For His Will and To His Glory: April 2013

Luke 14:23

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full."

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Well this morning, I had the privilege to go to a church service in Bangalore India with a good old friend of mine Joe Vinod and one of my current QA Managers Mike Allegra. Joe and I worked together years ago and we are close friends and brothers in Christ even though we only see each other about twice a year. We are were also joined by Joe's wife Bhumika, and son Arpan.

I have worshipped at Joe's church before with the last time being with Hannah and Faith last year. But this was the first time in the brand new Sanctuary and the first time with someone from my work also. The church is absolutely beautiful and it is amazing to see everyone worshiping in such a wonderful building in this country. Even though I am not Catholic and the service has a different flow and style to it, we all worship the same God.

In fact, I believe this verse is very appropriate in that in India, Christianity is a very minor religion. Most of the Indian people are Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, or Sikh. Even though they fervently worship their Gods, if they are worshipping anything but the Truth, then it is fruitless. This parable of the Great Banquet in the book of Luke tells us that God indeed desires that all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. An additionally, it is our duty to share the word of Jesus with them to persuade them with wise and gentle words so that they come in and dine with the master.

So today whether it is your neighbor, your co-worker, or someone in a foreign land and of another religion, share your faith from your heart and let them know about the hope that lies within you. Love and miss you all!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

He Gives Us Rest - Joshua 21:44

Joshua 21:44

"The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand."

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God promises to ultimately give us peace and rest. He tells us that in rest we will saved, in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

I am now on my fourth night in Bangalore India and even though the week is going well, I would not say it has been restful. I just got off a staff meeting call with my boss and it is now 1:00am. I hope to get some sleep tonight but it is up at 7:30am Saturday to go on a safari (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!). By the time you read this on your Saturday morning, we should already be getting back from our safari.

I pray that you all are getting physical rest in your lives this weekend and that every day you are resting in Christ and Christ is resting in you. But regardless of our current circumstances, we will be resting eternally with our Lord and we will never tire in his presence.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Use Your Talents For God - Luke 12:48

Luke 12:48

"For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

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What talents have you been given? Are they musical? Athletic? Organizational? Good with kids? Handy around the house? A caring spirit? Well, whatever your talents are, they have been given to you by God. And they have not been given to you just for your enjoyment.

God has given you your special talents so that you can expand His kingdom and to meet the needs of His people. Are you using your talents to his glory? Are you allowing fear or rejection to keep you from using those talents? I encourage you to be sensitive to the talents that God has given you and be even more open with sharing your time and talents with others.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

An Encouraging Word - Proverbs 12:25

Proverbs 12:25

"Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad."

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Are you a detractor or an advocate? Are you a naysayer or an encourager? This world has its fair share of negative and pessimistic people, so we should try to balance that out with a dose of optimism.

Our church sends out a weekly devotion called "An Encouraging Word". The elders of the church take turns giving their insight on a passage of scripture and applying it to our daily lives. The devotions can sometimes be convicting but they always come back to how we can live according to God's will, and how Jesus gives us the strength to do just that.

I make it a point in life to surround myself with positive people and avoid spending much time with the naysayers. Even when I interview people at work I am looking for people who see the glass half full and do not criticize their previous coworkers. I challenge us all to be like Paul and be content in all our circumstances. But we should not just be content but continually look for ways to witness through our trials and use our experiences to encourage others.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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Family Update: I am in my hotel in Bangalore writing this on Wednesday night my time and I have only had about 6 hours of sleep since Sunday night. As I work on my laptop, my head keeps dropping as I doze in and out; one of these times is it just going to crash onto the laptop. ;) I had a good first day though and am looking forward to the rest of the trip - except for missing the rest of the family. The good news of the day is that Kay's body continues to heal and repair itself. The bad news is that two of our cars are going in the opposite direction with major repairs the last 2 days. But the additional good news is I talked to the hospital tonight after my complaints about Kay's ER treatment and they are refunding us several hundred dollars and have given the negative feedback to the ER Doctor. That's it for now - blessings everyone!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

His Eye Is On The Sparrow - Luke 12:6, 7

Luke 12:6, 7

"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

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Jesus says that God remembers even sparrows that end up for sale at a market. If God pays this much attention to the bird market, then how much more does he watch every detail of our lives? These verses say that he knows and numbers every single hair on our heads!

