Greetings everyone,

Some folks have missed some of the information concerning my current condition and I wanted to get everyone up to date on what is actually going on in my physical life.

I was diagnosed last year with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). The condition remained relatively dormant, with a slow growth rate until recently when I began experiencing sharp pains in my abdomen, resulting in a trip to the hospital and a variety of tests. The concurring diagnoses were that my lymph nodes on both sides had grown to the point of applying significant pressure to nerve endings, resulting in the pain. The pain randomly fluctuates from a dull "pressure" to acute.

I have been receiving chemotherapy for the last 2-3 months, with the goals of reducing my white cell count back to normal and reversing the growth of the lymph nodes.

So far the pain remains; I will see the Doc next week to test my white cell counts.

While I have been blessed to not have any of the side effects of the treatment itself, I am experiencing general weakness and fatigue, some nausea, some loss of appetite (might be from the treatment, might be from the disease) and I must be cautious to avoid situations where I might pick up lingering bacteria, germs, viruses, etc.. This makes life interesting and I thank God for Purell, spray disinfectant and disinfectant wipes!

I am working, having to miss work sometimes due to extreme fatigue or pain, but for the most part life goes on, much more slowly than I like, but, it is what it is.

I am learning that this is not a life ending experience, but instead an opportunity to examine my life and to evaluate those things that have real purpose.

God has blessed me and my family with an abundance of faithful friends and family and the prayers that are lifted on our behalf are too wonderful to believe. God is faithful.

I am hopeful that, in God's time and according to His purposes, this burden will be completely lifted and all will be well. In the meantime, we adjust.

I thank you again for all your prayers and for your support.

Smelling the roses,

Steve

I will dwell in the house of the LORD

Psalm 23, A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Surely my cup overflows!

I have been blessed with an abundant life. I have a family, a home, a job, food to eat, clothes to wear and a roof over my head.

I have two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears and a mind that may be fashioned to Christ's own!

I have this body, that while suffering wear and tear, is restored from time to time.

I have time and opportunity to serve. I have resources beyond measure to use for God's glory and to advance His kingdom on this earth.

I have heard the good news.

I have believed and received His great gift.

... and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Amen

Funny how things churn .....

When I was in the Police Academy in '89, our instructer told us on the first day that as folks became aware that we carried a badge, 50% of our "friends" would stop being our friends. That mostly came true.

I found it interesting that when I became a follower of Jesus, a born again believer, the number of disappointed friends and family was a similar, if not greater percentage.

Mat 10:32-36 "Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household.

Jesus told us that would happen, but that knowledge doesn't always immediately lessen the pain of separation.

Pro 18:24 A man with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.

The interesting thing is that I now have more friends and a MUCH larger family than I ever dreamed possible, and these friends and family, for the most part, can be counted on to BE THERE when life gets tough!

Rom 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Funny how things churn .......

Rachel is baptized

What a thrill! On Sunday, June 3rd, 2007, I was priveleged to baptise my Rachel before the congregation at Grace Point Church! Wow!

I have had a few high points in my life and this one was spectacular! What an awesome honor to be able to participate in this moment in Rachels walk with our Lord!

Thank you Father, thank you Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit!

Dear President Bush,

Don't give up; stand firm. You know what is right and this country needs you to stand up for what is right and good.

Our Father in heaven appointed and anointed you for such a time as this. No other person on the face of the earth has the anointing and no other person can accomplish what you, through our Lord's provision, are purposed to do.

Do not waver, do not falter.

We are praying for you and we will not stop as long as you "lay hold of the horns". We are proud of you and we love you.

Sincerely,

The Larson Family

What do you think?

Is an artists rendition of Jesus an idol? Is it, according to the scriptures, offensive to God?

Exo 20:4-6 (KJV) "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

from Strong's Concordance:

H6459 - pesel - peh'-sel From H6458; an idol: - carved (graven) image.

H8544 - temu?na?h temu?na?h - tem-oo-naw', tem-oo-naw' - From H4327; something portioned (that is, fashioned) out, as a shape, that is, (indefinitely) phantom, or (specifically) embodiment, or (figuratively) manifestation (of favor): - image, likeness, similitude.

H834 - 'a?sher - ash-er' - A primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as adverb and conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.: - X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how (-soever), X if, (so) that ([thing] which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither (-soever), who (-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.

H8064 - sha?mayim sha?meh - shaw-mah'-yim, shaw-meh' - The second form being dual of an unused singular; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve): - air, X astrologer, heaven (-s).

H776 - 'erets - eh'-rets - From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land): - X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.

Tentative Conclusion

The word usage seems to be prohibiting the creation of idols from created things for the express purpose of worship. Any other meaning would have to indicate that God does not want us to make a likeness of anything for any purpose!

The word used for heaven seems to indicate the expanse where the celestial objects hang, not the physical home of Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

I do not believe that these scriptures indicate that God prohibits making a physical artist's conceptual likeness of Jesus for the purpose of reflection.

