Mark 9:14-29 (The Message)
14-16When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, "What's going on? What's all the commotion?"
17-18A man out of the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn't."
19-20Jesus said, "What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here." They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.
21-22He asked the boy's father, "How long has this been going on?"
"Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"
23Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."
24No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"
25-27Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: "Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!" Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, "He's dead." But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.
28After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, "Why couldn't we throw the demon out?"
29He answered, "There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer."
I want to share with you a modern day story of healing. You all have heard me talk about Justin, who had Stage IV lung cancer. Oncolink, THE WEB’S FIRST CANCER RESOURCE, says, “In stage IV lung cancer, which is the most advanced stage, the cancer has spread outside the chest. Once this has occurred, with rare exceptions, it cannot be cured with any form of treatment. For patients who are well enough to tolerate the side effects, chemotherapy may prolong survival by a few months, but it is not curative treatment.” So Justin was one of those rare exceptions. Why? Because this was an opportunity for God to show His power and might, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:3 NIV). Kristy and Justin found God through this journey. They learned to praise God through the storm. They learned to trust in Him and to leave no room for doubts or "ifs." They praised God with gratitude and thanksgiving. They thanked God for His perfect healing. They trusted in what God could see, what the doctors could not. PRAISE GOD!!
Caringbridge.org is a website designed to help those in need of healing. The first entry on Justin’s website reads,
•Today our fight begins -
I (Kristy, Justin's wife) am about to share with you an e-mail that I wrote to my immediate family in response to some inspirational words that were shared with us. Below is the e-mail and I hope it allows you all to understand how we're dealing and feeling about the diagnosis yesterday...
We're just KNOWING that Justin's going to be a walking talking miracle. From what I do know about lung cancer, there's only a 3% chance that he could have gotten it in the first place being 28 years old... the 5 year survival rate is only like 15% for lung cancer patients, and I understand that's normally for people who hasn't had it spread (Justin's has spread to the bones - that much we know, he's likely in a Stage IV). So, maybe every odd is stacked against us. I dunno.. I dunno much of anything other then the FACT that we're going to stay positive and we'll get through this. We have a long fight ahead of us, and it's not going to be easy. But now we know what we're dealing with... the "not knowing" over the past few days was the worst. It's time to be strong and time to push forward and face what has been dealt to us. We have Duke in our backyard and we're going to be seeing one of the best oncologists in the country for lung cancer treatment. Plus, I don't think it's a coincidence that Justin's cousin's wife is a nurse for Dr. Crawford and is going to do everything in her power to get Justin on the schedule ASAP... that is the powers at be... that is not just "lucky"... we're going to beat it! We've had our pity party.. we've cried, and cried, and cried some more. But, now that all changes... tears and feeling sorry for ourselves won't heal Justin. Faith, positive thinking, and just knowing and believing will get us through this.
We're strong and we're going to do EVERYTHING and ANYTHING to beat this... it's going to be ok. We both have jobs who are supporting us through it all... that's quite a blessing in itself.
Plus, with so many people caring and praying for us, and supporting us... there's no reason for us to be negative. Justin smoked for 14 years and on his 28th birthday in April he laid them down and hasn't looked back. Ironically, that's right around the same time that all this happened and he started seeing this doctor and that doctor about the pain. But, Justin's going to survive this and he's going to go on to educate others about the dangers of smoking so young - he will be an inspiration to others! We all think when we're in our teens and twenties that we're invincible to all this stuff and nothing bad can happen to us... Justin's going to go on to help alot of people... I know this... I believe this, I understand that this is why this is happening to us.
Our two-year old little boy, Jeffrey (more so then me) is going to be Justin's rock... Justin will see his boy grow up - know that!! Miracles happen everyday, now it's our turn for one.
