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Clarity!

November 6, 2023 by areliablefaith

Thus far I have experienced many more positives from a cancer diagnosis than negatives.  I am feeling fine… okay at 63 I am feeling fine for being 63, but I have no real complaints.  The rallying of family and friends has been inspiring.  The peace which I know to be from the LORD even as we sit in this “bad news, but how bad” phase is simply amazing.  I am experiencing the “peace that passes understanding” that the apostle Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7 and it is wonderful.  But this morning I want to dwell on an aspect of blessing that is perhaps the most edifying, and that is clarity.

Today I am seeing and understanding my life’s purpose in high definition.  The LORD wants me to live in such deep friendship with Him that the joy, peace, and love that He has for me (and for you) spills over.  God has called me to love with His love.  The time I have left, whether it be 3 months or 30 years, is to be spent immersed in this experience of loving God with all my heart, soul, and strength and loving my neighbor as myself.

This past summer as I was sweating it out at the beach lugging way too much stuff from the beach back to our condo, I was pretty uncomfortable.  To battle my discomfort (and maybe a little frustration from lugging too much stuff) I was focusing upon ”reflecting” God’s love.  The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “I want you to radiate my love.”  What?  Not reflect?  As I let that sink in, I realized I was trying to put on a smile.  I was trying to think kinder thoughts even in the midst of frustration.  I was thinking about “doing” the right things to be nice even though I felt anything but nice. 

As I examined the difference between reflecting and radiating I realized in my instance it was the difference between doing and being.  If we consider the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), we get a picture of doing and being.  Martha was busy doing all the things necessary for everyone to be fed and cared for in her home as Jesus was teaching.  Mary was busy sitting at Jesus’ feet listening and learning.  She put the priority on being in Jesus’ presence before doing other things.

Now this is not an indictment of Martha, but it is making the distinction in priorities.  When my life’s priority is to draw close to Jesus, then the remainder of my life falls into place.  This is a daily thing.  This is a moment-by-moment thing.  As I spend focused time on Jesus, the Holy Spirit works this on-going transformation in me that brings about those characteristics that God has purposed for me.  I don’t have to work up the smile.  It just comes without effort.  I don’t have to work so hard to ignore the rude person, but kindness seeps to the surface of my thoughts.  I don’t have to try to be loving.  Love radiates out of me.

These outward manifestations come supernaturally, naturally.  God’s inner working in my soul is making changes in me such that the Holy Spirit has ever increasing sway on how I think and act.  It is less of God’s goodness shining on me and bouncing off and more of God’s goodness doing something miraculous in me that causes His goodness to radiate out of me. 

As I sit on this plane heading across the country, I think back to the mature believers who demonstrated this in my life.  I think of Sandy and Steve, a couple with three young children who took a 23-year-old new believer under their wings and nurtured him.  I think of Larry who encouraged me to go to this retreat and prayed for me to experience God in a deeper way.  I surrendered my life completely to Jesus that weekend.  There are John and Angelique who discipled me in the school of prayer for years as we met in the Prayer Tower in our small town in Tennessee.  I think of my beloved Lisa who put up with (and still puts up with) the person in the process of becoming who God created me to be.  These people and so many more demonstrated God’s love and care in marvelous ways.  And there is my faith community of today – dozens of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ who, like me, are in the process of becoming all God has created them to be.

I hope you will join me in this journey.  I believe in God’s sovereignty; therefore, He knows about this cancer battle and has allowed it for His good purpose.  That first wakeful night I felt the Lord give me a few “To Do’s”.  One was to journal this journey in a totally transparent manner and share it with others.  It is my earnest prayer that God meets you where you are and provides exactly what you need – whether it be encouragement, guidance, or perhaps even the first step in your journey of discovery with Him.

Until next time, be blessed my friend and be a blessing!

Posted in Spiritual Growth, Trials | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Out of the Comfort Zone

December 9, 2023 by areliablefaith

In 2019 I traveled to Kenya to support some friends who were serving in an orphanage and Christian school in Nairobi.  It was an awesome trip, and I was greatly encouraged by the Davis family’s faithfulness in serving the Lord and the dozens of young people under their charge.  I told a friend afterwards that the trip was amazing, but somehow that word really wasn’t sufficient.  My wife and I travel for leisure a fair amount and seeing new places, experiencing new cultures, and making new friends is not a new experience for me.  My common response is that a trip is “amazing”.  This was so much more than that.  It was inspiring.  It was hard work.  It was uplifting talking to LJ and Danee about the work.  It was wonderful to hear from the Lord frequently and be able to obey with the encouragement and activity that He directed.  It weighed on my heart to see the poverty, filth, and lack of opportunity that is so much more prevalent than in the USA (or any of the places we travel to for fun).  But as heavy as that was, the light of God’s goodness in the work being carried out stood out in stark, yet highly desirable contrast.  There are many lessons that I have taken from the trip.  Some were fully formed while I was there.  Some are still being processed.  The following are my keys take-aways.

Maturing in faith and becoming a seasoned Christian will always include steps out of our comfort zone. 

Growth as a believer is an on-going series of steps that progressively move us from a place of comfort and ease into new territory that will often be a little scary and uncomfortable.  But it is in stepping into the new that we learn to trust in Jesus’s presence and provision more than our own abilities and strength.  I used to think that the word comfort meant ease and leisure.  The actual root of the term comfort means “with strength”.  Com = with, fort comes from the same root as fortress or fortification – a place of strength.  When we are comforted, we are given strength to endure whatever difficulty, trial, or challenge we are encountering.  Being comforted is a good thing.  Being comfortable is in itself not a bad thing.  However, there are times when the good can become an enemy of the best.  And God wants the best for His children.

The path to intimacy with God isn’t always comfortable.

