Healed?

I was recently told that the condition of my wife's current state of health was due to a lack of faith (in short)

affliction (n)
A condition of pain, suffering, or distress. /syn trial
A cause of pain, suffering, or distress. /syn burden

infirmity (n)
A bodily ailment or weakness, especially one brought on by old age.
Frailty; feebleness.
A condition or disease producing weakness.
A failing or defect in a person's character.

A good friend of mine today spoke to me about the difference between an affliction and an infirmity. The definition of affliction (in this instance) will be a trail or burden (assume a divine purpose) where an infirmity is a physical plague to the earthly body. He shared that by the word of scripture, all infirmities are already healed and all we as Christians need to do is have faith and believe they are healed and the infirmities will be lifted. Affliclitions would be more like Paul's "thorn in the flesh" that he asked be healed but never was (that we know). Paul's "thorn" has divine purpose and being so, it was not God's will that it be healed. However, he was certain that people today do not have afflictions (? seemed to be what he was saying) but rather infirmities that they only have because they do not have the faith that it is already healed. I would admit that the picture painted many times in the new testament scripture is one of physical healing. You dont hear of too many Christians dying from old age, crones, cancer, etc. They were usually killed (not sure is killed would be considered an affliction or not). He told me that it is God's will that we (Christians) be healthy and prosperous. Now, i know for a fact that the picture of the new testament was not one of properity for our early pioneers; not if you measure prosperity by the size of ones bank account for sure. I got the phrase I love so much.. "what you need to do is." I love this phrase!(sarc). I love it because it automatically puts the person saying it in a position of some authority over me by knowing exactly what I NEED to do; and second I love it because it makes the assumption that I havent done whatever-it-is already. He also mentioned that infirmities are of the devil. I thought this gives the devil a little too much credit; that he created all infirmity? He was cast out of heaven for pride. He tricked or led created man into disobedience. From that time the creation changed. Man was destined to live forever, but with sin, was now destined to die. So the world, the creation, then, became a ticking time bomb counting down to the day that God would restore everthing. I would be quicker to conclude that infirmities are a result of the degradation of creation rather than a 'creation' of satan. To say that illness is a creation or work of satan would ultimately be to say that hell was a creation of satan, but we know that God has destined satan for hell has his eternal punishment and separation from Him. It would not make sense then that satan created the place of his own demise.

just some thoughts

enough is enough, amen?

the below text was/is my last comment to a post on the topic of the most recent buzz over Mike G from Australia not posted for discussion, but for anti-discussion. this is were i stand on this issue.

if i were mike reading this, im not sure how i'd feel right now. maybe cry, maybe want to throw my monitor down the hall. not really sure. if i were really sick, mentally, maybe suicide.

mike, if you ever do read this. we just want you to know what you already know.. that God loves you.. that Jesus loves you and always takes us back. i apologize that so many (myself included) have taken liberty to discuss your personal life amongst ourselves as if we were entitled to do so. forgive us. may peace be on you and your family. -tg

(to some of you others reading this.. you may disagree. you may think that because mike was so much in the public eye that we are entitled to discuss these things - or insert whatever reason you may have. i've read so many variations of this story already, that its only a matter of time before it comes out that he was an arms dealer in iraq. please, lets stop this. you may call me a hypocrite because here i am commenting on a post about mike. yes, i admit i was quickly caught up on all the buzz. and so from hence forth, this is my only further comment on subject.. "let’s not talk about mike")

http://www.chrisfromcanada.com/?p=710#comment-4026

Mike, i dont know you, you dont know me, but we both know Christ.. and that make us family. I wish you well and hope to see you back on your feet with Gods grace in Gods time.

Feelin' a little Old School?

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).

The thought that came to me is this.. how much of the old testament and its teaching do we wrongfully dismiss? I realize that with the new testament came a change in the receipt of salvation and it also gave us specific duties to fulfill, but what about the old school traditions?

Dont Let The "Cute" Thing Fool Ya

This is common find on apparel for children and young ladies (even not so young ladies) today. The implication is this: cute implies innocence or goodness, I'm cute, but don't let that fool you, i can also be pretty naughty (or not such a good kid). Well, with kids (we aquired this as a hand-me-down for our 5 year old) I do see the humor (and truth) in this. Everyone always tells you (well, this was the case with us anyway) that your kid is so cute and well behaved. Then you think - yeah, you don't go home with her! Funny, right? But my girl is growing up now and I was struck with the thought of what else this might convey. This can't be the implication intended by the 13, 17, 20, even 30 somethings. No, this isn't a simple statement of, hey my parents bought me this shirt to convey that at home I'm really a holy terror. This is more along the lines of personal reputation. This says, "I know I look cute (innocent), but really I can be quite naughty. When you apply this kind of phrase to a toddler, its funny. When you do the same to some of the ages listed above, well, not so funny really - when you think about it. But that's the problem nowadays I believe. We don't really think about it. We wear what is on the shelves at the clothing stores. We wear what our friends are wearing. -sorry, topic for another time, back on track-


My point (initially) here is this - I have had the opportunity to hear from a young person who is not at all alone in what was shared. This person is a kind and decent person, fairly good student, not a trouble maker, but is alone - feels cast out of circles at school and the like - and all because of this persons reputation for being "good." No one wants to be good anymore. Its cool to be bad, naughty, a little crazy and wild. So the image above shows the desired statement to fit in. It says, "no, I'm am bad, really, please let me fit in." When there's two things wrong with that. Of course, we shouldn't want to be bad, and we shouldn't strive to fit in (conform to this world). And we certainly shouldn't be apologizing for our seemingly innocent appearance or behavior, but rather the opposite.

