Living a 220 life

God’s Power, God’s Love, Dad’s Miracle

Many of you already know my Dad has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. Some of you also know my Dad has not spoken of Jesus with any of his kids (that I know of) for the last 30 years. My Dad is an emotional stoic; A great man of character who has provided me an invaluable example of what a man should be, but an emotional stoic none the less. Receiving news of a potentially terminal disease certainly has a way of softening anyone’s stoicism though. So the stage is set by God to demonstrate His wondrous glory and power to all who are watching but more importantly, God set the stage to reveal how much He loves my Dad.

As my Dad started his first round of chemotherapy my mom let me know it was hitting his body pretty hard. Loss of appetite, hair falling out, and sleeping all the time were indicators the chemicals were attacking the cancer and his body alike. As I look back it is amazing to see the chemo not only killing the cancer but also cleaning my Dad’s soul. I traveled up to see my Dad following the first round and was afforded the opportunity to talk with him alone. Now remember, my Dad has been an emotional stoic for the last 30 years of my life, so talking about the Lord with him is uncomfortable. This time was different. In a very private and very special dialogue I won’t share with anyone, my Dad revealed his relationship with Jesus. Let me just tell you, that was a miracle in and of itself but was in fact, only the beginning of what God had planned.

Dad had two more rounds of chemo to go but we started looking forward to the bone marrow transplant. The doctors told us siblings are the best candidates but if they aren’t a match they would go to the national donor bank. We asked if Dad’s kids could be tested as donors but were told they wouldn’t even test us for Dad because kids aren’t usually a match. In essence, siblings come from the same batch of clay where as children come from both Mom and Dad’s clay. So my Dad’s two brothers were tested and both were found to not be matches. Dad would need to go to the national registry.

Following his third round of chemo, Dad went to the doctor to talk about his transplant. The news was both painful and frustrating. Due to some doctor mumbo jumbo my Dad was told the transplant was too risky and the doctor wouldn’t perform the surgery. He was told with the surgery he would have a 10% chance of survival and without it he had weeks to live. The verse God had given my Dad and I while I was visiting him stuck in my mind: “This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4) At the same time this is going on my youngest brother received a call from the national bone marrow donors bank. He forgot that years earlier, while serving in the Air Force, he had registered to be a bone marrow donor. First of all, who does that? I mean, unless you know someone going through this, most people don’t register to be a donor; but my brother did. The voice on the other end informed my brother that he was identified as a match for a name less 54 year old man…my dad is 54!

The next day my Dad goes back to the doctor to receive the news that he is actually a little healthier than the doctor first thought, so the surgery could in fact be performed. However, though it could be performed my Dad was told he has an extremely rare form of bone marrow. Typically, a bone marrow recipient has over a hundred matches in the national registry but my Dad had only three. That day he found out my youngest brother was actually one of the three. That day my Dad found out many years before this terrible disease took root God had already begun the process of saving him. That day my Dad found out God is willing to perform an amazing miracle just so he knows how much his God loves him.

If my Dad’s story has been encouraging to you please leave a comment. Let my Dad know how his story has helped you. Any comments you leave on this blog post will get sent to him and will certainly be uplifting. Remember, God has been willing to do so much for my Dad just so he knows how much He loves him. God loves you just as much!

Kids Corner: Knowing God Better by Josh age 7

I woke up early this morning to have my quiet time with the Lord and spent about 45 minutes in great communion with Him. Then, with gentle little steps, like a sneaking mouse, my 7 year old emerged from his bedroom with sleepy little eyes. I said, “Josh, would you like to read your Bible with me?” He thought about it for a moment and then said sure. I had him read Psalm 1 and then asked what he thought. He responded, “A good guy delights in God’s law.” Rather surprised by his grasp of the text I said, “So what does that mean for you?” Again, he shocked me with, “I should spend more time reading the Bible.” I was rather dumbfounded at this point and told him if he believed this he should make a plan to accomplish it. I’ve scanned his plan and attached it here.

7 year old Josh's plan to know God better

Folks, now this is from a 7 year old. I only helped with the shell but the idea and the plan is completely his. He’s made the decision, since the Bible told him so, to read every day in order to know God better. Let me tell you: If this isn’t convicting to you…it should be. He’s decided he’s going to take real steps to know God better and he has a plan for it. Do you have a plan to know God better? If you do I would love for you to share it. If not, why not?

Friends, let me challange you with the example of a 7 year old. Commit your life to Him and develop a plan to know HIM better. AMEN!

Kids Corner: Faith smaller than a chocolate chip

By Audrey age 10

Have you ever heard or said somthings impossible?Like mabe a math problem in school, or a hit in baseball.Well nothings really immposible even as big as moving a mountain!Right now your probley saying to yourself “What’s she talking about”?But in the gosspel of Mathew 17:20 It says we can have very little faith,but can go up to a mountain and say move and it will move.The amount of faith it says we have to have is as big as a muster!Thats smaller than a choclate chip!That’s really small! That shows us that with the powers of God we can do anthing!

Are you following from a distance?

