Rose's Reasonings

Friday, January 06, 2006

How has God been Faithful in your Life?

Below is a favorite song of mine. When I hear this song in our church, (which I haven't for awhile, I have to fight back tears).

To all my blog readers: Please leave a comment that tells of a specific time when the Lord proved faithful in your life and it really was so clear to you at that time how faithful He is. Tell as much as you want about the situation. Long stories are welcome (short ones, too). (Suggested inclusion: what promise from His Word did He prove faithful to?)

He’s Been Faithful
Words and Music by Carol Cybala

In my moments of fear,
Through every pain, every tear,
There’s a God who’s been faithful to me.

When my strength was all gone,
When my heart had no song,
Still in love, He’s proved faithful to me.

Every word He’s promised is true;
What I though was impossible,
I see my God do.

Refrain:
He’s been faithful, faithful to me.
Looking back, His love and mercy I see.
Though in my heart I have questioned,
Even failed to believe …
Yet, He’s been faithful, faithful to me.

When my heart looked away,
The many times I could not pray,
Still my God, He was faithful to me.

The days I spent so selfishly,
Reaching out for what pleased me,
Even then, God was faithful to me.

Every time I come back to Him
He is waiting with open arms, and
I see once again …

the END

40 Comments:

The Lord is always faithfaul in my life. I'm pigheaded to not observe the vast, vast majority of His faithfulness.

I've come across some people from churches in South America that have a greeting that give each other. It goes like this:

First person: God is faithful.
Second person: All the time.
First person: All the time.
Second person: God is faithful.

By Earl Flask, at 1/06/2006 1:02 PM
Thank you Earl!
I have heard that greeting, but with a different twist:

God is good
All the time
All the time
God is good

(Are you really pig-headed? I can't believe it!)

By Rose~, at 1/06/2006 1:28 PM
Rose~,
That is a clever idea, directing the comments. You are a natural teacher.

God really blessed me with last year's extra job as an exam marker. I would nnever have thought of applying, but a collaague of my mother suggested it to her. I applied and was accepted, even though I have no teaching experience (there was a big shortage of Religious Studies examiners).

I had to attend a couple of conferences as part of the job. I do not like travelling much, but the Lord ensured that the travel involved worked out smoothly. My parents were happy to have a day out in Cambridge on the day I needed to go there, so I got to go with them. My grandmother was visiting her old home in Nottingham on the weekend I needed to go there, so I got a lift from my uncle.

I had worried about finances that year, but by getting me this job, the Lord sure provided. I earned more money than I had ever earned before.

Every Blessing in Christ

Matthew

By Matthew Celestine, at 1/06/2006 1:43 PM
Rose, you're right. Not only am I pig-headed, but I'm hard of hearing -- or is it that I forget? I can't remember.

By Earl Flask, at 1/06/2006 1:59 PM
But wait, somewhere, somebody said I wasn't pig headed. Or did they, I forget... :o)

By Earl Flask, at 1/06/2006 2:00 PM
Well, you do not have a photograph posted, Earl. You must look a bit odd if you have a pig's head.

I am sure you look much nicer than that.

God Bless

Matthew

By Matthew Celestine, at 1/06/2006 3:17 PM
The Bible says that "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." but that the kisses of the enemy are deceitful.

God shut Adam and Eve out of the Garden and put an angel to gaurd the tree of life so that they would not eat of it and die. God did not want man to have the opportunity at living in his own willful rebellion and sin forever.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

If He had allowed us to continue to live in sin then it would only have hurt us. This is not His way. This is not faithful wounds. Those are the kisses of the enemy.

Jesus is a faithful friend who rebuked often to open eyes.

He was faithful to me in that he didn't allow me to continue decieving myself and crushed my spirit waking me up from an intellectual faith and wounding me deeply by his law in the same way a doctor opens the wound all the way in order to operate. The wound hurts but His grace is there to heal that wound and by His stripes we are healed.

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 3:49 PM
eat of it and *live* I meant

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 5:47 PM
Matthew,
Thank you for sharing the story of how the Lord guided and provided!

Matthew,
Earl does have a photograph posted. You, my friend are the one without a photograph posted. (kidding)

Bhedr,
God is faithful to that which He has put forth. In the garden He promised "If you eat of it, you will die." That was true, just like all the other promises in the Word.

If we are racked with guilt over faithlessness, He is still a faithful Father to those who have been birthed into His family.
Thanks for sharing!