So, what is the problem with being comfortable and why does God want us to move out of our comfort zone?  The issue is not that God is a killjoy.  Joy, comfort, and peace are great gifts He provides.  But these are by-products not the end product.  The goal is a deepening relationship with Him and a greater intimacy with the lover of our soul.  It is God’s desire that each one of us grow to know Him so well that we live in constant communion with Him.  Prayer without ceasing is more than a pious platitude, it is an accurate description of the life God wants to lead us into.  Which is where our personal comfort zone can become a hindrance rather than a good thing.

The Creator of the universe is without limits.  His love is truly beyond our comprehension, but He wants us to experience it in ever greater amounts.  To do so often means we must let go of our current familiar and comfortable understanding to experience the next greater level of His love.  The same is true of His wisdom, His faithfulness, His mercy, His grace.  Each time we let go of our current state of satisfaction and lean into a holy hunger for more of Him, we will experience a stretching and growth that reveals more of God’s nature, and a lessening of the negatives of the world’s perspective.  For me personally, this stretching often includes a letting go of self-reliance in some area to gain a greater God-reliance.

One family’s pursuit of following God in Kenya.

I saw this in Kenya.  It was evident in my friends LJ and Danee.  It was also true in me.  God’s specific word to LJ was “to prepare the land”.  The orphanage had fallen into disrepair.  Mismanagement had resulted in the loss of the license as a children’s home and much of the 14-acre compound was overgrown with brush and vegetation.  The entire family responded to the call to prepare the land. 

Now for many of us, traveling overseas can be a daunting experience.  That increases when the travel is to a third world country.  Raise it another notch when we are placed next to the 2nd largest slum in the world.  Oh, for good measure, take the entire family with children ages 15, 14, 13, and 9 in tow.  I know very few people who would be able to be stretched that far.  But the path the Lord has led Danee and LJ on has been a path of consistent next steps of trusting God as they go a little further out of their comfort zone, only to see Him provide exactly what was needed after each step.

While I was there, I witnessed LJ assuming the new role of overall Operations Manager for the entire compound.  By his own admission, LJ is a country boy from rural South Carolina.  He did not aspire to running an orphanage and school, but as I witnessed while I was there, LJ and Danee are faithfully doing whatever is required in leading, guiding, and serving the community.  And the land itself is beginning to flourish.  A ¾ acre vegetable garden is up and growing.  Soon it will be a major supplement to the food provisions for the 84 children getting their meals at LifeSpring.  The livestock are multiplying.  The third fluffle of rabbits are being nurtured and rabbit hutches were built while I was there.  Chickens roam the grounds during the day with baby chicks sticking close to mama hen for protection.  Goats graze on grass where brambles once grew.  To support the growing campus, LJ has hired widows and young men in desperate need of employment.   The land is well on its way to being prepared.

LJ’s work as an instrument and controls technician prepared him for some of the work.  I chuckle though because Google has come to the rescue many times as they encounter new situations they have never dealt with before.  (Like letting me know that a group of baby bunnies is called a fluffle!)  In one instance they were talking to one of the widows who had been hired to tend the garden.  In Kenya all the schools are in English, so if you have had the benefit of attending school you are liable to speak decent English.  This widow, who cares for her grandchild in the Kibera slum, knows zero English therefore she has never been to school.  Trying to communicate to her that LJ had bought four tin sheets to replace the plastic she was living under in Kibera was both humorous and deeply touching.  Google translate had to translate into Swahili so the widow could understand that some men would be coming by to help her.  Kenyans don’t cry.  Stoic persistence to survive doesn’t leave room for expressing much emotion, but the emotion flickered on her face when she realized the act of kindness being done for her. 

LJ and Danee went to Kenya following the Lord’s clear leading.  But following the Lord’s leading and knowing all that we are getting into are often two different things.  In some cases, the Father will give us a degree of insight into what’s ahead. 

The Bible’s witness to life outside the comfort zone.

I think of Paul heading to Jerusalem where he would be arrested.  God clearly told him to go to Jerusalem.  And he was also clearly told that difficulty was ahead.  But God gave Paul an assurance that walking this difficult path was God’s will and that God would be with him.  Paul was called out of his comfort zone over and over again.  In stepping into God’s call out of the comfort zone and into the unknown, Paul grew into the apostle God created him to be.  Today the Church is blessed because of Paul’s faithfulness in living outside of his comfort zone since much of the New Testament was written by Paul.

As the Lord opened my eyes to the reality of our growth as believers being tied to stepping out of our comfort zone, I realized that all the saints mentioned in the Bible were taken out of their comfort zone.  Abraham left his family, his land, and ventured many long and difficult miles (and years) to a “promised” land.  There was comfort in the land of Haran, but God’s call was to step out and follow Him. 

Mary was a young teenager engaged to a kind carpenter, when an angel said you have been chosen but it will take you out of your comfort zone.  Mary said “let it be done to me as you have said” and she stepped out of her comfort zone and into God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. 

Jesus was a good Jewish lad, well versed in the law, but God had a plan and a call upon His life.  Jesus was unique.  He was fully God, but at the same time fully human.  Being fully human, He experienced a degree of comfort as a carpenter son, then apprentice, and finally working as a carpenter in His own right.  But when God said step out of your comfort zone and into my call upon your life He did. 

Jesus ministered for 3 years outside of His comfort zone – forty days fasting in the desert, speaking to crowds that wanted signs and wonders, but not necessarily the all-in life with God He was espousing, doing battle with the persons of power and influence who chaffed at His familiarity with God, and finally suffering a painful and humiliating torture and execution at the hands of both Roman authorities and Jewish leaders.  Jesus modeled a life of stretching our human boundaries of comfort in faithful response to God’s call to something better, something richer, to life in union with God and His unique plan for each person.

What next step outside your comfort zone is God calling you to?

