Immense, Immeasurable Prayers

In her introduction to Voices of the Faithful, Book 2, Beth Moore states, “Never lose sight of the fact that your prayers matter immensely. The fact is, they matter immeasurably.” I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is easy to wonder just how much my prayers matter. Moore continues, “When I wonder if my prayers for others are accomplishing anything at all, my mind often turns to Paul’s words in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians.”

Take some time to read 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, but notice these two sentences. “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure so that we despaired even of life… On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us with your prayers.”

If there is anything of which I am convinced, it is that your prayers have helped me immeasurably and immensely. I will probably never fully comprehend exactly how much until I am in Heaven, but I know they have made a huge difference. Never underestimate the importance or the effectiveness of your prayers.

Now that I have been back in Augusta for a couple of weeks, I am trying to work half days or a bit more. Not sure I am doing a half-day's work yet, but I am present anyway. One of the Physician's Assistants we saw has made it simple: "The chemo is out of your system, but the side effects are not. Some of those will take weeks or months to go away." Well, I didn't give him the "Barnabas Award" for encouragement, but I do appreciate his honesty.

I am getting stronger, and occasionally have a full nights sleep. Learning to pace myself is perhaps the most difficult thing, although my body has a couple of ways of letting me know if I am overdoing it. And, I am very glad to be back home!

Here are some specific things you can pray for me:

1. The test that will tell me where I stand with this cancer will be done on June 22, and we’ll get the results on July 6. Pray that the test will show that I am healed or am in complete remission. 
2. Pray for me as I begin to become more involved in my ministry responsibilities again. I want to be sure I am doing what He wants me to do as I serve Him and my church.
3. Pray for the bone aching to come to an end. My legs ache most of the time, because the bone marrow is working hard to regenerate. It doesn’t stop me from doing most things. It just nags.
4. Pray for full nights of sleep. We all know how that helps.

Thanks!
Remember, your prayers matter immensely and immeasurably.

More Than Forgiveness

I was reading earlier this week, and was reminded that the requirement to get into heaven is more than just forgiveness. Jesus said it this way in the Sermon on the Mount, “For I say to you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 5:20). In Isaiah 64:6, we are reminded that our righteousness is “as filthy rags.” Paul, in Romans 3:10 reminds us that there is “none righteous, no, not one.” This puts us in a real mess. 

Where can such righteousness come from? Jesus provided it for every believer at the cross. Praise the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says the “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God.” Paul tells us in Romans 3:22 that we receive the “righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” All of this comes from being in Christ. It is hard to get my head around the fact that when the Father looks at me, He sees me as righteous as the Son, because I know me. But God has provided everything a believer needs for this life and the next. Praise Him.

Medical Update: 

Here is something else to praise about. Yesterday, I mentioned to a few folks in email that I had a doctor’s appointment this morning at Emory, and to pray that all my numbers were “better than or equal to” what they expected. Well, they were. As a consequence, we are free to roam. We will be in Augusta this weekend, and then back for another appointment and an outpatient procedure to remove the central line. As far as the weekend goes, I do not know if I will be at church or not, since there will be lots of people and I have a “newborn’s” immune system. 

Don’t stop believing and praying. As you know, there is no earthly cure for Multiple Myeloma. Our best hope is to get it into remission and keep it there. On or near day 100 post-transplant (Saturday, June 26 is the actual day) I will return to Emory for some tests that will tell us if the cancer is in remission, and what to expect from there. So keep praying that God’s healing hand work, and it be gone. If not that, pray for it to at least be in long-term remission. 

I cannot say enough how much we appreciate, feel, and see the result of the thousands of prayers that you have prayed. On top of that the cards, calls, visits and emails have been wonderful.

Freely Giving

Tomorrow is Easter. We celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. What a God we serve. What a Savior we have!

This morning, Romans 8:32 was stuck in my head. “He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?” God is going to take care of His children. The preceding verse ends with, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Now in my seventh month of this cancer reality, I can say God has freely given many times. He has given me hope when the clouds of despair and doom were gathering. He has spared me many of the terrible side effects of treatment. There have been some miserable days, bad moments, and hate-this-stuff hours. But there have been many more good days. My family blesses me with their love and care. My church prays and supports me in countless ways. I am the recipient of excellent medical care. Most of all, I am being prayed for by thousands of people around the world. His presence has never left me for a moment. I have never felt abandoned. Praise the Lord.

I have been out of the hospital for two full days now. I am able to walk outside, and each day I feel a little stronger and can go a little farther. I also get to enjoy the flowers. Things are just starting here, but I have enjoyed the large "Tulip tree" in my Mom's front yard. Thursday, it was beautiful. Today, almost all the petals are on the ground, but that is its time. Below are a couple of pics I took of that tree. 

Thanks for your prayers! Don't let up!