Day 3

It feels weird to be blogging every day again, I don't think I've done it since before I was healed. And of course, the original point of blogging was to share my journey and what God was doing with it, not to blab on about the book of John. But I just feel like it's something I'm supposed to do so I'm praying that at least some one gets some thing out of it.

So, yesterday was John chapter 2 and the things I noticed were: Jesus did the first public miracle with turning water into wine. His mom knew He could do it, and pushed Him into it. It makes me wonder if He ever did any sort of miracle at home before that, or if it was just the Holy Spirit prompting her to push Him. I think it's weird that He said it wasn't His time yet but did it anyway. He was obviously obedient, but was it true that it wasn't His time yet? I'm also wondering what it was about Him not entrusting Himself to the believers. What would it have looked like if He did?

Here is today's, John chapter 3:

    Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

     Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

    “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

   Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

   “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

  “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

    After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”  To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’  The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” 

   The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[i]gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Day 2 of 21 Day Challenge

In case you hadn't tuned it, we are taking a 21-day challenge of reading the book of John chapter by chapter. It's not really a "challenge" compared to the difficult things we do every day, it's more of a commitment to most of us. However, to those who hold the Lord responsible for deep wounds or other difficulties it might be a challenge to open their hearts and see what He has to say each day. So, I hope you are following this or something like it. 

I don't want to put my own thoughts on the same day as a certain reading, because I don't want to hamper anyone else's understanding. But it seems weird to just write the chapter and nothing else, so I'll put each day's comments with a delay. From yesterday's reading I had these thoughts: 1) The Word is Jesus, and it's confusing but cool to think that He was there before the world, but still came to earth as a child. And I wonder if part of the plan when He came here was that He would only have earthly memories. It's hard to picture Baby Jesus, unable to talk or crawl, but reminiscing about the days of old. I concluded that it's all hard for us to understand because heaven/eternity is not on a time frame the way we are, so somehow it's probably a non-issue. Also, if He was fully man (e.g. John 4:6) he probably had a manly memory set. 2) The bit about the light shining in the darkness is encouraging when times are tough, especially how the darkness has not overcome it. God wins. Always. We just don't always see it or understand it. Because we don't have the whole picture! 3) He came to save the jews but most of them didn't receive Him. But those who did receive Him earned the RIGHT to be His child. That's cool. We often talk about how we don't deserve His grace, and we definitely don't. But our acceptance of His love makes us righteous enough to be adopted into His family. Awesome. 4) We see that the Holy Spirit helped John the Baptist (not the same John who wrote this book!) to recognize the Messiah, but how did the disciples know Him? I can't imagine anyone I've ever met giving off the impression of authority that would convince me to get up and leave everything to follow. 5)

John 2

     On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

    “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

    Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

    They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

     When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

     The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

     Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

21 Day Challenge

I want to pass on a great offer that Beth Moore put out recently. I think it ends January 10. She's offering 4 free E-books. If you haven't read her stuff it's really great. You just have to really put your heart into reading it and not just glance at it. I downloaded them onto my regular computer and they opened without any difficulty or other software need. Find them on Amazon or through the links on here: http://hip2save.com/2013/12/31/amazon-4-free-highly-rated-ebooks-by-beth-moore/

Anyway...

I heard a suggestion on the radio recently about a 21-day challenge. There are lots of resolutions and great plans of how to improve ourselves this time of year, but this one has more long term implications than the ones stressing how to improve our bodies or bank accounts. This one is a challenge to spend about 10 minutes per day seeking God, specifically by reading the book of John.

Okay, you all know I make a point of not checking who does and doesn't follow this, just for situations like this. But I still know what some readers will think when they read about this challenge. Some believers will think, "Oh, that's a great idea for someone who doesn't know about the Bible". But to you I still suggest it because there's always something more to glean from the Word. We're studying Matthew in Bible Study Fellowship this year and I'm getting more out of it than ever (the classes are everywhere, get in it, you won't be sorry!!!! www.bsfinternational.org). Every week I'm motivated and inspired, moreso than just focusing on the letters to churches that seem more practical. Another group of readers would say they are Christians but aren't totally devoted. Half of what I say on here sounds foreign or a little crazy. You might think you should do this challenge at some point, so maybe you'll bookmark it for when your schedule opens up. Please just do it now! It will only take a few minutes and really could change your life. Don't let fear of having to give things up by truly seeking Him get in the way of what He has for you! Finally, there are likely plenty of readers who have a different belief set than me. If you're closed off to Christianity, you can do this challenge for the sake of better understanding or debating us, or to resolve those nagging questions we could all face one day, "What if I'm wrong?" and "What if they're right?". Ignorance is no longer an acceptable defense, we all have access to all sorts of religious writings and beliefs and being angry at God or anything else doesn't make Him any less real.

