THE CANCER CONNECTION

Update on my friend with cancer follows. Please pray…

On October 27th, I was diagnosed with mouth cancer; a stage 2 squamous cell carcinoma inside my right cheek. Surgery is scheduled for Monday, November 30 at which time the surgical team will remove the tumor, 5 teeth and a portion of my upper and lower jaw. I am advised to allow at least two weeks before even thinking about resuming any normal ministry activity. So, I will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. For those of you who sent your support check after the 15th, you will be receiving a receipt letter as you normally would but it will not have any personal comments on it. Please know that whether there is a note or not, I am very grateful for your ongoing support of our ministry. It is a blessing beyond belief.

But God, who is rich in mercy has opened some doors of ministry for me since the diagnosis. One opportunity was with a 38 year old male, I’ll call “Z”. When I visited him in the hospital, upon the request of his sister, “Z” told me that had been diagnosed with lymphoma and was facing a chemotherapy treatment plan. As we talked, he broke into tears when he shared with me the possibility that he would never leave the hospital. I grabbed his hand and words of encouragement began to flow from my mouth. He confessed that he had not been in church in over 20 years, that he had lived a hard life as a truck driver and just didn’t know how God could forgive him. I assured him that forgiveness was his in Jesus and if he, by faith, would give Jesus his old life, that Jesus would give him new life in return. A life of supernatural hope, peace and love that he could experience despite his serious prognosis. So, on a Monday morning, just before I went for a CT scan, “Z” gave his life to Christ. Please pray that this confession will take deep root and that “Z” will be drawn into a close, personal relationship with Jesus.

I visited another gentleman in the hospital following surgery to remove a blockage in his small intestine that had caused him a great deal of discomfort. The surgery went well and he was looking forward to going home to his family. He was released from the hospital but later received a pathology report that revealed that he has a very rare form of intestinal cancer. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy with additional surgery on the horizon. I shared my diagnosis with him and all of a sudden, our relationship deepened.   All of a sudden he felt I could understand better. He has always been cordial during our interactions but now he gladly received prayer and has sought my counsel on when and how to share this news with his children, his co-workers and his friends. We talk on a weekly basis
for updates and to encourage each other.

So, here we have an opportunity to experience Romans 8:28 which says: “For we know that God causes all things to work together for good so those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” The Lord is at work. I believe that either He is deepening my faith so I can more effectively minister and/or He is purifying me. Perhaps there is some dross on my heart that inhibits the fullness of the Spirit to work or that keeps me from being an accurate reflection of Christ to those He puts in my path. Whatever the reason, God knows the outcome.

I have told Peggy this and I may have shared it with you and, if so, forgive me for repeating myself. “I don’t know where this road leads but I know Who paved it”.

If you are prompted to pray for me, please pray for Peggy also. We are asking that the Lord use this for His glory and for our strengthening. I would also ask that you pray that the surgery will be adequate and that no radiation treatment will be necessary.

Your partnership with us in ministry is a gigantic encouragement and because of your support, I am able to share the love of Christ in the workpalce with many who have never been to church or have been away from it for a long time. I don’t know how many people have shared with me that, as a result of my encouragement, they are actively visiting churches to find one that they can become involved in. You enable that through your gifts of support. THANK YOU!!! And God bless you.

To Know Him, To Make Him Known,

 

Getting better

Hi Archie

I have been sick for about 3 years….doctors did not put enough thought into me, but thankfully, God did.

God gave me the wisdom to help myself, when doctors just dismissed me as having nothing wrong.

I have had an adverse drug reaction that attacked my nervous system.   I solved this now by going to the right specialist,  and having the Rx changed to a different drug…also something milder.

I also had a kidney infection (past 6 months) that was either denied by doctors or they gave the wrong medicine……I thought I was going to loose my kidney……I solved this in 2 steps….I went to a friend’s lab and used their microscope to identify what was there….then I went home, and happened to find a left over Rx from a tooth infection in my daughters’ drawer that happen to match what I needed.    So God had already provided for me….I just had to go on a treasure hunt in my house to find it.

Trust God, not man

For the first time, I feel better. I told the Lord that if he wanted me to do anything useful, he would have to heal me.     Otherwise, I was going to be pretty limited. So since I am getting better, I guess he has something for me. Wonder what that is.?

Anyhow, I praise God for the little miracles he does in our lives….with patience, the answer will always come.

blessings
Marianne

God Spot Verified

From my friend Faith.  What a great name!

My Thoughts:
Jeremiah 10:6
No one is like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

So…most of you know that this last week was pretty intense for my family. I received the call Friday evening from my parents telling me that my mom had been having chest pains, had been to a cardiologist, and that she would have a heart catheterization (with stints or bypass) on Monday. My entire family rushed to Missouri to be with my mom and dad. My mom was having all the symptoms of a heart attack on Sunday and was taking nitroglycerin. On Monday, the doctor told us that my mom had some anomalies (defects) and 2 clogged and calcified coronary arteries. He told us that he was pretty sure that she was going to have a triple bypass. We rallied, prayed, and hoped for the best.

