Strength for Today

Well, today is the day. In a few hours I will be undergoing surgery for only the second time in my life. I thank God for the good health he has given me thus far in life. I am trusting God in this whole procedure. My life has always been in His hands, even as it is now. Here is a thought from A. W. Tozer I want to share with you. "What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day. For each of us the time is coming when we shall have nothing but God. Health and wealth and friends and hiding places will be swept away, and we shall have only God. To the man of psuedo faith that is a terrifying thought, but to real faith it is one of the most comforting thoughts the hear can entertain." Amen and amen and a thousand amens!

I read this lengthy quote from A. W. Tozer and want to share it with you today. Sometimes we want to have our life all planned out and charted to our comfort. Well, it doesn't quite work that way! Read on.

"Most of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly afraid that we will miss the way. This is a tragic waste of truth and never gives rest to the heart.

"There is a better way. It is to repudiate our own wisdom and take instead the infinite wisdom of God. Our insistence upon seeing ahead is natural enough, but it is a real hindrance to our spiritual progress. God has charged Himself with full responsibility for our eternal happiness and stands ready to take over the management of our lives the moment we turn in faith to Him."

This is the better way to live. Faith. Trust. Turning things over to God. None live so pleasantly as those who live by faith. Join me?

I believe in the ministry of intercessory prayer. So did Paul. While he was in prison, he wrote to his friend Philemon. "But, meanwhile, prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted unto you" (Philemon 1:22). You talk about faith. Paul, in chains, writes to his friend and asks him to prepare the guest room for him! He had such great confidence in the prayers of Philemon that he said, "I trust that through your prayers I shall be released to you." Well, I am facing surgery on June 30 and I have the same confidence in your prayers. I know many of you are praying for me. This gives me great confidence. It is also a source of encouragment to me. Through your prayers I hope to come through just fine.

I do ask for you to pray for me on June 30 when I will have surgery to remove a mass on my parotid gland (main salivary gland) on the right side of my face. Please pray for the surgeon (Dr. Kent McIntire) as he operates on me. There is a main nerve in the affected area and it will be delicate. I am told there is an 80% chance that the mass will be benign, but we will not know until the results come back from pathology. I will be kept in the hospital overnight for observation. I am not supposed to travel for 7-10 days afterwards, so I have had to cancel my trip to the North American Christian Convention in Indianapolis July 6-9. I am putting all my trust in the Lord for that is the only way to live. "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass" (Psa. 37:5).

The late Archie Word liked to say, "If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there be beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world." I am not sure of the source but the thought is a good one. We all want peace in the world. But notice where it starts ~ in the heart. If there is righteousness in the heart . . . and on down the line. David said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit in me" (Psa. 51:10).  Only God can give us a pure heart. Once we have it, we must keep it clean. "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). You are contributing to harmony in the home, order in the nation, and peace in the world when you keep your heart with all diligence! Make your heart the sanctuary of God.

Lately I have had a few things come up in my life that are testing my faith and my peace with God. When I came back from Poland on June 15 I discovered I had swelling in my parotid gland (main salivary gland). I spent three days in the hospital. On Friday I will meet with an ENT surgeon to discuss options. But in all this I have not questioned God nor been disappointed in Him. He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. And what good does worry do? All it does is take years off one's life. I have chosen to trust God no matter what. My Bible tells me, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7). That is a promise from God and I choose to claim it in Jesus' name.

Hello, all you good people. I have been in Poland (June 3-15). Upon my return home, however, it was discovered that I have a tumor (Wartin's tumor) on the right side of my face. It is located on the main salivary gland and will require surgery. I was in a great deal of pain but not at the moment. Antibiotics and steroids have brought the swelling down. I meet with the surgeon on June 25. I will keep you posted here. I am requesting prayer that God would take the tumor away so there would be no need for surgery. If that is not His will, then for God to guide the surgeon's hands because there is a nerve right in the middle of all this. They may also have to remove the salivary gland (which is kind of important to a speaker!), so much is "up in the air" right now. I am at peace with all of this and simply ask you to pray for me and with me that the will of the Lord would be done. Thank you!

"Thus I would go on missions of mercy, following Christ from day unto day, cheering the faint and raising the fallen, pointing the lost to Jesus the Way" (W. A. Ogden). That old hymn could describe my itinerary for the next twelve days. I am "going afar upon the mountain" and across the ocean to the Republic of Poland, my seventh trip there since 1990. "Strength for Today" will be "on hold" until I return. In the meantime, be sure to take your daily, spiritual vitamins from the best source of all ~ the Word of God!

Yesterday I heard on the news that Al Gore and his wife Tipper are separating after 40 years of marriage. At one time the Gores were devout Baptists with Al even taking a pro-life stance and Tipper leading a national crusade against obscene lyrics in rock and roll music. When Bill Clinton tabbed Gore to be his Vice President things started to change. Erwin Lutzer has said, "We have put men on the moon but have not found a solution for moral decay. We have made gigantic strides in medicine but cannot stop the alarming number of divorces and the near dissolution of the family unit." When high profile people like the Gores divorce, it only exacerbates the problem. Billy Graham was devoted to his wife Ruth as long as they were married. Graham said, "Divorce is an easy escape . . . but the guilt and loneliness they experience can be even more tragic than living with their problems." Al and Tipper, sadly, are about to find that out. Don't you make the same mistake! Marriage is for life. Marriage is life. As Paul Frost commented, "A successful marriage demands a divorce ~ a divorce from your own self-love." Love your mate more than you love yourself and you won't wind up like the Gores.

My Grandfather said that to fall down was nothing to be ashamed of, but to just stay there was indeed a shame. He knew that failure is not in falling down; it is remaining there when you have fallen. Who among us had not fallen at one time or the other? Someone has said, "Failure is not the worst thing in the world. The worst is not to try." A person doesn't drown by falling into water, but he can drown if he just stays there. On several occasions Jesus said to the lame, "Rise up and walk" or "Take up your bed and walk." The first thing the person had to do was rise up or get up. Every day we make a decision to get up or stay in bed. So if we can rise up in one situation we can certainly rise up in another. Paul said that Israel's fall was neither final nor fatal (Romans 11:1-36). Neither does your fall have to be final or fatal. Rise up and walk!