Friends I am deeply stirred that God has a call upon every person into a life that is beyond amazing.  He has a call upon you.  But it is a journey that will frequently take us out of our comfort zone.  God will ask us to take steps in faith in Him and not in sight by using our own wisdom and strength.  We will have to rely upon Him.  We will be stretched.  At times it won’t be “fun”.  At times it will even be difficult.  But as we listen and lean upon Him, He will be with us to bring about His good will in us and through us.  And this is so much better than the “good” we might experience in the comfort zone.  Because it is the best.

What burden or desire has the Lord put on your heart that gets shelved because it is outside your comfort zone?

Where do you see injustice, need, or sin that really pushes your buttons, but thus far you have done little beyond complain about it?

Do you get a passion for something the Word says to do, yet thus far you have not truly considered the possibility of you doing something just because?

Take a few moments and ask the Father to bring your next step into clear focus.  Ask with a willingness to take the next step.  Realize these will not usually be huge leaps out of the blue, but a gradual revelation where God draws you to a faith place that makes each progressive step a stretch, but doable with a little courage and trust in the One Who has provided for you in the past.  For the Davis’ it was a few years walking out many progressive next steps into mission work.  For me going over to help them was similar, taking about a year of progressive faith steps.  Having been, my faith is stirred to help even more.  Will I be more comfortable?  Walking in God’s grace and lifted by His love, I reckon I have all the strength a person needs.  So, the answer has to be yes, but in a new way.  When we walk His path, taking new steps into the unknown that He directs, we will be comforted with His great comfort. 

And that is way better than just being comfortable.

Be blessed my friends and be a light of blessing in the places where the LORD has placed you today, and always!

BTW, Danee and LJ are still serving in the same place although it is now called Oasis of Hope, and the Lord has done amazing things. The vision has shifted to rescuing young girls from forced marriages. The school now holds over 110 students, and the ministry is expanding more and more into the slum and areas around the school. The oversight organization is Serving Orphans Worldwide. Check them out at https://soworldwide.org/oasis-of-hope/

Posted in God, God Stories, Jesus Christ, Mission to Kenya, Orphans, Prayer, Service, Spiritual Growth, Travel, Trials, worldview | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Waiting with a Purpose

December 5, 2023 by areliablefaith

I don’t know of anyone that likes waiting.  I have met people, typically persons I would characterize as mature or wise, who dutifully accept waiting, but to say I know people who get excited about waiting, that would be a NO.  But for the past several weeks as we have been on a journey from a cancer diagnosis now through a surgery and next, a deeper diagnosis, waiting has been one of the constant undercurrents.  Surprisingly it has not been the dread that, at an earlier time in my life, I am sure it would have been.

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV) comes to mind as I sit in this time of not-yet-knowing.

But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

I have a relationship with God, my Heavenly Father, because of what Jesus did for me.  In a small chapel in the piney woods of central Louisiana, Jesus made me an offer that I accepted.  He offered me a new life, one walking with Him from that moment forward.  It required my letting Him have dominion over everything, but He promised He would never leave me or forsake me.  For 40+ years He has been true to His promise.  He has been tangibly present for over forty years.  I have grown to know His leading through His Word, through the community of faith He has placed me in, and the witness of the Holy Spirit living in me. 

This is an offer that is available to every single human being.  It is His desire that we all become His children walking in a life-giving, love-saturated, joy-filled relationship with Him.  I share this as context to this strange phenomenon I am in.  I am at peace in this waiting.  I sense changes occurring in my soul as I wait in a place of trust.

As an engineer I do my research.  I’ve read some of the stats.  If the cancer has spread, the potential five-year survival rate goes down significantly.  In a detached way I acknowledge this potential knowing that Jesus has not left or forsaken me, therefore I wait in hope.  Those same percentages that are not in my favor do not compare to the One who is in my favor.  The odds of this working out for God’s glory and my good are 100% as I wait upon Him, as I put my trust in Him. 

I started to say “put my WHOLE trust in Him”, but I know that I bring all that I can and let Him supply what lacks.  I have learned that is often what the waiting is about.  Learning to release control.  Or more accurately, learning to release the illusion of control to the One who is able to meet all our needs.  Waiting on the Lord is the place where faith and patience are nurtured and grown. 

Waiting on the Lord fulfills His purpose in several ways.  As I look back, I can see the younger me and realize many changes wrought through the Lord’s work in times of waiting.

  1. The need to control situations to meet my perception of “good”.  While I would have said, I wanted the Lord’s will, there was often a flavoring of what I thought was best.  I often didn’t see God’s big picture point of view. 
  2. A bias towards action and doing something rather than beginning with prayer and waiting for direction.  Boy are there a lot of toes I’ve stepped on trying to “make things happen”.  (My apologies to you if you are one of those whose toes I’ve stepped on.)
  3. My understanding of Ephesians chapter 5 and what marriage looks like.  This one took years of waiting and being reminded by the Holy Spirit to “love Lisa like Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.”  (There will be more on this in the future!)
  4. Being male and an engineer, when presented with a problem, I naturally go into “figure it out and fix it” mode.  Not all problems require that formula.  In fact, that is the wrong approach at times.  The Lord’s work is often best achieved by pausing and allowing Him lead.  This is Spirit-led action after waiting on the Lord.
  5. Related to the one above, sometimes being present and inviting the Lord into the midst of the problem is all we are to do.  The Lord’s work is sometimes accomplished by my being there but stepping out of the way.  This is Spirit-led stillness after waiting on the Lord.

I find it no coincidence that this fresh season of waiting for us corresponds with our Bible reading plan in the letters of Paul.  Trials, afflictions, and times of waiting fill the chapters we have been reading.  Yet we read about joy and patience and hope not instead of, but in the midst of the challenges Paul and the early believers faced.  Things have not changed in this respect.  While we have many creature comforts unavailable to our ancestors, we still deal with sickness, hardship, loss, and death. 

