The Race #241

Hebrews 12

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Ever felt like throwing in the towel and giving up. You more than likely have been to that point in a struggle or trial where there seemed to be no hope, no solution and your answer was to give up. The writer of Hebrews says, there is an answer “so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” 12:3.

If you are there or have been close to giving up the Bible gives us some real help. That help is faith. After the writer spends the eleventh chapter talking of the great people of faith in the Bible he then turns his attention to the “HOW TO.” First you need to realize that there are multitudes that have been where you are. They are a great cloud of witnesses. That doesn’t mean they are looking down from heaven, but they have endured themselves during difficult times in order to give to you hope.

He also says that life is a race. It is not a hundred yard dash, but a marathon. The hope comes in realizing that most things “come to pass.” He admonishes you to lay aside anything that is in the way of victory, especially the sin that entangles you. You are in a race. A race to ancient Greeks was anything that was a struggle or conflict. The needed element to win a race was endurance. You have a race ahead. Endure. That is not a passive word but one in which all energy is required. It refuses to be sidetracked.

That is not done without “looking to Jesus” and “considering Jesus.” You need Him to see you through. He endured the shame of the cross and endured its pain and suffering for you. Look to Him for your strength. Faith in Him is your answer. 

____________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

What a wonderful week. Sandy's biopsy came back. NO CANCER. We praise the Lord for answers to your prayers and ours. 

Johnny celebrated his second birthday with a rousing party on Saturday. He was thrilled with every aspect. He would open a present and then declare: "MORE!" I think he must take after his Grammie. It was such a joy for me to have my family together. The Lord blessed us by allowing Rich and Monie Kuckkahn from our church in Wisconsin to join us for the evening. 

Next week on the 20th I will have the sixty-seventh birthday. I am working on the "MORE." Hope to have it perfected by then. 

Tempe is enjoying spring. The temps this week will reach into the low 90s. I love it. Spring break is this week for schools in Tempe. 

March 25th I will have the procedure to have a stent placed in the left biliary tube of my liver. I am praying that it works to accomplish its purpose of bile flow. I will likely be in the hospital a few days. The three major side effects are bleeding, infection and pancreatitis. Pray that non of these happen. I continue to lose weight. Roger called me skinny this morning. 

There is not way for me to adequately thank you for all your prayers and support during these last few weeks. I am so grateful for all of you. 

God bless you this week with answered prayer.  ~ DGW

LIFE! #240

Luke 9:23-24

New International Version (NIV)

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.

Do you consider yourself a follower or disciple of Jesus Christ? Just what does that mean to you? What does it mean to Jesus? Early in Jesus’ ministry He chose followers. His call was described in several of the gospels like the one here in Luke’s gospel.  Did you notice that Jesus says that whoever wants to be my disciple or follower must…and then the requirements follow. You first of all must want to be a follower. Jesus never forced anyone to follow Him. On the other hand if you want to be His disciple then much is required. 

You must deny yourself. At first it would seem that a vow of poverty, a denial of happiness, a life of loneliness and suffering would be in order. The world in which we live is a selfish world. Whether it be the individual who wants their own way, or societal structures, governments or academia that seeks selfish ends it is truly a selfish world. It only takes a trip to the preschool to hear a two year old grab hold of  a toy and cry out, “mine” to realize something within every human is innately selfish. Jesus is saying that if you want to be His disciple you must surrender your selfish life, lived for and by yourself, for His will. To deny yourself is to deny your selfish will and yield yourself to the will of Jesus.

He then makes it clear that the cross is a daily experience for a follower of Jesus. Some say, “This is my cross to bear” meaning some burden or suffering. That is not what Jesus is talking about. He is emphasizing the need to die to our selfish life and again yield to Him. The cross was a place of death, not just a place to hurt. Yielding to Christ is necessary to be His disciple.

The result of losing your life for His sake is LIFE. His life lived in and through you is real life. The lie of Satan is to get your to believe you can somehow gain life by selfish ambition. Life is found in loosing your life to Christ. Save your life by loosing it. 

______________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

Enjoying our beautiful 80 degree weather. (that's for all you back East who are snowed in)

So many of you have sent emails and cards and letters and especially prayers for Sandy and me that it brings joy to my heart and tears to my eyes. It has been a tough few weeks. The latest results for Sandy will not be known until a few days. We are still praying the biopsy shows no malignancy. She is tired, sore and slow. She is not allowed to lift anything more than five pounds for a few more days. That is hard for her. Mandy told her once she puts on her clothes, that weigh about 5 lbs, that she can not lift any more. 

