Good Book - The Dao of Healing

  

A Good Book - The Dao of Healing - Christian Perspectives on Chinese Medicine                                            Author:  Pak-Wah Lai, PhD      Medical Consultant:  Diarra Boubacar Thiemoke, PhD

When I perused the title of this particular book, I got so very excited because, after spending so many years in Southeast Asia (SEA), and having experienced some Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), personally, I thought it was about time I knew a nugget or two about it.

Obviously, I grew up only with the knowledge of what is termed “biomedicine” in this book, otherwise known as “western medicine”.  I was also biased with it because it has been “what I know” and am familiar with.  On the other hand, I’ve been prejudiced against the TCM, hearing a so-called, “Christian” view of TCM, or what I supposed is better known in the west as “homeopathic”, had its origins in the occult.

However, like I said, after spending so much time in SEA, my mind swirled with the idea that some good doctor, who knows both sides, should practice it and get the best of “both” worlds and teach others.  Thus, my enthusiasm, to get my hands on this book, as, even though I’m not sure this author practices both sides of the equation, he at least has a “treatise” on them from which folks from both sides can learn.

Now, I did struggle through this book as there are so many technical terms I’m unfamiliar with and 1/2 the time I didn’t know what the guy was talking about.   If you happen to be in the medical field you'll have a better understanding throughout.   So all during this MCO (Covid-19 lock down) time I really had to force myself to read through; my initial eagerness having cooled, and the spark to propel me through almost fizzled out.

Nevertheless, I soldiered on and towards the end of the book things started to make more sense and I have gained more confidence in TCM, in and of itself, being beneficial, and in its origins.   The author talks about “loving your neighbor as yourself” and making an honest search into the “histories and philosophies” behind each side.

In addition to that, the author tells Christians across the spectrum, that if we wish to reach all peoples with the gospel, we will need to not be so adamant against their way of doing things.  Pak-Wah Lai does caution Christians on certain elements of TCM, however, so will let you read the book yourselves, ha, ha, to discover what those are.

Something of interest I found out from reading this book was that during some periods of Chinese history, TCM had been banned!  That really surprised me.  However, it lingered on, as you all know, to this day.

                                                           -Prepared by:  ERC  Aug 2020-

Prayer - Enduring Value

As usual, Father, the psalmist sees two facets to his prayer acrostic in Psalm 119 (He).  On the one hand, he's got what he expectantly asks from you, journaled, but does not neglect his responsibility either.  He does not take You for granted nor treat You as an ATM machine, demanding from You, the Giver of all good things, and get his wish list fulfilled and then go on his merry way not bothering to thank You nor doing his part.  On the contrary, he does remember his part, which stems from his thankfulness and gratitude.

This psalmist is in earnest.  He really does want You to teach him, give him..., direct him...preserve his life (who wouldn't?)...fulfill Your promise to him...take away his disgrace.  What a commendable "bucket list"!  This is not for self-gratification, rather for building relationship with You, Father!  He longs for this.  

Healthy relationships being a two-way street, the psalmist's reciprocation is so he can follow You and obey and keep Your Law in which he finds delight.  He wants to fix his eyes on You alone, his Heavenly Father, and not get distracted by anything or anyone else.  He even says it in so many different ways:  decrees, laws, commands, statutes, Your words and precepts; a very thorough list.  Seems he didn't want to miss an iota of your will and way for his life.

Father God, give us, Your children, such a heart too.  May our attention be fixed on You and the relationship with You.  May things of enduring value, rather than turning our eyes on worthless things, occupy thus, until Jesus comes.

You are so unfailingly loving and forgiving, Father.  In consequence, any spark of faith and longing on Your human creatures' part, and You will be there with arms outstretched, ready to embrace.  You are always there.  Thank-You so much.

In Jesus name we praise You.

                                                         ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:33-40 (He)

Sing, I Love You Lord, Maranatha Singers

Sing, Christ is Enough, Hillsong Worship

Prayer - Haven of No More Tears

Heavenly Father, the shock was overwhelming.  The mind numb and uncomprehending.  Could it be, their  child, their "little lamb", gone?!  Gone in a way, not from sickness or car crash, or murder but from self-infliction!

Oh Father.  The mother and father, in grief, "laid low in the dust,"..."souls wearied with unmingled and unmitigated sorrow."

