By Mike Peek

Sunday: Read Leviticus chapters 24-27 and recited John 1. Sylvania Church at 10:20. Sermon by Phillip Dancy, “The Angles,” Luke 2:14. ·       Angels are spiritual beings with moral judgment and high intelligence o    Angels are messengers §   Prophetic §   Announcements o    Angels are warriors  o    Angels worship God ·       There appears to be a divine aspect to the “Angel of the Lord.” o    Chrisotphany After church service we ate lunch with our friends the Anderson’s and Kriechbaum’s. Monday: Read Numbers chapters 1-3v24 and recited John chapters 2-4. While reading, it occurred to me how massive the Israelite army was. “So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel, even all the numbered men were 603,550.” (Numbers 1v45-46) 603,550 men fit for mil...

The Nurse Theologian is the weekly journal of Mike Peek.  Who is Mike Peek?  I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, a husband to Darlene, a father to Daniel (30) and Bethany (26), and work in this world as a Registered Nurse. My education includes a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas a Arlington and a master’s degree in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In the world, I’m of little importance; however, God demonstrated his own love towards me, in that before I was conceived in my mother’s womb and could commit a single sin, Christ died for me. God knew every sin that I would commit, yet he chose me for redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, he predestined me for adoption as his son through Jesus Christ; therefore, I am a citizen of the kingdom of God and of the very household of God. It is my daily habit to rise in the morning at 4:00am; my intention is to rise 3 and ½ h...

During the month of Advent, the Peek household displays four silver colored letters on our mantle above our fireplace that spell “NOEL”; these serve as hangers for our stockings. A family tradition started by one of our children is for someone to change the spelling to “LEON” until someone in the household notices. In fact, the storage box that contains these mantle pieces is marked LEON on the lid. The picture was taken at my work in the Cardiac Rehab depart at the Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital. I rearranged the spelling to say, “LEON” until someone in the department noticed. This brings to mind a thought that I had this week about words. Words are very important but the meaning of the words are even more important. According to the Oxford English dictionary the word “NOEL” means “Christmas, especially as a refrain in carols and on Christmas cards.” Noel was borrowed from early 19th century French. However, if a person does not know what “NOEL” means it might as well say,...

The Advent season is upon us, and love is in the air, but not the love of romance; tis the season to be jolly, for the love of God is in the air. “ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  (Jn 3 v 16)  Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople from 715-730 wrote: A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure! The virgin bears the Infant With virgin-honour pure. Repeat the song again! To God on high be glory, And peace on earth to men! This week, my morning devotion time was spent reading the Old Testament book Exodus. You might wonder how Exodus relates to Advent? Or, for that matter, can any book outside of Matthew and Luke relate to Advent? At the very lowest point in the family of Israel, the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses from the midst of a blazing bush, the bush was burning with fire and yet not consumed. (Ex. 3 v 2)  God remembered the covenant that ...

I began journaling after my earthly father went into the hospital on Christmas Day, 2013. After this, he went into a nursing home where he died on February 16, 2014. At first, the journal was sporadic and consisted of jotting down things that happened and thoughts that I was having. Later that year, the journal became a daily devotion in which I wrote letters to God. For the first 4 years my letters to God were in a paper journal but last year I started writing them in a word document because I was doing my daily Scripture reading on my iPad. In January of this year I decide to begin a second journal because I happened to have an empty paper journal on my bookshelf. I began writing in this journal things that I wanted to remember. I would go days and even weeks between writing in this second journal. However, on September 15, 2019, I got off of an airplane in the country of Cuba. I wanted to keep a record of everything that I saw, everything that I did, everything that happened, t...

This past Sunday, Darlene and I attended Rodney Skyles’ class. Rodney taught a lesson from Matthew 17:24-18:11 , he named the lesson: “Offenses and Humility.” Rodney is the director of operations for 89.5 KVNE Christian Radio for Tyler and Longview, Texas.  He made an announcement in class that interested me greatly because my heart has been lead to Spanish speaking people in missions; therefore, I am actively learning the Spanish language. The announcement is that KVNE would be launching two new Christian radio stations, one of which is a Spanish station (102.3 FM). The station is scheduled to go live in January. This brings me to the reason I am learning Spanish. Why Learn Spanish? Spanish is the heart language of 450 million people world wide, 5.85% of the world population. In the U.S.A., Spanish is the heart language of 41 million people, 13% of the population. Spanish is the heart language of 1 in 8 persons in the U.S.A. A heart language, is the language that yo...

