Matthew 5:13
Jesus calls his followers salt— salt of the earth. All my life I have heard that phrase “salt of the earth” to describe good people, usually in the past tense. (The past tense indicates what is probably the best time to laud folks and name buildings after them.) What does salt do? It preserves. It heals (albeit stingingly). It gives taste. It melts.
Needing to melt snow and ice would be exceedingly rare in the Middle East where Jesus spoke these words, but I do not think this function of salt escaped Jesus’ knowledge (since He created it). We should be “melters,” allowing God to use us in others' lives to warm cold hearts toward Him.
Wherever we are, we should seek to warm a heart, to bring spiritual or physical healing, to help protect and preserve, and, maybe, to just add fun (taste) or meaning to life.
Update:
I was supposed to go to Emory this week to get a report from the tests of two weeks ago. I got a call on Monday that said I did not need to come on Tuesday because, one, the doctor was out of town, and two, my numbers were good enough not to warrant the six hour drive for the ten minute appointment. (The caller didn’t say that last part. That’s my commentary.)
Now this was good news. It means the cancer is still at bay. Not gone. At bay. Good news.
The greatest concern of my doctors is that the maintenance chemo medicine, Revlimid, does not lower my immune system too much, and it has been a balancing act since I have started. Those numbers, I guess you could say, are “normal low” for folks on Revlimid. Still, it is the most effective post-transplant treatment, so I hope to stay on it. Pray we can make it work.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
"Blessed Are The Persecuted" or "How Bold Are We, Really?"
Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
There will always be God haters, and people that hate the one true God will hate those who follow Him most closely. Those believers who walk with Christ in their hearts are already experiencing at least a bit of the Kingdom of God in their lives, and they are taking it to those they are around. Believers that care for others make a difference, and show the compassionate side of Christ that most outsiders never see or consider. (See “Teaching-Preaching-Healing” from 6/29).
“Theirs is the Kingdom.” The model prayer reminds us that the Kingdom is the Father’s. This tells us that it will one day belong to those who follow. Awesome promise.
Persecution or rejection comes to those who are living an unapologetic life for Christ. If there is not enough evidence showing, our lives get little attention. Perhaps it could be stated this way:
"Blessed are you when you get persecuted because you just won’t shut up about the Truth."
"Blessed are you when you are reviled (etc.) because you act and speak so much like Jesus that you make the anti-God ones a feel uncomfortable (or, possibly, convicted)."
This passage seems to imply the greater the persecution, the greater the reward. If so, that may mean believers in parts of the world hostile to the Way may well live in the “Beverly Hills” of heaven while us westerners may live in the Condo section – but they will be very nice condos.
The faith and boldness of believers in other parts of the world challenges me. I read yesterday of two Congolese pastors who go into the forest to share the gospel with rebel soldiers. Very dangerous, but they are certain God has called them to go. (I'll have more to say about this in my message tomorrow.) There is something about sharing your faith when it could cause you to get shot or your throat slit that is far beyond what I could imagine.
How bold are we, really?
Update
Numbers are still okay, so we may be on to something with the dosage of the maintenance chemo. My visit to both doctors, (Emory and Augusta) were mostly giving blood. I'll know my test results from Emory in about ten days. I see my local oncologist on Friday for my monthly visit. Overall, I feel good. That is a result of your prayers! Thank you.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
There will always be God haters, and people that hate the one true God will hate those who follow Him most closely. Those believers who walk with Christ in their hearts are already experiencing at least a bit of the Kingdom of God in their lives, and they are taking it to those they are around. Believers that care for others make a difference, and show the compassionate side of Christ that most outsiders never see or consider. (See “Teaching-Preaching-Healing” from 6/29).
“Theirs is the Kingdom.” The model prayer reminds us that the Kingdom is the Father’s. This tells us that it will one day belong to those who follow. Awesome promise.
Persecution or rejection comes to those who are living an unapologetic life for Christ. If there is not enough evidence showing, our lives get little attention. Perhaps it could be stated this way:
"Blessed are you when you get persecuted because you just won’t shut up about the Truth."
"Blessed are you when you are reviled (etc.) because you act and speak so much like Jesus that you make the anti-God ones a feel uncomfortable (or, possibly, convicted)."
This passage seems to imply the greater the persecution, the greater the reward. If so, that may mean believers in parts of the world hostile to the Way may well live in the “Beverly Hills” of heaven while us westerners may live in the Condo section – but they will be very nice condos.
The faith and boldness of believers in other parts of the world challenges me. I read yesterday of two Congolese pastors who go into the forest to share the gospel with rebel soldiers. Very dangerous, but they are certain God has called them to go. (I'll have more to say about this in my message tomorrow.) There is something about sharing your faith when it could cause you to get shot or your throat slit that is far beyond what I could imagine.
How bold are we, really?