Human capacity drained, and still drizzling out, physically incapacitated, a loss of human strength, stretched and sapped to the nth degree endurance.  Yet...yet Your words, oh Father God, preserve and strengthened them, therewith.

We fly into Your arms Lord, into Your calming, understanding presence; so many fierce questions on our lips.  In seasons such as these, how can we make sense of it all?!  Only in You can our lives be preserved, to meditate upon Your words and wonderful deeds, to bring understanding to hearts and minds rent almost asunder, yet cocooned from total devastation, by Your precepts.

The anchor, faithfulness, gracious and truthful ways with heart set upon Your laws, may they hold parents, family, and friends, fast in the path of Your commands and in the tragic travesties of life and death, that threaten to sink them into the depths of despair and depression.

Buoy the hearts and souls and the trust of Your people in pain, with Your word and "broaden their understanding" throughout the new days of "normalcy" ahead, for navigating without the one they loved.  Steady the minds, awash with your word; steady the hearts with Your compelling, compassionate, consoling love and care and empathy.

Suffering and sorrow, and death, but, some day, for Your people, everlasting life and joy abiding in that place, nestled with You in Heaven; the Haven of No More Tears.

In Jesus Name we cry out in anguish, Father, for those who have loved and lost.

                                                     ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:25-32 NIV (Daleth)

Sing, or just sit and listen,  Does Jesus Care?  as sung by Gaither music

Prayer - Turning Your Minds to His Word

Father, do good to Your servant, that I will live.  I don't know if the psalmist was contemplating suicide or not, or maybe he was just desiring life more abundant.  If he lived, he said "I will obey Your Words".

Father, we know You are good and therefore can only do good. We often say we choose to obey, however, there's many times when we don't.  Thank-You, for Your forgiveness when we repent of our wrong attitudes and actions.

Open our eyes, Lord, that we may see wonderful things in Your Law.  Yes, Father, open the eyes of understanding; we want to see and understand things You want us to know and understand about Yourself and your will and ways.

At some point of time in our life, sooner rather than later, hopefully, may we realize there are different stages of life people go through that don't last forever.  A teacher may become rather overwhelmed with school lesson preparations and correcting of assignments online during the Covid-19 lock down.  Nonetheless, Father,  do them good so they will live through it.   Others, have other professions and related challenges.   I know Your grace is sufficient; at least in theory.  

Perhaps, this is a lesson from You to learn greater patience, mercy and justice.  What else, Lord?

Open our eyes as You did for the disciples in Acts.  You opened up their understanding so they could grasp all the things You'd taught them all those years of daily tutelage, straight from Jesus' mouth to their ears.  They'd finally understood to some degree what You'd predicted about Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection on the third day.  It was something that had puzzled them at the time Jesus spoke His prediction of it, then later, grasped with clarity.  When You opened their understanding.  They knew, then, what it was about.

Now, Father, I ask again that You open our understanding to Your words this day so we can have something in our mind for "the daily portion"--to think about, ponder and consider, so as not to neglect Your words.

"My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times..." Psalm 119:20 (NIV).

Actually, Father, I can't say that I do that.  Help my frailty, and human feebleness.  The psalmist was able to say it, though.

It is my desire, my longing to long for Your word.  Just as, at the moment, I long to go out for the walk I've been getting into the habit of all these Covid-19 lock down days.  At least, a half an hour's walk per day.

Lord when I don't go out, my physical body knows it.  Similarly, the lack of my perusing and pondering Your words daily, affects my spiritual health.  It is for my spiritual well-being and relationship with You to make it a daily practice; that I do not neglect God's Word.

Help me not to stray from Your commands, at all times.

"You rebuke the arrogant who are cursed."

May I not become proud and arrogant, of all I know of Your Words.  Head knowledge doesn't profit much.  Father, make me know it in my spirit and soul and heart, so I won't sin against You.  May we all be guided and instructed in it.

Help me not to look down on others who don't know as much Bible teaching as I have had.  Often those who don't know as much, walk in the morsels they do know better than those who know more.  These are those who have greater relationship with You and walk the knowledge.  This is genuine understanding.

May I never, ever scorn these brothers and sisters-in-Christ, who have "enlarged" hearts for You.

