“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:9-10 NASB)
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Journal,
It is fairly common for people to ask me how I am doing. The word was out some time back that I had cancer. But the word had not gotten out to everyone that I had received a healing from the Lord. It was an unusual healing. So once again the story needs to be told. Let me reach back to eight years ago…
Expect the Unexpected
It was August 6, 2007. I had been in cancer treatment for awhile. The findings were not good. Lymphoma had spread throughout my chest area and was now into my bone marrow. Our local hospital could do no more for me. They were sending me to M. D. Anderson in Houston. It pointed to a bone marrow transplant. (Pretty invasive procedure.)
But everything was alright between me and the Lord. I had told the church that it was a win-win situation. The only concern I had involved which kind of bone marrow transplant would I have to go through.
Back to the story – That day I am having my morning devotion on a hill behind the church. While reading In the book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks to my heart and says, ‘Expect the unexpected.’
When I looked up at the high wire directly over my head there sat a beautiful dove. I sat there just looking at her. The dove would look at me. She remained there until I stood up to walk home. Then she flew ahead of me towards the house.
It has always amazed me how of the Lord will speak to my heart while I am reading the Scriptures. That morning I was taking my devotion from the New Living Translation. Here is the portion where the Lord spoke to me:
“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,
“Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then Your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame!
“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!”(Isa 64:1-3 NLT)
The Lord had spoken into my life. His promise of ‘expect the unexpected’ made residence in my heart. (That is the way a promise from God works.)
I shared with the church what the Lord had said. But I yet didn’t know what ‘expect the unexpected’ meant. I thought perhaps I would receive the less of the two invasive stem cell transplant procedures. After all that was the purpose of sending me to Houston.
At M. D. Anderson I was put through a battery of tests. They gave me a thorough work through. Then it came time to evaluate where I stood. Betty and Nathan were with me.
Here is what happened. When we met with my primary physician, he went down the line on each test that M.D. Anderson had made. With each test he said, ‘No cancer.’ (Something along that line.)
At some point between Pineville, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, the Lord had granted me a sovereign miracle of grace. It’s been three years now. Every checkup I’ve gone to since shows me clear of cancer.
And that is the story of my healing from the Lord
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A work of God’s love
What did I do to gain a healing from the Lord? It wasn’t about anything I did. It was the work of God. To Him belongs the glory.
I wish that all believers would come to this understanding. God doesn’t heal us or give us miracles because we deserve them, or because we have earned them, or because we become good enough. Its all a matter of God’s love and of His sovereign grace.
The love of God is a Divine outflow of His own heart. It flows from God to His children. God then wants His love to flow out from His children to those who are without Christ, and also to other struggling believers. So He gives us testimonies of His grace and of His love.
This is what my healing testimony is all about. Paul said,
“The love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2Co5:14,15)
But there is a problem. Before believers can effectively touch the lives of others, they need to know the love of God for themselves. This means that the believer has to get away from this, ‘I must become good enough’ before God can save me, or heal me, or bless me. Nobody gets good enough in themselves. It is a matter of understanding our relationship to God through His Son Jesus Christ.
It is only after the believer comes to know and understand the love and the grace of God for themselves, that they are able to minister positively and effectively to others.
With regard to God’s love, here is the place to begin.
All who believe the message of the cross and receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, are special to the Father’s love. He loves you just as you love your children. He wants the best for you just as you want the best for your children. (Be sure to place your cursor over each of the following Scripture references.)
This means that every true believer is…
1. …accepted in Christ. (Eph. 2:4-7)
2. …a gift to the Son. (John 6:37-40; Heb. 2:11-13)
3. …the beloved of Christ. (Eph. 5:25; John 17:24)
4. …represented by Christ in heaven. (1 John 4:17,18)
5. …loved eternally. (John 16:25-27; Rom. 8:37-39)
So where do you begin? Begin with yourself.
God loves you. You must learn to love yourself. But He also loves the Church, and He loves the lost man. You too are to love these things. Love is a key to reaching the person without Christ in their life. Learn to hate the sin but love the sinner. (Rom5:5-8)
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Where does sovereign grace fit the picture…
Some like to argue over the issue of free will. It is really a poor argument when you put it in its proper Biblical perspective. Think about your own family. Your children have free will but they need to learn that there is a greater will that they should look to.
Yes, we have free will. But God also has free will. He is our loving Father. He always knows what is best for us. This is what the Lord was telling Paul. Listen again:
“Concerning this [whatever Paul’s struggle was] I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’x“Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. … For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co 12:8-10 NASB)
“‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'”(Jer 29:11 NASB)
In Christ always,
Buddyx
You can drop Buddy a personal line in the form below. (Will not appear in comments.)
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Bro. Buddy,
I want to thank you for this excellent blog entry. I remember your healing very well because I had just left the Oneness Pentecostal church and joined DUPC. I remember that when I joined you had cancer and someone asked you if you were worried about whether or not you were going to your heaven. Your answer was that you were not worried about it at all.
At that time I was so amazed that you could not worry about your salvation. I was still coming out of an environment that was based in fear. I was afraid every day of my life that I was not good enough for God and that I would not be saved.
Now I experience the same lack of fear that you did. I know where I’m going when I die. The “No Fear” slogan has taken on a whole new meaning. To live is Christ and to die is gain.
Thank you for bringing all of this to memory. When I look back at where I was in 2006 and compare it to where I am today, I stand amazed at the grace of God.
In Christ,
– Josh S.
Josh,
You are a great encouragement. Even more than that you have become a solid witness to a journey of true faith. I always appreciate the things you share on DU. In fact I usually sit back and let you and Bill (and others) carry the load. (Not load in a bad sense but in the sense of helping others.)
Love you brother,
Buddy