Some of you may know that Pastor Bob Herman, Senior Pastor at County Line Church of God south of Auburn, had a serious stroke some time back. There was a blockage in his carotid artery from his neck to his temple, 6 inches long. When doctors later attempted to do something with that clot, they discovered it had disappeared. The specialist did a catherization and found no sign that the clot had ever been there. After some more complications, the Dr. decided he needed to put a stent in where the blockage had been. That procedure was scheduled for yesterday. Pastor Bob’s wife recorded what happened next in her blog:
“After a little over an hour, our buzzer buzzed & we were called into a conference room to talk with Dr. Sanghve. When he entered, I expected to hear one thing, but instead heard something else. He did NOT insert a stent into Bob’s artery. Now, wait a minute. No stent? I thought that was the definite plan of action. Now no stent? My sinus infection has my head really plugged, & sometimes it feels like I’m not quite there. So I had to really concentrate to catch what was being said. Yup. No stent. I had heard correctly. Dr. Sanghve said that when he got to the suspicious area, he couldn’t find any slight ripple or tear. He took a lot of time searching, changing angles & magnification, messing with equipment to get the very clearest picture, & he couldn’t find a thing. Once again, Bob was clean. The artery was perfect. No evidence whatsoever that there was ever a problem. As he searched, he thought. He concluded that from the time of the last ultrasound on Saturday night, Bob’s carotid had been healing & now it was healed so well that it was unidentifiable. With Bob’s previous miraculous healing (when the entire clot was gone from his carotid), Dr. Sanghve has concluded that Bob is a bizarrely swift healer. Again, whatever. We know that a miracle has again been witnessed by all. May God receive glory through this!”
What do you think of that?
Tags: healing, miracle
Anita and I spent Monday and Tuesday at a two-day pastor’s conference in Grand Rapids, MI. We heard a speaker there by the name of Bob Hazlett that ministered on the topic of spiritual gifts. We went a little skeptical (not that we don’t believe in spiritual gifts, but because people who focus on the gifts exclusively usually end up out of balance and a little “flakey”). But we were impressed with his accuracy, tact, and focus upon the word.
On the long, dark, rainy drive home late Tuesday night we talked about the topic. Here are some of my thoughts:
Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths (Matthew 13:34). The Old Testament is about God the Father setting patterns for believers to follow (1 Corinthians 10:11). It is obvious the dead being raised, lame walking, blind hearing, and deaf hearing, are a pattern of what would happen in the spiritual lives of men and women, not the physical (otherwise, the only people who can be saved are sick or injured people). And those things do happen today in the spiritual lives of all who believe.
Yet, we cannot deny that many physical healings followed Jesus’ ministry. And Jesus said we would do greater works than He did (John 14:12). Mark clearly predicted that these signs would follow those who believe (Mark 16:17-18).
So, we cannot focus entirely on one without the other. There must be a balance.
What thoughts do you have regarding spiritual gifts in the church today?
Tags: healing, spiritual gifts
Its now been four months since my prostate surgery. I went in to see my Urologist and he said I was doing fine. The real indicator of how successful they were with the cancer is in the PSA test, however. Cancer is the most likely culprit for an elevated PSA level, which is under 4.0 in a healthy male. After six years of tests and biopsies, my PSA level was up to nearly 12.0 when they finally found the cancer.
When the PSA follow-up test came back last week it was at .04, or what they call undetectable. I’m sure it will be zero by the next time they test it. So I am cancer-free and a cancer survivor! Although there is still some nerve trauma from the surgery to recover from, it is getting better every day.
I am reminded of the awesome promise God gave to the Israelites in Exodus 15:26: “I am the Lord that heals thee.”
Tags: healing
This morning I got up early and went to the men’s breakfast at church. Joyce Summers and her volunteers did a great job with the meal. I shared for 40 minutes on what I have learned through this process. I did OK, but if I had to do that three times I would be exhausted, so I know I’m not ready to get back to preaching yet.
Now that the catheter is out I’m aware of some dull pain I still have in my abdomen. I’m moving slowly, but can pretty well do the things I did before the surgery. The difficulty I had in sitting is now gone since the catheter has been out. I did my morning stretches for my back today for the first time since surgery, and that felt great.
I shared at the men’s breakfast this morning the statement that God made in Exodus 15:26 where He declared, “I am the Lord that heals you.” That was in the context of the Lord showing Israel what to do to heal the bitter waters of Marah. God’s healing requires us listening to His advice and doing it. If we don’t take our problems to Him, He can’t advise us. So, take your difficulties to Him, and expect Him to direct your steps. What are you trusting the Lord to help you with?
Tags: healing, listening, Marah, trust
When I first learned that I had prostate cancer, I had to struggle with some personal emotions. How would this affect my ministry, how would this affect my longevity, but of greatest impact to me, how would this affect my relationship with my wife? Intimacy is the sign of the covenant of marriage and we both take that very seriously.
So I had to do some serious soul-searching, and it led to some very open conversations between Anita and I, actually opening some doors that we had shut long ago. So, already, even before the surgery, God has done some really neat healing and growth in both of us. Sometimes the best healings are not physical, but spiritual or emotional! Those, only God can do.
What spiritual or emotional healing has God recently done in your life?
Tags: healing, marriage
The surgery I’m having done is a radical laproscopic prostatectomy, which means they will be surgically removing the entire prostate gland using robotic procedures through small incisions in my abdomen, rather than opening me up with a large incision requiring a lengthy recovery time. Great advances have been made in recent years with this new procedure and it tends to be much more accurate.
However, there are always risks involved with any surgery. The specific risks involved with prostate removal are that damage could occur to the surrounding muscles or nerves that could result in incontinence and/or impotence. My cancer is in the very early stages and is a 6 on the Gleason scale (medium aggressiveness), so the Dr. shouldn’t have to go into the surrounding tissue, but errors could always occur.
So I would appreciate your prayers for me next week. I don’t need weak and wimpy fear-filled prayers, but positive, faith-filled prayers asking God to intervene and guide the hands of the surgeon. In your prayers, be sure to refer to the blood of Jesus Christ (“By His stripes we are healed“) and pray in the authority of Jesus Christ. And, thankfulness is an important aspect of answered prayer, as well. So, tell Him what you’re thankful for.
By the way, what are you thankful for ?
Tags: authority, healing, prayer, risks