By Rose~, at 1/06/2006 6:07 PM
I just got back from taking a walk in the cold twilight.
I went through a forest, which is still standing 3 miles from the city limits of a major city.
I went to a mall. The mall is now dominated by Mexicans, and was full of happy men, women, and children who have come to the United States to find a better life.
The ATM at the mall gave me money.
I walked back to the house, and my body heat was captured by the layers I was wearing, so I was no longer cold.
I see God in all of this.

By chamblee54, at 1/06/2006 6:41 PM
I was talking about the tree of life that God kept them from eating when he cast them out of the Garden. Not talking about the one they ate and died because of it. Genesis 3:22-24

your favorite pig-head who will never win your reward:-)

Earl? You have your reward:-)

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 7:14 PM
2 Tim 2:11-13

"This is a faithful saying:"

"For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him."

(This is another way of saying that every believer has eternal life and can never lose it. If you have believed in Christ for eternal life, then you have died with Him in a positional sense (Rom 6:5, 8; Gal 2:20; 5:24). And, if you've died with Him, you will live with Him, forever. Notice that there is no escape clause here. There is no such thing as one who has died with Christ who later loses his salvation.)

"If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him." [what happens when we are faithful]

(Paul had spoken of his own endurance, using the same Greek verb, in v 10. There it clearly refers to persevering in the faith in spite of persecution and suffering (v 9). If other Christians follow his example and endure in the faith in spite of persecution and suffering, then they will rule with Christ.

The Lord Jesus also made it clear that only overcoming Christians will rule with Him. Compare Luke 19:11-26; Rev 2:26; 3:21. While all Christians will be in His kingdom, only Christians who endured in this life will be a part of His kingdom administration. Since serving Christ is what we will do in eternity (Rev 22:3), increased opportunity to serve Him is something which is extremely desirable.)

"If we deny Him,
He also will deny us." [what happens when we are unfaithful]

(The second half of verse 12 is antithetically opposite of the first half. After the words "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him," we expect, "If we don't endure, we shall not reign with Him." That is precisely what verse 12b is saying. To deny Christ is to fail to endure in the faith. To be denied by Him is to be refused the privilege of ruling with Him.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ some believers will be confessed by Christ (Matt 10:33). He will acknowledge overcoming believers before God the Father and the angels as those who will rule with Him (Luke 19:17, 19). However, some believers at the Judgment Seat will be denied by Christ (Matt 10:33). He won't deny that they are saved. Remember, even if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He can't deny Himself. He will deny them in the sense that He will deny that they are worthy to reign with Him (compare Luke 19:22-26; Heb 11:38; Rev 3:4, 21).)

"If we are faithless [or better unfaithful: Greek = apistoumen]
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself."

(Note that even if you or I are faithless, Christ remains faithful. Why? Because He can't deny Himself. He promises to give eternal life to all who believe in Him for it. Our faithfulness is not part of the equation! (good for us!) It is His faithfulness that determines whether we stay saved or not. Since He will always be faithful to that which He promised, all those who have trusted in Christ, including unfaithful, apostate ones, will live with Christ forever.

Antonio da Rosa
Much credit to Bob Wilkin

By Antonio, at 1/06/2006 7:43 PM
Amen brother and that is why faith comes from Him! Ta da.

Until we discover that faith comes from him then we cannot be faithful.

BTW, Some Scholars believe that text in its context means that he is faithful to his judgment. That's a whole other study entirely.

Brother in your efforts you must be careful though not to deny
John 10:27- "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, *and they follow me*."

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 9:13 PM
Hello Chamblee,
Welcome.
Even though you are not one of us "Jesus-worshippers", you can see better than some of us how that everything we take for granted in our lives attests to God's faithfulness.
Gravity shows God's faithfulness. Every spring we see God's faithfulness. (and every winter too, even though I don't like winter).
Every time I inhale and exhale, God is faithful to the way He designed my body to work for as long as He has determined to let me live.

People fail, Christians fail, Christ never fails.

Come back again!

By Rose~, at 1/06/2006 9:23 PM
BTW,

Antonio,

Just letting you know that I agree with you on that interpretation of the text. What a blessed relief eh?

Again let me caution you as I used to take this to far. you must come to terms with the fact that the passage does say, "If we deny Him!He will deny us"

Don't try to parse that. John 10:27 stands on its own as well! Don't argue the words of Jesus, just say you are puzzled and accept the truth that is there.

As to perforations in the walk? Only God knows! But he does also warn of apostacy and the danger is that in the quest to prove a text you link on to it and deny the other one.

Hey, remember that old footprints poem. Kinda fits here.

