Artificial Heart

Can man live an artificial heart? I don't want to be so rash as to say "NO!" but To this day not one human has lived with an artificial heart and survived. 

In 1982 one of the first artificial heart surgeries was performed on a dentist from Seattle. He suffered in agony for 112 days then passed away. 

Another man from Indiana replaced his heart and lived a little bit better of a life, but complications quickly caught up with him and he passed away. Not before speaking with Ronald Reagan and being apart of his towns parade. 

I don't think that being a cyborg makes you less human. I personally think that our humaness prevents us from allowing cyborgness from taking over. 

Our bodies are so sensitive to types of bacteria that it prevents the artificial hearts from working. 

It is hard for me to remember that my body is made up of many members, and these members are saved with me in the salvation of the LORD. In as much as these members are under the curse of sin on earth. Such as my heart. 

This made me think of Paul when he wrote. 

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

(Romans 6:19 ESV)

In as much as I can by the strength of Christ I will set my members towards His service. I leave my sinful heart in His hands. I leave my beating heart in His hands. Nothing artificial simply weak. 

source:http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/12/dayintech_1202jarvikheart/

I wait.

The love I have experienced is deep,

The love I have seen is sobering,

Why then does my heart go on rejecting?

LORD my Messiah you have given me You,

there is always doubt within and constant regret,

This curse of being human encompasses the truths of your blessings.

The Psalmist wrote; Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!

Again I am reminded and my heart is projecting

The light of your salvation in my life.

I smile and at peace.

I am here waiting patiently for You LORD, my Messiah.

Amen

Living

In a time of prayer last night I called out desperately to Christ asking what vision it was He has for my life. The Holy Spirit sent this scripture to my heart.


Galatians 5:22-26

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.


Through Christ I am loving, joyful, patient, kind, good, faithful,gentle and have self control.

The LORD's plan for my life is not different than to have this fruit.

I pray despite how I feel today tomorrow and all days following I am an example of these fruit. I trust that with Christ's help all things are possible and I know that He desires good for my life, and for your life despite what your current circumstances are.

Lord be with me today another new day to present myself as a living sacrifice for your glory. Thank you for guarding my heart and protecting me from my enemies. Lord you say "seek my face" and I seek so desperately for you. Lift me.

Amen.

LORD you and I need to talk tonight. Please remind me about David and about Jonathan. Talk to me about my brother and how we used to play.

LORD I look forward to how you use the past to create my future.

Yah

though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

(1 Timothy 1:13-15 ESV)

Though I am a great sinner, once a man who secretly lived in unbelief my God's grace over flowed for me. My faith in peace in fully satisfied in Him. 

My relationship with Christ is not one of CO-DEPENDANCE 

It is one of FULL-DEPENDANCE. 

 

in the midsts of being saved I am not satisfied until I am with my Savior.

LORD Here I am.

I have realized something about myself this weekend. I depend far to much on coffee.

This morning I sat in church and went to my grandparents for lunch. I began getting a monster headache and could barely eat anything, and laid down on the couch for three hours.

This is not the first caffeine headache i have ever had, and I should know better than to let my body become that codependent on something like coffee.

Coffee is pretty sneaky and tricks me.


Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

(2 Timothy 2:20-26 ESV)


I think that much like coffee Satan sneaks into our lives and destroys us, tricking our minds that we need something other than Christ to make it in this world.

Granted coffee is not Satan, and I still will drink coffee but thinking about how sneaky it is helped me realize how demonicly sinister Satan is.

LORD help me to be a wooden cup in Your house ready for use when You need me, fill me with grace to share with Your guests.

Amen

Oh sweet sorrow what burning loss.

How often I believe and yet still pray for that unbelief,

My courage to often a whim of emotion,

no foundation in devotion.

LORD my delight, corrector of things I thought

sending the Helper to bring concrete my emotional feet.

Implant your word in my Heart so the scoffers won't mock,

Plant me in Your vineyard; be my guard.

Let me be troubled in spirit and like Christ testify of my gardener.

Let me be, "Like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season"

and let not my leaf wither; in all I do I prosper by You my Messiah.

(Psalm 1 paraphrased)

For my God knows the plans He has for me!

At home, wherever.

I burnt my tongue today. I hate it when this happens. I lose the ability to taste certain flavors and other flavors become out of control! 

