We Plan--He Determines

 

[1]

Proverbs 16:9 Christian Standard Bible

⁹ A person’s heart plans his way,
but the Lord determines his steps.

 

Sylvia’s family holds a family reunion biannually. This year we had plans to leave home on July 1 and visit family and friends up in the northwest. Then we would drive across the northern states to Wisconsin and Michigan—hoping to avoid some of the summer heat. From there we planned to drive down to North Carolina for the reunion and then home.

Sylvia came down with a fever of over 102º F (39º C) June 28. Nothing we did would bring her fever down, and on July 2 she was admitted to hospital. They diagnosed her with pneumonia and kept her there three days. They tested her twice for COVID-19 and declared that she was not part of the pandemic. Dad told me several times that pneumonia is an old man’s friend because it usually takes him and removes him from all of his problems. Fortunately, this didn’t happen for Sylvia.

We debated about what we should do as far as the reunion trip was concerned. A week went by, and Sylvia continued to regain her strength. She indicated that we should give it a try. There was no way we could pursue our original plans on account of the time we had available. So, we decided to skip the Northwest part of our trip. We left home on the 12^th of July and had a great trip. We made it home on the 24^th of August—the day we had originally planned to get home.

At times I wonder if God stepped in and didn’t want us to leave when we had planned to. That is highly unlikely, of course. It was definitely providential that when Sylvia took ill, we were at home and not on the road in some strange place. This way we could get treatment at familiar places. It has taken her time to recover her strength, but she is fine now.

Thank You, Lord, for overruling our lives for our own best good!

 

                                                    

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[1] Camping in Ottumwa, Iowa

Astrology and Reincarnation

[i]

Revelation 22:1-3

Good News Translation

22 The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. ³ Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.

 

Beryl (name changed) phoned Sylvia up and invited us to share a meal together at a local restaurant. It’s wonderful to not have to worry about COVID-19 right now and still feel safe. Beryl got us a booth, and we chatted as we waited for our orders. She spoke of the times we live in and how everything is falling apart. With fear written all over her face she spoke of multiple conspiracies and how dark the future looked.

She had been born in Italy and grew up in the Catholic church. She loved its pomp and ceremonies. Then she became an Adventist, and married an Adventist. Later her husband had drifted away from her and the church and become quite bitter about the church. She had come to believe in reincarnation and pitied a mutual friend of ours who is now dead, possibly from suicide. Now the friend will have to start the life process all over again working the way up towards nirvana. She explained how her life was like climbing a ladder towards better and better things—first Catholic, then Adventism, and now an even higher status. When she learned my birthday, she commented that I was Aquarius-born and what my personality was like.

She told how she had recently listened to the Book of Revelation again. After a long account of terrible troubles, she remarked how the book ended from chapter 19 to the end. She mentioned how the Mark of the Beast was introduced in chapter 19. And then the glorious description of the New Earth where only peace, happiness and joy reign, [I resisted telling her the Mark of the Beast is actually introduced in chapter 13, and the description of Paradise starts in chapter 21.] I thoroughly enjoyed the hope and faith she was expressing and didn’t want to spoil it.

She admonished: “You must listen to the book of Revelation again. It really gives you a lot of hope.” Then her mood darkened as she thought again about all our current troubles and dismal future. With a silent prayer for wisdom, I encouraged her to keep her eyes focused on Christ. Each time her worries take over, she must look at Christ and what He has done for her. As she ascends this ladder of hers, she must always have Christ with her. She brightened up again at this suggestion. She agreed that this would work.

As we parted, she thanked me for the words of encouragement I had given her. Please pray for Beryl.

Lord, as time runs down, Satan is redoubling his efforts to take all mankind into hell with him. Please redouble the power of Your Holy Spirit in our lives to resist him.

 

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[i] https://www.psephizo.com/revelation/can-the-book-of-revelation-help-us-engage-with-culture/

 

Vaccine Competition

[i]

John 14:2

Good News Translation

² There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so.

 

My oncologist instructed me to go and get vaccinated for COVID-19 before coming back to see him. I went to our Riverside County website to sign up for a vaccination. There I found four forms I had to fill out in order to request an appointment. Without an appointment it was impossible to get the vaccination. The county had just opened more appointments. I picked a site and started to quickly fille out the four forms. Before I got to the second form, I got the message: “Error due to the rate of applications.” I groaned and started again. This time the same thing happened.

I picked another site and started again. This time I got through three of the four forms. I was elated, except then I received a similar error message. So, I went through site after site and date after date. There were four vaccinations sites available and five dates available. When I had finished all the sites, I started again at the beginning. Finally, I got through all four forms and was given a review of all the data I had submitted.; I was exhausted but somewhat elated. Then I received another error message—just as fatal. I groaned and started again.

