Deep Calls to Deep

I found myself standing toe-to-toe with the dreadful and life-stealing “C” word. The very same word and type that attacked my grandpa and eventually took the life of my uncle. Not only had multiple clinicians felt its lump in my abdomen—a lump that had been causing me pain for the past several months and could be visibly seen by looking at my belly—but also, it had shown its face in my colon on a recent CT scan.  And with a size of 5.4 cm (about the size of an egg), it meant business.

Images from my CT scan. Notice the mass in my colon as indicated by the red outlines.

 

Although I’ve always had great faith, my foundation shook with the implications of this battle and the potential losing consequences (like having half of my colon removed and all the other horrible outcomes a frantic internet search can reveal). Right when I needed it most, the Lord reached down in the middle of my weakness and inoculated me with a fresh portion of faith. I was going through my electronic medical records trying to find the results of the current CT scan when I stumbled across results from another battle with the “C” word a year and a half ago. While in all appearances, it seemed that I had lost some ground in that particular battle (I had to have a hysterectomy because of an orange-size tumor in my uterus), turns out when they removed my uterus, the tumor was already gone. You can read about this amazing story in my previous blog The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy. Just knowing that God had healed me from the “C” word once before was all I needed to take down this generational giant before me now.

After gathering a small group of prayer warriors, my husband, daughter, and I went to war. Practicing what I preach, I fought just like I explain how in my short book Subject Your Flesh. For a whole week, I made constant healing proclamations, declared scriptures over myself, commanded my body to come under subjection to my God-given authority over it, and rebuked the disease and doubt.  I did all of this out loud and not in my mind so that my own ears (and the devil’s) would hear it. After all, the Bible says that faith comes by hearing.

The big day finally arrived. It was time to obtain biopsies of the mass so that we would know what type and stage we were dealing with and how much of my colon would have to be removed. Yes, I was a bit apprehensive, but I had a peace that I cannot even begin to explain. When I woke up from the colonoscopy, all I can remember is someone leaning over my bed, telling me they couldn’t find anything. I immediately broke into sobs and thanked Jesus. God had miraculously healed me once again, and I intended to praise Him for it no matter who was listening.

Photos from my colonoscopy of the spot where the mass was seen on the CT scan. Notice there is NO tumor and the tissue is healthy looking with NO indications of its previous presence whatsoever.

As all of this amazing story transpired, I often used the scripture about deep calling to deep. The spirit deep inside me called out for the deep things of God and petitioned for healing in the deep parts of my body. Every time that doubt came creeping around, I would say aloud “deep calls to deep,” as my heart attempted to dial up the Lord’s. Although I used this scripture a lot (like a gazillion times), I told no one. However, the Lord knew, and He sent me two different people who said they saw a vision of a great wall of water ready to wash over me. I immediately knew what God was confirming through them. When the enemy came in like a flood, the Lord rose up like a tsunami. He took what was meant for my harm and used it for my good. And when my heart cried out to His, His waves swept over me, washing away all my iniquity and cleansing me. When my deep called out to His deep, He answered with healing.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; 

all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 

Psalm 42:7 NIV

The Devil Comes to Steal, Kill, and Destroy

Spring of 2015, an ultrasound showed an orange-sized fibroid tumor growing inside my uterus. The news dropped my family and me to our knees in prayer, asking and believing for a divine healing. Eventually the day of my scheduled hysterectomy arrived, and in all appearances, our prayers seemed to have been defeated. After the surgery, we received good news that everything was normal, but my husband and I continued to question why I was never healed. We just couldn’t understand.

Fast forward to Fall of 2016. While digging around in my electronic medical records, I stumbled across the pathology report for my hysterectomy. I never expected to find what I did. Right there, written in black and white, it said that no fibroids were present!

Each time I reread the words, I became increasingly aware of the healing miracle in my body, and waves of indescribable gratitude washed over me. Even now, my heart still swells with intense thankfulness every time I think about it. The Lord had answered our prayers, despite how things appeared.

This revelation, however, also flooded my spirit with righteous anger. For over a year, the devil had managed to lie to us. (How dare he!!!) But even worse…

• The devil tried to steal the glory for the event.  He took credit for a defeat (which was actually false) and robbed God of the glory for the divine healing.
• The devil tried to kill our faith, to convince us that prayers don’t really work—especially the ones involving miracles for ourselves.
•  The devil tried to destroy my opportunity to have a life-changing testimony that could increase faith for others going through tough or uncertain times.

I say, no more!! And next time, I’m not falling for the deception.

If you are facing a difficult or even deadly situation, please know that everything isn’t always as it seems. God is working on your behalf whether you see it or not, and don’t let the devil convince you otherwise. Always remember that Jesus came so that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 KJV

Plumb Line

Early one day, I kept hearing the words plumb line in my mind and spirit. Later that day during a powerful worship meeting led by Brian and Heather May, the Lord revealed the fullness of the message to me. Following is what I received.


