The Halfway Point – Part 3

If you've ever built or remodeled a house, you know by experience that it always takes longer than you thought it would. That's what happened with this article on building our spiritual house. I thought I could complete it in two posts, but that just didn't happened. Today, I want to explore two more types of building material, grace and faith.

GRACE
Grace is an incredible gift. My favorite explanation of grace comes from the Amplified Bible: "The unmerited favor and merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, and keeps, strengthens, and increases them in Christian virtues." (From 2 Corinthians 1:12)

As I showed in part 2, God's grace is an integral part of the foundation. He pours out His grace on us at the cross. In that outpouring, we can never receive any additional grace that will affect our salvation. However, God's grace has more than one purpose. He intends for us to use grace to build our house.

If God's love is represented by the house's framework, then grace could be considered all the wiring, plumbing and air conditioning systems. We never see any of these systems, but without them, our homes would be less valuable. Like them, grace affects the way we act, something that may not be noticed. Consider some of the statements in the Bible concerning grace:

• God commands us to grow in grace. 2Peter 3:18
  
• We are to ask for grace in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
  
• According to the grace God gives us, we receive different gifts. Romans 12:6
  
• We are to be good stewards of God's varied grace. 1Peter 4:10
  
• God will give us more grace to resist temptation. James 4:6
  

All of these scripture verses suggest that grace should affect the way we respond to the events in our lives – the way we act every day.

FAITH
If love is the framework and grace is the hidden systems of the house, then faith is everything else: the doors, window, walls, roof, and furnishings. Faith represents the parts of the house that everyone sees. Faith is the raw material that we use to make our house beautiful.

In both the foundation and house, faith holds a unique position. Love is the essence of God and one of His attributes. Grace is also one of God's attributes. Faith is neither part of God's essence nor one of His attributes. It is a special gift from God to humanity (Ephesians 2:8). Faith allows us to believe that everything God says is true. It instills in us a conviction based on that belief so that we can respond to God in ways that are pleasing to Him.

In salvation, the gift of faith alone is part of the foundation. For the building of the house, however, what we do with the faith determines the quality and beauty of the house. James chapter two explains in detail that faith is useless unless we show it in our works. In Hebrews chapter eleven, the record of the great heroes of the faith, their actions show their faith.

Even though God assigns different measures of faith (Romans 12:3), we are to pursue faith (2Timothy 2:22) and build ourselves up in faith (Jude 20) so that it grows abundantly (2Thessalonians 1:3). Just to make sure that we are not deluding ourselves, God will test the genuineness of our faith (1Peter 1:7). The beauty of our house shows the richness of our faith.

There you have it. Half the year is gone, but the challenge is even more important than we knew. Unless our goals are focused on building a house that pleases God, our other goals have limited value. Let's both make a new list that includes using the building material God supplies for our lives.

The Halfway Point - Part 2

Last time, I challenged you to look at the plans you made for 2010. If your plans fell apart the way mine did, then that was probably something of a shock. How shaken we become when the storms and trials of life hit us depends on our foundation and upon our building material. The foundation must be Jesus Christ, our salvation, given as a gift of God through His sacrifice. (Scroll down to the previous article to read the scripture passages for these comments.)

For building our house, we would be wise to use the building materials God makes available: love, grace, and faith. It should not surprise us that God provides these materials to build our house. If you'll look closely at the foundation you can see these three materials interlock in such an intricate, self-supporting structure that nothing in creation can destroy it. John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8 explain the way God gives us love, grace, and faith in the gift of salvation.

In Paul's first letter to Timothy, he ties not only his salvation to love, grace, and faith, but also his commission for service. First Timothy 1:12-14 says, "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." ESV

Just as God appointed Paul to His service, He has also appointed you and me to His service. That service includes everything about us: who we are, the way we act, and the work we do. This service is the blueprint for our house. Using the material and blueprint He provides, we are to build a house that enhances the foundation on which it stands.

LOVE
Love is not only one of God's attributes; it is also an essential part of His nature. "God is love," the Bible declares in 1 John 4:8 & 16. We experience the love of God in two ways. First is the love of God for us. That love was poured out for us in Christ on the cross.

The second way we experience God's love is in us. Jesus says in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." In the Apostle John's first letter, he states, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. … but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. (1 John 2:3, 5 ESV) In these verses, we see both the building material and the use to which we are to make of it. In obeying God's command to love one another, we build up and bring to maturity God's love in us. His love changes who we are so that we become more like Jesus.

