important. Forgive us for our shortsightedness and for our blindness. May we allow these experiences of grief – the reminders of eternity – to stir us to consider the end of the choices we are making today - to reorder our priorities. We thank You, O Lord, that You have entered into our sorrows – that You are acquainted with grief; and that You understand when we cry out as Mary & Martha, seeking for answers to make sense of the pain and sorrow that has befallen us. We thank You for Your willingness to suffer for us and for the abundant life that can be ours – that we sorrow not as those without hope, because there’s an empty grave – the stone is rolled away – and our Savior yet lives interceding for us & preparing a place for us and for our faithful loved ones beyond the shores of this life. Father, we pray for our friend Easter and his family – and the dear little motherless children, Lord. You promised us You will be a Father unto them. May Your everlasting arms undergird them as they face the bitter weight of grief today and the agonizing journey of sorrow before them. Help them Lord to find the grace to forgive as You have forgiven us. Not so much for the sake of the evil - we know You'll take care of that - but for their own sakes, lest the root of bitterness strangle their souls. Lord, lead them as Your beloved sheep and the little lambs to green pastures and still waters. Restore their souls, O Father. Prepare a table before them in the presence of their enemies… May Your goodness and mercy follow them in this journey of pain. We thank You for showing us Your heart on the cross. Because of You, death is only a shadow. Because You live, there is life beyond the grave - a life more glorious in a place where there is no more death; no more evil; no more murderers; no more tears; where all is peace for evermore. We now commit ourselves and this dear family in faith to Your divine purposes, & for Your eternal glory.. Amen”[/I] [/QUOTE]
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