I would like to begin with a story I recently heard about Jesse as my brother, John, remembers it:

I will never forget Jesse Masterpool. I remember a couple years ago we were at the World Mini. Jesse and his brother, Jake, got their hands on a bunch of Final Lap stickers (an amateur motocross magazine). They came up with this way of flicking them pretty far and getting them to sick on people. Jesse and Jake really got a kick of secretly getting them to stick on peoples' backs. As the boys are doing this, Harold Martin walks by; Harold is the editor of Playground Magazine (a competitor of Final Lap Magazine). What is the first thing Jesse and Jake do? They let Harold walk by and they light him up, littering his back with the infamous FL stickers! I am sure at the time Harold wouldn’t have found it very funny, but it was good clean fun and we all had a great laugh!

What a great picture of the fun and silly side of Jesse. Jesse was, without a doubt, a hard working kid, but he also had a great sense of humor and a smile that would just simply light up a room. We are all going to miss you so much MasterP! You were only here a short 14 years, but you have touched a whole community. We love you, we miss you, and we will always remember you!

Times like these always force us to reflect and even often ask questions: it makes us think about our own families; it may cause us to take that extra moment to appreciate our own loved ones; it may cause us to ask, God why? I am sure many are hurt, many are confused, and many of us are left with a pain and hurt deep inside with no sense of if life will ever be the same. We miss Jesse and our hearts ache for the Masterpool family. During the last week I have been struggling with many of these same thoughts and emotions. Then I was reminded of a sermon that my Pastor once shared. I would like to share it with you. It is called Three Worlds:

There are three worlds: the world that was, the world that is, and the world what is to come.

In this first world everything is perfect: perfect love, perfect relationships, perfect health, perfect thoughts, and perfect friends. There is no such thing as death, suffering, pain, confusion, or heartbreak. In this world, parents do not bury their children and friends never have to say good-bye.

This first world was created by God and He made it the way things are supposed to be! God dwelled there with people in a perfect relationship. There was life to the fullest. Stop and think, can you imagine such a world?

… this is the world the Bible describes in Genesis 1-2

This brings us to the second world, a world in rebellion with God, a world influenced by sin. Sin has entered every part of this world and every part of life. Stop and think … the most perfect love you ever experienced--was it not still tainted by insecurity? Conversations with your best friend, are they not tainted with miscommunication? Parents love you and you love them, yet is it not even tainted with misunderstanding and fights? Everything has been tainted with sin. Sin tainted life to the core when it brought death.

You and I were not made for death; we were not made for the grave. Parents were not made to bury their children, and friends weren’t made to suffer the pain losing those they love. We were created to live eternally with God and to enjoy and delight in him forever. So when someone dies, there is a sparked memory in our soul that says, "This is not right!"
… and this is not right! Death is foreign to us, we were not created for death. Jesse was not created for death. We were all created and designed for life! Something is desperately wrong and broken here in this world.

The Bible says it best in the book of Revelation (Rev. 21:3-5). Try to imagine this world, the third world: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’"

Wow, it is almost too good to be true, but it is true. In this third world, we have a restoration in relationship with God. There is no more consequence of sin: no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. Jesus is making all things new!

This is the world that is to come. The world that Jesus promises his followers, the world Jesse went home to. Something within us tells us that Jesse passing away is wrong. That is because we were not created for this world. We were created for this third world; we were created to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven where Jesse is now. Sin and death are part of the world we are currently in. Physical death will always be a part of life on earth. We are not able to make this right on our own so God took the initiative and made it right for us …

God the father sent God the Son to pay the penalty for our sin by shedding His blood and dying on the cross. Jesus was perfect and without sin, so his payment was final, complete, and perfect. When a you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to forgive them for their sin, God forgives you and you inherit eternal life with God, this third world, heaven.

Jesse made his choice and he chose Jesus. I am praying you will also make that choice and accept the gift God has given freely. If you are ready to lay down your own life and ask Jesus into your life, I invite you to say this prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry for my sin. I thank you for dying on the cross for me; I turn from my sin and I turn toward you right now. Forgive me for all of it. Fill me with your power. Help me to love you and hate sin from this time forward. Thank you for your forgiveness and reconciliation. I gladly accept it now. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch by emailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or calling 626-991-1877. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

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