What do you think? Are Pictures of Jesus prohibited idols, according to the scriptures?

examples abound: Art and the Bible

I was recently reading Matthew and noted that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, taught certain personal characteristics He desires us to have. After compiling the list, I began a review of my own characteristics compared to the list and noted both blessings and discrepancies in my life. I challenge you to make the same comparisons for yourself.

from Matthew 5, 6 and 7

• Humility - 5:3, 6:1-6
• Compassion - 5:4
• Gentleness, Meekness - 5:5
• God Minded - 5:6, 6:9-13, 6:19-21, 6:31-33
• Merciful - 5:7
• Honorable -- 5:8, 5:23-26, 5:37
• Peaceable - 5:9, 5:39-47
• Integrity, Steadfastness - 5:10-12, 6:24, 7:12-27
• Usefulness - 5:13-16
• Reconciling - 5:23-26
• Generosity - 5:42, 6:2-4
• Loving - 5:44
• Perfection (fully grown, mature, complete) - 5:48
• Forgiving - 6:12, 14-15
• Prayerful - 6:5, 7:7-11
• Disciplined - 6:16
• Calm - 6:25
• Trusting - 6:33
• Non-Judgmental (non-critical) - 7:1-5
• Fair - 7:12

On March 23rd I marked ten years with our Lord.

Ten years.

I am overflowing with things I would like to say in recognition of that but I can't seem to get them out right now. How has my life changed? What difference is marked in my life today compared to ten years ago? How did I get here and where did I come from?

For now, I would just like to say, "Thanks". Thanks to the faithful that prayed for me to be delivered from bondage, to be set free and to be set apart, in Jesus. Thanks for the many prayers that I believe lifted me high enough that I could finally see past the murk of my life and into the eyes of our Lord.

Thanks to our Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for me; for me!

My eyes hurt, its been a tearful day; cascading events have mingled tears of joy with tears of grief, at times separate and at others joined.

A courageous and inspiring young man sits at the feet of our Risen Lord and I rejoice that he is free from pain, grieving with his wonderful family and his many friends, missing him now and looking forward with great anticipation to that eventual reunion.

I rejoice at the beginnings of a renewal of a life of freedom in Jesus for a new found friend. I am thankful at his forgiving me for a wrong done.

Two friends involved in auto accidents remind us of the suddenness of our precarious perch on this earth and of the need to be ready at all times.

23 women exchanged their lives for a life with Jesus on Friday, and we watched as one more brother stepped into the baptismal font to make a public profession for Our Lord.

My wife loves me and forgives me for my many failures.

I watched tonight, for the second time, a movie called "Facing The Giants". Joy and sorrow clasp hands on a roller coaster ride of emotion as a man comes to the end of himself and commits himself to walking a God directed path. His journey, his decision to praise God with his life, to seek God with his actions, to relinquish his dreams to God's direction, will touch your heart in a way that I won't even attempt to describe. I encourage you to watch this movie as a family, watch it with a friend; make the time.

Life comes at us hard and plays by an unseen set of rules. We all must face giants, but with God, nothing is impossible.

I thank God that he allows us to slip and continues, without failing and without ceasing, to hold His hand out to pick us up and dust us off anew. I thank God, that while this journey will be rough and stormy at times, He will always be there to direct our next move, if we let Him. I thank God, that He has set me free, and that He reaches out to all the world with a continual offer of Life in Him.

We Must "hate the sin but love the sinner".

I am overwhelmed with story after story headlining the many tales of insanity and persecution against Christians and Christian thought in this nation. We were told that this would happen so it should come as no surprise, but I must admit that the magnitude, the frequency and the consistency of the tide has got me reeling to a point.

The anti-moralist, anti-biblical indoctrination in the public school system continues to grow with no apparent cessation in sight. Entire cities (Philadelphia, Boston, etc.), once bedrocks of fundamental thought in this emerging nation, have become sanctuaries of decadence and anti-God philosophy (Rom 1:22-32). The entertainment media springing from once simple entertainment has become the reflection of America at its worst. Many "churched" children in our communities lean towards relativism because they do not see a reflection of Jesus in their homes and churches and they discount the Truth as desire.

How did we get here? I think mostly by looking the other way and failing to be watchful, and by so "partaking of the fruit" ourselves that we are timid to raise our voice. I think many who call themselves Christians are apathetic in their faith and have become ineffective in the spiritual war that is upon us. Many of us are simply not engaged, are "walking wounded".

I have spent a great amount of time over the past few years getting worked up about the events at hand, sending out emails, waving placards, pontificating from a variety of soap boxes and generally blowing in the wind. I have seen myself recently throwing stones at an increasing number of God's creations, waving my Bible but failing to use it as He intended it to be used. I am not saying that we should not be at hand in the battle, but we must be wise in our engagements and must filter our actions through God's Word.

What I need to be focused upon is prayer and doing the best I can at being the best that Jesus designed me to be.

I believe we need to see clearly what is happening in our communities around us and we need to join together in prayer and living testimony so that God may use our open hearts to open others. I believe we need to strive to be watchful and engage the enemy as God directs us. We need to focus on being useful to Him.

We need to be prayerful warriors and "suited up" at all times (Eph 6:10-11). We must be walking forward, eyes and ears fully open and our hands must be filled with the Sword of the Spirit. We must "hate the sin but love the sinner".

Before I rail next, I might look in the mirror and honestly consider whether I see Jesus looking back.

Pray. Witness. Engage. Teach. Re-present Jesus.

May God be watchful over you and your family,

Steve