to stand firm (Ephesians)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%206%20:10-18&version=NLT

Ephesians 6:10-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we^[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.^{[b] 16} In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.^{[c] 17} Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.^[d]

God's whisper at work
 
At work I started to hear "...having done all, stand firm."  I never felt these verses from Ephesians so closely in my past. Today, I read them with reverence. I am in a battle. So is everyone else.  I am not the only one. God is encouraging me to stand firm. My appointment for the next scan is approaching.


God's humor at work

The other day my computer at work froze for a little while. I needed to keep printing many forms that came on line, but it got stuck and I could not print this person's form. I hit "enter" several times. Then the next screen popped up. Because I hit enter many times, there are several duplicates. I kept deleting many pages and I saw the same name over and over.....and I smiled.  The person's name was "Miracle."

worship night tonight

I went to a worship night at my church. My daughter and her roommate went, too. The most beautiful thing I saw/heard tonight was the two college girls (one of them is mine) worshiping Jesus, singing like, " I am made to worship you..." Ooo, may God bless the next generation!!

Healing was mentioned in songs many times. Jesus' power includes healing.

God says not to look around for help - Isaiah 41

I was reading some healing verses and a well-known verse from Isaiah caught my attention.

Do not fear, I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God....

Then I went to my Hebrew dictionary.

• with you = The prime root word has meanings like "overshadowing by huddling together." This word (#5973) has meaning like against, before, beside, among, between, in...
• be dismayed= gaze at (for help), inspect, consider, bewildered, depart, look (away), etc...
•  strengthen = to be alert, on foot
• yea = more over, furthermore, yet, even
• help = surround, protect, aid, succor
• uphold = sustain, maintain, retain

Then my conversation with God went like this:

"Do not be afraid! I am all over you." (After reading the description in the dictionary, I understood the word as this. My heart jumps with joy.)
"Do not look around for help because I am your God. I will let you stand on your own your feet and strengthen them." (Then I remember there were no feeble men in the tribe as the Israelite were leaving Egypt.)

"More over (or better yet), I will surround you, protect, and aid you."

"That is not all I will do. More over , I will maintain you with my strong right hand." (He will "maintain" me! Ooo I want to be off the maintenance medications! Okay, let's keep reading.)

I haven't look up the rest of the scriptures yet, but it is lovely. Especially the next sentence. I am in awe.

"You will seek them but will not find them."

I am keeping these words in my heart. Lord, I thank you.

Wait for the LORD to act...

How long is the battle going to last? When I was stressed from work, I feel as if something or somebody is trying to make me quit working! But when I realize that it is not God at all, then I recover and the condition of the heart changes. When the condition of the heart changes, things change. I recognize the power of believing God in my heart. God drives out the darkness. Then I saw in the Bible where it said to wait for the LORD to act, and I felt like the LORD is telling me that the day the LORD will act is coming towards me! Is it coming soon? In the meantime, I keep speaking to the mountain!!!

highest regards on God's words

What am I doing?!
I confess that I never felt I had enough courage to join a support group for cancer survivors. I may sound selfish, or someone may even say I am in denial, but I wanted to keep my eyes on the LORD and didn't want anything/anybody that comes between me and God.  Lately I started doing some research. It is good to be educated, but I was doing it instead of reading and searching the scriptures. Then I started to feel down...

The scriptures, messages, and teachings for healing tell me to put highest regards on God's words. My heart agrees. Why am I looking for an answer somewhere else then? I repented. Chemo, radiation, juicing, herbs, natural treatment, and other approach are good because we take care of our bodies, which is the temple of God. But without the word of God, they are in vain.

