Please help us share God's truths and hope in Christ.

My friend Tad just lost his 19 month battle with pancreatic cancer. In sorrow and sadness, with hope and rejoicing, we remember that he just won the greatest victory of his life.  He’s been crowned with the victor’s wreath having finished his race. He has received the promise that was given him on the day he was born-again. Death has no sting on him.  He is alive.

1 Cor 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

First Corinthians 9:24 is a verse that Tad often referenced in his prayers. “Let us run the race to the end,” he regularly prayed. Those are words of encouragement and motivation for any Christian, as well as words of desire and commitment to love and serve God all the days of our lives.  

Running the Race

Tad was definitely a race-runner.  He ran hard. He ran strong. And he ran long…all the way to the finish line.  Competitive throughout his life, Tad’s greatest battle began in May of 2017 with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.   Tad fought cancer with medical treatment– and with faith, hope, and joy:

  • Faith in Jesus who gave Him life everlasting
  • Hope in Jesus who gave him light in the darkness
  • Joy in Jesus that increased daily as Tad kept his eyes on Jesus and the joy set before him.  

Tad’s faith in Jesus gave him the strength to endure two unsuccessful surgeries and numerous medical procedures, as well as chemotherapy, feeding tubes, sleeplessness, great weight loss, pain, nausea, in-patient hospice stays, and more.  Tad endured the journey, fought the battle, and gained the victory.  While it might seem like he lost his battle with cancer, cancer did not win. Cancer could not steal the life that God gave to Tad. Tad did not die. He simply moved from his earthly home to the Lord’s heavenly home and Tad is more alive today than he ever was here on earth.

Fighting the Battle While Running the Race

As a long-time Bible teacher and a strong evangelizer of the lost, Tad ran the race well for many years before the cancer diagnosis.  As well as he ran, he finished even better.  Cancer did not cause fear (Read the beginning of his journey: Cancer Hope: I Am Not Afraid).  It did not diminish his faith, his hope, or his joy.  In fact, it increased all three and gave him opportunities to share his faith with even more people, and to live with great hope and joy. When diagnosed, Tad turned to Jesus and received strength in his weakness making him able to keep a reasonable work schedule and teach a weekly Bible study almost to the very end.

A Mighty Legacy

God revealed Himself in a mighty way throughout Tad’s battle with cancer.  Doctors predicted impending death several times and when they were proven wrong they were stunned.  Tad, and his Christian doctor, understood that it is God who numbers our days.  While cancer fought to take Tad’s life, God sustained him for more months than any doctor could imagine. It was by God’s will that Tad remained to celebrate another birthday, to spend precious time with family and friends, to share his testimony before a large gathering at church (Read and watch: Facing Terminal Cancer with Hope & Joy), to teach weekly Bible studies, and to see a precious granddaughter born in November.  It was an amazing reminder that God is more powerful than any disease, illness, accident, or circumstance that might try to claim our lives.  Only God determines when our days on earth will come to a close. 

Saying Goodbye

It’s never easy to say goodbye, even when we know it’s not forever, even when it’s “until we meet again.”   My husband and I spent some time with Tad two days before God took him to Heaven.  We all talked about the love of God, the sufficient grace of Jesus, our hope that never fades, and the unimaginable joys of Heaven.  With a smile on his face, Tad proclaimed, “Hallelujah” and “I can hardly wait.”  Tad’s months of living with cancer and fighting the battle were an amazing testimony to God’s faithfulness in the most difficult of times and Tad’s dying was an even greater witness to the strength Jesus gives us all the way to the finish line.

Tad was my friend, my mentor, and most importantly, my brother-in-Christ.  I learned so much from his Bible teachings. His goal was always that we grow in the knowledge of Jesus through studying God’s Word.  God used Tad to prepare me for full-time ministry, and I am forever grateful for the time he gave me to answer my questions, discuss doctrines, and debate difficult texts. Some of my favorite memories are the after-study discussions, in which we dove deeply into the Scriptures to reason about some of the teachings that remain a mystery (eternal things yet unseen, prophecies yet to be fulfilled, etc). 

Promised Hope

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain.
But He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.  

  • Jesus is our strength.
  • He is our comfort.
  • And He is the light and the way to perfect peace.

Tad will be greatly missed by so many. First and foremost by his family, but also his Christian brothers and sisters, his non-believing friends, his business associates, and even just acquaintances who didn’t know him well.  Everyone witnessed the joy in Tad’s life and Tad was always ready to tell from where it came.   Tad also made the most of the talents God gave him. In his professional life he excelled, and in his personal life he gave generously in service to God with his time, talents, and treasures.  Many Christian organizations and charities benefited from Tad’s generosity, including a church that he helped plant, which has grown and thrived over the years. 

