A dear friend passed away this morning. His battle with cancer is over, his struggle with pain is finished. I heard that he was at the Hospice Center in Cary so I tried to swing by after work today in hope of spending some time with Kirk just to let him know how much I’ve appreciated him. I didn’t know that Jesus had called him home earlier that day, so I was a bit stunned and hurt. I appreciated Kirk’s exhortations and his constant gratitude and humility. He was quite an example to those around him. I remember that one of the things Kirk was especially grateful for was God allowing him to “get his house in order” in case the cancer treatment didn’t work. I rummaged through some of my email from Kirk and found this teaching, one of the last (Selah):
It has been awhile since my last update. I have had two more chemo treatments (March 4 and March 25) and both went extremely well. My next treatment is April 15 at 8:30. My PSA level has finally started going down. After reaching a high of 78 on March 4, it was down to 62 by the March 25 treatment. This is the first decrease since I started back on chemo in January. Thank you God!
I did have a port installed the other week. The veins in my arms have basically given out due to all the chemo treatments and the port (which is in my upper right chest) is a direct connection into a large vein. The IV is connected into the port which keeps me from being “stuck” in the arm.
I am feeling great these days. The chemo symptoms don’t seem to be as bad this time around, although it takes a little longer to get my strength fully back. As always, I do appreciate every single prayer sent up on my behalf. I do ask that you remember Penny and Melanie in your prayers. This process is harder on them than it is on me.
Preaching hat time: In my last several updates I have been focusing on the importance of Bible study and witnessing to others. I believe, at least for me, that these two activities are closely linked. We need to mature as Christians so that we can better share the Good News of God’s salvation plan (which I laid out in my first update of 2009). One way we mature is by studying the Bible. That doesn’t mean that a new Christian can’t witness to others. It does mean that a mature Christian has no excuse not to witness to others. As Christians we should know both the Old and New Testament because they work in unison to point to Christ.
Below is a passage from Numbers that we studied in my BFS class the other week. This is one of the strangest passages in the Bible and for me it showed the importance of Bible study. Without a formal Bible study, I would never have understood what it meant and could never have explained it and how it relates to Christ.
Here is the passage from Number 21. After you read it, can you figure out what it means and how it points to Christ?
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
You probably agree with me when I say, that is pretty weird. It is no wonder that most people have trouble understanding the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Let me quickly give a shot at explaining this passage. God delivered the people from the snakes, but He did it in an unusual way. God could have made the snakes disappear, which would not have required any action by the Israelites, Instead, God chose to make them active participants in the process. They were required to look at the bronze snake on the pole in order to be saved once they were bitten. You might be asking: how in the world would that save them. Why not have them do something productive like take some medicine or rub some special herb on the bite. God’s resolution of the problem seemingly makes no sense. But, in order to be saved, all the people had to do was follow God’s request – look at the bronze snake. The end of verse 9 verifies the fact that God’s plan did work. Those that looked at the bronze snake lived. It was by faith in God that the people were saved.
That is the same story that Christ presents to us today. In order to be saved from sin (which is what the venomous snake bite represents) all we have to do is look to Christ. Through faith we are saved. Looking to Christ involves the following three steps. (1) Admit that you are a sinner and repent from your sins. (2) Believe that Jesus is God in the flesh and that He died and rose from that death for your sins. (3) Confess Jesus to be the master of your life. In John 3: 14 and 15, Jesus references this story by saying: 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Just like the Israelites probably wanted to do something about being saved from the snakes (like go out and kill the snakes, make some special medicine, avoid the areas where the snakes were last seen) we too want to do something to be saved from sin. But, we can’t be good enough on our own to be saved, we can’t buy (through giving to charities) our way to being saved and we can’t do enough good works (charity work, going to church, helping the poor) to be saved. The only way is to have faith in God’s chosen plan.
God’s plan seems just as unusual to us today as His plan to save the Israelites back in the Old Testament. Why did God decide to do things this way? I don’t know. God is God and He does what He wants to. He doesn’t need approval from Kirk Kibler! Do you think He needs your approval? Remember 1 Corinthians 1:18 says “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Again, all you need is faith.
I hope this has spurred your interest in Bible study. I hope this has peaked your interest in learning more if you are not a Christian. If so, I encourage you to talk with a pastor, friend or me.
That was a bit lengthy, thanks for reading it.
Again, thanks for your continued support. It is extremely important to me. God bless you all of my friends.
Kirk Kibler
Rich words from a man who looked upon Jesus (the lifted up Son of Man) to save his soul.