An hour passed and the doctor came out with a perplexed expression on his face. He said, “She’s fine. Actually she is better than fine. Her arteries have zero plague and no calcification. Being 65, she should have some but she doesn’t. Not only is she plague free, but the abnormalities on the CAT scan just aren’t there anymore. I cannot explain it, and I called 3 other doctors in to look…God must have performed a miracle.”

My mom went home that evening and has had no chest pain or any symptoms. My mom says that all her symptoms went away shortly before they wheeled her into the procedure room and that it was fascinating to watch the doctors freaking out because they didn’t see what they thought they would. They even checked to make sure they had the right CAT scan.

I am praising God because I truly believe He healed my mom…a mighty demonstration of His power. As you pray and listen to God this week, what is God demonstrating to you?

James Harrison T-Shirt – What will you pay?

How much will you pay for an authentic James Harrison Superbowl record breaker T-Shirt?  I think this shirt may have been worn during the Super Bowl game and James made his record breaking touch down.  I think the guy that has this shirt stole it off his back while he was in the shower.

 Or possibly you’d like to bid on Aretha’s hat she recently wore at the Oh’Bama inaugeration.  She says she’s not sure if she is going to let the Smithsonian Institute have it.

 

And if nothing else you could always bid on Michael Swim Phelps’s hooka pipe.  He says he used bad judgement.  Probably thought the pipe was a bad fit for his teeth.

Or possibly my dirty socks. 

I don’t know.  I guess the Super Bowl brings out the best or worst in me.  Sigh…

 

Which item will bring the best price on ebay?

Miraculous healing: true or false?

Guest post by jimthornber.com

Why doesn’t someone get healed? That is an ancient question without an adequate answer. Sometimes God simply has more important things to do in a person’s life than heal their body. For secret reasons only He knows (Deut. 29:29), sometimes the physical healing is set aside so He may work on the person’s spiritual needs. Sometimes He chooses to show His strength through our weaknesses. For whatever reason, it seems Paul had difficulty writing. It may have been his eyesight (Gal. 4:15), or a weakness in his hands that caused him to sign his epistles with large letters (Gal. 6:11). But it seems he was never healed.

For me, the problem with some Pentecostal teaching about healing comes when people say, “Well, if you just had enough faith, God would heal you.” Sometimes faith is not the issue. God may deem something better for us and His glory by not healing our bodies. Furthermore, we can often get so focused on our physical healing that we ignore our spiritual health.

Another problem with some Pentecostal teaching is that ANY sickness is of the devil and we are never supposed to be sick. It you take this line of reasoning to the ultimate end, whenever someone dies then they were not in the will of God. What a bunch of bovine scatology! I had one person tell me that it was not God’s will that a member of our church died of cancer. I wanted to ask her to give me a list of acceptable causes of death so we would know how to pray. You’ll be glad to know I bit my tongue. It bled, but I kept my mouth shut.

I believe that the gift of healing, miracles, tongues, wisdom, faith, etc. are still in effect today. I’ve seen it, experienced it, done it. To say it doesn’t exist and faded out with the Apostles is like saying man didn’t really walk on the moon. However, I do know that God chooses not to heal some people. All I can do then is continue to believe that God knows what He is doing. I continue to trust in His ways that are beyond my understanding.

So there you have it — an answer without an answer. I know it helps and I know it doesn’t. The questions remain, the suffering of your friend remains, but so does the sovereignty of God. I think it takes more faith to believe in God when we don’t get what we pray for than it does when God grants our request. Our children are happy with us and know we love them when we give them what they ask for, but pout and wonder why we don’t love them when we say “no”. WE KNOW our “no” is based on our wisdom and love for them, but they don’t see it that way. One day, when they are parents, they will understand. Likewise, one day when we are face to face it will all make sense. Meanwhile, I choose to believe in His love.

Jim

 jimthornber.com

Christmas brings out the best

I love Christmas.  I love presents.  I love to give presents on Christmas.  Sometimes, it seems Christmas gets a bad rap.  You know how the message goes.  ”We are not giving gifts this Christmas.  We are just going to remember the reason for Christmas and that’s enough.”

Forget about it! What a cheap shot at the reason for Christmas.  Christ was all about giving.  He gave to those He loved.  He was born.  He died. He rose again, giving the biggest gift He had.

The Word says, “It is more blessed to give than receive.”  I’m going to do my part this year.  I am going to shop ’til it hurts with what little cash I have and buy as many gifts as I can.  I like to give .  It’s what I do.

The next time you hear someone say, they are not going to give gifts this year.  FORGET ABOUT IT!  Give and give some more.  It will bless the One who gave it all.

My Favorite African

Email from Janette to her sistors.  Enjoy!

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My TIMO team flew into Loki, Kenya today so I am at an internet cafe. We may be able to check our email once more Thurs. or Fri. so hope to hear from you! I am getting letters about 4 weeks after you’ve sent them–thanks Mary, Martha, and Cathy!

