(Note: The following are key verses. It's always more beneficial to read within the context of the passage. It just didn't seem practical to post entire passages on here.)
John 10:10-- The theif comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Concerning the death of Lazarus (John 11)
vs. 4--When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. no, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
vs. 40--Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
John 14:12-14--I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Ephesians 3:20-21-- Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Exodus 15:26b--...for I am the Lord who heals you.
Psalm 103:2-3--Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.
Psalm 30:2--O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
Psalm 84:11--For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Hebrews 13:8--Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18--The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, becuase the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclain freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Matthew 14:14--When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Luke 5:17b--And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
Luke 9:1--When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Acts 28:8-9--His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.
James 5:14-16--Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Mark 11:22-25--"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have recieved it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
I don't quite understand how we got from this (all the verses above) to praying prayers such as:
"Lord, please heal them. But if you don't, give them peace while they suffer."
"Lord, please give them strength to endure this hardship."
"Lord, bring comfort to this family as they help (family member) through this time."
"Lord, thank you for afflicting me with this degenerative disease. Now I will be better able to minister to other people that are suffering from this same degenerative disease."
WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP. Sure, those are all nice prayers, but is that what we really want? Do we really just want some comfort? We say that we believe that the God we serve is able to heal. But we act as if it's going to take God (all-powerful) tremendous amounts of labor to heal someone, IF he can figure out how to do it. I used to function this way. And even now, many times my faith is limited by my worldly knowledge of disease. Why do we pray sissy prayers? Because they are easy.
I admit, I sometimes think that I need to protect God's reputation with my prayers. What if I pray like this? --"In the name of Jesus, I command that this body function how you designed it to function. I ask that you heal this body and rid it of all sickness and disease." What if the person dies? Then my all-powerful God who came to heal the sick (and has given me power and authority to do the same) has not come through for me, and I have embarrassed myself and my God. Well, guess what? It is NOT my responsibility to protect God's reputation. Refer back to John 14:14--I will do anything you ask in my name so the Son may bring glory to the Father.
It is my responsibility to pray in faith, believing that God will do what he has promised. I have no right to expect God to heal if my prayer is only, "God, please heal them. But if you don't, give them peace while they suffer."
Beth, my faith is small. It's feeble. But it's growing. I'm learning how to pray. I'm learning how to believe. I'm praying constantly for your healing. I want to see God glorified. I am praying for a miracle. (Exceedingly, abundantly beyond anything we can think or imagine). I love you.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
I started reading, "A Cancer Battle Plan" last night. As I read, I think about all of the people I know (or know of) who are afflicted with this horrific disease, and I am filled with hope.
Probability of developing invasive cancer, US, 2001-2003*
*American Cancer Society
All sites: Male--1 in 2
All sites: Female--1 in 3
Breast: Female--1 in 8
Prostate: Male--1 in 6
Colon and Rectum: Male--1 in 17
Colon and Rectum: Female--1 in 19
Cancer. It's a scary word. People hear it and they think "death." Most often, it destroys life (or at least the quality of life). It's truly a mystery to the general public. "...a thunderbolt of fate, striking at random with no cure or cause." Is it really though? How often do you hear, "Oh, that causes cancer." It seems like everything these days causes cancer. Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between lifestyle choices (environment, diet, etc.) and cancer ? Of course! But is it definable? And is it possible (or practical) to live a life of cancer prevention or reversal? That's what I am going to find out.
Thinking outside the box:
"Degenerative diseases are not caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, but by the body's inadequate metabolic response to a condition in which the cells of the body are being slowly poisoned by too many of the wrong things or not enough of the right things at the right times."
--Dr. Harold W. Harper
"I am more than ever convinced that bio-chemistry and metabolic science will be victorious in healing degenerative diseases, including cancer, if the whole body or the whole metabolism will be attacked and not the sympotoms." --Dr. Max Gerson
"What if cancer is a systematic, chronic, metabolic disease of which lumps and bumps constitute only symptoms? Will this not mean that billions of dollars have been misspent and that the basic premisese on which cancer treatment and research are grounded are wrong? Of course it will, and in decades to come a perplexed future generation will look back in amazement on how current medicine approached cancer with the cobalt machine, the surgical knife, and the introduction of poisons into the system and wonder if such brutality really occurred." --Harold W. Harper, M.D., and Michael L. Culbert
Probability of developing invasive cancer, US, 2001-2003*
*American Cancer Society
All sites: Male--1 in 2
All sites: Female--1 in 3
Breast: Female--1 in 8
Prostate: Male--1 in 6
Colon and Rectum: Male--1 in 17
Colon and Rectum: Female--1 in 19
Cancer. It's a scary word. People hear it and they think "death." Most often, it destroys life (or at least the quality of life). It's truly a mystery to the general public. "...a thunderbolt of fate, striking at random with no cure or cause." Is it really though? How often do you hear, "Oh, that causes cancer." It seems like everything these days causes cancer. Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between lifestyle choices (environment, diet, etc.) and cancer ? Of course! But is it definable? And is it possible (or practical) to live a life of cancer prevention or reversal? That's what I am going to find out.
Thinking outside the box:
"Degenerative diseases are not caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites, but by the body's inadequate metabolic response to a condition in which the cells of the body are being slowly poisoned by too many of the wrong things or not enough of the right things at the right times."
--Dr. Harold W. Harper
"I am more than ever convinced that bio-chemistry and metabolic science will be victorious in healing degenerative diseases, including cancer, if the whole body or the whole metabolism will be attacked and not the sympotoms." --Dr. Max Gerson
"What if cancer is a systematic, chronic, metabolic disease of which lumps and bumps constitute only symptoms? Will this not mean that billions of dollars have been misspent and that the basic premisese on which cancer treatment and research are grounded are wrong? Of course it will, and in decades to come a perplexed future generation will look back in amazement on how current medicine approached cancer with the cobalt machine, the surgical knife, and the introduction of poisons into the system and wonder if such brutality really occurred." --Harold W. Harper, M.D., and Michael L. Culbert
I have been studying Naturopathic Medicine since the beginning of August. It's intense, to say the least. I am learning a lot, and sometimes I feel like I need a release for my thoughts. Sometimes it's just too much to keep inside my head. I need to ramble. (Thus, the creation of this blog). Who really knows if I'll use it more than once? I've never been a big fan of blogging, but it kind of makes sense in this case. My thoughts will be out in the open. People can take it or leave it.
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