Psalm 116:15 "Precious." on this week's Word of Grace Devotion with Pastor Joe Marquez.

​The Word of Grace Devotion for the Week of October 24, 2016
Precious
Psalm 116:15- “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”
Beloved, yesterday afternoon I received the news that one of my precious friends, Louie Delgado, went home to be with the Lord after a raging battle against cancer. For many, Louie was a great friend. For others he was their Son, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor. He loved many and many loved him. Our hearts are broken and tears roll down our faces as we come to terms with the loss of Louie. We certainly uphold in our prayers Yolie, Mindy, Daniel, Brandon, Amy, Preston, Sean, Louie’s parents and sister and many other family members. We love them and we will stand by them during this difficult time. They are family.
I have many precious memories with Louie. One of them, when the Delgados lived in Live Oak, had Louie and I playing basketball against Daniel and Jenner Garcia. The game was tight but Louie and I were holding on to a slim lead about to claim the victory when Louie heard a pop and fell down to the ground. He thought Daniel had kicked him but in fact Louie’s Achilles tendon had tore and separated from his ankle. We didn’t know what happened and sensing the game was at hand I told Louie to “keep it warm” and lets finish the game. He did and we got the “W.” Marcus Welby MD I am not and a couple of weeks later Louie found out just in time that in fact he had tore his Achilles tendon. Thankfully, he got it repaired!
Why do I tell this story? Because it reminds me so much of who Louie was. He did not love sports. He would rather play his guitar and worship the Lord, (and we loved to hear him do so!), but he knew that his son and one of his best friends loved to play some BBall and so he played. Louie was selfless and always giving of his time, talent and treasure. His many friends and family can attest to his love of others and His love of the Lord.
Why did Louie love much? Because he knew had been forgiven much. He loved His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that love spilled over into the lives of countless others. Luke 7:47 says, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
So today I, we grieve over the loss of our dear brother Louie. We will continue to pray for Yolie and all the family and continue to support them in any way possible. Though we grieve we do not grieve without hope as 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” We can grieve with hope because we know where Louie is and where one day we will be.
I can only imagine how precious it is for Louie to be in heaven with His Lord and Savior and to have heard those words: “Well done my good and faithful servant!” Louie is certainly in good hands. As Pastor Chuck has said, “He is more alive today that he has ever been!” Thanks you Jesus!
As for us, I have a couple of words of encouragement: “keep it warm.” Knowing Louie he would say the same thing: “keep it warm.” Yes, the Achilles tendon of your heart has been torn in two by the loss of Louie and yes you just want to cry and beg for God to return him here but Louie is with the Lord and “precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”
So while our hearts are broken, we have to “keep it warm” and finish this “game” we call life. There are folks who need to be ministered to and loved, people who desperately need the love of Jesus that are in danger of losing their eternal life. So with broken hearts we need to keep loving, giving, and serving others for the glory of God. We must keep going and finish strong just like our beloved Louie did. We too want to hear those words found in Matthew 25:23, “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
Beloved: I love you and I will be praying for you!
Yolie and family: Sheila and I love you!
Louie: I love you and I will see you soon enough! Save me a seat at the banquet table. It’s all Lu Ann platter up there!
 
In Him,
Pastor Joe