Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW019215S
|
00:20 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:22 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:23 Thanks for joining me. 00:25 There's nothing like the joy of pregnancy, 00:29 the thrill of expecting, the excitement of preparing, 00:32 the unique challenges and adjustments that come with it, 00:35 sometimes the struggles that have been experienced 00:38 just to get to this place. 00:39 There's nothing like it, and then the big day, 00:43 and a life enters the world with all of the hope and expectation 00:46 that that involves. 00:48 Childbirth is a miracle. 00:51 It's a miracle every last one of us have been the beneficiary of. 00:56 That process, from conception to birth, 00:59 it's an incredible succession of intricate, 01:01 delicate, extremely precise developments. 01:05 Except...it doesn't always work out. 01:09 And when it doesn't, it can be crushing, 01:13 devastating. 01:14 When it doesn't work out, processing that, 01:17 learning to live with that, 01:19 working through that... can be extremely difficult. 01:24 Miscarriage is more common than most people would ever realize. 01:28 The Mayo Clinic says that up to 20 percent 01:31 of all known pregnancies end in a miscarriage. 01:34 Other authorities say up to 25 percent. 01:37 That's 1 in 4, or 1 in 5, 01:41 and that's known pregnancies. 01:43 Many miscarriages happen so early in the pregnancy 01:46 that the mother never realized she was pregnant. 01:49 Some experts say that up to three-quarters 01:52 of all pregnancies result in miscarriage. 01:56 Which means there is an awful lot of women 01:58 who have experienced a miscarriage. 02:01 Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy 02:04 before the 20th week. 02:05 Most miscarriages, in fact, the vast majority, 02:08 occur within the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy. 02:12 And unlike almost anything else, miscarriage raises questions 02:16 that are very difficult to answer, 02:19 questions like, "Why me?" "What did I do wrong?" 02:22 and "Why did God let this happen?" 02:25 And then there's the question that for many people 02:27 is the biggest one of all: "Will my baby be in heaven?" 02:33 We're going to do our best to answer those questions 02:35 in the next few minutes, and we'll meet a woman 02:37 who's had a lot of experience with this, 02:39 and talk with a physician who's had an awful lot of experience 02:42 dealing with the issues surrounding what truly is 02:46 a tragedy of immense proportions. 02:49 ♪[soft music]♪ 02:51 So does God care when a miscarriage occurs? 02:56 Of course He does. 02:57 Isaiah 44, verse 2: 02:59 "Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb..." 03:03 Isaiah 44, same chapter, verse 24: 03:07 "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, 03:10 and He who formed you from the womb..." 03:12 Isaiah 49:1, 03:14 "Listen, O coastlands, to me, 03:17 and take heed, you peoples from afar! 03:20 The Lord has called me from the womb; 03:23 from the matrix of my mother He has made mention of my name." 03:27 You get the idea here. 03:29 In fact, it becomes very clear that God is very much aware 03:33 of what takes place inside the womb. 03:36 The Bible does not say that a person is formed at childbirth, 03:41 but within the womb, inside the mother. 03:44 That's a baby. 03:46 That's a person. 03:48 That's a human being; at least, that's the way God sees it. 03:54 And God had this to say to Jeremiah, 03:56 in Jeremiah 1 in verse 5: 03:59 "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; 04:02 before you were born I sanctified you." 04:06 So if God knew Jeremiah in the womb, 04:09 if God knew Isaiah in the womb, 04:11 then God knows what's going on within every pregnant woman. 04:15 So, yes, God cares, and He cares deeply. 04:20 God feels the pain of every grieving mother, 04:24 which is important to know, because women who miscarry 04:27 frequently find that those around them 04:30 don't always empathize or sympathize or, or show concern 04:34 or support like they... like they really should. 04:38 Now, we know how to react basically 04:40 when someone's grandma dies. 04:42 We show concern. 04:43 It's sad. 04:44 There's grieving that needs to take place. 04:46 When someone loses a parent or a sibling or a spouse, 04:49 we get that. 04:51 Not that everyone is especially helpful 04:53 or always says the right thing, 04:55 but we understand the dynamic of a person dying. 04:58 We understand the loss of someone who no longer sits 05:00 across the dining room table, 05:03 someone who isn't there in church anymore, 05:05 or isn't there when you go home to visit. 