911

No one will ever forget where they were when Jihadists attacked our country five years ago and 3,000 Americans died. Nancy and I were in Yorktown, Virginia visiting my son Jeff, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel based at Langely. We were laying carpet in his new home and Jeff's wife Janet told us to come in and look at the TV. I wept at the sight of it. I felt stunned, like being hit by a car.

I have been blindsided by events of epic proportion three times in my life; The assassination of JFK, 911, and the 10/21/05 diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma.

We christians have this horribly flawed condition of wanting to know why bad things happen. Did I do something wrong? Is God trying to shape me up? Beloved, these thoughts are not from God Most High. They are worldly, hellish. The truth is; "For now, we see through a glass, darkly, now I know in part".

All I know for sure is this; Nothing blindsides Jesus: Jesus is at work in Val's life every day: Jesus is the author of "the now" and "the then" that Paul describes in 1st Corinthians. "For now, we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known."

Tomorrow, 9/11, is a huge milestone in our journey to defeat this enemy. Val, Chris, and Mary Ann are traveling to Cedars Sinai this afternoon. At 8:30 am, An ERCP will be performed by Dr. Simon Lo (one of the top docs in this speciality) to replace Val's stent and have a look around in her liver. He may also perform a celiac nerve block to alleviate pain. Val will also be meeting with Dr. Drazin, her Cedars Oncologist. Please pray for supernatural skills for Dr. Lo. Pray also for Chris. He suffered a flare up of his Crohn's disease this week that required emergency hospitalization.

After Jesus called Phillip, he found Nathaniel and told him that Messiah was here. Nathaniel's scornful response; "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" When Nathaniel met Jesus, who already knew his name and had seen him standing under a fig tree, he realized that this man had knowledge and vision beyond the physical and declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God."

Jesus' response; you believe because of what I said? Just wait and see what I am going to do.

His message is the same to us today, beloved.

Just wait and see what I am going to do. You just wait!

There is a verse in the hymn "Immortal Invisible" that goes like this; "unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, nor wanting nor wasting, thou rulest in might."

As long as this battle continues, there is no place for the word "burned out". God Most High doesn't recognize the concept. On the contrary, His promise from Isaiah 40:31 is clear: "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Godspeed