January 11
Here is an excerpt from Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood Author: Jeffrey Marx, Publisher: Simon & Schuster, that greatly reflects the power of kindness.
Gilman High School in Maryland has a highly successful football team. And its coaches have a few unusual rules -- such as an ironclad rule that no Gilman football player should ever let another Gilman boy -- teammate or not -- eat lunch by himself. And the requirement that players constantly base their thoughts and actions on one simple question: What can I do for others?:
"What happened that first day at Gilman [High School] was entirely unlike anything normally associated with high school football. It started with the signature exchange of the Gilman football program -- this time between [head coach] Biff Poggi and the gathered throng of eighty boys, freshmen through seniors, who would spend the next week practicing together before being split into varsity and junior varsity teams.
" 'What is our job?' Biff asked on behalf of himself, Joe, and the eight other assistant coaches.
" 'To love us,' most of the boys yelled back. The older boys had already been through this routine more than enough times to know the proper answer. The younger boys, new to Gilman football, would soon catch on.
" 'And what is your job?' Biff shot back.
'To love each other,' the boys responded.
"I would quickly come to realize that this standard exchange -- always initiated by Biff or defensive coach Joe Ehrmann--was just as much a part of Gilman football as running or tackling.
" 'I don't care if you're big or small, huge muscles or no muscles, never even played football or star of the team -- I don't care about any of that stuff,' Biff went on to tell the boys, who sat in the grass while he spoke. 'If you're here, then you're one of us, and we love you. Simple as that.' ..." 'I expect greatness out of you,' Biff once told the boys. 'And the way we measure greatness is the impact you make on other people's lives.'
"How would the boys make the most impact? Almost anything Biff ever talked about could be fashioned into at least a partial answer to that question.
"For one thing, they would make an impact by being inclusive rather than exclusive.
" 'The rest of the world will always try to separate you,' Biff said. 'That's almost a law of nature -- gonna happen no matter what, right? The rest of the world will want to separate you by race, by socioeconomic status, by education levels, by religion, by neighborhood, by what kind of car you drive, by the clothes you wear, by athletic ability. You name it -- always gonna be people who want to separate by that stuff. Well, if you let that happen now, then you'll let it happen later. Don't let it happen. If you're one of us, then you won't walk around putting people in boxes. Not now. Not ever. Because every single one of them has something to offer. Every single one of them is special. Look at me, boys.'
They were looking.
" 'We are a program of inclusion,' Biff said. 'We do not believe in separation.'
"The boys would also make an impact by breaking down cliques and stereotypes, by developing empathy and kindness for all.
" 'What's empathy?' Biff asked them. 'Feeling what?'
"'Feeling what the other person feels,' said senior Napoleon Sykes, one of the team captains, a small but solid wide receiver and hard-hitting defensive back who had already accepted a scholarship to play college football at Wake Forest.
" 'Exactly right,' Biff said. 'Not feeling for someone, but with someone. If you can put yourself in another man's shoes, that's a great gift to have for a lifetime.'
"That was the whole idea behind Biff and Joe's ironclad rule that no Gilman football player should ever let another Gilman boy -- teammate or not -- eat lunch by himself.
" 'You happen to see another boy off by himself, go sit with him or bring him over to sit with you and your friends,' Biff said. 'I don't care if you know him or not. I don't care if he's the best athlete in the school or the so-called nerd with his head always down in the books. You go get him and you make him feel wanted, you make him feel special. Simple, right? Well, that's being a man built for others.'
"How else would the boys make an impact?
"By living with integrity ... and not only when it is convenient to do so. Always. By seeking justice ... because it is often hidden. By encouraging the oppressed . . . because they are always discouraged."
Ultimately, the boys would make the greatest overall impact on the world -- would bring the most love and grace and healing to people -- by constantly basing their thoughts and actions on one simple question: What can I do for you?
Not, what can I do to get a bigger bank account or a bigger house? Not, what can I do to get the prettiest girl? Not, what can I do to get the most power or authority or a better job title? Not, what can I do for me? The only question that really matters is this: How can I help you today?
