Category Archives: Living Well

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Reminders

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“Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’  then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”  Joshua 4:5-7

God knows us and how forgetful we can be.

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Bond-Servant of God

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“Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’”  Mark 10:42-45

I find it interesting that Philippians, Titus, James, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation all begin with a description of the writer as a bond-servant of God.  Culturally, the concept of servitude is undesirable.  We are told that independence, self-service and personal comfort should rule our perspective.  Yet this is not God’s design for civilization.

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Acceptance – Part Four

On Earth as it is in Heaven

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“Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:9-10

Like this one, the previous three posts have been on acceptance…specifically on acceptance of God’s plan for us as individuals.  When we study the concept of acceptance, our concerned is usually a particular circumstance.  We tend to lean in that direction because it is easier to deal with things separately and the more monumental issues tend to come one at a time.  However, the truth is that we rarely deal with one any trial in a vacuum.

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Acceptance – Part Three

Not My Will, But Thy Will Be Done

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“He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him.  And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.”  (Luke 22:41-44)

Imagine Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He has trained the disciples.  He has concluded His ministry.  I was time to return to the Father, but there was one last task…His death and resurrection.  In preparation, He is coming before His father in prayer.  However, it is a prayer like no other that He has offered…He is asking “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me”. 

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Acceptance – Part 2

May It Be Done To Me

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Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”  Luke 1:38

A key factor in accepting God’s plan for us is trust.  Do you trust God?  If so, how far does that trust go?  Too often our trust in God is colored more by our human relationships and our desires for information and comfort rather than the truth about who He is and His promises to us.

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Acceptance – Part One

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good”

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“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.  Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”  Genesis 45:4-8

When trials hit, our lives are often turned upside down.  What once was, is no more.  We mourn our loss, we wonder how we can continue, and we are anxious about both the present and our future.  In our frustration, we often focus on survival and the disruption of our plans rather than godliness.  We think that knowing what God knows will help…that somehow our small finite minds can adequately evaluate the vast, all knowing mind of God.    In the end, if we are honest, acceptance is really about giving up control.

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Teaching Our Children

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Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Proverbs 22:6

I realize that many who are facing the challenges of chronic illness may not have children or have children that are grown, but that fact does not diminish our impact on the children around us…even the grown ones.  Training the generations to come, is not limited to parents only.  Many people without children of their own have nieces and nephews, are teachers or have friends with children.  My point is, whether or not we have children of our own, we have an impact on those coming up behind us.

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So That You May Proclaim

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“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” 1 Peter 2:9

Because of my health, I was forced to retire much earlier than planned.  For several years, I could barely function.  My goal each day was to be showered and dressed before my wife came home from work. 

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Are You Immobilized?

Fear, Fatigue and Uncertainty

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I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.  He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.  Psalm 40:1-3

In 1995 I had a grand mal seizure and was put on seizure medication without a thorough investigation of the circumstances.  We would learn later that I did not need it.  Problematically, if you take seizure medication and don’t need it, it can cause seizures.  Consequently, for the next nine years I endured petit mals or absence seizures.

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