If Im not alive tomorrow...

War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again.
Edwin Starr

Well... Let us suppose that if it were not for our willingness and our capability to kill and destroy (as an American nation), then we would simply fall victim to the ones who are. Maybe that is not entirely true, but mostly true. In some cases, small people groups may be of no significance to others and so therefore never become a target - but only time can tell, when their time is up, and suddenly they become significant for what ever reason. We are significant, we a target, and I presume that we only stand because we are not a nation to be trifled with.

All this to say that I believe that Christ would not want us to live a kill-or-be-killed life. I believe that Christ intended for us to love and only love, knowing that persecution would be our ultimate destiny (and per Revelation, it is). So how do I tell myself (let alone my American neighbor), comfortable, safe, and free to put away fighting, knowing that it will most likely mean laying down our lives - to fall victim to any one of our countless enemies. How then also do I tell the African villager who has seen so much suffering and has suffered so much himself at the hands of murderous gangs to put away hate, revenge, anger all to just love, knowing that it would laying down his life.

If Christ was asking us to love and not hate, to sow peace and not war, to heal and not kill, then would we? Would we lay down our lives for His sake? Would we forsake comfortable for His sake? Would we forsake taking our own justice for His sake? Could we? Should we?

This is pretty dark topic even for me. And I am in no way saying that I exemplify what I preach. I only mean to speak it, that it may resound further in me, and, perhaps, in you. It is the truth that we know, but do not wish to speak because it requires us to put so much on the line. It calls attention to our hypocrisy when we do not live these words.

I know many will say this is too extreme and why cant we just live in the here and now and share Jesus with our neighbor and reach out to the hurting? Well, by all means do that. That’s what we are supposed to be doing.

This post, this whole thought process, stems from this one thought I had while driving home today: So many Christians/Christian-Americans (as I like to refer) that I know would quickly join with me in saying, "Let us put away our hate and our killing and live as Jesus intended, to love our neighbor as ourselves" and yet would still cringe (perhaps even disassociate with me) if I said, "Let us put away our tanks and FA-18s and guided nuclear missiles; let us not retaliate to a terrorist attack like 911 with a deadly man hunt, but instead forgive and love." Yeah, that’s not going to fly...

I’m preaching a dangerous sermon here. How can I tell a country to stop going to war that is a country founded upon war (The Revolutionary War), that can't exist together without war (The Civil War), that has probably the most significant history marker of war (Hiroshima, Nagasaki), that seems to make sport of war - that when someone else is fighting, we politely ask, "may we cut in?" I am thankful to God that I am an American. I am proud to be a Christian (for what that term meant 2000 years ago).

If this post has caused anyone to say, "that’s un-American!" I will politely have you know that it was written by an American under the privileges of free speech - that’s pretty American.

If this post has caused you to hate me or what I have to say, then I’m sad. I am sad that you may miss the only really important message that I could possibly share.

So, if I’m not alive tomorrow...
...it was probably an angry reader with nuclear arms capabilities.

peace to you all
-tg

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added 3-9-08 5:45pm :
I wondered if I had done a just service with this post; wondering if I had somehow led some Christians off the path of seeking a life of complete service to Christ by painting a rather grim picture of what that might be in the end. But then I recalled the very words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14:28-33 where He implies that it is the smart (and logical) thing to do to count the cost before taking on a task. Consider this as merely counting the cost.

the church is full of humans

I may not be aged, but I’ve seen many things. I served in many churches in different capacities and this is what I know. Traditional, contemporary, city, or country.. church is church. People come together in the name of Jesus for the purpose of adoration to the King and to build each other up through encouragement and instruction. Every church (and by church, I mean every congregation) has one serious flaw, however. All churches are made up of people and I’m one of them - as flawed as anybody else.

I’ve been to churches where leaders actually tore people down. I pray daily for those (who will remain nameless) to turn back to the intentions of Christ and His church.

If you dig deep enough, you will find that every group of humans has failed someone somewhere somehow, but true love never fails

peace, -tg

"Excuse me, are you Jesus?"

I recieved this in a fw email from an aquaintance - I really liked the simplicity of the message...
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A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.

ALL BUT ONE !!!

He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly." As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?" He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered.

Then slowly he made his way to catchthe later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit. Please share this... Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really need to be sharing what we know...