Remember also that this faith is not to be considered intellectual but it is one in which the very Holy Spirit of the Living God has punctured the heart and crushed the will with his word and resurrected a new will and creation. Don't deny the existence of the new creation in order to prove the works of the flesh.

We should all endeavor to find balance and fall in submission to what the Word of God says.

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 9:30 PM
Antonio,
I just emailed your response to my brother, who is a new Christian and is leaning to the Lordship view. This is because of Christians that he knows who have no care for what God thinks of what they do. Since he has come to a new life in Christ, he doesn't understand how someone could not want to please the Lord if they were given the Spirit, as he has. Anyways, your response puts the focus where it needs to be. The gospel message -TELEO!
Thank you.

Bhedr,
From all the years that you were on the mission field, there must be a specific instance when God was faithful to a specific promise from His Word. One that sticks out in your mind? Please tell us one of these wondrous examples in your lovely poetic way. Sincerely!

By Rose~, at 1/06/2006 9:31 PM
I hear you Rose,

Throwing the brakes on and getting out of the debate mode, thanks.

By Bhedr, at 1/06/2006 9:32 PM
I was thinking about many instances of God's faithfulness today and trying to pick a powerful one to place here. The song from my post kept going through my head. I must post the reason that it makes me cry:

I am not a very good Christian.
Sometimes I think in unspritual, ungodly ways. For example, I feel mad at where I fell in the family order. I get jealous of my younger brother and his wife because they are spoiled by the rest of my family ...

Sometimes I really have to remind myself to pray. (Some people are now wondering if they will see me in heaven) ...
I am selfish.
I've gone through long periods where reading the Bible put me to sleep way too easily for a Christian.
Certain doctrines cause me to doubt the goodness of God.

I am really very sub-par as a Christian.
I am not what I should be entirely.

Yet, (here's the faithfulness of God) He still accepts me because of Christ! When I don't pray, He doesn't turn His face from me. He waits for me because I am His child. He is my Father and will always be my Father. He is so full of mercy. No one can pluck me out of His hand, ever, not even me.

This is my best testimony of how I see the faithfulness of God. At risk of scorn, I have shared this with anyone reading here.

By Rose~, at 1/07/2006 12:24 AM
Rose-

Thank you for sharing. I can't think of a specific instance that stands out to me. I am so unfaithful to Him so much of the time. I struggle with His unconditional love of me when nothing I do ever measures up to His standards. I am unworthy and at times completely unfaithful to Him yet He remains faithful to me and is constantly, gently calling me back to Him. I'm not sure any of our testimonies are too far from each other in this respect. God bless you and have a blessed Saturday.

By mas, at 1/07/2006 8:00 AM
Not one time has He ever refused to forgive me out of the untold number of times I've needed His forgiveness.

By Kc, at 1/07/2006 8:34 AM
mas,
Thank you for understanding. Thank you also for expressing your appreciation for the wonderful grace of the Lord in your own life.

Dave Mullins said this in a comment on his blog the other day (not that I think he was referring to me ... but it made me think):

One can put up a front in the blogosphere as a great theologian, vibrant Christian, etc.. but completely devoid ...

I want to be real clear who I really am. I am no great Christian.
Vibrant? Maybe.
Honest? Usually.
Faithful? Not as I should be.

This is not to say that it is just OK to rest on one's laurels and do nothing for the cause of Christ because He has done it all. Quite the opposite, because I am secure as His child, I should try to please Him to the extent I am able. However, isn't it a danger for anyone to think they have "arrived" in the Christian life?

Honesty with oneself about one's insufficiency brings great thankfulness to God for His great mercy and Grace!

kc,
Right on, brother! He just keeps on cleansing us ...

By Rose~, at 1/07/2006 11:41 AM
Hi Rose,

Here's a story of God's faithfulness that takes a little thinking about.

David was a man after God’s own heart, and in 2 Samuel 7:11-16, God gave him the covenant that the Messiah would be born from his seed. "I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son." (vs 14). David understood and was greatly humbled by this. "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?”

Four chapters later, Israel was at war with the people of Ammon, but David stayed behind. And as he walked on the roof of the king’s house he saw Bathsheba, and sent to inquire about her. We all know the story as he fell into sin with her, and she conceived. Then David conspired against her husband, Uriah the Hittite, so that he was killed by the sword of the people of Ammon, and he took Bathsheba as his wife.

