Good morning, friends of PTAM!
Anastasia joins me in sending our love at
the beginning of this New Year, trusting that God’s abounding favor will be
bestowed upon you and your loved-ones throughout 2008.
For those of you who have supported PTAM
with your financial resources, we want to express our deepest gratitude
for your sacrificial generosity, notes of encouragement and
prayers. Realizing that you have many choices for your charitable gifts,
we are humbled, privileged and honored that you would entrust a portion of your
treasure with us. As you know, PTAM is a non-denominational faith ministry
whereby we trust God for His provision. For over 25 years we’ve seen the
faithful hand of God meet all of our needs (spiritual, physical and
material), thus we are constantly mindful that God is sovereign in bestowing
His blessings on one’s ministry as declared by John the Baptizer, “A man can
receive only what is given him from heaven.” We thank God, and you, for
being that chosen instrument through which He has blessed us! Thank you ever so
much! (Enclosed is your tax-deductible receipt for the year 2007)
WHAT WE’VE BEEN LEARNING
With all the challenges of the past few
years, we have come into 2008 with a residue of some of those maladies, but we
are hopeful that this year will be one in which we experience the healing touch
of our Great Physician. We have been much in prayer, fasting and doctor
appointments, but even so, we know that not all receive healing for their
afflictions.
In recent days, I was talking with a friend
who implied, ever so subtlety that possibly there were some unconfessed sins in
our lives that were hindering our healing. Being mindful of the subject of
sickness, my thoughts went to a number of Scripture verses, one being Micah
6:13, “I will make you sick, striking you down, desolating you because of
your sins.”
Knowing that we are frail creatures of the
dust, we have always tended to lay ourselves before God, beseeching Him to show
“any wicked way in [us]” (Psalm 139:23, 24)—and indeed He has been
faithful to our request over these many years.J Yes, we are continuously repenting sinners
but our faith, trust and hope is unalterably anchored in our most merciful and
gracious Lord Jesus Christ.
Certainly, “one’s sin” can be
a cause of sickness, but there are other causes as well. “Suffering unto
God” could be a cause of sickness; this means God calls one to a
“ministry of suffering.” No one queues up for this exercise but we do see God
calling special folk to such a work. Obviously, Job is one example. Another is
the Apostle Paul (II Corinthians 12), who had an affliction and pleaded three
times for God to heal him. But wasn’t and instead was told, “My grace is
sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Apparently, this disease was a means to “keep [Paul] from becoming conceited
because of [the] surpassingly great revelations” that were given him from
God. Joni Erickson Tada is a contemporary example of God calling one to be His
messenger to the world from her wheelchair. She, like Paul, prayed and hasn’t
been healed but has responded, “I delight in weaknesses, in hardships, in
persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v.10).
What blessed models Job, Paul and Joni have been for all believers!
A third cause of sickness could be labeled, “suffering
unto death.” In other words, God allows sickness to be the means
by which He calls us home. We see this illustrated in II Kings 20:1 whereby “Hezekiah
became sick and was at the point of death,” and the Lord said, “ Set
your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.” Now that’s
rather explicit. Granted, Hezekiah pleaded with God to heal him and He did by
adding 15 years to his life, but those years became the worst of his life
because “his heart was proud.” (II Chr. 32:25, 26). Moral of the story?
Check your pride at the door and be cautious what you pray for!
So, how should one pray in the midst of
affliction? Well, it’s easy to give advice when one has never been at the
“crash site” of life. But for those who have the “dirt” under their
fingernails, who have been there, done that and have the T-shirt to prove it,
those are the ones we tend to listen to. So, here are a few biblical bullet
points that we’ve learned from others and through our own weakness and frailty:
•Be
sure your soul, the most valuable possession you’ve ever been given, is being
renewed day by day (I Cor. 4:16).
•Ask
the Spirit to search your heart for any unconfessed sin (Ps. 139:23, 24).
•Keep
short accounts; confess and repent of all known sin (I John 1:9).
•Pray
being filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18b; 6:18).
•Pray
the will and purpose of the Father to be accomplished (Mk. 14:36).
•Pray
with the ultimate desire of life in mind: “For to me, to live is Christ and
to die is gain….which is better by far.” (Phil. 1:21, 23b).
•And
remember the wisdom of Job 13:15…
“Though
He slay me, yet will I hope (trust) in Him.”
not
If I trust
Him, He will not slay me.
Thanks again for your love, prayers and
support!
Have a most blessed 2008,
R A Burr
