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!

Digital Devo: Introduction to Digital Devos

This is a new way Beth and I will post some of the 220 Life devotionals. Rather than writing a long devo that turns into a mini-novel, we’ll put a link to an audio message you can listen to. Click on the highlighted portion to listen to the Digital Devo intro: Digital Devo Introduction

What does your worship cost you?

In today’s entertainment age many people are loosing sight of the selflessness required in our relationship with the Lord. We’ve grown to believe that our entertainment is the most important aspect of life. We need light shows, great music, catching skits, well rehearsed and dramatic sermons, and an hour of church that “entertains” us. OR, better yet, our time alone with the Lord needs to be filled with a great book, worship music, a video, or something else to keep us “entertained” during our time alone with the Lord. In general, or worship time seems to revolve more around our own desires rather than the Lord’s.

In 2 Samuel 24:24 David is wanting to worship the Lord through burnt offering. He needs a place to present the sacrifice and is offered a piece of land from a man named Araunah. David responds to the offer of a free piece of property as such, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” Friends, do you see David understood worship is about God and not himself? David understood worship is about giving himself to God and NOT God entertaining him.

My friends, let me ask you this: What does your worship cost you? Do you only worship the Lord when it feels good or do you continue to worship the Lord when it costs you dearly? Are you willing to offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs you nothing? Are you willing to give the Lord leftovers or do you offer Him the very best you can afford? Remember, the cost of your worship isn’t measured in finances only, but it should cost you greatly in whatever you spend…money, time, devotion, thought, etc.

Folks, let me challenge you to begin investing your time, money, and devotion to the Lord. Let me challenge you to give to the Lord until it hurts. Don’t simply give out of your abundance but rather give out of all you have. Follow David’s example and decide that you won’t offer God something that costs you nothing. AMEN

I’m here in the desert

Well, hello again everyone. I know it’s been a while since I last posted due to my deployment to Iraq. Well, I’m finally here and will be settled in soon. I have much to share from the past month. There’s something about living in a tent in the desert that draws a man come closer to the Lord. That hasn’t changed in over 3000 years.

I’m excited about this coming year and what God has planned. I was begging Him to reveal His will for me during this deployment and boy did He answer. I can’t wait to share that quiet time with you. We serve an awesome God who is worthy of all our praise, honor, and devotion.

My friends, I look forward to hearing from all of you. Nothing is more uplifting in the desert than to hear about what the Lord is doing in your lives. Numerous times Paul asked for the same thing while out on his missions. Let’s fellowship in the Lord and share His beauty with one another. He is GREAT and we serve an AWESOME God!

Your friend and brother in Christ,
Jeff

Ignite a passionate marriage!

“Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love.” (Proverbs 5:15-19)

I’ll start out by telling you that many people have expressed envy over Beth and I’s marriage. We’re told often that people wish they could be as in love with their spouse as Beth and I are with each other. I write this only to acknowledge the fact that we, indeed, are passionately in love with each other and that you also can have this passion in your marriage. All too often couples give up on passion simply out of ignorance. Much like starting a campfire, the passion in marriage can be simple to start if you know how to start it. If you don’t know how to start it you’ll simply stack wet wood and try lighting it with a match; it ain’t gonna work my friends!

In Proverbs 5:15 we’re told to drink water from our own cistern and from our own well. Let me explain what this has to do with a passionate marriage. During Solomon’s time, when this scripture was written, people would build a cistern in order to catch the rain water so they could later drink it. The cistern provided life giving nourishment in the middle of a dry desert. The biggest problem with the cistern is that the water would sit and become stagnate. Sometimes the cistern would hold the carcasses of animals that came to drink and fell in. Cisterns weren’t the nicest places to get water but, none the less, they provided much needed water to sustain life.

On the other hand, running water from a well was known as ‘living’ water. This was God given water from a spring. It was clean and fresh. In comparison to cistern water, the running water from a well was like gourmet water next to sewer water. These two analogies are given to represent the extremes of marriage. Some people drink from a cistern because they have a lot of baggage in their marriage that can make the water taste bad. Some people drink from a well that produces ‘living’ water because they’ve cultivated a great marriage. My friends, I know some of you are drinking from a pretty stagnate cistern right now, but there’s hope.

The water in this analogy represents the love, respect, and intimate companionship that we so desperately need in our marriages. The deep spiritual, emotional, and mental needs that cause us to enter marriage in the first place are represented by the water. Whether you know it or not, if you’re drinking from a cistern you’re still getting the nourishment you need to stay alive. It may not taste very good but it’s still nourishing you.

With this said, we’re told to “drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.” My friends, we’re called to get our needs met from our spouse only! Men, this means stop looking at other women with lustful eyes. Put an end to your porn addiction! STOP meeting your needs in another cistern. Women, this means stop fantasizing about romance with other men! STOP measuring you’re husband against the fantasy men in movies or novels! We must drink from our own cistern. We’re asked the rhetorical question in verse 16, “should your fountains be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?” This is rhetorical because in a desert land, to allow your precious water to be spread all over the street and wasted was unthinkable. It should still be unthinkable for us today.

We are told in verse 17 and 18, “Let them be only your own, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.” Friends, we must look to our spouse for all our needs and equally to meet all their needs. As we begin to drink from ‘our’ cistern (the cistern you and your spouse have created) our fountain will be blessed. With much use the cistern will naturally be cleaned and the well will spring up with living water. We are called to rejoice with our spouse. This often takes a conscious decision at first but must be done. Despite the poor history and pain your marriage may have created, make the decision to rejoice with your spouse. It’s worth it! The cistern can be cleaned.

As we come to our own cistern to draw all of our water we’ll begin to find the ‘living’ water welling up. Verse 19 gives us a glimpse at the passionate marriage God wants for us, “As a loving deer and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy you at all times; and always be enraptured with her love.” Men, how amazing would it be to have the woman who ‘enraptures’ you living in your home, joining you in your bed every night, loving you dearly? Think about this guys, the woman who sets your heart on fire every time you see her is your wife. That is every man’s dream. Women, would you not like to be the one who ‘enraptures’ your husband? Would you not like to be so loved by your husband that he can hardly think straight when you’re around? This passionate marriage all stems from drinking at your own cistern.

One final note for those not yet married. You must be cautioned to not begin drinking from a cistern before you’re ready to stay there from life. If you begin drinking from one or two or sometimes many cisterns during your dating years you’ll muddy the waters of your final drinking hole. Every person you share a cistern with eventually adds another dead carcass to your finale cistern. Of course these carcasses can be cleaned by the Lord’s power but you’ll be stepping into a marriage with a very nasty place to have your needs met, which sets the stage for disaster the rest of your life.

My friends, the Lord has called us to drink from our own cistern so that He can satisfy us with a well of ‘living’ water. He wants us to enjoy a marriage filled with passionate love for our spouse; a marriage that builds us up in Him. Our marriage is meant to be a worldly relationship that reveals a deeper sense of the Lord in our lives, not an institution to bring pain and bitterness. Drink from your own cistern and be ‘enraptured’ by your spouse! AMEN!