God's Not Dead - Kevin Sorbo Interview

God's Not Dead | Official Trailer #3 (+playlist)

Life is Not Fair

by Max Lucado
(from the devotional UpWords)

May I gently but firmly remind you of something you know but may have forgotten?  Life is not fair. That’s not pessimism, it’s a fact.  It’s not a complaint, it’s just the way things are. I don’t like it. Neither do you. Ever since the kid down the block got a bike and we didn’t, we’ve been saying the same thing, “That’s not fair!”

At some point someone needs to say to us, “Who ever told you life was going to be fair?” God didn’t. In James 1:2, he didn’t say, “If you have many kinds of troubles,” he said, “When you have many kinds of troubles.” Troubles are part of the package.

Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. My kingdom is from another place (John 18:36).”
When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you.  To keep your balance in this crooked world, think of home!

Cancer Free

This ordeal started over 6 months ago.

In September of last year Sue was at her chiropractors visit, when a routine X-ray revealed a spot on her lung. After being told the spot was probably scar tissue Sue decided to see a specialist to get a colonoscopy  and an EDG. The specialist confirmed the spot was most likely scar tissue, but scheduled a follow up,  just three months later.

The bad news came when the follow up occurred and the spot had grown slightly. After a biopsy was scheduled, and consequently we found out that it was indeed cancer.

The back story to all of this is that Sue had lost her Father, and her Brother to lung cancer. Both were diagnosed much later in their disease rate, and developed brain cancer along with the other complications. To say we were worried is a severe understatement.

Through all of this Sue has been a rock of strength. She said that she had turned all of it over to God, and that she was not going to worry about any of this. You could see the fear in her sometimes, but she was really an inspiration through all of this.

Today, we received the very best news. Sue's Doctor read her the final pathology report telling her that she was cancer free, and that she would not need chemo-therapy.

Sue has asked me to thank each of you for your prayers, and wants to give each of you a hug, in spirit.

God bless.

Quick Update

I will use this post as the place to update the situation with Sue. She is currently doing great. She came through her surgery fine, and the Dr. says she is cancer free.

We can not thank each of you enough for the prayers. She still has some ways to go before she regains her full strength, but she passes along a big "THANK YOU".

Personal Request

My wife's first cousin has lung cancer.

That news alone can be enough to sit you down, and take your breath away. But God has his way of getting us through these things. After careful research, we have found out that this disease was caught very early.

 If she can successfully navigate the heart stress test Monday, she will have the surgery to remove part of her right lung on Tuesday.

So, my request to each of you, is that we all pray together for her to be able to have a successful surgery, and a healthy recovery. Her name is Sue Barefield, and she needs your prayers, please.

Thanks and God bless.

Challenges: Expressions of Irritation

Calm waters. photo by Klell

 Probably the one place in my walk with God that I fail the most in, is when I get become frustrated, or irritated. I certainly won't print some of the utterances that have streamed forth from my "pie hole", suffice it to say, my Mother would not be proud.

Learning to tame this emotional outburst has left me humbled for sure. It is an ever constant battle, that I for one, intend to get past. Of course, I need help in doing so, and that only comes from the grace of God.

James 3:6

 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on the fires of hell.

Nothing good comes from these short lapses in control. Almost instantly I ask for forgiveness, and I am ashamed. I know that this verse is the most true in this situation.

Matthew 15:11

Not that which goes into the mouth defiles a man; but that which comes out of his mouth, this defiles a man.

There is hope of course, in the name of Jesus Christ. He gave his life so that we may be forgiven. Strength comes from this knowledge. The compassion that the Son of God has shown allows me to continue to fight the good fight, and walk with him as one. 

I will leave you with this one verse that, when taken in context, can give you all the encouragement you need to keep walking your walk with him.

1 John 3:20

 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.