05:08 That's a loss. We kind of get that. 05:10 That person is no longer there. 05:13 But the loss of someone you've never seen, 05:16 someone you've never met, someone without a name, 05:20 how do you truly appreciate a loss like that? 05:23 For a lot of people, even for a lot of husbands 05:26 whose wives miscarry, it's not easy. 05:30 Which is why people will say things like, 05:31 "Well, at least it happened early," 05:33 or, or "Don't feel bad." 05:35 Don't feel bad? 05:37 That's exactly how an expectant mother is going to feel 05:41 when she loses her child. 05:44 Loss is difficult for humans to bear. 05:47 God didn't create us to experience loss, to grieve. 05:51 Death came into the world as the result of sin. 05:54 And 6,000 years later, it still doesn't sit well with us. 05:58 And in this case, the death of dreams, 06:01 the death of potential, the death of joy, 06:04 the death of a future, 06:05 that's its own kind of difficult. 06:08 Imagine being the woman who for so long has been trying 06:10 to get pregnant, and now people are congratulating you. 06:14 It's fun. 06:15 You're starting to shop for strollers and decorate a room, 06:17 and you start to think about picking a name. 06:19 Maybe friends have started giving you gifts. 06:22 You've started to dream about what the future holds: 06:24 Will she play the piano? 06:26 Will she become a teacher or a doctor or an engineer? 06:29 Will he be a carpenter or a physical therapist 06:32 or an accountant? 06:33 One day you'll go to games. 06:35 You'll play basketball together at the local court. 06:37 You'll ice skate. 06:38 You'll eat ice cream. 06:39 You'll be there for that first lost tooth, 06:41 take them to school on that first day at school. 06:44 There'll be pets and grazed knees 06:46 and learning to ride a bike, and then high school, and one day, 06:50 boyfriends or girlfriends, and one day, a wedding. 06:54 But miscarriage ends that, right when you're daring to dream, 06:59 when your future is offering you so much. 07:03 It's all...gone. 07:07 So how do you get through this in a healthy way, 07:10 your marriage still strong, your faith in God intact? 07:16 And will you ever get to meet that baby? 07:20 I'll be right back. 07:21 ♪[music]♪ 07:30 >>John: I want to encourage you to get today's free offer. 07:32 It's my little book called "Coping With Grief." 07:35 If you are trying to deal with grief or you know somebody else 07:38 who is grieving, this little book will be invaluable to you. 07:42 We look at biblical principles for dealing with grief, 07:44 and we'll discover that God is with us in those tough times. 07:48 To get "Coping With Grief," 07:49 visit us online at iiwoffer.com 07:52 or call 800-253-3000, 07:55 800-253-3000. 07:58 Call now. It's free. 08:01 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 08:04 Some of the great stories of the Bible center around pregnancy 08:07 and childbirth. 08:09 The greatest story of the Bible could well be that of an angel 08:12 visiting a young, unmarried woman and telling her 08:15 she's going to have a baby. 08:17 Mary then visits her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, 08:20 who's going to be the mother of John the Baptist. 08:23 There's the story of Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, 08:26 weeping before the Lord because she couldn't conceive. 08:29 And then the miracle child Samuel was born. 08:32 There's that great Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah, 08:36 who in their old age became the parents of Isaac. 08:39 Genesis 25:21 says, 08:42 "Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, 08:45 because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, 08:49 and Rebekah his wife conceived." 08:51 Another birth that came as a result 08:53 of God's direct intervention: 08:55 Isaac's son Jacob married Rachel, 08:58 and Genesis 30, verse 1 says, 09:00 "Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, 09:04 Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, 09:07 'Give me children, or else I die!'" 09:10 And she conceived. 09:12 Both Moses and Hosea wrote that Jacob took hold of his brother 09:15 "by the heel in the womb." 09:18 Pregnancy is a huge deal in the Bible. 09:21 The gift of life is precious. 09:24 And that's understood by expecting parents, 09:27 especially expecting mothers. 09:29 But when all that disappears so unexpectedly, 09:33 when something as inexplicable as miscarriage strikes 09:36 from out of nowhere, it can be devastating. 