I read this when I woke up this morning. 

I thought of you. 

The heart knows its own bitterness,

and no stranger shares its joy.

(Proverbs 14:10 ESV)

Thanks HEART. 

God once again I lay this heart on the table. 

Daily I see this pattern that makes me able. 

I look back as He sets me free

Is it ok to play in this field? 

A smile of encouragement 

There is no containing how cavalier my body becomes.

Set free by Christ my heart is home. 

Slave to a new master

I had a conversation today with a wise man that shared with me proper prayer and appropriate prayer. 

He was talking about praying for the will of God. In all circumstances pray that God be at work teaching you. 

Don't block His Spirit from sending its grace in your life. Allow Him to touch you, move you and be at work loving on you forward into His kingdom. 

There have been times that I felt jilted or miss treated and find excuses not to allow God to love me back into righteous joy. 

This leaves me simply miserable considering the only one I trust I am pushing away.  

He also reminded me that no matter where you are and what you do you are counseling people by your actions. 

The Holy Spirit brought to my mind the people God has sent me even in this past week to talk with. 

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

(Romans 6:19 ESV)

Though I will never be perfect my master will direct me to righteousness. 

When I am in the world with the MARK of Christ in my actions lawless men and women will recognize Christ in me. 

Thank you LORD for continuing to send people into my life that encourage me and speak truth to me. Thank you for the lost men and women that I have been able to share your name to. Take my tongue and make it have the fragrance of your words. I depend on you- I will only say something stupid. 

-AMEN

A man from APOLLO

I love getting to know people. God sent me a special man to get to know today. One of our employees is an elderly gentleman who does handy work for our company. I have given him endless amounts of tasks in the last couple of months. In that time I never had the opportunity to talk with him.

Today God gave me the chance to sit down and find out how he ended up working with us.

To my delight I found out he lived in Florida for a long time in the city of Mims very close to an area I grew up in! He worked with NASA during all of the APOLLO missions, missing only two- the tragedy of the first APOLLO mission and the glory of the last one which was the only one to launch at night.

He was full of inside stories of each of the missions, and was apart of the team that worked with Ken Mattingly simulating solutions for the APOLLO 13 disaster.

God gives each of us such amazing experiences. And when we let Him write our story we can talk about our lives with a history of JOY.

As he sat and told me these stories I could see a twinkle in his eye with an air of excitement. I look forward to speaking about what Christ has done in my life with a twinkle in my eye and air of anticipation for what He has for me next.

Break me LORD, mold me!
My history is Your story.
I flee from a broken past in my eyes,
All I see from Your arms is a life flowered by Your grace.

Perspective seems everything
From my eyes I see blame and shame,

From your ROCK I see my life whole
from pieces to peace.

I praise only You.

AMEN

http://youtu.be/xnWw24s5gG8

LORD you are my light my salvation my grace.

You know my desire to glorify you. I am Yours. You have bought me.

No guilt in life, no fear in death. This is the power of YOU in me!

I love you so much my Christ.

Amen

Inner Hope

I went and saw "The Muppets" with my sisters and cousins tonight.

I am always inspired when I see the creativity of others. I love seeing  stories come together and a plot twist and turn.

It is also interesting how much philosophy and world view come into play in a movie created for children.

The main character is encouraged to discover within himself the special gift he can add to the group- to believe in himself and then he can succeed.

I have found that if I was to follow this idea for my own life I would be terribly disappointed with myself.

The Psalmist writes this to our God:


I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
(Psalm 139:14 ESV)

God has created you and me as individuals and we are to find our hope in Christ. When I look within myself as a Christian I see that He is the one holding me together. If I was not saved I would look inside for some form of hope and find myself empty and without help.

Obviously this movie was from a secular perspective attempting to encourage young people and build self esteem.

In fact I really enjoyed the movie and laughed through most of it. I wish the creativity of these writers could be used to help young Christian children laugh and find their inner hope in Christ.

We all are created with WONDER and MIRCLE by a LORD who LOVES us. He has given each a gift and when you find Him that gift can be used FULLY.

LORD thank you for completing me.

Amen.

Prayer

What is my prayer but what my heart feels? 


Does my prayer need to be logical? 


Does my prayer need to behave in a certain way in order for there to be a response? 