This time I got to the actual appointment site. The instructions were “Choose a time slot and register for it.” There were time slots starting at 8:00 a.m., then 8:07, 8:14, etc. all the way to 5:00 p.m. Next to each time slot was the message, “appointment not available.” My heart plummeted. Undaunted, I picked another site and started again. Same result. Finally, I worked my way through every site and every date and got the same message. All 1,280 slots had been taken by other people.

Not only was I totally exhausted, but I was just plain out of luck! What could I do? Absolutely nothing! I was like the invalid at the Pool of Bethesda. Every time the angel stirred the pool, (John 5:4) someone else made it into the pool before he could get there. Then Christ came along and bypassed the system. It was obvious I needed Christ to come along and help me bypass the system.

That’s exactly what happened in the person of Dr. Vo. That same afternoon Sylvia got an attack of hypertension, and I took her into the Riverside Medical Clinic Urgent Care. Dr. Vo urged both of us to register for the COVID vaccination at the RMC website. She checked it out, and because we were both patients of the RMC, we each already had a slot. We just had to accept them.

Thank You, Lord, that we already have rooms You have prepared for us in Your Father’s house. We eagerly accept them.

 

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-distribute-a-covid-19-vaccine-ethically/

 

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[i] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-distribute-a-covid-19-vaccine-ethically/

Our Soul Among the Living

Psalm 66:8-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
⁹ Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to ^[a]be moved.

On May 23, 2020, we were climbing in Joshua Tree National Park. Sylvia suddenly fell. Neither she nor anybody else knows what happened exactly. As she fell, I heard the sickening sound thud, …thud, ...thud, …thud of soft flesh striking rock at least four times. She fell somewhere between 20 and 30 feet (almost 10 m). In the picture, my brother, Elwood, indicates the position she was in when we found her deep in a rocky crevice. She appeared to be dead.

He and our daughter Julia were the first to reach her. They thought she had to be dead until they noticed a flicker of an eyelid. She then muttered, “Hurt!” Julia encouraged her to try and sit up if she could. She responded by sitting up--with their help. Julia yelled at me to go get help.

Cell phones have no coverage in that part of the park. I tried anyway and confirmed my suspicion. Three of us headed back to the Echo T parking lot. We found two women who had just passed their EMT training, and they went back to help. I remembered that there was a group of Search & Rescue people promoting their organization at the Hidden Valley parking lot. One of them grabbed a radio and immediately started calling for help. The she drove back with me to Echo T. As I pulled to a stop, a ranger, with emergency lights flashing, pulled in next to me.  Within a very short time an emergency helicopter from the Big Bear Fire Department was circling overhead, trying to find a spot clear enough to land. Finally, they landed back at the parking lot. It took the emergency crew three hours to get Sylvia out of the crevice and into the helicopter.

Sylvia was alive! They wouldn’t let Julia and me into the hospital, of course, because of COVID-19. Sylvia was talking to me when her doctor or radiologist came in. She laid the phone down, and we heard him tell her that she had fractured her scapula, a rib, and three processes on her lumbar region vertebrae. She reminded them of blood on her head, and he the saw the big gash there. They all missed a fracture on her fibula and several fractures on the glenoid fossa on her shoulder joint. These were all on the left side of her body.

She is alive and is getting around the house on a wheel chair until the fibula heals. Her spirit is amazing, and she counts herself as a miracle woman. Several have reminded her that God must still have plans for her.

Bless our God who has kept her soul among the living!

Graffiti

Graffiti read’s “IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS” [i] 

Proverbs 3:6 

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

For centuries this giant, ancient rock has nestled here amongst the brittle bush or desert sunflowers. At times the drought has obliterated the bright yellow garden about it. At other times abundant rains have made it a place of beauty. Slowly, the rock has cracked and great pieces have rolled off making an even more varied rock garden.

The first week of, April 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions, shut-ins got restless. They now had lots of time on their hands. Some had a burning love for Jesus that demanded expression, and had to stay away from crowds, and couldn’t go shopping in the malls, the great temples of materialism. Unfortunately, these also owned a spray can of paint and even knew a few verses of the Bible. They paid no heed to the punch line of the proverb. In a brief moment of misdirected zeal, they forever desecrated the natural beauty from the Creator’s hand. They cheapened a rare desert sanctuary. Shame on them!

As Christ said of show-offs, “They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.” Matthew 6:5 CEV

Lord, teach us appropriate ways we can honor You.

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[i] Personal Photograph April 2, 2020