Biff and Joe would constantly elaborate on all of this as the season progressed.
"Because in case you haven't noticed yet, we're training you to be different," Biff said. "If we lose every game of the year, go oh-and-ten on the football field, as long as we try hard, I don't care. You learn these lessons, and we're ten-and-oh in the game of life."
Although Jesus is never mentioned in this excerpt, His influence is all over it. This is football coach does not quote scripture or share his faith in Christ. We do not receive any indication of his religious affiliation, but we sense the power of the Lord pervading the foundation of Biff Poggi’s athletic program.
We see the evidence of the power of Jesus’ words that believers must, “Let you light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father,” Matthew 5:16.
May we be encouraged in this day of persecution for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that even if we must remain silent before a world that disdains our faith and denies our hope and disbelieves our Christ, we yet may allow our lives to be a “living epistle, read of all men,” II Corinthians 3:2.
Even when our lips must be silent, our Jesus can be glorified in the way we live and through the outcome of the works we do to the honor of His name.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Ever Brighter Reflections
January 10
God’s provision is complete. His spiritual treasure is all around for us to gather as we ply His Word for nuggets of golden truth. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, we find our King’s treasure trove pouring out for us to glean of the wealth of His eternal certainty.
Yet, like prospectors in earth’s goldmines, we must dig into the veins of truth in order to find all that is there for us to possess. We do not wish to be content with the mere scattering of nuggets that can be gleaned from panning the surface of what is revealed to us. We want to dig deeply and discover all He has for us.
Toward that end, He has provided the Holy Spirit as our Partner in prospecting. Jesus has promised that the Comforter would come and that He would teach us all truth (John 14:26). When we open our hearts to Jesus, the Third Person of the Trinity becomes the Indweller of our spirits and He guides us in the way we should go in order that we may discover the fullness of God’s will for our lives.
In this regard, the Holy Spirit is rather like the science teacher in a laboratory where his students have the opportunity to experiment and to discover and to record scientific data on their own. He gives the basic guidelines and then allows the learners in his charge to discover knowledge on their own. The general consensus is that knowledge discovered in this fashion is more likely to be retained than if it is acquired through reading a book or being instructed by a teacher.
Our God wants us to discover His truth and He wants us to appropriate the power of His presence in our lives. He doesn’t require us to open our innermost being to Him but He is available when we invite Him in to be the heart of our existence.
How does this happen? Jesus says in Matthew 7:7, 8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” God knows we will value truth more if we seek it for ourselves—as the prospector who searches values the wealth he gains.
May we hunger and thirst after Him so fully that each day of our lives will be an exercise in achieving an ever deepening relationship with Him; that every moment of our existence will find us diminishing in our own control of our lives and allowing Jesus to increase in power in us. May our lives become ever-brighter reflections of the glory of the Christ we love and serve.
God’s provision is complete. His spiritual treasure is all around for us to gather as we ply His Word for nuggets of golden truth. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, we find our King’s treasure trove pouring out for us to glean of the wealth of His eternal certainty.
Yet, like prospectors in earth’s goldmines, we must dig into the veins of truth in order to find all that is there for us to possess. We do not wish to be content with the mere scattering of nuggets that can be gleaned from panning the surface of what is revealed to us. We want to dig deeply and discover all He has for us.
Toward that end, He has provided the Holy Spirit as our Partner in prospecting. Jesus has promised that the Comforter would come and that He would teach us all truth (John 14:26). When we open our hearts to Jesus, the Third Person of the Trinity becomes the Indweller of our spirits and He guides us in the way we should go in order that we may discover the fullness of God’s will for our lives.
In this regard, the Holy Spirit is rather like the science teacher in a laboratory where his students have the opportunity to experiment and to discover and to record scientific data on their own. He gives the basic guidelines and then allows the learners in his charge to discover knowledge on their own. The general consensus is that knowledge discovered in this fashion is more likely to be retained than if it is acquired through reading a book or being instructed by a teacher.
