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Declare it!
Elizabeth Kilby • March 8, 2022
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
Friends,
Just recently I shared a newsletter about my dear friend Deanna and her battle with cancer. Last week I received a call from her husband, Deanna is now with the Lord. My heart breaks, but only for us, because I know she is worshipping in heaven. In fact, I can practically see her before Jesus with tears in her eyes and her hands raised high, singing praise as I often saw her do here, but whole and healthy again.
I have been reading through the messages and memories on Facebook and through text. Repeatedly the message of her love for the Lord, her boldness in faith, and her drive to make Him known rings out! There is no doubt in my mind her life made an impact beyond anything she could have fathomed.
Deanna would want you to know this: You are loved. You are seen by an infinite God right now and He loves YOU. He wants a relationship with you. Without Christ, you are separated from Him by your sin – and we all have sin in us. (She would probably remind you she, too, was a sinner.) But, and her eyes would light up as she told you this, if you believe in your heart Jesus is Lord, and confess with your mouth He was raised from the dead, you will be saved!
Friends, I have no doubt Deanna is in heaven. She believed her only hope was in Jesus Christ and His payment for our sins on the cross. She would tell you she believed He died, was buried, and rose again, conquering death. There would be fist pumps and stories of His goodness, her intensity growing as she knew you were beginning to understand this deep love available for you! Friends, she would pray with you and for you and answer any questions you might come up with. And, if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord, she would throw a party wherever you were.
Goodness, we need more Deannas in this world. As my Grandpa used to say, “it’s not goodbye, just so long for now.”
In Christ,
Aaron and Elizabeth Kilby
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Harvest Youth Ministries (HYM) is an outreach aimed at young people; not a youth group. HYM is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) not-for-profit ministry. All donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
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