As I was reading in my quiet time this morning I had a realization that many of us are placing ourselves at great risk by our actions. The ironic piece of the puzzle is this: we live our lives as Christians very cautiously, trying not to make any waves and be a good person, but this caution is the very aspect putting us at risk. I’ll explain through the example of three people: Peter, Judas Iscariot, and Joseph of Arimathea.

The realization hit me when I read Mark 14:54, “Meanwhile, Peter followed him at a distance…” Now, I got it, Jesus had just been arrested and it’s a really scary time. I mean, I’m pretty sure Peter understood his life could be on the line and he was pretty brave just for following Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard but, he still followed at a distance. He was cautious and hesitant. He wasn’t completely committed to following Jesus even if it meant death. Peter’s distance resulted in denying that he even knew Jesus. Now hear me on this, the ultimate result of Peter’s distance is found in Mark 14:72 where we find Peter broken and weeping. Peter thought he was preserving himself but in fact had destroyed himself inside. You see, the pain Peter had inflicted on himself was the same pain Judas inflicted on himself.

Yes, the situation is a bit different between Judas and Peter. Judas sold Jesus to the Pharisees so they could kill him. However, at the core of the issue, both Judas and Peter betrayed Jesus and both Judas and Peter were extremely remorseful of their actions. Both men followed at a distance and both men fell greatly. Please understand, this pain was self inflicted through actions they thought were self preserving. They thought following at a distance was safer than following the “radical” Jesus. They were wrong. Let me give you an example I witnessed just this morning with my son.

Last night we caught a baby snake outside our house. The snake is very small and barely even has teeth. My youngest son has become very interested in snakes and wanted to keep him as a pet, so my wife and I agreed. Well, this morning we opened the cage so my 5 year old son could attempt to get the baby snake out all by himself for the first time. His hand went in very confidently and with great excitement until… a slight movement by the baby snake. The snake barely moved but all confidence ran out of my little boy’s body while his hand and the baby snake had a stand-off. He hesitated because he didn’t want to get bit. However, due to the hesitation the snake became more defensive of the intrusive hand and eventually bit. He quickly pulled his hand back and was clearly freaked out by the incident though the bite didn’t even draw blood. I immediately stuck my hand in and grabbed the snake with no issues. The snake didn’t even make a sound; he just simply curled around my finger and went for a ride like a good little boy. The point is, my son’s hesitation gave rise to the altercation just like our following Jesus from a distance gives rise to our downfall.

Joseph of Arimathea gives us a great example of taking a risk to follow Jesus. In Mark 15:43 the New Living Translation of the Bible says, “Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God to come.) Jesus was still hanging on the cross so obviously being a follower is not yet a popular thing. Clearly Joseph is potentially risking his life by requesting Jesus’ body from Pilate but he’s also risking his career. Joseph was a respected member of the high council, a council which was certainly filled with people who just crucified Jesus. Joseph DID NOT follow from a distance but risked his life and his career to follow His Savior.

My friends, let me ask you this: Are you confidently following close to your Savior or are you cautiously following from a distance? If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ the opportunity will arise every day to associate yourself with Jesus. Do you? Do people even know you’re a Christian? Now I’m not implying you need to be an abrasive, in your face, Bible thumping zealot only concerned with your own goal of proselytizing the world. No, I’m implying you need to be a follower of Jesus who is so in love with your Savior that you identify with Him every chance you get and you lovingly share Him with everyone you can. I’m also implying that you, like Joseph of Arimathea, risk everything to follow your Savior. Joseph gave his time, money, devotion, career, and potentially his life for Jesus. Are you willing to do that? Remember, if you go through life cautiously following Jesus from a distance it’s only a matter of time before the baby snake bites you. Confidently stick your spiritual hand in the cage and follow Jesus as closely as you can. AMEN!

Kids Corner: Standing up for your faith

220 Life Ministries will be starting something new…a KIDS blog! That’s right, devotionals written for kids BY kids. These blog posts will be identified in the title and will be linked to a kids page on the 220life web page. I hope you enjoy and feel compelled to offer your comments.

This post is by Audrey, age 10.

Genesis 6:9-22

No one likes it when they get laughed at or bullied at school just because of their faith. But we as kids have to stand up for our faith no matter what. For example, when God told Noah to build an ark and to bring two of each animal on it how do you think Noah felt? He got called mean names, laughed at, and bullied but did he stop? NO! He kept on building the ark. After the 40 days and 40 nights God gave Noah a beautiful blessing of a rainbow. That shows us that if we do as God asks he will return us with a great gift. So next time someone starts to make fun of you for your faith just remember Noah. Never stop believing in Jesus because you get picked on, bullied, or anything at all.

Faith in Action for KIDS

TAKE A PENCEL AND PUT IT NEXT TO THE WALL. TRY TO MAKE IT STAND UP ON ITS OWN. IT CAN’T DO THAT, RIGHT? IT HAS TO LEAN AGAINST THE WALL. WELL THAT’S JUST LIKE US AND GOD. WE HAVE TO LEAN UP AGAINST HIM TO MAKE IT THROUGH TIMES. ALWAYS LEAN ON GOD, HE’LL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.