Our God wants us to discover His truth and He wants us to appropriate the power of His presence in our lives. He doesn’t require us to open our innermost being to Him but He is available when we invite Him in to be the heart of our existence.
How does this happen? Jesus says in Matthew 7:7, 8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” God knows we will value truth more if we seek it for ourselves—as the prospector who searches values the wealth he gains.
May we hunger and thirst after Him so fully that each day of our lives will be an exercise in achieving an ever deepening relationship with Him; that every moment of our existence will find us diminishing in our own control of our lives and allowing Jesus to increase in power in us. May our lives become ever-brighter reflections of the glory of the Christ we love and serve.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
He Who Promised Is Faithful
January 9
We cannot count ourselves blessed if we alone are blessed. It is the longing of our hearts to rest in the assurance that those we love, those to whom we have witnessed the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, are also blessed. We long not merely for temporal, but also eternal favor upon ourselves and those around us.
The great God we serve indicates His understanding of our deep yearning for the well-being of our loved ones in Isaiah 65:23, 24 where the prophet says, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they shall be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer; while they are speaking, I will hear.”
What a precious promise! The Almighty One sees our heart! He knows the depth of our longing for meaningful results to the labor we perform. He knows it is our desire to lay up treasure for our children—our natural children and our spiritual children! He knows we covet the blessings of time and of eternity—especially of eternity—for those we hold dear. And He says they’re ours!
As we see the events that unfold on planet earth, such things as the ‘polar vortex’ encroaching into half of the country and plunging it into a deep freeze; as we see man’s inhumanity to man evidenced in so many places and is so many ways, as we observe men who “have a form of godliness, but deny the power,” II Timothy 3:5, we tend to conclude that we are indeed living in the closing days of time.
As these signs unfold in more and more manifestations, with greater rapidity and in various and sundry places, we cannot but think of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:28, “When you see these things happen, look up and lift up your head, for your redemption draws near.”
So we wait in hope, knowing the words of the angel as the Lord ascended into Heaven after resurrection are true, “Why do you stand gazing into the air? This same Jesus, who is taken from you will return in like manner as you have seen Him go,” Acts 1:11. We do not despair when men and governments seems to be plummeting out of control.
We believe and are sure that Jesus came to make available to us everything man lost by the fall. Whereas Adam and Ever were required by their sin to toil to survive, to endure pain in childbearing, we are now told that our labor will be fruitful and those with whom we share the message of salvation will be kept in the hollow of His hand!
We know our God hears us as we whisper our prayers for those we love. We know we may continue to labor in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and that our efforts will bear fruit. Until He comes, we may abide in the assurance that “as our Savior comes, His reward will be with Him,” Isaiah 62:11.
May we allow our endeavors to be in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and may we keep our eyes on the eastern sky, for surely, “He who has promised is faithful,” Hebrews 10:23.
We cannot count ourselves blessed if we alone are blessed. It is the longing of our hearts to rest in the assurance that those we love, those to whom we have witnessed the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, are also blessed. We long not merely for temporal, but also eternal favor upon ourselves and those around us.
The great God we serve indicates His understanding of our deep yearning for the well-being of our loved ones in Isaiah 65:23, 24 where the prophet says, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they shall be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer; while they are speaking, I will hear.”
What a precious promise! The Almighty One sees our heart! He knows the depth of our longing for meaningful results to the labor we perform. He knows it is our desire to lay up treasure for our children—our natural children and our spiritual children! He knows we covet the blessings of time and of eternity—especially of eternity—for those we hold dear. And He says they’re ours!
As we see the events that unfold on planet earth, such things as the ‘polar vortex’ encroaching into half of the country and plunging it into a deep freeze; as we see man’s inhumanity to man evidenced in so many places and is so many ways, as we observe men who “have a form of godliness, but deny the power,” II Timothy 3:5, we tend to conclude that we are indeed living in the closing days of time.
