A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Monday, July 8,
2019
Farm on the
Strasburg Pike, Lancaster County PA
"An Early Flight"
Message
summary:
Ultimately
our life and life
span on this earth
are in God's
hands. May the
Lord give us all
the confidence of
David when he
wrote, "Surely
goodness and
mercy shall
follow me all
the days of my
life, and I will
dwell in the
house of the
Lord
forever."
Listen to our
message on your
audio player.
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6). "My times are in Your hands" (Psalm 31:15a).
I'll fly
away, oh glory, I'll
fly away
In the morning when I die,
Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
In the morning when I die,
Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
Last
week Tim Heitz, a
friend of ours,
passed from this
life to be with the
Lord. We had written
about Tim several
times in this
series. In January
he was diagnosed
with a rapidly
advancing form of
ALS. Tim served the
Lord faithfully and
we are confident he
is now dwelling
in the house of
the Lord forever
(Psalm 23:6). He was
just 58 years of age
so he took an
earlier flight out
than what we, from
our earthly
perspective, would
have desired.Today I share a perspective on the early flight I found helpful after the death of my father in 1998.
I was at the airport in Kansas City with my brother, Pat, who was flying back to eastern Pennsylvania where he served a local church as their pastor. The TWA flight he was scheduled for was canceled so they put him on a Continental which required going to a completely different terminal at the KC airport. We talked and had a cup of coffee together before I left him in the boarding area. Our dad has passed away only days earlier so I'm sure that much of our conversation touched on the grief and loss we felt at the time.
As I walked
back through the
terminal I spotted
evangelist Lowell
Lundstrom. My heart
was uplifted just at
the sight of him
since he was the
evangelist who
preached the night I
got saved.In August of 1971 I committed my life to Jesus at a large rally in Kansas City, Missouri. It was twenty-seven years later "by chance" I met him in the KC airport. He's not from the KC area, but had a connecting flight to Minneapolis. I shared my testimony story with him and of course he was thrilled to hear of a convert that had stayed the course.
We both walked back to where my brother was waiting to board and visited for a few minutes. Lowell sought to comfort us regarding the passing of our father, and the one that statement he made that has stayed with all these years later is this: "Your dad took an early flight". His illustration was helpful and appropriate being in an airport and it brought about a different and more accepting perspective for me at the time. After a few minutes Lowell had to catch his flight and this brief "chance encounter" ended. He has since taken his final flight and that's the last time I ever saw him.
Whenever a loved one takes their flight from this life we experience grief and really, in so many cases, we consider it early since it's hard to let go, even when our loved one is older. My Dad lived to be nearly 80 so he had a long life. But "earlier" is a perspective we have only from this side. I don't think "when we've been there ten thousand years" we'll be giving much thought to how long we lived on planet earth!
"My times are in Your hands". Isn't this a great verse and source of assurance? We value healthy lifestyles, good medical care, safety features in equipment and so forth that prolong life.
But
ultimately our life
and life span on
this earth are in
God's hands. May the
Lord give us all the
confidence of David
when he wrote, "Surely
goodness and mercy
shall follow me
all the days of my
life, and I will
dwell in the house
of the Lord
forever."
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, our
times are in
Your hands
whether it be
the next
minute, day or
year. You
orchestrate
our lives in
the time frame
given us even
before we were
born and You
"teach us to
number our
days, that we
may gain a
heart of
wisdom".
We learn the
secret of
making life
count from
this Psalm -
living it one
day at a time
in a way that
honors You and
builds
biblical
character
within us. We
need Your
guidance every
day so that we
live each day
as though it
is our last
day. Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental Resources
"Yes I will"
Video
Calvary Church worship team
with the Strings Orchestra
accompaniment. I include the
brief intro by Pastor Dave
and dedicate this song to
all those going through a
valley type experience.
"I Got Saved"
Video
Selah This is surely one of
Brooksyne's and my current
favorite newer songs.
Lowell Lundstrom
is now with the Lord but I
found this brief video clip
probably from near the time
I got saved.
Lowell Lundstrom's testimony in 2010 followed by an old-fashioned altar call likely similar to the one I responded to in 1971 Video
Finally today:
The new:
New Holland Agriculture
smashes the current
GUINNESS WORLD RECORD
title for most wheat
harvested within eight
hours with the CR10.90
combine Video (Link corrected
from Friday's message)
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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