Dave’s Monday Blast – February 3, 2025

I received a text late last night from my family informing that my father had passed away. He was 97 years of age and lived in good health his entire life. His body and mind just began to fail over this past year and he died peacefully of natural causes in his own home. Having outlived nearly everyone, he was very ready to leave this world and enter into his eternal rest. I know that he was welcomed by our Lord and Savior with a “well done good and faithful servant”.

My father was attending Dallas Theological Seminary studying to enter the ministry when I was born. (Yes that’s right…I am a Texan by birth) Dad went on to shepherd a variety of flocks over nearly 60 years of faithful service for the Kingdom. He did have a difficult time “retiring” as being a pastor was “who he was”.

He was also a very good dad and he loved his bride of many years dearly. Mom has been gone for a good 20 years and I suspect that not a day went by that he did not miss her and and was never quite the same guy after their untimely separation.

Separation is always hard. Humankind was created for community. It was not God’s intent for us to be separated from Him or one another. Of course it was our sin that caused the pain of separation to enter our lives; few things that we experience on this temporal plain are worse. Fortunately, for a believer in Jesus Christ all separation is merely temporal. Our blessed hope is to be reunited with Him and those saints we have loved and lost over the years.

I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 5:8 “…we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” I would encourage you to spend some time meditating on the entire chapter for broader contextual encouragement.

I have read the following passage many times before but am always encouraged by it’s truth:
(1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18) “And regarding the question, friends, that has come up about what happens to those already dead and buried, we don’t want you to be in the dark any longer. First off, you must not carry on over them like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Since Jesus died and broke loose from the grave, God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.”

And then this: “We can tell you with complete confidence, we have the Masters’ word on it, that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they’ll be ahead of us….then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we’ll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.” INTENTIONAL men of God take comfort and hope in those words!