Joyce's Faith

In my experience I have never seen someone who lives out biblical faith like Joyce.

She can lie down in the midst of a maelstrom of danger and, if there is nothing to be done, go to sleep like a happy baby in Jesus's arms.

There is never "not enough." If we reach the end of our resources and one comes with a need, she gives them a place at the table. Very rarely do the people at the table get less than before the addition.
She has passed on these values to her children and grandchildren. This also includes our godsons and daughters, our students. Each one is a valuable part of God's creation plan and she treats them all that way. She has made an indelible Joyce-like mark on every life she has touched.

And now her last work for me is greater than all the others. I am able to do little more than a baby but she is there serving me with joy and enthusiasm enabling me to talk to and teach those who come.
She has not only kept her marriage vows but has served me with the humility, suffering and love of Jesus.

I could go be with Jesus at any time so I wanted to get this praise written down.

When I praise Joyce I praise Jesus because he is her source.

No one has taught me more about love than Joyce 

David L. Owen
March 13 2019, 3:38 AM

A (Hopefully) Minor Setback

I suppose one could say that we have had an exciting last few days. I began to notice that I was getting a little more tired than normal last Thursday but attributed it to the fact that I had been pushing myself on the treadmill.  Then, Saturday morning, when I woke up, I noticed a rash on my forearms. By Sunday the rash had spread all over my body. So it was back to the ER. After about 8 hours of testing, poking etc. they had eliminated measles, allergic reaction, blood clot (a possibility we were warned about as an after-effect of chemo), and several other possible causes. It came down to, basically, "we don't know." After seeing our local GP and oncologist the best guess is that it is a reaction to one of the new medicines I am taking or a reaction to all the childhood vaccinations I had to retake in December and January. We are taking a few days to wait and see what the rash will do. We also are getting an appointment with the dermatologist at Stanford to check it out. It seems like my body doesn't get normal diseases: just the rare and exotic. It was interesting to see how fast the hospital staff gets you out of the waiting room and into a private room in the ER when you are covered with red dots.

So, even though this seems very different than what we struggled with the last two years, it brings us right back mentally to where we have been. As Joyce said yesterday, "We waited two years to breathe again and then just one week later we feel like we're right back where we were." It is disappointing and a little discouraging. It's hard to be positive when you feel this bad. 

But God continues to minister. He spoke to me through Chrysostom in yesterday's devotional,

"Paul implies that there must be temptations which we cannot bear. What are these? Well, all of them in effect. For the ability to bear them comes from God’s grace, which we obtain by asking for it. God gives us patience and brings us speedy deliverance. In this way the temptation becomes bearable. Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 24.1, Ancient Christian Devotional C, 84 

Both Joyce and I would appreciate your prayers that the rash would go away and that the doctors could figure out what caused it. Then please pray that Joyce and I would be able to maintain a positive attitude. As always, we appreciate your prayers. 

The picture is from a week ago. I didn't include the "rash pictures" because I didn't want to gross anyone out.

Outline Mark 15:42-16:8 Revised

Adapted from Mark, The NIV Application Commentary by David E. Garland, 611

Structure Outline Chart of the Gospel of Mark

Devotional: The Present and Future Kingdom, Matthew 13:24-43

Matthew 13:24-43 contains the second round of Jesus’ parables in this central teaching section of the Gospel. As with the soils parable, Matthew has structured the passage so that the telling and explanation of the parable frame additional related teaching by Jesus. Thus, these sections need to be interpreted by and in reference to one another. Here Jesus is teaching about the present nature of the kingdom, from the ascension to the second coming, and how it compares and relates to the final kingdom that will happen when he returns. The parable of the wheat and the poison weeds teaches that, in the present age, the kingdoms of Satan and God will exist together and it will be sometimes difficult to tell who is who until the final judgment. God tolerates this because he wants as many as possible to make the decision to be part of his kingdom and receive his blessing before the final judgment and end of the age. The parables of the mustard seed and leaven explain that this will be because the present kingdom tends to appear small, hidden and insignificant, but it will permeate the world to become large and influential before Jesus returns. Jesus leaves his people mixed with the devil’s kingdom in this age so that we can be the means to bring them into Jesus’ final kingdom.

Jesus again uses a familiar agricultural image to make his point. (Matthew 13:24-30) Sometimes the enemies or business rivals of a wealthy landowner would secretly plant poisonous weeds in his field to ruin his crop. Once their roots intertwined, they would be very difficult to remove without damaging the wheat crop. However, once they were harvested they could easily be separated, the poisonous darnel burned for fuel, and the cash crop stored and sold. The main point of this story is that both God’s and Satan’s kingdoms will exist together in this present age, and it won’t be completely clear to us who are in and who are out until the return of Jesus. (Matthew 13:36-43) God is patient and wants that even the worst sinner will “reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9)” This also reminds us that it is not our place to judge the final destination of anyone. That should be left up to the “son of Man and his angels” (13:41). Our job now is to be the good soil that believes, perseveres, follows and serves in God’s kingdom. Even if we are misunderstood and seem insignificant and overlooked now, we can be certain that our faith will be vindicated by King Jesus when he returns.

The mustard seed and leaven parables amplify the point Jesus is making in the weeds and wheat parable (Matthew 13:31-35). Just like Jesus’ ministry at his first coming the kingdom will start in a small and hidden way. It will spread through relationships that bring Jesus’ blessing and care to the needy and multiply until it permeates the entire world. Like a mustard seed, it will start as the smallest of movements. But then it will grow to provide a place where all the weary and weighed down “birds” can “Come to me… and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:20). Like leaven, the kingdom of God invades the world in a hidden and inconspicuous way but then permeates all levels of society until it affects everything. The kingdom of heaven conquers by eating with sinners, healing the sick, including the outcast, reconciliation with enemies and displaying the humble servant heart of Jesus. This is how we earn the right to present the truth of who he is and the high requirements of his service.

This kind of meek and self-denying approach seems stupid by human standards. But Jesus’ resurrection and 2000 years of Christian history show that this is how God changes the world we live in. Let’s leave judgment and vindication to him and focus on what he calls us to do.

63 and Cancer Free

Today I have completed 63 orbits around the sun in my lifetime. I suppose that is a somewhat significant achievement, especially when you consider what we have gone through during the last three orbits. This year was the first time in three years, humanly speaking, that we were pretty sure I would make it through to this birthday. So here I still am "enjoying" a cold snowy day on my 63rd birthday. We are going to try to navigate our way down the steep driveway where we are staying in a few minutes, so we can go out with some friends (who have 4-wheel drive) for a birthday celebration. All of this is a tremendous testimony to God who preserves and gives us the years of our lives to invest for him, the prayers and care of our faithful friends, and the love of my family, especially Joyce. God Bless!

Structure of Matthew 13