I Will Always Keep You Safe

Isaiah 46:4 Contemporary English Version

⁴ I will still be the same
when you are old and gray,
    and I will take care of you.
I created you. I will carry you
    and always keep you safe.

 

It is Sylvia’s birthday today as I write this. She loves the Lord. She has always loved the Lord. When I got disillusioned and was ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater, she still clung to the Lord. Growing up she aspired to be a missionary to Africa, to the islands, to Asia, to South America, no matter. We ended up going to Tanzania in Africa. When it came time to leave Africa, she resisted until the Lord almost had to chase her out.

Two of her babies were born in Africa. Numerous times her first daughter nearly died of malaria there, but our great God took care of both her and the child He gave her.

She had placenta previa when her second daughter was born, and she praised the Lord that He placed her in the greatest hospital in Iowa. He had her up and walking the next day.

Later South African Airways tried to ban her from flying because she was with child. They were heartless and anxious to destroy her by abandoning her in the big city of Paris. However, God carried her and kept her safe. He forced SAA to abandon their malicious attempt.

When she was “old and gray,” she fell some thirty feet down a rock face, broke seven bones, and gashed open her head. God sent a helicopter to pick her up and take her to hospital. Again, she was up and walking around the next day.

She was a passenger in a car when an 18-wheel truck T-boned her. In what appeared to be a sudden death situation, God stepped in and slid the car out of the path of the accelerating truck after letting the truck push it sideways for over 50 feet. Insurance totaled the car, but she got out and walked away.

Yes. She had her bout with COVID-19. For ten days she could barely keep either food or water in her stomach. She ran a fever and coughed. God helped modern medicine shake her out of death’s clutches.

Thank You, Lord, for taking care of and keeping Sylvia safe through more than eight decades!

 

Beating Cancer

 

[1]

Deuteronomy 10:21
Good News Translation
²¹ Praise him—he is your God, and you have seen with your own eyes the great and astounding things that he has done for you.

 

Great and marvelous are Your works, O God.

Sylvia and I drove over 8,700 miles or 14,000 kilometers through nineteen states during the months of June, July and August this year—without mishap. Closer to home, twice Sylvia was driving when each of our vehicles was totaled, yet she walked away from each accident. Last year she fell approximately 30 feet down a nearly vertical rock face and survived well enough so that, although she broke six or seven bones and gashed her head wide open, she is now living principally without pain.

Cancer struck me some 16 years ago. I am still fighting it and keeping it at bay, so far. The major reason for our trip this summer was to gain a new weapon in that battle at Uchee Pines Institute. My latest weapon against cancer is whole body hyperthermia, or a fever bath. Here at home, I have a steam tent to raise my body temperature above 102º F (39º C) for 20 minutes. Since I started the fever bath in July, my cancer indicator PSA has dropped by fully 50%. I appreciate your prayers on my behalf. For more details send me an email, or comment on this blog.

Since the cancer started, I have overcome West Nile Virus only through the intervention of God. I have had COVID-19 and survived it well due to my being vaccinated and God’s protection. For me, taking advantage of the skills and knowledge God has given humans through modern medicine, far from denying our faith, instead acknowledges His ultimate control over all things here on earth. Today, I am seeing because of modern medicine and traditional Adventist hydrotherapy, even though painful blindness struck me a year ago.

Indeed, I praise You, O God, for the great and astounding things You have done for me!

 ________________________

 [1] A picture of me in my steam tent. The steam generator is on the floor to the right of the tent.

A Reign of Terror

 [i]

Daniel 12:1 

King James Version (KJV)

There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.

We have responded to a disease that is sweeping our country and the world with terrible swiftness. We perceive the number of people contracting this disease is increasing exponentially. It will indeed keep increasing until practically the whole population will have been caught in its deadly grip. In a kneejerk reaction of terror, we are destroying the very fabric of our society. No longer are people able to go to work or school. Rather they are forced to cower, each one in his or her home, until it passes.

