Mourning!

Having been away for a week, it was good to be back. One of our number said he had been to a large Pentecostal church in the city, which had reminded him of why he comes to Liberty!

We were very aware of the tragic circumstances concerning Shirlene losing her son Chris last Saturday. We prayed for her, for widow Martha, and other family members known to us.

But there is always a lot to praise the Lord for, and it was good to have Bob on guitar lead us to a heavenly place.

You cannot say that Jesus is Lord, and then not allow the Holy Spirit to move freely. And when he does, the meeting can take unpredicted courses. So this morning, we had much praise and singing in tongues of men and of angels, and prayer. Cliff led communion, and Wendy read from Ecclesiastes. Bob gave a tongue, and Cliff gave the interpretation. 

We looked at Matthew 5:4. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. We mourn a loss – a loved one, a pet, a job, health, youth… The Lord built mourning and grief into us, because it is a healing process. A horrible experience, and a lonely experience, but healing. We need to grieve and mourn a loss. And because it is healing, there will be comfort.

There is especial comfort to those in the family of God, mourning a fellow member of the family of God. There will be reunion. The separation is temporary. That is comfort.

There was a time when I distanced myself from the Lord, and then felt despair and grief at what I had lost. I grieved, and cried out to the Lord with repentance. His presence was both instant and overwhelming. I wept with relief and joy at the comfort. If we lose something of the presence of God we have previously known, we need to grieve and repent, for restoration and comfort.

Our next meeting is next Sunday morning, the 24th at 10am for 10.30am, when we will have Marcus Philpott with us.