Positive Side Of Cancer,Searching For The Truth

 

Facing mortality is a positive side of cancer and is a normal reaction to news like “you have cancer”. We have seen that it is positive because it makes us realize the brevity of life, and regrets in life, and third it makes us think about life hereafter and how to prepare for it. Not only think but prepare to meet GOD. Or put in another way we ask an important question what happens if I pass from time to eternity, what then? This has been a subject that maybe you don’t have a problem with. In America, probably one thinks of going either to heaven or hell. Of course some don’t even think that there is life hereafter. The religion of Ancient Egypt was a polytheistic (many gods) religion). Their religion hosted about 700 different gods and goddesses. In addition, it was not uncommon for deities to be combined to form a new deity. One of the more famous aspects of the Egyptian religious beliefs was their ideas of the afterlife. They believed the physical body had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to dwell in the afterlife. Because of this, mummification was performed to preserve the body. In addition, large pyramids were constructed as tombs for the pharaohs in the Old Kingdom. Later, rock cut tombs were used to bury the pharaohs.

Ther is only one reliable truth of what happens afeter life and it is the BIBLE.

Biblical perspective.

Generally speaking, the body dies, but the soul lives forever. The big question is where each person will spend eternity. Heaven is a glorious location where there is an absence of pain, disease, sex, depression, etc. and where people live in new, spiritual bodies, in the presence of Jesus Christ. Hell is a location where its inmates will be punished without any hope of relief, for eternity. Whatever the teachings one received, 3 truths become important when facing life hereafter. 1. Finding the truth 2. Believing the truth, 3. Living the truth.

A. FINDING THE TRUTH What is truth? Where is the truth? The Bible is the truth. Thankfully we know where the truth is.

The Bible is an extraordinary work of literature, and it makes some astonishing claims. It records the details of the creation of the universe, the origin of life, the moral law of God, the history of man’s rebellion against God, and the historical details of God’s work of redemption for all who trust in His Son. Moreover, the Bible claims to be God’s revelation to mankind. If true, this has implications for all aspects of life: how we should live, why we exist, what happens when we die, and what our meaning and purpose is. But how do we know if the claims of the Bible are true?

The Bible itself claims to be inspired by God. It does claim that all of its assertions are true and useful for teaching. Such statements do prove at least that the writers of the Bible considered it to be not merely their own opinion, but in fact the inerrant Word of God. However, arguing that the Bible must be true solelyon the basis that it says so is not a powerful argument. Yes, it is a relevant claim. But we need some additional information if we are to escape a vicious circle. argument for the truthfulness of the Bible concerns its uniqueness and internal consistency. The Bible is remarkably self-consistent, despite having been written by more than 40 different writers over a timespan of about 2,000 years. God’s moral law, man’s rebellion against God’s law, and God’s plan of salvation are the continuing themes throughout the pages of Scripture.

Archaeological discoveries have confirmed many events of the Bible. The excavation of Jericho reveals that the walls of this city did indeed fall as described in the book of Joshua.³Indeed, some passages of the Bible, which critics once claimed were merely myth, have now been confirmed archeologically. For example, the five cities of the plain described in Genesis 14:2 were once thought by secular scholars to be mythical, but ancient documents have been found that list these cities as part of ancient trade routes.

The Bible also touches on matters of science in ways that seem to go beyond what was known to humankind at the time. In Isaiah 40:22we read about the spreading out (expansion) of the heavens (the universe). Yet secular scientists did not discover such expansion until the 1920s. The spherical nature of the earth and the fact that the earth hangs in space are suggested in Scriptures such as Job 26:10 and Job 26:7 respectively. The book of Job is thought to have been written around 2000 BC—long before the nature of our planet was generally known. The truth of the Bible is obvious to anyone willing to fairly investigate it. The Bible is uniquely self-consistent and extraordinarily authentic. It has changed the lives of millions of people who have placed their faith in Christ. It has been confirmed countless times by archaeology and other sciences. It possesses divine insight into the nature of the universe and has made correct predictions about distant future events with perfect accuracy. It has solved the mystery of death and the fear of death for those that by fear of cancer or another sickness has had the inner erge to search the truth. The Bible is the TRUTH.

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A Positive Side Of Cancer Is Facing Godly Regrets That Changes Lives.

Before we begin today I would want you to know that we understand what you are going through and h

Before we begin today, I would want you to know that we understand what you are going through and have a genuine interest in helping you through your journey with cancer. That is the reason why we started “Hope Through Cancer” outreach and the cancer support group at “Seacrest Presbyterian Church” in Delray Beach, Florida at 7:PM Wednesday night.

So we saw last week that having cancer has its positive side, like facing mortality, which in turn brings us to the hard fact that life is brief. That alone usually changes our whole outlook on life and what is important. But when facing the end, it not only makes us realize the brevity of life, we are faced with regrets. Two subtitles would be 1.Godless regrets. 2. Godly regrets.

