Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Give God the Glory, but make sure to do the work.


I read the comments from the original source from which I first viewed this video at the Godvine website. When I read through those comments I see that yes, the faithful are giving all the Glory to God as it should be. Glory as an action by mankind is the highest honor, the ultimate highest praise and respect that can be paid in response to some action or deed. What gets overlooked so many times, though, is the honor and praise for those working behind the scenes in moving situations like this video shows. God moves through mysterious ways, through people and through the faithful who follow his will. We give God the glory but should not forget how God's will moved through everyone involved to make this miracle happen.

Greg's cancer went into remission, praise the Lord! It is a miracle, I agree and witness to such as many do. But I see God's hand at work all the way up to remission of the cancer, not just in the final result. Greg has no saliva glands, no teeth, and a feeding tube. For those who have eyes, let them see, and for those who have ears let them listen.  Greg has had a feeding tube for 3 years at the time that interview was done.

Come see. For Greg to have a feeding tube, he needed a surgical procedure done by medical doctors and staff in a hospital. For Greg to get approval from hospital administration he needed coverage for the expense of the procedure, either through insurance or by having enough money to put a down payment on the procedure and good enough credit to assure a payment plan on the balance.

Come see. Before the hospital administration  would approve the procedure they would submit a request for coverage to Greg's health care provider, insurance, and the provider would review the procedure and decide if it was medically necessary or not. In this case Greg either had insurance that covered the procedure, enough money to pay for his own medical care costs, or people donated enough to cover his costs.

Come see. Before all this, Greg had to at some time get tested and diagnosed with cancer and do so with time enough so treatment could begin before the cancer became too bad. Most people who go to the doctor, either routinely or when they feel ill, have medical coverage. Greg was able to afford the expenses involved in testing, diagnosis, chemo treatment, surgery, recovery, and maintenance.  That's just addressing the money in the medical side of this issue. Greg had home, food, and pet care expenses at the very least. He was able to afford equipment and had the skills to do maintenance, repair, and restoration on that church.

In short, Greg was not a poor man. God was able to take care of Greg without the involvement of the Church and, again, all Glory goes to God for this man's healing.

In the Clinical Drug and Alcohol treatment field I worked in a rehab center. I met, worked with, and developed relationships with patients in treatment. I was the lowest employee on the totem pole, a residential technician. I would be the one to help a sick man up out of their own mess, to help clean them up and change their clothes, and to check on their well being throughout my shift.

During my time working in the drug and alcohol treatment center I met many Godly men and women, prayerful and sincere in their faith. Yes, I met far more who that description wouldn't apply to but I loved them as well and most of them were lovable, very few were not a pleasure to serve and even then I served them to the best of my abilities.

I met faithful, prayerful, suffering men and women who were poor and had no health care before coming to the clinic for help. The clinic would apply for Tenncare and go through the process with them, walk them through it, getting them coverage before they could be admitted into the residential treatment program. I never met anyone who was uninsured, unless they could pay out of pocket, because if Tenncare didn't cover them and they didn't have insurance then they were not admitted for treatment. The end, good luck with that alcohol problem, good bye I hope that crack doesn't kill you or make you kill some one else. See you later alligator, after a while crocodile, don't forget to write.

There are those so poor they cannot get access to medical treatment and die from ailments that would otherwise been treated and healed. When they pray in faith for a miracle God answer that prayer every single time. Even if their ailment overtakes them and they die huddled under cardboard in an alley, God had already answered their prayer for help, and God was faithful to them, Amen!

How is this possible? Because God sent Jesus to save the world. Jesus made disciples to follow the His commands, His will, and to spread the gospel and to make disciples in his name who will do the same until all Nations are disciples of Christ. Amen! We, the church, proclaim faith in Christ and are his disciples. Our sins are washed clean in our baptism in the Spirit and in response to God's grace in salvation we stand up anew and swear to follow Christ and follow his commandments. Amen! We are the disciples of Christ who swear to follow Christ, obedient not because compelled but because we are loved by God and we love God and wish to do His will. Amen!

So, how can a poverty stricken man die homeless after praying in faith to God for help and healing? I'll tell you the truth. I'll feed it to you with your Sunday dinner.

Whenever one of God's lost sheep, whenever one of the sick and poor, cry out to God for help, we are here.  We, the church, are here and we are to be listening and watching for the call to help those who call out to God in their need. We are the body of Christ, it is our hands that reach out to do something for those crying out to God for help. The church is not the building where we worship and the church is not the pastors who give us our daily bread once a week, no the church is us; you and I and all the faithful are the body of Christ. What is worse than a poor man dying homeless after reaching out to God in prayer? What is worse is a faithful member of the body of Christ dying homeless after praying, with all his faith and heart, for God's help.

Every time some one reaches out to God for help and they suffer without relief , that is not God's failure that is ours.  God is faithful and He answered that prayer, he sent us. If no help arrives, God did not fail, we did. Every time this happens God is faithful, we are not.

Any time someone poor in resources, skill, or ability is in need and unable to assist themselves reaches out to God for help and then waits in faith, every time their call for help goes unanswered and the consequence is their death... if there were any members of the Church who crossed their paths, who saw them in their need and walked on, who talked to them and heard their need, who was merely living in the same community as they when they prayed for help... well, their prayer for help to God was answered but God's call to the servants to go and help wasn't heard or it was ignored. Thus sayeth the Lord. Amen.

What can we do?  What can I do? I am almost poor myself. I barely make enough to pay my bills, to afford health care, and to care for my family. I do what I can, which is watch and listen for God's call to help some one and to pass that call along to those who can help better than me if I am unable. To love others by getting to know them, building a relationship with them, and just intentionally making sure they are a part of my life.  To say something if those who are supposed to be helping are not doing so. And to, above all, love God with all my heart, spirit, and mind and to love others as I love myself.

Matthew 25:31 - 46 "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'


 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’


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