And the thing that David did displeased the Lord, and He sent the prophet Nathan to pronounce a judgment against him. To understand this judgment we have to consider that, apparently, Uriah and Bathsheba had not been married long and were still childless. So when David killed him, he effectively cut off all his descendants after him as well.

Furthermore, under the law of Moses, Bathsheba should have been given to one of Uriah’s brothers to raise up offspring for him. But David took her to himself instead, and in this way, too, he fully cut off Uriah’s seed from after him.

David destroyed both Uriah and all of his house by the sword of the people of Ammon, in what he had done. And so the Lord would say to him:

“Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon.

“Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”
(2 Sam 12:9-10)

In retribution, the sword would devour David’s house as well, even to all generations . . . but wait a minute. Four chapters earlier, God swore to him that Jesus Christ would be born in his house! So how will this turn out?

In order to keep both His covenant and His judgment, would God bring the sword against His own Son one day, when He was born in David’s house? And the prophet, looking down through the ages, supplied the answer:

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion," says the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd . . .”
(Zech 13:7)

God honors those who swear to their own hurt and do not change (Ps 15:5), and He is faithful, even in the same drastic measure “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.” (Ps 89:34-35). He is faithful to us even at dearest cost to Himself. And of course, He makes all things work together for good.

There is much more I would like to say about His faithfulness, but let me end with this. God provides for us in terms of our lives. Things like opportunities or finances are simply sub-categories within this larger question, because life extends to such areas. But when it comes right down to it, God didn’t spare His own Son. Will He not therefore freely give us all things through Him? But in keeping with the same larger picture, let us always focus on Him and not just on the ‘things’. For we, too, share in the basic terms of a covenant of life with Him, and this life is in His Son whom He gave for us all, and through whom we live.

By Cleopas, at 1/07/2006 11:48 AM
Loren,
What are you trying to say? I'm a little confused about your message.

By Rose~, at 1/07/2006 2:52 PM
Hi Rose,

God's faithfulness is such that He will swear to His own hurt and not change. This is especially true in the context of a covenant.

There is a difference between a covenant and a contract, and I think most Christians have a 'contract' mentality about their walk with the Lord. But here are some of the differences:

1). The 'currency' of a contract is money, goods and services. The 'currency' of a covenant is life itself.

2). Contracts are governed by terms: you do for me, I do for you; you fix my copier, I pay your bill. But covenants are unlimited in scope, effecting every area to which life itself extends.

3). Contracts include durations that eventually expire. Covenants never expire, except with the end of life (and even then, they can be carried over to descendants).

Our walk with God is a covenant. Marriage is another example of a covenant. They are not simply contracts, so when we view them as such we do so wrongly.

For example: Last year I was out of work for a long time, but God met all of our needs. We never asked anyone for money, but we were given $1,000 twice. Someone else gave each of us $600. Twice more we were given $500, and eight times we were given $100. We were given more fifties and twenties than I can count. Someone paid for us to go on a vacation, just to bless us. Someone else paid to send us to a seminar. We neither asked nor hinted around for any of this in any way. My wife's only work was stay at home free lance graphic design, but her business tripled during this time.

Meanwhile I was writing a basic discipleship course for my church and for POLD. The entire time, I was also looking for a job but couldn't find one. But within 10 days of completing that course, I also had a new job. And since then I've even gotten a 25% raise.

That's a lot of money we're talking about, but it's not really the point. The point is that life extends to such areas, so God was faithful in going through life with us.

Think of it this way. All of that money is now spent. It went for rent, groceries, gas, etc. But what has remained? God got hold of our lives and grew us up some. He showed us that He cares for us in every area of our lives; and if we trust Him, He will prove Himself strong on our behalf.

The example with David shows God's faithfulness even when the going is tough, even if, for some reason, He would 'rather not'. He will stick with us anyway, and work all things together for our good because He is faithful and cares for us in every challenge we may face.

Understanding His faithfulness in terms of His steadfast character is what I hoped to explore, instead of the overly simplistic 'contract' mentality that measures his faithfulness by worldly blessings received, give and get, etc.

Hope that is a little clearer.

By Cleopas, at 1/07/2006 3:58 PM
Cleopas, I am not sure it is exactly Scriptural to place believers under a Covenant, though they do derive some of the blessings involved in the New Covenant. There is similarity. However, a Covenant is a legal relationship, while Christians are in a personal relationship through their identification with the risen Christ.

God Bless

Matthew

By Matthew Celestine, at 1/07/2006 4:22 PM
Loren,
Understanding His faithfulness in terms of His steadfast character is what I hoped to explore, instead of the overly simplistic 'contract' mentality that measures his faithfulness by worldly blessings received, give and get, etc.