I don't want to ruin God's word by adding external commentaries or explanations to it, so I'm going to just paste it here, with a little formatting for ease of reading. One chapter per day for 21 days. It will take you 10 minutes. Get to a quiet place, turn off your phone, set the kids in front of an educational tv show, pray for your eyes/ears/heart to be open to receiving it, and then read it. Write down your random thoughts, notes, or questions, to refer to later. If it is not real, it doesn't matter if you do it, it wouldn't hurt to pray to or read about a God who doesn't hear or care. 

Here it is, John chapter 1:

      In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

        The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

    Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

      Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness,‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”  Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

     The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

     The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”  When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”  “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

     Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

     The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.  Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”  “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.”

Circumstances

I have found myself in the midst of a war. The very first battle, between good and evil still continues to this day and I was blissfully unaware of much of it until recently. One thing is that I have been called to minister to and pray for sick people, mostly those with cancer, and it sometimes takes a mental toll on me. I start feeling like I'm praying the same words day after day, but just for different people. Like a broken record I pray from necessity rather than from the deep, wounded brokenness that overflows from the soul of an unworthy sinner. So I pray to care more, pray to break more, pray to yearn more. Then the worst thing happens--He answers those prayers. My circumstances change and I care more, ache from the inside out, cry out to the Lord for the ability to even comprehend the evil that surrounds me.

Psalm 34:15-18
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

I'm so saddened by the circumstances around me, and I am trying not to allow them to interfere with the celebration of the season. We should reflect on the amazing gift of Jesus. He came willingly into the world, and didn't sin. He was the only one who didn't deserve death, but He carried our sins just because He loved us. And He is now the only way to get to heaven. None of that will ever change. Our interpretation, understanding, or circumstances all change, but those truths will stay the same.

Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed O sons of Jacob"

I am supremely excited to tell you that Debora and I will be giving our testimonies on January 16 at Four Oaks Community Church. I've been honored to share it at many other places, but Four Oaks is our church home! I've been praying for and waiting on this opportunity for almost two years now. It will be well worth the wait, because we get to boast about His awesomeness there! If you're in town please come rejoice with us about the amazing God we serve.

I'm going through some really difficult circumstances right now but I have to be vague about all the details. So instead I ask that you join me in praying for protection for my family and the families of all those we've prayed for in the past, that they would increase in faith and peace, and for help in focusing on the Lord. Pray also that the Lord will use us all for His good, and that we would see Him in all things. I have some prayer updates and new requests that I'll put below:

Barbara--We were praying for her clear PET scan. We didn't get that miracle yet, but we will not lose faith. Her liver looks better but it grew in other places, so they are trying to remove some to assess what best destroys it then use those drugs on here. Sounds pretty cool to me. Pray she will have total relief from pain, doctors will treat her properly, and for a complete and miraculous removal of all cancer cells

Sally--PRAISE: A long time ago I talked about her on here. She was diagnosed with stage 4 BC soon after I was, and hers disappeared. It's been over a year without cancer and she had a bad PET scan recently, but HOORAY, the Lord had that disappear and further tests showed it was nothing.

Alison--PRAISE! At her 6 month scan they saw she has been cancer-free for over a year and a half! Glory be to God!!!!

Ryan--He has stage 4 stomach cancer and has been on chemo forever. He has a baby and has battling this for two years. Enough is enough, it's time for this miracle. Let's believe it for them because they are weak, tired, and worn out. We will carry him to the Lord and the Lord will heal him because of our faith (Mark 2:3-5)

Crystal--She and the others below are new on this list. She is young and was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 BC. It's all over her body and the chemo didn't work so they are radiating most of her torso. They fear it is in her brain and are awaiting a CT scan. Please pray for her comfort and that she will lean on Him, as well as for her family's peace, faith and comfort. Pray in the short run for immediate relief from her vomiting and that her brain scan shows absolutely nothing is wrong, and again for long run total healing.

