The Cancer Parable

Those who have been following our family cancer journey will know that for several months I have been researching alternative treatments that might kill and/or prevent cancer.

One of the things I have learned is that cancer cells cannot survive in an alkaline environment, while healthy cells flourish.
These destructive little cancer critters are themselves destroyed when the body they are invading is alkaline - has a PH somewhat above 7.

So Darrell, who has had his third case of brain cancer in less than 10 months, is working at maintaining his PH at 8 or 9, a level which is about 50 or 60 times more alkaline than it normally is.
If the science we have been reading is correct, Darrell's cancer cells (and any other unwelcome products of an acidic environment) should be killed in this environment and expelled from his body.

I have also been thinking a lot about the kingdom of God lately, and how we can live successfully as participants in it.
And I've been noticing an interesting parallel with my cancer research.

If the Scriptures are correct, being filled with the Holy Spirit also produces two outcomes.
Firstly, the sin/worldliness in us is killed and expelled from our lives and ministry, as evil cannot survive in a spirit-filled environment.
Secondly, the good/Godliness already in us is enriched and empowered to be even more effective in kingdom duties and responsibilities.

So just as Darrell is working to keep his body more alkaline to rid his body of unwanted nasties and to enrich his healthy cells and organs, we need to work at keeping ourselves more spiritually saturated and Christ-oriented to rid ourselves of the nasties that compromise our witness as followers of Jesus and to make us more responsible and productive members of Christ's kingdom.

Blessings, Barry

Is God Rational?

As most of you know, I am in a new (for me) Christian environment, so I spend much of the time listening and learning, and only occasionally asking a question or offering a comment. 
And, as you would also know, being more of an observer than a leader in a Bible study setting is also very new to me.  :-)

In a recent Bible study discussion on God and the possibility that He might, or might not, be involved in our personal lives, it was suggested that we must be rational when formulating our ideas about God and the ways He operates.
Being the observer that I have currently chosen to be, I allowed that suggestion to go without question or comment, and the discussion headed off in another direction.

I know you find that action (or inaction) on my part hard to believe, because you know how God has been involved in our lives over several decades in ways that are impossible to describe as rational.
But I will break my silence here. 

The ways in which God has shifted us around the country, the miracles we have been privileged to see in our various adventures and ministries, and the way He has brought us through several family challenges, all point to a God who intervenes in lives in ways that refuse to be restricted by mankind's sense of rationality.

But let me generalise beyond my personal experience, so we can all address this question together.

God's grace is nowhere near rational.
Is it rational, can we really comprehend, that the Creator of this universe extends grace and mercy in such awesome measure as He has and does towards such a wayward and rebellious humanity?

Christ's resurrection is not rational - nor will ours be.
Is it rational that God's forgiveness is given to all without any performance or sacrifice on our behalf, but solely as a result of Christ's death and resurrection?

Christ's teaching is often not rational either.
For example, He tells us to .....

• forgive without limit - yet a rational mind would declare there are some things that are unforgivable, and some forgiven people will never change their offensive behaviour but seek to take advantage of us.
• be at peace with all - yet a rational mind would suggest that violence and evil will run rampant when surrounded by such a pacifist mindset.
• give unstintingly to the poor and needy - yet a rational mind would suggest that too much of that will only encourage some people not to work or even try to get a job.
• love our enemies and do good to them - yet a rational mind would such that such a response would encourage our enemy to totally destroy us.

For me, God is way beyond rational.
To create this enormous universe out of nothing is way beyond rational itself, let alone His dealings with it and those He created to populate and manage it.

"Rational" belongs to our limited, but logical, way of thinking - not to God's.
We can't confine God to the same size box most of humanity lives in.

Let's continue to look for the irrational, the supernatural, from the God who loves, forgives and sustains us without limit.
Blessings, Barry