Urgent Request

Please keep the candle burning
for my cousin Michael!

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. I John 5:14-15

I just wanted to send an urgent request for prayer for my cousin, Michael. I still want to refer to him as my little cousin, because I can picture him as a little 4 year old at my Granny's house. . . curly brown hair, cute as a button.  He just recently turned 21, and has turned out to be a fine young man.

Sometimes things happen in life that we wonder "Why!??" And this is one of those times. Michael was recently diagnosed with an EXTREMELY rare form of liver cancer. In fact, there are only 2 in 10 million that have this form of cancer. And he is one of those two. He is currently being seen by a team of doctors at the University of Virginia medical center. The tumor is approximately 12 inches...so it is a large tumor. 

The local doctors said that this cancer does not spread outside of the liver (metastisize). HOWEVER, the doctors at UVA have told them that it in fact does spread. So a bone scan is to be done soon. They are also planning to do three more biopsies of the tumor.

Our prayer is for them to be able to remove the tumor (and the affected part of the liver) and have Michael be able to keep 20-25% of  his liver. The liver can regenerate itself, so even though 20-25% doesn't sound like much, it's actually a lot!  If he is unable to keep at least that much of his liver, the entire liver would have to be removed, and he will need a liver transplant.

So....for now, please be praying for:

• Michael, and his family, especially his parents who are travelling with him to and from his appointments to UVA. Pray the cancer has not spread and that the tumor (& affected liver) can be removed without him needing a liver transplant.
• Also pray for God, Who is our Great Physician, to give the team of doctor's wisdom. Because this is such a rare form of cancer, the doctors are having to research this as they go along. Pray for God to guide them in their research and give them wisdom.

Even though we can't begin to understand the "why's" in this, we need to focus on the Who. God is "the WHO" that is ABLE!

So, let's not focus our energy on the WHY, but on HE WHO IS ABLE!  "Now to 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." Ephesians 3:20-21.

Look at the word POWER in that verse. The Greek word for power here is from "dunamai."

Definition: (miraculous) power,

might, strength

MIRACULOUS POWER!! But catch the fact that this is referring to God's miraculous power that is working WITHIN US! We have His Holy Spirit working within us! 

I John 5:14-15 says  we can have CONFIDENCE when we approach God in prayer.  HOW:

• pray according to God's will
• You must BELIEVE (know) that He hears your prayers...and when you REALLY BELIEVE that HE HEARS your prayers, He says that whatever we ask, we know we have it!

So, lets entrust the Holy Spirit to energize our prayers, as we lift our requests to the throne of God!  May we begin to see God's glory manifested through the miraculous work that will be done on Michael's behalf!!

