The Funeral

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background="0448dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>The Funeral</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Salvation at a Funeral</B></div> <bR> <div>      I have always felt an uneasiness about traveling back to the town I grew up in.  If I'd go there, I would simply do my business and get out. …Oh, I had good parents who raised me, and the people there aren't any different from anywhere else, and I can't say that I have more bad memories than good.  It's just that in my heart, this town where I grew up represents a time in my life without Jesus Christ.  It was a time when I seemed to have no purpose, and I had chosen to live in the emptiness of sin.  And today I am traveling back to go to the funeral of a very special lady.  She was like a second mother to me, someone who was always there.  In fact, …I think she was there for all the troubled teenagers in town, because we all showed up at the funeral.  I walked into the church just as the pastor began to speak, and I quietly slipped into a seat toward the back.  The first part of the funeral service seemed some what normal including common scriptures, and special memories.  As the service went on the pastor began to change direction, speaking of a real, and living Jesus Christ who is alive and with us today and so desperately wants to come and live in our hearts.  Before I knew it, the pastor had given a salvation sermon at a funeral and was finishing with an invitation saying, “If you haven't yet received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and you want to begin a relationship with him, please pray this prayer with me.”  “Dear Lord, forgive me, I am a sinner.  Up until now, I have been living my life the way that I wanted too, but in doing things my own way there has been an emptiness inside me.  Today Lord, I realize that You are what's missing in my life.  Please come into my heart and make me whole.  I understand that your Son came and died on a cross for my past, present, and future sins, and then in victory rose from the dead.  I have learned today, that giving my life to you does not make me a slave, but sets me free.  And as I serve you, I show you my love.  Amen.”</div> <div>      I couldn't believe it!  This pastor so tactfully delivered not only a good and appropriate funeral sermon, but then led right into a salvation sermon with an opportunity to accept Christ!  He finished the service inviting anyone to stand and offer a few kind words for the deceased.  There was complete silence…  Then her daughter spoke just a couple of words through her tears, and had to stop.  There was another long moment of silence…  I felt God provoking my heart to speak.  I felt my self stand up with no plans on what to say.  The words just seemed to come to me as I said, “Diane was so very special to me, and there is something that we have in common.  We both have a passionate Love for Jesus Christ.”  …(In hearing someone else say the name Jesus Christ besides the pastor, everyone turned around and looked at me.)  Then a couple of acquaintances from my troubled youth busted out laughing when they saw that it was me speaking.  …For a brief moment I felt fear and humiliation enter into me, and then it left, and I began to speak with even more boldness, truth, and power than before.  The spirit of God seemed to just take over.  After I sat down, one person after another stood up and spoke about how Diane led them to the Lord, or the relationship that they had together in Christ, and praised God.  Every single person that stood and spoke after me spoke of Christ.</div> <div>      After the service had ended, food and drinks were served in the social hall of the church.  I got some food and sat down at the table with the ones who had laughed at me.  The warmth and joy of the Lord filled my heart, as I felt a subtle smile of appreciation spread across my face.  …The one who laughed at me looked steadily at me and said, “There is something different about you.”  I sighed and said, “yah, there sure is… I used to feel dead inside, …but since I've come to know Christ, my whole life is different, …better.  He shared his heart with me, and I shared my testimony with him.  At the end of the conversation, he expressed a need for Christ in his life, and made a commitment to seek him.  </div> <div> After the dinner, I got in my car and praised God, and prayed. “Lord, the seed is planted, he's all yours now.  …Amen”</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>