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We had this time in Loki scheduled as a short vacation, but it turns out it is a temporary withdrawal from Sudan. We are all fine, no one is hurt or threatened, but we have had ongoing problems with crimes/theft since even before we came. Sunday was the last straw: we had a flight out on Sunday scheduled (the tribe knew about it) but it was cancelled because the pilot was sick. While we were all at the team house, someone broke through the wall of our hut and stole a bunch of stuff.

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They also broke the lock on my hut but didn’t get in, we think we scared them away on our way home. So my team leader, spoke to the Chief and laid down some conditions as we all toted our five thousand bags and boxes of stuff to the house. He said we were leaving, and unless the past known thieves were caught and punished, as well as the current thieves, we would not come back.

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Another condition was that the chief has to reiterate to the community that we have come first and foremost to learn the language, that we cannot do anything long lasting with the community needs until we learn it, and that the chief needs to communicate we will not build a school or a clinic or anything until that is done, Many people have been complaining about us “not doing anything”  and we are constantly bombarded with requests for soap, salt, tea, and water.

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Other than that, we are doing fairly well learning the language and getting to know the people, even have some we are very friendly with. Life is very physically draining, and having to be mentally processing things almost all day to communicate simple things is draining, not to mention getting used to living here with complete strangers! My hut-mates are really great, and we are still working out our chore schedule and trying to find a sort of household “rhythm.”

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The terrain is breathtaking: we are surrounded by layers upon layers of mountains, and a cool breeze is always blowing. I will be able to get internet for the next couple of days, which is very unusual, and snail mail is really the best way for us to keep in touch. Our internet connection in Sudan is very bad and unpredictable. I am sending Christmas cards today so you’ll get more on my daily living/life especially if you share with each other.

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Please do not stop praying for me and my whole team every day–we really need it. The spiritual oppression here is palpable, the people are lawless, and God wants so badly to show them who He is. Also pray for our physical strength, for quick language acquisition, and for continued team unity. I would even go so far as to say to get a group  together  to fast and pray for us.

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This is a very difficult time for us all, and we all want very badly to stay in the village, but must face the reality that it will not work out. We want the community to give a clear indication through the chief that they really want us there, that it is not just the chief and the state commissioner.

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I love you all and am praying for each of you! Despite what I have just written, I am in great spirits–just had a strawberry milkshake! And the Lord has given me a supernatural peace. Please do not worry about me but PRAY instead, and know that I know that God is in control and He will protect me.

 

Every breath, every step, every move in Him,

Janino

In His Presence

“At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.”

Yesterday, I had an incredibly strong feeling of God’s presence. It was as if everything was right in my world and God had me in His arms. I know you can’t live or rely on feelings, because there have been times when I wondered if God even existed. But yesterday, God allowed me to experience His presence in a feeling.

When the feeling is gone, I know God will still be there. But for the moment, I can be thankful that God allowed me to know His presence even for a short time in a feeling.

Think on this: “the world is peripheral to the church”. If we are the center of the universe as the body of Christ and the world is peripheral to us, it follows that the world must see Jesus through us.  It is an incredible responsibility we have as Christians.   “In the feeling” and “out of the feeling” we must be the light shining in the darkness of the world.  It’s His presence that makes this possible.

I’m Feeling My Age

I was thanking God for all the help He provided me this week at Grace Point Church in preparation for Easter. More than 60 people helped me in some way this week to prepare for this celebration. This got me thinking, what did I do this last week? Let me share a partial list:

• Shoveled gravel
• Shoveled asphault
• Repaired toilets
• Shampooed carpets
• Pulled ball moss
• Bagged ball moss
• Hauled garbage
• Dug up and replanted plants
• Watered plants
• Planted new flowers
• Worked on sprinkler system
• Set chairs for worship
• Ordered cleaning supplies
• Tore down play scape
• Demolished playground
• Scraped pea gravel
• Piled pea gravel for haul
• Washed cellphone in washing machine
• Moved sod to new area
• Unstopped toilets
• Removed stains on carpets
• Changed out ceiling tiles
• Made arrangements for a scissor lift
• Hauled off play scape
• Played with grand kids
• And kept Cori the main thing……

God is good! Not bad for an old man…..

The Great Bible Read

Recently, I did a speed read of the New Testament from the Message version.  It took about 30 days and it was a tremendous adventure.  I read it like the top best selling book it is.  Much like a novel or story book.  I couldn’t believe what happened.  I fell in love with the scripture.  I have read it all my life or at least since I first learned to read.  This is the first time I really didn’t want to put the book down.  Go figger.  If you have the same feelings, you understand.  If you don’t, well I didn’t either for 54 years.  What did pastor Jeff say, ‘Stuck on dumb’?

I had so much fun with the new testament, I have started a speed read of the entire Bible.  I have challenged myself to read the Bible in 60 days.  Now if this were a regular novel, that would be no problem.  But, when you are reading the Bible you tend to get distracted by the Spirit of the text.  Right?  Anyway, I am making a run at it.  We will see what happens.

My friend John, volunteered to run the race with me.  As it turns out, he is leading the Big Read.  I just started Joshua and he is in Ruth.   Maybe you would like to jump in.  You can follow random thoughts about the read at http://readtheword.wordpress.com/ .  Or better yet, why not jump in with us.  Post your comments as we run the race.