As these signs unfold in more and more manifestations, with greater rapidity and in various and sundry places, we cannot but think of Jesus’ words in Luke 21:28, “When you see these things happen, look up and lift up your head, for your redemption draws near.”
So we wait in hope, knowing the words of the angel as the Lord ascended into Heaven after resurrection are true, “Why do you stand gazing into the air? This same Jesus, who is taken from you will return in like manner as you have seen Him go,” Acts 1:11. We do not despair when men and governments seems to be plummeting out of control.
We believe and are sure that Jesus came to make available to us everything man lost by the fall. Whereas Adam and Ever were required by their sin to toil to survive, to endure pain in childbearing, we are now told that our labor will be fruitful and those with whom we share the message of salvation will be kept in the hollow of His hand!
We know our God hears us as we whisper our prayers for those we love. We know we may continue to labor in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and that our efforts will bear fruit. Until He comes, we may abide in the assurance that “as our Savior comes, His reward will be with Him,” Isaiah 62:11.
May we allow our endeavors to be in the behalf of His Kingdom’s purposes and may we keep our eyes on the eastern sky, for surely, “He who has promised is faithful,” Hebrews 10:23.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Fulfilled
January 8
John 16:23, 24 extends a powerful promise to the people of God from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. Here He says, “I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.”
Could Jesus have made a more expansive promise than that? Could any promise given to us fulfill the longing of our hearts and souls to the degree that this one does? “…My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…” Oh, what love the Father has for us! Oh, what power is in the name of Jesus!
Combine the fact of the Father’s love with the power of the Son’s name and heaven and earth open before the supplicant! We may achieve the goals we yearn to attain and we may possess the things we long to own—it seems the promise is without reservation! It seems the ticket to ‘Easy Street,’ the way to lifelong self-indulgence and aggrandizement.
Yet, the reality is that if a man truly loves Jesus with all his heart, soul, mind, and spirit, his supplication before the Father will reflect that love. He will not ask for the trappings of power and wealth, for those things will have no allure for him. The man after Christ’s heart will ask for the treasures of the Kingdom, for souls won to the Lord—and his longing will be fulfilled.
When we are one with Christ as Christ is one with the Father, when our spirits are united with the Holy Spirit of the Living and True God, our desire will be toward Him. As I John 5:14 tells us, we will approach Him with boldness because as James 4:8 assures, "When you draw near to God, He draws near to you."
We have no doubt in our mind or reservation in our spirit, for we have been promised by the Christ Himself that as we boldly surrender our hearts, our lips, our prayers to Him, He will be near us; He will be our "Advocate with the Father," I John 2:1. He not only washes us clean of sin, but invests His power in the behalf of the prayers He lays upon our hearts.
When we have given our lives to Him for time and for eternity, He will invest Himself in us. He will plead our case before the Father, and He will send His Holy Spirit to "teach us all things," John 14:26. With His guidance, we will know "how to pray as we ought," Romans 8:26. When we are praying His own prayers, we can be assured that the longing of our heart will be fulfilled.
John 16:23, 24 extends a powerful promise to the people of God from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. Here He says, “I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be full.”
Could Jesus have made a more expansive promise than that? Could any promise given to us fulfill the longing of our hearts and souls to the degree that this one does? “…My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…” Oh, what love the Father has for us! Oh, what power is in the name of Jesus!
Combine the fact of the Father’s love with the power of the Son’s name and heaven and earth open before the supplicant! We may achieve the goals we yearn to attain and we may possess the things we long to own—it seems the promise is without reservation! It seems the ticket to ‘Easy Street,’ the way to lifelong self-indulgence and aggrandizement.
Yet, the reality is that if a man truly loves Jesus with all his heart, soul, mind, and spirit, his supplication before the Father will reflect that love. He will not ask for the trappings of power and wealth, for those things will have no allure for him. The man after Christ’s heart will ask for the treasures of the Kingdom, for souls won to the Lord—and his longing will be fulfilled.
