1 Samuel 18 sermon video

A message on 1 Samuel 18, where King Saul and his son Jonathan both come to the realization that David is likely God’s choice for the kingship, and react in polar opposite manners. We learn that what sustains David is something we also possess as followers of Christ, to face our life’s struggles.

Lili’s father’s passing

My precious wife Lili’s father went to heaven today. Your prayers for her and the rest of the family for comfort and peace, and for understanding of the gospel for relatives that don’t know Jesus, will be greatly appreciated.

It is quite relevant today for me to share this story: Roughly 15 years ago, when we were young in our marriage and I was young in Romania ministry, we were visiting Lili’s parents and I sat down with her father. I told him I wanted to practice my Romanian pronunciation, with his help, because I really did need that. I told him I was going to read something to him for that, and that what I was reading was the message I want to share with all Romanians, including him, I said. He agreed. Since he had previously brushed people off if they asked him to listen about Jesus, I wanted him to know before I started that in addition to pronunciation help, I wanted him to know and believe the things I would read him. He agreed, and Lili, who had been translating for me in the conversation up to that point, left us to sit alone, while she listened outside.

As we started, he was doing his original job of helping me with my pronunciation. My errors were still quite frequent with that. But we barely had made it a fourth of the way through before he stopped helping me pronounce the words and just intently listened. He understood. He believed. When I asked him at the end if he believed these things and was putting his trust in Christ to save him, he gave a big smile, and emphatically said, “Da, da, da!” (Yes, yes, yes!)

This afternoon, I can still hear that voice, and see that smile.

This afternoon, we are grieving. My wife and our family have lost a father, husband, grandfather, father-in-law. But through it all, I know what he is doing now. He is smiling again. He is saying, “Da, da, da!” again.

If you aren’t ready for when that day comes for you, read the article I read to him that day. Jesus will save you, too. As He said, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

Here is the link to the document. (The first two pages are the English version and then the Romanian follows. If you open the link, you have to scroll just a little bit past ads and then you will see the evangecube picture and presentation I shared with him that day.)