The rulers sit together and slander me, Your servant will meditate on Your decrees anyway.  May your children be so strong in Your word that they will not be shaken when others slander and/or falsely accuse them.  Instead, fill Your child with Your words so they can meditate upon Your decrees to counter those hurtful words and actions.  may the injustices not fester in their souls nor break them up.  May they stand steadfast in Your word.  May Your statutes be their delight and healing balm of comfort, direction and counsel.

If it often feels like our ears are burning when people stare at us and whisper bitter words behind our backs, turn our mind and thoughts to Your word, decrees, statutes and law, for in them is life and breath and health.  May we, Your children, always delight in them.

I ask in Jesus precious Name.

                                                           ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:17-24 (Gimel)

Prayer - Keeping Pure

Father, God, it is very difficult with our sin nature to live in a pure manner.  However, You have given us ways and means to do so.  As the psalmist of Psalm 119 puts it, its by living according to Your word we are led to the right path to pleasing You.

By seeking You with all our hearts, by hiding Your word in our hearts so we don't sin against You.  We also see that the psalmist asks You not to let him stray from Your commands.  In addition, he asks You to teach him Your decrees so when You are keeping and teaching, coupled with the hiding and seeking You, the outcome is greater purity.  This not just for young men but anyone of Your children willing to follow Your will and ways.

Do to the hiding of Your word in the heart, verse 13 says, the lips will,

"...recount all the laws that come from your mouth" (NIV).

"All the laws!"  That's amazing.  There are so many things, if we read the whole Bible, so many laws, but he could recount it all!  Granted he only had the Torah but that's still lots, Father, for his lips to recount. He must have really been studying and memorizing!

Lord, when we're hiding Your Word in our hearts, and our desire is to fully seek You, able to recount the laws, not to have a big head, proud that we know chapter after chapter to recite, but Lord, that we have truly hidden it in our hearts and not just filed it in our heads, as theory.  Rather, getting the "nutritional essentials" extracted as spiritual food, making it our life and breath, assimilated into our DNA, so to speak.  Then we can rejoice at following Your statutes.

Many times we rebel but here the Psalmist says he rejoices as with great riches.  When people think of having great riches, like winning the lottery, everybody's so happy.  Then often, those riches get the recipients into trouble, bring about their downfall.  Evaporated.  Emptiness.

Nevertheless, Father, when we think of having great riches, we do rejoice.  If we use whatever riches You do give us for Your glory and honor to store up treasure in Heaven then we can rejoice we have wealth be instrumental in that.

Further to all that, the psalmist says he meditates on Your precepts and considers your ways.  He does not just have it in his head and heart.  He doesn't just ask You to teach, because what's the point of teaching if the student's not going to learn and get the good of it?

Teachers can teach til they're blue in the face, and their hearts come out, but it's up to the students to take it in, so Lord, this psalmist is a good student because he meditates upon, considers, and delight in Your teaching.  What's more, he does not neglect Your Word.

The combination of all of these elements can help us too, in keeping pure.  Thank-You for giving us these "ways and means" Father.  It's up to us now, to put them to good use.

There's an expression, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."  You've given us Your Word, Your Holy Spirit, and we can ask for You to teach us Your will and ways via these ways and means.  Yet, do we joyfully rejoice, do we seek, so we do not stray?  That was the desire of this Psalm writer.  He did not want to stray from them.  He wanted You to teach them with the desire for him to keep them.

Father, I ask You to teach and keep me too, in all the ways You have for me.  So often we want to jump off that track.  Father keep all of Your children on the right track.  Help us to make a habit of meditating, considering and reciting Your words.  Consequently, when we do, the desired effect of being pure and living a life of integrity will emerge.

Yes, we make mistakes and You, Heavenly Father, forgive the repentant heart.  Generally, although we can never attain 100% purity here on earth, we are moving and keeping in the right direction of being and keeping pure, because You are pure.  We want to imitate and emulated You, dear Father.

Keep us pure and ever cleaving to Your Word.

I ask in Jesus most Holy Name.

                                                             ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:9-16 (Beth)

Prayer - The Right Choice

LORD, You say, "Blessed are those whose ways are blameless," who walk in Your Law, keep your statutes, and seek You with all their heart.  Give us that heart, Father, that would truly wish to seek and walk and be blameless.  

We know that those of us who have accepted Your Son Jesus as Lord and Savior, have been given Your Holy Spirit to indwell us, to aid and abet us in following You.  However, knowing this and actually living according to this as if part of our natural spiritual DNA, is something else.  Your poor fickle human creatures are so hard put to stick to the straight and narrow.

