As I come to terms today with the sudden loss of yet another MS warrior that has rocked the MS online world, I can't help but think of my own morality and the mortality of all those suffering with this awful, unpredictable debilitating disease.
For many of us with MS, we are home bound, or definitely in a slower mode than most in this fact-paced world. When we wake up in the morning or going about our day we turn on the computer and are expecting to connect with all of our friends on Facebook, Instagram or any social media platform.
Suddenly, some sad news spreads like wildfire and we learn about yet another unexpected loss of a sweet soul that we have learned to love, sharing their struggles and their story with MS and, we are taken aback. In the last 6 months or so, we've lost 6 souls with MS, all still in the prime of their lives. What's happening many of us MS'ers are asking? What can we do?
Through social media, many of us have been blessed to be able to share our struggles with this disease and take comfort from their sharing their intimate stories, their words of wisdom, uplifting poems, bible verses, images, devotionals, prayers, funny stories, blogs, and the many online Facebook groups devoted to help those of us living with MS.
It really does help us cope with the day to day ins and outs of living with MS. Many of us have never met each other personally, (although I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few MS'ers over the years.) But we all still feel very connected to each other. We are a special family, and when one of us leaves, there is a big hole.
Those we have unexpectedly lost this year: Linda Rousay, Barbara Garcia, Barbara Bobbi Wohl Hale, Phil Weihofen, Bob Parisi, Jayne Thomas.
Death is something most people don't ever want to talk about, they say it's morbid, yet, death is certain for all of us. That is just a fact of life and we all know that, but when it happens suddenly and unexpectedly somehow it puts all of us on edge, when in reality it shouldn't, should it?
Today, as I mourn the loss of another one of my MS friends, I'm thinking a lot about my own mortality and am comforted that I know when I leave my earthly body, I know exactly what is going to happen to me. Can you say the same?
2 Corinthians 5:8 says "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." I'm not worried at all, I'm actually looking forward to death which might sound strange, but to me it isn't strange at all. I trust in Jesus. I know what is going to happen and am confident that what awaits me is quite glorious! I gotta tell you that to know exactly what is going to happen to you when you breathe your last breath on this earth and to be able to take comfort in that. is really quite something.
So, I ask you friend, do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. You can't earn your way. You can't get to heaven being a good person. It doesn't matter how many nice things you do to help others while living on this earth. Nothing you can ever say or do will help you earn your way into heaven. Salvation is a gift from God, plain and simple. He sacrificed His one and only Son to give you that gift.
The Bible is clear about Salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
We are all sinners, and have been separated from God. Only by Jesus' incredible sacrifice on the Cross are we reconciled back to God. He took our sins and bore the weight of them when he died on that Cross. When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior by confessing our sins and turning from our evil ways, He saves us and we can then enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is our intercessor to the Father and today He sits at the right Hand of the Lord, interceding on our behalf. Pretty cool, isn't it?
I want you to have the same assurance that I have about where you will spend eternity. It ways heavy on my heart that not everyone I know and love will be with me in eternity. Everyone wants to think that all good people go to heaven because that is what happens when you die, right? If you are good, you go up, if not, you go down. But that is not what the Bible says. The Bible says you must know Jesus as your personal savior to get the golden ticket into heaven. Being a good person has nothing to do with where you spend eternity.
Most people believe in God. Well, if you believe in God, you must believe in the Bible, the inerrant Word of God. And the Bible is very clear about heaven and how to get there. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Then in John 3:36, Jesus goes on to say, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."
I definitely don't want to be in that last category, do you? Do you want God's wrath on you? Not me, that's for sure. So I urge you friend, you need to get yourself right with God and with his son Jesus Christ, while there is still time. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and be absolutely, positively certain that when you leave this earth, you know where you are headed.
For me, I can't wait. Finally free of my earthly shackles of MS, I can joyfully leap into Jesus' waiting arms.
When you accept Jesus into your heart, you begin a whole new life. Not only are you assured of where you will spend eternity, you immediately have the Savior of the World in your heart and in your life to bring you peace that surpasses all understanding. Suddenly all the problems that you encounter don't quite seem as overwhelming as before because, through prayer and supplication, you have an advocate in your corner.
Let me close this by saying, please friends, if you don't know Jesus, open your heart to Him. You won't regret it. It will give you peace to face anything life throws at you. And you will begin a whole new glorious life in Jesus name!
My verses are above in red.
