The Cure

I have just been diagnosed with lyme's disease - a condition caused by the bite of a very small bug. It's treatable. But in the meantime it's painful and causes a rash and soreness. If left untreated it can cause problems with your heart and nervous system. Strange.

Lyme's disease is a lot like the disease of sin that affects each one of us. If left untreated, sin also leads to death. Thankfully, there is a cure for sin. His name is Jesus.

Jesus cures just about everything we could imagine. He makes the blind see, the lame walk, and can raise the dead back to life.

To cure lyme's disease one has to take an antibiotic. A pill, twice a day, for ten days. To cure sin, all you have to do is commit your life to Christ. Just do it once. It lasts a lifetime,  and more!

"When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." - Matthew 11:2-5

Right now my body is sore and tired, all brought on by the infection that runs throughout my veins. I have hope that I will be feeling better with the medication I am taking and the diagnosis provided by my doctor.

The diagnosis of our sin appears in God's Word. Read it to discover just what condition you are in. Then trust in Jesus. He is the cure for what ails us all - our sinful nature. Why live in agony and pain when a cure is readily available for anyone to take?

Monkeypox!!

Just when we thought the Charlie Victor One Niner pandemic was over, with all of its endless variants, we now have monkeypox!! I don't know about you but I'm feeling a little like Rameses from The Ten Commandments movie - enduring plague after plague after plague.

I predict that we will not run out of wars, pandemics, deadly diseases, murder hornets and brain-eating bacteria until the November election is over. But I could be wrong. It could go on indefinitely. Why?

The media LOVES to scare us. Anything to get their ratings up, right? If they were really interested in improving their ratings, perhaps they should try telling the truth. The same goes for the Democratic party. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

The Republicans aren't that much better but at least they seem to form policy by using common sense. But I'm not here to offer political solutions. The solutions I offer here today are biblical solutions.

Read the Bible. It is full of ways to end plagues, eliminate starvation and overcomes disease. His name is Jesus.

As you read through the Gospels one can quickly see that Jesus is interested a few main things - obeying God, eliminating man-made "religion," loving and serving others, forgiving sins, and believing and worshiping the one TRUE God.

That seems simple. The application is the hard part. Why? Because we are all sinners. We are easily distracted by the next, new "shiny object" in our lives. A movie, a television show, a new hobby, a new toy, . . . ourselves.

Life was good back in biblical days when God came first, and people served Him. People had plenty to eat, there were no wars, everyone lived in peace because they obeyed the Lord. That's not happening in our world today. We are lovers of self. Here, let's let Paul explain it, as he did to his friend Timothy.

"There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone." - 2 Timothy 3:1-9

That about says it all, doesn't it? Paul says these things will happen "in the last days." Well, they're happening right now. Are these the last days then? I believe that they are. What about you?

M&M's

Most of the story ideas I get for this blog come from observing every day life. I like to see how God presents Himself in the world in which we live. In effect, He speaks to us in many different ways, if we'd only take the time to look or listen.

God usually speaks to us through His Word But He can also speak to us through the people we meet or through the songs we sing to Him. And sometimes, God can even speak to us through . . . tee-shirts.

I took the picture above of my friend Daniel and his buddy (wearing the red tee-shirt) at Lifest a few weeks ago. I wasn't really thinking about writing a story at the time. I was just taking a picture of a friend. But I did take the time , for some unknown reason, to take a picture of this guys tee-shirt as well. You see, I absolutely love M&M's. Especially peanut M&M's! The only trouble is, M&M's don't really like me.

You see, I am a Type II diabetic. My blood sugar level tends to be higher than most. We Type II diabetics control our blood sugar by watching what we eat and/or by taking medication. Type I diabetics are those who must use insulin to control their blood sugar. Sadly, I am nearing the Type I threshold myself and it won't be long before I need the insulin injections but until that time I am supposed to watch what I eat.

My wife keeps watch on my diet when I am home but while I am at work I am on my own. There have been times - quite a FEW times - when I have strayed off my low-sugar regimen and gone upstairs to visit my friend Sharon. Sharon's a nice lady. You'd never guess that she is an accessory to murder. Well, sort of.

