Dana's Christian Journey

musings of a thankful cancer survivor

Author: Dana

  • lovingkindness

    —

    Dana

    School is once again underway and I am happy to be writing again. Susan and I had a wonderful summer and we are very thankful.

    I’ve written often of Pastor Manuel, his family, and the brothers and sisters we visit in Ecuador. In July, a group of twelve had the privilege of working alongside those who are serving people, loving children, and proclaiming the Gospel in the mountains and valleys of the Andes Mountains. Gentleness, humility, and faithfulness are fruit we witness that inspire us to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives.

    FullSizeRenderimg_0970John has accompanied me five times to this part of the world. It was a great joy this year to watch Pastor Manuel reach up and hug a growing thirteen-year-old. I saw tears in his eyes as he proudly welcomed John back to his home… and of course that brought tears to mine. Pastor Manuel has always had a special love for John.

    Using this reunion as a visual example, I can’t help but think that lovingkindness is what our Father in Heaven wants each human being to experience. The manner in which Pastor Manuel embraced John… or the way I hug my little grandchildren… or how a mother holds a newborn… contain the tenderness and compassion of our Lord.

    It is sad that so many in this world do not know the love of the Father. The author of all lies has erected countless barriers to prevent the created from knowing the Creator. But we can tell the truth! We can show the orphan, the outcast, and the suffering lovingkindness. We can befriend the poor, the unknown, and the neglected. What if lovingkindness became the quality that best described the Church? ‘Lord, give us grace to do our part.’

    “Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens. And your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You.” (NKJV) Psalm 36:5-10

    “I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation. Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.” (NKJV) Psalm 40:10-11

    “But while he was a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him… ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (NIV) Luke 15:20-24

  • blood

    —

    Dana

    It is hard to believe, but this is our final week of school… so this is the last writing for a while. Thanks for all the prayers, encouragement, and love you’ve extended to me and my family. I still receive good reports from the doctors and we give thanks for every day.

    I recently saw a friend who used to live in Atlanta but now lives in Nashville. A while back he had a conversation with a lady who, when hearing he used to live in Atlanta, said she remembered a man with cancer who shared at a women’s study group at her church. “That was several years ago, so I am sure he is dead by now.” My friend asked if the person happened to be me and she said, “Yes, that was his name.” “Dana is a friend of mine… and he’s still alive!”

    “He’s still alive” brings much glory to God the Father who keeps us very much alive in Christ, not only on this earth, but forever.

    A few weeks ago, I sat in a familiar room with another dozen cancer patients and a dozen or more caretakers. The patients were all waiting to give blood for our weekly labs, and held buzzers like the kind you get in a restaurant to let you know your table is ready.  But these buzzers tell us when they’re ready to collect our blood.

    The buzzer held by the man sitting next to me buzzed, and he addressed the nurses’ station: “My wife stepped out… she’ll be back in a few minutes.”

    I leaned toward him and said, “You should have gone back with the nurse and given your blood while your wife is out… then you guys could get a good report.” He smiled and said, “No, no, I shouldn’t do that.” A young patient overheard our conversation and laughed. I said to him, “That’s what we all need… someone else’s blood!”

    Upon reflection beyond my weekly labs: “We all need Someone else’s Blood!” And at ultimate cost, it has been given! “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This is the promise the Lord gave Moses as the Israelites prepared to leave the bondage of Egypt. Any blood would not work… it had to be the blood of an unblemished Passover lamb. (see Exodus 12)

    Of course, this Old Testament story points to the true “Lamb of God – who takes away the sins of the world.” Our own blood will not suffice, but God lets His Son’s Blood redeem and purify us. “For you know it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you by your ancestors, but with the precious Blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last days for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” (I Peter 1:18-21)

    The Blood of Jesus allows all who receive the Gospel to come to the throne of our Father in Heaven, who loves us more that anyone can imagine. “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 for us through the curtain, that is His Body, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

    So, let’s walk in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. God puts His love in our hearts and invites us to live boldly as we share the Light.

    “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:5-7

  • realize

    —

    Dana

    “If you love Me, keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.” John 14:15-20

    Jesus wants us to live in this realization: He is in His Father, we are in Him, and He is in us. This is the life the Father has given us and it is a blessed life.

    Jesus knows everything we go through because He also experienced life on earth. The Son of Man had friends and family and community; He also endured temptation, affliction, and mistreatment. But every step, Jesus knew He was not alone – He was in His Father and the Father was in Him.

    “Do not believe Me unless I do the works of My Father. But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” (John 10:37-38)

    Now He tells us that we are in Him and He is in us. If this is true, what can come against us? Of course the same forces that oppose Jesus can oppose us, but in Christ we cannot be defeated.

    And why should we be anxious? If we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us, we should be more confident than the sparrows who do not worry about their next meal. “Are you not much more valuable than they?” In Christ, we are safe in the Father’s hands.

    But what will I accomplish in life? What good can come from this realization? “You will bear fruit,” Jesus promises… and we should believe Him. We can trust the Gardner as we live in the Vine.

    “I am the true Vine and My Father is the Gardener… I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:1, 5

    “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

  • birth

    —

    Dana

    img_3418We are praising God for bringing baby Macy into the world at 5:45 on May 10! She weighs 7 lbs, 4 oz and is 21 inches long. Everyone is excited!

    I think our Father in Heaven is also excited when a little one is born. He is the One who “knit us together” and He knows His intentions for every child. He wants us all to know Him and learn to walk in fellowship with Him while we are on the earth.

    May the One who loves us all protect and lead little Macy as she joins Taylor, Emma, Wilkes, and the family of God.

    “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” I Peter 1:3-5

  • matters

    —

    Dana

    “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight — the only thing that matters is faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6, New English Translation)

    Faith matters to God. In fact, “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) Jesus said, “You believe in God; believe also in Me.” (John 14:1) We come to God through faith in His Son and He calls us to walk this way. “For we live by faith, not by sight.” (II Corinthians 5:7)

    The Israelites were rescued from Egypt. They walked on dry land through the Red Sea and experienced miracles of provision and protection. But they were not permitted to enter the Promised Land because they were lacking in faith. “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2)

    So if my faith is weak and my prayer is like the father’s who came to Jesus on behalf of his son: “Lord, I believe, help me overcome my unbelief,” what do I do? I go to the One who is the “Author of faith” and the “Perfector of faith.” Jesus helps us believe!

    “The only thing that matters is faith working through love.” “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:2) Love matters to God.

    Faith in the Son brings life in the Son and love is the result of this life. A person that claims to follow Jesus proves it by the way he or she loves. Love should be the most visible quality of the believer.

    So if my love is weak and I look more like “a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” than the Savior, what do I do? I go to the One who is love. He tells me that His “love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5) Jesus helps us love!

    “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

    “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

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