~Healer~By James McDonald

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” Luke 4:18

Only a couple times in Scripture do we learn what Jesus is like from Jesus Himself. One day early in His ministry, Luke 4:18 tells us that Jesus passed through Nazareth, His hometown, “and as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read.” On the Scripture schedule that day was Isaiah 61:1-3. After He read it, He sat down saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, Did you recognize Me? Isaiah is talking about My ministry!

In one sentence the Lord describes His mission as “to help those who hurt.” He has set His heart on three kinds of people:

“To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.”

The first people Jesus helps are the afflicted. He brings good news to those who are poor in spirit, those who are willing to admit that they’re broken. You cannot have what Christ offers unless you admit your need—not just for salvation, but for sustaining grace and abiding faith. Just because we’ve been to the cross doesn’t mean we don’t need to lean hard on the Lord. When we do, we receive grace in even greater measure.

The next group Jesus tells us He runs to heal are the brokenhearted. That word describes people who have been hammered by a devastating blow. Perhaps a difficult circumstance has deeply wounded you. Is there a profound sadness over your life because of a tragedy in your past? Christ came to bind up your heart like a doctor tends a broken leg. He brings comfort to a place beyond your ability to soothe.

Finally, Jesus sets the captives free. Do you know firsthand the frustration and defeat of slavery to sin? Despite your best effort, do you wonder if a certain sin will ever be gone from your life? What you need is the freedom Jesus brings when He breaks that sin cycle. That is what He came into this world to do.

When Jesus described His ministry, He called Himself “the Healer.” Have you experienced this tender ministry from God’s hand? Has Christ healed hurts from your past? Have you seen Him take a formerly consuming pain and melt it away? I know thousands of people who have experienced physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration in places they thought never could heal. That’s something only God could do. I’ve experienced that; have you?

Is your heart open to the Lord’s healing? Have you exhausted your own resources? If you’re ready for the Great Physician’s healing hand, you only need to ask. Then look over your shoulder and see Him running your way. His mission is to help those who hurt.

There have been many times in the last 17 months where we have waited for God to show us great things. Don't get me wrong because we have been thrilled to hear the word, "stable." There has only been 1 time where there has been a small amount of growth, which is amazing, but I have to tell you to hear Jan's results from this latest MRI as the tumor being "lighter" and "smaller" is impossible to describe. It gives me even more HOPE that she will beat this nasty cancer.

Please continue to pray for continued results like we saw this week!

Love,
Cheryl

It's That Time AGAIN

While we love to hear the results STABLE, we love even more hearing results, "LIGHTER." So, it appears the treatment is working even better as the tumor is less visible.

Psalm 106 ~ 1 Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Psalm 135 ~ 1 Praise the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD; praise him, you servants of the LORD.

Thank you so very much for joining us in prayer. Please join us as we PRAISE GOD for these fabulous results.

Cheryl

~Prayer~

Jan and Gerald leave this afternoon to head back to MD Anderson. They will drive part of the way today and then finish tomorrow. She has her MRI at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening and her appt with her oncologist is at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Please join us as we continue to approach the throne of God pleading for victory over this cancer. I know Jan really would love to see considerable decrease in the tumor size. I'm right there with her. While stable is glorious, we would love to see the treatment working in getting rid of the cancer, so she can come off treatment.

Philippians 4:6-7 - Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

Thank you for joining us in prayer!

Love,
Cheryl

God You Reign - Lincoln Brewster

~You've Got Talent~

As many of you may have heard on your local news over the last few days about Britain's new talent. I think this is a great reminder to not judge a book by its cover.

I am unable to put the actual YouTube performance here, but I can add the link. Please listen to this. She is wonderful, and she is reported to be a little slow and has been made fun of all her life. She has taken care of her mother until her mother passed a year or so ago. Her mother made her promise to pursue a singing career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY


I hope you enjoy this!

Blessings!

Cheryl

~Word Filled Wednesday~

For More WFW, see http://the160acrewoods.com.

Have a great Wednesday!

~Caution~

Philippians 2:2-11

Philippians 2

2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Oklahoma and Texas have been hit hard in the last 24 hours with fires. There have been no lives lost in Oklahoma, but there have been in Texas. We have had hurricane-like winds. Please pray for those who have been personally affected by these fires.

Happy "Good Friday!"

Love,
Cheryl

~Word Filled Wednesday~ Isaiah 40:31

For More Word Filled Wednesday, see Amy @ The 160 Acre Woods

As this Sunday is Easter, there will be MANY in church who are not normally there. Please join me in praying that all hearts will be receptive to the message being presented them on this day.

Much love,

Cheryl

~Second Week~

Here it is Sunday evening. Where did the weekend go? Last week went by quickly. It has not been difficult getting back into the routine of going to work in an office away from home. Even Mr. Ripley seems to be adjusting. He is so happy when I get home each day. The attorney is very nice and easy to work with so far.

I talked with Jan this evening. She is feeling good. She sounds good. We had a great visit.

The last week the weather has been crazy. One day it has been warm and the next day COLD! We are expected to have temperature of 20 degrees Tuesday morning. One day we dress for spring. The next for winter.

I hope to get back into blogging regularly soon.

Thanks for all your support.

Cheryl

~Challenging~

The last few days have been challenging. I'm questioning whether my brain has worked in the last 8+ years, or if it just has not worked in this area. Each new tasks brings questions popping up about trying to remember how to do things. I hope I don't have that "deer in the headlights" look on my face when I'm asked to do something.

I had lunch with a good friend that I used to work with on Tuesday. She still works at the law firm where I was previously. However, she is able to work at home and comes to the office about 1 day a week. Apparently her version of how things are at this firm is TOTALLY different than the other version I got. I didn't feel that going back to work where I had been previously was going to be a good fit for me. This is another confirmation in my decision.

I'm very pleased with where I am. I'm adjusting well to getting out of the house when I need to. Ripley seems to be doing okay. I could see a little difference in him yesterday when I got home, but he will adjust. Millions of little doggies stay at home. He has had several invitations to visit friends while I'm working.

Well, gotta run. My few minutes are up. Thanks for all your support!

Proverbs 1:5
let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance-

Cheryl