You need daily radiation therapy… even if you don’t have cancer!

Smiling Icon wants to help irradiate you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So it actually happened in 2022. The Big “C” word showed up in a diagnosis.

We had just returned from an epic family trip to Alaska.

My son-in-law arranged the entire trip.

And it was more like a National Geographic expedition than a comfy Alaskan cruise for golden year seniors.

We went to Denali. As much as I’d like to say we booked a day with the Grizzlies, we didn’t.  But my son-in-law did. He paid some ridiculous amount of money to get up close and personal with the grizzlies, coming in some cases up to 30 yards from them. Instead, we were the trip babysitters for our granddaughter, who led the way on every hike while her parents risked their lives to photograph grizzlies.

But once we got back home…

It was time to get back to real life. My PSA had doubled in 6 months. The physician’s assistant warned me I needed to take it seriously and make some modifications in my treatment regimen. It was time for the biopsy and the test.

And the word came back.

It was prostate cancer. And I had to choose a form of treatment.

And after considering my options, I chose radiation therapy. It was an extremely high dose administered in a relatively short period of time. And it did the trick.  Three years out, my numbers are still good.

The cancer went into remission.  The doctor was skilled, and his treatments (and of course, God’s overall control) did the trick.

 

Radiation Treatment Options for You

What do you mean, radiation treatment options for me? I don’t have cancer, do I? I don’t need to endure short or even daily bursts of radiation.

Maybe not physically. But spiritually in one very real sense, we all do. It’s the cancer of sin. What we’ve learned from the good old King James version can cause a major remission for all of us.

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38

It’s the treatment for a cancer we’ve all inherited from our father Adam. It’s the cancer of “sin” raging within us. And without the radiant power of the Holy Spirit regularly, it’s hard to keep sin in all its forms from staying in remission in you.

But it’s not just for keeping “sin” issues at bay that you need radiation therapy.

You need it because the world around you—your family, your workplace, your peers, and your friends—needs you to be irradiated by daily doses of God’s presence. We need to be more like Moses than not when we go out into the Marketplace, or anywhere we go, frankly.

We need to be “Holy Spirit” hot spots. People who glow and impact others, because we bask in the afterglow of a relationship with God

 

Spreading Radiant Believers Throughout the World

“And it came to pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.” Exodus 34:29, KJV

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, his face literally “shone” because he’d been in the presence of God. Now the Israelites were afraid of it. But in a world where “free God WIFI” (the Holy Spirit) has fallen on all flesh, people are not so much afraid of it, but warmed by it. They sense something different about you. They like being in your presence. You bring a special joy with you.

They can bask in the afterglow of God.

 

So, What are Your Treatment Options?

Dr. Icon has a few he’d like to recommend, and one he wants to help supply you.

1. Prayer – It’s been said that leaving home without praying is like driving your car without a seat belt. You can do it if you want to. But it’s not recommended. I would like to suggest you’re not too busy to pray. You’re too busy not to pray, like Martin Luther once said. You can get a daily dose of God’s radiation therapy by choosing always to start the day in God’s presence in prayer.
2. Communion – In my long life of various religious beliefs about this sacrament, I’ve come to believe it’s more than just a symbolic remembrance. I don’t know the HOW it happens, but I know the WHO that is involved. And I want to “feed” on the bread of life as often as I can. You are, after all, what you eat.
3. Fellowship – “Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves” regularly, the author of Hebrews encourages. And Christ says wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there.
4. Bible Feeding – Not just “reading” God’s word or listening to minuscule snippets of it. But “feeding” on God’s word. Letting the Living Word project the Written Word in your life. And basking in the afterglow of his presence.

And here’s where Smiling Icon would like to support you.

 

Lunch Buddy Bible Study

I remember when I was a technical writer for licensing documents for nuclear power plants (yes, I actually did that), I had a daily lunch hour. I’d often bring my lunch to work with me. And I learned an amazing way to “redeem the time” because the days are evil (that’s somewhere in Ephesians). I’d read God’s word during lunchtime. I’d dose up on the Written Word of God being fed to me by the Living Word of God (Jesus). I’d have a lunch date with Jesus every day. And it worked wonders.

Because of that, Smiling Icon Ministries posts a host of deep dive bible studies designed to be consumed in a lunch hour. And if you go slow (and chew slowly and savor the taste rather than gulp it in), they can last for multiple days of study.

And you’ll not only grow in grace in knowledge. You’ll glow!

You can access them at smilingicon.com under the heading bible studies.

And you’d like a weekly email on Monday mornings to give you a Scriptural rudder to focus on a weekly basis, write me at valekisjim@gmail.com.

The Smiling Icon is my friend. And he’ll hook you up.