Tad’s years of teaching the Bible grew many in faith and in motivation to share God’s love. His generosity contributed to making our city a better place.   He will be missed by so many.  Gone from this earth is a son, a husband, a father, a grandTad, a brother, a cousin, and a friend…but most of all, a child of God who served God by helping grow the Kingdom of God.

A Final Message

All the prayers of healing for Tad have been answered.  While we would have liked it to be on this earth, God has healed Tad of cancer by taking him to Heaven.

If Tad could impart one final message, I think it would be that which he prayed so many times.  “Run the race to the end.”  May each of us run with joy, confidence, and perseverance.  May we run strong to the very end, knowing that when we align our will with God’s will, He is faithful to keep us on course, to provide strength in our weakness, and joy in all things, all the way to the finish line.

Tad is now one of the great “cloud of witnesses” — those who have gone before us.  He leaves a legacy of fighting the good fight, keeping the faith, and winning the race.

Heb 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before usLooking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Praise be to Jesus, the Saviour of our Souls and the Lord of our lives.
And thanks be to God for the hope and joy we have in Jesus, now and forever.
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One of Tad’s many talents was playing the piano.  Listen as he beautifully played “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “As If We Never Say Goodbye.”

Read More

Tad shared the gospel with a hospital technician in Philadelphia during a full body scan and she came to faith in Christ. Read: Cancer Hope: I Am Not Afraid

14 months into the Battle with Cancer

Tad and his oncologist talked about Tad’s battle with pancreatic cancer:  Facing Terminal Cancer with Hope & Joy

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At  Reasons for Hope* Jesus, we are committed to equipping, encouraging, and empowering Christians to know Jesus better, love Him more, and share their faith. We also reach the lost through our Salvation Page. 

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***A Hidden Message in Psalm 23?***  

Hidden in the six verses of Psalm 23 are 11 names for Jesus.  When you subscribe to our newsletter, we’ll send you The Names of God in Psalm 23 PDF that reveals all 11 names and Scripture verses of comfort and hope (link will be sent in your confirmation email).

A Room with a View of Eternity—The Last Will & Testament of Jesus Christ   Take a seat at the Master's table. Learn about the riches He gives to all who are His. This book will bless and encourage you, give you hope, and help you live in the joy of your salvation and the riches of Christ that are yours.

The Top Ten Got Questions? in 2023 

  1. The Meaning of NUMBERS in the Bible?
  2. Was Jesus CRUCIFIED on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday?
  3. How was Jesus Like a Worm? What’s the CRIMSON (OR SCARLET) WORM in Psalm 22?
  4. How are the Shepherd’s ROD and STAFF Different?
  5. How long did JOB SUFFER?
  6. What is the Significance of the Wise Men's THREE GIFTS? And were they kings?
  7. Did The Wise Men Arrive 12 DAYS AFTER JESUS’ BIRTH? Or Was It Much Later?
  8. Jesus’ Last Days TIMELINE: the Cross and the Resurrection
  9. The Meaning of COLORS in the Bible?
  10. Did Jesus Fight Satan to Take Back the KEYS of Death and Hell?

There is much to be learned from those who have gone before us in the faith.  Check out our Cloud of Witnesses category that features the words of departed saints who are now with the Lord in glory.  Their words equip and encourage us even to this day.  Take a few minutes to hear...

  1. ONLY ONE LIFE, Twill Soon Be Past – by C.T. Studd (1860 – 1931)
  2. “The Love of God is Greater Far” by Frederick M. Lehman (1917)
  3. Prayers from Billy Graham
  4. Who Was Robert Robinson? What’s the Story Behind “Come Thou Fount”
  5. “Immanuel” — A Poem by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
  6. Who Am I? A Poem by Deitrich Bonhoeffer (1905-1945)
  7. Understanding the Everlasting Arms of God, by J.R. Miller (1840–1912)
  8. 24 Reasons Why I Love America, by John Wayne (1907-1979)
  9. Give Me Perpetual Broken-heartedness (from The Valley of Vision)
  10. Abide with Me, by James Smith, 1859

This remains one of our most popular pages viewed.

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TOP TEN Videos from Reasons for Hope* Jesus
  1. Memorial Day BAGPIPES TRIBUTE: Amazing Grace 
  2. RISE AND SHINE and Give God the Glory, Glory!
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  5. PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: A SOLDIER'S PLEDGE
  6. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing -- CHARLIE BROWN Christmas
  7. JOHN WAYNE ~ WHY I LOVE AMERICA
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  9. THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE - A Christmas Story to Share 
  10. Not by Might, Not by Power, But BY MY SPIRIT says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6)

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