Nevertheless, You have given us a free will and when we do choose to follow Your will, we will indeed be blessed by You.  We know this because Your Word says so and this gives us reason to hope.

You have laid down these precepts, statutes, decrees, and laws, to be fully obeyed.  Lord, help our picking and choosing of only the ones which suits us.  If like this, it does show we are not truly blameless nor 100% full of integrity.

Thinking of this human dilemma in conjunction with a saying from Confucius, that ancient Chinese sage of yesteryears, who is purported to have imparted this morsel of wisdom,

"If you make a mistake and do not correct it, this is called a mistake."

Praise to You, though, Father that we do not have to go it alone.  You are in the business of transforming us; helping us to rectify that which is necessary.  This sanctification, may be slow, but Father, may it be steady. May there be forward movement in this process. We thank and praise You that this does happen.

Also, when we follow Your ways, we will become steadfast.  A beautiful "benefit" to not be so easily shaken when the storms and earthquakes of life befall us or those times of false doctrine threatening to be imposed, etc.  May our foundations hold more firmly in You and Your Words; our edge of obeying them and being blessed by them.

Lord, then we wouldn't be put to shame.  There's no shame in keeping Your word as there may well be in NOT keeping them if our lives go in a wrong way.  Lord, keep us ever cleaving to Your side.  Yes, this is our choice; You are steadfast.  You are there, You never move.

It is our choice. Help though, through You Holy Spirit, to make the right choices, everyday.  Bring it to our attention, mold and meld our will to Yours.  Lord, then surely, we can hold our heads high with Your dignity and not be shamed because we have been following Your will, ways, word and statutes, and living in step with the Holy Spirit.  This as the Holy Spirit leads and guides as we submit to You.  In so doing we can be blessed.

With this type of blessing, I'm not talking about riches or possessions; material goods, but to be blessed spiritually, leading a spiritual life-in You, Father-and draw closer to You.  That is blessing in and of itself.

Yet Lord, should You bestow material wealth upon any one of us, may we remember from Whom they have come and use them for Your glory and honor and the furtherance of Your kingdom, laying up treasure in heaven for You.

There are many of Your servants who do, do that.  I praise You and thank You for that.  Then indeed we can praise You from an upright heart, with a good, clear conscience, and continue to learn and obey Your laws.

Here the Psalmist asks You not to utterly forsake him and we can ask that too even though we know very well you have said You will,

"...never leave us nor forsake us..." (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).

We have the promise that You still like Your children asking for things, to show You that we do fully want You in our life.  Therefore, I echo, "do not forsake me".  I need You every hour in my life.  Help me and all Your children to ever depend upon You and to ever draw closer to You because You are close to us.  

Ever in awe of You and Your Words, Father, and it's in Your Son Jesus' Name we can commune with You.

                                                      ~ERC  July 2020~

Based on Psalm 119:1-8; Aleph

Sing, Praise the Savior  

Prayer - His Love Endures Forever

Father, thank-You, I give You thanks that Your steadfast love endures forever; that Your mercy endures forever.  As we look  at Psalm 136, we can see there is so much the Psalmist was thankful for.  How You wrought Your wonders, throughout the history of the Israelites, for them, from creation forward, and because Your love and mercy endure forever.

You helped the Israelites get out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm

 "because Your love endures forever!"  

Further to that, You helped them escape when You divided the Red Sea.  The Israelites could then walk across on dry ground, 

"because Your steadfast love and mercy endure forever".

You were that Father, that wonderful Father, their Protector, who was their Guide, their "Escape Artist", if you will, assisting them to escape from the Egyptians.  Then You protected them throughout the wilderness wanderings, the many times they were attacked by kings from other nations.  You freed them from their enemies, time after time.  You fed them when they were hungry.

The Psalmist thanks You for all the manifold times of help and assistance You gave them throughout all those years.  Father help too, to remember that in our lives, we need the same facilitation, and whenever You help us, may we too, give You thanks and remember, always, Your

 "steadfast love and mercy endures forever". 

 May we never forget this.  May we always remember and give You praise.

In Jesus Name we praise.

                                                      ~ERC  February 2020~
                                                         (originally prayed)

Based on Psalm 136

Sing, The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases, by Maranatha Singers