Don't Move

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (Jude 21).

Bill Bright was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. I love the article he once wrote in which he encouraged believers to "preach the gospel to yourselves every day." It is so easy as Christians to think the gospel is only for those who have not believed. That isn't the case at all.

The gospel is just as important to the believer 30 years after he or she has believed as the day he or she believed. As a Christian, my hope is in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Certainly I know that I have been made right with God through Jesus Christ. Yet salvation is a process. When I believed for the first time, my eternal destination was changed. My standing before God changed. I passed from death into life. Yet I am in the process of being saved. I don't mean I'm working for it. The Spirit of God continues to work in me to make me more like Jesus Christ and less like me. (No Amens or Hallelujahs please!)

Even so, the final part of salvation will not dawn until I get taken up into the presence of Jesus Christ where I will stand perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. I'm in the salvation process even though I possess salvation right now. There is no doubt of where I will spend eternity.

Now back to preaching the gospel to myself every day. Because I stumble and fall, I need the gospel. Every sin--past, present and future--Jesus bore in His body on the cross to death and then rose again. Although I am saved and all my sin has been paid for in full, I'm still imperfect. As a believer, if I lose sight of the gospel for me personally, I lose hope for my spiritual needs. It is by the cross I have received salvation, forgiveness and all spiritual blessings. And it is the gospel which reminds me of this and reminds me that I have the forgiveness I so desperately need day by day.

Therefore, when Jude, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, encourages believers to keep themselves in the love of God, I am reminded of my daily need to keep the gospel in full view. I need God's love. I need to keep myself in the middle of it. If I move out of it, I move into despair. If I move away from it, I move to self-dependence which reminds me I have nothing to offer for my greater need (a Savior). But I must keep in it, not moving, awaiting the mercy of Jesus Christ unto eternal life. As a believer, I need the gospel. And every time I share the gospel, it just reminds me how much more I need it.

Micah is resting well right now. The procedure took about two hours today. The biopsy was not performed, however. The initial test showed that the main bile duct leading out of the liver that connects to the intestines was completely obstructed at the point of connection between it and the intestines. The doctor tried to place a catheter through the blockage in an attempt to open it up. After the second try, the decision was made to stop.

Instead, the doctor placed a bile drain tube that runs out of Micah into a bag. Sometimes in these cases where the bile has backed up, there can be inflammation in the liver and surrounding area, as well as the bile could have infection in it. The goal is to let the bile drain out and repeat the procedure the early part of next week. Often the next try will be successful after the bile has drained and some of the inflammation has gone away.

There is uncertainty as to why the blockage occurred. It could be a result of scar tissue that closed it off or part of the PTLD. The biopsy was not performed since the apparent cause of the enzyme levels and bilirubin increase is the blockage and since there is an increased risk of problems should the bile be infected when the needle is inserted into the liver to draw the tissue sample. A biopsy could still be performed next week when the doctor tries to open the blockage again. We will wait and see. If this method is unsuccessful, the alternative option is surgery to physically go inside and fix the blockage.

In the midst of the ups and downs, the constant reminder of God's love and my need to stay in the middle of His love has proven crucial. I am grateful how the Lord provided for our entire family today. I am thankful He brought Micah through yet another procedure and sedation, as well as strengthened Sarah and me.

Please pray for Micah and the blockage--to be removed with or without the procedure.