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Integrated in Jesus

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" ...that they may be as one as we are one." NIV

Skin cancer can teach a person a lot about Jesus.

Recently, I was sitting out on our back deck with my wife looking at our Hibiscus flowers and watching our hummingbirds fight over their feeding jars. Suddenly, I felt a strong itching on the lower part of my left jaw. Thinking it was just a bug bite, I tried to ignore it. That didn’t work.

Inside, I discovered a little pink volcano that was as smooth as a baby’s bottom and the color of bubblegum.

I tried to squeeze it and tried all I knew, nothing helped. I thought that I was going to have to show it to my wife whether I wanted to or not. My philosophy is if you ignore things they will go away; her approach is deal with things and they’ll go away. I’m sure glad our Lord has given her the job of being my earthly pro-active angel; I wonder where I would be without her.

A few days later at my skin doctor’s office, I didn’t like the grim look on his face when I told him the story. He scheduled me for surgery immediately, putting me into a daze as to what was happening. I’ve found in the past that I should take stunned moments to my Lord so I quoted (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”, and took His prescription for anxiety.

The four words for prayer in these verses have meant a lot to me over the years as they have taught me what prayer is. We are to come to our Father in a worshipful supplicant’s attitude and then ask for things from a position of thankfulness. In other words, “He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” ( NASB)

The four words for prayer on the prescription pad of struck me again, but in a flash I saw that they were just parts of the whole. The healing that I trusted my Lord for was going to come from His love for me. The peace of God calmed my entire being: my heart, my mind, and my soul. I relaxed and uttered, “My Father, You know best, but I’m going to claim healing, in Your Son’s name.”

Strangely, the whole process became interesting, not frightening. I was awake during the surgery, I just couldn’t move. My vision was clouded, but I could watch the doctor open up my throat.

Thankfully, later he told me that he had gotten all of the cancer and I was now cancer free. This whole process is one of my most treasured experiences. Let me share with you some of the blessings that I received because of this cancer experience.

Heartwarming joy comes from having a complete body, soul, and spirit experience in which all we need is Jesus. We become one, even as He is One. Jesus’s prayer for us becomes a reality, one we will never forget. We find all we need in the arms of Jesus. We find complete love and fulfillment because He brings us peace with an eternal flavor. I felt living cool water satisfying my parched spirit as it cleared my vision. I found that I understood the oneness contained in the words: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” of . It is a wonderful experience to allow the Holy Spirit to integrate us into the personality of Jesus and teach us that He is all and all we need.

The Lord gave me a little poem about my experience with cancer that I would like to share with you that is called “Integrated in Jesus”:

Integrated in Jesus, we find oneness with people of other races; the Spirit of God makes us one.

Integrated in Jesus, we are one with God’s desires; building His Kingdom is a daily blessing.

Integrated in Jesus, family relationships are honest; love refuses to fail as it builds on the good and the bad.

Integrated in Jesus, we find peace and our hearts become warm; we come to understand that He is all and all we need.

Dear Father, help us to be homogenized, not pasteurized. Open our hearts, souls, and minds as one to your presence and instruction. Bless us with the power of the Holy Spirit as You integrate us into the personality of your Son. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Copyright 2016, Dr. Bob Segress. Used by permission.

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About The Author

Bob
Segress

Robert L Segress, Ph.D., Th.M., served as a college professor (full-time and part-time) and psychotherapist for 25 years. He was the Director of Psychological Services of The Riverton General Hospital in Seattle, Washington and is an ordained minister who served as an interim pastor. He wrote The Biblical Approach to Psychology in 1974. After retiring, he became a prison minister at Shelton Prison in Washington State, in which capacity he has served for 15 years.

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