Next time, we will look more closely to the roles that grace and faith play in building our house.

Faith and Healing

Doctors diagnosed my friend Mike with hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer last year. As people prayed for his healing, he had pneumonia, several hospital stays, and many setbacks. While going through this experience, Mike learned lessons about faith and healing that I want to pass along. I edited part of a newsletter that Mike sent out, but the general content is his.

We know the Bible is the Word of God. In that context the original word is "Logos," the general revealed will of God. It spells out the parameters of God's plans and purposes for His children. It speaks of His promises, the things that are possible for us: some conditional, some not.

The Bible is the general revealed Word of God because there is no guarantee that every time we have a need, that we will receive exactly what we expect from the way God worked as shown in the Bible. We cannot locate verses in Scripture that promise something, assume that the promise is meant for our circumstances, "stand" on it, and repeatedly, mechanically confess it, and hope that eventually we will get what we want.

The Bible contains a general provision of what is possible. Based on what we read in the Bible, we can go to the Lord and ask Him if it applies to us. However, one more process must take place before we can express true faith and confidence that what God says in general applies to our specific circumstances.

The partner word that goes along with Logos is "Rhema." The original meaning of this word is the specific will, plan and purpose of God. In other words, the Rhema is God's specific purpose and plan for the specific need that you have. It is the personal Word of God about the nature of your needs and His plans to meet them.

We go through a process from understanding the general will of God to the specific plan of God for us. When a need arises, we go to the Bible (Logos) to determine what God says about that need in general. Once we determine it's in God's plan to provide for that need, we then go to the Lord and begin to seek His specific direction (Rhema). We wait on Him to show us His specific plan so that we can walk in faith and confidence because we heard from God specifically. We're not trying to force something to happen just because God did it once that way in the Bible.

Let me illustrate this principle with my circumstances. (A disclaimer here, do not use what I experienced, or anyone else has experienced, as a pattern for yourself. Every situation is different; each person must walk with the Lord, following his own specific, Bible-based, God-given plan.)

When I was diagnosed with hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer, we had no panic or fear even though we knew that both were extremely serious, and that pancreatic cancer is often terminal. God gave my wife and me a certain level of confidence in our spirits that we could trust Him to take care of us. That special gift of grace that God gave us carried us for a period of time. We knew from the Logos that God could heal me, but we did not know that He would because we had not received a Rhema to that effect.

From the beginning, we pursued medical treatment while we waited on the Lord for a specific word as to what He was doing. Over time, the diagnosis changed from pancreatic cancer to lymphoma, which is easier to treat successfully. We knew that God was answering prayers.

Our prayers were not aggressive all the time. We had this Peace of God in our spirits; many times we were in a neutral, waiting mode - just waiting on the Lord. "Terminal" was still on the table, but not a pre-occupation.

After a while, I noticed something had changed in my spirit. I no longer had just a general level of grace and confidence in God. God had imparted into my spirit a "Gift of Faith." Suddenly something would start welling up within me that I knew that I knew that I knew I was going to be totally healed and restored. I didn't know when or how, but "terminal" was now off the table, and my focus was on divine healing. NOW, I could boldly confess and declare that God was healing me, and I would eventually experience the finished product. Since that time, my liver specialist reported that he could find little or no trace of hepatitis in my system. One down and one to go; I am trusting God for the rest of my healing.

Remember, saying you have an illness or need is not wrong. How can you ask God to meet your needs if you don't confess that you have them? The enemy has convinced many believers that they must not make negative confessions. Other believers are confessing the Logos and their desire, but they have not received a Rhema from God, and their confession is based on a general principle and not the specific purpose of God. Many believers are disappointed that their expectations are not met because of this.

If you have a need, spend as much time as possible reading the Bible, waiting on the Lord to show you His will, and obeying what you already know is His will. God has a specific plan and purpose for every circumstance in your life. He wants you to know His will so that you can cooperate with Him by walking in faith. For that to happen, you need to stay close to Him.

Crushed or Loved?

I want to ask you a question, today. Do you think that God is angry with you or disappointed in you? Do you avoid reading your Bible, praying or going to church because you feel guilty enough already? OK, so it was more than one question, but does this describe you?