In Amos 7:8, the Lord says that He will set a plumb line among the people. A plumb is a small, heavy object, that when attached to a string, is a tool used to determine whether something (such as a wall) is perfectly vertical.  In scripture, a plumb line is a symbolic standard, against which, God will measure, test, and judge us.

In a busy world of people focused on many things including love, money, success, and social media, the spiritual plumb line may go unnoticed like the following one I saw in a vision during the meeting.

In the next verse of Amos 7, the Lord says that the high places will be destroyed. Now is the time to decide which side of the plumb line you will choose. Will you be found above it or beneath it?

I’ve always heard the scripture about the way to life being narrow (Matthew 7:14), but the Lord showed me a new dimension of it. The narrow way is a life lived in reverence to the Lord, below the plumb line. 

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Ever wonder what Christian science fiction looks like? Here's your chance to find out!

The stories of the Bible from an alien perspective, Renewable Energy explores the purpose of life and how to get a second chance at it while being caught in the middle of a great battle for “soular” energy.

Renewable Energy is available in print and e-book. The audiobook is coming soon.

Click here to buy on Amazon

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MORNING GLORIES

Read Morning Glories along with two other short stories as part of

When You Go Looking: Three Short Stories About Finding Purpose, Renewal, and Mercy

Click here to read on Amazon Kindle

The characters in these Christian short stories find what they are looking for in the most unusual places.

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489: a short story about unforgiveness

Unforgiveness plagues the world today, so I created a short story to deliver a fast message about the importance of forgiveness. Instead of reading for several days, folks can consume this story in about an hour. 

Loaded with plot twists and surprises, this short story delivers a powerful message about forgiveness and how our life affects other people, even those we don’t know.

The book is available in print, ebook, and audiobook form. Click here to purchase. 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Limited-time Offer

Imagine that you are on your way out the door to spend a lifetime in prison for committing a crime, when the richest and most prominent man in the entire world shows up at your house bringing the following:

**a complete pardon for your crime

**an immeasurable amount of money to cancel all your debts

**all his secret remedies that can heal any disease or sickness

**his personal counselor to help you overcome all your fears, shame, hurts, worries, etc

**the money and means to restore everything that was ever stolen from you or that you were cheated of

**the ability to bring peace and joy into your life like you couldn’t even fathom

Now imagine that this man told you to go get EVERY person you could find, and he would do the same for them. You will have only 60 days, though, because then he leaves for good (taking you with him), and the offer expires.

What do you do?

Duty

Luke 17:7-10 records a short yet powerful parable about duty. (You can read it at the bottom of this blog). The words are red, thus belonging to Jesus, so take them to heart then ask yourself: Am I expecting special thanks for doing something that is expected of me—for my duty?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word duty means something that is done as part of a job or because it is morally right or the law requires it. Basically it is a responsibility that we are accountable for. We all have duties whether they be at home, work, school, etc. As Christians, we have Kingdom duties, too, such as love others, be fruitful, subdue the earth, pray, and give. Sometimes, we go over and above our basic duty and do favors for people.

When our daughter was younger, we assigned the chore of washing dishes to her. The first time she stepped into this new assignment, she grumbled around afterwards. When asked why, she said because we didn't thank her for her actions. I promptly thanked and praised her, not thinking anymore about it. The next several times she completed her chore, though, she continued to expect the same response from us. I thanked her each time and pondered the stirring in my spirit until I came to the conclusion that I had failed in explaining the concept of duty to her. She was wanting me to thank her because she was doing a favor for me by cleaning the dishes. What she didn't understand was that she wasn't doing me a favor because the responsibility of the dishes wasn't mine—it was hers. She thought she was filling in for me and wanted thanks for her special help. We had to explain to her that the chore was reassigned and no longer mine. It had become her duty and she wasn't filling in for anyone but herself.

 
Are we so different from this young girl? How many times do we sit around and grumble because we are waiting on the Lord to thank us for our efforts? As if it were His duty to pray with people and we just filled in for Him. And what about work? If our job is to shred paper and we spend the day doing it, are we expecting a thank you at the end of the day for performing a basic duty?

Many people claim burnout these days, and if you don’t believe me, then check out your social media wall. A wise man once said that burnout isn't caused from working too hard; it's caused from not seeing enough results. I'd like to add to this observation and take it a step further. What if the "results" we are waiting on are these misplaced expectations of praise and gratitude for doing our duties? I think burnout for many folks is self-induced. They do a duty but expect the response/reward of a favor, and when they don't get the emotional results, they feel burned out. The situation can be remedied by focusing their blurry line between duty and favor.

