Agence Olloweb via Unsplash
Mark Huey delivers the October 2021 Outreach Israel News update.
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalms 116:15, ESV).
The most recent eighteen months, beginning in March 2020 and finishing in September 2021, have been an interesting “chapter” in our lives. During this past season of life, our household has had the privilege to become caretakers for my aging mother. What a blessing it has been for each of us to lay aside our individual plans, and instead, minister to her physical and spiritual needs during her waning hours! Thankfully, because of God’s grace and answers to forty plus years of prayer, Grandma had the opportunity to finally understand the unadulterated fact that she was a fallen creature (just like all of humanity). This understanding did not come quickly. After all, she exemplified and demonstrated the traits and characteristics of a Proverbs 31 woman throughout her 94 plus years. Nevertheless, that uncomfortable realization eventually sunk into her retiring soul. This saving knowledge, coupled with a modicum of confession and repentance, came late in life—but what do you expect when one has led an exemplary life without significantly blatant sin? Obviously, it is much more difficult to recognize one’s sin nature when a giving self-sacrificial spirit predominates your daily routine.
Providentially, because of a hospice service benefit, a young female pre-med student was assigned to write a biography of an elderly patient by her professor. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the several interviews on a computer screen required meaningful personal reflection and introspection. Initially, my mother’s answers to questions were somewhat vague. However, with a little prodding, interpretation, and amplification from her interceding son, the comfort level improved over several interactions. In addition, after nine months of bedtime prayers, where we synchronously repeated the prayers she prayed over her three children nightly in our youth (the Lord’s Prayer, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep), the birth pangs of spiritual enlightenment began to rumble.
By the fourth inquisitive conversation, the subtle question from the interviewer was simply this: “How did all of those physical relocations impact your faith?” This query literally stumped this proud lady, who responded with a confused look of awe and consternation. Regrettably during her lifetime, Grandma had not spent considerable time at Bible studies, or even at regular church attendance, once her children had left home. She had never been “born again,” and did not have any spiritual yearning for growth, despite praying the “Sinner’s Prayer” multiple times. However, the earlier discussions had highlighted some fifteen home moves around the country, since her marriage to a young Naval officer. So naturally, this curious young lady getting prepared for a life of medical service to others—seeking some wisdom from the subject of her project—assumed she was a Believer, because of the many different churches that our family attended earlier in the marriage. This pregnant pause in the interview, allowed me to interject some additional thoughts and questions, to dig further into her obviously perplexed heart. Straightforwardly, I was prompted to gently pursue the open door to her soul. Once again, I explained to her the fact that all humans throughout the ages have inherited a fallen nature, and desperately need the only solution available for redemption: the sacrificial blood of the Messiah Jesus (Yeshua). Finally, by God’s grace it took root…
While sitting close to her so the camera could pick up our images, a visible sign emerged for me to see. As she was processing the revelation that she was indeed a sinner, there appeared what looked like a pile of spaghetti under the skin of her forehead. For about a minute, as she was mentally processing this understanding, her eyes lit up and even the interviewer recognized a change in the atmosphere. For a few moments, as Grandma was struggling to come up with words, the young pre-med student was also dealing with the words spoken about the explanation of the gospel. This was something she admitted she needed to hear and reconsider, since she had grown up in a Bible believing family, but at college was being exposed to other concepts that were watering down her faith. Only God knows if it was a “twofer,” but most assuredly, the months of prayer coupled with the extension of love by our family, and the recognition that the end of life was rapidly approaching, had prepared Grandma’s soul for the seeds of truth to sprout into belief.
As you can imagine, over the next nine months, the joy that my mother had finally discovered her need for a Savior increased daily. Each night when I helped her to bed, I began our prayer session by asking her what I referred to as the “most important” question: “Who died for your sins?” She enthusiastically proclaimed, “Jesus” without any reservations. Before praying for all her loved ones by name, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer, and asked in prayer that if she died before she wakes that the Lord would take her soul, “in Jesus’ name, Hallelujah! Amen!” As God would have it, He answered her prayers, and on August 2, 2021, in the morning hours as dawn was approaching in her sleep, the angelic host ushered her into the Heavenly realm. What a blessing for our family to know that at some point in time we will be reunited with her and be with her and other loved ones in the presence of the Lord! Additionally, it has impressed upon us the critical need to persevere in prayer for our loved ones, who might not yet have the revelation that they need a substitutionary sacrifice for their inherited sinful nature. But God is gracious and full of mercy, and He does hear and answer our prayers. Praise the Lord!!