09:41 Almost 20 years ago my wife miscarried what would have been 09:43 our second child, somewhere around eight to 10 weeks. 09:47 It was devastating for her. 09:49 Sad for me, devastating for her. 09:53 And almost two decades later, the pain is just about this far 09:57 beneath the surface when the subject comes up. 10:01 Becky Nordquist knows something of the pain of miscarriage 10:04 and loss. 10:06 I spoke to her about her experience. 10:09 >>Becky Nordquist: We experienced five pregnancy 10:11 losses and one stillbirth, 10:14 after hoping to have a family of our own. 10:19 >>John: A question many people, uh, are wanting an answer to is, 10:22 how do you endure that? 10:24 Just how do you get through that much loss? 10:28 >>Becky: Well, there was a lot of wrestling, 10:30 a lot of questioning God. 10:32 I really was wrestling with my faith, and so was my husband. 10:35 We, we wrestled together. 10:36 We ended up one morning laying in bed, saying, 10:39 "God, are You mad at us? Did You leave us?" 10:42 You know, "Have we left, you know, have we walked out 10:44 from underneath Your hand of blessing? What's going on?" 10:47 Because there was just loss after loss. 10:50 And so you find yourself in those really dark places. 10:53 You find yourself asking questions that you feel 10:55 almost ashamed that you're asking, as a believer, 10:58 but they're crucial to ask. 11:00 They're, they're so important to growing our faith deeper. 11:05 And so, clinging to the truth of God's Word, 11:08 even when your heart doesn't feel it, 11:10 was absolutely the most important thing 11:13 we could have found. 11:14 >>John: And you waited, 11:16 and then you might have had to wait again. 11:18 And now you look back over multiple pregnancy losses, 11:24 and during that time, 11:25 two beautiful, healthy babies were born. 11:27 You look back over that period... 11:32 how, how do you, how do you view it? 11:34 >>Becky: A very bittersweet journey. 11:38 Uh, bitter when I think of things in the terms of 11:43 the tears wept and the empty arms that I experienced, 11:50 the difficult things that people would say, 11:53 that were well-intentioned, but very poor--poorly-worded. 11:57 Um, but sweet, because who God has become for me: 12:04 the God of Becky. 12:06 Not just the God of Moses 12:07 or the God of David or the God of Abraham. 12:10 He became the God of Becky in that dark period, 12:16 and who He is to me today, 12:18 I wouldn't trade that for anything. 12:21 It is a treasure that nothing else in this earth 12:27 could compare to that. 12:29 >>John: Two questions: 12:30 How do women typically deal with this? 12:34 How would you suggest a woman, a family-- 12:38 let's not forget husbands are impacted here as well-- 12:42 how would you suggest families deal with this in a healthy way? 12:45 Firstly, what's typical? Second, what's healthy? 12:49 >>Becky: Hmm. I'm not sure I can speak to what's typical, 12:52 because it is such an individual journey. 12:55 Um, many, many try to go it alone, though. 13:00 There's a lot of people that just don't want to talk about it 13:02 for multiple reasons. 13:03 Everyone has a different reason. 13:05 Sometimes it's just, you know, a little embarrassment. 13:07 We told everyone we're pregnant; now suddenly we're not. 13:09 What do we say now? 13:11 And then it's awkward 13:12 because people don't know how to respond. 13:14 Uh, but I think the most important thing 13:16 is that you do at least find one person to talk with 13:19 and process through it with. 13:22 And certainly, you know, honest struggling with the Lord 13:24 is important. 13:25 ♪[soft piano music]♪ 13:26 >>John: There are some pretty normal responses to miscarriage 13:29 that aren't especially helpful. 13:31 A woman is going to be tempted to blame herself: 13:34 "Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that fast food." 13:37 "Maybe it was the mountain biking." 13:38 "If I'd exercised more..." 13:40 "If I'd drunk more water..." 13:42 No. Except for very rare exceptions, 13:46 it's not the things that you do that ever cause the miscarriage. 13:50 And when something goes wrong, 13:51 we want to find someone to blame. 13:52 "It was my fault." 13:54 No, it wasn't. 13:55 "I failed." 13:57 Oh, no, you didn't fail. 13:58 Pregnancy is a high-risk proposition. 14:01 Consider how many pregnancies end in miscarriage, 14:03 both known and unknown miscarriage, 14:06 and considering all of the things that have to go right 14:09 in order for a child to be born, 14:11 pregnancy as a whole is a high-risk thing. 