O Spirit of Goodness,
We stand this morning under the waterfall of Your grace watching our human vessels overflow with your wasteful love. Our actions do not merit Your excess. Forgive us, O God, when we feel empty and isolated. We have but to turn into Your embrace to be filled beyond capacity. Your benefits are there for us always, but it is up to us to be receptive. We repent, O God. We turn around. Thank you for Your never ending love. We pray in the name of the one who showed that love to the world, Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
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Ila Crain had a massive heart attack on Monday and was taken to the Heart Hospital in OKC and is in room 222. She is doing better. I plan to go to OKC tomorrow afternoon to see her.
WWNF begins this evening with a meal at 5:15 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, a brief Chapel service at 6:00 p.m. and choir/classes at 6:30 p.m. I will be teach an adult classes entitled “Beginnings: The Spiritual Life”. This is a video based study of Christian spirituality that introduces and explores spiritual “habits of the heart,” including centering, loving, serving, questioning, and engaging. Each session includes a video presentation and group discussion. This class is open to all interested adults.
On a personal note: As most of you know, I was to go to Dallas last Wednesday to begin a trial on a new drug for my stage of prostate cancer. I received a call on Tuesday afternoon saying that my PSA was going down and that excluded me from the trial. They sent orders for me to get PSA tests at St. Mary’s last Friday and next Friday. I complied and the PSA last Friday showed a further drop. That, of course, is good news. If the test this Friday shows an increase in the PSA, then I will go to Dallas and begin the trail drug. If it continues to fall, then we are in a “wait and see” mode and the situation will be monitored with regular PSA tests. While I was “set to go” for the new drug, and a little bit frustrated, this is all good news. I attribute the improvement to prayer and my body’s response to being taken off one of my regular drugs a few months ago. They refer to it as Casodex rebound. All in all, this is good news. Thank you for your concern and your prayers.
The scripture reading for today is Matthew 8:1-17: When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.
When Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever; he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, “He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
Grace and peace,
John McLemore
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