In God's Hand

~~~ Wisdom 3:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Romans 5:5-11 ~~~ 

~~~ John 6:37-40 ~~~

...everyone who sees the Son and believes in him

may have eternal life,

and I shall raise him on the last day.

Today we take the time to remember those who have died.

We pray for the repose of the souls

 of all the faithful departed...

those who have been baptized into 

communion with the Lord.

Your loved ones who have died are in the 

palm of the hand of God.

He holds them there until which time 

they can completely join the others in heaven.

All Soul's Day is a time to remember,

 and to pray for your loved ones.

Resting in the hand of God is a place of peace.

Resting in the hand of God allows 

time for the soul to be readied for heaven.

In God's hand your soul is purified....

In God's hand your soul is refreshed...

In God's hand your soul is allowed to understand its former life...

In God's hand your soul experiences the purity of love...

In God's hand your soul finds courage

 to transition from death.

...grace and mercy are with his holy ones...

There is no more pain, suffering or sorrow

for the soul in the hand of God.

The shepherd leads us to clear waters.

The souls of the faithful departed are cleansed, refreshed, renewed

and their souls are overflowing with grace and mercy.

The trauma and transition from life into death

becomes one of peace for all who believe.

The closer your soul gets to God 

the greater the experience of peace.

God is love and in love there is 

perfect peace for your soul.

May the souls of all your loved ones

experience God's blessings...

May they be found worthy to be

 in the presence of the Lord for all eternity.

May the souls 

of the faithful departed

 rest in peace.

~~~ God Bless You ~~~

We Remember...

~~~~ All Souls Day ~~~

~~~ Wisdom 3:1-9 ~~~ Psalm 23 ~~~ Romans 5:5-11 ~~~

or ~~~ Romans 6:3-9 ~~~~ John 6:37-40 ~~~

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.

There is no such thing as failure for God.
God never gives up on one of his own souls.
God created us to know him, to love him, to serve him.
What happens when some seem to reject all that God is?
What happens when we try to live a good life and come up short?

Hope does not disappoint...
We remember those who believed they were doing the will of God
only to find out that they have come up short.
When our final day comes, when we take
our last breath hope will carry us over into eternity.

The amount of hope we have today does not suddenly change or cease

because we leave this existence.
Hope is what causes us to remember those who have died.

Hope does not disappear because Jesus
dies on the cross for the sins we would commit.

Hope does not disappear because we remember how Jesus loves us.

We remember the love of God
 is wild and crazy, beyond comprehension...timeless.

Timeless yet he promises to be with until the end of the ages.

We remember those who have died
for they, having been given a glimpse of God,
find themselves
 in need of further purifying.

The dead choose to delay coming before the full glory
 of God because their souls are not ready.

We remember to pray for their souls
 to be made ready for full communion with the Lord.

God cannot fail he promises to call all back into his presence.

...this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me...

Jesus does not lose anything.
God created each of us for himself;
we are part of what God gave to Jesus.

Some may take longer than others
 to be returned to their place with God.
God has the power and the mercy to make whole again
 every soul he has ever created.

What if even those who reject God
 in the end are made to see just how much love
was included in their rejection?

What if with this pure knowledge there is a chance for salvation?

This is of course not a free pass to live
 a reckless life of sin rejecting God's pure love.

We remember those whom we do not know;
 that they will see the face of God.

...everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.

I cannot believe that if one sees the face of God
 it would be possible to not believe.

May we be blessed on our last day to see the face of God.
May we have the hope that on that last day we will choose love.
May our loved ones be purified and brought
 into the presence of God's eternal glory.

We Remember...
~~~Peace~~~

Heavenly Fireflies

~~~ All Souls Day ~~~

~~Wisdom 3:1-9 ~~Psalm 23~~Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9~~John 6:37-40~~

 

At the risk of sounding a bit morbid, today is a good day

to contemplate your own death and funeral.

The reading from the Book of Wisdom is one of the readings
 I want to have at my funeral.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God...

Being a visual person, I love this image of all of the souls of the faithful
 departed cradled in the hand of God.
Why would you want to be anywhere else?
In the hand of God is the perfect peace all souls long to experience.
It is safe here in the hand of God...he finds us worthy of himself.

In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
 

 This too is such a vivid picture...not just a still picture but one filled with action.
These words are filled with so much energy....
visitation...shine...dart...sparks...stubble.

Visitation...I think of Mary's visitation with Elizabeth first.
We have funeral visitation, prison visitation or even parental visitation.
Shine...at the time of our death we will reflect the pure light of Christ
no longer burdened with our physical bodies.
Dart...I am reminded of dusk in the summer
as a child watching the fireflies dart about flashing their tiny light signals.
...Moving so quickly that you cannot follow their path.
Sparks...tiny explosions of energetic light...brief...brilliant...passion.
Your whole reason for living packed into this one moment.
Stubble...what is left after the harvest in a field of grain.
The grain has been cut, the harvest is completed.
In death we have completed our earthly life.

Maybe the best verse is here...

I will not reject anyone who comes to me...

This may come as a surprise to some people.
Jesus tells us anyone who comes to him will be accepted.
We may truly be surprised when we see who has been accepted by God.
 

 

Today we remember and pray for the souls of all the faithful departed...
faithful, those who came to believe the promises of eternal life
during their days on earth. 

 

...For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.

 

 We are blessed with the promise of eternal life directly from God himself.
No pastor, preacher, relative, or friend made this up;
it is stated right here in the Gospel of John.
There is no greater love than the love God has for us.
Eye has not seen what God has prepared for those who love him.

Looking forward to the day my soul
can dart about as sparks in the stubble.

 

 In remembrance of those I love who have gone before me.