14:15 >>Dr. Donald Taylor: Genetically, when a baby 14:18 is formed, there's so much information that's being passed 14:22 from sperm to egg. 14:24 Everything that's developing initially has to be just right, 14:29 because it's such a critical foundation for the development 14:32 of that baby, 14:34 that if it doesn't, the baby's not going to survive, 14:36 it's not going to do well, and then a miscarriage occurs. 14:40 >>John: Post-miscarriage, what's important, 14:43 what's healthy for that woman to be able to move forward? 14:47 >>Dr. Taylor: First of all, I think being able to talk 14:49 about it openly, to share her feelings. 14:52 Because every pregnancy carries much more emotions 14:56 than most people realize, even early pregnancies. 15:00 It's easy to conceive a fetal death further along 15:03 into pregnancy and how much grief that would bring, 15:06 but you'd be surprised how much grief the early part of it is. 15:11 >>John: So what advice do you have for husbands? 15:15 >>Dr. Taylor: For Dad, the main thing that I encourage them 15:18 to do is to listen. 15:21 Be close to them. 15:23 Don't draw away from them, because it's easy to do that, 15:26 or try to take over in the sense of, 15:29 "Okay, this is how we're going to fix--" 15:31 because that's what guys like to do; they like to fix things. 15:34 And that's not what she needs. 15:36 She needs that listening ear and that gentle touch from Dad. 15:40 >>John: What do you think are one or two things 15:42 that most people, even most moms, 15:45 don't understand about miscarriage? 15:48 >>Dr. Taylor: The frequency, 15:49 as to how common it is, in our cur--in our local community, 15:53 in our society. 15:55 And then secondly, how they can take care of themselves 15:58 with exercise, with diet, and rest. 16:02 Most don't realize how important that is. 16:05 And those are probably the major factors, 16:08 uh, that we go over with them. 16:10 ♪[soft music]♪ 16:11 >>John: So how do you support a woman who has had a miscarriage? 16:14 Of course, not everybody processes a loss like this 16:17 in exactly the same way. 16:18 But generally speaking, being as a grieving process is going on, 16:23 you do what you do to help someone who is grieving: 16:26 You don't try to fix it. It can't be fixed. 16:29 A loss is a loss, and it cannot be undone. 16:33 You don't try to ignore it. 16:34 It's real. 16:36 What people need is an ear. 16:38 We've looked at the subject of grief before on It Is Written. 16:41 Grief is difficult. 16:42 People process grief in different ways, 16:44 but pretending that what has happened hasn't happened 16:47 or failing to acknowledge a crushing loss 16:50 as just what it is, that's just not helpful. 16:53 Yes, life will get back to normal, as it were, eventually, 16:59 just like it did after your dad died. 17:02 But it takes time, and the sense of loss is always there. 17:08 Look at the grief David expressed for his son Absalom. 17:11 Oh, very different circumstances, 17:14 but David's grief was enormous. 17:16 "Then the king was deeply moved, 17:18 and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. 17:22 And as he went, he said thus: 'O my son Absalom--my son, 17:27 my son Absalom--if only I had died in your place! 17:32 O Absalom my son, my son!'" 17:36 That's 2 Samuel 18:33. 17:39 David lost a child. 17:42 You could say that a lost pregnancy is in some ways 17:45 more cruel because it's the death of hope, 17:49 the death of dreams. 17:51 The unborn are the innocent, 17:53 and the loss of the innocent is tough. 17:58 So, do we see those unborn babies in eternity? 18:03 I'll be back in just a moment. 18:04 ♪[music]♪ 18:13 ♪[upbeat music]♪ 18:15 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future 18:17 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship. 18:20 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer 18:23 free planned giving and estate services. 18:26 For information on how we can help you, 18:28 please call 800-992-2219. 18:33 Call today 18:34 or visit our website: hislegacy.com. 18:37 Call 800-992-2219. 18:43 [train sounds] 18:44 >>John Bradshaw: In 1931, nine boys started out 18:46 from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in search of a new life. 18:50 They made it as far as Scottsboro, Alabama, 18:52 where they were accused of crimes they didn't commit 18:55 and were sentenced to death. 18:57 [gavel strikes block] 18:58 >>Sheila Washington: It was the Jim Crow era. 19:00 If somebody said a black did it, a black didn't have a chance 19:05 of even making it inside of a courtroom 19:08 before he was hung on a tree. 19:10 I don't know how they survived. 