Thanks
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium.
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The Farm Hand

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received A steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him.

The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work. Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows." Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm. We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

[source: http://little-christ.blogspot.com/2006/10/o-level-is-just-around-corner.html]

I loved this story and hoped I’d remember it long enough to share it, but knowing myself better than that, I decided to put it here for memory's sake. I would like to clarify, if you are prepared for ALL things, then you have NOTHING to fear. And apart from that, we recently discussed in group about fear and how, if we truly trust in God, then fear has no place in our lives at all. So then I am forced to ask myself the question, "if there is nothing to fear because God is in control, then why would there be any need to prepare?" Well, this is a two part answer...

(1) We are not to fear because we should know that God is in control. This requires that we have faith in God that He is in control. Our faith is built by reading scripture, hearing sound scriptural teaching, sharing faith testimony with other faithful believers, etc. The more we do these things, the stronger our faith in God grows. The stronger our faith, the less we fear life and life's storms. So we can effectively prepare for the storm by growing our faith

(2) Life still has its storms and they affect us all in various ways. We can be attacked financially, socially, spiritually, ethically, etc. We can overcome obstacles by being knowledgeable of how. Knowledge is gained by reading, listening, sharing, testing, etc. The more sound knowledge we have the more prepared we are to deal with the things that come up in our everyday lives.

The first has to do with attitude; the second is more about practical application. When something comes along to knock of us down, we don’t want to get bent out of shape or run screaming into the darkness. We do want to keep our head on straight and maintain our hope and faith in God. We also don’t want to (nor does God want us to) just sit there. If a problem comes your way - fix it. If it’s bigger than you are, call on the big guy!

So be like the good farm hand. Prepare you self and you will rest easy in the storm!

The New Mother (a parable)

The New Mother

Once upon a time, it so happened to be, that a man found himself father to several children but was without a wife to be their mother. His family would tell you that he cared for his children, but, being so busy with his other affairs of business, the children were often left in the care of family members who might have the time and resources to care for them properly. The father was an excellent orator and would speak of truth and divine wisdom. He could speak a truth such that it would make a witch want to turn in her broom. By way of his spectacular speeches, his family was certainly convinced that he was doing what was good and right and that his every intention was pure.

Well it happened one day that the children and some of the family came to meet a young lady with whom they and the children were quite taken. The young lady, as well, found herself taken to the children and had it in her mind that she would like to get to know them better. The family, who had been caring for the children, recognized this as a great opportunity and quickly acted upon it. They told the father of this young lady and her wonderful ways with the children and begged that he consider taking her for his wife that it might be of most benefit to the children to have such a great woman as their mother (which, up until this time, they never had). The father was reluctant and with his knowledge and wisdom, attempted to dissuade the others from this idea. All of his speaking was in vain, however, for her qualities were indisputable and they pressed ever greatly that she become the mother to his children. The father was overtaken by their persistence and, with great hesitation, he accepted.

The proposal was brought before the young woman and, not knowing much about the children’s father, but being so much in love with the idea of being mother to these wonderful children, she gladly accepted. After all, she thought, if the children were as wonderful as they were, certainly the father of such delightful children would be equally as delightful. All the arrangements were made and the children now had a wonderful mother to call their very own.

Many years passed and the relationship between the new mother and the children grew ever strong. It was inconceivable to the children of anyone else filling her shoes and equally inconceivable to her to have any others as her children. She was to them every bit their mother and they all loved each other very much. It happened one day, however, when some of the family members who also had grown quite fond of the young lady noticed that she was showing some signs of illness. Some of the children had also taken notice of this, but the young lady would, would only laugh and refer to such talk as utter nonsense. And she was pleasantly able to keep up this appearance, too -- for a while.

Then came the tragic day when her illness came upon her quite severely. For most of the family and certainly all the children, this was a surprise and a shock to them. Soon after taking ill, she became incapable of caring for the children and they were again left in the care of the extended family. The children would be allowed, at times, to visit with their mother, but they could no longer enjoy time with her as they once had. This, of course, greatly saddened the children as well as it did their mother as she would no longer be able to be the mother to them that they deserved and so much needed.

She never did speak of her illness to anyone, but it became known to the family many years after her passing. …

The man, who had taken her as his wife, was no better a husband than he was a father. If he was inattentive to his children, then he was ten times as much to his wife and if he was harsh with his children, he was ten times as so with harshness to his wife. Though she was kind and loving and gave all she had to give to her children, there was no one taking care of her. She never knew the proper relationship of husband and wife and the reluctance he had had with their relationship from the start, turned to a lasting resentment towards his new wife and was thus a source of great secret pain for her. He and he alone had brought the illness upon her and she, never wanting to plant despair into the hearts of the children (as you cant choose your father) and in not wanting to destroy any good image his family members may have had of him, never spoke of this great injustice. Their father had been given the greatest gift and in his pride and hatred, he destroyed it and it was everyone else who truly suffered the loss.

(tg/JAN08)