Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • full assurance

    —

    Dana
    • To know Jesus better and to love and trust Him more…
    • To keep my eyes fixed on the Author and Perfecter of our faith…
    • To daily remember: ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me…’ (Galatians 2:20)

    These are goals God has for me in 2021. My resolutions tend to fizzle, but the Holy Spirit’s desires are solid and true. He wants us all to grow in the Son. “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18)

    As we contemplate; as we focus; as we praise; as we trust; as we fall more and more in love with our Savior… we are transformed into His image. Jesus entrusted Himself to His Father and was guided by the Spirit while on this earth. “He learned obedience through the things He suffered…” (Hebrews 5:8) If the perfect Chosen One ‘learned obedience,’ will not our loving Father teach us? And if suffering is a part of the plan… so be it.

    As much as we as parents hate to see our children face difficulty or fall or suffer, we know deep down that hardship teaches perseverance and perseverance brings maturity. The child who never learns to fight through tough circumstances or never struggles to get back up after failing or one who refuses to accept discipline or correction can never reach his or her potential. If God permitted Jesus to go through difficulty to prepare Him for His ultimate purpose, I should not shrink back from my trials. Rather, I must draw close to God.

    The writer of Hebrews says faith brings ‘full assurance.’ The Father wants us to live in ‘full assurance’… keeping in mind these divine truths:

    • Our time on earth is short… eternity is forever.
    • Jesus has saved us… and God has called us His children. And that is what we are!
    • The Father is for us… who can be against us?
    • Absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    • As we abide in Christ (the Vine) and He abides in us (the branches), He will produce fruit.
    • God is faithful!

    “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is His Body, and since we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23

  • Iran (& invitation)

    —

    Dana

    Susan and I recently listened to a book on tape called ARGO, the story of six Americans who escaped Iran in 1980 while 53 fellow Americans were held hostage in the U.S. Embassy. The attack on the American Embassy took place on November 4, 1979 during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Millions in Iran protested the protection our country gave the Shah of Iran, who fled his nation months earlier. He was diagnosed with cancer and was allowed to take refuge in the U.S., causing outrage in Iran where he was accused of many crimes. On January 20, 1981, immediately after Ronald Reagan took office as President and 444 days after being captured, the 53 hostages were released. ARGO is the story of those who escaped a year earlier.

    After being rescued by Canadian diplomats during the November 4 attack, the six Americans were hidden in homes in Tehran for nearly three months. Tony Mendez, an operative in the CIA, used friends in Hollywood to devise a plan to create the cover of a Canadian film company visiting Iran to scout the location of a science fiction film. In 2012, Ben Affleck directed and starred in the movie called ARGO, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The book, also published in 2012, is much different from the movie as Tony Mendez details the people involved and the steps required to execute the incredible escape.

    Remembering the hostage crisis from college days, my interest has been recently rekindled because of a missionary’s encouraging report of the number of people presently turning to Christ in the nation of Iran. Our son Taylors’s mother-in-law, Ruth, was the daughter of missionaries to Iran and lived in the country 10 years. Her older brother Tat was a one-year-old when the family moved there and he has ministered to Iranians most of his life. Tat, his wife and their two children were four of only 300 Americans living in Tehran during the fall of 1979. He visited the U.S. Embassy November 3, the day before the attack.

    After being accused of being a spy and having his picture on the front page of a newspaper, Tat and his family left Iran during the summer of 1980. He had pastored Community Church of Tehran with only a handful of members. It is thought there were only 3,000 believers in the entire nation, though missionaries like Ruth’s parents from America and others from England had labored the previous two hundred years. Now Tat is one of several voices reporting that Iran may be the nation with the fastest growth of Christianity in the world. Some estimate there are anywhere between a half million to eight million followers of Jesus in the country, despite constant threat of persecution.

    Fluent in three languages, Tat and his wife Emily have planted two Iranian churches in the States but reach multitudes in Iran, the Middle East, and Europe through the internet. Some of the young people they led during their years in Tehran serve as courageous leaders in the Body of Christ today. Incredibly, in 1980 it looked as if the Church in Iran was totally decimated. But after foreign missionaries left, Muslim-background believers carried and spread the flame of Christ. Such bold witnessing coupled with the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit through dreams, visions, and healings remind us that “with God, all things are possible.”

    In a recent podcast, Tat encouraged Christians in our country to draw close to God, surrendering every area of life to Him. Revival often comes through times of difficulty. God desires every living soul to experience the life only Jesus can give. Let’s pray a hunger and thirst for His Kingdom and His righteousness overshadow the fear, discouragement, and hopelessness so prevalent today. May the world know: “Jesus reigns!”

