Your turn!

Wednesday, March 29, 2000

VERSE:
   [I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.] The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete
    -- John 3:28-29, New International Version
       <http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?John+3:28-29>

THOUGHT:

    Recently I have received an extraordinary attachment about the work of a doctor.  Doctors go to school and do their residency for years.  They then have an opportunity to go out and act as servants, trying to make a difference in our lives and help to prepare us to live the life we have been called to.  I would imagine as they left school, they did so with an excitement, knowing they were going to be a part of something wonderful, something great.  Most often, at the end of their career, they look back and are able to reflect on the difference they have made.

    As a child(6yrs old), I had an accident which resulted in the loss of a finger.  My Doctor, Dr. Newsome, at Parkland Hospital, did all he could do and made a fantastic difference.  I can say this by the very fact I remember and even the odd smelling cologne he wore.  If he did one thing in his practice right, I would say that which he did for me was right, and as far as I am concerned, being able to say thanks years later was a treat.

    John's experience, though different, is quite similar.  His excitement is in knowing that something great is coming and he gets to be a part of the excitement.  Once he understood his calling, he went about preparing the world for Jesus and what Jesus would bring.

    Hear the Good News, we too are called, summoned to prepare people for Christ. To help other's experience all Jesus has for us and our lives.  How will you do that today?

PRAYER:
   Gracious Father, please use me to prepare others to know and to receive Jesus.  Allow me to make a difference in another's life.  In the name Jesus, I pray. Amen.

The rest is at the bottom of the page.

In His . . . For You

 

Rev. David Banks
First United Methodist Church, Humble
800 E. Main St.
Humble, TX 77338
281-446-2332

 

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who  is being operated on by a surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from the mother's womb.

    Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta.  She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb. In the procedure, a C-section removes the uterus and the doctor makes a small incision to operate on the baby.

    During the surgery on little Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed, hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope."
    The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life."