My prayer for today
Dearest Heavenly Father,
I pray for everyone that does not know you. Open their hearts Lord Help them turn to you, and give their hearts to Jesus. Have them learn to be certain about their eternity. Give them the courage to make the right choice to start a new life in your Son's precious name, Amen
For many of us with MS, we are home bound, or definitely in a slower mode than most in this fact-paced world. When we wake up in the morning or going about our day we turn on the computer and are expecting to connect with all of our friends on Facebook, Instagram or any social media platform.
Suddenly, some sad news spreads like wildfire and we learn about yet another unexpected loss of a sweet soul that we have learned to love, sharing their struggles and their story with MS and, we are taken aback. In the last 6 months or so, we've lost 6 souls with MS, all still in the prime of their lives. What's happening many of us MS'ers are asking? What can we do?
Through social media, many of us have been blessed to be able to share our struggles with this disease and take comfort from their sharing their intimate stories, their words of wisdom, uplifting poems, bible verses, images, devotionals, prayers, funny stories, blogs, and the many online Facebook groups devoted to help those of us living with MS.
It really does help us cope with the day to day ins and outs of living with MS. Many of us have never met each other personally, (although I have had the pleasure of meeting quite a few MS'ers over the years.) But we all still feel very connected to each other. We are a special family, and when one of us leaves, there is a big hole.
Those we have unexpectedly lost this year: Linda Rousay, Barbara Garcia, Barbara Bobbi Wohl Hale, Phil Weihofen, Bob Parisi, Jayne Thomas.
Death is something most people don't ever want to talk about, they say it's morbid, yet, death is certain for all of us. That is just a fact of life and we all know that, but when it happens suddenly and unexpectedly somehow it puts all of us on edge, when in reality it shouldn't, should it?
Today, as I mourn the loss of another one of my MS friends, I'm thinking a lot about my own mortality and am comforted that I know when I leave my earthly body, I know exactly what is going to happen to me. Can you say the same?
2 Corinthians 5:8 says "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." I'm not worried at all, I'm actually looking forward to death which might sound strange, but to me it isn't strange at all. I trust in Jesus. I know what is going to happen and am confident that what awaits me is quite glorious! I gotta tell you that to know exactly what is going to happen to you when you breathe your last breath on this earth and to be able to take comfort in that. is really quite something.
So, I ask you friend, do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. You can't earn your way. You can't get to heaven being a good person. It doesn't matter how many nice things you do to help others while living on this earth. Nothing you can ever say or do will help you earn your way into heaven. Salvation is a gift from God, plain and simple. He sacrificed His one and only Son to give you that gift.
The Bible is clear about Salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us " For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."
We are all sinners, and have been separated from God. Only by Jesus' incredible sacrifice on the Cross are we reconciled back to God. He took our sins and bore the weight of them when he died on that Cross. When we accept Jesus as our personal Savior by confessing our sins and turning from our evil ways, He saves us and we can then enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is our intercessor to the Father and today He sits at the right Hand of the Lord, interceding on our behalf. Pretty cool, isn't it?
I want you to have the same assurance that I have about where you will spend eternity. It ways heavy on my heart that not everyone I know and love will be with me in eternity. Everyone wants to think that all good people go to heaven because that is what happens when you die, right? If you are good, you go up, if not, you go down. But that is not what the Bible says. The Bible says you must know Jesus as your personal savior to get the golden ticket into heaven. Being a good person has nothing to do with where you spend eternity.
Most people believe in God. Well, if you believe in God, you must believe in the Bible, the inerrant Word of God. And the Bible is very clear about heaven and how to get there. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Then in John 3:36, Jesus goes on to say, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them."
I definitely don't want to be in that last category, do you? Do you want God's wrath on you? Not me, that's for sure. So I urge you friend, you need to get yourself right with God and with his son Jesus Christ, while there is still time. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior, and be absolutely, positively certain that when you leave this earth, you know where you are headed.
For me, I can't wait. Finally free of my earthly shackles of MS, I can joyfully leap into Jesus' waiting arms.
When you accept Jesus into your heart, you begin a whole new life. Not only are you assured of where you will spend eternity, you immediately have the Savior of the World in your heart and in your life to bring you peace that surpasses all understanding. Suddenly all the problems that you encounter don't quite seem as overwhelming as before because, through prayer and supplication, you have an advocate in your corner.
Let me close this by saying, please friends, if you don't know Jesus, open your heart to Him. You won't regret it. It will give you peace to face anything life throws at you. And you will begin a whole new glorious life in Jesus name!
My verses are above in red.
My prayer for today
Dearest Heavenly Father,
I pray for everyone that does not know you. Open their hearts Lord Help them turn to you, and give their hearts to Jesus. Have them learn to be certain about their eternity. Give them the courage to make the right choice to start a new life in your Son's precious name, Amen
