The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Just Say Thank You
As Dan’s caregiver twelve years ago, I found dealing with insurance companies among the most difficult activities related to cancer that I had to do. I spent a great deal of time, sometimes more than an hour, on the phone waiting for agents to answer so I could ask my questions. I usually ended up on hold, as well, waiting for the supervisor to be asked the question. Some of my calls were eventually transferred to…..
Delays Become Divine Appointments
Before Dan could begin his treatments, we had to have an interview with a billing representative about the cost of his infusions. We also had to talk with a nurse practitioner about how the drugs will work to stop his cancer, the side effects, and what to do if serious side effects occur (i.e. when to go to the emergency room). Then we were given the grand tour of the infusion center. We did all that…..
It’s All About Heaven
After more than two years of battling Merkel Cell Carcinoma, 24-year-old Hayden Crebbin Palm struggled with the very human considerations of denial and malaise. On November 3 she wrote in her blog, “…I’ve been trying to ignore God. I’ve been staying distracted and really kind of lazy. Spiritually I haven’t wanted to grow, or be convicted, or put in the effort with God. I’ve been hiding behind the simple distractions in life and the excuse of…..
The Business of Waiting
One of the most difficult things about dealing with medical issues is the waiting. You spend time, sometimes hours, in waiting rooms. And then you wait, sometimes for weeks or months between new information and the implementation of that information. But waiting can be a good thing.
We feel fortunate that our waiting room time has been minimal so far. Dr. Shields has a sign in the check-in clerk’s window that says, “If you haven’t been…..
Mistrust Without A Cause
So there I was still mourning and adjusting to our new reality of cancer again, when I realized the debilitating anxiety I was feeling was not from God. Philippians 4:6-7 tells me to “Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I don’t have to live…..
Cancer, Again
For almost twelve years we have known this day would come. Even so, it felt like we’d been hit by a ton of bricks when the doctor called on September 29 to say that some suspicious spots had been found in Dan’s PetScan of the day before.
This time it is melanoma that has metastasized from the spot removed from Dan’s scalp about two years ago. Armed with the pathology report from a biopsy on October 9, his…..
Pray In Faith
Have you ever prayed for something over and over again and it doesn’t seem that God is doing anything about it? Many times we pray repeatedly over a long period of time before we recognize that God has, indeed, answered our prayers.
In George Müller of Bristol: His Life of Prayer and Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999, pp. 302-303) Arthur Pierson talks about George Müller’s ongoing prayers for the salvation of two men, as well…..
With Thanksgiving . . .
While the Lord’s Prayer does not expressly include thanksgiving, we find thanksgiving to be a necessary Christian exercise throughout the New Testament.
Philippians 4:6-7 includes thanksgiving with “supplication” and “petition”. Being anxious for nothing, the promise of incomprehensible peace, is conditional on our “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” along with making our requests (another word for “petitions”) known to God. The context indicates that our supplications for others go hand-in-hand with our petitions for ourselves,…..
September 28, 2017
Book-ended By Praise
The Lord’s Prayer ends with the praise phrase “for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.” This prayer model given by Jesus to His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13 appears to both start with worship and end with worship. There is some controversy, however, about this phrase as it does not appear in all manuscripts.
I don’t think the book-ended praises are accidental, however. After praying for the coming of…..
… And Lead Us Not Into Temptation
The sample prayer that Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 6:9-13 also includes the phrase “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. According to William MacDonald, “This petition expresses a healthy distrust of one’s own ability to resist temptations or to stand up under trial” (Believer’s Bible Commentary – New Testament. Wichita, Kansas: A&O Press, 1989. p. 40). Jesus warned His disciples to “Watch ye and pray, lest ye…..