Update
Numbers are still okay, so we may be on to something with the dosage of the maintenance chemo. My visit to both doctors, (Emory and Augusta) were mostly giving blood. I'll know my test results from Emory in about ten days. I see my local oncologist on Friday for my monthly visit. Overall, I feel good. That is a result of your prayers! Thank you.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are Those Who Make Peace, For They Shall Become Sons of God.
When we are making peace, we look like Jesus. Does this mean peace at any cost? Peace in spite of injustice? I don’t think so. But we are to bring peace to others.
For years, we served orphans in Romania. Part of that is an effort to bring God's peace to lives that have been disrupted by abandonment, neglect, abuse, and violence. They need peace—external and internal peace. That peace begins with love from others, but finds permanent roots in a relationship with Christ. Believers are to be agents of peace, but realizing that God is the author of that peace.
Update
I go back to Emory tomorrow for some more blood-letting. It was ten or eleven vials three months ago. Praise the Lord for the technology that allows them to stick you once for all rather than once per vial! This is my six-month-post-transplant follow-up visit. I'll also see the doctor or one of the Nurse Practitioners, for conversations about how I am doing. The test results won't be back for a couple of weeks, but you can pray that the results are good.
Your prayers are the best thing you can do for me.
Blessed are Those Who Make Peace, For They Shall Become Sons of God.
When we are making peace, we look like Jesus. Does this mean peace at any cost? Peace in spite of injustice? I don’t think so. But we are to bring peace to others.
For years, we served orphans in Romania. Part of that is an effort to bring God's peace to lives that have been disrupted by abandonment, neglect, abuse, and violence. They need peace—external and internal peace. That peace begins with love from others, but finds permanent roots in a relationship with Christ. Believers are to be agents of peace, but realizing that God is the author of that peace.
Update
I go back to Emory tomorrow for some more blood-letting. It was ten or eleven vials three months ago. Praise the Lord for the technology that allows them to stick you once for all rather than once per vial! This is my six-month-post-transplant follow-up visit. I'll also see the doctor or one of the Nurse Practitioners, for conversations about how I am doing. The test results won't be back for a couple of weeks, but you can pray that the results are good.
Your prayers are the best thing you can do for me.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Blessed Are The Pure-Hearted
Matthew 5:8
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
There is no impurity before God. His being is so untainted, without even a hint of impurity, that nothing contaminated with sin can be in his presence. It will not stand. We are born bent toward impurity. We have a natural leaning toward sin, and before we are very old, we have revealed that nature. We know this from our own children. The word we say most to our little, toddling offspring is “no,” not “yes.” That was true of our parent’s words to us. Isaiah said “All we like sheep have gone astray. Every one of us has turned to his on way.” (Isaiah 53:6, emphasis added.) Paul, in Romans 3:23, reminds us “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (emphasis added again)
Part of what makes God glorious is His total purity. I wonder what we would look like if every thought was pure, every action innocent, every word true? Hmm.
Truth is, we are not pure. How will we ever be able to stand before God? How can we get a pure heart? Isaiah finishes 53:6 with, “the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Paul tells us, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Only through Christ can we be made pure. It is His gift, from the suffering and blood of the Cross, which makes us pure. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB) Apart from Christ, I am hopelessly unrighteous. In Christ, I am made new. It is beyond my reckoning to understand all this, but my limited ability to comprehend does not make it less true.
Check out these additional passages of scripture to gain more insight. If you are reading this online, you should be able to click on each reference, as you can those above, and you'll be taken to the BibleGateway.com site, where you can read the scriptures, and look at them in their context.
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Hebrews 12:14
Revelation 22:3-4
1 John 3:2
Update: I am feeling well, perhaps a bit more tired than normal, but doing well. Keep the prayers going. They are everything.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
There is no impurity before God. His being is so untainted, without even a hint of impurity, that nothing contaminated with sin can be in his presence. It will not stand. We are born bent toward impurity. We have a natural leaning toward sin, and before we are very old, we have revealed that nature. We know this from our own children. The word we say most to our little, toddling offspring is “no,” not “yes.” That was true of our parent’s words to us. Isaiah said “All we like sheep have gone astray. Every one of us has turned to his on way.” (Isaiah 53:6, emphasis added.) Paul, in Romans 3:23, reminds us “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (emphasis added again)
Part of what makes God glorious is His total purity. I wonder what we would look like if every thought was pure, every action innocent, every word true? Hmm.
Truth is, we are not pure. How will we ever be able to stand before God? How can we get a pure heart? Isaiah finishes 53:6 with, “the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Paul tells us, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Only through Christ can we be made pure. It is His gift, from the suffering and blood of the Cross, which makes us pure. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB) Apart from Christ, I am hopelessly unrighteous. In Christ, I am made new. It is beyond my reckoning to understand all this, but my limited ability to comprehend does not make it less true.