I will also tell you that the day before the diagnosis Robin, a close friend of mine at work, came over to me and put her diamond cross necklace around my neck. This friend of mine was born with CF... last year she was on her last breaths and fighting with everything in her to survive. She got her miracle of new lungs and never lost hope... plus, she's doing awesome today. She put her cross around my neck and told me (in so many words), "I got my miracle last year, I swear that my lucky cross and faith brought me it... now it's your family's turn". I didn't know anything about her "lucky cross" but the day of the diagnosis I found out from her mom that Robin was given that cross by her father when she was so sick... she hasn't taken it off since. Now, that's selfless... and that's the kind of people we have by our side to help us get through this. Our amazing friends and wonderful family... they'll help us fight back! I don't know how to even describe it, but I've felt such peace since she placed it on my neck... I hold it and just pray that God will heal Justin.
In closing, we don't want anyone to feel sorry for us... this is the hand we've been dealt, so today our fight begins. We are putting this into God's hands as we know that He will lead the way to complete healing.
Send lots of healing prayers... KNOW and BELIEVE that he will be healed... we'll get through it.
With Kristy, there were no ifs. She knew and believed he would be healed. I love that I am able to put those verbs in the past tense. And here’s why.
•**REMISSION *** CLEAN SCANS**
These are the words we heard today!! Dr. Crawford said that he would consider Justin to be in remission!! His PET/CT scan showed that his liver was 100% clean (no evidence of disease at all) and even though there are still some “spots” on his lungs and spine they showed zero signs of active cancer . It is all gone! Dr. Crawford's exact words were, “These scans are about as good as they get”.
Yesterday when I updated I forgot that we still had Avastin & Zometa treatment after the appointment (where I'm updating from now... the treatment room). I figured no need to wait to share the good news until after we got home and he could put on his Survivor shirt (check back later for a picture)! I told Dr. Crawford about the shirt and how it's been hanging in our bedroom for almost a year now... waiting to be worn... waiting until we heard that sweet word, “remission”... Dr. Crawford smiled, and patted Justin on his shoulder and said... “Go put on that Survivor shirt, buddy. You deserve it”.
The most incredible thing happened yesterday! I picked Jeffrey up from school and on the way home we were saying prayers and out of the blue Jeffrey said, “it's coming”. I asked “what's coming, baby?” and he replied... “God and Jesus and the miracle”. With a stunned face and goose bumps all over I said, “Baby, who told you that” and he replied “God and Jesus did, mama”. As soon as Justin arrived home I said, “Jeffrey, tell Daddy what you told Mama is coming”... and sure enough, the same words came out of Jeffrey's mouth. As Justin looked at us speechless, I hugged him and said, “God is speaking to us through Jeffrey... rest your mind... tomorrow is going to be perfect”.
So, obviously the goal is to keep Justin in remission. We're going to meet with a nutritionist to get Justin's diet in check and he stays on Avastin indefinitely. We are witnessing a true-life miracle here... and I can't even express to any of you how grateful we are to be on the receiving end. Today we both received our crown of life... THANK YOU GOD! “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12)
Continue to keep us in your heart and prayers... I know that a LONG lifetime of remission is in Justin's future!
JUSTIN IS HEALTHY!!!!!!!!!
So here’s what we need to do. We need to know and believe that God will bring us to good health. He will walk with us on journey and keep us strong. God can heal us, too. Yes, He even sees those of us who want to lose weight and tone up just as He saw those demon-possessed, blind and arthritic. He sees everyone. And we need to stop worrying about why and how we got this way. We need to praise God for this opportunity of growing closer to Him.
If You Think You're Beaten
If you think you're beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost for sure, you won't.
If you think you're losing, you've lost.
For out in the world we find -
Success begins with a person's will,
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you're outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise.
You have to stay with it,
In order to win the prize.
Life's battles don't always go,
To the one with the better plan.
For more often than not, you will win,
If only you think you can.
Let us pray together our memory verse.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I would also like to thank you, God, for Justin's good health. You are an awesome God. Thank you for Justin's continuous good health and for keeping him in remission, Lord. Thank you for walking beside us on all of our journeys.
Amen
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