This morning, I woke up to the news of the death of Dr. Voddie Baucham Jr. I gasped in shock as I read the words that he was gone. Even now as I type these words, my vision is blurred by tears. It may seem a bit dramatic to write that, but it’s the truth. My heart grieves. I feel devastated. Sad. My head hurts. “Uncle Voddie,” as I loved to refer to him, is no longer on this side of eternity. I didn’t know him personally, so it may seem strange to some that I feel this way. But I know I am not alone.

In a text message to me this morning, one of my dear friends wrote, “I know he’s gone to be with the Lord but my heart aches, sis.” Another friend wrote, “This is hard to process.” And so, it goes. These feelings are being echoed by so many. He was deeply instrumental in the journeys of faith of many people I know, and in my own. Especially in those early years when I was figuring out what reformed theology was, what the gospel truly meant, and discovering apologetics. Those were the days when my eyes were being opened to the lies of the prosperity gospel and I was gaining a better understanding of the real gospel. I am grateful for men like him whom the Lord, in his mercy, raised to teach truth with integrity, clarity, conviction, and love.

As I processed the news of Uncle Voddie’s death, I revisited what I remember to be my introduction to him from many years ago: his talk/sermon on ‘Why the Bible is True’ (also called Decoding DaVinci). I replayed it while working out this morning. At the start of the talk, it was surreal to hear him say that he had just preached at his father’s funeral. As he continued, I laughed at his sense of humour and nodded along as I was reminded of the truth of Scripture. It did my soul a lot of good to listen again. I won’t give too much away, but I’ll share the YouTube playlist I created to gather the clips in one place. I recommend it. You will laugh, you might cry too, but you will be encouraged.

I cannot begin to imagine the grief of his dear wife Bridget and their children. I met him and his wife in 2016 at a conference in London where he was speaking. In person, they were humble, kind, and approachable. I can still picture them sitting together behind a table, quietly observing during the lunch break after one of his sessions. My heart goes out to Bridget and the rest of the family. May the Lord be their comfort. My heart aches for them. Lord, help them.

Uncle Voddie is now at rest; what a wonderful thought. His faith has turned to sight. For the rest of us left behind (for now), we are tasked with continuing on in faith and hope. Thankfully, it will not be by our own strength: “The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.” (Psalm 28:7)

The days ahead will be hard as we process this loss. There seem to have been quite a number of deaths of our public figures lately, and beyond them, deaths of other dear fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, who may not have been widely known but are equally mourned. May the Lord draw near.

🙏

“Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.” – John 16:22

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

– 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

– 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

 

Life on this earth truly is like a vapour. We are here one moment and gone the next. I wish I hadn’t seen the close up clip of the shooting of Charlie Kirk. So graphic, so horrifying. I wouldn’t recommend it. But maybe it was good I saw it. A stark reminder that there is evil in this world. Real tangible evil. The demonic glee that I have seen expressed by those rejoicing over his horrific assassination is proof enough.

May God have mercy on America and the world at large. I am confident that justice will be served, either in this world or the next because God is just, and while the darkness might seem to prevail, the end of the story is already written. God wins. Good wins. Evil is defeated. Death is swallowed up. 

“Though the wicked sprout like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are doomed to destruction forever; but the righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” —Psalm 92:7,12

And like my favourite character Samwise from the LOTR film says, “…there’s some good in this world, Mr Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for”. Charlie knew that, and in his own way he fought. There are countless others behind the scenes fighting too.

For now we weep and grieve as we rightly should. There’s been so much loss around me that makes my heart weep for those around me and beyond. And while we weep, we continue to reject evil and cling to the good. We acknowledge the things we don’t understand. How can we? We trust the One who knows it all. We trust in the infinite wisdom and goodness and love of God. We humble ourselves before God. We repent of our rebellion against him. He is merciful to forgive and receive us. 

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” —Proverbs 3:7 

“Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of wicked shall be cut off.” —Psalm 37:27-28

Because who knows what tomorrow may hold. 100% of us will die at some point, and our own reckoning will come – it’s only a matter of when.

Charlie is now resting safely in our Heavenly Father’s bosom. Pray for the comfort of his family and all who grieve along with them. 

Eunice O. 

At work today, I was working on a spreadsheet, trying to find a pattern within some numbers that I knew was there. I had spent almost an hour the day before trying to get to the bottom of it with no avail. So, as I started again today, I asked God for help and within a minute I found the pattern I had been looking for! I know this was God helping me as I don’t believe in mere coincidence. I was so grateful and amazed at how the answer shot out at me.

I paused for a moment and reflected on the many other times I had uttered a quick prayer and God had come to my aid in such specific ways, and I wondered, “How does He do it?” God the Almighty One. Does He fire out a command to an angel who responds with the speed of light to whisper the answer to my ears? Or since God isn’t bound by time, and He would have already known the very thought I would have, so does He have the answer ready? I thought of several other possible scenarios. And on top of that, He is simultaneously responding to millions of others at the same time. And of course, God doesn’t learn anything new since He already knows all things. So, “How?”, I wonder. How does He answer with such precision? I cannot comprehend it, and trying to just make my head hurt.

But then I don’t need to know how He does it. In fact, the mystery of His ways causes me to appreciate His sovereignty even more. I am in awe of Him. Why then do I need to worry about things beyond my control? It seems so foolish for me to worry when faced with the reality of the scope of His might. But He knows my weak, forgetful frame and I am thankful that He patiently reminds me of His goodness and His mercy time and time again.

It is a great priviledge to be intricately known and eternally loved, by a transcendent God.