Week four of radiation treatment for prostate cancer begins in a few hours. Last week I wrote about time to give thanks. About prayers to God. When God answers our prayers, we do give thanks. Don’t we? But do we always recognize when and how He answers our requests?
It’s OK to talk to someone who has cancer. We don’t cease to be people just because we have cancer. Life does continue. We are still the same people.
Yesterday, I began the third week of my radiation treatment for prostate cancer. As I was laying in the tomography machine, the 23rd Psalm began to go through my mind. It was very comforting. Peaceful. Reassuring. And yes, that is the Psalm with the valley of the shadow of death. The Psalm that reminds us of what we have to be thankful for.
My first side effect from radiation isn’t really that bad. But it is annoying. The treatment Radiation treatment conflicts with my favorite foods. For now. It’s only temporary.
Do short-sighted Christians make you want to avoid church? Not short-sighted as in eye problems. Short-sighted as an not thinking out of the box. Far enough into the future. Beyond the walls of their own church. Things like that.
Will we have enough food in Heaven to be happy? The food we want? That probably depends. Fortunately, I like fish. Like the sushi below. But the real question is, will we have enough food? Too many people in the world don’t get what they want or even enough of any kind of food.
Do complaining Christians make you want to avoid church? It might. Sometimes, maybe it even should. However, having said that, it depends on who’s complaining, why, and to whom? Believe it or not, Biblically speaking, some complaining can be good. But some complaints can be very destructive. Oh, by the way, don’t leave the church in general. Leave that church – and find another.
After a few years of waiting, the wait is over. It's time to begin radiation treatment. This means it's time to update this series - Don't waste your cancer. Of course, like everyone else, I hoped surgery would remove all the cancer. But it didn't. And so, it's time for the next steps.
David seems to create an impossible scenario in Psalm 14. In one verse he writes, All have turned aside – meaning all have turned away from God. And yet, later he also writes, God is present in the company of the righteous. How is this possible?
Can we honestly believe that God is good even when He says, wait longer? Psalm 12 looked at God telling us to, in today’s terms, hang in there. Now, God’s saying wait longer. Really? And on top of it, we’re still supposed to say, God is good? Yes! Absolutely! ‘Cause He is.
God and me - this life and the next 