Thanks be to God, the same Holy Spirit who gave comfort and guidance to the early Church is present with us in all our affliction.  He is not in any way constrained today from giving us what we need.   In fact, it is often through our affliction that we become keenly aware of our need for His help, guidance and comfort.  A key though is to realize the timing is the Lord’s.  Instant gratification is NOT God’s typical way.  No, He gives us this precious gift of time to allow the better work, the deeper work, the soul work to take place. 

Earlier in my walk with Christ, I remember asking the LORD to hurry up and give me patience… His response was a No and Yes.  He did not hurry up.  But in the waiting, I have seen much fruit grow including a patience that the younger me wanted, but struggled to attain. 

Friend, while I don’t know what your situation is, I have a pretty good sense that if not now, at some time in the near future you will be tasked with waiting.  It is my prayer as I finish today’s post that you will experience the Lord’s purpose in your waiting.  Let go of having to have answers right now and reach for having intimacy with Him.  The LORD loves you and He has the best in mind for you.  Sit with Him and rest knowing that the Lover of your soul is all in for you.  He will supply exactly what you need when you wait upon the Lord.

Be blessed my friends as you wait upon the LORD!

Posted in God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, love, Marriage, Prayer, Priorities, Spiritual Growth, The Father | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Incredible

December 1, 2023 by areliablefaith

It is a day and a half since the surgery.  The nerve block they gave me has worked well, but it is finally wearing off and I am beginning to feel the fact that a portion of my ear is missing.  Not too much pain, but a reminder of something lost.  But this is nothing compared to what I have gained through this.  I can truly say this has been one of the most blessed experiences of my life.  The LORD’s presence has been so real and tangible that I have experienced a peace that has truly buoyed me and a joy that has stirred my soul.

The word that comes to mind as I ponder this is “Incredible”.  Something that is credible is believable.  With the prefix added in-credible means something that stretches belief.  I already had a strong belief in God and a vibrant relationship with the Lord through Jesus, but that belief has been strengthened and stretched in the most blessed of ways. 

One of the things I’ve found interesting is how I have been led to pray.  My prayers for myself have been that the Lord would be glorified.  I have not been led to pray to be healed.  The Holy Spirit told me to share my journey, hence you are reading this post.  From that I know others have been praying for me, many praying for my healing, but I have not. 

There was one night a week or so after we learned I was dealing with melanoma that Lisa and I watched a series where one of the lead characters had cystic fibrosis.  In the final episode she passed away.  Her passing as portrayed in the show played out over a 2-year period.  For both Lisa and I the reality that I could be on the front end of a similar journey really weighed on us as we went to bed.  In the middle of the night I awoke restless and I hesitantly prayed, “Lord Jesus, please heal me”.  Well, the Holy Spirit clearly spoke, “It is not yet the time”. 

I have not prayed specifically for my healing since.  I am fine with others praying for it and I do hope the Lord heals me, but that has not been my focus.  I simply want to walk faithfully through this knowing the LORD said, “Trust Me” at the outset. 

The returns on this approach have been amazing.  I have known a peace through this that has lifted me.  As I already mentioned, I can feel such love and affirmation, that I am truly thankful for this experience.  I have even walked in periods of great joy.  And to imagine this is amid losing part of my body and still not knowing if cancer has spread to other parts of my body.  (Since I am being transparent, not all of my body is still working like I would like for it to, but I attribute that to things done at an earlier age that are now catching up to me 😊)

Friends, I can see how the LORD was preparing me for this journey even as late as this summer.  A theme that played out over several weeks in my studies and meditation was that we are “eternal, spiritual beings living in a temporary, physical body”.  Our time on this earth is truly limited.  These bodies all have an expiration date.  But the part of us that lives on is what we should be nourishing and growing.  Our spirit is where we commune with our Creator.  It is the part of us that needs to know who we are and why we are here. 

We are created to be God’s children and our purpose is to know and love Him even as we are fully known and loved.  While this is the answer, it is only the merest surface of the reality.  The depths of it are only realized when it goes from our head to our hearts and fills our spirit with His Holy Spirit.  We are given one lifetime for this to happen.  I guess my situation has simply given me, and those who have joined me for this journey, an opportunity to consider that my expiration date, and each of theirs, might be closer than we realize.  I believe the Lord’s response to each of us is the same as what He spoke to my heart shortly after I learned I had cancer… “Trust Me!”

Our next medical milestone is December 11 when we learn the results of the biopsy and the genetic testing to see if I am prone to more melanoma.

It has been my honor that you have joined me in this journey.  Hopefully the LORD has taken my posts and used them to encourage you in some way.  That is my desire and prayer. 

Be blessed my friend and be a blessing to someone today!

Posted in God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Prayers, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Trials | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

God’s Not Through with You

November 24, 2023 by areliablefaith

In addition to my current journey through cancer, I am a heart disease survivor, and it is only by the grace of God that I am able to tell you about it nine years later. Looking back, in addition to being a pretty cool story, there are many takeaways, not the least of which is that the LORD, who saved me back then, is the same God who is with me, and you, in each and every challenge we face.

SIGNS (March 2014)

The last couple of signs that something was not right was getting winded heading up the stairs to the daily meeting I attended at 9 am. It was only two flights, but it was enough that I noticed. My thought was that I had to get back into shape. The wild weather that winter combined with lots of long days at the plant had gotten me out of my fitness routine. That same evening when I arrived home, I pushed a wheelbarrow with tools about 100 yards and the same squeezing sensation occurred. At 15 seconds I was still thinking I was simply out of shape, but it continued. At 30 seconds, now I was praying and asking the LORD if there was more of an issue than just being out of shape. At 45 seconds I decided to tell Lisa about it.