Dear Heavenly Father, You have given us such a privilege to confidently come to You in prayer on behalf of Michael and his family.  We thank You in advance for what You will do.  Father, this situation comes as no surprise to You.  But to us who know and love Michael, it has shaken us to our core.  We ask for Your Holy Spirit to give us the words to pray according to Your will, and the FAITH to BELIEVE that You will hear and answer our prayers!  Please give the doctors wisdom to know how to treat this successfully.  We ask that the cancer would be contained to the liver.  Please allow Michael to keep a portion of his liver too, Father, so that he would not require a liver transplant.  I ask for You to strengthen and encourage Uncle David, Aunt Dianne, as well as Amy and Jay T (and their families!)  They are so special to our family, and need Your strength and peace throughout this storm.  Draw the family closer to You, Father, and to one another.  Be glorified in this, and may You give Michael a renewed sense of Your Divine purpose for his life, Father.  Allow him to be a shining light to others around him, in order to point others to his Inner Strength which is YOU.  We choose to focus on what we KNOW and not on what we don't know.  WE KNOW that You are in control.  We KNOW that You LOVE Michael and his family (and all of us); we KNOW that You have already answered our prayers and even take time to listen to us as we pray, for Your Word says, "Before they call I will answer, and while they are still speaking I will hear."  You do not lie, Father; You can not, for You are holy.  You honor Your Word above Your Name.  So we KNOW and we BELIEVE with full assurance that YOU have answered our prayers according to Your will.  We do not know what the future holds or what the outcome will be, but we DO KNOW that Your will for us in this situation (and every situation) is to GIVE THANKS!  It requires a LOT of faith to THANK YOU for THIS, Father. It makes no sense to the human mind to say "Thank You!"  but  maybe You're just wanting to see our hearts united in full faith and assurance of Your unfailing power and unfathomable love.  You are ABLE to heal Michael; You are ABLE to keep this cancer contained,  Father! You contain the ocean waves and tell them where to stop.  You have set the boundaries of the universe...so we KNOW that You can set the boundaries of this cancer and tell it "YOU WILL GO NO FURTHER!"  We ask You to have already done this, Father.   Even as I sit quietly here, Father, and just wait for You to speak, I hear You gently whisper, "Thy will be done."  Oh Father, we pray for Your will to be done not just in this, but in all of our lives, Father.  May everyone around us see a difference in us, and may that Difference be YOUR POWER resting upon us so that others are drawn to You.  We claim Your favor and presence as a shield around Michael and his family. . .and we ask that You would bring them to our hearts in order to pray for them at just the right moments when strength and comfort is needed the most, Father.  The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man or woman availeth MUCH, Father.  You said it!  And we are made righteous because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf!  So we thank You for this honor to pray for Michael, his family as well as for the doctors.  The battle, Father, is not in the hospitals or doctors' offices around the world, NO!  It is in the prayers of Your children.  Father, as long as Moses held his arms up to You, the army below was winning. . .but as soon as his arms began to slip and fall down from exhaustion, the enemy began to overtake them!  Father, lift up Your children's arms in this battle!  May we never grow weary in well doing to pray for not just Michael but for ANYONE who needs our prayers!  May we have eyes to see our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need of support in their prayer-life; and may we lift them up, just as Aaron and Hur helped to prop Moses' arms up!  (Exodus 17:12) We lift our hearts to You, Father, on behalf of Michael. We ask for Your will to be done.  Encourage Your children through this...May we see YOUR MIRACULOUS POWER working in and through us, and our prayer-lives, Father.  Breathe life into our prayers by the power of Your Holy Spirit!  In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.....

THANK YOU TO EACH OF MY DEAR BLOGGING SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN CHRIST.  Please pass this prayer request along to your sweet blogging family! May the Holy Spirit renew our strength to come to the battlefield and PRAY for God's will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven!
**I've added an update from my Aunt Dianne in the comments section.  I am so thankful for each of your prayers. Before I wrote this blog, I asked them if it'd be okay to share Michael's situation on the blog, because God gave me the faith to believe He will use each of you in a special way to be a part of this journey in prayer on Michael's (and the family's) behalf!   Thank you for proving that God's people can pull together, even if they've never met, to pray for a special brother in Christ.  :)  Love U!  <3

A Personal Invite

"...But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him,

just as he told you.'"  Mark: 16:7 

Just wanted to touch base with everyone to let them know that the LORD blessed the concert efforts more than I could imagine, and how humbling it was for me to see Him working in the hearts of His children.  What an honor to be used as a vessel in His hands to minister to the hearts of His children.  :) 

In preparation for last weekend's concert, I was searching God's Word to see whatever it was He would have me to share, and how would He tie it into the music He had given?  I want to share those little lessons or "golden nuggets" with you here.  ;o)

Remember how Peter pledged his allegiance to the Lord, and yet he quickly denied Jesus not once, but three times before the rooster crowed. . just as Jesus had told Peter?   Can you imagine the anguish Peter must have felt knowing how he denied Jesus?  And here Jesus had been crucified? Then how must Peter have felt when he heard the news that Jesus' body was not at the tomb, and in fact Jesus had risen?  If I were Peter, I would have probably had mixed feelings:  perhaps excitement, tinged with guilt and even fear of seeing Jesus again.   Yet, in our verse today, (Mark 16:7) we see what the angel said at the tomb. "But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."  Does this statement "exclude" Peter as a disciple?  No!  Once we are saved, we are always saved.  We find this to be a personal invitation.   "Go and tell his disciples, especially Peter....."  Why would Peter even need a personal invite?  I'm sure he was wondering if the Lord would even welcome him into His presence! 