For proper understanding of the difference between duty and favor in your own life, make a list of your duties. Be sure to include those related to work, career, home and family, church, school, sports, etc. When you do something on this list, vow to not anticipate gratitude and praise from others. But if you do receive it, then count it as a blessing instead of an expectation.

When you take ownership your duties and perform them for the simple reason that they are your responsibility, you will get immediate satisfaction from the accomplishment instead of waiting for praise that may never come. Duty and favors are not the same, and you have a duty to know the difference.

Luke 17:7-10 from The Message

“Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

 

I Want To Be Like That

Since tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday, a time when celebrities and role models become hot topics, I’d like to tell you about two people whom I highly esteem, and who certainly are not your run-of-the-mill kind of folk.

In our local area, there are twin brothers, both seemingly vagabonds, who have peppered my life with their presence over the past several years.  I can remember the first time I meet them.  I was managing the ShadeTree Publishing booth at a local book fair when one of the brothers stopped by to chat.  Shortly after leaving, “he” returned again to talk some more; however, I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t recall any of our previous conversation.  It wasn’t until later that I realized “he” was actually a set of twin brothers.  While other people may remember these two men by their somewhat comedic appearance, I have a totally different reason – they inspire me to be a better person. Not because of what they have or have not. No. It’s because of what they give.

Every year, I look forward to the annual book fair because I know that I will get to visit with these brothers.  They are unlike any other people who stop by our booth.  They never come with personal agendas or manipulating conversations aimed at convincing me to either buy or publish something.  They simply stop by to visit, and when our chats are over, they leave me feeling refreshed and like they genuinely enjoyed my fellowship. I want to be like that. I want to be someone who lifts up others and leaves them feeling like they have a true friend and not one who feigns friendship for hidden personal gain.

During one of the many book fairs, the brothers made their annual stop at our booth.  One of them showed an interest in my books.  Now normally, I would have flipped my salesman switch and gone for the gold; however, this time I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I presumed that they needed what little money they had for food instead of my books.  Despite my attempts to dissuade him, he insisted on purchasing the book and wouldn’t accept it for free.  Simply put – he wanted to bless me and encourage me in my early writing career. I want to be like that. I want to be willing to sacrifice personal things to encourage others, especially when they are just getting started on their journey.

So today I had the pleasure of running across these brothers again in a local gas station. After chatting with them briefly (and walking away yet blessed again), I made my way to the candy aisle to appease my sweet tooth. After much contemplation and negotiation with my better judgment, I chose my delight and headed to the checkout where I found one of the brothers declining his purchase because he didn’t have enough money to cover the cost. I immediately thought, Ah ha! Here is my chance to bless them in return for the many times they blessed me.  I added their item to my own purchases and happily paid the bill. The brother was beyond himself with gratitude. My heart began to swell as he thanked me with such tenderness. But alas, in this moment when I thought I would get to bless him, his watery eyes brimming with gratitude melted my heart, and there I stood, blessed again, this time by his appreciative soul. I want to be like that. I want to be someone whose overflow of genuine thankfulness touches others.

I’m looking forward to my next chance encounter with these two mysterious gents.  I have no idea whether they are Christians or not, but I can say one thing – every time I encounter them, they show me the love of Christ, and I really want to be like that.

How We Are Seen

When we look at each other what do we see first?

More often than not, we look for one another’s faults. It’s human nature. By reveling in someone else’s downfall or misfortune, we artificially inflate our own self-worth. If we could illustrate the amount of our sins versus the extent of our faith and good works, we could use a simple vertical bar. For example, take a look at the following group of folks. With one glance, you immediately glean what kind of people they are. This is how we see each other. Well, sort of…

Listen to some of the secret thoughts below to realize how we really see each other.

Becky thinks: "What a loser Carol is. She drinks all the time and the few times she comes to Church, she smells like booze. Glad I'm not like her. I'm in church every week, I pray all the time, and I read my Bible every day."

Ted thinks: "Wow, look how bad Sue is! I bet that's why her husband was broken at the altar last Sunday. She's probably cheating on him."

Greg thinks: " Sue thinks she is so much better than me. At least I don't do as many bad things as she does."

Bill thinks: "It seems like for every step forward, I take a step back. At least I'm trying harder than George, though."

So how does God see us??

If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and have asked for forgiveness of our sins, then God sees us through the righteous blood of Jesus Christ. We are redeemed only through His blood, which cleanses us from our sins. The blood of Jesus should purge our minds of the dead works of ourselves and others so that we can better serve God.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7 KJV)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14 KJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 KJV).

How should we see each other?

If the Bible says there is no condemnation, then should we continue to condemn the people around us? No!! But, exactly how do we change our perception? By looking at the good in people instead of the bad.  

 Lord, please take the precious blood of Jesus and wash our eyes so that we may see more clearly. Amen.