19:12 >>John: In separate trials, guilty verdicts were returned, 19:14 even though it was apparent to everyone looking on 19:17 that the defendants were not guilty. 19:20 In that miscarriage of justice the civil rights era was born. 19:25 Join It Is Written on location in Scottsboro, Alabama, 19:28 for "The Scottsboro Nine." 19:31 We'll look into the Bible and see what it says about justice, 19:34 about false accusation, and about finding true freedom. 19:38 "The Scottsboro Nine," 19:39 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 19:44 >>John Bradshaw: As many as a quarter of all known pregnancies 19:46 end in miscarriage. 19:48 The Cambridge Dictionary defines miscarriage as 19:51 "an early, unintentional end to a pregnancy 19:54 when the baby is born too early and dies 19:57 because it has not developed enough." 20:00 So where is God when all of this takes place? 20:03 Well, that's a good question. 20:04 I'm glad that there's a good answer. 20:07 Whether it's miscarriage or infant death or the death 20:10 of a grandparent, God is present when we grieve. 20:14 The presence of bad things 20:15 doesn't mean that God was absent. 20:18 Awful things happen, 20:19 and they happen as a result of sin in the world. 20:22 We were created to live forever. 20:24 There was no sin in the beginning, 20:26 but with the advent of sin there came the advent of death 20:29 and illness and crime and hate. 20:33 Imagine the earth before sin. 20:35 God said that it was good; He then said, "very good." 20:39 But after sin, things began to change. 20:42 Imagine Adam and Eve seeing a leaf die for the first time, 20:47 then an animal die, 20:48 and then seeing a person die. 20:52 This wasn't what God was thinking of 20:54 when He created the world. 20:55 It wasn't what He wished for. 20:58 Our own choices of human beings have brought about the decay, 21:01 the degeneration of the world, 21:03 so that now things happen that we have no control over, 21:06 like cancer, very often, 21:09 accidents. 21:10 You can be the victim of a crime 21:11 through absolutely no fault of your own. 21:14 And tragedies like miscarriage or stillbirth, 21:18 painful things that are beyond your control, 21:21 it's the price we pay for living in a sinful world. 21:25 Tragically, things happen. 21:28 And miscarriage brings with it all kinds of challenges 21:31 that people outside of that world don't always consider. 21:35 What's it like going home from the doctor's office 21:38 when she's told you the news that you didn't want to hear, 21:41 and going back to that, that room you've prepared? 21:46 Having to tell the nice lady at the store that, 21:48 "Actually, I'm not pregnant now, so..."? 21:51 Everywhere you turn there are young mothers pushing strollers, 21:54 pregnant women evidently very excited 21:56 about their rather obvious future. 21:59 And then there's the fear that accompanies your next pregnancy, 22:02 when all you can do is worry that it's going to happen again. 22:06 Now, there are things a person can do, though. 22:08 Read. Read about the subject. 22:11 Get involved in a support group. 22:13 Find friends who will actually be supportive. 22:17 Listen to a good podcast on the subject. 22:19 And trust in God. 22:21 Difficult experiences don't have to mean the end of your faith 22:25 in God. 22:26 God isn't a villain. 22:28 God didn't do this to anyone. 22:31 This is simply life in a world that for thousands of years 22:33 has been wrestling with sin and its effects. 22:36 God is there for you in any crisis, in any trying time. 22:41 Remember those promises in the Bible? 22:43 They'll help you to move forward. 22:45 Now, you don't have to move on, 22:47 but you do want to be able to move forward. 22:50 Matthew 11:28, 22:52 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 22:56 and I will give you rest." 22:59 Isaiah 26:3, 23:01 "You will keep him in perfect peace, 23:02 whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." 23:07 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." 23:09 That's Proverbs 3:5. 23:11 "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 23:15 Matthew 28:20. 23:17 "Be still, and know that I am God." 23:21 Psalm 46:10. 23:23 And Matthew 5, verse 4: 23:24 "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." 23:29 The question many people wrestle with is, 23:32 "Will I see my baby again?" 23:35 Now, that's an important question. 