If these symptoms do sound like you, then let me tell you the name of your condition: you are suffering from CONDEMNATION. Condemnation is contagious. People in your life can infect you with it when they judge the way you act as unacceptable. Satan, your enemy, uses condemnation as part of his germ warfare arsenal to fight against you. You can even infect yourself when you fail to meet your own expectations.

If you attempt to self-medicate to recover from this malady, the cure adds to the burden of the condition. The most common self-medication used for condemnation is "I'll do better tomorrow. I failed, today, but I can start over." This OTC medication may work for changing bad habits. For this spiritual disease, however, while it may appear to be effective, what it is really doing is changing the symptoms. If you "do better" the next day, you get relief from the weight of condemnation, but you break out in a rash of pride and self-righteousness. If you "fail" the next day, the weight of condemnation becomes the crushing burden of despair.

Only one cure exists for the condition of condemnation – John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Once you saw the reference to that Bible verse, did you just skim over the verse because you have already accepted Jesus' sacrifice in your place and acknowledged Him as your Savior? If you did, then join the crowd. Most of us know the significance of Jesus to our eternal salvation, but we end right there.

Let me introduce you to Elyse Fitzpatrick, who has made the trip past the point of Jesus being only the source of our salvation. She wrote Because He Loves Me to share what she learned on her own journey to cure the condemnation disease. Listen to what she says in her introduction:

"If I asked you, "Where did the ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ intersect with your life yesterday?" would you have an answer? We all know the crucifixion is important for our initial salvation, but what did it mean to you this morning? Does Calvary inform and warm your heart when you're waiting in line at the grocery store or hearing bad news from the doctor? Does his sinless life comfort you when you realize that you've just sinned in that same way again? In other words, is he significantly relevant to you in your daily walk with him?"

Only when the love of God in Jesus Christ is significantly relevant in our daily walk are we immune to the condition of condemnation. Begin your journey to a cure with Elyse Fitzpatrick as your guide in Because He Loves Me.

Why Does God Test Me?

Last week, I posted the account of my friend Ve's trials. Scroll down a few inches if you want to read the full story. When she asked God why she was having such a hard time with her back, He gave her four reasons for her trials that can apply to all of us.
1. Trials and tests bring us back to God when we stray.
2. They prepare us for greater trials in the future by teaching us to trust Him.
3. They show others that trusting in Him and having His peace in our hearts does not depend on our circumstances.
4. God gives us trials and tests to prove His faithfulness to us.

God had not finished teaching me lessons on trials and testing, though. My blogger friend, Lynn Mosher, posted a piece on her blog Heading Home about building faith. She made the point that tests and trials cause our faith to grow.

Lynn said, "When a heart receives eternal salvation by accepting the sacrifice of Christ's blood, righteousness is imparted into each heart, along with the seedling of faith. In order for that seedling to blossom and grow, it needs watering and, well, er, fertilizer (emphasis added).

"What does the Bible say about the process through which faith grows?

"James said, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4 NLT)" (You can read Lynn's complete post here.)

From Lynn's blog, I see another reason for trials and tests.
5. Trials and tests cause our faith to grow, developing endurance as it does.

I had to think about the difference between trust – of which Ve spoke – and faith – Lynn's point. I think there is a clear distinction between the two. Trust is confidence based on experience. People learn to trust me when I keep my promises and meet their expectations. Faith, on the other hand, lacks proof and works from belief. From previous experience, I trust that elevators will take me safely to the floor I want, but each time I get on an elevator I use faith because I believe that this elevator will work safely this time.

My final lesson for the week, I learned from my Mother. In her daily devotions, she read Luke 13: 6-9 (NLT) which says, "Then Jesus told this story: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.'

"The gardener answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer (emphasis added). If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'""

In another place, (John 15:16 NLT) Jesus said, "You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit…" Therefore, if your life is not producing any "lasting fruit," you might prepare yourself for some extra fertilizer – in the form of more trials and tests!

Mother's insight provided another reason why God may put trials and tests in my life.
6. They provide what is missing in our lives to make us fruitful.

God is the ultimate multitasker. He usually does more than one thing with the same set of circumstances. Look at your own set of trials and tests to see which purpose(s) God may be addressing. As you do, remember the promise He gave to encourage us not to give up (Isaiah 43: 1b -2 NIV): "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

God will give you strength for today.

