Psalm 112:1,7

Psalm 112:1,7.  "Praise the Lord!  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments." "He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord."

I had my appointment today with my oncologist, Dr Parapati.  The CAT scan showed that the tumor on the uriter is still there and has grown slightly from a 1.6 to 2.2 and my tumor level is at 11.  This is elevated from January which was the highest at 8.8.  With chemo this level went down to close to 3. (under 3 is acceptable for anyone) She has decided to wait and repeat the scan in 6 weeks because the tumor is not out of control.  Blood tests have shown that one of the chemo drugs that I had last time is not effective for me, so she will combine the one that did work with another one.  Depending on the next scan, I will start chemo around 2 months from now and will be on a bi-weekly schedule. 

Since I went "out on a limb" with my last blog and said that I believed God has healed me, please not think that I am disappointed about today.  The timing is all his, I am only saying that I believe I have been healed.  Whether that will occur today, tomorrow, or in the future it is all the same to me.  I feel that is is an easy thing to state the obvious after it has happened but I wanted to state a fact before it happens.  Call it trust.  Hope.  Faith.  Endurance.  It does not matter, just the fact that it will happen with his grace.  Nothing has changed about the way I feel.

I can see much to be thankful for; although I have been praying for total healing I have also prayed that the cancer would not spread to other areas, and it has not.  I am thankful that I know that I have cancer, because I can ask for prayer in this specific area, and continued prayer that the cancer does not spread.

Thank you for your prayers!

2 Chronicles 16:12

2 Chronicles 16:12.  ".....Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from the physicians."

Matthew 6:33.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Matthew 6:25.  "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life........Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

Matthew 7:7.  "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be given to you."

Matthew 8:1-3.  "....And behold a leper came to him and said, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."  And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will, be clean."

Matthew 8:13. "And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go, let it be done for you as  you have believed."

Matthew 9:28-29. "When he (Jesus) entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?  They said to him, "Yes, Lord."  Then he touched their eyes, saying "According to your faith be it done to you."  And their eyes were opened."

Matthew 9:20-22.  "And behold, a woman who has suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well."  Jesus turned and seeing her, he said, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well."

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."

Jeremiah 29:11-14.  "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me, and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me.  When you  seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you, declares the Lord...."

God promises that he is with us.  He is willing to answer our prayers but we must do our part.  We must believe and trust that he is able to do what he says.  He has plans for us, for wholeness.  He says, "Let it be done to you as you have believed."  He also has said, "You have not, because you asked not."  He wants us to seek him with all our heart about whatever we need.

As you know, I have been asking for healing and I believe that God heals.  I believe like the Centurion that Jesus only needs to say the word, and I am healed.  I believe that God gives good things to those who ask him.  I believe that he has plans for me.  I believe that he has healed me.

I have a CAT scan on Wednesday and an oncology appointment on Thursday.  I have given all this to him and wait with hope for his answer.

Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

I have been meditating on this verse in which we are to "seek first the kingdom of God".  This may be one of the most important concepts of a Christians walk with the Lord.  We are reminded to love the Lord with all our heart and with all our our soul and with all our might. (Deuteronomy 6:5).  Why?  Because this is a relationship.  It is not "one sided".  God is real, not just a comforting thought.  He loves us more than we can ever imagine.  If our relationship with him only exists to get our prayers answered, then is this really a relationship? The first part of Matthew 6 has God reminding us that life if more important than "things." He knows all that we need, and he wants us to seek his kingdom first.  In doing so, we gain insight into what is important.  If we keep our thoughts on him, then he will add more to our life than we can ever think or imagine.

He has given us all we need to know him in his word..the Bible.  It is easy to read but not understand so this is why we have the invitation in James 1:5 to seek his kingdom. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him."

When I was a new christian, I struggled with understanding the bible, until I read that verse in James.  It was like a light going on in my head.  God knew what I needed before I did.  Wisdom. He says to ask and it will be given.  He will never keep wisdom from anyone who asks.

I am thankful for Matthew 6:33.   This verse puts into perspective my health problems.  God knows my prayers but he wants me to seek him first.....to keep my eyes on him.  He will take care of the rest. That is a promise!

Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5.  "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

We can look at this passage this way:

  We are justified by faith,

  and we have peace with God

  through Jesus Christ.

   We have access by faith

    into grace.

 We rejoice in hope 

    of God's glory.

   We rejoice in our sufferings

    knowing that,

          suffering produces endurance,

               endurance produces character

                    character produces hope.

  Hope does not put us to shame,

  because God's love has been poured into our hearts,

  through the Holy Spirit

  who has been given to us.

The most peaceful, faithful, gracious, joyful and hopeful people I know are the ones who have gone through painful experiences and have come out on the other side to praise God and give him all the glory.  We must try to see life's challenges as the way to deepen our faith through hope in the Lord, not in ourselves.

                                       

Psalm 119:49-50

Psalm 119: 49-50.  "Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life."

David is a perfect example of how we are to seek God.  Many times we are told that we do not have because we do not ask.  Not David.  He asks, he seeks, he knocks (Matthew 7:7-11)  And he keeps on asking until the answer comes.  He knows who to ask because he knows God's law and his precepts.  It has been said of David that he is a man seeking after God's own heart.  What if we  would do the same thing?  What if we kept God's word in our heart and believed ALL of his promises?  Would our lives be different?  God answers this question in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart".  All your heart.  What would that look like?  Many times it is in our desperation that we seek God with all our hearts. Have you ever heard it say that in the worst of times there is good to be found?  Unless you know the Lord, you may not understanding the full meaning of this statement.  In fact, to those who do not know him, it may seem foolish.

David's life was being threatened from those who hated him.  He pleaded with God and asked that he might be saved.  Psalm 119 is the longest psalm in the bible,  and there is desperation in his words.  This is how we pray when we are at the end of ourselves, when we know with no doubting that we are petitioning the only one who can give us help...our Lord.

I do not have the problems of King David, but I understand David's petition .I believe that we are to go to the throne of the living God with our requests and that we are to seek after God's own heart. My trust is in God, who answered the faithful of the old testament and still answers us today.