“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

In Acts 20:35 we can read these words of Jesus Himself. This week I experienced this personally, that indeed, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”, however this time I was on the receiving end.

God has been so good to Henrietta and me this week. As I write this, it is exactly a week ago that I was in the hospital to receive an IV to settle down my body of the ravaging effects of Chemo therapy treatments. Oh, how sick I felt. Now one week later I feel like new again. I eat well, gained back my lost weight, we go for bike rides or walks and I feel like living again. What a great blessing we are enjoying together.

I was also on the receiving end when a group of Godly friends organized an evening of prayer and came to our home to pray for me, it could not have come at a better time. As these men carried our burdens to Christ it was as if He lifted me up, gave me renewed courage and strength. God is so merciful and full of compassion.

It is going remarkably well. Saturday we hope to visit with the medical person from the BC Cancer Clinic whom we met at the hospital. This compassionate man is going to tell us how God took him from the Muslim faith to Christ when he still lived in Iraq and he will tell us how to share the Gospel with Muslims. We are looking forward to meet him and his wife to hear about another of Gods miracles how he transforms lives from dead to LIFE.

On November 30, I hope to go for a CT scan and on December 5 I will get the results from the Oncologist. On that day we are going to hear what God is doing, no we are not anxious but often have much peace in our hearts, a peace that passes all understanding, as it is written in Philippians 4:7

Thank you for praying for me and for all the good wishes.                                              
May God bless you and keep you.
In His care.
John

A friend shared a beautiful poem on this blog, I want to share it with you and hope you also receive comfort from it. Thanks Gerrit.

 You have faced the mountains of desperation
You have climbed, you have fought, you have won
But this valley that lies coldly before you
Casts a shadow you cannot overcome

And just when you thought you had it all together
You knew every verse to get you through
But this time the sorrow broke more than just your heart
And reciting all those verses just won't do

When answers aren't enough, there is Jesus
He is more than just an answer to your prayer
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge
When answers aren't enough, He is there

Instead of asking why did it happen
Think of where it can lead you from here
And as your pain is slowly easing, you can find a greater reason
To live your life triumphant through the tears

When answers aren't enough, there's still Jesus
He is more than just an answer to your prayer
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge
When answers aren't enough, He is there
Scott Wesley Brown

The Pastor and the Salesman.

A salesman selling cleaning supplies said to a Pastor: “What good does it do, to have a Bible or to believe in God? Look at all the misery and anguish in the world, after thousands of years it appears to have done little or no good. If God is so real why does this misery and anguish go on day after day?”

 The Pastor was quiet, than took the cleaning supply salesman outside. There was a group of young boys playing soccer, each one covered in dust and dirt. “Look,” said the Pastor, “for many generations we have soap available for people like this, yet they are as dirty as pigs. What is the use to have soap?”

“Wait a minute Pastor,” said the cleaning supply salesman, “soap only works when it is used!”


“Exactly,” exclaimed the Pastor, “it is the same with Gods Word!”

I lift up my eyes to the hills. Psalm 121

This week has been difficult to say the least. On Tuesday I started vomiting and each day it got worse to the point that I have been unable to take my Chemo pills. Even if I would take them they would not stay in. It is as if my body tells me, this is enough, no more pills of any kind.

Friday we discussed it with my oncologist and he advised me to stop taking chemo for now. This means that I am finished a week earlier than planned. No, it is not a good thing in regards to the chemo treatments because they are made to be taken for 28 days consecutively. He also suggested checking into the hospital to get an IV to settle down my stomach because I was unable to take in any food. We did this Friday afternoon, I do feel a little better now and hope that I can start eating a little again. Sometimes we are forced to make choices, in this case there was no option.

As I lay sick in bed this week I meditated much on the fact that if I would have to give up Chemo treatments the cancer would advance. At least that’s what crossed my mind. On the other hand I also know that I can’t continue this way, at least not for now. Then I thought, this is what God wants, He wants me to depend on Christ and not on man or chemo pills. Psalm 118: 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

I need much faith to go forward, looking to Jesus Christ. I pray that I will not waiver in my faith although I have to admit it is difficult at times. The only thing left is God, this is a good thing because He is capable of doing great things, including healing me. No doctor or medicine would get the honour, just God.

Thank you for the outpouring of love in so many different ways, also for my birthday this week.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
God bless you

John

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

God’s Grace is indeed amazing. In the last week I had some difficult days due to the chemo treatments. It usually doesn’t make for a good day when the first thing I do is vomit. It is in those days that others come along side for encouragement.