We have to keep reminding ourselves that God is not constrained by the time/space continuum. He does not get too busy caring for the sick in Africa, so as to not have time to commune with us. He is not "engaged otherwise" with a widow at a funeral in Myanmar, to not have the time to hear our prayers from the side of our bed.

I pray you know in your heart that we have a God who knows your prayers before you speak them and we also have a God who is there for you when you need him regardless of what else is happening around the world. Our God is a big God and he is a loving God. You are his precious child and he would do anything for you. Approach God with your prayers right now and see if he does not hear and answer them!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Meditate In The Word - Joshua 1:8

Joshua 1:8

"You shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it."

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In our modern culture, sometimes mediation has taken on a non-christian meaning. If someone tells you they are going to go off and meditate, you would not immediately think they are going to read and study the Bible. However the simple definition for mediate is to think, contemplate, devise, or ponder. I have also heard mediating on God's word described as lingering - I like that description.

Sometimes I think we get caught in the trap of wanting to take in as much of God's word as we possibly can. Last year I read through the entire Bible for maybe the 4th or 5th. And don't get me wrong I have grown a lot from burying myself in scripture and absorbing parts of the Bible that I rarely pick out to read. But God's word clearly tells us that we should not just read his word like we read a popular novel. We need to regularly dive deep into the text to gain a more thorough understanding of his word. We need to contemplate, ponder, and linger so that God has the chance to speak back to us by planting his ideas in our minds of how to apply his word to our lives. If we are moving too fast, we might miss where he is redirecting us to.

I pray you will take the time to mediate on the truth of God. I encourage you to look for quality scripture time and not just shoot for sheer quantity of scripture. Maybe you will take just one verse and read and meditate on it for 15 minutes every day for a week. I think you will be amazed and what God will reveal to you.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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Family Update: Yesterday, Kay and I went to another appointment with the hematologist and thankfully we did not have any more surprises! We are now set for a May 3rd appointment for Kay to get "measured" for the treatments. If Kay heals well, then the radiation treatments should start around May 7th or 8th. Kay is still feeling better each day and we are so thankful for that. By the time you read this, I should have already connected through Frankfurt Germany during the night time, and should be somewhere over southeastern Europe, Turkey, or Iran. India here I come!

Monday, April 22, 2013

He Is So Good To Us - Psalms 40:1-3

Psalms 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord."

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This verse was in my daily reading for yesterday and I just had use it. Reading the words took me back about 11 months ago to Hannah's Senior Voice Recital. Many of you were there and would remember her encore song (So Good To Me) where she broke out her guitar and we all sang along just praising the goodness of God. The link to Hannah's performance of So Good To Me is below.

The chorus of the song is very simple and repetitive and just says "He's so good, so so good to me, so good, so so good to me, so good, so so good to me Jesus." Jesus is so good to us even when we don't deserve it. He picks is up out of horrible depths and muddy sticky situations and sets us upon a firm foundation. Over the last couple of weeks we have been in some deep pits and some pretty sticky situations. But even though we praised Him through the storm, the praises are coming a little bit easier and more abundantly now.

We are so blessed to have a God who saves us and is "so so good" to us all of the time. I thank my Jesus for being with us through the trials of life and I pray that you also will always know and feel his presence. Thank you Jesus.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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So Good To Me - Hannah Rudy

http://videos.therudys.com/hannahrecital/SoGoodToMe.mp3

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Family Update: Kay had another good day on Sunday. Tonight I am off to India at 9:45pm and will arrive early Wednesday morning. Please pray for my safe travels and for Kay and everyone else back here while I am gone.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

You Are Known By Your Fruit - Luke 6:44

Luke 6:44

"For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush."