When we are one with Christ as Christ is one with the Father, when our spirits are united with the Holy Spirit of the Living and True God, our desire will be toward Him. As I John 5:14 tells us, we will approach Him with boldness because as James 4:8 assures, "When you draw near to God, He draws near to you."
We have no doubt in our mind or reservation in our spirit, for we have been promised by the Christ Himself that as we boldly surrender our hearts, our lips, our prayers to Him, He will be near us; He will be our "Advocate with the Father," I John 2:1. He not only washes us clean of sin, but invests His power in the behalf of the prayers He lays upon our hearts.
When we have given our lives to Him for time and for eternity, He will invest Himself in us. He will plead our case before the Father, and He will send His Holy Spirit to "teach us all things," John 14:26. With His guidance, we will know "how to pray as we ought," Romans 8:26. When we are praying His own prayers, we can be assured that the longing of our heart will be fulfilled.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Miracle in Israel...in JESUS' Name!
January 7
The Lord wants to bless His people. He holds out great opportunities for enrichment to those who will but place their lives at His disposal. We read in Psalm 128:2 David’s encouraging words, “You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.”
We sometimes tend to read verses like that one and make the quantum leap of interpretation that assures that all believers will be possessors of great wealth. While some people of faith do have tremendous financial resources, we cannot equate promises such as this one entirely with the monetary realm.
The Lord indeed wants us to have financial blessings. He wants us to labor and to reap the reward of our work. There is a verse that says, “Do not muzzle the ox that treads the corn…” I Timothy 5:18, and goes on to clarify, “…the laborer is worthy of his hire.”
Yet beyond the gain afforded to us by our work, we have also the assurance of spiritual gain when we labor for the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58) where we are told that we are to, “…abound in the work of the Lord, for your labor for Him is not in vain.” He is a rewarder of those who work to further the Kingdom of Christ.
A glorious testimony of the wondrous benefits that come through the prayers of believers comes out of the land where Jesus walked and had His ministry. Hearing of this amazing miracle occurring in Israel should cause everyone, everywhere to realize that the One who came originally to save His people is moving among them today!
This is a clear indication that signs and wonders (Mark 16:17, 18) are still following believers. May I speculate here that IF HE IS INDEED EVIDENCING HIMSELF AMONG THE JEWS, THIS IS SURELY AN INDICATION THAT HIS RETURN IS NEAR!
Before He comes, may He show Himself strong among people of faith in every kindred, nation, tribe and tongue!
HERE IS THE TESTIMONY OUT OF ISRAEL:
Miraculous Healing in Jesus Stuns Israelis
Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today.
When Therese Daoud arrived at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital with a huge cancerous tumor, doctors said her only chance of survival would be to amputate the leg. What happened during the following months has left the medical staff and the nation speechless.
"If someone had told me the story of what happened to Therese, I would have said they are crazy and sent them to a mental hospital," said Professor Yaakov Bickels, head of the Orthopedic-Oncology Department at the hospital. "But I was there. I saw it with my own eyes."
What the professor saw he described as a malignant tumor "the size of an orange." The biopsy showed a sarcoma. "This is one of the most aggressive and terrifying of all cancerous tumors," Bickels explained. "With a tumor developed to this degree, the only treatment we could offer Therese was to amputate her leg."
"I was in shock when the doctors told me," said Therese, a junior high school science teacher. "I thought he was talking about someone else. But I had no choice. I began to prepare myself for life with one leg."
Therese sent lab tests and x-rays to the USA to double check, but they came back with the same prognosis. The leg must be amputated to save her life.
On the day of surgery, after waiting in the hospital for three days, Therese was informed that because of "technical difficulties" the operation must be rescheduled. When she went back for the rescheduled surgery, just as she was about to be wheeled into the operating theater, Therese was told again, "the amputation must be postponed." This time the surgical units were unavailable due to a number of emergency cases. By the time Therese got another date for surgery, her mother had become very sick, and Therese decided to herself postpone the operation in order to take care of her mother.