Check out these additional passages of scripture to gain more insight. If you are reading this online, you should be able to click on each reference, as you can those above, and you'll be taken to the BibleGateway.com site, where you can read the scriptures, and look at them in their context.
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Hebrews 12:14
Revelation 22:3-4
1 John 3:2
Update: I am feeling well, perhaps a bit more tired than normal, but doing well. Keep the prayers going. They are everything.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Blessed Are The Mercy Givers
Matthew 5:7
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
However, according to James 2:13, the converse is also true:
"Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful." However, the last part of that verse is good news, "Mercy triumphs over judgment!"
I have a hard time thinking about mercy without thinking about grace—God’s grace. If you are my age or close, that may elicit a memory of a hymn: The last verse says, "Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe. All who are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.”
Jesus isn’t just speaking of the grace and mercy of God toward me, though. He is speaking of the mercy I am supposed to show others. I take that is spurts. It is very little trouble for me to show mercy to a little kid, even one that is somewhat annoying—at least for awhile. Drivers who pull out in front of me elicit a less merciful response. That isn’t right, but is the way I tend to react.
Think about Jesus and the times he showed mercy. He showed mercy to those he healed. Perhaps He was showing a rather painful mercy toward the religious leaders he confronted by telling them the truth and pointing out their errors. He showed mercy to those who killed Him. He could have called down fire from heaven, and vaporized them on the spot. However, His mercy toward you and me was so strong that he willingly died, showing mercy to his immediate accusers and to us sinners far away in the future.
That is a level of mercy I know little about. I should show mercy as He does, to the homeless, to the needy, to the small, to the orphans and widows (scripture has a LOT to say about this) and toward whomever he brings in my path.
Bottom line. If I want people to show me mercy, I have to be merciful toward others, first.
Update
Went to the doctor on Friday. I get to do that every week, but I only actually see the doctor once a month. The other times are just to check in with the local vampires, uhm..., phlebotomist. (Blood letting seems to be a part of my treatment). This week, my number were back up, so I am back on my maintenance chemo, but every other day. We'll see how I tolerate this level of dosing. I never felt bad, but my platelets and white cell count dropped too low.
The only side effect I began to experience before they took me off the Revlimid two weeks ago was a little light-headedness upon standing. Not empty-headedness, just light. So, now, when I stand up, especially if I am in the middle of a room rather than near a wall which would withstand my leaning against it, I stand, and wait for, say, a ten-count. If I have my wits and my legs about me, I will move away from my chair. If not, I sit back down. You have to see the humor where you can find it.
Overall, I feel good—very good most days. That is an answer to your prayers. Keep them going up.
Thanks!
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
However, according to James 2:13, the converse is also true:
"Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful." However, the last part of that verse is good news, "Mercy triumphs over judgment!"
I have a hard time thinking about mercy without thinking about grace—God’s grace. If you are my age or close, that may elicit a memory of a hymn: The last verse says, "Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe. All who are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.”
Jesus isn’t just speaking of the grace and mercy of God toward me, though. He is speaking of the mercy I am supposed to show others. I take that is spurts. It is very little trouble for me to show mercy to a little kid, even one that is somewhat annoying—at least for awhile. Drivers who pull out in front of me elicit a less merciful response. That isn’t right, but is the way I tend to react.
Think about Jesus and the times he showed mercy. He showed mercy to those he healed. Perhaps He was showing a rather painful mercy toward the religious leaders he confronted by telling them the truth and pointing out their errors. He showed mercy to those who killed Him. He could have called down fire from heaven, and vaporized them on the spot. However, His mercy toward you and me was so strong that he willingly died, showing mercy to his immediate accusers and to us sinners far away in the future.
That is a level of mercy I know little about. I should show mercy as He does, to the homeless, to the needy, to the small, to the orphans and widows (scripture has a LOT to say about this) and toward whomever he brings in my path.
Bottom line. If I want people to show me mercy, I have to be merciful toward others, first.
Update
Went to the doctor on Friday. I get to do that every week, but I only actually see the doctor once a month. The other times are just to check in with the local vampires, uhm..., phlebotomist. (Blood letting seems to be a part of my treatment). This week, my number were back up, so I am back on my maintenance chemo, but every other day. We'll see how I tolerate this level of dosing. I never felt bad, but my platelets and white cell count dropped too low.
The only side effect I began to experience before they took me off the Revlimid two weeks ago was a little light-headedness upon standing. Not empty-headedness, just light. So, now, when I stand up, especially if I am in the middle of a room rather than near a wall which would withstand my leaning against it, I stand, and wait for, say, a ten-count. If I have my wits and my legs about me, I will move away from my chair. If not, I sit back down. You have to see the humor where you can find it.
Overall, I feel good—very good most days. That is an answer to your prayers. Keep them going up.
Thanks!
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