PCM 11-18-2011 Suffering is a pain in the...

PCM 11-18-2011 Suffering is a pain in the...

The short version:

He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone."Revelation 21:4 MSG

The more detailed version:

Here is an article from my friend Steve of Tasmania. He lives with advanced multiple sclerosis.

I often grapple with the thorny question- Why is there still suffering when God is both benevolent and mighty?

I've learned much from this journey with MS and pretty much all of it reluctantly. I grudgingly acknowledge that the wisdom and insights I've learned whilst seated in this class-room of the University of Adversity I could not have acquired any other way. Yet it doesn't necessarily make anything better or somehow make it all worthwhile but does soften the blows somewhat to think that there's potentially some higher purpose or greater good in the midst of this suffering. I loathe this disease and all it's taken from me and my wife and family and with everything I have will stand resolute in the face of this insidious, malevolent unstoppable evil that has set upon me.

This is not the sojourn of my choosing but I am richer in my brokenness than if I'd taken a path of lesser sorrows.

Steve [of Tasmania]

Steve and all, my heart goes out to you and all of us who have been wrestling with that question. Most recently my bride Cathy has been in debilitating pain. She has really been suffering and it has taken it's toll on her.

I am not wavering from the fact that we are but temporary vessels, housing our spirits that will live on beyond the "current packaging". I just wish it was an easier transition.

The human spirit within us yearns for release someday and yet we will be patient until the appointed time. I offer the following Scriptures as a means of allowing the Bible to explain for itself through the Author.

Romans 8:22 MSG

All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. [Ask any mother, birth pain is temporary and worth it.]

Revelation 21:4 MSG

He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone."

It WILL happen, all pain will be gone, it will probably not happen on our timetable, it will not always happen the way we want......BUT it will happen. Faith is believing what God says despite anything and everything our temporary eyes tell us!

I choose to live by faith because I realize my own 'wisdom' cannot and will not save me from anything, even from a common cold....

Living by faith, Bill Sullivan

PCM 10-21-2011 Why? Why we cannot answer all the why questions yet....

PCM 10-21-2011 Why? Why we cannot answer all the why questions yet....

The short version:

As any parent of a two year old can attest to... "WHY" is the dreaded question we all face because there is no end and no answer that satisfies....WHY???

"Why" is simply beyond our ability to comprehend. We just do not have the full picture. We do not have the knowledge of the future, past and present along with the intricate details of how things seen and unseen truly work and interact. We are unprepared, under informed as well as ill equipped to solve life's conundrums and fully answer even the simple question of why.

Of course this begs the question of why.....

The more detailed [yet equally inadequate] version:

We are here on earth for a really short period of time when compared to eternity. I am assuming if you have gotten this far into the article you are a believer in the eternal and logical enough to see that human life is brief when compared just to the recorded history we are aware of.

1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:12 MSG We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

Combine these with the following:Hebrews 11:1 MSG The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

By living a life of faith, we put our trust in our unseen God with the assumption of His love and His ability and willingness to fulfill all He has said. This is how I have chosen to live my life. Which brings us right back to what my friend Steve said the other day about faith. How we practice our faith comes down to belief and trust, not just a 'warm fuzzy' feeling when things are going our way but an implicit trust that He has our eternal best interest ultimately as His.

Trusting in God with my life, one day at a time with love for God the eternal Creator.

Bill Sullivan

PCM 10-16-2011 ...compassionate, caring God who changes not

PCM 10-16-2011 ...compassionate, caring God who changes not

PCM 10-16-2011 ...compassionate, caring God who changes not
From Steve of Tazmania.

The short version:

Because their faith was not some etherial, vapourous, intangeable dis-embodied substance focussed on the environment about them but in the personality, performance, power, purpose and providence of their compassionate, caring God who changes not.

The more detailed version:
Being raised within a Pentecostal environment, I'd regularly seen answered prayer and believed in an omnipotent God. Yet 16 years of suffering under a degenerative, in-cureable disease takes it's toll on one's battered, hemorrhaging faith. That is; until I discovered that my faith was focussed upon my deliverance rather than on my Deliverer.