This spoke volumes to me!  I hope it will do the same for you as well!  Jesus personally invites you to come to Him, no matter what you've done..no matter HOW long it's been since you've spoken to Him. . .and especially if you've been rejecting His invitation to "Come to Me.."  Now is your chance to come and find that HE is here, just as He promised HE would be.  A personal invitation, what more could we ask?
                  

Luke 24:13-35 tells us of another account on Resurrection Day.  Two of them were on the road to Emmaus.  Walking along, discussing the events of the day, probably wondering about whether they would see Jesus.  Then the Lord Himself began to walk with them.  However, they did not recognize Him.  In fact, He spoke with them and walked along for quite a while and even went with them to the house.  It wasn't until Jesus was at the table, blessed the bread and then broke it that their eyes were opened.  (verses 30 and 31)

Isn't it that way with us too?  We can be walking along with the Lord in our spiritual "walk," and have Him speak to us as we read the Word; we hear His message preached, but it seems that when we become broken THAT's when we really see Him. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  Purification is by fire.  Removing the dross, purging the impurities away.  This implies extreme heat (suffering and brokenness.)  At the end of Job, when God had spoken to Job and caused Job to catch a glimpse of God's majesty, Job said, "My ears have heard of You, but NOW my eyes have seen You."  Job 42:5  Job had been broken, but now his eyes were opened.  His heart was purer than ever before.  God allows us to be broken in order to purify our hearts, so that He can reveal more of Himself to us...and that's when we will reflect more of who HE IS to others.  :)

Going through some extremely difficult times? 

Could this be a chance for our Lord to reveal MORE of Himself to you?  I think so.  Be still and know that HE is God, and He will be exalted--even to you, right now, right where you are.  :)

We all remember the account of when the parents brought their children to Jesus. . and the disciples "shooed" them away.  Jesus rebuked the disciples and allowed the children to come to Him.  I never noticed until last week, that the Bible says in Mark 10:13, that the parents wanted Jesus to simply touch their children.  But in verse 16 we read "And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them."  Jesus wants to do SO much more for us than simply "touch our lives."  All we need is the faith to COME to Him. . .and then watch and see what He will do. . He will scoop us up into His arms, place His hands on us, and bless us!! 

Do you have a child in need of a touch of the Master's hand?  Keep asking God for more faith and continue to bring your child before the throne of grace!  God wants to do more than touch your child!  He wants to pick him or her up and bless them abundantly!  And guess what!? He WILL!  Keep on praying according to His will!   

This lesson of the parents bringing their children to Jesus could also symbolize salvation.  He wants us to come to Him for salvation (to touch us) but He also wants to "give us life more abundantly!"  (pick us up, place His hands on our lives and bless us!)   God is certainly a GIVER of LIFE, and "LIFE more abundant" too! :)

Jesus' life is to be lived in and through us.  Each day, as we surrender our will to His, "He must increase and I must decrease."   How is His life to find rest within our hearts?  How can His life in us "Grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with both God and man?"  Simply look at the stable in Bethlehem.  Mary placed Jesus in the manger.  That was not a typical "bed fit for the King of Kings!"  It is a feeding trough. 