1. Godless Regrets (The Regrets In Life).

"For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10

It could be said that regret is a normal reaction, when considering the end of ones journey and to the fact that life is very short.

Since we don’t have the guarantee of tomorrow, and the fact we are only human beings with fragile characters with many flaws, having left a trail of wrong doings and mistakes, we are prone to easily regret some or many of the things we have done in the past. Now some of the regrets can hinder our progress to the end if it is something that should be dealt with to be able to move on.

It is surprising to hear famous people say that they do not have any regrets of what they did during their life time. Yet if compared to perfection, how can one not see things that are not regretable? How can they not see the importance of change and the desire to do better and be better?

“Many people we consider legends, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, remain so scarred by scandals, injustices and regrets from decades earlier that they're barely able to appreciate their accomplishments.” By Neil Straus.

If we look back and regret our wrong and it doesn’t turn us to God to change our hearts, we therefore have regret with out God. Godless! Many regret getting caught for doing wrong, but they do not regret the wrong they did. We need Godly regret.

2. Godly Regret.

Everyone experiences a certain amount of shame and regret over sins committed in their past. The Bible has much to say about shame and regret, and there are numerous examples of people in the Bible who experienced them. Take this one for example, Peter. John 13:37-38 describes the night of Christ’s betrayal. Right after the Passover meal, Peter tells Jesus that he would lay down his life for Him. Jesus responds by telling him that on that very night Peter would deny three times even knowing Him. Later that night, out of fear of losing his own life, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. After Peter’s denial of Christ that night, we see him go on and grow in his faith, eventually becoming one of the founding fathers of the early church in Jerusalem. He did indeed “strengthen his brothers” after turning back to Christ, as Jesus had foretold. While he must have lived with much shame and regret over his very public denial of Christ, his deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ overcame his emotions and feelings of failure. He realized that if Christ would not hold anything against him, neither should he hold anything against himself. Romains 8:1 says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

So, once we have confessed our sins, both past and present, we needn’t continue to live in shame and regret over them. God has forgiven us and forgotten those sins, but often we have to remind ourselves of that fact in order to forgive ourselves and move forward in newness of life.

Here is a list of some regrets that have haunted one that is a survivor.

1. Not having spent quality time with children or parents.

2. Wasted So much time on themselves and not others.

3. Having a grudge with a family member and never having settled it.

4. Not living for the Creator.

5. Having not been forgiving to others.

 

Even though He(God) is willing to forgive and forget, we are left with consequences that we must accept and deal with, to be able to continue our life in a fulfilled way. To be fully liberated one must turn to God.

For many who are severely bound up with things that may have occurred in the past –realize that God is inviting to you to come to Him for forgiveness. Many will need an inner healing from the Lord on certain issues. God wants you to let go of your past so you can fully fly into what He has in store for you in this life.

 

a genuine interest in helping you through your journey with cancer. That is the reason why we started “Hope Through Cancer” outreach and the cancer support group at “Seacrest Presbyterian Church” in Delray Beach, Florida at 7:PM Wednesday night.

So we saw last week that having cancer has its positive side, like facing mortality, which in turn brings us to the hard fact that life is brief. That alone usually changes our whole outlook on life and what is important. But when facing the end, it not only makes us realize the brevity of life, we are faced with regrets. Two subtitles would be 1.Godless regrets. 2. Godly regrets.

1.Godless Regrets (The Regrets In Life).

"For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10

It could be said that regret is a normal reaction, when considering the end of ones journey and to the fact that life is very short.

Since we don’t have the guarantee of tomorrow, and the fact we are only human beings with fragile characters with many flaws, having left a trail of wrong doings and mistakes, we are prone to easily regret some or many of the things we have done in the past. Now some of the regrets can hinder our progress to the end if it is something that should be dealt with to be able to move on.

It is surprising to hear famous people say that they do not have any regrets of what they did during their life time. Yet if compared to perfection, how can one not see things that are not regretable? How can they not see the importance of change and the desire to do better and be better?

“Many people we consider legends, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, remain so scarred by scandals, injustices and regrets from decades earlier that they're barely able to appreciate their accomplishments.” By Neil Straus.

If we look back and regret our wrong and it doesn’t turn us to God to change our hearts, we therefore have regret with out God. Godless! Many regret getting caught for doing wrong, but they do not regret the wrong they did. We need Godly regret.

2.Godly Regret.

