[Ezekiel Bathfire]

I have just returned from the doctor’s office where I saw Dr Hawker, who so far, and praise The Lord, has cured me of everything The Lord has inflicted upon me.

Some may see this as a strange process; Why would God give you something like The Botch of Egypt, the Plague, Boils or Leprosy and then allow you to be cured of it? Well God, via Job, explains this.

“Job:1:20: Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

“The Lord giveth and The Lord taketh away.” Just say that to yourselves a few times. It explains everything, doesn’t it?

The Lord gives us everything, good and bad, but He does not give us more than we can bear for, even if we die, we are happy in heaven, so, in the end we win through His Mercy. Yes, we can bear death. We know this to be true because everyone of our forefathers has died and thus all of them bore it.

OK, let us look at a practical example. Last month, I received a particularly nasty paper cut. Every time I tried to do something, it stung unmercifully. Being a True Christian, I tolerated this until I thought [that the Good Lord thought] that He had punished me enough, and I went to see Dr Hawker.

Together we sat as he mumbled a prayer*:

Oh Almighty God, Thou hast seen fit to inflict thine unworthy servant, Bathfire, with a grievous injury to his distal phalanx** in just and righteous punishment for some offense that he hath given unto Thee that he might remember the days of his life and Thy Omniscience. We humbly beseech Thee and earnestly hope that Thou see***that Bathfire is contrite and seeks your forgiveness in true sincerity that he might be freed of this most correct of inflictions.

We say this in The Name of the Father, The Son and of The Holy Ghost,

Amen.

I signed off the $225 fee to Landover Insurance Co. and left.

After two days, there was some redness in my finger and a slight throbbing. A couple of days later, the whole finger was swollen and felt hot and tight. A few days after that and I was apparently confined to bed. (I don’t remember much as I was being put in touch directly with God Himself who seemed, in my visions, to be quite angry although He never explained why****.)

When the Lord allowed me to regain my earthly faculties, the swelling and pain had subsided and it became clear to me that I had visited Dr Hawker too early and God had not finished punishing me.

All these days later, now I am recovered and the finger bends almost as well as it did before, I thank The Lord for all that He has given me and the small reminder of His Awesome Power that He left behind.

The lesson here is that The Lord Works in a Mysterious Way, His ways are not like ours and He does not explain Himself, for why should He explain anything to us mere mortals? Is He not God?

I have no idea what would have happened if I had not seen the doctor!



(*You can use this, but change the name otherwise I might be cured of things I don’t have.
**God knows everything so He knows whether it was my left or right one.
***Note Dr Hawker’s use of the subjunctive – this is why he is such a good doctor and worth every cent of his fee.
**** This is The Lord’s Way of having you reconsider your life and whether you have dedicated yourself to Him.)

[Didymus Much]

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Anyways...

Job 1:21 "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither:..."

Job had some, errr, "mommy issues", didn't he...

This predates Oedipus, doesn't it?

[Rev. M. Rodimer]

Brother Bathfire, I am glad God saw fit to heal you!

But why didn't your insurance cover the doctor's services? Are you being discriminated against for refusing God-mocking "medicines"?

[Faith_Machine]

I am currently uninsured, and pray night and day that the Supreme Court will strike down Obamacare. I can't imagine a more faithless act than buying health insurance. It's like you're saying "I don't trust God!"

[James Hutchins]

Brother Bathfire, your story reminded me of one regarding a child of mine, I forgot her name.
She had slipped into my office and was playing on my private phone, pressing the speed dial numbers. When I confronted her, she was speaking in tongues, talking about how she met Candi, Tiffani, Oriental Jade, "The Bay City Slammer', Jake the Pumper , Little Billyand a slew of other 'names' I had never heard of.
After a strong talking to and a particulary fevered Bible discussion covering
Romans 1:28-32
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them
1 Timothy 5:13
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Matthew 12:36-37
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

By this point she was pouring tears and begging me not to cast her into the fires of Hell. I explained to her that it was not up to me. She wronged God and broke His Holy Trust®.
With that, she went into her prayer closet. After a week or so, my wife noticed she had not done her chores and went looking for her. God had not forgiven her. She was still alive but it was plain to all that God was taking her, piece by piece and casting her into Hell. There was nothing we could do as it was between her and God.
The smell was awful. We took her out of the house and placed her on the porch. Within a few days, she was dead. Soon thereafter it seems some demon dragged her away. We certainly could not bury a child that had wronged God so severely.

Lessons like this really hit home with all the other kids. It is one thing to read about it in the KJV Bible or here the thunderous sermon from a Godly Pastor but it is an entirely poignant lesson when you see Gods majesty work miracles before your very eyes.