Luke 23:43
Cancer. I hate cancer. My mother had it. A giant tumor in her stomach. Her diagnosis came in August and through November, I watched her actively die. Each day her body became smaller. She suffered. In the last week of her life, I never left her side. Around the clock, my sister and I took turns holding her hand. Forty years of my life played like a movie in my mind. My mother had the starring role. I loved her. I still do. As I observed her lying in bed, her morphine filled body twitching, her throat swelling, I thought of Jesus’ words on the cross. He spoke to the thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43). My mother’s suffering was about to end. No more pain, no more tribulations, no more sorrow, no more tears. I do not know if she heard me, but I told her: “Almost, Mom, you are almost there. You are almost free.” When she was gone, I found much comfort in knowing that I will see her again. I know this, because that is what Jesus had promised.
Philippians 4:13, Matthew 28:20
My husband of 17 years left. He found someone else. I was alone with two preteen children. There was no family near by. I was in shock, I became depressed, and I was scared. I had never made a single decision by myself before. I was overwhelmed. All plans and dreams for the future just died. I grieved for them; I hurt for the children; love turned into anger. There were things to be done: Attorneys, court dates, packing his things away, trying not to think about the ‘other woman’, applying for food stamps, finding full-time employment with health insurance, going back to college, starting a career. My pastor told me: “You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength” (Philippians 4:13). Begin and end each day in prayer. Talk to your Father, He hears you. Remember Jesus promised: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). I followed my pastor’s instructions. My heart calmed. In time, I realized that I was never alone. I realized that my plans were not necessarily God’s plans. It was the beginning of a spiritual journey. It continues to lead me. And each day, I pray.
Matthew 16:23
And where there is good, there is evil. Evil comes to us in different forms. Its goal is to shatter our faith in any which way it can. Peter told Jesus that he would never deny him. Jesus, who already knew that his disciple would betray him three times before sunrise, told him: “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:23),for he knew that evil found his prey. Oh, how often do I repeat these words. Each time, I see trouble brewing, when I feel tempted to do wrong, and when I do wrong. Get behind me Satan gives me courage to battle this evil, as well as humility to acknowledge that I have fallen…again.
Also see John 1:1
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8267209/john11.html?cat=47