Jam 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: Jam 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Jam 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Two years ago on Christmas eve my family was faced with the distinct probability that my younger brother (my only brother) was going to die. He had been in pain (much pain) for literally months. But he is one of those whom it is hard to convince that the wise action, the affirmative action, is not to live in denial of pain, but to see the doctor. That would stem from his apparent childhood fear of all things medical and dental. It was impossible (nearly at least) to get him in a dentist office.

So in these mid years, he has been less than wise in forstalling the inevitable. My wife, being a nurse, had at long last the fortitude to grab him by the belt and collar and insist he see the doctor (dragging him all the while into the family sedan) and off we all troop to the same emergency ward of that hospital where my wife is employed.

Can I say it was not a wonderful Christmas eve? We spent all evening in the waiting room for the doctor's assessment. When it came, the face of the attending physician was grave and deeply concerned, and he did not hold back any reality. "You (speaking to my brother) have stage for Hodgkins disease and the nodes have spread throughout your entire body. We are not able to give any assurance of the time you have left, but we will say it is short. I will try and get you a priority admission to the Cross cancer institute, where they may decide to attempt chemotherapy. But do not set your hopes on a recovery.. I am truly sorry."

We went home with the impending doom of my brother's demise resting on our hearts, with a weight of travail which spoke of a good degree of impending loss and of wanting to regain lost relationship ground. I sat and cried by myself on Christmas day all that morning for I knew I was about to lose my only brother.

But time went forward, and we had gathered around him and anointed him with oil and prayed the prayer of faith upon him for a full recovery, although our hearts were doubtful of the chance that God might move on his flesh to redeem it from that dread disease....

That was just over two years ago, and my mother just today confided in me that not a single one of his attending physicians offered any hope for a recovery. There were about a half a dozen in the process of time.

But the chemo worked! It was against all odds, but the prayers took hold and over a period of time and with continued treatment, every cancerous tumour dried up and went away. Now he is also regaining weight and he is growing hair. He looks a tad wizzened by the trials of that disease but he is standing in a pretty good level of health and it is a marvellous thing in our sight!!! I just wanted to share that power tonight..that God does heal, save and deliver...My brother has received every one of those miracles in the past several years as the Lord has brought him through a time of renewal....Praise God!

fervently!

AMEN! The Lord is good!

an overwhelming outpouring of the Holy Spirit is upon me...towards
you and your familly...

may the credentials of the Lord come upon you and overtake you
and may all manner of signs and wonders follow you as you walk
humbly in faith and apply your faith to every day experiences...

may ever increasing faith well up in you as a wellspring and the
water of the word go forth from your fountain in the desert...to heal,
restore, and bring joy to those on your path...in the service of God.

how beautiful are the feet of Him that brings good tidings...

blessings,
signet

(drawing in a deep breath!)



(happy!)

It is very good news. God is a God of second chances. What will he do with his?

A friend had Hodgkin's in our early twenties.... Hippie years. They were doing LSD at that time and bought a tavern. She got sick. Hodgkin's... She repented of her drug taking and they got away from the taverns. She was raised Catholic and repented of sorts. The cancer went away.

I came into her life shortly after that. I went on a whirlwind storm through astrology occult and eastern religions...I took her with me...But God had his hand on me. As l turned to the Lord l was snickered at and made fun of....It was sad. I didn't know how to stand against it and it strained the relationship. I moved away but we always stayed in touch. She never got out of the new age teaching and activities and humanistic ideas.

One day l went there and after much talking she said the sinners prayer with me. Still she continued in this behavior becoming immersed in A Course On Miracles... I tried to sway her away. One day the studio where she worked caught fire. Nothing else in the house. Just her books and works. It scared her. She thought it was a warning yet she continued. I cried and prayed.

Then several years back her Hodgkin's returned after 30 years of remission. It was a devil and in the nodes on her leg...We began to loose touch because of her battle and the distance of miles where we lived. I've called a couple of times but she never answers the phone and l don't want to ask her daughter if she's dead. I just hang up. Awful of me huh...I want to talk to her husband. I've put off calling for over a year...I'm afraid to know.

What do we do with our second chances? It makes me cry.

What do we do with our second chances? It makes me cry.

I think just living is a part of it...

Luk 8:38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Luk 8:39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

I was asked by a women last night....If God is so loving why does he allow suffering. She lost her child of 12 years old. He hung himself in the bathroom, and she said it was contributed to anti-depressents he was on.

Frevent, I was at a loss for words to tell her. there isn't a day goes by that she is not reminded of this Pain.
I told her that the Higher Power had to endure much Pain(because I'm not allowed to say Jesus Christ...and that he loves her very much...and that her story could somehow comfort another who also endures pain...and sometimes we just don't know all the whys...but to forgive. She's angry with Children's Hospital that they allowed her to put him on these meds...and also angry with God. She has used drugs to ease her pain and escape from her pain in the past but is now in recovery for 6 months.

What would you tell her?

Many blessings to all.

I'd tell her that mercy and forgivness are powerful. (God has that little boy.)
Comfort her with those words.

God has him.

She will see him again one day. Hope springs eternal.
Seek out hope, trust, mercy and Love and she will find it and find rest in knowing her son is safe.

(We know if she seeks out those things she will find Jesus.)

Thanks Miki...
she may even be envious of God, that he has him and not her. I did tell her that her son was with God.
She seems to want to hold onto that pain, as if she forgets that pain that she would feel guilty of forgetting her son.
But I do understand that if she lets go of that pain, she will recognise the Grace and Mercy of a Loving Father, whom suffered for us all.

This kind of grief can't be talked out of a person.