Friday, August 29, 2008

Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6.  "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Hebrews 11 goes on to say that by faith Noah built an ark when warned by God concerning events yet to come (the flood).  By faith, Abraham obeyed God as he was called from his homeland to go to the land of promise for an inheritance that included a son born to himself and his wife Sarah when they were well past the age of having children. On and on the verse speaks of the faith of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David... and many more. Verse 33-34.."who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."

I wonder if today you or I would have the honor of being on that list? No one is exempt from a life of uncertainty or heartache. When troubles come do we depend on ourselves for the answer or just hope the situation gets better? I would love to say that I always know what to do, but in truth, I do not.....but I know who does. I know where my faith lies and it is best summed up in the book of Joshua in verse 24:14-15, "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness...choose this day whom you will serve....but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

My life is full of the unknown but I trust the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to guide me along the narrow path to righteousness.  Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and every sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith." 




Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Romans 8:24-25

Romans 8:24-25.  "....now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."

The word "hope" for a Christian translates into the word "faith."  We hope for what we do not see.  In this hope, our faith is not in ourselves but in the one who loves us more than we can ever imagine.  This type of hope never fails because it is based on the character of our Lord.  He is the perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:2 says,  "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."  The right hand of the throne of God is the most honored place and this is where Jesus is seated.  Our faith is centered in Jesus and thus our hope is grounded in His love.  

For this reason, my hope for myself is centered on the person and character of Jesus.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Hebrews 11:3

Hebrews 11:3.  "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that were visible."

Have you ever read Hebrews 11?  If it has been a while, read it for encouragement.  I realized last night why I love the old testament.  It is based on faith.  Faith is defined in the beginning of Hebrews 11.  "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Jesus remarked on faith may times, to the centurion he said that he had not seen such faith in all of Israel, but to his own disciples he made a remark "oh you of little faith".  Faith is the cornerstone of understanding God's wisdom and power.  Jesus said in Matthew 17:20   "...for truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

"Nothing will be impossible for you."  Nothing.  For me, cancer is not impossible and I do not fear it as being impossible, but the fact is... it is a mountain. To pray for healing is not just wishful thinking.  God created the universe out of what was not seen and in this very fact, we know that we do not have to see something to know it exists. 

Thank you Lord for healing me.  

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Luke 7:2-10

Luke 7:2-10,   "Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him.  When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant....and Jesus went with them.  When he was not far from the house , the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof......but say the word, and let my servant be healed.....When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him said, "I tell you, not even in Israel  have I found such faith."  And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well."

There were may times in the new testament when Jesus healed the sick, he never passed by anyone who asked for his hand to heal, and in this story he responded by going to the house of the centurion.  He did not go all the way because the centurion said, through friends, that Jesus needed only to say the words and he knew his servant would be healed.  Jesus responded by immediately healing the servant.  This is the same Jesus that loves to heal us today.  When we ask, do we really believe?  We please him when we trust, by faith, that he will do good for us.

I had my oncology appointment with Dr. Parapati today.  It went well.  She said that the news about the surgery was not good because they  had hoped the surgery would bring me healing.  Since the cancer has spread she said that it cannot be cured but more chemo can hopefully keep in in control.  At least that is what they are thinking now.  I will not start chemo right away because I need time to heal from surgery as well as they want to see what will happen.  This approach concerned me because my thoughts were why not start chemo and not wait until it grows more.  From their viewpoint, chemo should be reserved for when it is necessary so that I do not build up any immunity to drugs that work for me now.  So, we wait another 6 to 8 weeks and repeat the CAT scan and go from there.

I feel good about this visit.  I am also regaining strength each day as well as having regained my faith that God has all this in control.  I feel your prayers and I want you to know how much this means to me.  The reason I chose the verse about faith in healing is that I feel the strength of the Lord in me and I trust him to heal me.  I am praying that the CAT scan will show no cancer in the weeks to come.  Again and again, I am reminded that God performs miracles.  I choose to believe that God's hand has/will touch me and heal me and this is why I tell him daily...."Lord, thank you for healing me."

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Ephesians 3:14-21

Ephesians 3:14-21.  "for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ my dwell in your hearts through faith-that you, being rooted and grounded in love, my have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
(And now comes the benediction) Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

My bible has titled the above verses PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH.  Paul is writing this letter to the Ephesians as he himself is going through one of his many trials.  Paul always gives God all the glory, knowing the grace that was extended to him from above. He is telling those who belong to Christ that we have God's strength inside us in the form of the Holy Spirit, and that this power will strengthen our Spirit so that we can comprehend the full depth of Gods love for us. I love the benediction.  I can imagine Paul talking to the early Christians, extending a blessing as he holds his hand out over the people, and praying over them, as God surely does today, reminding us that He is able to do far more abundantly than anything we can ask or think, according to the power that lives within us. I love the ending...in Christ Jesus throughout all generations....forever and ever.  Amen.  No commas.  This is done. Period.  Forever and ever.

I have avoided writing in my blog this week, because I have had a few things to think through. It has been tough to face a situation that I thought was almost over and to find out it did not go as planned.  At least not planned by me. Guess I like to be in control more that I realized.  I know that I have given God all the glory, but I don't think I have given him my life.  I realize that I have been trying to hold on tight to something that is not mine in the first place. My life belongs to my Saviour who gave his life for mine.  That is what the cross is all about and this is the quiet voice of reminder that I have been listening to all week.  

I have been talking to friends and being reassured that I have not been unfaithful.  This is the last thing that I would want to happen.  I am not saying that I feel God is requiring my life in the near future but that I want to be ready when He does.  

It is amazing the prayer support that I have.  Thank you one and all.  May God richly bless you for your prayers and petitions.