God's Great Grace

I want to say "thank you" to everyone who has been concerned about my physical health the past few days.

In case you don't know, although I have been feeling very healthy and strong in recent weeks, on Friday I ended up in the hospital to get a bone marrow biopsy and a CT scan. 

The cause for this sudden development was the discovery that my spleen is significantly enlarged and my white blood cell count is very high. Besides that, the kind of white blood cells discovered suggested I might have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. The doctors felt that it was important to get to the hospital, get a definite diagnosis and start treatment ASAP.

So - I have all sorts of extra holes in my skin today that I didn't have yesterday. Multiple blood draws, an IV line, three holes for bone marrow biopsy, a TB test and multiple inoculations. I am now out of the hospital and in my study.

I praise the Lord for his blessings. I know that God's purposes are perfect and gracious. He knows what he is doing and will accomplish good things - no matter what the final diagnosis.

As for a more definite diagnosis, we meet with the oncologist on Wednesday afternoon. By then all the tests should be in. I am hoping it might be something more friendly than leukemia, but we will just have to see.

I appreciate your prayers on my behalf - certainly for healing - but even more that I would be faithful to God through whatever the future holds and that I would make the most of the opportunities he gives me through this to bring him the glory he deserves. God has been gracious to me. He owes me nothing. I owe him everything.

Taming The Tongue

Deadly, destructive wildfires have been in the news all summer. One small spark is all it takes to ignite an inferno that consumes tens of thousands of acres.

James says that the tongue has the capacity to wreak havoc like that wildfire - damaging relationships, ruining reputations, and causing all kinds of destruction. 

We need to be wary. We need to control our tongue, rather than letting our tongue steer our lives. Devote yourself to divine wisdom so that your tongue becomes a force for good, rather than evil.

Saving Faith

There is a kind of gospel that is "too good to be true." That is a gospel that tells you part of the truth - that salvation is by grace through faith, but that leaves out an important truth.

True, genuine, authentic, saving faith can be seen in the lives of those who possess it. Those who reduce "faith" to intellectual assent that never affects the path of a person's life are perpetuating something that the Bible does not.

Problems With Profiling

We have heard a lot about "profiling" in recent years. Profiling is acting toward an individual according to a mental stereotype. Obviously this is a problem in many contexts, but especially in the Church. James makes it clear to the early church that there is no room for prejudice and partiality. People must be treated in a way that honors the Gospel of Grace.

Be Quick To Hear

"Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath..."

It sounds positively un-American! We are all about self-expression. But God wants something better for us. He wants us to honor him through hearing his word and putting it into action.

Trials & Tribulations

The early Christians began to be pursued, arrested, imprisoned and killed for their faith in Jesus. This persecution caused many to abandon their homes and businesses to find relative safety in other regions of the Roman empire. Now they have to start over - and it wouldn't be easy. Where would they live? How would they make a living?

James writes to them and starts his letter with this admonition... "Count it all joy..."

Really? How can we do that?

From Judgment To Revival

The book of Hosea is about God's coming judgment on a nation that had abandoned Him. Israel practiced sycretism, idolatry, and immorality. The country was full of corruption, betrayal, violence and injustice. God was about to bring in Assyria to devastate the country and scatter the survivors among the nations.

But chapter fourteen is about God's ultimate plan for restoration of Israel. Here is a message of hope. The love and grace of God mean that even judgment is a means to bring about ultimate blessing.