Not Another Trial!

My friend Ve is suffering, again. She has a weakness in her back so that when she turns just a little bit wrong or over extends herself she has terrible pain for several weeks.

I called her that day because I knew that she was having another bout with her back. She was crying so hard when she answered the phone that I could hardly understand her.

"Lynnda, if I could get off this bed, I would crawl into my closet and shut the door," she said between sobs.

This was more than back pain. Ve was just this side of hysterical.

She proceeded to tell me that someone from the company's home office in Chicago was coming to New Orleans to see her husband. Everybody in the company was cut to a four-day workweek several months prior to this. Now she was afraid that he would be laid off. It was one of her worse nightmares. The more she thought about it, the more panic took control.

Ve has spent her whole life battling the fear and panic that set in when she would think things like what if this or that happens, I need to have my eyes checked -am I losing my vision or has this mole become cancer? Her overactive imagination fed every fear she had until it became a monster in her life.

In years past, she would literally shut herself off from everyone - including her husband - and live paralyzed by her fears. This time was different. Panicked though she was, she reached out.

First, she reached out to her husband and asked him what he thought the visit meant. He told her he didn't know. Then she reached out to me. Together, we looked at the worst possible outcome. Suppose her husband lost his job; what was the worst thing that could happen?

QUESTION: "Would they still have each other, their home, their health, resources to keep food on the table and the bills paid?"
RESPONSE: "Yes, all of that was true."

QUESTION: "In the forty-one years they had been married, had her husband ever failed to take care of her and their family?"
RESPONSE: "No, he is a prince among husbands."

QUESTION: "What about God, had He failed her when the Katrina floods hit them or the following year when her Mother died unexpectedly?"
RESPONSE: "No, God had never failed her."

"So," I asked her, "what does your fear and panic say about how much you trust God and your husband to care for you?"

In the silence, I could sense her thinking about the answers to that question.

RESPONSE: "I think I need to hang up, find my husband, and apologize. Then I'll ask God to forgive me for not trusting Him."

Ve took action on her words. While a little apprehension about the unknown remained, the overwhelming fear and panic were gone, which was good because the worst happened. Her husband lost his job.

By the time Ve learned about it, she had already spent much time alone with God and the news didn't shake her. Her back was slowly getting better, but the marvelous miracle was the healing of her emotions.

A day or two later, she was in her quiet time with God when she asked Him why she had the painful times with her back. I will let Ve tell you in her own words what she learned.

"During prayer time with the Lord, I asked, after having been basically bedridden with a bad back for several weeks, "Lord, just tell me why you put me through this? Why over and over do you put me through this?" Just as fast as the words were out of my mouth the Lord replied, "I will give you four reasons why I keep placing you under these trials. The first is this. I do it to drive you to your knees because when everything is going along comfortably, inevitably, you stray from me and I have to bring you back to My side. The second is this: I give you these trials as a training ground to prepare you for the greater trials to come. The third is this: I do it so that in the trials in which you find yourself, you may be a witness to others by the attitude you carry in those trials. The fourth is this: I do it to create for Myself yet another opportunity to prove myself Faithful!" Awesome, huh? I just sat there a moment and let it sink in."

Ve's example, her courage to change and the insights she gained from her trials, may be just what you need. If not, I still challenge you to ask yourself the questions I asked Ve. Then ask God to teach you to trust Him more.

In the Eye of the Storm

Living in New Orleans as I do, hurricane season is never far from my mind. I feel as if I am either preparing to start the six-month-long season or enduring it. The season begins in June and ends in November. For me, Thanksgiving has an added dimension of thankfulness when we make it through a storm season with no big hurricane.

My Mother and I – along with Chloe' – leave town when the big ones come around. We stay at home if the hurricane is only a class 1 storm. I have been through several hurricanes in my life and I want to attempt to describe it for you.

Preparation and prayer are the keys to safely surviving a hurricane. Adrenaline keeps my mind working at top speed: I make a list for all the outside chores and another one for inside work. We move all the potted plants indoors. The furniture on the veranda is moved inside or is turned to face the wind. Our neighbors board up our windows. Everything that is loose is put away so that it does not become a guided missile. Inside, we fill the bathtub with water; we collect bottled drinking water, canned prepared food, medicines, flashlights, and a hand-cranked radio.