After Jesus had risen, and "reinstated Peter" by asking Peter three times "Lovest thou Me more than these?"  He told Peter to "feed My sheep."  How are we to feed God's sheep?  By allowing the Bread of Life to live and grow from within our hearts.  Our hearts are to be like the manger in that Bethlehem stable so many years ago.  Once we have humbled our hearts, and allowed His life to find a resting place in our hearts, He will continue to grow, and others will see a difference in us...they are hungry, and don't even know what they are hungry for. . .But we do!  They are hungry for the Bread of Life.  Allowing Jesus to live in and through us, by keeping our hearts humble, will cause others to come to us. . .not for US, but to find the Bread of Life within our hearts. .  we are simply the "trough" or "manger" that holds the precious Bread of Life within!  God's great Master Plan for our salvation had a humble beginning ~ a stable in Bethlehem!  And so His purpose for your and my life must have a humble beginning too:  our hearts. :)

                              

Feed My sheep!  Jesus knows that His dear children are in need of nourishment and encouragement.  What are we doing to allow His life to grow within our hearts so that others can find that we offer the Bread of Life to them--not because of anything we have done.  No.  But because of Him choosing us, like that little manger was chosen, to hold His life and allow His life to rest within our hearts. . .

May His life in us continue to grow so that others who are hungry will be drawn to the Bread of Life.  "IF I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me."  He was lifted up once, on that cross.  Now, is He being lifted up in our hearts?  In order to do that, we must "decrease."  We must humble our hearts. . .

Oh dear Heavenly Father, thank You for these wonderful lessons You opened my eyes to.  The "concert" last weekend was not about music, but rather about Your message of encouragement.  Thank You for the privilege and honor to have shared Your message through not just the music but most importantly, Your Word, to the hearts of Your children.  Please help us all to keep our hearts humble, so that Your Son's life, Who is the Bread of Life, can continue to grow and be lifted up.  Please draw all men unto You, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, before our time on this earth is over.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Performer

"I will cry unto God most high; unto God who performs all things for me." 

Psalm 57:2

The Lord has opened the door for me to do a special musical presentation or "concert" on Oct. 30th in the evening.  I've not been able to post many blogs lately because of seeking His guidance and working with Him on this, as well as still being in physics class. 

This opportunity is way "out of my comfort zone."  But I know that whatever He requires of me, He will enable me to do.  And that's where today's verse fits into our post.  : ) 

When you think of a concert, you automatically think of a performance by someone on a stage.  Right?  Me too. 

But my prayer for this upcoming event is that it would not be a concert by me, a "performer,"  but rather a special time where we can all come together, "in concert," to have our hearts blessed by our Heavenly Father. . .and that Jesus would be lifted up.  Anyone can be a performer, but it takes the hand of God upon a person's life to make them a blessing to others. God is The Performer, not me.  :)

Jesus said if He be "lifted up," He "will draw all men unto" Himself.   He was lifted up on the cross at Calvary, and my prayer is that He would be lifted up next Sunday evening, so that others will be drawn to Him and see that He can meet all the needs of their hearts.

Please pray that He

would use me as

simply the

paintbrush in His

hands to paint a

beautiful picture

of His Son. 

For His glory!  

On the way home from class today, He reminded me of a poignant moment nearly 15 years ago, when I stood by my sister's casket and told my former piano teacher, "I can never play the piano again.  How can I play from a heart that is broken??"  She said, "Ahhh, you have all the more reason to now."  At the time, I really didn't think that I could ever "play" again.  My heart was crushed. But by the grace of God, and through His healing comfort, He has brought the music from a much deeper place. 

After all, we'd never enjoy the sweet juice from a grape if it had never been crushed, right?

What an honor and privilege to be used by Him. I'm still just a lump of clay in His hands!! 

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for this opportunity You have given to me.  The gifts that You give us are not to be kept to ourselves, hidden from others, but rather they are to be shared.  As a river keeps flowing, sharing its goodness, we are to do the same.  If we do not allow Your gifts to flow through us, then we will become stagnant and useless.  Please be glorified in and through me.  May Your will be done.  For Your Name's sake, and for Your glory. 

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.