That makes me smile. I wasn't even thinking of material blessings at all. Good story, though, of how God did provide what you needed to make it through that unexpected lack of employment.

Great! I wish some more people would contribute accounts of their faithful Father's care.

By Rose~, at 1/07/2006 5:19 PM
Hi Matthew,

Wow, toss me some more easy ones! :0)

Luke 1:72-75:
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
"The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
"To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
"In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."

1 Cor 11:25:
"In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

2 Cor 3:6:
"who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Heb 7:22:
"by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant."

Heb 8:6-13
"But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
"Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
"not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
"In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

By Cleopas, at 1/07/2006 5:20 PM
Cleopas,
None of these verses teach that Christians are party to any covenant.

Luke 1:72-75:
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
"The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
"To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
"In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life." (I do not endorse this Bible version that you are using)

Toss me an easy one, this is talking about Israel, not the Church.

1 Cor 11:25:
"In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

2 Cor 3:6:
"who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Heb 7:22:
"by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant."

Heb 8:6-13
"But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
"Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
"not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
"In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

The Church is not a party to the New Covenant. A covenant is a binding legal agreement and so it must be absolutely certain who the parties are. If you read Jeremiah 31:33
'But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God and they shall be my people.'

The New Covenant was prmosed to Israel. They are the sole party to it.

Dispensationalits differ in how they view the New Covenant's relation to Israel. I have no problem with the majority view that Christians receive benefits from the New Covenant that are mediated by Christ.

To place the Christian under a covenant is to place a mediator between him and Christ. We are identified with Christ, who is our heavenly representative and we are risen with Him in His resurrection. Our salvation is in Him entirely, not mediated through any covenant. Covenant's are God 's medium for governing His earthly people, the Jews. The Church is an heavenly body, that as direct access to God. To place the Christian in a covenant relationship is to drag him down to Jewish, earthly ground.

Every Blessing in Christ

Matthew

By Matthew Celestine, at 1/07/2006 5:55 PM
Rose, are you getting what you were lookiing for?

Brian,

you write:
----------
Just letting you know that I agree with you on that interpretation of the text. What a blessed relief eh?
----------

But my interpretation states that a true believer can deny Jesus (with both temporal and eternal consequences) and that a true believer can lose his faith/faithfulness, but God will be faithful to His promises to keep them.

Wow, you are coming more over to the Free Grace side every day!

Praise God!

Antonio

By Antonio, at 1/08/2006 3:54 AM
Also, if you believe that, you must necessarily believe that the faith isn't a gift from God, but due to God's image and likeness in created man, whereby he has the constitutional ability to exercise faith.

Antonio

By Antonio, at 1/08/2006 3:59 AM
Hi Rose,
I wish that I had a specific time that would stand out as an example to me of God's faithfulness. I have more specific recollections of rebuke and corrections from Him and the aftermath of those episodes that have served to make me much stronger in my assurance that His Spirit is always there ready to accompany me and teach me and provide me with all of the self-control, gentleness, kindness, patience and joy that I could ever ask for. And even though until about 10 years ago, even after spending my life in the Amer. Baptist church and being baptized at the age of 14, I had no concept of who He was or even where, He was somehow there when I came out the other end. It is my own fault, not the church's(although I'm being a little easy on them) that I missed "It" for the first 35 years, or simply put it off through immaturity, but I certainly did not have any faith in anything except my own fierce independence. I could not have been saved unless I was being handed some sort of free ride at the time which I doubt that scripture provids for.

So there He was 10 years ago, and I could now walk in a "newness" and a new awareness of real Truth which frankly I was not even looking for. But I did go looking for Him at 35 years of age and it even took me a couple of churches until I found Him. And what I found was finally the one and only true Thing and I'm still beside myself in amazment and it seems to only be growing.

That is my experience in God's faithfulness. He's handed me some "talents" as well, to exercise and use to grow in my faith, and with which to redeem my time, towards His glory. So it's more or less the salvaging of my life of a pointless and fleeting variety, and offering me the revelation of Him and His knowledge and wisdom, and love that is as close as I can gett to and experience of His faithfulness. You would think I didn't understand the question or something.

Well, anyway, I'm sure that's touching, but it's pretty vague. However, now I've done my part here as an avid follower of all of the reasonings from everyone that grace these pages. Nice topic Rose.
Continued faith and grace and fellowship towards that end...to all.
Todd

By Todd Saunders, at 1/08/2006 7:41 PM
The Cymbalas are phenominal! Some great music has come from the Brooklyn Tabernacle.

