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Monday,
September 7,
2020
Volga River
State Recreation Area in Northeast Iowa.
Photo by
Steve Ephraim
Click on
photo to enlarge
"Rest
From Our Labors"
Message
summary: Today we consider the aspect of
death being a blessing, that time when we will rest
from our labors.
"Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord from now on."
“Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may
rest from their labors, for their deeds follow
them!” (Revelation 14:13).
On
Saturday morning we attended a memorial service for
Wilma Dourte. She went to be with the Lord on August
13th after living a long, fruitful life of 95 years
following a stroke five days earlier. We met Wilma
and her late husband, Jesse, during my three year
pastoral role in a small country church about 10
years ago. Jesse had previously pastored this church
in his younger years. For longtime readers you've
seen us feature this fine couple many times as we've
written about our close association with them and
featured their photos.The
entire Dourte family is very gifted musically so,
along with beautiful preludes, the service began
with "Victory In Jesus". Each participant offered
moving and often humorous tributes. The service was
a testimony of a life lived well and a heart full of
devotion to God. Jesus Christ was lifted up as her
Savior and all in attendance were encouraged to
follow Him.
Jim
Hain, son-in-law to the Dourtes, gave the meditation
basing his text on Revelation 14 with special
attention to our daily text. What a fitting verse to
use on an occasion like this.
"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." What a wonderful perspective to see death as a blessing but this is conditioned on the words, "who die in the Lord". This is speaking of those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. This blessedness is affirmed by the Spirit, "'Blessed indeed', says the Spirit". The Psalmist wrote, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints" (Psalm 116:15).
This
verse points out that these believers "die in
the Lord". This phrase marks them as new
creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Unless
raptured before dying, every person will keep an
appointment with death. He or she will either die in
the Son or in their sin. Those who die in the Son
enjoy eternal rest. Those who die in their sin
experience eternal unrest. Jesus extends the
invitation, "Come to me…and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me…and
you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew
11:28–29). (from here)
"That they may rest from their labors". Wilma was characterized as a laborer. The line in the song, "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" fits her well, "Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun". This Labor Day it is fitting to consider the example of hard work Wilma and so many in that generation demonstrated. Even in her nineties Wilma still liked to mow her large lawn with a push mower despite her children begging her not to do so. Someone quipped that Wilma probably already had sought a way to serve in heaven. But the text states, "That they may rest from their labors". This is in contrast to the wicked who in their torment cannot rest day or night. (Revelation 14:11)
"For their deeds follow them!" What a tremendous truth to ponder; our labors on this earth will follow us to heaven!
Andrée
Peterson writes,
"It is appointed for man to die once,
and after that comes judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
It is evident that for the blessed people spoken of
in Revelation 14:13, it is a pleasing thought that
their deeds will ride their coattails. They have
done well. They have lived in total commitment to
God and kept themselves unstained from the world.
Every day that you and I live is unrepeatable. It's all about choices: We can live the duration in conscious, daily, obedient faith, or we can live in spiritual sloth and what Jesus rejected as "lukewarm" (Revelation 3:16). When the time comes, I want gold and silver jingling behind me, not rattling kindling wood. And I am sure you want the same."
Every day that you and I live is unrepeatable. It's all about choices: We can live the duration in conscious, daily, obedient faith, or we can live in spiritual sloth and what Jesus rejected as "lukewarm" (Revelation 3:16). When the time comes, I want gold and silver jingling behind me, not rattling kindling wood. And I am sure you want the same."
May a
life well-lived like Wilma's be a source of
encouragement to each of us who remain!
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we
participate in life's greatest celebration when a
believer is promoted to glory, though it is among
life's greatest heartaches when we no longer have
their presence among us. Instead of sadness our
hearts are uplifted when we consider that those who
go before us are blessed, for blessed are the dead
who die in You, Father. They now rest from
their earthly labors and yet their deeds follow them
so that the generation who follows is greatly
influenced years after their earthly departure. May
our thoughts, actions, and deeds reflect that which
influences others for the kingdom of God. In Jesus'
name we pray. Amen."When
I Reach That Home Up There" Video Dailey
& Vincent
“It
Is Not Death to Die” Video
Sovereign Grace
"Knowing
What I Know About Heaven" Video Guy
Penrod & Sarah Darling
Last Friday we shared a message based on 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12. Yesterday on the way to church we listened to the sermon at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lancaster and heard this passage expounded upon. This is a much needed message for our times. (Audio)
So many memorable stories:
Wilma
was a very colorful person right up to the end. We
saw her at Pastor John Keefer's retirement dinner
in July and she made her way around the room
visiting with others (though we had to sit in
individual family units due to the coronavirus
stipulations).
Of
all the stories told at the service here's my
(Stephen's) favorite from David, a son-in-law: The
Dourtes had six children, 5 daughters and one son.