After supper I took Lisa for a walk and told her what had been going on. We agreed I needed to get checked out.  I am not positive that I would have gone before our big trip though.  You see we were a week and a half from heading to Rome and then Israel.  I went to sleep wondering if I went to the doctor and there was a problem, I might not be able to make the trip. I wondered if it would be okay to wait until we returned. But that night I had this dream…

THE DREAM

I was standing on the driveway in front of an open two car garage on a very sunny, but windy day. It was a beautiful blue sky with a few white puffy clouds. The door of the garage was open.  It was dark inside the garage, and I could not see anything in there as I was standing in the sun.  As I stood there a little whirlwind picked up some leaves from around me and blew them into the garage.  I thought to get a broom and sweep them out.  

As I walked in to sweep the leaves out, I paused just as I straddled the threshold and my eyes immediately adjusted to the dark.  There were no cars in the garage, but there was a coffee table in the middle of the room.  Underneath the table was a ball of writhing snakes. As I looked at them, I realized they were poisonous snakes.  As soon as that realization came, one of the snakes broke free from the ball and came at me. Our eyes met and I knew it was coming to get me. As I write this morning, I can sense the malice in the snake’s eyes. I took one step back across the threshold and thought to myself, “I’ve got to deal with this.” At that instant my alarm went off. And resounding in my memory was the thought, “I’ve got to deal with this.”

DOCTOR’S WORK AND WISDOM

That morning I was in the doctor’s office before 10:00 am. Vitals all looked good, but the EKG was A-typical. A call to the cardiologist and I was in their office the next day. I thought a stress test was the next step but after looking at my EKG and hearing my symptoms, the cardiologist put me in for a heart catheterization the next day.  

I went in hoping / expecting a 1-hour inspection where they would find everything fine.  Two and a half hours later the doctor woke me, still on the table in the heart cath lab, with images of my heart on the monitor where I could see the three blood vessels he had unblocked and put in stints.  Two were 90% blocked. The third, which was the widow-maker was 99% blocked.

An overnight stay in the hospital and I was home before noon on Saturday with 3.5 inches of Stainless-Steel mesh tubing in my heart.

That return home from the hospital was exactly one week before we flew out for Rome for 5 days and then on to Israel.  The day before we flew out, I had a final check with the cardiologist to make sure everything was still a go.  I met with a different doctor this time and I shared my story with her.  She listened politely and as I finished, she said, “You quite possibly would have died on that trip.”  My wife now completes the story by letting everyone know that I would have died. 

ISRAEL

One of the sites we visited in Israel was Masada, Herod’s Mountain top fortress in the Judean desert.  It is on a high plateau above the Dead Sea.  When we arrived, the guide gave us two choices.  We could ride the cable car up the 1000 plus feet or we could hike up the winding trail.  Because of the doctor’s orders to take it very easy for six weeks I really had no choice, it was the cable car for me.  But as Lisa correctly points out I am adventurous, and I would have chosen the steep trail… in the desert… in the hot sun which almost assuredly would have brought on a heart attack. 

And the name of that trail… the Snake Trail.

(The image on this post is from the top of Masada looking down the mountain at the trail.)

As I mentioned before, my head spins as I think of the implications… I had a time bomb in my chest getting close to going off… I almost missed the warning signs… I can’t hide behind being “fit” to ward off everything that can take me down… God knows me well enough to know I needed a nudge (OK more like a push) from that dream to move and move quickly.

On the morning of the first cardiologist visit as I was heading to work when all I knew was that my EKG was A-typical, I turned on the local Christian music station. While I was not scared exactly, I was running through my mind the likely paths this could take. The possibility that there was a problem with my heart was high on the list. You can’t help but to think about the what if’s in such a situation. What if I don’t survive and my family has to deal with my loss?

About that time a song came on and the refrain repeated God’s words to us – “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you”. As the melody and these words soaked into my soul the tears came. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy and release. I KNOW that God lives and that He is in control of my life. He has given me stewardship my time on earth, but as I release my life to Him, I can trust Him completely. He gave me a crazy dream about snakes at exactly the time I needed it to motivate me to head to the doctor. I celebrate the reality of Who He is and yet another marvelous thing He has done for me and my family.

TODAY (November 2023)

Today as I re-read what I posted right after my stents, I am overwhelmed anew by thankfulness.  The LORD has given me such a clear assurance that He is present with me now, every bit as much as He was then.

Last Sunday the LORD impressed Romans 8:28 into my Spirit and then He had others mention it to me throughout the day including my 8th grade history teacher, Mr. Humbert, in a Facebook post earlier this week. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. This morning I am to add Paul’s conclusion to that thought. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

Let me close with the two reasons I am led to share this today. One, as His children, the LORD is with us on a constant, moment by moment basis. It is His desire that we grow in intimacy and awareness of His presence not just on Sundays, not just in a daily quiet time, but moment-by-moment. In the busyness of life though, we can sometimes miss that. He gives us times and instances where His presence is more tangible, more real. His manifest presence breaks through and we KNOW, if for only a little while, that He is right there with us. He gives us those moments to draw us closer and to give us an anchor when we do drift. He simply wants us to remember and return.

The final reason is because God wants you to know how precious you are to Him and that He is not through with you. You may sometimes think you are too weak in your faith or too broken for God to use. Friend, He is not looking to use you. He wants to love you in a real and tangible way. He created you for fellowship, for a life in Him. I have made my share of mistakes and at times I’ve not put in the time to cultivate this intimacy with the LORD, but thanks be to God, He doesn’t move away, He moves toward me. Just like He is moving toward you right now. Just talk to Him. Ask Him to guide you home to Him. He loves you and He’s not through with you.

