“for the Lamb who is in
the midst of the throne will shepherd them and
lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every
tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.
There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then he
who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”” Revelation
7:17; 21:4-5
Dear friends,
On April 20, 2007 my mama passed on to be with Jesus. This will
be the first time this anniversary falls on Easter. I am especially mindful of her
as Sunday approaches. She and my dad loved each other in 53 years of faithful
Christian marriage. They introduced me to Jesus. She mercifully cared for many
as a registered nurse. She never lost faith in her Jesus even though life often
brought her much physical pain. She read to me, played basketball with me,
kissed my owies, listened to me pour out my heart about whatever pleased or
pained me, gave me wise counsel, and deeply loved my wife and children. Above
all she prayed for me every day of my life. I believe she still does.
It’s hard for me to believe it has already been seven years
since she passed. It’s not hard for me to believe she is with Jesus in heaven,
because she loved Him on earth. He promises all who follow Him in this life will
be with Him in the next. I wanted more time on earth with Mom, who was only 73
when she passed. But I am truly comforted by the Holy Spirit because of three
main things: I know her tears and pain are over; I will see her again; and we
will worship the Lamb forever.
I remember the Easters of my childhood. After we got up and
found our Easter baskets of goodies we would go to church and then to grandma’s
for children’s egg hunt and a huge extended family dinner. Before church Dad
would take photos and movie film of mom, me, and my brother posing in our suits. Occasionally we behaved,
many times she would have to tell us to knock it off and stand still! During
worship, my brother and me sat between my mom and dad. I still remember how
moved my Dad was by the choir singing his favorite “Jerusalem:The Holy City.”
Mom’s eyes teary because his were. My favorite part of Easter was singing the
great Easter hymns with my parents in the midst of the great congregation. It was
my first glimpse of what heaven must be like. Dad’s favorite hymn was “Christ
the Lord is Risen Today!” Mom’s was “Low in the Grave He Lay.”
So if you are local, maybe you want to join Kim and I for either
of our Come Rest Celebrations this Sunday. We will sing my parents’ favorite
hymns and meditate upon John 20 and Luke 24, ask the Holy Spirit to lead us,
and give testimonies of our Risen Lord. But whether you are our local or global
friend, the Risen Jesus is with you right now. He died once for all to destroy
sin and death for you. He was raised from the dead and will never die again, so
that all who trust Him will find living fountains of His presence in this life;
and in the next life--no more tears, no more death. Even now, as you read this,
behold He is doing a new thing!
Here is the first verse of my mama’s favorite Easter Hymn.
Thanks Mama. Praise you Jesus! See you soon!
Low in
the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior
Waiting
the coming day, Jesus my Lord.
Up from
the grave He arose
With a
might triumph oer’ His foes
He arose
a victor from the dark domain
And He
lives forever with His saints to reign
He arose!
He arose! Hallelujah! Christ Arose!
He is risen, indeed!
Dick Speight
**********************
COME REST
MINISTRIES’
EASTER
MORNING CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, APRIL 18th 845-10AM
Room A-B
@ River of Life, Cedar Rapids
Open to non-class
members.
Hymns, John
20, Testimonies, Prayer, Refreshments
**************************************
COME REST
MINISTRIES’
EASTER
EVENING ISAIAH 58 CELEBRATION
SUNDAY, APRIL 18th 7pm-9pm
Rehoboth,
2125 Bever Ave. SE Cedar Rapids
Hymns, Luke
24, Testimonies, Prayer, Refreshments
Weekend Events
Saturday April 19th 2-4pm Speights assisting at Congolese Refugee
Wedding at Greater Word of Faith Church, Cedar Rapids.
Sunday
April 20th 845am Come Rest Easter Celebration open to
non-class members in Room AB at River of Life
6pm COVENANT
GROUPS CANCELLED this Sunday only. Will resume next Sunday the 27th.
7pm I58
Easter Celebration at Rehoboth (Speights’ home)
****************************************************
Come Rest Ministries April Response Form
___My
prayer request is_______________________________________________________
___Yes,
Lord! I will pray for CRM and for Dick Speight as he writes the new vision
document.
___Yes,
Lord! I will financially support CRM. Today’s gift $________ My
monthly pledge for $_______
___Yes, I want Real Fruit at new 2014 pricing!
___Please ship! ___I’m local and will call ahead for
pick-up at Speights!
___1 for $18(plus $4 ship)
___2
for $30 (plus $5 ship)
___5 for $70 (plus $8 ship)
___10
for $130 (plus $13 ship)
Please
have Richard Speight autograph a copy for the following person(s)
___________________________________________________________________________________
___Please
ship ___ copie(s) “Come Rest” ($16+$4 ship; each additional copy
add $1 ship.)
Please
have Richard Speight autograph a copy for the following person(s)
___________________________________________________________________________________
Name_______________________________________________________________________________
Address______________________________________________________________________________
Email_______________________________________________Phone___________________________
****************************************************
We
deeply appreciate your prayers and offerings to the Lord for Come Rest
Ministries!
We
give thanks for those who recently responded to our appeal due to low finances.
We
still need an increased level of regular giving for this mission. Please ask
the Lord what
He
wants you to do. Another great way to support and spread this mission
is
to buy more of our books and seed them into others’ lives.
Thank
you so much.
Dick
and Kim Speight
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