The Coughing Preacher says the "V: word.

This is a picture of one of our mega churches in the area. I try not to be envious and to be content with where God has me.

Laura and I have had a rough winter, cold germ wise. We have caught and shared an almost continual set of head colds, sore throats, chest congestions, and stuffy runny noses.

The fact that she teaches almost 30 first graders has to be a contributing factor, we think, and the fact that on any give week I talk to and shake hands with 100 plus people.

Anyway, I thought I was well again when a strange, persistent, dry cough began about six days ago. I am going to have to get it checked out. I deadened it with Cloroseptic to get through my message this morning. Good stuff.

Some comments, I hope tongue in cheek about me speaking of the women with an issue of blood having a "vaginal" infection. Apparently not a word used in polite Christian conversation. I had forgotten that shibboleth.

Revisiting the women healed by the touch of Jesus Hem allowed me to reflect on the healthcare debate, our dependence upon medical professionals, and how our faith brings Christ into the exam rooms.

It also allowed me to warn about the many false enthusiasms about the faith healing movement and the over selling of divine healing that takes place in much TV and popular teaching. I am alive today because a relatively simple surgical procedure that opened three dangerously clogged arteries. That is miraculous. Could and would Jesus have healed me had my heart attack happened five hours into the woods on a hike? I cannot answer that, but I would have prayed such, and believed such. Do I believe in healing, yes, just not to the level and perfection we see during the Apostolic age, and for many good and clear reasons.