    “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15

    Happy New Year!

    (Special Invitation: If you are interested in this story and implications for believers today, reply to this email and I will send details of a one-hour ZOOM meeting this evening (December 31, 2020). I believe we will all be encouraged in the Lord on this New Year’s Eve. Feel free to share with anyone you think might be interested…)

  • The Shepherd

    —

    Dana

    I may not get to write over Christmas Break so I wanted to share a video to watch when you have twenty free minutes.

    Click the link and watch The Shepherd, which is the pilot feature of The Chosen video series produced by Dallas Jenkins. If you’ve not watched The Chosen stories, you’ll want to be encouraged by the story of Jesus and His followers in the early years of ministry. You can find all the stories online.

    The Shepherd is the Christmas story and it reminds us of the incredible love of God:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paOjgZZDads

    I pray you and your family have a wonderful season. We all should count our blessings and try to help a fellow struggler.

    Merry Christmas!!

    “For to us a Child is born,
    to us a Son is given,
    and the government will be on His shoulders.
    And He will be called Wonderful Counselor,
    Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
    Of the greatness of His government
    and peace there will be no end.” Isaiah 9:6-7

  • understand

    —

    Dana

    “Thank You Father that You chose for Me to be born into a poor family. I truly understand the struggles of the lowly.”

    “Thank You Father that You allowed Me to face all the temptations common to man. I understand what people endure as the enemy comes against them.”

    “Thank You Father that You allowed Me to experience pain and loss and grief and persecution. I know exactly what people feel in the midst of trials.”

    “Thank You Father that You said ‘No’ when I asked for the bitter cup to pass. I understand what people feel when their most intense prayers are not a part of Your plan.”

    “Thank You Father that You gave Me grace to accept injustice, to endure mocking and beating, to bear the cross, and to die for the world. No man, woman, or child can experience any hardship on earth that I don’t fully understand.”

    “Thank You Father for raising Me up on the third day so all who believe in Me can know the incredible future You have in store for all who love You.”

    knoxThese are thoughts that have crossed my mind in recent days. My friend Daniel and I were invited to share with the family of Knox Martin at a graveside service this past Sunday. Our former student valiantly fought a brain tumor for more than three years. During the struggle, he graduated from UGA and encouraged so many with his positive spirit. He died December 1; Knox was 24 years old.

    One of the benefits of being a cancer patient is to understand the plight of others. I understand a lot of what Knox was going through, but not everything. I do not, however, have the best understanding of the pain Eddie, Becky, Riley, and Madelon feel. But Jesus understands, and they are looking to Him as their Good Shepherd.

    Eddie and Becky called us the day Knox passed away. In the grief of the moment, Becky shared something I’ll never forget: “God understands how we feel; His Son died at a young age too.”

    “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet without sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so we can receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 5:15-16

  • Word

    —

    Dana

    “To be or not to be, that is the question…” William Shakespeare, Hamlet
    “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
    “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” J.R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

    There are many notable lines in classic books but I can’t recall ever meditating on them for long periods of time. Though gifted writers all, the persons who penned the sentences etched in readers’ memories are all human beings and their written words probably don’t reach the status of ‘life-changing.’

    We know human beings wrote the Bible too, but there is a unique quality to Scripture that sets words in a different category. How can a person read the same passage over and over and gain fresh insight previously undiscovered? Why do believers constantly go to Scripture for sustenance? How can unbelievers be convicted and radically changed by encounters with God’s Word?

    God’s Word cannot be disconnected from the Father, Son, and Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (II Timothy 3:16-17)

    Led by the Spirit, the apostle John calls Jesus ‘the Word’ in his writings: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) And “He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God.” (Revelation 19:13)

    The Word of God is supernatural: “For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

    No one handled Scripture as well as Jesus, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us “rightly divide the Word of truth.” Many during His days on earth knew the words but missed the Message. “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.” (John 6:39-40) Jesus knew that He is the main Message of Scripture.

    Jesus also knew the power of His Father’s written Word. Three times in the wilderness He resisted the devil with: “It is written…” followed by enemy-defeating Scripture. (see Luke 4:1-13) Surely Jesus aims for us to use the same Sword of the Spirit as we stand against the one who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

    I’m a proud Grandpa when I hear our four grandchildren quote memory verses their parents have helped them memorize. David wrote: “I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11) My prayer for my grandchildren, my children, my wife, myself, and all of us is to allow the Holy Spirit to bring Scripture to life in the way the Father intends and to let us experience the ‘life-changing’ Message of Christ, the One who loves us and died for us — Jesus, the Word of God.

    Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

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