Everyone experiences a certain amount of shame and regret over sins committed in their past. The Bible has much to say about shame and regret, and there are numerous examples of people in the Bible who experienced them. Take this one for example, Peter. John 13:37-38 describes the night of Christ’s betrayal. Right after the Passover meal, Peter tells Jesus that he would lay down his life for Him. Jesus responds by telling him that on that very night Peter would deny three times even knowing Him. Later that night, out of fear of losing his own life, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. After Peter’s denial of Christ that night, we see him go on and grow in his faith, eventually becoming one of the founding fathers of the early church in Jerusalem. He did indeed “strengthen his brothers” after turning back to Christ, as Jesus had foretold. While he must have lived with much shame and regret over his very public denial of Christ, his deepened understanding of the person and work of Christ overcame his emotions and feelings of failure. He realized that if Christ would not hold anything against him, neither should he hold anything against himself. Romains 8:1 says “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

So, once we have confessed our sins, both past and present, we needn’t continue to live in shame and regret over them. God has forgiven us and forgotten those sins, but often we have to remind ourselves of that fact in order to forgive ourselves and move forward in newness of life.

Here is a list of some regrets that have haunted one that is a survivor.

1. Not having spent quality time with children or parents.

2. Wasted So much time on themselves and not others.

3. Having a grudge with a family member and never having settled it.

4. Not living for the Creator.

5. Having not been forgiving to others.

Even though He(God) is willing to forgive and forget, we are left with consequences that we must accept and deal with, to be able to continue our life in a fulfilled way. To be fully liberated one must turn to God.

For many who are severely bound up with things that may have occurred in the past –realize that God is inviting to you to come to Hime for forgiveness. Many will need an inner healing from the Lord on certain issues. God wants you to let go of your past so you can fully fly into what He has in store for you in this life.

Woman Bounces Back from a Brain Tumor – Hope Through Cancer

Woman Bounces Back from a Brain Tumor – with Humor Intact
"I didn't even really believe that I had a tumor until I saw it on the MRI. Sometimes I look at the pictures with wonder. That was in my head?"

In 2004, Cullen Forrest was sitting with her husband at a restaurant, enjoying dinner out. In the middle of the meal, her body was rocked by a sudden grand mal seizure. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where an MRI revealed something she never expected: a mass the size of a lemon growing in the left hemisphere of her brain. Further tests determined that the mass was a type of brain tumor -- a mixed oligodendroglioma/astrocytoma.

In the space of a day, Forrest went from living life as a business consultant and newlywed to facing the news she had a tumor that took up nearly a quarter of the space of her brain.

She remembers what it was like to hear the news that she had cancer: “I didn’t even really believe that I had a tumor until I saw it on the MRI,” she says. “Sometimes I look at the pictures with wonder. That was in my head?”

The Challenges of Treatment

Soon after she was diagnosed, Forrest began treatment for the massive growth. First came a delicate brain surgery that successfully removed the bulk of the tumor. Weeks of chemotherapy, radiation, and speech therapy followed.

During her combination therapy, radiation proved to be one of the biggest challenges. “[It] made me very tired. I would work part time in the morning, go to radiation at 3:00 pm, and sleep until my husband came home from work at 6:30 pm.”

The radiation therapy also meant that Forrest lost the hair on the front of her head. “I was wearing folded bandanas like they were going out of style,” she says.

As a way to help her cope with the hair loss while benefitting others, she made plans to cut her hair short and donate it to charity. Those plans were thwarted when she learned that even a simple haircut would interfere with the delicate calibration of the mask she wore to help target her radiation.

“I was devastated,” she says, but on the last day of radiation, she and her husband celebrated in part by shaving off her remaining hair. Says Forrest, “I was proud to be a bald survivor.”

Finding Help

During her recovery, and still sporting a bald head, Forrest got an invitation to be a part of a good friend’s wedding. She reached out the American Cancer Society for help getting a wig.

“I was surprised at how good it looked,” she says. When another friend later invited her to take part in Relay For Life, the Society’s signature fundraising event, she welcomed the chance. “It was very exciting to walk the survivor’s lap and donate money to help find a cure.” She was one of the only people who had faced brain cancer there to take a victory lap.

Moving On and Facing a New Set of Challenges

More than 5 years after her startling diagnosis, Forrest has made a near total recovery and will celebrate her 35th birthday next month. “I am up to 99% of my normal capacity – some might argue that wasn’t a whole lot to begin with,” she jokes.

She also appreciates how fortunate she’s been. “I am lucky to have had a very fine neurosurgeon who removed it all. I am lucky to have a husband who has stood by me through this. I am lucky that my parents and extended family have supported me. I am lucky that I have had clear MRIs.”

Despite being cancer-free for more than half a decade, the shadow of the disease does still linger in unexpected ways. “As my husband was changing jobs, we applied for individual insurance. We knew that it would be a challenge given my medical history,” she says. “But I was turned down by every insurance company that we applied to. That is ridiculous; nobody asks to have cancer.”

Although the question of insurance looms, Forrest has been able to put her cancer in the rearview mirror and embark on another big adventure: motherhood. Today, she, her husband, and her 1-and-a-half-year-old son continue to thrive.

“I’m proud that I have survived this and have come to learn what is really important in my life,” she says. “I don’t have a lot of time for worrying because that just wastes energy that could be used towards doing something meaningful.”

Story from "American Cancer Society"