My good friend Clyde, who has fought a valiant battle with leukemia over the past two years won the final victory this morning as he died to this life and joined all the saints who have gone before us to be with Jesus. I am reminded immediately of the Apostle Paul's encouragment to the Christians at Thessalonica when he said, "We do not grieve as the rest of men who have no hope." He didn't say we don't grieve. He said our grief is different from those who have no hope. I am deeply saddened by Clyde's passing. No one wanted to see the construction of our mission outpost at 127 Knoch Road more than Clyde. He was constantly encouraging me and challenging me to move the congregation forward with it. Clyde's love for Jesus erupted like a volcano through the process of disease that he has gone through these past two years. His faith and constant reliance on Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit through each up and down (and there were dozens of them!) was an inspiration to all of us who visited him at home or Shadyside Hospital were he lived many of his days since 2007. On Thursday when I have the honor of officiating at Clyde's funeral, it will be one of the easiest and hardest tasks to undertake. It will be easy because if I have ever been able to proclaim that a man belonged to Jesus, Clyde did! It wil be hard, because even though he was ready to go, and his body had been overcome by the disease, I will miss him a great deal. Clyde is one of the surest testimonies of God's grace I have known. By his own admission, he took many wrong turns along the way before letting Jesus be His Way. If anyone ever knew the meaning of grace, Clyde knew. And now he knows the fullness of that grace and the joy of being welcomed with his "Well done good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your Master's kingdom." We DON'T grieve as the rest of the world, who have no hope, but we do grieve, and in our grief we proclaim: Thanks be to God who gives us the victory, through Christ Jesus our Lord!


















