Hebrews 11:1 and 6

Hebrews 11:1 and 6. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.......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."

I use the English Standard Version of the Bible now and the above verse came from that translation, but one of my favorites is the Ryrie Study Bible which is the New America Standard. I love it because of the notes that explains the verses. The note on this verse says, "Faith gives reality and proof of things unseen, treating them as if they were already objects of sight rather than of hope." Faith sees before reality confirms. The only way to get to that assurance is to believe that God rewards those who trust in him. The reality is that man may think faith is foolish but God thinks it is precious, he knows that his children know the truth. But don't forget, so does Satan. He knows the truth and will do everything in his power to use deception and lies to attack our faith. Our shield to his lies is to take up the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-17. We must pray daily for this protection.

I was reminded recently of praying daily for myself in Ephesians 6. What a difference it makes! Verse 16 says: "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." The truth is that in the battle of life, I am not alone, because verse 1 says: "..be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."

We hear that cancer is a battle. Could it be that our battle could be defined in Ephesians 6? Verse 11-12: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

I remember many times that Pastor Darryl said Christians do not take Ephesians 6 seriously. He said that Satan attacks in two ways, either through affliction or deception. The book of Job is all about affliction, and too many Christians are deceived that our Lord could not love us because of our sins.

I have been afflicted through my health, and I believe that my God will deliver me just as he did for Job.

I need your prayers. My stints are not draining. I still have the catheter in my kidney. I had stint replacement two weeks ago and I will again have it done this coming Thursday Aug 12. Dr Humphreys does not know why my stints are not working. He believes they could be kinking once inserted and he is planning on trying another type. He has ordered different styles and will try combinations until he gets the results he wants. Pray for his wisdom during surgery.

I have not seen my oncologist, Dr Parapatti since my last chemo treatment. She wanted to wait until the kidney situation was solved, so I do not have an update.

My prayer has been and continues to be that she will say to me... "Gwen...it is gone. We do not know why, but you are clear." But I will know why and so will you.

Please continue to pray....I don't like the word battle...but that is exactly what it is.