We watch the weather channel on TV as long as we can get a signal. The storm seems to creep up the Gulf of Mexico, but one look outside shows us low clouds flying by at a tremendous speed. At ground level, we feel only a light breeze, but where the clouds are, a fierce wind blows. The sky darkens and the first drops of rain touch earth. Coming from the southeast, we see a curtain of rain so dense that we cannot see the house beyond it. The streetlights come on in front of the rain. The sky is very dark and threatening.

Soon, the rainsquall is gone. The sky is a lighter gray; the streetlights go off. This pattern repeats itself several times, each squall lasting longer, with higher winds and darker skies until the streetlights never turn off. The tension increases inside the house, too: the sound of the high winds and the rain pounding down, the sight of the tree limbs breaking off the trees and whipping through the air; water flooding the street, lights flickering off and then on again – or going off completely - ratchet up the stress level.

Suddenly, everything is quiet. The wind stops blowing. Instead of sheets of rain, single drops of water drip from the eaves of the house. A few rays of sunlight peek through a light film of high clouds. A bird or two flutters out of their hiding place. A weight feels as if it has lifted from my chest. My battered nervous system relaxes as we step out on the veranda to see if our neighbors have any damage.

This is the eye of the storm. Every hurricane has one. While violent weather is going on all around it in every direction, the eye is a place of peace and tranquility. The fiercer the storm, the smaller the eye, but the eye lasts as long as the power of the winds. If you were able to travel in the eye of the storm, keeping pace with the storm as it moves, you would never experience the harsh conditions that surround the eye.

I see a wonderful analogy in this. We are in a time of extreme storms in our nation, our culture, our world. Everywhere we turn, we see violence – physical, mental and spiritual. Unlike my experience with hurricanes, we can choose to live either in the fierce winds or in the calm of the storm's eye. In Isaiah 26:3 we read, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." In John 14:1 Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." (NIV) Living those Words, taking them into our hearts and our experience, will keep us in that place of calm and quiet even in the harshest storm.

So many times, the way to find peace is to press into the center of the trial instead of running away. When God covers us with his feathers and we find refuge under His wings, the winds and waves cannot reach us no matter how hard they try. The internal peace and stability we achieve in that place allows us to see the reality of the problems that face us while it gives us the courage to trust God and to fight to stay as close to Him as possible.

The next time a storm comes your way. Be prepared by praying and spending time studying the Bible when no storm is on the horizon. Run to God at the first sign of a small cloud on the horizon; then stay there. From that position, you will be able to stand against your enemies, keeping your peace and sense of well-being, no matter what class hurricane comes your way.

A Seemingly Impossible Task

Have you ever wondered why some Muslims react violently when rumors are circulated that the Qur'an has been desecrated? The riots in Pakistan, reported last month in Charisma NEWS Online, caused me to ask that question. (Muslim Pakistanis attacked Christian Pakistanis, killing at least seven people and burning many homes. See the article: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/22823-christians-burned-to-death-in-islamist-attacks-in-pakistan.) As God often does with me, He set up the question a short time before He provided the answer.

Last Sunday, we began a series by John Piper called "Why We Believe the Bible." In the introduction, he compared what Christians teach about the Bible with what Muslims teach about the Qur'an. Mr. Piper made the statement that "It would be truer to say that the Qur'an is for Muslims what Christ is for Christians." (The implication being that most people would compare the Bible to the Qur'an, not compare Christ to the Qur'an.)

After a couple of hours of online research, I discovered that Mr. Piper's statement is valid. I found the following information in Wikipedia (as cited from the Encyclopaedia of Islam Online): "The word Qur'an means "recitation". When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself."

In my research, I also found that some Muslims teach that the Qur'an is uncreated; God come to earth in spoken Arabic words, although controversy about this belief does exist in the Muslim world. When Muslims riot, destroy, burn and kill they are expressing their pious respect for the Qur'an.

In light of all of this, as Christians called to share the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection to people who hold these beliefs about the Qur'an, we face a seemingly impossible task. We are asking Muslims to lay down the beliefs that define them. In their eyes, the Christian life is a blasphemy against their god. The biblical description of heaven does not fit what they are taught about paradise. When they hear us talk about the gospel, it is an offense to their whole way of living. Christ's gospel calls them to reject the religion they love, to repent of rejecting God who died for them on the cross. It asks them to accept something foreign to them: that their own personal goodness cannot earn them eternal life. If they live in a predominately-Muslim world, accepting Christ's sacrifice in their place means dying to any involvement in the community and could easily lead to physical death.