This is a picture of Sharon's office and that's Sharon in the pink shirt. Besides all the paperwork on her desk, Sharon also possesses a small container of poison, at least for the diabetic. Let's take a closer look. Oooh! M&M's!! And peanut M&M's at that!!

The more M&M's I eat, the higher my blood sugar goes.  The higher my blood sugar goes, the greater my risk of blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Sweet! (bad word choice)

M&M's are bad for me. If I were to keep eating them they would lead to my premature death. I suppose I could just forget about the dangers, enjoy myself and just keep eating them, but that would not be good. Doing that would hasten my own death and be contrary to God's will.

M&M's are like sin. They actually are a sin, to me anyway - the sin of gluttony. Over-eating, just because I enjoy it. But they are also like sin in that they lead to death.

So, what am I to do? Well, I need to quit going up to Sharon's office, that's for sure! But more importantly, I need to quit sinning. M&M's are a temptation for me. They are sitting right there. Eat them!! It's just like the Tree of The Knowledge of Good & Evil in the garden of Eden. Off limits!! Yet that fruit looks SO good! And maybe some M&M's for desert!

 

Let's face it, we all have our "M&M's." The question is, what are we going to do about it. Through our faith in Christ we have power to overcome sin. We are told to examine ourselves in scripture. I have examined myself and have determined that M&M's are bad for me. As much as I like them, they no longer hold power over me and have no place in my life. We need to keep checking ourselves and keep weeding out the things that harm us and seek to control us. Often it is ourselves that is our own worst enemy. We must let go of our earthly desires and seek after God's.

"56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:56-57

 

"Go And Sin No More"

Alzheimer's

Do you recognize the two men in this picture? They were both very popular actors in their day. Both were president of The Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood. Both were Democrats in their early years but then both became Republicans in their older, wiser days.

The man on the left is Charlton Heston, best known for his role as Moses in the movie The Ten Commandments. The man on the right is Ronald Reagan, best known for his role as the 40th president of these United States. Both men were strong leaders, both men were strong Christians, and both men died from Alzheimer's Disease - a disease that robs men and women of their memories and eventually leads to death. Truly a very nasty disease.

I was home, sick, this past week and watching some television shows I had recorded - specifically Wretched on the NRB Network. Wretched is kind of an in-your-face show, mixing a bit of sarcasm with conservative Christian theology. It can be a little "out there" but I like it. Most shows deal with current events, controversial teachings and evangelism but this particular show was different. It was very . . . touching.

The shows host, Todd Friel, discussed Christian music and then did a spot on Alzheimer's Disease, specifically the case of Glen Campbell who was diagnosed with the disease in 2011. Glen Campbell has sold over 45 million records in his 50-year career and even dabbled with some acting in the movie True Grit with John Wayne. But these days Glen Campbell doesn't do much. He quit touring. He stopped living his life, or should I say Alzheimer's stopped it. But he did record this video which speaks to his career and to the disease which ended it.

These Days by Glenn Campbell

Death is the inevitable outcome of Alzheimer's and I guess it struck home for me as I watched it. I began to think of those in my life who have the disease, specifically my father. He told us he had the disease several years ago when we were at our family farm. It didn't really hit home then because I didn't really know much about it and we couldn't see any signs of it in my father. But eventually things became noticeable . . . and the disease became all to real.

I remember one day when I was at our home in the Milwaukee area. I was helping to get my parents house ready for sale so they could move to Michigan, nearer to my sister who is a nurse. Everyone has defining moments in their lives and for me it was that day, the day my dad couldn't remember my name and referred to me as "the man in the basement." That was tough. What a devastating disease Alzheimer's is.

Shortly after watching that Glen Campbell video, and after wrestling with the topic of death and Alzheimer's, my wife called to me from our sun room.

"A precious baby!!" Oh, come see! It's just been born!"

A mother deer had just given birth to a wobbly-legged fawn, right in our backyard! How wonderfully glorious is our God! I had been watching a show about death and dying, then God provided his blessed reassurance through a new creation. He gives and takes away (Job 1:21). His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” - Job 1:21

The wretched TV show ended with the following song. It is a reminder that, for the Christian, death is not an ending, it is a beginning. And so I smile on this day because whether today bring happiness or sorrow, I will praise Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Not Death to Die by Sovereign Grace