I got an excellent report today!

My latest scans confirm my latest blood work.  No Evidence of Disease.  The doctors call this N.E.D. and it’s a big deal for a 2x – stage 4 cancer patient. Thank you for being steadfast in the fight and being here to celebrate this good news.

I feel like we just took Jericho. (The first city the Israelite’s overtook in the promised land.)

We crossed into the promised land, set our eyes on the target and set about obeying the instruction of God.  One day – finally – at the trumpet blast and the sound of our shout (all that prayer and obedience) – the walls fell down.

Maybe you’ve got some Jericho’s of your own, some fortified cities taken down by obedience to God.  Today, let’s put a stake in the ground of these promised lands and declare they belong to us.  This is our land, our territory, our promise. I feel like we need to acknowledge it, establish it, steward it.

So where do I (we) go from here?  How do you go about turning a place of war and destruction into a place of peace and health?

I considered what a mess Jericho was once the walls fell down. Debris, death and destruction would have been everywhere.  It wouldn’t be pretty and it would surely take a ton of work to clean it up. (I visited Jericho in 2010 and saw that a large portion of the wall is still laying in a heap.)

Then I considered the condition of Jerusalem at the time Nehemiah led the charge to rebuild the city wall.  He describes not only physical destruction and desolation to overcome but a number of spiritual attacks and sneaky enemies.  I remember they fought with a knife in one hand and a tool in the other.

I can draw a lot of wisdom from the battle of Jericho (I’ve got some destruction to overcome) and from the wall-builder, Nehemiah (I’m watching out for some more spiritual attacks and a sneaky enemy).  This next phase of recovery could be lots of hard work and require more spiritual stamina, but I’m excited because building is better than destroying and establishing righteousness is what we are equipped to do. 

This verse encouraged me greatly today.  No only is God willing to restore my health, He’s willing to heal me so completely that I will and can enjoy abundant peace. He can turn places of war and destruction into places of peace and health.

All of us are marching around our own Jericho’s or building and restoring our cities according to God’s promises.  When we march together, take down strongholds together and possess the promises of God together, we are unstoppable.  I truly believe God is honored by our team work, and our testimony becomes the building blocks upon which His kingdom grows.

Thank you to every single person who has prayed for us.  I am so grateful.  Here are some specific prayer needs for your consideration:

• Pray that I continue to grow physically strong. I need my immune system to resist things like infections and fatigue.
• Pray for my mom who is in the hospital again, this time with back spasms. We are moving to a rehab hospital to help build her strength and figure out what to do about the pain.
• Pray for greater spiritual wisdom and a sensitive heart so that I will minister love and kindness to others all around me – especially my family and my co-workers.
• Pray for my doctor to be comforted and encouraged.  His sister died yesterday of an aggressive form of liver cancer.  I imagine how hard that must have been.  He was so excited bout my report today and told me this is why he does what he does.  I admire him so much.