For most of us, postponing a lifesaving surgery would have been overwhelming. Not for Therese. "Three times the surgery was delayed," she said. "This was a clear sign to me from Heaven that I should not have the surgery." Israeli TV showed images of Therese praying in a church in the north of the country.
Three months later, a huge smile on her face, Therese walked unaided into Bickels' office. "What happened to you?" he asked. "I prayed," she responded.
Stunned, Bickels immediately sent Therese for an MRI, but the results were undeniable. The killer growth had receded dramatically. "This just does not happen," stammered the professor. "A growth of this kind cannot recede like this."
Doctors and nurses could not believe the results, so they sent for another biopsy. But . . . there was no cancer. It had completely left her body. "We kept checking her records over and over," said an astonished Bickels. "We just could not accept that the cancer had gone without any treatment."
Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today. (Israel Today)
The Lord wants to bless His people. He holds out great opportunities for enrichment to those who will but place their lives at His disposal. We read in Psalm 128:2 David’s encouraging words, “You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.”
We sometimes tend to read verses like that one and make the quantum leap of interpretation that assures that all believers will be possessors of great wealth. While some people of faith do have tremendous financial resources, we cannot equate promises such as this one entirely with the monetary realm.
The Lord indeed wants us to have financial blessings. He wants us to labor and to reap the reward of our work. There is a verse that says, “Do not muzzle the ox that treads the corn…” I Timothy 5:18, and goes on to clarify, “…the laborer is worthy of his hire.”
Yet beyond the gain afforded to us by our work, we have also the assurance of spiritual gain when we labor for the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58) where we are told that we are to, “…abound in the work of the Lord, for your labor for Him is not in vain.” He is a rewarder of those who work to further the Kingdom of Christ.
A glorious testimony of the wondrous benefits that come through the prayers of believers comes out of the land where Jesus walked and had His ministry. Hearing of this amazing miracle occurring in Israel should cause everyone, everywhere to realize that the One who came originally to save His people is moving among them today!
This is a clear indication that signs and wonders (Mark 16:17, 18) are still following believers. May I speculate here that IF HE IS INDEED EVIDENCING HIMSELF AMONG THE JEWS, THIS IS SURELY AN INDICATION THAT HIS RETURN IS NEAR!
Before He comes, may He show Himself strong among people of faith in every kindred, nation, tribe and tongue!
HERE IS THE TESTIMONY OUT OF ISRAEL:
Miraculous Healing in Jesus Stuns Israelis
Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today.
When Therese Daoud arrived at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital with a huge cancerous tumor, doctors said her only chance of survival would be to amputate the leg. What happened during the following months has left the medical staff and the nation speechless.
"If someone had told me the story of what happened to Therese, I would have said they are crazy and sent them to a mental hospital," said Professor Yaakov Bickels, head of the Orthopedic-Oncology Department at the hospital. "But I was there. I saw it with my own eyes."
What the professor saw he described as a malignant tumor "the size of an orange." The biopsy showed a sarcoma. "This is one of the most aggressive and terrifying of all cancerous tumors," Bickels explained. "With a tumor developed to this degree, the only treatment we could offer Therese was to amputate her leg."
"I was in shock when the doctors told me," said Therese, a junior high school science teacher. "I thought he was talking about someone else. But I had no choice. I began to prepare myself for life with one leg."
Therese sent lab tests and x-rays to the USA to double check, but they came back with the same prognosis. The leg must be amputated to save her life.
On the day of surgery, after waiting in the hospital for three days, Therese was informed that because of "technical difficulties" the operation must be rescheduled. When she went back for the rescheduled surgery, just as she was about to be wheeled into the operating theater, Therese was told again, "the amputation must be postponed." This time the surgical units were unavailable due to a number of emergency cases. By the time Therese got another date for surgery, her mother had become very sick, and Therese decided to herself postpone the operation in order to take care of her mother.
For most of us, postponing a lifesaving surgery would have been overwhelming. Not for Therese. "Three times the surgery was delayed," she said. "This was a clear sign to me from Heaven that I should not have the surgery." Israeli TV showed images of Therese praying in a church in the north of the country.