Logic:


God is Love


My prayer needs to be directed towards love. 


My need is God. My need is LOVE. 


LORD my lack is love, my lack is YOU. Fill my cup, run over. 


_________________________


"Surprised by Joy"
SURPRISED by joy--impatient as the Wind I turned to share the transport--Oh! with whom But Thee, deep buried in the silent tomb, That spot which no vicissitude can find? Love, faithful love, recalled thee to my mind-- But how could I forget thee? Through what power, Even for the least division of an hour, Have I been so beguiled as to be blind To my most grievous loss?--That thought's return Was the worst pang that sorrow ever bore, Save one, one only, when I stood forlorn, Knowing my heart's best treasure was no more; That neither present time, nor years unborn Could to my sight that heavenly face restore.
-William Wordsworth

Certainly 'feelings' have a place integrated with the logic of my prayer.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

(Psalm 42:5-6 ESV)

What is with the drama?

I look back and am so excited because I am not there any more.

I am glad that God has created time so that we can move on with life and not sit in one place at a constant state.

People who say they are trustworthy some times aren't. People are simply disappointing, me included.

I praise my LORD for giving the promise of making perfect in me, something I cannot do.


My son, keep my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
bind them on your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
(Proverbs 7:1-3 ESV)

When ever anyone actively pursues wisdom the LORD greatly provides.

James writes,


If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
(James 1:5 ESV)

Now James also reminds the reader that also:


But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
(James 1:22-25 ESV)

I don't know about you but if I am not actively in the WORD of GOD then I actively forget the WORD of GOD. It is WORK- Therefore an ACTION VERB! Not that my SALVATION is dependent on this WORK but my expression of LOVE is.

How does God know I love HIS grace that He gave me FREELY? By my LOVE in OBEDIENCE.

Some times people have a way of suffocating any freedom in grace. Surely they have forgotten that it is only by GRACE that any OBEDIENCE is capable.

GRACE not taken for granted (ROMANS 6 in mind).

Remember you and I are sinners; our natural intent is always wrong. That is why Paul reminds us in Philippians to train our minds.


Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
(Philippians 4:8 ESV)

Granted people can spend their lives working out and using a microscope to discover all the sins. And as they see each of them attach that label to themselves.

ex. "I am a liar." "I am a murder." "I am glutton." "I am an alcoholic."   ...ect.

People will hold on to these sins as something not rid of but apart of their being. Granted this is a fallen world and each of the examples are mere attributes to the problem of sin.

SIN conquered on the CROSS and LIVED out in a BELIEVER or CHRISTIAN.


“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV)

You and I need to be saying- nay yelling this;

"GLUTTONY where is your sting?!"
"LYING you are DEAD!!"
 "HATE there is DEATH for you LOVE indwells me now!!!"
"DRINK you have LOST Christ has the VICTORY!"

 LORD build me. ENGRAVE  Your wisdom on my heart. I know I am slow; teach me on Your time. I am here. A willing vessel. 


AMEN 

Matthew 5:2-11
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Recently it has come to my attention that a new change is about to take place in my life. I know above all things if I express what Christ spoke in this sermon He will guide me through this new part of my life.

Christ you alone I lean on. You are my reputation. I don't care what people think. I live for the LORD.

Deuteronomy 13:4 "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him."

I read this verse this morning and have been thinking about it all day.

Many Blessings

Have you ever been angry with God? I have; much like being angry at a parent you might recent the choices God has made for your own life. 

What snapped me out of my anger from God most recently was a visit from three dear friends. Never calling me out their actions and nearness to God caused me to realize what I was neglecting. 

I missed my Father. I spent two days holding healthy discussions and active time hanging out. 

My friend Mike and I began a discussion of what I call "Getting there , but not there yet", and what he calls being SANCTIFIED. 

Growing as a man he was telling me is a tenuous and difficult process of actively choosing wise choices consecutively one after the other. Our natural man always wants selfishly for himself and recognizing those choices and deciding against them. 

He went on reminding me that Satan above all things wants us to forget these verses.

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

(Romans 6:9-11 ESV)

WE as saved men and women have conquered DEATH by Christ, and also by Christ have CONQUERED sin. Because the death of our flesh will fall away but we live on in Christ. 

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LORD thank you for your persistence in teaching me and helping me grow into a man. 

Amen.