Such a gospel is a threat to everything Muslims value in this life and the next. When we speak to Muslims about accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord, prepare to be ridiculed or despised. If the Holy Spirit has not gone before us and done His work inside the person to whom we are witnessing, the words will probably be futile.

Twice in my life, I have witnessed to Muslims. The first time I talked about Jesus to a Muslim was in college. This Muslim classmate was busy trying to convert me to Islam at the same time, so I think my words had little, if any, affect on him. Only God knows the result of that experience. The second time I witnessed was to a cab driver on the way to an airport. He had seen the Passion of the Christ and had a hunger to know more. God brought him into His kingdom before I left the cab. We both left that experience rejoicing.

I learned something new about Muslim beliefs, today. It helps to understand where people outside of God find their values in life before we share the love of God with them. Whether we are witnessing to Muslims or to any other people lost in sin and unrepentant before God, we should stay alert for the leading of the Holy Spirit; He will give us an opportunity to share our faith. With Him going before us, that seemingly impossible task transforms into God's power at work advancing His kingdom. There is nothing impossible about that.

Another Awesome Miracle

In order for you to understand the significance of the latest miracle that God has performed on my behalf, I need to tell you some personal history. Sit back and relax, some of this is (almost) ancient history…

In 1952, the summer I was five years old, a polio epidemic swept the United States. Almost every family had someone who contracted the disease. In my family, I was the only one who caught it.

Polio affects both the nerves and the muscles. Some cases are mild and a person never recognizes that they are a polio survivor. Not everyone was – a survivor, I mean. Some people died from the onset of polio and others died from complications after the acute phase was over. Those who survived were left with varying degrees of nerve damage and muscle atrophy.

My case was a serious one; I was completely paralyzed from the neck down. I could move my head from side to side, move my tongue, and swallow. Fortunately, my diaphragm still moved air in and out of my lungs. (Patients whose diaphragm was paralyzed lived in an iron lung, which acted as a mechanical diaphragm.)

During the acute phase of the disease, the doctors told my parents to be prepared for my death. My parents are people of great faith with large Christian families on both sides who know how to pray in faith and who believed that God could heal me. So, despite the doctors' fears, I survived that phase of the disease. That was my first polio miracle.

My second miracle came with hard work on my part and dedication on the parts of my physical therapist and my Mother. The doctors, pessimists that they can be, told my parents that it was highly likely that I would never be able to leave my bed. Their caution was well founded. The acute phase of polio left me with less than half the muscles to do the work of all the ones that had died. Nevertheless, after almost a year of therapy, I walked into the doctor's office without the benefit of braces or cane.

The third miracle took place after I was an adult and without me being aware of it until it was over. My parents had kept a secret from me for almost 15 years. It was the doctors, again. Before I was released from the hospital, they told my parents that I had lost too many muscles in my pelvic area to be able to carry a baby full term. I would never be able to have children. My Mother told me about this the morning after I delivered my first daughter.

About ten years later, I learned of post-polio syndrome for the first time. Before I heard about it, God's healing touch had affected me during a time of prayer on the 700 Club. I knew He had healed me with respect to the impact that polio had on me, but I didn't know why. Shortly after that, my sister told me about a report she had heard concerning post-polio syndrome. The Holy Spirit confirmed to me that I had been healed of that.

Post-polio syndrome, as well as the doctors can determine, occurs when the regenerated nerves and the over-used muscles reach a point where they can no longer function as well as previously. The onset of post-polio syndrome is so gradual that it takes the polio survivor by surprise. Usually, it starts twenty years or more after polio leaves.

Post-polio syndrome complicates the normal ageing process. Everyone's muscles weaken as they get older. Polio survivors can experience this in complicated ways. Less than ten years after God healed me of post-polio syndrome, I began to notice deterioration in some of my motor skills. This time, I knew what I was facing. Yet again, God healed me.

Fast forward to 2005, thirty years after the last time God had healed me. Post-polio syndrome hit me with a vengeance. For the first time in my life, I discovered that my diaphragm had been damaged by polio. I would quit breathing when in the deepest part of the sleep cycle. This time, God did not heal me. Instead, His miracle was one of technology, a VPAP breathing machine to assist my breathing at night and a power wheelchair to take the place of my legs.