Thank you for bearing with this testimony about my precious mother, and the 94 plus years the Lord gave her to live a life that in many regards did exemplify a Proverbs 31 woman in her own strength, before finally realizing in her final months that she needed the blood atonement of the Savior. But without the COVID-19 restrictions that were imposed particularly on senior citizens in adult communities, she probably would have never come to live with us. Thankfully for our family, these unexpected and tragic circumstances surrounding the pandemic led directly to the salvation of my mother. Hence, we consider the virus-related impositions somewhat of a blessing for Grandma’s soul. It also became a testimony to our greater family members because they were able to witness how our family’s walk of faith to love and serve others means more to us than anything else we are here to accomplish.
Eventually, as we took responsibility for her remains and memorial service, it was of paramount importance to pass along her personal testimony, especially to her other son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Hence, the book mentioned above incorporated an introduction that referenced her modeling a Proverbs 31-woman lifestyle throughout her life. This biographical book was complemented by a memorial program that reemphasized her sacrificial life devoted to her family. But above all was the unmitigated fact that this blessed saint had ultimately made the choice to claim the Messiah as her Savior, and that by His Name alone, she was anticipating a reunion in the Heaven with her loved ones who preceded her in Earthly life. Her faith was so supercharged that on her final day before departing, she was reaching up toward Heaven and beginning to call out for her beloved daughter who had predeceased her in 2010. The look in her eyes was one of great expectation about the arrival, not only into the presence of the Lord, but also to see others who had late in life, had similar revelations about the reality of the Heavenly Father and His intention with Yeshua to provide a solution for an inherited fallen nature and transgressions committed on the path of life.
In addition, as I was preparing the memorial service, a few Scriptures came to mind that I shared with those gathered. Preeminently, the Fifth Commandment to “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12, ESV) seemed appropriate. After all, both my father and mother modeled this command by taking their widowed mothers into their home for the concluding years of their respective lives. As a result, the promise of long life was extended to them, as they were both around 94 years of age when their physical bodies expired without any pain or disease. This example is one that more and more people should consider when it comes to aging family members. Finally, an often misunderstood verse from Ecclesiastes about how the day of one’s death should be better than the day of birth brought considerable reflection and contemplation into the here and now:
“Better is a good reputation than precious oil and the day of death than the day of birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1, TLV).
Think about it: Just what do you want written as your epithet or inscribed on your tombstone or grave marker? What do you want to be remembered for by those who you leave behind, be they family, friends, or anyone that knew you? We all have choices to make, not only throughout the day, but what we want the trajectory of our lives to be and do. Have you spent any time praying and thinking about the wisdom noted that the day of your death, no matter how many years you are given to live it out, will be a testimony forever and ever?
Personally, I believe it is beneficial to work through this thought process and imagine the day of your death, the burial or memorial service that follows, and just what you want people to recall when they stand up and share about the person they knew or had experiences with over the years. When we look at the testimonies of the saints like Jacob (Genesis 49) and Moses (Deuteronomy 33), we find them expressing verbally or in writing many of the blessings and warnings to the children of Israel and the twelve sons and/or tribes. However, one of my favorites is some of the concluding remarks attested to Joshua, who faithfully took the reins of responsibility from Moses, and led the Israelites into the Land of Promise:
“If it seems bad to you to worship ADONAI, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers worshipped that were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will worship ADONAI!” (Joshua 24:15, TLV).
In Joshua’s case, it is obvious from the testimony of the Scriptures that he and his household served the Lord. The question we all must ask is this: Who or what am I serving daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, for a lifetime? It always comes down to a choice, and sometimes, due to the fleshly nature we inherited from Adam and Eve, we can fool ourselves. Nevertheless, Yeshua made it simple by distilling the choices down to two masters: God or Mammon/wealth/money:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick by one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24, TLV).
Quite frankly, these two options, reducing the number of choices down to a binary decision, might seem too simplistic given the complexity of the modern era. But nothing has changed because there is nothing new under the Sun. The same choices were presented to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve sons, Moses, the children of Israel, King Saul, King David, the Prophets, the Apostles, and every saint who has ever been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. This is something quite serious to think about because unless Yeshua comes back before we die, then there will be a place and a time when we will be remembered. How do we want to be remembered?
In conclusion, we are so grateful for your prayers and financial support and appreciate your faithfulness to our ministry efforts. Without your encouragement, the endeavors, and efforts we pursue would not be possible. Now that our assignment with Grandma has ended, we are continuing to minister through the writings and recordings of Outreach Israel Ministries and Messianic Apologetics. Additionally, we are asking the Lord to choose and communicate to us where and how He wants to use our time, talents, and resources to help advance His Kingdom on Earth. After all, service to Him is our choice, because we are willing and available, given His sovereign leading.
Until the restoration of all things…
Mark Huey