Three months later, a huge smile on her face, Therese walked unaided into Bickels' office. "What happened to you?" he asked. "I prayed," she responded.
Stunned, Bickels immediately sent Therese for an MRI, but the results were undeniable. The killer growth had receded dramatically. "This just does not happen," stammered the professor. "A growth of this kind cannot recede like this."
Doctors and nurses could not believe the results, so they sent for another biopsy. But . . . there was no cancer. It had completely left her body. "We kept checking her records over and over," said an astonished Bickels. "We just could not accept that the cancer had gone without any treatment."
Israeli news stations have been reporting on the miracle and all admit that it is impossible to explain what happened to Therese, other than the power of her faith. Hospital staff and reporters even traveled to Therese's home to look for some other explanation. They tasted the food she eats and checked the water she drinks, but there was no physical explanation. They left contemplating one undeniable, unavoidable and very uncomfortable option-that prayer in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel, still heals today. (Israel Today)
Monday, January 6, 2014
Relinquish to Possess
January 6
The dissertation of Paul in Philippians 3:7-9 is the affirmation of a man who has turned his life around. Where once he had temporal goals at the heart of his being, he now had a totally spiritual orientation. There was nothing that he once held dear that he had not totally abandoned. There was Christ Whom he once scorned that he had now come to embrace.
He said of himself, “Whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. I consider everything I gained to be loss compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things and count them but dung that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.
“I have no righteousness of my own through obedience to the law; I have only the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. It is the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
When Paul’s dark eyes were opened, when he could see the squalor of his own goodness, he embraced the One whose pure life enabled Him to place a robe of righteousness upon those who believe Him.
When Paul’s eyes were opened to behold the glory of the Holy One whose life, death and resurrection had the power to transform an ordinary flawed man from sinner to saint, he received the Gift that made all things new—that made him a man of passion for the Lord—the “unspeakable Gift” of II Corinthians 9:15.
It is only Jesus who can transform ordinary men today from flawed, vessels, laden with sin into godly people who can boldly face life or death in the confidence that Paul had. As the Apostle declared, “I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him,” II Timothy 1:12, so may believers today affirm that confidence!
Like Paul, we can be believers who are willing to exchange the momentary treasures of time for the unfathomable riches of eternity. We, too, may embrace the Lord Jesus Christ with a full heart that enables us to be like Paul—a man who relinquished the trappings of the world so he could possess the treasure of eternal life.
The dissertation of Paul in Philippians 3:7-9 is the affirmation of a man who has turned his life around. Where once he had temporal goals at the heart of his being, he now had a totally spiritual orientation. There was nothing that he once held dear that he had not totally abandoned. There was Christ Whom he once scorned that he had now come to embrace.
He said of himself, “Whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. I consider everything I gained to be loss compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whose sake I have lost all things and count them but dung that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.
“I have no righteousness of my own through obedience to the law; I have only the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. It is the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”
When Paul’s dark eyes were opened, when he could see the squalor of his own goodness, he embraced the One whose pure life enabled Him to place a robe of righteousness upon those who believe Him.
When Paul’s eyes were opened to behold the glory of the Holy One whose life, death and resurrection had the power to transform an ordinary flawed man from sinner to saint, he received the Gift that made all things new—that made him a man of passion for the Lord—the “unspeakable Gift” of II Corinthians 9:15.
It is only Jesus who can transform ordinary men today from flawed, vessels, laden with sin into godly people who can boldly face life or death in the confidence that Paul had. As the Apostle declared, “I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed to Him,” II Timothy 1:12, so may believers today affirm that confidence!