God's promise to the exiled Israelites is applicable to us today (ingrafted, spiritual Israel); "for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future (Jer 29:11)" However, when the dark veil is drawn across our view of the future when the heavens are as brass, when what appeared to be our faith lies in shards at our feet...where's the promise, where's our faith, where are God's mighty deeds of old?

History reveals that God delivered Israel and reinstated her. God dwells in the eternal continium, Israel in the finite. God's purposes were fulfilled, but in time (seventy years), they were not thwarted neither was God deemed unreliable, unjust or a liar.
Israel's hope did not necessarily rest on their emancipation but rather was embodied in the One who could release them, God.

We read in Hebrews 11 of the great gallery of the faithful proudly offered for all to see on the walls of time. Wonderous deeds, exploits and daring adorn this display but so also is disaster, seeming defeat (sawn in two, imprisoned, chained, stoned) and privation (wandered in deserts lived in holes in the ground). Yet all were commended for their faith though none recieved what was promised (their heavenly promise)(Hebrews 11:39).

How can this be? Because their faith was not some etherial, vapourous, intangeable dis-embodied substance focussed on the environment about them but in the personality, performance, power, purpose and providence of their compassionate, caring God who changes not. Blessings Steve

PCM 10-10-2010 deeply at peace through anything...

PCM 10-10-2010 deeply at peace through anything...


The short version: I love the videos winning teams make AFTER their successful championship season. As you watch through them remember the anxiety you felt along the way and the doubts you had....[you know what I am talking about].


I love winning, I am guessing so do you. If you know ahead of time who would win every contest it would be a sure bet, a no loose situation, money in the bank. Even if there are setbacks and problems along the way, knowing the end results will always put you at ease. [If you trust the results and stay away from doubt].


The more indepth version:
You can know the final final outcome and keep yourself unshakable and assured, deeply at peace along the way by trusting [believing]. The stakes are higher, last forever and it takes faith but that should be easy for such a seasoned, tested over-comer such as you.


In real life, this is a lot easier when addressing "other people's" crisis situations because we have the ability to step back and see the bigger picture. We know that they will not be in pain 'forever' but that it is temporary. When it is us however it is harder to see. That is why it is important for us to be there for each other and to be open with God and each other about how we are really doing.



John 16:33 MSG The Message
I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world."


John 16:33 NIV New International Version
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."


Take some time to 'hear' what this is saying.


Love, Bill Sullivan

PCM 09-30-2011 You bring thoughts of joy

PCM 09-30-2011 You bring thoughts of joy

The short version: Here is a way to be there for each other. We are not alone, we are part of something greater than us and we need each other more than we realize. God created us so that we can support, love and carry each other, we are not islands, we are collectively a living breathing body.

The more indepth version:

Philippians 1:3 NIV-MSG I thank my God every time I remember you. 3 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 4 Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.

1. This is why we need each other and why we are all important in the eyes of God.

2. Remember others with joy, be remembered with joy.

3. Being thankful for someone empowers and benefits you both.

4. We are designed to remember each other as we go through your day.

5. The closer you are to someone the more they will come to your mind, the more you will come to their mind.

I am keeping this one breif to give you time to think and act it through for those God has placed in your life. Only you can be you and be the help God created you to be.

We as humans are limited, God is not.

With love in Christ for my friends and those friends I have not yet met,

Bill Sullivan

PCM 09-25-2011 Beyond just friends with God

PCM 09-25-2011 Beyond just friends with God

The short version: One of the advantages of a close friendship is trust, the more you do the less fearful you will be when things seem to go wrong. Being close to God is a choice, your choice, your decision. It is your life, your freedom, your feelings of comfort or concern.

The more indepth version:

Here are some things that should describe your friendship, love and trust with God. Keep these in your mind till they get into your heart. True friends look out for each other, keep God at the center of your world, things eventually will make sense someday. ....TRUST ME....