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What kind of fruit do you bear? How would your co-workers or neighbors describe you? Would they say you are a nice person? Would they say you are a generous person?

I have often heard that the biggest barrier to non-believers becoming Christians is the behavior of other Christians. Often times we are quick to be judgmental toward others about their actions or their lifestyle, and we do not present ourselves and the gospel in a loving and respectful way. God must be very saddened when he sees that someone has been turned away from the truth by the actions of a believer.

Of course what is in your heart is the most important thing to God. But Paul also said faith without works is dead. As you go about your days be aware of how you are presenting yourself to Christians and non-Christians alike. Find opportunities to share the spirit of your faith through real tangible actions toward others. Be the hands and feet of Jesus and care for their physical as well as their spiritual needs.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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Family Update: Yesterday, Kay continued her progress on the road to recovery. We even left her alone for a few hours while Jake umpired his first baseball game! She is getting more energy everyday.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Do Not Be Afraid - Mark 5:36

Mark 5:36

"Do not be afraid; only believe."

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Kay had a very good day yesterday and she described it as her biggest day to day improvement since surgery! She is off all her strong pain medications and I think we have turned the corner on her recovery. She is still sleeping for several hours off and on throughout the day, but when she is awake she is definitely more functional and more normal. I also was able to have somewhat of a normal work at home day yesterday, as Kay had two ladies from church here in the morning and her cousin Meg stayed with her all afternoon.

The verse today is from a card that a lady at our church sent to Kay last week. The verse is from the passage in Mark's gospel where Jairus' daughter dies and right then Jesus tells him "Do not be afraid, only believe". Jesus then goes to the girl and literally raises her from the dead. So even though, Jairus was presented with a scary situation, Jesus asked him to just have faith and believe, and Jesus did not let him down. In Kay's card, the lady went on to say that she believes that "in this passage for Kay the word believe means: trust, be encouraged, look up, and know that Jesus loves you more than you can possibly imagine."

I think this verse has a simple message but a very profound meaning. I am not afraid of too many things in my life anymore, but on Saturday I was truly afraid. When we came home from the emergency room at noon, Kay was in pain, not of sound mind, and her chest looked completely awful. I was afraid she was having serious complications, I was afraid I would make the wrong decision on her care, and I was afraid that I might lose the love of my life. I was praying through it all, but truthfully I was not sure of what God's exact plan was. Thank God it looks like everything is going to turn out OK, but at the time I was not so confident.

My faith has been strengthened through this whole experience though and I pray that the next time a fearful situation arises, that I have a little less fear and a little more faith and belief that God is in control and will protect us. I pray that you also continue to grow in your faith and your belief in the one true loving and infinitely trustworthy God of this universe.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Friday, April 19, 2013

Our Holy Hematologist - I John 1:7

I John 1:7

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

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Well yesterday was our big doctor follow-up day. We met with the primary surgeon, the reconstructive surgeon, and the hematologist (Blood Doctor). The surgeons said that Kay is healing well but that it will just take time. But more importantly we received some great news from the primary surgeon. The pathology report came back with very good margins and we do not need to have any more surgeries. Our previous clean margins were 1.8mm, and now our narrowest clean margin is 4mm. They only found some very small microscopic bits of cancer and we believe that the radiation should take care of any remaining cancerous cells.

The biggest struggle with Kay right now is that her hemoglobin count is still very low at 8.2. She has almost no energy and cannot take care of herself yet. She is now on iron supplements to help build up her hemoglobin, but it is a long slow process. Today, the hematologist said that it would take at least 4 weeks for her to get her levels back close to normal. To complicate things even further, I am scheduled to travel to India next Monday, so we are now lining up people to come and stay with Kay while I am gone. We are staying mostly positive but Kay has her moments where she just does not see enough progress and becomes discouraged. Just today on the way to the doctor's, we had a time of discouragement, but then we gained some perspective and realized that "This too shall pass". We have so much to be thankful for: the cancer is early stage, we believe we have gotten it all now, and we did not have to take any more radical surgical options. Praise God!