Like Paul, we can be believers who are willing to exchange the momentary treasures of time for the unfathomable riches of eternity. We, too, may embrace the Lord Jesus Christ with a full heart that enables us to be like Paul—a man who relinquished the trappings of the world so he could possess the treasure of eternal life.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Scatter the Seeds
January 5
We’ve all heard the riddle, ‘What would you do if the world were to come to an end tomorrow?’ and the answer is, ‘Plant a tree.’ This wise counsel indeed propagates the notion that hope springs eternal and man should never give up. Where there is life, there is hope. Best of all, however, we who believe know that where there is Christ, there is life after life.
Everyone longs for the assurance of fulfillment in life and of joy in the presence of God when our brief sojourn in time is done. Some people who do not know Jesus, go to extraordinary lengths in their attempt to appease their angry god. They will crawl on their foreheads to reach a shrine to lessen his wrath; they will blow themselves up in an effort to diminish his anger.
But those who know Jesus are aware that our profoundest yearnings to attain the righteousness we must possess in order to one day see His holy face cannot be attained through anything we can do on our own. Jesus has done everything for us at the cross. Our part is simply to receive His “unspeakable gift,” II Corinthians 9:15.
Of our longings, the Word says in Proverbs 13:12, “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” This speaks of the import of those things that profoundly impact our hearts. Our longing to know God and to be acceptable in His sight is the profoundest yearning of our souls and the writer of Proverbs understood that when that incomparable longing was fulfilled, the rest of life would be reconciled to our Holy God.
The things for which we yearn deeply are the stuff that makes the essence of life. We cry within our spirits to have a sense of well-being. We want to know that all is well for not just ourselves but also for those whom we love. We pray and seek the face of the Lord in the behalf of our family, our friends, our brothers in Christ. And He assures us that He hears and cares.
He knows that when we attain the object of our deep striving, we will thrive in our inner man as does the well-watered tree that spreads its branches to give shade and offer its fruit to sustain life. Our lives benefit the lives of those around us when we bask in the assurance that our Jesus never fails.
We become His partners in the giving of life eternal when we share our knowledge of Him with those within our sphere of influence. When we walk hand-in-hand with the Savior, we help Him scatter the seeds of life. No matter where those seeds fall, life will spring up, because Jesus is our Tree of Life!
We’ve all heard the riddle, ‘What would you do if the world were to come to an end tomorrow?’ and the answer is, ‘Plant a tree.’ This wise counsel indeed propagates the notion that hope springs eternal and man should never give up. Where there is life, there is hope. Best of all, however, we who believe know that where there is Christ, there is life after life.
Everyone longs for the assurance of fulfillment in life and of joy in the presence of God when our brief sojourn in time is done. Some people who do not know Jesus, go to extraordinary lengths in their attempt to appease their angry god. They will crawl on their foreheads to reach a shrine to lessen his wrath; they will blow themselves up in an effort to diminish his anger.
But those who know Jesus are aware that our profoundest yearnings to attain the righteousness we must possess in order to one day see His holy face cannot be attained through anything we can do on our own. Jesus has done everything for us at the cross. Our part is simply to receive His “unspeakable gift,” II Corinthians 9:15.
Of our longings, the Word says in Proverbs 13:12, “A longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” This speaks of the import of those things that profoundly impact our hearts. Our longing to know God and to be acceptable in His sight is the profoundest yearning of our souls and the writer of Proverbs understood that when that incomparable longing was fulfilled, the rest of life would be reconciled to our Holy God.
The things for which we yearn deeply are the stuff that makes the essence of life. We cry within our spirits to have a sense of well-being. We want to know that all is well for not just ourselves but also for those whom we love. We pray and seek the face of the Lord in the behalf of our family, our friends, our brothers in Christ. And He assures us that He hears and cares.
He knows that when we attain the object of our deep striving, we will thrive in our inner man as does the well-watered tree that spreads its branches to give shade and offer its fruit to sustain life. Our lives benefit the lives of those around us when we bask in the assurance that our Jesus never fails.
We become His partners in the giving of life eternal when we share our knowledge of Him with those within our sphere of influence. When we walk hand-in-hand with the Savior, we help Him scatter the seeds of life. No matter where those seeds fall, life will spring up, because Jesus is our Tree of Life!
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