“So then it depends not on human will or exertion,
but on God, who has mercy.”
Romans 9:16 ESV
As deists, Voltaire and Diderot attacked Christianity—“their primary weapon aimed at the church was ‘truth’.” (Dr. Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language) “We think that the greatest service to be done to men,” said Diderot, “is to teach them to use their reason, only to hold for truth what they have verified and proved.” What did these men know of “truth” in their young years of their own “enlightenment?” What had they proven by their own “reasoning” in their latter years? What did they have in the end?
Man may create happiness for himself while he is able to think clearly, when everything seems to be in his control, but this does not last. God has proven His work of grace, not only through His written word (which “reasoning” discards), but in the reality of life to its very end.
God proved the truth of His grace to me in 1994 as I, for three weeks, watched my dad gradually consumed by esophageal cancer.* How could he “reason” for himself what was happening to him? What was truth to him, at that point of his life? He had only the mercy (which he had asked for) and the grace of God, which we all experienced together. He could no longer eat or drink. He could do nothing but wait for his final breath. He was never on morphine, and so was aware of everything going on around him. He could hear, (until now I had not realized that as a work of God’s grace), and we had those last days to sit by his side, to sing to him, to read the Father’s precious words of truth. God’s grace was strikingly evident in Daddy’s humility, and his peaceful spirit of acceptance in his last week, and at the end. He died on Labor Day—his epitaph, “Resting in the Lord.”
For five years we experienced the devastating effects of dementia in Mother’s life. She had no means of “reasoning.” Nor could we, even though we could still think clearly—clearly in that we could accept that God was sovereign, in control of all things. Though we could not understand through our own reasoning, we were learning more and more to trust in God’s mercy and grace for what each day would bring. (And we failed many times—for who is prepared ahead of time for such things.) Her last month was spent in a nursing home, much to our grief; but we were not able to care for her any longer. I could not “reason” with that.
But, even there, in her last few days, God’s hand of mercy and grace sustained us and held us together. She had been unresponsive for almost four days. Jerry and I sat with her those last few hours. Monday was my birthday, and I prayed, “Father, please don’t let her die on my birthday.” At midnight the nurses were in and out, checking her vital signs. The younger nurse asked the older (who was wearing the white cap, and the white uniform), “Shouldn’t we give her something?” The older nurse answered, “No, she is at peace.” A few minutes later, as I detected her breathing to be very shallow, and holding her hand, I stood and recited Psalm 23 for her. When I finished, she took her last breath. I looked at the clock. It was 12:38. I could not have willed that; it was God’s grace.
Another example is Ed, 86, who was a member of our church. He has dementia and now lives with his daughter, Cyndi, and her husband in another state. In her last email she wrote of how she reads the Bible to him, and he will quote with her much of God’s Word, as she reads. It is not by his “reasoning” but by God’s grace, that he recalls the Word of truth that he had hidden in his heart.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,
who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself
restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
1 Peter 5:10-12 ESV
*One Month to Live ~ A Father’s Last Words was my first book (yet unpublished), in which I recorded the working of God’s grace in those three weeks.
(Reblogged from September, 2011)
God's Grace ~ God's Glory! 
Thank you for reblogging
this, Frances. Tremendous testimony of God’s grace in the most difficult of times. Wonderful truth here.
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David, thank you for reading and your comment. I did not add the experience of God’s grace the years before or the last ten years. I did that in a book.:) Have a blessed weekend.
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Beautiful testimony!
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Praise the Lord! 🙂
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Thank you, Frances! For the Christian, experiences surrounding the passing from here into eternity can be some of the closest with our Savior. My wife and I have had it both ways – that is, being away when they passed and being in their presence. And, my mother-in-law suffered through Alzheimer’s the last several years of her life. We have some deep experiences surrounding how God worked in these various situations which, I pray, God will allow me to write at some point. I did write a magazine article about my dad, which I’ve included in my Blog (Gentle Teacher, Sovereign God). I appreciate your point regarding TRUTH, which is a major issue for me, as you might can tell from my posts. I believe that cannot be overemphasized. The emerging generations seem hell-bent on making truth relative to their emotions and whatever mindset that hold on a particular day. God is either Sovereign and Omniscient, meaning there can be no relativity or variances in Him or His Word, or He is not God. I appreciate the openness and emotion of your writing! This post is wonderful testimony to our Lord and Savior, who is the Author of Life!
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I am blessed by your response to this article. It is but a sample of my experience of the Lord’s grace. I pray the Lord will bless your writing about your experiences as He has ours. TWO FULL PLATES ~ Learning to be a Caregiver is a condensed version of how He has worked in and through my life as His servant. It is one of a series of Little Books About the Magnitude of God, available on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Fran-Rogers/e/B01KIPCXQK ~ all readable in an hour or less, but packed full of His blessedness. We must pity those who cannot see, and pray to know those in whom He is sovereignly working. We will look forward to learning of the Lord’s working in you and your family. Blessings in the Lord for the weekend.
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This post makes me think of our end; so often for those who are young we can forget that. How we need God’s grace also to think about eternity
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Jim, this is the purpose for our “proclaiming the legacy of God’s kingdom.” We are passing down the truths of the kingdom, for now and eternity, to make known the blessings that are promised to HIs children, through this blog and our books. Thank you again for reading and commenting. This is a blessing to us. Blessings for the Spirit’s preparation for your proclamation and worship. Praying for the Word to go forth in power and hearts and ears opened to the truth you proclaim.
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Thank you for your prayers Frances
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Your words was a great blessing to read. To know you had parents that loved the Lord and the experience you had with them. Thanks for sharing your story.
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Robbie, thank you for reading and commenting. This was just a tip of the iceberg, only a sample of the Lord’s blessings to us through much adversity.
His presence and power are beyond our own stories, which He promises for us through these times, now, and forevermore. This is why I blog and publish our books. Blessings to you in our Lord Jesus Christ .
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Our ONE TRUE GOD’S GRACE is through HIS SON Jesus-Yeshua Christ For Today and Everyday Forevermore!!
Praise Jesus-Yeshua Christ for Today and Everyday, HE is KING of kings and LORD ( ADONAI ), HE is the ALPHA and OMEGA, HE is the BEGINNING and the ENDING!! Glory Glory Hallelujah and Maranatha!!
May our ONE TRUE GOD THE FATHER who art in Heaven Above Bless all my Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus-Yeshua and my Messianic Jewish Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus-Yeshua who STAND with the Holy Land of Israel-Yisrael and our Judeo-Christian Nation United States of America!!
Our ONE True GOD’S LOVE 💙💕 is ETERNAL THROUGH HIS SON Jesus-Yeshua Christ for Today and Everyday Forevermore!!
I Love you all Everyone through Jesus-Yeshua, because HE LOVED 💕💙 EVERYONE FIRST!!
Love 💙💕 Always and Shalom ( Peace ) , YSIC \o/
Kristi Ann
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