The verse today came to me as we were talking to the hematologist. Our blood is our lifeline and without it we would of course have no earthly life. Even if our blood is off normal just a bit, it impacts our well-being in huge ways - as Kay is experiencing now. You cannot help but draw the parallel to how important Christ's blood is to us also. Without the shedding of Jesus' blood, we would have no eternal life with Him. As we all painfully know, our earthly bodies are corruptible and decaying, but one day our resurrected bodies will be raised incorruptible and everlasting. If we meditate on this, and try to have more of an eternal perspective, that should help us to have less discouragement, and more optimism for the future. With our love and trust in God and through the constant support and prayers of His people, we will soon be through this valley.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

With God Nothing Is Impossible - Isaiah 53:5

Isaiah 53:5

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."

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The verse today comes from my friend Sumala in Chennai, India who was also mentioned in the devotion on March 3rd. Sumala is a prayer warrior and she has been praying for healing for Kay. Sumala used to work for me as a QA Manager many years ago at a previous company, and she also runs a website called "Gospel is Love" at http://www.gospelislove.com/outreach_mission_work_staging.php. They conduct various outreach ministries and also accept online prayer requests. I have been receiving their "verse of the day" email for many years.

Well earlier this week, they received an online prayer request that read "Hi, I am writing this to request for prayer support for my cousin who is suffering from cancer of the brain and is staying in a US hospital for some time for treatment. My own husband has come out of a cancer attack few years ago and he is fully cured and working in office full time/(overtime!) and we know Jesus has healed him. Nothing is impossible for Him! thanks & rgds, xxxxxx"

Sumala wanted to share this prayer request as encouragement to us and to remind us that "With God, nothing is impossible". She reference Isaiah 53 where God did the seemingly impossible and sent his Son to suffer and die to cover our sins. His punishment brought us peace, and by His stripes we are healed.

God has already healed us from our transgression and iniquities by leaving them at the foot of the cross. But additionally, he also promises to heal us of our physical wounds and today we call out this prayer in Kay's name before the Lord.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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Family Update: I got to go to work today! Wait, did I just say that? Faith and Wendy Richard graciously stayed with Kay today and I experienced a somewhat normal day for the first time in over a week. I don't mind taking care of Kay and I actually feel privileged to care for her in ways that she usually does for me. However, with office work piling up, I needed a day to focus there and indeed I had a very successful day. Kay is also doing a little better each day and we continue to stuff her full of medicine so she can regain her energy and get back to good health. Tomorrow our day is full of three different follow-up doctor visits (the two surgeons and a medical oncologist). Please continue to pray for us - we really appreciate your obedience in Christ. Love you all!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Call For The Elders - James 5:13-15

James 5:13-15

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up."

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Last night we had a welcome group of visitors descend upon our house. Our Sr Pastor, and a group of our church elders visited us to anoint and pray over Kay for healing from the Lord. They came out of obedience to God for one of the most important duties of an elder prescribed here in James 5.

We had a nice time of fellowship and then one of the elders anointed Kay with oil from Bethlehem and called on the Lord to heal her completely. The pastor and the other elders then heaped prayer upon prayer over Kay, calling for healing and comfort for her, and peace and strength for me and the rest of the family. One of the elders wives also came along and had some alone time with Kay afterward.

Also last evening, our church home group cancelled our regular home group meeting and they all met at the church for a specific time a prayer just for Kay. With all this care and prayer for one of His precious daughters, God must have been quite pleased with his people tonight! We have been so blessed by everyone's support and prayer and we feel so covered and loved by God and God's people. Thanks everyone!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Our God Does Not Faint - Isaiah 40:28-31

Isaiah 40:28-31

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."

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We may faint from time to time (some of us more than others) ;) , but our God never tires of carrying us through our trials. We have been so lifted up by everyone interceding for us and being God's physical hands to carry us through. People have been running errands, ferrying kids, helping with homework, and most importantly cooking us dinner! With all of this help, and a better day for Kay on Monday, we are feeling renewed in our strength.