All this brings me up Sunday, September 7, 2009. For several months, I had been getting less and less oxygen at night. Both my physical strength and my mental acuity were affected. Many of my family and friends were praying for me. Last Sunday morning, our church had a special prayer service before our regular worship time. My pastor prayed for me; my God healed me. Before the prayer was completed, I could breathe normally, filling my lungs completely with air. Also, over the period of about an hour, God washed out all the poisons that had accumulated in my brain from lack of oxygen.

No, all effects of post-polio syndrome are not gone. I still use all the mechanical aids to get through my days. But God has again extended my life for His purpose – that I might be able to fulfill the plan He has for me and bring glory to His Name.

All praise to our sovereign God!

Heat Wave

I live in New Orleans where we had two hot topics last week. The Times-Picayune, our city newspaper, had both subjects on its front page on Thursday morning.

The main headline was Louisiana State University's scorching victory over its arch rival, the University of Texas, in the College World Series of baseball. This is LSU's sixth win since 1991 and the source of much enthusiastic celebration here, despite the heat wave.

And that, the heat wave, was the other hot topic last week. Sharing the front page with LSU's victory was the headline telling that New Orleans experienced the hottest day in recorded history. An official temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Audubon Park. Our outside thermometer showed 106 degrees of truly oppressive heat.

This dangerous heat was the cause of a very uncomfortable experience for my Mother and I on Wednesday afternoon. No, we did not have heat stroke. When I renovated the house after hurricane Katrina, I had the whole house thoroughly insulated, so we were cool in spite of the outside temperature.

In the same renovation, I also brought the fire alarm system up to code so that every room has a smoke alarm. Also, in the hall, a unit was installed to monitor for carbon dioxide, as well as smoke. In the laundry room and in the attic, the units test for high temperatures. All of the units are tied into the same electrical circuit and all of them have battery back-up. When one unit senses a problem, all of them go off.

That is what happened Wednesday afternoon. Mother and I were peacefully resting and reading when a piercing wail filled the house - in stereo! - and the hall unit began shouting, "Fire! Fire!" every fifteen seconds. The sound level was enough to destroy the ability to hear and to drive us out of the house.

From a previous experience, we knew that turning off the circuit breaker would not stop the noise because they all had batteries. From that same experience, we knew that as soon as the unit that had been triggered was removed from the circuit, the wailing would stop. In that instance, our neighbor, Mark, had come to our rescue, since our ten-foot ceilings keep us from reaching them.

Fortunately, Mark was available again; so bringing his ear plugs, he came over and removed the seven units that are in the living space in the house. However, even after he removed the others, we could still hear the alarm in the attic. That unit was the one which had triggered. Based on the design specifications, this meant that the temperature in our attic was at least 135 degrees which is the trigger point for the alarm unit. Mark gamely went into that hot attic and removed the source of the problem, bringing peace and quiet back to our household.

The whole episode caused me to consider the way I look at my life. For me, this is a time of peace, joy, and contentment. That does not mean my life is perfect. In 2005 I lost my health and a career that I loved. My home city is subject to hurricanes six months of the year. However, an old hymn we sang when I was a child sums up the reasons my circumstances do not rob me of peace and joy.

"My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand."

Most of the headlines in our newspapers tell about negative circumstances. Unlike the headlines in last Thursday's paper, there is seldom anything on the front page to celebrate. In fact, the world's media usually sound alarms so loudly that they attempt to drive me off the foundation of my life, try to get me to stop trusting and to start worrying.

If they sound an alarm, it does not necessarily signify a dangerous condition. Just as I did when our fire alarm went off, I check the validity of the media's alarms with my actual condition. If the media is saying"Disaster! Disaster!" I read Psalms 91, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty... No disaster will come near your tent." If I hear shouts of "Trouble! Trouble!" God tells me in Psalm 91, "I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him."

I can turn off the TV, throw away the newspaper, change the radio station, click off the Internet; I can silence the alarms. I do not ignore the possibility or the reality of difficult circumstances, but I choose not to be forced off my foundation and lose my peace and joy to worry and fret. I choose instead to trust God and like the writer of Psalm 91 "Find refuge under His wings." Thus, just like last Wednesday when Mark removed that last alarm, the alarms no longer disturb me and peace and joy are restored.