That's a fantastic song.

Thanks!

By Joe, at 1/08/2006 8:48 PM
Todd,
Thanks for telling your experience with God's faithfulness.

So it's more or less the salvaging of my life of a pointless and fleeting variety, and offering me the revelation of Him and His knowledge and wisdom, and love

That is great. Salvaging our pointless lives. That is what He did for me too.

It is not as easy of a subject as I thought it would be, but it is a good thing to think about. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Hi Joe,
Thanks! I think you and I like some of the same music. Good to see you!

Antonio,
I am surprised that more people didn't contribute an account here, ... maybe they're just busy. The ones that have been told are very encouraging to me. Thanks for yours!

By Rose~, at 1/08/2006 11:46 PM
Rose,

I've been off the internet for about 5 days, but this is a great question for everyone. I'm so excited to be able to take time in the next day or so to read this and write something up.

Thank you Rose,
Shawn

By Shawn, at 1/09/2006 7:52 AM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By mark pierson, at 1/09/2006 12:08 PM
I am thankful for Rose's Reasonings. In there you will find a person Who loves Jesus; is brutely honest;faces tough theological issues with courage;and loves the saints. Can't ask anything else from a blog. Is God faithful? Yup. Because what is on display here is the result of His work on Rose's heart.

By mark pierson, at 1/09/2006 12:49 PM
Shawn,
Still waiting!

Bluecollar,
Thank you for saying that.

By Rose~, at 1/09/2006 11:13 PM
Hi Rose,

Umm... sorry for my tardiness!

We've had a lot going on. If anyone thinks of my mother in law, Maxine, please pray for her. She's 94 and is just having hospice care begin. Thank you :)

When I would go to a ladies' gathering in years past, and there was some sort of opportunity to share what God was doing in our lives. I would go uh-oh! Not this again! I didn't know what to say!

But God has been faithful in 3 big areas in my life in the last several years.

One is the blessing of a financial loss that has helped our parenting and helped to clarify our purpose. The loss, partly self-induced, has helped us by forcing us to make choices. And helped us to communicate to our four daughters why we were making the choices we were making. It's brought us together.

Another is my stuggle with a sin habit that clunked along in my life and discouraged me. I started realizing that the commands of holy living were something else besides commands. Though they are very much that, commands to obey. They are also promises in a sense. Stay with me here I'll try not to be obscure.

The commands show us God's will:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

So the commands show us his will and knowing that, I began to pray for victory as a means of my obeying His Word. When I prayed 'according to His will' His commands became like promises. They showed me what I could pray confidently for.

And praise God for His faithfullness, that came in His timing instead of right away.

Another is our kids, especially my 15 yr old, embracing their own faith in a way that is clearly God answering prayer instead of parenting skill. We're eccentric parents, as you can imagine.

My daughter recently got baptized and is going to start her second semester of Evangelism Explosion (an evangelism program) next week. I wish she would work as hard at her Algebra as she works at EE! Maybe we should have her go out and share Algebra to people on the street. She's also 'rebelling' by forsaking the Christian Rock I raised her on for traditional hymns, which she's memorizing and singing these days with her sisters!

But I'm not being humble by saying none of that is us, and is all the Lord answering my staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night prayers. Oh boy. Parenting is a rollercoaster. I know kids rebelling against the faith is heartbreaking and happens to the best of Christians!

God is still faithful. He does bless our faithfulness, but mostly in my life I've seen Him bless me when I came to Him with things they I had broken.

By Unknown, at 1/10/2006 9:47 AM
Hi Jodie,
Thank you for posting that.

I have had a similar experience with a sin habit. Thank God for His presence in our lives.

How very encouraging about your daughter. We have used the EE program at our church in the past, but some of the newer powers that be have said that it is too "anthropocentric." (!) Whatever!

Your testimony of God's faithfulness in your life is wonderful!

Bless you as it continues

By Rose~, at 1/10/2006 2:00 PM
He's been faithful to me, so faithful... Even when I'm not, HE is and HE will always be... Thank you God

By Love, at 5/17/2009 9:55 AM

Metaschema - Erlenmeyer Flask Hungry/6 - Jodie The Stumbling Block - Bobby Sanc's Blog - Michele

Friday, January 06, 2006

How has God been Faithful in your Life?

40 Comments:

Metaschema - Erlenmeyer Flask

Hungry/6 - Jodie

The Stumbling Block - Bobby

Sanc's Blog - Michele