Not because of my righteousness!

Deuteronomy 9. God repeats the same message 3 times when He wants to talk to us!

4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you.

5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

God is not a respecter of a person. Whosoever goes to Him can be saved. Whosoever goes to Him can be made whole, because of Jesus. Some people are offended if someone says, "healing is for everyone." It is true that even believers get sick and die. I don't have good explanations because I don't understand all that, either, but I can tell you that I was not offended. When some people told me about their healing from cancer right after I was first given the diagnosis of terminal cancer, I was afraid that healing may not be for me. Then someone told me that healing was for everyone, and I was not offended at all. I was given faith and hope. After that I had to run the race in front of me. I just kept believing while I was doing whatever was necessary and good for my body.

I did whatever I could do physically, but these verses remind me that God is the God who keeps promises. His words do not go back to Him in vain. His words always accomplish what He promises.

There is no other God like our Father.

Skin infection

Chapter 13 is about skin infection.

Dr. Feinberg in Walk Leviticus! says the infection is different from Hansen's Disease or contagious leprosy.

The title at the beginning of chapter 13 in English Standard Version says "Laws About Leprosy "and the second verse says "and it turns into a case of leprous disease." New American Standard Bible calls it leprosy also.  It is confusing...is it because of the nature of the Hebrew language?

I use New American Standard Bible for study, and New Living Translations when I try to capture the big picture instead of studying words. I have also been using King James version because I can check the corresponding Hebrew words.

In King James Version, it says "and it be in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy." It says 'like the plague of leprosy.' So I see that it is not leprosy in the original language.

Victory in Jesus

Last September my oncologist told me I had 6 months to 2 years to live, and he said there was probably no chance of remission. It was stage IV lung cancer.

Today, after 6 months, I had the result from 3rd PET scan. The tumor continues to decrease in size. My friend (PA) said it could be scar. Something still showed in the scan, but the radiologist stated that there was no evidence of avid activities.

I thank you, Jesus, for bringing me the healing! The scan still shows something, but I believe it will continue to shrink. Because God's word says, 

What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time. (Nahum 1:9)

My Father spoke to me through his words, dreams, and faithful family and friends' prayers and support.  He continues to prove His faithfulness.

Joy is springing up within my heart.

It's just my opinion

Usually I don't tell people my opinion. I am quiet, but I do have opinions.

I think about "being religious." What does it really mean? I think it depends on who defines it.

A few years ago my son wanted to go to a concert of a certain group. The name represents something opposite from God. I don't think a lot of people know the meaning of the name, but I happened to know it because I saw a scary picture of that name in my English-Japanese dictionary over 35 years ago. I was amazed that I remembered it the minute I heard the name. When my son mentioned the name, my face must have changed because he asked me if everything was okay. He loved God then just like he does now. I don't want anyone to be drawn into something that looks like something harmless, when actually it may well be, and the name concerned me. It was deceiving, I thought. So I explained the reason why I don't like it.

He said, "Mom, Christianity is not a religion. I can go to the concert and still love God, don't worry," or something like that. I said, "If Christianity is a relationship with God and not a religion, why do you want to go to that concert of that group with that name?"  Being religious or choosing out of love for God?  Am I being religious? I must have looked like a religious mom, but I believed I was guiding him into the position where he could choose a path because of love; love for God, and not because he was a good Christian. 

I feel the same about some cute fortune-telling items. There are so many of them! I ignore them as much as I can because I used to depend on those things to guide my happiness. After Jesus became my Lord, I do my best to ignore them all, because if I open myself up to those things, my heart will think about it. Jesus is my Lord and God. I totally ignore some popular movies, too.. People say those movies remind them of righteousness and evil, God and evil. They maybe right, and they may cause you to think of God more, but I don't want them in my heart because I tend to dwell in the image for a long time. Just like former alcoholics don't want to have a drop once in awhile, it is better for me to stay out of those things. : ) I stay quiet when my friends and family (except my own children) are open to it, though, because this is my opinion! I am not trying to change them.

Many years ago a theology came to my mind. I named it "a neighbor's underwear theology." My kids used to run away when I use this theology to explain my thought.  My theory is like this:

If I just have my neighbor's underwear in my husband's and my room for no reason, would it be okay? Of course not. But I can say to my husband, "I have no feeling for it, nor does it do anything to me. It's totally harmless. It doesn't have any power over me, so why is it wrong? I still love you."

The underwear has no business being in my room.  That is exactly my point! Fortune telling items and movies have no business being in my life. I don't want their help to cause me to think of God. God says he is a jealous God. Lord, may you be the only one in my life!