But even though we are getting help from these great friends, we know where this help is really coming from and we know where we need to draw our strength from. As "The Museum" states in their song below, "Our Help Comes From the Lord". We are so blessed that we have a God who knows everything, is all-powerful, does not faint, and who gives us power when we are weak.

We thank everyone for all their physical help and prayers. Kay is gaining strength every day now and I believe we are turning the corner. Our God does not change and our God can be counted on to be there for us always. Our God does not faint in *any* situation!

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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My Help Comes From the Lord - The Museum

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTefIJPXy2w

Monday, April 15, 2013

Bring Happiness To Your Wife - Deuteronomy 24:5

Deuteronomy 24:5

""When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with any business; he shall ... bring happiness to his wife."

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We are home! Kay was discharged yesterday afternoon and had a good rest of the day and evening at home. It was Jake's 13th birthday on Sunday also and our good friends took him to play laser tag and brought a cake back to the house. We are so blessed with our family and friends.

As we were sitting in the ER about midnight last night, I emailed our church youth director to let him know what was going on and to ask him for prayers. He responded almost immediately with confirmation he was praying and then he reminded me to "Keep her encouraged". This reminded me that in the midst of my stress and worrying, and decision-making, I needed to remember to care for the emotional needs of Kay also. As husbands our responsibility is to love our wives as Christ loves the church. That love is not primarily just showing affection, but is more being the leader and rock for her, caring for her, encouraging her, protecting her, and just in general building her up.

This verse talks specifically about bringing happiness to your wife. All that we do in our relationship with our wife should be about making her happy, ensuring she feels loved, and making her confident and secure both physically and emotionally. Wives need to *know* that they are loved, cared for, and secure. If our wives do not feel these core love values, then we need to adjust our priorities and make it happen. I know I fall short every day on this, but I also know that God is working in me to perfect me like Christ.

So love and serve your wife today. Tell her you love her, and then serve her unconditionally to show her that love. I think if we all follow Christ's model we will be amazed at the difference in our personal happiness also. As someone once said "Happy Wife, Happy Life! :)

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

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BTW, if you want to see a good model of how we are called to love our wives as Christ loved the Church, check out the movie "Fireproof". You can watch it for free on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU1wvJXrTfc. Or you can rent it from Amazon prime for free also here: http://www.amazon.com/Fireproof/dp/B001OHS8BQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366003450&sr=8-2&keywords=fireproof Be careful though, it is powerful. :)

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Hear My Prayer O Lord! - Psalms 39:12

Psalms 39:12

"Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don't ignore my tears."

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I am starting this devotion late on Saturday night sitting in the ER of Loudoun Hospital. After our ER visit Friday night, Kay woke up early Saturday with severe pain, passed out again, and we headed back to the ER. The other highlights of Saturday are: Kay passes out again in the car on the way to the ER, Doc gives good pain meds and sends us home, Kevin texts breast surgeon with his concerns and includes a picture of Kay, surgeon brings us back into the ER for a look.

Then the surgeon opens Kay back up to go in and clean out the build-up of blood/hematoma. Around 8:00pm after the procedure, Kay sits up to leave to go home and passes out again. So the doctors find out that her Hemoglobin is too low and she needs a transfusion. God-willing we will get this all sorted out Sunday and we can go home.

Today's psalm definitely speaks to our situation all day today. Kay and I have been crying out and I know all of you have been in prayer for us also. There have also been equal amounts of agony and tears throughout the day. We just continue to pray for relief and healing. Thanks everyone.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Heal Me O Lord - Psalms 30:2

Psalms 30:2

"O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me."

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Today's devotion needs to be just a simple message of healing. Lord, we're tired, we can't do this in our own strength, and we boldly ask you for complete healing for Kay.

