God is up to something....miracles!!!

Most of you know that I have been struggling with kidney issues since February; I have literally had at least one surgical procedure every month with a major one in May.  I have struggled with just about every complication possible and just been struggling to get well.  After my last procedure a month ago I was still feeling some pain in my right kidney; the doctor was concerned and scheduled me for a Renal Scan.  As I watched the scan take place I knew what I was looking at because I have had a few of these; my right kidney was not draining.  I became panicked and our family started wondering what we were going to do.  Friday the doctor didn’t have the results yet so we just went on wondering what surgery I was going to end up needing.  Saturday we went to the State Fair, convinced that this would be my last major event for a while since I would likely need surgery.  Sunday morning I shared with my fellow worship team members what the scan showed and that we were waiting for the doctor to figure out a plan once she read the final results.  During service, one of my friends felt led to have our family come forward and the entire church prayed for us and prayed that this attack on our family’s health would end.  Suddenly, I felt a peace that whatever the doctor said would be ok and it would all work out.  Monday morning I called the doctor looking for the results of my scan and the nurse said that they hadn’t got a chance to fully read them, but at a glance they looked good and that the doctor would call me Tuesday morning (today).  This morning the doctor called and said this, "Your kidney is fine.  In fact, your right kidney is actually working better than your left one now!  Your kidney function is well within the normal range and we just need to keep an eye on it.  But your kidney is fine."  I woke up yesterday and today feeling good, just super tired from all of the meds; I have some back pain, but believe that is because I haven’t had the steroid injections, I usually get, in about 8-9 months (I get them every 2-3 months).  As for my kidney pain…NONE!  I KNOW what that Renal Scan showed…that right kidney was not draining.  I also know that my God is bigger than a non-functioning kidney and can change things around in a heartbeat!  The key is to keep the faith and STAND…when you just don’t know what else to do….STAND on the promises of God.  The promises that say “By HIS stripes I AM HEALED.”  The promise that says “NO weapon formed against me shall prosper.”  Or the promise that says “Greater is HE who is in me than he who is in the world.”  God is still in the miracle business today, just as much as He was in Bible times…it is up to us to have the faith to believe and the strength to stand when circumstances tell us to doubt and accept defeat.  WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS!!!! 

Passionate Christian Life

After church today I really sat and thought about several things from service; a conversation that I had with a very wise, dear friend and then an amazing “step on your toes” kinda message from our pastor.  It really made me think about how Christians “do” religion or Christianity rather than “be” a Christian.  My friend and I were talking about a memorial service for a Muslim family that he was at.  As we talked about what they believe, I started to think about different religions and beliefs out in the world.  I look at how Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses go door to door to share their faith.  I see how passionately the Muslims pray to their god or how devoted they are to their beliefs.  It often makes me wonder…What would happen if Christians shared their faith like that, prayed to God like that and were totally devoted and sold out to the cause of Christ?  Can you imagine the impact we would have on the world? 

As our Sr. Pastor shared this morning, it can start with one simple statement on Facebook or Twitter; with one passing comment in the hall, office or elevator at the office.  It starts with looking at our promises instead of our problems and looking at others BEFORE looking at ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong…I TOTALLY struggle with this.  I have had friends delete me on Facebook because of it and I have had to go to them and repent and ask for a second chance.   There are at least 2 friends that I can think of right now that I still need to go to and repent and ask for forgiveness.  Will they forgive me?  I hope so, but that doesn’t even matter; what matters is that I go to them and repent.

If we live that passionate Christian life that I have spoken about, we may lose friends because they don’t know what to make of it, but rather than focus on that I think we need to focus on…What if our passionate Christian life inspires another Christian to do the same?  It is literally a ripple effect!

I don’t plan to change WHO I am, but I do plan to change HOW I am!  Every situation has a positive or negative spin we can put on it.  What would it say to the world around us if we chose to only focus on the positive in the situation rather than the negative?!  Anyone can focus on the negative and the truth is that most do!  I am striving to set a precedence in my life that I will focus on the positive and only speak the words that are positive and be careful about judging and work towards being that passionate Christian that, let’s face it, we are ALL called to be!