Wow! That’s a bit (you think) pretentious of you Craig to believe that our Sovereign God has his fingerprints on you specificially!!

Certainly, if you think about what Sovereign means the dictionary defines Sovereign as “a supreme ruler”, possessing supreme or ultimate power. Simply put, God is in control. I believe that for my life and I have seen first hand how he has been intertwined in my life regarding my family, professional life, and now in my greatest need, my health.  Let me explain.  Since I retired a little over a year ago due to my health disability I have done nothing but get better.  I believe that is because I am not under a great deal of stress as I had been in the past as well as I can now eat right, sleep sufficiently, and get proper medical care.  However, the medical care that I am currently under is just PALLIATIVE.  That means it’s not cureative—there is no cure for Renal Cell Carcinoma.  The Immunotherapy that I am on is simply helping my immune system hold back any growth in cancer.  It’s not killing it.  However, by the grace of God (and his Sovereignty) during this process the Lord led me to a Naturopathic Medical Doctor that has been leading the way in research that uses our natural immune system to kill cancer.  It’s simply call Immune Support Therapy. There is a way to train (or prime) your immune cells to recognize the peptides or proteins of the cancer cells which uncloaks the cancer and opens those cells up to being attacked (and killed) by my own immune cells—-pretty cool.

Through prayer and research the Lord has led me to various natural options to keep me healthy while we find ways to actually kill these d@#n cancer cells.  Many of the things that I am doing I listed in my last blog.  In order to have changed results we must change how we approach our diet, exercise, supplementation, prayer life and dependence upon our Sovereign God.

Recently, I was listening to a great sermon regarding people being angry at God.  This got me thinking about the fact that some people think God brings bad things upon them—thereby leading them to have hostility, hate, or anger toward him.  But, if you would study scripture you realize that God is not a God of chaos, sickness, disease, or any other bad thing.  It’s not possible for him to be less than perfect!!!  He is a God of grace, love, hope, and order.  Take a look at Genesis.  It’s all about the order of things and how God set this world up.  It wasn’t until Satan (once an angel) fell from grace because he wanted to be God.  This is when sin entered our world and set things in motion for human pain, suffering, sin, sadness, chaos, etc.  In 2 Timothy 1:7 the Bible tells us, “God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  So, don’t be pissed at God!  Get pissed at Satan and rebuke him in the name of Jesus.  Scripture also tells us in 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.”  Satan rules the earth.  God has supreme power over Satan, (he defeated Satan and death on the cross) but due to sin in this world bad things happen and Satan loves it when it does especially to Christians.  Remember, just before Jesus was captured to be crucified on the cross he told the disciples that “he was going away, but the Father will be sending his gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit which will give us power and love to fill in the gap of Jesus leaving this Earth.   We need to activate the turbo-charged Holy Spirit within us.  The Spirit that our Father promised us when we become believers in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  PERIOD.  End of discussion.  This is absolute.

You ask, “what’s the point of all this Craig?”  The point is that we have hope beyond this world.  Christ told us that in this world we will have trouble.  But he also told us to take heart!  He has overcome the world (sin and death) as such we have the hope of everlasting life no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in right now.

I find that as I have faced this life threatening disease and as I have aged I spend less time living for this world and more time looking to and driven to live for eternity.  This means to have an eternal perspective versus a temporal perspective.  Sickness, disease, anxiety, depression is all temporal.  However, when we focus on growing our relationship with Christ we start living differently.  People notice positive changes in us and they are drawn to this type of living.  An eternal focus helps us to have abundant joy no matter whats going on in our lives!!!  Isn’t this something you would like to grab on too?  There’s another great piece of scripture that has to do with the Great Commission.  In Mark 16;15-18 Jesus tells us to, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will GET WELL!!!!

As I write this blog I am coming off the IST (Immune Support Therapy) I mentioned earlier.  In this therapy a special cancer lab from Greece take your blood and separates the cancer cells from your healthy immune cells.  In this case, Dendritic cells. They harvest the Dendritic cells then multiply them so that they can inject them back into your body (via a 5 hour IV).  In my case they reintroduced 12-15 million more cells all “primed” to recognize the proteins of the cancer which decloaks the cancer and allows the primed cells to go after the cancer cell to kill them.  One of the ways you know the treatment is working is obvious side effects such as low grade fever (100-101), fatigue, and experiencing “hot spots” in your body where the cancer lies.  Let me tell you if fevers and fatigue are strong indicators of success I am shouting from the mountain tops because I have had fevers, the sweats, and fatigue for 5 weeks now. I am finally feeling better but not before a stop at the emergency room and my pulmonary specialist for another on e of my favorite procedures—bronchoscopy.  Thank God there were no Renal cells in my bronchial tube and lung.  Praising the Almighty for his goodness.

As I have gone through 4 surgeries, 2 bronchial extractions, and numerous days in treatment centers in the last 3 years is that I find joy and hope in Christ Jesus. The road has not been easy, but He has never left me.  He is pruning me to learn how to be patient, to persevere, live in the moment, love others no matter what their politics or ideaology, and make every minute of living like it was my last.  But, I think the greatest thing He is teaching me through all of this is to humble myself and let Him take control of my life because His ways are not like our ways.  He knows what best for us—-always.

If you are struggling with your faith, angry at God for what you consider an injustice in your life, lost hope in life, or just plain exhausted living in a world that has many challenges and pitfalls, take heart turn to Jesus.  He wants to have a real relationship with you.  However, you need to take the step toward Him.  The good news gospel of Jesus is life-changing.  It will change you, and change how we treat others, ourself, and renew our faith and hope for a better tomorrow.

As always, feel free to contact me at tcgiles@hotmail.com or 612.804.5630.  I would love to hear your story.

Blessings into eternity,

Craig D. Giles, aka Papa G