Jeff Adams

What in the world is going on? I’m sitting here in Pennsylvania looking at the radar and Kansas City is ready to get slammed with another major snow storm. Good grief!!! I am a snow lover, but this is just over the top!

It was a gorgeous day here and we had a fabulous meeting talking about our fascinating and changing world. Technology is wonderful! This is the international board of Christar and we represent several different nationalities. One of our board members joined us from Hong Kong via Skype. We started at 6:00pm here and it was 6:00am tomorrow there.

Here’s what really concerns me. I have to fly home tomorrow night via Minneapolis. The weather there is not going to be a problem My flight is not scheduled to arrive in Kansas City until 11:30pm. Normally I would make it home around 12:30am. Tomorrow?? I need you to pray me home! Sunday is the day we begin three services.

An early morning flight took me to Philadelphia and from there I drove the hour and a half to Reading, PA. Many of you remember Steve and Beth C who were with us for our Bible Conference last Fall. Steve is the International Director/President of Christar and I have the joy of staying in their home tonight and tomorrow.

I have written about Christar on multiple occasions, an agency that specializes in spreading God’s transforming love among those who come from Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim backgrounds. Being around this wonderful group of people is a blessing, and I have the honor to be on both the international and US boards. We will have the international meeting tomorrow and the US meeting Saturday.

This is the next to the last time I will be here for a board meeting, because we have just purchased a building the Dallas area. Texas is the state where more Christar workers are from that any other. It is a key source of support and recruiting, and also offers the opportunity to be accessible for all parts of the country. The international airport is great, and the cost of living is very reasonable compared to the coasts. It will certainly make things more convenient for me to attend meetings, but pray for the many people who are moving across the country. You can imagine that this is a major challenge to each and every one of them. Some are excited because they are from that area. Others are wondering what they are going to find, having never lived in the middle of the country. God’s grace has been apparent in the sale of some of their homes here, but there is so much more to do. The goal is for everyone to be in place sometime this Fall. This is a major operation!

Speaking of prayer, thanks to those of you who have prayed for Cheryl and asked about her. She is doing better, though still weak. I spoke with her twice today and she seems so much better even from yesterday.

Hola amigos! Es un gozo saludarles en el nombre de nuestro Señor. El miércoles es el día de nuestro estudio bíblico en español y pensé saludar a mis lectores que son hispanoparlantes. Trato de poner algo en español cada vez en cuando.

Esta noche iniciamos un estudio a fondo de Génesis. La semana pasada ofrecí una introducción al libro. Les menciono esto porque apenas estamos comenzando.  A veces algunos me escriben preguntando si tenemos grabaciones de estudios míos en español. Tenemos algo mejor. En cada momento tenemos un buen archivo de estudios en nuestro sitio web. Pensando en el hecho de que iniciamos el estudio de Génesis, aprovecho para animarles a que nos sigan cada semana en este estudio.

Si vas a http:/kcbt.org y haces click bajo Servicio de Adoración, más información, esto te lleva a la página que tiene varias semanas de estudios. Lo que vi esta noche es precisamente la introducción a Génesis. Lo que hice esta  noche, Génesis 1:1, aparecerá dentro de  poco.  Puedes ir aquí si quieres ir directamente a la página con los estudios en español.

OK, after a week-long series about human suffering and several days of nursing a sick wife, I am in need of a bit of levity.  So, humor me.

Since Cheryl has been under the weather and not having much of an appetite, it fell to me last night to fend for myself for dinner. Not having had a bite to eat all day long, I was getting hungry. The cupboard was a little bare and I decided to go in search of one of  my favorite comfort foods – pizza! Since I would be eating alone and would not have a chance to do leftovers the next day, I thought I would try one of the many brands of frozen pizza that are on display in the local super.

I had not had frozen pizza for years.  Now I remember why. It was horrible. The crust was mostly hard. and the pizza itself had a somewhat metallic taste that must have come from the funky little cardboard/foil contraption that the pizza sits on in the microwave. A quick Internet search of reviews pointed me to DiGiorno. So, if that was one of the better ones, then I thank God I didn’t try one of the lesser ones!

In case this ever comes up again, does anyone have any better suggestions? And, while we are talking pizza, what is your favorite take-away pizza (not sit down in a restaurant pizza). My three favorites at this moment are Minsky’s combo from the Main Street location south of The Plaza, Tim’s on 4o Highway and the deep dish Chicago style from Rosati’s on 103rd Street whenever I need to gain a couple of pounds.

All week I have been sharing some thoughts on human suffering. Some of my readers have contributed wonderful thoughts both here in comments or on FaceBook. Let me offer one more post on some of the possible causes of human illness and suffering.

Most people have no problem accepting that something is terribly wrong in the cosmos. Wars, evil, horrible sickness, poverty, injustice, pain and suffering surround us. Even Nature is convulsed by earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, fire and flood. Why is this? Why would God allow this?

The short answer is sin. Not necessarily your sins or mine, but the sin of human kind, the consequence of disobedience to God’s truth. Perhaps the most succinct statement of this is in Romans 8:22 where the Apostle Paul says that all creation is groaning and suffering together waiting for God’s final redemption and the restoration of of all things.

Why wait? 2Peter 3 addresses this issue saying that God’s long-suffering is meant to give us opportunity to repent, change, by responding to his gracious offer of transformation based on death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is all good theology, but how does this help us when we or our loved ones are suffering devastating illness?

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James 5:14-15)

Many focus on the anointing of oil as though there were some mysterious power in a ceremony. The word James uses for anoint, however, is one not normally used in ceremonial sense, but in practical application. Oils were a vital part of medicine in the first century, and it seems James speaks of making use of the best of medical science. Notice he then says it is the prayer of faith that saves the sick, not a ceremonial application of oil. There is nothing wrong, though, with a ceremonial application of oil accompanied by prayer as a symbolic reminder of the power of God’s Spirit, something I have done many times.

Here are six brief reasons I can come up with for God’s purposes in our illness. I don’t claim to have all the answers and sometimes it may be a combination of reasons, some of which we may never fully understand.

• Violation of natural law. Poor eating choices, for example, can wreak havoc on the human body.
• Sin. Sometimes illness might be the direct consequence of sinful disobedience (Exodus 15:26).
• Satanic attack. This is what Job experienced within the sovereignty and determined parameters of God (Job 2:7). This opens an area that often extends far beyond our comprehension. Other examples: Matthew 9:32; 12:22; Luke 9:37-41; 11:14; 13:11-16
• As an instrument of God’s love and purposes in our lives. Paul’s thorn in the flesh is one such example (2Corinthians 12:7).
• To bring glory to God, as in the case of the blind man in John 9:1-3
• To get those he loves to Heaven (Psalm 116:15).

These reasons have been a comfort to me through the years. I have learned, though, that we will never reduce God to a formula or “figure him out.” Ultimately, we love him because he first loved us (1John 4:19). This is the foundation of our trust in him despite adverse circumstances.