Lord thank you for this life you have given me.  I surrendered my life to you many years ago, but I realize that this process is on-going.  Today I give you thanks for my body and how it is made – even the heart disease and melanoma that I live with, because I know you are able to use it for the greater good.  Draw me closer and closer to you each and every day. Please use me in my frailties and limitations to faithfully proclaim the Good News of Who You are and what You have done.  Open eyes, ears, and hearts to the beautiful, wonderful reality of You.  I love you, LORD.

And for those who are reading this, I pray your blessings upon them to know your heart for them, to become aware of the desires you have for them. Help them, and me, to walk in the love you have for us. Remind them Lord that you are for them and not against them. That you have a hope and a future in store for them. By your Spirit Lord, let it be done… Amen!

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Thanksgiving…All the Time!

November 23, 2023 by areliablefaith

It started in the garage.  I was tired of the mess and disorganized clutter, so I began moving things around.  Five days later garages are clean and organized, the shop is straightened and orderly, and I’ve begun on the master closet.  As I finished yesterday’s work I looked with a sense of satisfaction, but also a question, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

This morning I awoke at 3:40 am.  I’ve gotten into this strange habit of waking up in the middle of the night and as consciousness breaks through, I think to myself, “I bet it is almost…4” and then I look at my watch or clock.  Actually, the strangest part is that it doesn’t bother me anymore.  I take it as an opportunity to pray and meditate on all God has done or shown me.  A lot of times scripture comes to mind, and I just sit in that.

This morning was particularly rich.  Immediately, I was aware it was Thanksgiving Day, and I could not contain my thankfulness to the LORD for the life He has blessed me with.  Jesus’ words recorded by the apostle John came to mind,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

I have experienced that.  My prayer and meditation then moved onto the people in my life and how thankful I am for them.  From my beloved Lisa to our youngest grandchild Liam and all the family in between.  As I thought of each person, I could not help but see how much richer my life is because of them.  As I thought of our daughter-in-law, Jordan, the words “Godsend” came to mind, and I was filled praise and thanksgiving to the Father for her in our life.

Interestingly, for a number of the people that came to mind, the pictures that I remembered were in the midst of difficulty.  For Rhiannon, the picture came when Lisa shattered her leg and Rhiannon took an immediate leave at work and rushed to be with her Mom and I during that first difficult week.  She dropped everything to serve and love on her Mom.

Every member of our family and extended family came to mind and I had mental pictures of each person and I was thankful.  But the Lord has blessed beyond that.  Forrest and Emily and their family who have been serving in another country came to mind.  My thanksgiving for them was mixed with a prayer for them to find “people of peace” who would be open to the Gospel.  I am thankful for persons who respond to God’s call and do the vital work I cannot physically do, but that I can partner with in seeing this full life shared others.

And then there is you, the one reading this blog.  I am thankful for you.  I felt prompted by the LORD to share my journey through cancer.  I’ve blogged in the past, but not much in the past three years.  Now that I am writing again, I feel inspired and engaged.  While my heart’s desire is that these words encourage you, I can assure you, your comments encourage me.  For the second time in less than 24 hours I wonder, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

One other thought came to me as I finished focusing a healthy portion of my “spare time” to cleaning and organizing was that this was nice and satisfying in an anal-retentive way, but NOT fulfilling. 

This morning, as I mentally went through the faces of family and friends and I thought of the blessing each person is, I couldn’t contain the joy it brought.  Thankfulness flowed into joy which morphed into repeated praise to the One who has brought these people into my life.  It was a cycle that went like this – thinking of a specific person, being thankful for them, giving thanks to the LORD, sensing joy rise a little more, thinking of the next person, being thankful for them, giving thanks to the LORD and having the joy tank filled a little more and… well you get the picture.  I may have at the very beginning given thanks for the home we have (and the good food we are going to be eating later today), but that was ONLY the prelude.  The blessing and the ever-increasing joy came as I thought of the people God has placed in my life.  When Jesus gives us life to the full, it is predominantly the relationships He places in our lives, beginning with our relationship with Him, that make it full. 

My friend, take time today to rest with a thankful heart.  Being thankful is a good thing.  Expressing thanks to others is an even better thing.  Living in a state of gratitude to the One who loves us with an enduring, everlasting love and who gives us life to the full is the best thing. 

BTW, if we do the best thing, we can’t help but do the good and better thing.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

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Yahweh Nissi – The LORD’s Banner Over Me Brings Joy

November 21, 2023 by areliablefaith

The LORD draws us close in our weakness.  I can honestly say I am thankful for a cancer diagnosis because of the Lord’s and the Lord’s people’s response.  I have been buoyed by the prayers and I know the Lord is walking with me.  His presence is real and tangible. 

Three days after receiving the diagnosis, I was in a hotel in Atlanta.  I woke up around 5 and immediately slipped into prayer.  We are commended to “pray in the spirit” and pray with understanding.  I did not have to be at the office until around 9 so I was able to tarry and do both.  Interestingly, one of the Old Testament names of God came to me as I was praying – Jehovah Nissi which is from the book of Exodus when God had saved the Hebrew people from the Amalekites. 

Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. Ex 17:15

I incorporated that into my worship that morning as I gave praise to the Lord under whose Banner I live and move and have my being.  I remember a specific exchange when I said, “LORD, thank you that your Banner over me is love and it is very good, but I was kind of thinking and hoping you would have given me your name, Jehovah Rapha.”  (Jehovah Rapha is the LORD is my healer.)  I said it with a smile and in sincerity.  The Holy Spirit immediately brought to mind James 1:2-4 to mind. 

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

As soon as that scripture came to mind, joy bubbled up within me.  I started chuckling realizing that the Lord has a perfect plan through all of this and that I can trust Him completely.  God’s Word is faithful and true.  He has allowed this time of trial and uncertainty to build perseverance and maturity in me.  From His perspective there is nothing uncertain about this.  It is for my good, and for the good of others around me.  (My fervent prayer is that you, my friend, are one of those God blesses through this.)

