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Thank you for the flag, TGYC. We lost a friend. CHIEF knew where he was headed. On Manny's #9 link - Hank's tribute to his Mother after she passed away - CHIEF stopped in the midst of his grief to comfort those who joined him on his memorial thread to share their own losses and be with him in his sorrow, and shared this gift with us:

A friend just FReep-mailed this to me:

Tuesday January 16th, 2001AD, 6314 AC

Man death can be tough...

Yesterday my wife, I and a couple of others from the church drove down to Biddeford, Maine and attended a funeral for a young woman who leaves behind a husband and 6 kids. She died suddenly and unexpectedly in a car accident just a couple of days before. Her dad, the pastor of her church, did the service.

Back in May of 1993, Cecily and I buried our youngest son Andrew. Andrew, at age 18 had died suddenly in a car accident also. Eight years later and I still find it difficult to attend the funeral of one whose parents are doing the burying. But, over the years I have come to realize some things regarding the lose of a loved on.

It's all right to cry, for Jesus cried at the death of a loved one as well. Even though the Lord knew that He would be joining Lazarus shortly, He cried.
John 10:35 Jesus wept.

Read with me, John 10:1-46
1. ¶ Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto Jesus, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, Jesus abode two days still in the same place where He was. Then after that saith He to His disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

8. His disciples say unto Him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said He: and after that He saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

14 . Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with Him. Thomas thought that the Jews would kill Jesus if the Lord went into Judea to visit Mary and Martha at Lazarus's grave.

17. ¶ Then when Jesus came, He found that Lazarus had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee."

23. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24. Martha saith unto Him, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 27. She saith unto Him, "Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world."

28. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto Him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."

33. ¶ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35. Jesus wept.

36. Then said the Jews, Behold how He loved him! And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

43. And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees...
(KJV)

So, yes, there is nothing wrong with crying and feeling great lose at the lose of a loved one, for even God Himself felt.

33. ¶ When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, ... and then the Lord wept, as in verse 35.

But when one dies, we often feel more than loss, we feel anger, we want to kick things, throw things, break things. And we can, for look at what God the Father did when God the Son, our own Yeshua gave up the ghost while hanging on that cross.

Matthew 27: 45-54
45. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

47. Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.

50. ¶ Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

51. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."

When Jesus gave up the Ghost, God the Father, caused an earthquake of such magnitude that it broke rocks and so scared the Roman Centurion, the captain of the unit that did the crucifixion of the Lord, that he accepted that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. Other gospel and historical accounts tell us that it was dark as midnight without a moon, that it was raining a cold hard wind driven rain, that it was eery and scary, that the earthquake was so bad that it ripped rocks apart, and that God Himself reached down and ripped the veil of the temple from the top to the bottom.

So, yes, you can get upset, you can yell, you can scream, you can vent your emotions. Just don't blame God for the things done to man by either satan or other men. For our Lord is not the lord of death, but the Lord of Life.

The Lord Yeshua be with you all today, may He bless you and protect you and may He be with John Ashcroft today as the heathens do their worse with and to him. For they who work for and worship the darkness fear and hate any who will honor the Lord while serving in high office.

May God bless you all,
Amen.

100 Posted on 01/16/2001 10:27:17 PST by CHIEF negotiator
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