My trip to the hospital was fruitful. The EUS found the stricture in the bile duct. I will have to wait another 3 weeks for the ERCP that will allow them to put a stint in the duct. Until then nothing really will change. I am still very fatigued, and living with pain. I have no appetite and have lost 24 lbs since February 6th. I do not recommend this as a new fad diet. The liver transplant specialist says I am not a candidate for the transplant. He words were that I would die from the surgery. Both the liver specialist and the liver transplant specialist believe the right lobe of my liver is already dead and non functioning. That is why the blockage in the left lobe is so serious. So please pray for the stint to work. Pray for the doctors that perform the procedure. Thanks.

All three of our older grandsons have had concerts this week. All three have had the bad cold that is going around. It is hard to blow trombones, trumpets and sing when you are sick, but they made it. Saturday we are celebrating Johnny's 2nd birthday. It is so hard to believe that a premie could grow up so much and do so well in two years. He is a blessing to us all.   ~ DGW

Slapped Up the Side of the Head #239

2 Corinthians 11:23-29                                                           23 Are they servants of Christ? - I speak as if insane - I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?                                                                         

Ever been slapped up the side of the head? Not literally, but in a figurative way. Something came at you quickly, unexpected, and you were unprepared. Those experiences are commonplace for all, but for some reason few people are really ready. Maybe it was an unexpected report from your doctor. It could be the pink slip the boss hands you on a Friday afternoon. You could find yourself concerned with a close family member who is struggling. The Apostle Paul found himself with more than one of those slaps to the side of the head. He was in prison, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked and in dangers from the unexpected robber. He spent sleepless nights in hunger and in thirst without food and with cold and exposure.

Your struggles and pain may be more than what you are dealing with in your own life. In Paul’s case he tells of the struggles and pain he experienced in his concern for others. He had founded several churches and taught and guided others. The issues, troubles, and sin of the people he loved caused him great concern also.

Maybe today you are experiencing a slap up the side of the head. God will see you through it all. Trust Him. Depend on Him. Love Him. Serve Him. Thank Him. Seek Him and His righteousness and all other things will be added to you.

_____________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings for Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

One of my favorite TV programs is NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigate Services. The boss (Jethro Gibbs) is played by Mark Harmon. He has several NCIS agents 

on his team. The reason I like the show is the relationship between the characters. Gibbs has a way of reminding one of his agents, Tony DiNozzo, who the boss really is. He does that by slapping him up the side of the head. It always gets his attention.

This past week Sandy and I both got hit up the side of the head. Things that we were not expecting came our way. As a result Sandy will be having a biopsy on her breast tissue on Tuesday March 5th. The procedure will take two hours. Our prayer is that it is benign and she will not have to undergo any more of anything. Join us in praying. Although I am aware that many people go through biopsies every day, but when it is my wife that gets slapped up the side of the head it sure feels different. She will not be allowed to lift more that 5 pounds for a week.

I saw a liver transplant surgeon today (TR) at 10:00 AM. I Learned that the transplant is not possible due to the type of cancer that I have.  I have always been told I am not a candidate for a transplant, but decided to still meet with the doctor to just see if it is a possibility. 

Monday I will have an EUS. (Endoscopic Ultra Sound) The purpose will be to determine what is blocking my bile duct. The blockage causes me to remain jaundiced and experience a considerable amount of pain. Sometime after the EUS I will have an ERCP. (Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) The purpose of that will be to put in a stent in the bile duct. 

Johnny will be two years old on the 8th. The family is planning his second birthday party. I suggested Sandy serve jars of baby food to everyone. Doubt that would go over very well, even with Johnny. I think pizza will be the main dish. 

Many of you have asked about Justin. He is doing fine. Growing very fast and full of smiles. 

All three of the older grandsons: Bennett, Burke and Collin have band concerts and choir concerts next week. Along with biopsies and procedures it should be a very hectic week. I think I am getting toooo old for this. 

In spite of all we are facing we continue to praise God and thank Him for His grace, mercy and love. God is good and He makes me so aware of His presence. I do hope and pray God is alive and well in your heart and mind. I pray you are trusting Him. 

I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding,  in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  Try it!! It works!!  ~ 

DGW