Now that alone would have been enough to make my day.  I went to work with a song of praise in my heart and joy percolating within.  I got a call from a previous co-worker that I hadn’t spoken to in several months.  I knew he was a believer so at the end of our conversation I shared the news.  His first wife had passed from a battle with cancer about a decade prior so he could relate.  While he shared a few words of encouragement from his own experience, the blessing came when he said, “Let me pray for you.”  As he began to pray, he didn’t ask immediately for me to be healed, he prayed, “Lord, you are sovereign and in control.  We love you and trust you because you are in this with Dan and you will be victorious…”  When he prayed you are victorious, I saw the LORD’s Banner unfurl and begin waving. 

I didn’t hear the rest of what he prayed because the Lord had given me a clear sign that His Word is true.  I am not alone.  The victorious King is walking with me.  Whatever may come, God is going to get the glory.  And when He is glorified, I am satisfied.

It doesn’t require a cancer diagnosis for us to look to the LORD for His peace.  He desires we walk-in ever-increasing intimacy with Him day-by-day.  Just talk to Him.  Ask Him to illuminate the scripture then read it.  Find a believer and ask them to pray with you.  Friend, I pray the Lord’s encouragement upon you today wherever you are and in whatever situation you are dealing with.  God loves you and He is fighting for you because He is Yahweh Nissi – the LORD is my Banner!

Be blessed and be a blessing!

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Love Wins

November 18, 2023 by areliablefaith

THE most powerful force in the universe and beyond is love.  Love existed before there was anything else.  Within the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit there has always been an immutable, living-giving love that pulses with joy, and beauty, and holiness.  That love is other focused.  It is an eternal reality of the Trinity that the three persons exude love.  It is why they created.  It is why humanity exists.  Look at the conversation within the Godhead revealed in Genesis 1:26-31.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

The creation of mankind was God’s penultimate creation.  We are created in God’s image.  This is known as Imago Dei.  ALL of humanity is created in God’s image.  That includes those you like and even those you don’t!  With a war in Israel right now, it’s easy to take sides and hate those who instigated the war.  But even they were created in the image of God.  It is sad the evil one has so corrupted the minds and hearts of people created in the image of God.  But God has a plan!

There are many facets of what it means that we are created in God’s image, but I want to focus on two aspects that I believe are primary.  First, God has given mankind a will and the ability to choose.  In the greatest risk and reward gambit of all eternity, God allows each person to choose their own path.  The risk is immense.  God’s creation can choose to move towards Him or they can choose to move away.  The reward is a family that joins Him in true unity… heart, mind, soul, and strength.  The risk is a creation that moves away from Him and devolves into brutal, ugly chaos.

I recently read that the fall in the garden (see Genesis chapter 3) was less about breaking God’s one rule and all about choosing to love something other than God first.  WOW!  I had not seen that before, but it makes sense.  And that brings me to the second point of being created in God’s image and that is our capacity to LOVE, which is intrinsically who God is (1 John 4:7-21) for God is love. 

With the ability to choose, we have the ability to cast our love wherever we so choose.  This was the temptation that Adam and Eve fell prey to.  They turned their love onto the lesser thing.  They chose to do what they wanted.  The devil tempted them, but it was their choice to turn their love from God to something other than Him. 

All of humanity has this same tendency to turn our love to lesser things.  Now the point is not that we cannot love others.  Let’s go back to the garden.  Adam and Eve had an intense loving relationship with God AND His creation.  But the order was correct, they loved the Creator first and the creation second.  They were empowered to love because God created them in His image as an expression of His love and with the ability to love.  That has not been taken away, but it has been twisted and broken.  Fortunately, God has a plan!

When I came to faith some 40+ years ago the song that first captured my heart was “Your Love Broke Through” by Keith Green.  The chorus goes:

“Like waking up from the longest dream

How real it seemed

Until Your love broke through

I’ve been lost in a fantasy

That blinded me

Until Your love, Your love broke through

Like waking up from the longest dream

How real it seemed

Until Your love broke through

Until Your love broke through”

God’s plan… His risky, wonderful, amazing plan is that He, God the Father, sent Jesus, God the Son, to rescue us through the penultimate act of love.  We still have the ability to choose, but when we choose Him, when we surrender love of all lesser things and choose to love Him above all else, He moves into our spirit with Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit and we are restored into fellowship with Him.  We move from simply being created in His image to being Children of God.

The greatest reality in the universe is that God loves and He desires us to live in His love.  It’s a love that transforms us into the child of God we were created to be.  It’s a love that empowers us to place others first.  It’s a love that connects us one to another in a faith-building unity.  It’s love that fills life to the full. 

I know this love and God’s ongoing work in me is continuing to change me into the person He created me to be.  I’m not there yet.  And I have my moments when I need to be reminded of whose I am and that the love He has for me is to be shared.  But thanks be to God, I’m not the man I once was and I can see that I am becoming the man He has called and equipped me to be. 

Today, I pray you get a sense of the love He has for you.  You were specifically on His mind before you were formed (See Psalm 139). He set in motion the plan to rescue you from all the lesser things that vie for your attention, your focus and your love. You are created in His image, and He loves you so much He died to eliminate anything and everything that would stand in the way of you coming to Him.  Wherever you are reading this take a moment and just tell Him how much you love and appreciate what He has done for you.  Then receive His love.

Because you see in the end, love wins!

Be blessed my friend.  And let the LORD’s love empower you to love Him and love others well today!

Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, love, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, The Father, worldview, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Are You a Citizen or on a Work Visa?