I suppose many of you may have read the book by John Bunyan titled “Pilgrims Progress”. I have read it many times and each time I find it an amazing book. The main character in this book is Christian, a man that leaves his home to follow the call of following Christ and travels through life on his way to the Celestial City (Heaven). His journey is difficult and many a time he falls into sin, temptations or is led astray by Satan. The beauty about this story is that when Christian is faced with trials someone always comes along side him to guide him on the right path or to encourage him to go on his way to the Celestial City.

 I find myself at times stumbling along the same way Christian did. I see so many imperfections and shortcomings in my own life, yet when times are difficult and I get bogged down somebody comes along side to encourage me as I travel life’s path. This last week I received an email from a friend on the other side of the country. He said, I listened to this message today and thought about you. Please listen to it here. I pray that it will encourage you too. Thank you Albert.

This is just one example. Many of you have done so personally or by sending cards, messages on this blog or email. I deeply appreciate your love and care. It is one of the ways God lifts me up and over the circumstances.

 There are times I rejoice, times I shed some tears and there are times of thankfulness to God for all His blessings. Life has its challenges and the truth is I cannot get right with God on my own. I can only be right with God by receiving His gracious offer of forgiveness made possible by the blood of Jesus shed on the cross for me and you.

When the Lord said to Paul in 2 Cor.12:9  , “My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness” he is saying “since you cannot come to me without sin on your own, I will come to you and make you complete, you will be spotless and pure because of my Grace. My power to save and forgive is made complete in your weakness.” Praise the Lord. When I am weak and not able to come to Him, God comes to me and offers forgiveness and healing. I thank God for His amazing grace that is sufficient.

On November 30, I will receive another CT scan to determine if the Chemo treatments were successful. On December 5, I hope to get the results from my Oncologist. We continue to pray for complete healing, please join us in the same. I am sorry for not posting sooner, when I don’t feel good I don’t have the energy to write.

Gods blessings to you,
John



And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5

Paul knew that if his ministry was to be effective for God he could not rely on human resources but on the supernatural power of God. Paul also realized that sharing the Gospel should not be taken lightly. Paul also knew his inadequacy for his God given work. He said in 2 Cor. 2:16 But who is adequate for such a task?

I experienced myself this past week how helpless we can feel when sharing the Gospel to people. I would like to come back to my visit with my Oncologist last week. I do have to tell you that certain important details of the story are left out due to confidentiality.

On October 5 we had an appointment to visit my oncologist and to receive my Chemo pills for the next 4 weeks. A month earlier when we visited him I really felt the need to share the Gospel with him. This Oncologist is a very caring, soft spoken and friendly doctor. First the Oncologist gave me the news that the cancer had advanced during the two months of no Chemo treatments and that I could possibly grow immune to the Chemo that is being used. I may have to switch to another kind of Chemo or clinical trials. I told him that I believed with all my heart that God could heal me, if that was His will, and that I believed in prayer.

 I asked the Oncologist if he would accept a gift from me, he said he would. So I presented him with a story of a man that grew up in a non Christian home, yet through Gods directed circumstances he was saved. It is a touching story, the same story I have given to many other people. So we left him with this gift with the promise that we would talk again next time we visit.

As we walked out of his office and into the general reception area a woman that I have known for many years walked up to me. She has suffered from cancer for 6 years and was somewhat down from the latest news she received, that her cancer had spread further. She can also speak of God’s Grace in her life. As we were talking a nurse walked up to our small group, she knew the woman that I was speaking to, so she encouraged us to continue to look to Christ in our difficult circumstances. As we talked I asked all of those in our small group if they would pray for my Oncologist. As I was speaking, a medical person, some 20 feet away, stood up from behind a counter and walked up to our small group. He said, “I heard you speaking about sharing the Gospel with your doctor, I want to let you know that I pray daily for your Oncologist to be saved.” This man was so encouraged to hear that we shared the Gospel and we were all encouraged to hear that he was doing the same through prayer.

The precious time we spent in the hospital was such a great blessing that Henrietta and I left the hospital rejoicing, overshadowing the less than good news we received ourselves with His Grace. It was as if God said, don’t look at your circumstances, look at Me.

Many times we see Gods hand in so many beautiful ways and feel blessed beyond words. I ask that you will also remember this doctor in your prayers. Jesus said himself “without me you can do nothing.” I can often feel that inability and realize that we can only bring the word of God to peoples ears, it is God who opens eyes, ears and heart to save sinners by His Grace. Mark 1:15 Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

In regards to my treatments, I am 6 days into my 4 week round of Chemo and still feel pretty good. The side effects so far have been minimal, what a blessing it is to be able to eat, sleep, and walk. We continue to pray for complete healing and believe that God can do this. We read in the Bible that Jesus called Lazarus out of his grave after he was dead for 3 days and many other such miracles, it would only take a few words from Jesus to heal me. He can still perform these same miracles today.

Thank you again for your prayers and many other ways of showing your care. May God’s blessings go with you each day.
John