We have two choices:

1)  We can continue to hide away in our own homes, cut off from our fellow Americans. As a result, within a very few weeks a majority of people will have no money and no means of earning any. Millions will start to run rampant across the country stealing what they can from anyone who appears to have anything. There will be no such thing as security. We will be plunged into an apocalyptic terror that very few will survive. The cure will indeed be far worse than the disease.

2)  Or we can face this new pandemic head on. We can go back to work, to our churches, to our schools, to our families and friends, to our sources of comfort and security that have stood us in good stead for centuries. Fully 3% of our population will perish. But 97% of us will survive. Most of us will still have our livelihood. We will grieve and mourn for those so cruelly snatched away from us. Yet we shall go on with the spirit that has made America great, and we will be greater because of overcoming this new disease. We overcame in the flu epidemic of 1918-1919 and we certainly can do it now.

Oh Lord, preserve us from political panic!

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[i] https://www.dw.com/en/french-government-admits-security-flaws-in-paris-riots/a-47957416

Survive the Pandemic

[i]

Psalm 91:1-2 

Good News Translation (GNT)

91 Whoever goes to the Lord for safety,
    whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty,
² can say to him,
    “You are my defender and protector.
    You are my God; in you I trust.”

We are confined to our own homes. We are not to visit our friends or our kids. The only reason to leave the safety of our own home is to buy necessary groceries or for medical attention. I have arranged to consult my oncologist by phone.

The number of known cases of COVID-19 in California is over 1,500 as I write this. The number of deaths in California attributed to it is 27, and in Riverside County it is 5. Each number is rising—Exponentially. The uncle of a friend and neighbor has tested positive. We are voluntarily confining ourselves to isolation in the hopes of starving the virus. Will it work?

Are we worried? No, not really. Will we get it? Only the Good Lord knows. He has given us this mighty Psalm 91. I urge you to read it again. I know you have lost count of how many times you have read it. This time read it and put yourself in as the recipient of these great promises.

Verse 3: He will keep you safe from all deadly diseases.

Verses 4&5: You need not fear the plagues that strike in the dark.

Verse 7: 1,000 may fall at your side and 10,000 fall all around you, you will not be harmed.

Verse 10: No disaster will strike you.

Verse 11: God will put His angels in charge of you.

Verse 12: They will hold you up with their hands.

Verse 14: God will save you who love Him.

Verse 15: When you call on Me, I will answer you.

Verse 16: I will reward you with long life.

These promises are written for you. Go to the Lord for safety. Remain under the protection of the Almighty. You may get tired of staying under that protection—stay there anyway. Don’t do anything brash or stupid—just stay there. Have faith that what God has promised, He will do. His promises are trustworthy. Let others do the worrying. Should He decide that now is my time, I still trust His protection.

We spread out this psalm daily to You, Lord. We claim it because we believe that You mean exactly what You say here! 

  

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[i] https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-91-1_Inspirational_Image/

Coronavirus

[1]

3 John 2 

King James Version (KJV)

² Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

It appears that I have been misled in posting the following statement. Thank you to my son-in-law for pointing out that 
I have been duped by another Urban Legend. 

See the following websites.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/05/uncle-coronavirus/

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/viral-social-media-posts-offer-false-coronavirus-tips/
This has some good suggestions but it may well deceive you into complacency when you evaluate you own condition. Sorry for sharing it with you!!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - CORONAVIRUS

Precautions 

1. If you have a runny nose and sputum you have the common cold.

2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.

3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26 or 27 degrees (79 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit). It hates the sun.

4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.

5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours—so if you come into contact with any metal surface—wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.

6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours, normal laundry detergent will kill it.

7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.

8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes—but a lot can happen during that time—you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.

9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.

10. Can’t emphasize enough—drink plenty of water.

Symptoms

1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3-4 days

2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes 5-6 days further.

3. With pneumonia comes high fever and difficult breathing.

4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative that you then seek immediate attention.

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[1] https://www.traverseticker.com/news/campus-closings-visitor-bans-event-cancellations-court-delays-coronavirus-impacts-hit-tc/