23:38 When an adult dies or a child dies, 23:40 we're given very real promises in the Bible 23:42 about what we have to look forward to. 23:44 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, 16 and 17 says: 23:48 "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven 23:50 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 23:52 and with the trump of God: 23:54 and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 23:57 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up 24:00 together with them in the clouds, 24:01 to meet the Lord in the air: 24:03 and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 24:06 Now, what's that? 24:08 That's the resurrection: "The dead in Christ shall rise." 24:12 That's clear. 24:14 Jesus said much the same in John chapter 5, verses 28 and 29: 24:19 "Marvel not at this: 24:21 for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves 24:24 shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; 24:27 they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; 24:30 and they that have done evil, 24:32 unto the resurrection of damnation." 24:35 Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15: 24:38 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, 24:43 but we shall all be changed, in a moment, 24:45 in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: 24:48 for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 24:51 incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 24:55 The dead shall be raised. 24:58 Did Paul or Jesus distinguish between the dead who died 25:02 in the womb and the dead who died after having been born? 25:08 No. No, they did not. 25:11 ♪[soft music]♪ 25:12 So who will be saved? 25:14 Well, those sinners who repented of their sins 25:17 and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 25:20 But those in the womb have not sinned. 25:23 There's nothing for them to repent of. 25:25 Now, now, careful, does that mean that every unborn child 25:29 has a free pass to everlasting life? 25:31 I don't think it would be wise or even necessary to say that. 25:35 The Bible isn't entirely clear about this, 25:38 which means we should tread carefully and with respect. 25:42 But if you're wondering about the eternal destiny 25:43 of your unborn child, you have every reason to be hopeful, 25:48 every reason to look forward to meeting your baby 25:51 and to raising your child in heaven. 25:55 We've got a lot to look forward to when we get to heaven, 25:57 and meeting those little ones we never knew, 26:01 the innocents that were lost to us, 26:04 that's going to be one of the most special blessings 26:07 God has for us. 26:09 >>John: I want to encourage you to get today's free offer. 26:12 It's my little book called "Coping With Grief." 26:15 If you are trying to deal with grief or you know somebody else 26:18 who is grieving, this little book will be invaluable to you. 26:21 We look at biblical principles for dealing with grief, 26:24 and we'll discover that God is with us in those tough times. 26:28 To get "Coping With Grief," 26:29 visit us online at iiwoffer.com 26:32 or call 800-253-3000, 26:35 800-253-3000. 26:38 Call now. It's free. 26:40 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:42 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 26:45 To support this international life-changing ministry, 26:48 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 26:53 You can send your tax-deductible gift 26:54 to the address on your screen, 26:56 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:59 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 27:02 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 27:06 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 27:11 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now. 27:12 Our Father in heaven, we thank You in the name of Jesus 27:15 that though we live in a world filled with sadness and pain 27:17 and heartbreak and loss, 27:19 that we look forward to a world where there'll be no such thing. 27:23 Right now there are people dealing with the pain of loss 27:25 and grief, and I pray You'd be especially close to them. 27:29 Through their tears, 27:30 help them to see that there is hope in Jesus. 27:33 Through their pain, 27:34 give them the very real promise and assurance that one day, 27:37 no more pain. 27:39 We thank You for Jesus, who died for our sins. 27:41 We thank You for Jesus, who one day will gather us up 27:44 and take us to be with Him forever. 27:45 Let that day come soon, we pray, and we thank You for it, 27:50 in Jesus' name. 27:52 Amen. 27:53 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:54 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:57 Until then, remember: 27:59 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 28:04 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:08 ♪[theme music]♪ |
Revised 2020-03-10