10/10 Timothy's
Service
The
service for Timothy went well and glorified God. We thank you for
your strong support of us at this time. That so many came and
sent flowers and cards was more than we deserve but we see it in some
measure of the Lord's work through Timothy's life.
We carefully selected the Scriptures read
and the songs sung at the service and we have
them here for those who couldn't make it, or those who did but want to
look at them again (Warning: these verses and
words are faith-strengthening!)
A few of the Mercies
of God to us
More notes from The
Hidden Smile of God by John Piper
October
13 - it's been a week since Timothy went to be with Jesus. A
dear friend wrote to us, "Timothy sings the praises of His God with
a pure, whole heart now and fairly shouts to you, Mom and Dad, to join
him in such bliss. We pray for your healing and rejoice that you
have a son who is giving such perfect praise to our Christ." Many
have written to say they love us and are praying for us, and this has
been sweetness to us in a difficult time. We thank you for praying
for our response to the loss of Timothy as well as for our transition to
a new home (and what seems like a new job) in Santa Clarita, CA.
At this point it is unclear when we will return to Israel (but we hope
it is soon). October
17 - Many tell us that they are praying for us through this
time. We are very grateful. Some of those may then wonder
how we are doing but are afraid to ask. So, just a word. God
continues to strengthen us by His Spirit and through our family and
friends. We are moving forward - today Kelli begins a women's
Bible study and Todd starts teaching class. Luke and Mark are
doing well, though they haven't forgotten Timothy as they bring him up
daily. Today's reading in Spurgeon says what we want to say.
An excerpt:
"David could not put his finger
upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, “Here is evidence that the
Lord will forsake me,” for the entire tenor of his past life proved
the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him,
that God would be his defender still. But is it not just in the same way
that we doubt God’s help? Is it not mistrust without a cause? Have we
ever had the shadow of a reason to doubt our Father’s goodness? Have
not his lovingkindnesses been marvellous? Has he once failed to justify
our trust?" (Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, Oct 17). October
23 - Kelli had a Bible teacher in college once tell the class that
he thought that the way God answered prayers was to imagine a barrel and
when enough fervent prayers came into the barrel it spilled over and the
prayer was answered. Our experience this last month has proven the
foolishness of that notion (this teacher is now the leader of a huge
movement in the evangelical church espousing the "openness of
God." It is a heresy that dishonors God and harms his
people). What is in fact true is that: 1.
Many, many were praying (we daily hear more of those who prayed for him
and we are absolutely amazed) and God heard their prayers. 2.
God chose to bring glory to Himself in a different way than we
requested. He created Timothy and He has the right to heal him at
the time and in the way that He knows to be best. 3.
Timothy's life and death were not an "accident" that caught
God by surprise. God was never for one moment out of control and
never for one moment did He act out of anything but pure love for
us. This may not seem so if you suppose that Timothy's living was
the most important thing; we know that it is not (though that is a hard
thing to know). 4. You can weep
and trust God at the same time. October
24 - We appreciate your continued prayers and notes. The Lord
is bringing healing to our hearts though understandably it's a slower
process for Kelli. My view of
infant salvation has never been very clear. Even the night that
Timothy died I couldn't articulate biblically why he I knew with
certainty he was in heaven (though I stated such here because I thought
it was so). Now help from different quarters have strengthened our
conviction that the Bible teaches that babies and young children go to
heaven. Here's a summary of why: 1.
Though babies might be reckoned as "sinful" by virtue of their
human nature, they have not committed willful acts against God. 2.
Babies do not have the ability to understand what sin is, who Jesus is,
or what salvation is. 3. Paul
says that men are "without excuse" in their sin before God
because they have the testimony of God's creation and their own
conscience. Babies have neither testimony and therefore cannot be
said to be "without excuse." 4.
God continually shows himself to be a God of grace. It would
accord with his character to bring precious children whom he loves and
who have not rejected his Son into his presence. The
chief biblical passage used to support "infant salvation" is 2
Sam 12; David's baby dies and he responds "[the baby] shall not
come to me, but I shall go to him." This passage alone is not
a compelling argument for me. John
MacArthur preached two excellent sermons on this issue the week after
Timothy went to heaven. They can be ordered from Grace
to You. John
Piper has given several messages at services for children. They
are very good. Here are a few choice quotes
that have helped us. Or better yet, read the entire message
#1 and message #2.
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