This coming Sunday we will wrap up our series on the Beatitudes.  I hope this series has encouraged you as each week we have focused on matters of the heart.  Our relationship with God is not what people see on the outside, but it is what is taking place in our hearts.  My prayer is that God continues to mature us and shape us into the people He wants us to be.

This coming Sunday, we focus on persecution.  We usually do not think of those who are being persecuted as those who are being blessed, but that is how the Scripture describes them.  I hope you will join us this Sunday as we look at what it means to be persecuted and how that makes us a blessed person.  If you have internet access, I would encourage you to go to www.persecution.com and sign up for their monthly newsletter.  May we all become prayer warriors for those who are sharing the gospel, even when it may cost them their lives.  May we also take advantage of the freedom we have to share God's love with everyone we come into contact with.

At the heart of persecution is suffering.  In several sermons lately, we have talked about suffering and how suffering helps us not only identify with Christ, but to become more like Him. To illustrate that, I would like to share part of an email with you that I received from Bobbie James.  As you know, Bobbie began a battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma several years ago. After going through all the treatments and everything she went through, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma back at the end of October 2007.  As Bobbie shared in her email, there have been numerous people that she has talked with that continue to suffer and go through difficult times.  In this email, she shared some of the things she realized about how God has used her cancer to make her into the woman she is today.  I would like to share the conclusion of her email with the hopes that we are more sensitive to those around us who are suffering.  May we also pray that God would use our joy and our pain however He sees fit.  It is all about Christ, and it is all for His glory!

I realized the following:

If I had not had cancer, would I have been as sensitive to needs and hurts of others in my community, family and world?

If I had not had cancer, would I have joined Team in Training to run in marathons & half marathons to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society?

If I had not had cancer, would I have prayed as much for other people?

If I had not had cancer, would I have visited web pages of those suffering with various diseases to post words of encouragement and concern?

If I had not had cancer, would I have taken the time to call or send a card to those who needed a lift of spirits?

If I had not had cancer, would I have been given and taken the opportunity to share my story and faith with total strangers or large groups of people?

If I had not had cancer and a bald head, would total strangers have came up to me to tell me about their story or would I have opened up to total strangers to find out more about what was going on in their lives so I could share my faith?

If I had not had cancer, would I have been living the healthy lifestyle that I do now by eating correctly and exercising faithfully? 

If I had not had cancer, would I have this much trust and faith in God that he will provide?

If I had not had cancer, would I have been sending emails like this to all of you and sharing my deepest and most inner thoughts in hopes to encourage or inspire others?

And the list could go on and on....  But guess what the answer to most of the questions would probably be?  "No," which tells me GOD HAS ME EXACTLY WHERE HE WANTS ME!

In closing, my prayer request to all of you this time is a little different.  I would ask that you not pray that my scans will be fine and I will be cured (although that would be good).  I would ask that you pray that God continue to put me where He wants me and if that path is being cured of cancer, living with cancer the rest of life, or dying of cancer that I will walk that path honoring Him.  That will be my prayer as well for each of you that no matter what your situation, that you will allow God to put you where He wants you, not where you want to be, and you will walk that path honoring him.

Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Bobbie!  May we as a church family surround Bobbie and all those who are suffering in our prayers.  We love you all who continue to fight the good fight and demonstrate such strength and trust in God.  You are an inspiration to all of us.