This is my blog and the things that I write about are mine. My thoughts, just like everything else that I have, were given to me by the Lord God Almighty; therefore, he alone is worthy of all honor, glory and praise. When someone says to me, “Well I guess I’ll live,” as my patients often respond when I’ve taken their vital signs and reported to them the result. I like to contour: “At least for another 6 minutes.” Reader, that you may know how frail you are, you have only 6 minutes to live after every heart beat. If you do not receive another heart beat you will be irrevocably dead within 6 minutes. Some people are kept alive through Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, that is if CPR is started before the 6 minute life window closes; however, just as receiving a heart beat is a gift, CPR does not originate from the one being resuscitated. This week I started reading the book of Genesis and read through chapter 36. I recited chapters 1-7 from the gospel of John in English, and I have memo...

(Overlooking the River at Beavers Bend on Sunday Morning) A blog is a regularly updated webpage written by an individual in a conversational style; therefore I decided that I should write the nurse theologian retrospective of my thoughts, struggles and actions over the previous week. During the past week I read two books: “The law/Grace Controversy” by John G. Reisinger and “The Sovereignty of God” by Author W. Pink. For some, the distinction between law and grace is a struggle and others do not think much of these things.  The “Ten Commandments,” given to the nation of Israel, recorded in Exodus 20 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5, was the covenant foundation by which the nation of Israel entered into a relationship with the Lord God but it is not the covenantal foundation for the church. The covenantal foundation for the life of the church is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (My Mother hiking to the overlook) On Saturday morning I picked up a Bible translation from my ...

Last week I wrote that I would begin journaling retrospective of the past week; however, I now believe that doing so may be more difficult than I previous envisioned. Some things that happen during the week are very embarrassing to me, but if I’m to do this to the glory of God in Jesus Christ and the good of my neighbor I must be vulnerable. During my personal devotional time I read: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 st & 2 nd Thessalonians, and 1 st & 2 nd Timothy. I do not typically read that many books of the Bible in a week, but I love reading the Pauline epistles because they speak so well to the trials that go on in everyday Christian life. In my recitation practice of John, I recited chapters 8-14; and in my attempt to memorize John’s prolog in Spanish, I have memorized though verse 6. Five times this week I ran in the morning for a total distance of about 27 miles. I used to run many road races when I was younger but do not run them anymore; however, in Marc...

I named this blog, “The Nurse Theologian” because I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in theological studies. The apostle Paul said: “Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.”  (1 Cor.7.24, NASB)  I was called while a Registered Nurse; therefore, I continue working with the infirmed and I was called into Christian ministry; therefore, I study that I may accurately handle the word of truth.  (cf. 2 Tim.2.15, NASB) My typical week is very busy, but I have time to write on Saturday mornings after completing a run. I would like to make this blog into a weekly journal retrospective of the past week. These will simply be the thoughts, actions and pictures taken during a week by a middle aged-Christian man; who works as a Registered Nurse in an outpatient Cardiac/Pulmonary rehab; who continually studies the Bible, church history, systematic theology and practical theology; who travels overseas 3-4 times a year...

He Gave Me Ears to Hear God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Th. 2:13-14, NASB) The day that I heard the call was December 27, 2009. I wrote down two statements on the back of an envelope, which I keep in a folder, on a bookshelf in my study:  1.     Allow Jesus to be Lord over my life daily. Make that commitment to him daily and allow his Holy Spirit to fill me. 2.     Do to others as I would have them do to me. Do this in all aspects. When I heard the call I admittedly understood that Jesus is Lord and his commandments are love. However, I did not yet appreciate the sovereignty of God in my salvation. I later came to appreciate the sovereign grace of God through reading the Scriptures, while filled with the Holy Spirit. I read that God chose me before the f...

We become set in our ways and comfortable in our lives. Therefore, it becomes increasingly difficult to depart from our comfort zones, but to be a participant in the Great Commission we must leave our comfort zones and usual way of doing things. This past week I was taken far from my comfort zone and usual way of doing things. I spent the week assisting with the teaching of disciples, at a week-long seminar, in a foreign country that I never imagined visiting. This morning I write to you from that country under a shade tree while waiting to depart to the airport and head back home. The seminar concluded yesterday evening and the students were all dismissed to their churches. The details of the trip are not important for this writing, but the fact that I spent the last week far from my comfort zone and usual way of doing things in obedience to the Great Commissions is important. The words of Christ in Matthew 28:16-20 are known by the disciples of Jesus Christ as the Great Commission ...