Marlena--She is young and has already seen the Lord do great things with her diagnosis. There were fears that it had spread but He put those to rest. However, she's undergoing chemo and has had a really hard time recovering from that. Please pray He will strengthen her so she can maintain her role as a mother and that He will make anything she needs to give up or modify very clear.

Jenny--She is a pastor's wife who has had a recurrence of BC. She has a long list of awesome things the Lord has done to show her that He is in charge and is running things smoothly. She will have a bilateral mastectomy on Friday because she already had radiation. Please pray that the surgery goes well and with a smooth recovery and that the doctors have wisdom for all the proper treatment.

Teri--She loves the Lord and her triple negative BC did not spread, which is great. She's going through chemo and trying to stay positive, but it's really hard to work while undergoing treatment and she cannot take much time off. Please pray for her supernatural response to the chemo, that she would stay healthy and not struggle with the normal side effects of the treatment.

Contessa--This is the young mom whose home burned down a few weeks ago. She is doing well and has a new place to stay. We are collecting money for her utility deposit. Please pray she gets everything she needs and draws closer to the Lord through this experience.

Is anything too hard for God? (duh)

I told you at least once on here about a sweet woman named Barbara. She lives in Tallahassee and in February was admitted to the hospital for pain only to discover she had extensive cancer all over. Last I knew her treatments (and God...mostly God) helped remove it from her lungs but it was still in her liver. Her whole family is devoted to Christ and longs to see Him magnified through this situation. They've all rallied to be by her side and have prayed for her healing for 10 long months. I noticed that her first PET scan was scheduled at 2:30 back then and now it will be at that same time tomorrow. I imagine how scared and overwhelmed she was the first time around and pray that this time she will be filled with peace, love, hope and confidence. Confidence that there is no cancer, that Satan and all her cancer were cast out and the Holy Spirit created new, fresh, revived cells in their place. Join me now, and at 2:30 tomorrow (Thursday) in praying that the test will be performed accurately, and that it will show conclusively that every cell of cancer is gone (Like in Lk 8:43). We are not asking for the status quo. We are not "hoping for an improvement but settling for it not worsening". No. God is in charge of this woman's body and we are asking for and expecting complete and total healing (Mark 11:24).

Back before Barbara even had the official diagnosis, someone told one of her sons that he was in denial if he had any hope for her. Guess what? That person was right. There is no hope for her here on earth. No doctor can heal her entirely. No scientist can develop a drug in time to save her. But--thank the Lord--we do not put our hope in our powerful people, there is no hope for us there (Ps 146:3). And we wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.(Ps 33:20).

Adrian Rogers broadcast a sermon this week called Is anything too hard for God? It's good, follow the link to listen to the first part (second part can be found on his website). The answer, of course, is "NO!" Nothing is too hard for Him. Adrian recounts a story about praying for a really evil person who later accepted the Lord. God was in charge of having those men pray for that man's salvation. The victory is not just that the man accepted Jesus, it's that those people who prayed were emboldened to ask for more, more, and more, in His name. Because their faith was bolstered by each answer. God planned it that way because He wants to see such great faith. Look how thrilled He was with Abraham's faith. He blessed Abe because he believed in God's promises, NOT because he was such a sinless superstar (Gen 22, etc.).

God doesn't need us to ask Him for things. He is the boss, He is in charge. He doesn't do it for His own pride--He could get accolades in other ways. He does it for our own good. So we can see Him move. So we can see that the only limits on His goodness are the ones we arbitrarily set. Remember the time in your life where He did something so big that it could only be from Him? (If you don't, pray for one!) If He did that for you, why couldn't/wouldn't He answer the other prayers you have? Why couldn't He have Barbara's PET scan tomorrow come back completely clear? Why couldn't He have her doctor choke on his coffee when he sees the results and call all his colleagues to try to identify the Real Healer? Why couldn't He have revival break out in the Cancer Center with such a strong presence of the Lord that people can feel the Holy Spirit from outside the building (Acts 2)?

This is a great opportunity for us all to be more involved in the kingdom. Pray for Barbara, pray for your lost loved ones, pray for your faith to grow, and then wait with the urgent expectation that He will do it (Ps 65:5). He will do it so we are not put to shame (Ps 25:2; Romans 8:28). He will do it so you can understand Him more. He will do it so others hear His name. And He will do it because He is God (Isa 40:14).

Tallahassee Family in Need

I have been posting this all over, so you might have seen it, but I wanted to get it out as much as possible. There are SO many families in need that we can't help them all, but this one touched a core with me so I'm trying harder to help them out.

Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

My mom has a young, single mother in a class at TCC who is a reformed drug addict. She’s been trying hard to get her life together but bad things keep happening—when she finally got it together she was falsely accused of more criminal activity so had to move in with her sister (who is a single mother of 4). She’s trying exceedingly hard to get a degree and better her situation and has no money. Now their apartment burned down so between them there are 5 young kids and they have nowhere to live and only the clothes on their backs. I think this is the time to show them that Christ came to save people just like them (all of us). And that He really is their burden-bearer and healer! They’ve never known Him as their true Abba father and their kids can’t fathom what that even means.

1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

We will collect any donations for these people. Please let us know by Sunday if you happen to have something to donate so we can get it all arranged. Anything (used is fine!) would be appreciated. 

The kids’ sizes are: 2T girl, 3T girl, size 6 girl, and two size 6 boys. 

Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

GREAT News

I haven't posted in awhile because I needed time to digest, grieve, accept, and finally... rejoice over the loss of Jaime VanOrden. She's the one I begged you all to pray for in my last post. The one I stretched my faith to believe would be healed, and the one who died anyway, leaving me dazed and confused. 

I never met Jaime but I heard enough about her, and followed her friends' posts and updates to know that it was all by the book. I mean, The Book. She was a devout believer who wanted to live to raise her son. Tons of people prayed that she would be healed, and she even claimed it until the end. And now she is healed, but not on earth like I believed. She is in heaven, filled with more love than any of us down here could ever imagine.

There were a few times since my own healing that I started wondering if some of those denominations were right in their belief that everyone could be healed if they just did what the Bible says. My church and family don't believe that, so it was a stretch, but it would have answered a few questions. First, it would explain why Pentecostal denominations that emphasize healing see more healing. Because they expect God will do it and He does! It would also explain why I was healed myself, and would put an exclamation at the end of a few verses like, Exodus 23:25, "Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,", James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.", and Matthew 21:21, "Jesus replied, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done."

It is controversial to believe that everyone could be healed. When people aren't that into the debate, they push the possibility aside because there are so many Christians who die of illnesses. But when you've been healed or through some other type of miracle, it opens other realms of thought. And you start thinking maybe those people could have lived if they'd really believed, etc. Plus, my beliefs aren't dictated by the masses. If they were I wouldn't be sitting here in perfect health with a Bible on my lap.

So anyway, I really started seeking the Lord on this healing business, and when I heard how ill Jaime was I put my whole heart into praying for her. It was hard to believe she would be healed, but I made myself do it. Because we know all about the times that Jesus healed people because of the faith of their friends (e.g. Mth 8:5-13). 

God answered me when Jaime died. I know now without a doubt that He does not heal everyone. We (she had a huge group of believers praying for her) did everything that the glorious Word says. Checked off all the boxes. But she was still buried.

I am so sad for her family and friends. Especially with those who had the nerve to pray and believe that she would be healed. It's such a downer, and opens up doubts that niggle at our faith. But God is good. Note that I didn't say, "He is STILL good". Because that would be indicating He did something bad in the first place. He didn't. In the heavenly realm, where He is infinitely more intelligent than we are, where the whole picture can be seen and doesn't need interpretation, the earthly death of Jaime is a victory. She was a sinner (like all of us) and the wages of that sin is eternal damnation. But because of proclaiming the name of our Messiah, for depending upon and clinging to Him, she was saved for eternal glory. To spend forever praising His name with no tears, sadness, or pain. 

I learned it is still true that "It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy." (Romans 9:15). He will not be put in a box. We cannot follow a list of rules taken from the Bible to get them out of the hospital, any more than we can follow such rules to drag them into heaven with us. We are back to square one, worshiping Him with all our being and depending on the Holy Spirit to do the rest. We must still pray and believe He will answer as commanded, but be resolved that the One who knows it all makes the decisions.

For my part, I'm glad to know the truth, and see that going through the motions to "get someone healed" can not replace the value of brokenness. It takes the control off each of us and puts it back onto our burden-bearer. Where it belongs. I was going to title this post, "Bad News" but that would be inaccurate. The truth is, it is GOOD news to know He is in charge, He is involved, He is a personal God. He has great plans for us that are better than the misery we are suffering through today. One day our pain will be gone, the purposes clear, and the truth declared for all. That is GREAT news.