David was originally from Massachusetts and had
met their daughter, Colleen, in college. The first
time that his folks drove down to meet the
Dourte's they arrived at the farm but it appeared
no one was there. Colleen searched and found Wilma
behind the house shooting groundhogs (a real pest
to farmers). She and Wilma went to greet her
boyfriend's parents with Wilma very comfortably
toting her gun with her. Such an introduction was
a bit startling for the New England couple, and
later, they asked, "Son, do you know what you're
getting into?" A very devoted son-in-law, David
very graciously told the attendees that he was
ever so grateful that he did get into the Dourte
family.
Jesse and Wilma loved people. Here they visit with some Amish children.
Left to right: Jerel (now with the Lord) and Fran Book; Jim (now with the Lord) and Eva Ketner; Jesse and Wilma (both with the Lord); Pastor John Keefer and his wife Faithe on the right who recently retired. The Keefers lived across the street from the Dourtes and drove them to church weekly after Wilma was no longer allowed to drive. The Keefers were a caring and attentive pastoral couple to the Dourtes as they often expressed to us.
Our
annual fall date processing Squash and Pumpkin
Always a heart to serve here are
the Dourtes assisting Brooksyne with butternut
squash and neck pumpkins! During the fall season
Brooksyne always received a call from Jesse or
Wilma warning her not to start processing the
vegetables until she set up a date for them to
come and help. And come they did! Jesse always
brought his sharpest knives and vegetable
peeler. Too weak to stand he sat on a stool, cut
off the ends of the veggies and then peeled the
skins off. I chopped them into sizeable pieces
and Wilma then cut the pulp into small pieces
before I microwaved them in the oven. Afterward
I purreed and bagged them for the freezer. The
Dourtes always looked forward to our day
together and we had such wonderful conversation
over lunch, as God was usually showing Jesse
something in the Scriptures that gave us
challenge and/or contemplation.
One
more of many fond memories: Jesse and
Wilma lived ten miles from our house, and on one
of our dates to process squash, they brought us
some fresh venison. They both heard a loud noise
as Wilma was driving them and Jesse suggested
they turn around to make sure they hadn't run
over something. In doing so they spotted a shiny
object in the road and pulled over to check it
out. Turns out, Wilma forgot to fasten the
hatchback to their car which had popped open
while they were traveling. A large gallon size
stainless steel bowl that was holding the
venison had fallen out onto the road. She
scooped up the venison and put it back into the
bowl before they continued on in their short
journey to our house. (We considered how upset
their children might be upon hearing and
envisioning this event that took place.)
When
they arrived they brought in the large banged up
bowl with the venison. Wilma insisted on
scrubbing off the small gravel that stuck to the
venison under running water since they certainly
were not going to dispose of this valuable meat.
So we teasingly referred to the venison as
"roadkill", and, yes, we ate it with no ill
effects. I had a bowl the same size and insisted
she take it. I took the banged stainless steel
bowl as a reminder of our special date together.
I will soon process squash and pumpkins again
this year, but I've never enjoyed it like I did
when these two kept me company all day long. We
always had such a good time working together,
whether it was church related or domestic.
Always at work: A few years back we drove over to pick up Jesse and Wilma late one morning. They wanted to visit our dear friends, the Lapps, in Paradise. We found them picking rhubarb and asparagus. Jesse told us he didn't want to show up at the Lapps' house without sharing fresh produce from their garden. Yes, they still gardened in their 90's, preserving and canning that which they grew as well as produce collected from friends and nearby orchards. Wilma helped Jesse farm over the years and he helped her with canning.
Into her nineties Wilma kept a well-stocked pantry as colorful evidence of an abundant harvest!
70th Wedding Anniversary: Jesse and Wilma joined us for a Voice of the Martyrs Conference in Hershey a few years back. Following the service we stopped by a Red Robin for dinner. While being seated I mentioned to the hostess that the Dourtes would soon celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. After she told the general manager she sent word that they could choose a dessert from the menu "on the house". She later came out and personally congratulated them.
Last
Thoughts: Wilma described her aging body
like that of an automobile. At the Memorial
Service her daughter, Loine, read the following
reflection about aging that Wilma herself wrote:
It is the vehicle for my soul. That is
the part of me that's inside, looking out,
controlling the instruments which will take me
in the direction I want to go. Sometimes not
looking at my road map, I don't always get on
the most convenient highway or make the wisest
choice at a crossroad. There are always
unexpected curves that can throw me into a
ditch. If my construction is good and my parts
are sturdy, I might travel around for a long
time (that is, if I don't have a major accident;
I already have a few scratches and dents on my
exterior).
Age will weather some of my parts with
rust. My upholstered padding has has already
begun to get thread bare in some parts and lumpy
in others. I can't put just any kind of fuel in
my gas tank without expecting stalls, backfires,
or fuel line stop-up. My headlights aren't what
they used to be. Sometimes my tail pipe drags.
My battery gets so tired just trying to get
started for the day that
I suspect one morning it will not turn over at
all. My mileage is something only my repairman
knows.
Wilma
Dourte
December
28, 1924 - August 13, 2020
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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Weber - All Rights Reserved
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