radiation and trip to japan

Both my parents' birthdays are in February. This year they turned 88 and 77 years old.  For quite a while I couldn't decide when in the winter time I should go to visit them.  In my prayer one day I felt good about going in February so I picked the dates, and then I found out that I needed to have radiation on my bones. I thought about bad scenario but decided to go on after I talked to my husband. I ordered the ticket, then I asked the radiation oncologist to schedule me before the departure date. (selfish?)
They scheduled me to have a radiation session everyday for 2 weeks. It ended right before my trip. The treatment took only about 10 minutes everyday. The very first day on the table in the radiation room, a strange thing happened within me. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness right before the radiation was going to hit me, and I was crying. Everybody there thought I was sad. When you think about my situation, that is understandable. One therapist was in tears for me, too. But I wasn't sad. My strength and joy have always come from the Lord. His presence was there, and I was overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. I keep trusting His healing power. Gospel and healing come together. It is in the Bible.


My family was happy to see me. I gave testimony of God's goodness at my small church. I spent most of my time at home. I enjoyed walking in the cold, snowy weather as the snow was hitting my face from under the umbrella. One of my happy moment was to see my mother believing Jesus more.

Life is precious and I thank Jesus for giving it to me.

Not bowing down to other gods (Exodus 23:26)

This is something I learned from Exodus 23 where it talks about God's blessing. This is a simple understanding of an ordinary mom who don't have a specific degree.

Exodus23:26 says God will bless my bread and water, and will take sickness away from the midst of us. The beginning of the verse in my note says, "And so." I don't remember which translation it came from, but I thought there must be something I need to do before God blesses my food and water. Of course I know God is merciful, and I don't understand deep and difficult theology but I thought there might be something I might want to pay attention to. So I went back a few verses. Then I saw that God wants us to get rid of other gods utterly. I saw how important it is to God.

We are not to 

• bow down to other gods
• serve them
• do after their (other gods' people) works or follow their example.

We are to

• utterly pull down/break
• destroy 

                                                              their standing images.


In this verse, I saw something fascinating. Two words are repeated twice in Hebrew Bible just like in the proverbs (diligently, diligently). The words repeated here both mean to break down.  The first word is to break down/beat down. The second word is to break down in pieces, crush, etc. So we are to utterly pull down and down, and crush and crush their standing images. Then...

And so you shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and water, and will take sickness away from the midst of you. (Exodus 23:26)

Glory to God. He is the One who healed us all! I am waiting for the day when the LORD will act and I will hold a proof in my hand (One time I decided not to wait for that, but then I noticed it was still my desire to have an "NED" (no evidence of disease) in my hand, so I am waiting for it again) . Until then, I keep hiding in the shadow of His wings, speaking to the mountain to be removed and be thrown into the sea!


In Christ,

Psalm 116 in my own words

I love that the LORD has heard my voice and my earnest prayers attentively.
Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death were around me, the terrors of grave overtook me.
I saw only trouble and sorrow.
But I called on the name of the LORD, "Please, LORD, save me!"

The LORD is merciful and righteous, yes, our God is compassionate.
The LORD preserves the thoughtless; when I was brought low (oppressed) he saved me.
My soul, return to your rest!
For the LORD has been generous toward you.

Yes, you have rescued me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
I will go on walking in the presence of the LORD in the lands of the living.
I will keep on trusting even when I say,
"I am utterly miserable," even when, in my panic, I declare, "Everything human is deceptive."
How can I repay the LORD for all his generous dealings with me?
I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

I am forever thankful that the LORD is giving me abundant life everyday. Stage IV cancer is diminishing.

Videos that give you faith!

http://www.cross.tv/68629

 http://www.cross.tv/8549

by Christine Darg

my friend is healed

One of my friends from church, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer, is cancer-free! I haven't seen him in awhile but I heard the news through my son. He had some bad days during chemo therapies.  But he is free now! That is great news.

God heals today. 

Praise God. Thank you, Jesus.

The above blog was written some time ago. Today I heard his testimony at church. After chemo therapy he was having a heart problem and the doctors said a part of the heart was not functioning.
Today, he testified and said that the doctors could not figure it out, but his heart was starting to heal itself.

Glory to God. It is amazing. He looked very good today, too.