Missing Jonathan

Today will be two weeks since the day my wonderful husband was taken from me. I miss him in the depths of my soul. There will never be a day as long as I am here on Earth that I will not miss his smile, his touch, his voice, his laugh, his desire to make me happy, his humor . . . If you knew him, you knew how loving, kind, merciful, generous . . . . (I could go on and on) he was. It was clear to anyone who knew him that letting Jesus work in and through his life was the number one priority to him. I am happy to say that I of course came second, which is the right, biblical way to be married. We loved each other so completely with the love that only Jesus Christ can give to two married people. We were made for each other. I loved being in ministry with Jonathan and serving on his staff. He was such a good spiritual leader in our home and in his staff as well. The four years that we were married were absolutely wonderful, and I will never forget the love that we shared and the memories we made. I will always love him. I will always tell our child how wonderful his/her father was and that he will be waiting for us in Heaven. This is my hope, that I do not have to live in this sinful world forever, it is not my home, Heaven is my home, and soon I hope Jesus returns to take all of His children home with Him. Thirdly, he loved the church and wanted to serve the people in it whole-heartedly. He loved the people at Shoal Creek-he cried over them, stayed up at night over them, worried over them-he wanted so badly to see the Holy Spirit come and work in the lives of the church and in the community. He was able to see that before he was taken. We talked together about how excited we were about the changes we could see in the spirit of Shoal Creek. We also talked about how excited we were to see new people accepting Jesus’ gift for the first time and becoming a part of the family at Shoal Creek. We were excited about seeing people who had been at Shoal Creek become active and working for the Lord. I hope and pray that the vision God gave Jonathan will continue at Shoal Creek and that his work will continue on as well.
It is clear to me that some of you who have read his blog did not know him and has not let the Lord save you from your sins. Jonathan believed in a man called Jesus. He believed that He could take away your sin and give you a life in Heaven when you are taken from this world. I would like to share with you how you can know Jesus like my Jonathan did here on earth, and even more so now in Heaven.
1. You need to know that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says that All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. This means that we have all done things wrong in the eyes of God-stealing, lying, having sex with someone who is not your husband/wife, murdering, gossiping-there are a multitude of things that can go under this category. Everyone has sinned.
2. You need to know that there are consequences for that sin. Romans 6:23 says that The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Because we sin, we earn death forever in a place called Hell. If you die and do not know Jesus as your Savior you will spend forever in Hell.
3. You need to know that Jesus died for those sins so that we would not have to die forever. Romans 5:8 says that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Jesus died and took all the sins of the world on himself as well as the punishment for those sins. He did this so that you and I would not have to do it.
4. To be saved from your sin, you must trust that Jesus died and rose again, and that He has the power of taking away your sins. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that it is by grace (God giving you what you don't deserve) you have been saved through faith (putting your trust in Jesus), it is not of yourself, so you cannot boast about it. Romans 10:9-10 says that if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It is really a simple thing.
5. If you want to tell Jesus that you trust Him with taking away your sin and that you want to live for Him for the rest of your life, and with Him in Heaven after you die, you can say the following prayer. “Jesus, thank you for coming to Earth from Heaven to save us from our sins. I want to tell you now that I believe in you and that I want you to take away my sins and wash me clean. For the rest of my life I want to be committed to You and to Your work. I want to live with you forever in Heaven. Thank You!”
6. If you prayed that prayer and truly believed it, you are now a Christian. It is important to find a local Bible believing church that you can be a part of and one in which you can be baptized. Congratulations in your new found faith! I have no doubt that my husband Jonathan is rejoicing with you now!

Sorry the blog is so lengthy, but it is all what I needed to say and what I thought people needed to hear! God bless!