John 15:15 NIV [I would also suggest seeing what these verses are like in the message]
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Psalm 63:1-8 NIV
1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 9:10 NIV
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you

Psalm 27:1-8 NIV
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

I am letting the Bible do most of the explaining, God has a better handle on the explanations than I do and He will speak to your heart if you let Him.

With love and friendship,

Bill Sullivan

PCM 04-24-2011 “Easter thinking” let the afflicted hear and rejoice

PCM 04-24-2011 “Easter thinking” let the afflicted hear and rejoice

Easter is a time of renewal, lets start with our thinking. You were designed by God to be loved, joyful and grateful. It is God's goal to get this into your heart, soul and mind.

God is amazing beyond words or description. How deeply He loves you is so difficult to get across except through the cross the full meaning we will only fully understand beyond our lives on earth.

It is time to declare your divinely designed destiny and become a fountain of freedom forever! Your mind will trend to wherever you point it. If you are always thinking about the glorious greatness of God, dwelling on the dependable, dedicated and devoted Deity and the positive power of the provider, your focus, your center and your path will be firm.

Stand up to the negative He can do it with your willingness, turn your thinking moment by moment day by day, all by focusing on the eternal excellence .

Psalm 34:1-3 New International Version (NIV) The Message (MSG)

1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 1 I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise.

2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 2 I live and breathe God; if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy:

3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. 3 Join me in spreading the news; together let's get the word out.

Psalm 34 is a masterpiece, it covers so much so I will take it a few verses at a time. I present it here with the NIV along with The Message. I include a link so you can change it into any version you are comfortable with.

http://www.facebook.com/l/7a18bXKQNDa4vsGTswD95aPu_bQ/www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/passage.aspx?q=psalms+34:1-3

With all the love and joy that God has intended for us to have,
Bill

For the first time yesterday I walked outside the house without a cane!

For the first time yesterday I walked outside the house without a cane! No I am not cured but something is happening I cannot deny! Because of the phenomenon of 'social media' a treatment that has it's roots 70 years ago is seeing the light of day.

I AM NOT SAYING EVERYBODY SHOULD DO THIS YET...... but it SHOULD BE OFFERED AS A CHOICE. Who knows.... when it is fully explored it may help with more than just ms.

Free will is all we want when choosing a procedure over a falsely advertised drug therapy. In 1986 I was offered methotrexate as a 'promising [but not quite promised] cure'. I watched my friends who did not have the pharmaceutical training and real life experience I had as to what these drugs actually do to your body, fall for the glimmer of hope as the anticancer drugs brought them to the brink of death and did needless untold damage to their bodies with NONE of the "dangled....implied.....reLIEf" from the suffering of ms.

I chose freedom and just said NO.

By the time they came on the market, the CRAB drugs were not indicated for ppms which is where I had progressed to. In other words we all understand I did not have any "remitting" that their drugs could vaguely take credit for.

I watched as some of my friends suffered through the treatments that seemed to me make them sicker.....with again implied relief that could easily be mistaken for a remitting phase....

They chose to exclude me, NO CHOICE on my part.

CCSVI came along, shunned by NM$$, given the cold shoulder by the Neurologist and were it not for a handful of dedicated "social activist" would have been swept under the rug and disposed of as an annoyance and inconvenience to those who would profit from our misery.

I was convinced that there may be something here so I volunteered for a study, had the test performed by vascular experts and when it was found that I had blockages in my jugular veins, underwent a medically necessary procedure to unblock them.

I almost did not have a choice, battling the greed, pride and stubbornness of the many, I chose to listen to the few and am now for the first time since 1986 walking without a cane all the time. I am in shock by the alertness, can feel the difference in blood flow in my neck and the straightness in my walking.

I do not claim 100% cure, it took 30 years to get my body in the current shape it is in and I will give it some time to recover.

ALL I AM SAYING IS GIVE ME A CHOICE AS TO WHERE THE RESEARCH MONEY GOES. WHERE WOULD WE BE IF THIS WAS PURSUED 70 YEARS AGO [go back and you will see where the original vascular studies had their roots.

We need to UNITE and demand free choice, it is our bodies going through this. WE WANT THE CHOICE!!!

Sincerely, Bill Sullivan