Sunday Mornin' Hope : His grace is sufficient

2 Cor12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.



In battling prostate cancer for the past 5 years, my life has taken many roads and directions. Three years ago I had a procedure done called a turp. The cancer can leave the prostate and go wherever, like into the bones and other vital organs. About a month ago I noticed my bladder was being harassed by the cancer, so we scheduled the surgery. Some call it a roto rooter to the privates. After a great Wednesday church service we prepared for the surgery. Thursday at noon was the plan. But when we arrived I was running a 103 temp. This delayed the plan. Then after the temp went down we ran tests again and my potassium was too low and my white cells were way too high. Well, God gave man the intelligence to balance this out and we proceeded. The dr's did a great job. The staff did some routine bloodwork and discovered my blood had gotten infected possibly because the catheter clogged with blood clots. Then my bladder started to spasm. But the joy of the Lord really is my strength.



In some ways, it's been good to be here in the hospital. I've gotten so many opportunities to pray with people. You know, when you're 'stuck' somewhere make the best of it. Like the old saying "When life hands you a bowl of lemons, open up a lemonade stand." There's a lot of great Christian dr's, nurses, and other professional people in this hospital. There was a rn that worked on irrigating my catheter because clots. While she was syringe-ing we started singing "Soon and very Soon". It's not that hard to stay positive in painful situations. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. Remember that hymn "Turn your eyes upon Jesus"



When you're up against something hard, realize Jesus grace is enough. Jesus spoke to Paul "9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."



I know that sounds crazy in the natural, but in the Spirit it makes complete sense. "Jesus is the answer for the world today". His ways are higher than ours, so rejoice. Rejoice always!! God is good all the time. So take the time to share the love of God with as many as you can. What a great ride!



I've not ridden my bike for a few day, and I miss it. I hope you've gotten some great peg scraping rides in this summer. Keep Jesus first in your life and He'll meet you in the winners circle. Remember, I'm praying for you. If you have time, please pray for my battle too. Actually the battle belongs to the Lord.

Thoughts and prayers Dino

Thanks Dino.