Next round of treatment and the Jubilee

Hi Everyone,
I finally have an idea of what is happening next with the treatment. I have decided to do the clinical trial - even though I have to stop the herbs - I can still take nutritional supplements like vitamins - which I am going to continue to take. I have to go to Dana-Farber on September 26 for a CT scan, EKG and blood work as well as meet with Dr. Berlin and the research nurses about the trial. The first infusion will be on October 3rd. I have two weeks of infusion and one week off. Since this is a clinical trial, the side effects are not well known - but there is a list - the major ones that are the most common are fatigue, low white blood cell count and nausea. Other reported side effects include hair loss--so my "gorgeous" curls might have to go. I am still planning to work at school but may have to wear a mask and also may be kind of tired some days. On October 9, I have the thyroid aspiration scheduled (biopsy of the nodule). Please pray for me - as I have told the Lord, I am not really brave and long needles going into my neck can cause a bit of panic.....
My mom is still suffering from much pain due to the shingles. She is getting worn out and seems to think it is her fault. The construction for her "room" downstairs is not complete yet and she has to climb the stairs which is very, very painful. Her doctor prescribed a stronger pain med which hopefully will help her.
Recently my daughter asked me why the Lord allows so many things to happen to us at once - she wondered why they can't be staggered with a brief respite in between. This is a reasonable question. I have often asked the Lord "What can You gain if you crush me altogether?" Then this week I read something really quite wonderful about the Jubilee. In case you don't know what the Jubilee is, here are some verses from Leviticus 25:8-17 which describe it:
Leviticus 25 : 8 ---- Leviticus 25 : 17

8 And you shall count off seven Sabbaths of years to yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years.

9 Then you shall sound aloud the ram's horn in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month; on the Day of Expiation you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land.

10 And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; you shall not sow nor reap its aftergrowth nor gather from its unpruned vines.

12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce out of the field.

13 In this year of jubilee each one of you shall return to his possession.

14 And if you sell anything to your fellow countryman or buy from the hand of your fellow countryman, you shall not wrong one another.

15 According to the number of years after the jubilee you shall buy from your fellow countryman; according to the number of crop years remaining he shall sell to you.

16 According to the extent of the years you shall increase its price, and according to the fewness of the years you shall diminish its price; for it is the number of crop years that he sells to you.

17 And you shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am Jehovah your God.

Essentially, the jubilee, or the 50th year, was a special year in which all the slaves were to be set free and all of God's people would return to their possession. Then in Isaiah 61:1-2 the acceptable year of the Lord is mentioned. This year is the Jubilee year. Then in Luke 4, the Lord Jesus says "18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of jubilee.''
20 And when He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant, He sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

I realized that the Jubilee was not just for the children of Israel - is not just historical - but as the Lord Jesus said - it has been fulfilled in Him. He is the Jubilee. Only when we receive the Lord jesus as the real jubilee in us can we be delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan to have real freedom and rest. I read something from an outline on the Jubilee published in the Crystallization-Study of the Gospel of Luke (Living Stream Ministry). This was quite encouraging and enlightening to me:

"Jubilee means having no worry or anxiety, no concern or care, no lack or shortage, no sickness or calamity, and no problems whatsoever, but rather having all benefits; hence, all things are pleasant and satisfying to our heart, and we are free from anxiety, at ease, excited, and exultant...If our heart is set on any person, thing, or matter other than the Lord, this is idolatry, and the end is wretchedness. If we allow Christ to live in us and we live by Him, everything is to our satisfaction; otherwise, everything is a problem, and nothing is a jubilee. Everything can be satisfying to us only after we have gained the all-inclusive Christ as our enjoyment; it is not outward persons, matters, or things, but Christ within us who enables us to be calm and free of worries as we face all kinds of situations."

The reality of the Jubilee is the Lord Jesus. If I am found in Him, I am released from prison, set free from whatever enslaves me and also I have my inheritance, my portion. So the Jubilee is not an event but a Person. In order to enter into the reality of the Jubilee we need to spend time with the Lord in the Word. I pray that we all can enter into this reality. If we set our being absolutely upon Him, and not upon anything else, then we will not be disappointed. All those things enslave us. Only the Lord Jesus sets us free.

Here is a wonderful hymn that I enjoy so much:

1. Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters;
Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain.
But I received a glorious freedom,
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.

Refrain

Glorious freedom! Wonderful freedom!
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus the glorious Emancipator—
Now and forever He shall be mine.

2. Freedom from all the carnal affections;
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions;
Freedom from all that saddened my life!

Refrain

3. Freedom from pride and all sinful follies;
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil temper and anger;
Glorious freedom, rapture untold!

Refrain

4. Freedom from fear with all of its torments;
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ, my blessèd Redeemer—
He Who has rent my fetters in twain.

Refrain

There is a song by Michael Card Jubilee - which is also quite wonderful

The Lord provided for a time for the slaves to be set free
For the debts to all be cancelled so his chosen ones could see
His deep desire was for forgiveness, he longed to see their liberty
And his yearning was embodied in the year of jubilee

Jubilee, Jubilee
Jesus is the Jubilee
Debts forgiven, Slaves set free
Jesus is our Jubilee

At the Lord’s appointed time, his deep desire became a man
The heart of all true jubilation and with joy we understand
In his voice we hear a trumpet sound that tells us we are free
He is the incarnation of the year of jubilee

Jubilee, Jubilee
Jesus is the Jubilee
Debts forgiven, Slaves set free
Jesus is our Jubilee

To be so completely guilty and given over to despair
To look into your Judge’s face and find a Savior there

Jubilee, Jubilee
Jesus is the Jubilee
Debts forgiven, Slaves set free
Jesus is our Jubilee

So enjoy the glorious freedom we have in the person of Christ today!
Much love,
Joanne