November 13, 2023 by areliablefaith

We are eternal, spiritual beings wrapped in temporary, physical bodies.  As I awoke Saturday morning, I had this assurance that this life is not only NOT the end, but that this world is not my forever home.  Writing this post was already on my mind when we read the scriptures for the day (John 14-17).  Here is the first thing Lisa read…

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”  John 14:1-3 NIV

As followers of Jesus, we are like visitors in a foreign country on a Work Visa.  A Work Visa lets a person stay in a country that is not their own to work.  I have done this in my career.  About half-way through my times abroad, I would really start looking forward to going home.  It was not homesickness but a yearning for home that flavored my thoughts and encouraged me while I finished the work before me.

Our citizenship is in heaven. Our “work visa” in this world is for a set time which we do not know, but which is finite.  Our home is with the LORD.  When our work ends, He will come again to take those who are His to be with Him in the Father’s house.  Boy, does that encourage me!

I see that I still have work to do.  It stirs in my soul that what God is doing in me and what He has purposed for me is not yet finished.  The first thing He has purposed for me is to know Him.  I truly want to know Him more and more, but I am confident that whatever I lack in knowing Him on this side, He will accomplish on the other.  The second thing He has purposed for me is to make Him known.  Lord, whatever you want to do in or through me to reveal yourself to others, please do.  With that as my prayer, I trust He still has work to do.  But thoughts of my forever home are flavoring my thoughts and encouraging me even as I do the work before me…

As I consider the uncertain health path before me, Paul’s words to the believers in Rome come to mind.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. Romans 12:1-2 AMP

May the LORD bless you today as you think of Him, as you allow Him to refresh and renew your mind, and as you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to the One who gave His all for you so you too can join Him in our Father’s house.

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Waiting with Purpose

November 9, 2023 by areliablefaith

Waiting is a part of life. We experience it early and we never stop having seasons of waiting.

Christmas always seemed to take forever to arrive. When it did, there was much to celebrate and enjoy. The birth of a child is the culmination of months of waiting. That next promotion… The trip you have been looking forward to… The medical procedure you need…

Waiting is a part of life and waiting is not easy. But it can be good.

Lisa and I have made reading the Bible through in a year a part of our life rhythm. There are important seasons of waiting throughout the Bible that demonstrate the value in waiting. As I await the next steps in our medical treatment, I take solace in knowing that the LORD who created me and is with me in the waiting. I woke at 3:35am this morning and this theme of waiting has swirled around in my spirit as I prayed and pondered.

A rundown of just some of the seasons of waiting that came to mind:

Seasons of Waiting in the Bible

Abraham and Sarah waited for decades for the fulfillment of the promise that they would have a child. Joseph waited years in prison (on false charges) before God elevated him to Prime Minister of Egypt. Moses waited in the desert for 40 years before God called him from the burning bush. The Hebrew people wandered and waited in the wilderness for 40 years before the time arrived to enter the promised land. Jesus waited about 30 years before His time of ministry and revealing arrived. Even then the timing of God’s plan progressed in times of waiting beginning with 40 days of waiting in the wilderness fasting and praying.

The climactic moment of Jesus’ earthly life, His crucifixion included waiting… in the garden sweating blood in prayer… in mock trials with false accusations… in the praetorium as people cried out for His death… and on the cross until the full measure our sin was atoned for.

As I await a surgery currently scheduled for 2 months from now, hoping it will be moved forward, I get this nudge from Holy Spirit that He is here with me in the waiting. With that came the name Yahweh Shamma… The LORD who is present!

Immediately Isaiah 40:31 comes to mind (I chose the amplified version this morning)

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]

Will gain new strength and renew their power;

They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];

They will run and not become weary,

They will walk and not grow tired.

Isaiah 40:31 Amplified Bible

I am lifted up knowing that there is purpose in my waiting. With a new sense of this time being ordained by God and precious I begin praying.

Confirmation of Purpose in My Waiting

Let me close by sharing a gift the LORD gave me yesterday that is really the point of this post. I woke early yesterday too. (Full transparency, waking at 3:30 am is not hard when you’re in California, but your body clock is still in SC!) I slipped into prayer yesterday as I thought of all my friends who commented on my Facebook post. My heart was warmed and I prayed for individual’s as they came to mind. It was a joy-filled time that started my day well.

As I headed out the hotel door, a friend and brother in Christ called me. I hadn’t seen him in a few years, but he called to encourage me. I had forgotten about praying for him as he went through a cancer battle, but he told me he felt led by the Lord to tell me about what I understood as the turning point for him. It was the low point in his battle. He was rail thin at 125 lbs, he couldn’t stand the sight, smell, or even the thought of food. His wife couldn’t cook or even eat around him because he got so nauseous.

He was seated in his chair in misery and the Holy Spirit asked him a question, “Who’s praying for you?” He replied, “I don’t know LORD, who?” and then all these people that he knew came to mind, churches where he had helped out, foreign countries where he had done mission work. Then the Holy Spirit asked, “What are you to do?” Again he replied, “I don’t know LORD, what?” The reply, “Pray for those praying for you!” I was blown away that the LORD had him call me to confirm that how I was being led was exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

God is the ultimate multi-tasker. I know He is doing things in me and in my family through this journey that are for our ultimate good and His glory. I harbor no illusions that this will be a cake-walk, but I know He has a plan and a purpose. Today, that includes a bit of waiting. But as I wait upon the LORD, I will pray with you and I will pray for you. And one day we will see that God had a purpose in all this and we will see that it was good and very good.

I suspect some of you are waiting too. Lean into the LORD and don’t be shy to ask, “Lord, please help me see my purpose in the waiting.” Then trust Him. He is there and He is not silent. It may be a clear word like my friend received. It might be a nudge in your Spirit like I had yesterday and today. It could be a person who comes to mind that you need to call. The key is to ask, trust, and obey. It is as simple as that.

Be blessed today my friends and don’t forget to be a blessing!

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