I am writing this late Friday night after a very long day. It started out normal enough as both Faith and I worked and studied from home so we could keep an eye on Kay as she recovers from surgery 2 days prior. Around 2:15pm as I was on a business call, Faith runs into my room and says mom needs me now. Well the quick synopsis of the next 6 hours is: Kay passes out for about 2 minutes, Faith holds Kay up, Dad dials 9-1-1, ambulance takes Kay to the emergency room, various and sundry test ( including CT scans of Kay's chest and head) are run, everyone is back home around 8pm. Scans were warranted in this case because Kay has several risk factors (clotting disorder, cancer, recent surgery) that the Dr wanted to rule out a PE (pulmonary embolism).

Well the bottom line is that all the tests were negative which was very good news. But as Kay said tonight, she is just tired of the medical community right now and is done with hospitals. Lord, we simply cry out to You for rest and healing. Amen.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Friday, April 12, 2013

God's Perfect Timing - Psalms 27:14

Psalms 27:14

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord !"

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Do you always believe that God's timing is perfect? I wish I could say that I always do, but frequently I ask God to hurry up, or slow down, or even wait until this thing happens before that thing happens. Do we really think we know better than our omniscient, ever-loving Father?

Well on Wednesday as we were in pre-op getting ready for Kay's surgery, I was checking emails to pass the time and God's perfect timing jumped up and hit us in the face. Just then, I received an email from our good friend Donna Miller who has been praying for healing for Kay (see the February 19th, 2013 devotion). We have not talked to her in over a month, but she felt led to reach out to us, on that day at that moment, to let us know that she was continuing to pray for us.

As she put it "How great is our God, You and your family popped in my head this morning and for some reason, No excuse me, for God's reason he wanted me to reach out to you and deliver his message. I Join you in prayer right now that this WILL be the last surgery for my sister in Christ Kay Rudy and God will heal, deliver and set her body free of cancer... forever. We join together in prayer for healing of Kay, In the name of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may Kay be washed in his healing blood. May your family continue to be strengthened by the faithfulness of God and those around you who know his power. May you find comfort in his unchanging word and peace in his presence.

Her email was a very powerful word to me from God and it helped sustain me through the almost 5 hours of surgery and recovery until I could see Kay again. Even when I read it again now, I get emotional just knowing how many people are faithfully praying for us, and how much God loves and cares for us. He is perfect, His plan is perfect, and most importantly His timing is perfect. As you go through trials, or are anxious for things to happen on your timetable, take a moment with God and just ask him to give you peace to trust in Him and to trust in His timing.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Family Update: Kay is recovering pretty well at this point. She has some pain but it is manageable so far. She does have several tubes coming out of her and going into her yet, so sleeping has been a challenge. But for all the discomfort now, we are just so thankful and blessed that the surgery went smoothly. Now please continue to pray without ceasing that the pathology report comes back with no remaining cancer!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Pray Without Ceasing - I Thessalonians 5:17

I Thessalonians 5:17

"Pray without ceasing,"

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This admonition by Paul to pray is actually within a section where Paul lays out a short list of Christian virtues that provides foundational principles for a sound, spirit-filled life in Christ. The list includes: rejoicing, praying, giving thanks, not quenching the Holy Spirit, not despising prophesies, testing all things, holding fast to what is good, and avoiding every evil. If we could just focus on following this list throughout our daily lives, I am sure we would not only enjoy life more, but we would also be walking much closer to God.

But key among this list, and only second to rejoicing, is praying! Now this verse does not call us to constantly be spewing out vain repetitions, but it does call us to be in regular, persistent, and meaningful conversation with our Lord. Yesterday, as Kay was in surgery, we had many many people praying for us. In fact, right after Kay was wheeled into surgery, I sent a group text to several of our family saying "Restart prayers plz." (I had let everyone know that surgery had been delayed). I then received a text back from Kay's sister Linda, that said "never stopped". :) This reminded me that we should always be in a state of prayer and conversation with God, regardless of our current life situation.

So whether our lives are going smoothly or we are leaning into some trials, I pray that we regularly "present our requests to God, with thanksgiving". We'll keep everyone informed of Kay's recovery, and we are sincerely thankful for all the prayers we have received. I am certain God is smiling as we regularly fellowship with Him.

...and don't forget to love God with all your heart, love others as He does, and use every minute for His will and to His glory!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

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