Now on to our regularly scheduled blog:
I remember the moment that scripture became real for me. Do you?
I was in my mid 20's. I believed in God, but had no personal relationship with God. I went to church on Sundays. That was about it. But soon I was invited to join my first bible study.
Each week they shared prayer requests. I never had any because nothing "important" was going on in my life. And I thought you could only pray about "important" things - like sickness and dying.
One week one of the gals asked us to pray that she could find a babysitter for her son. Say what? That didn't seem like pray-able material to me. So I politely asked her (really, not in a snarky way) "Are you allowed to pray about stuff like a babysitter?"
She said "Kelly, you can pray about ANYTHING!" She then directed me to my life changing verse Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (emphasis mine).
So I did share a prayer request. I had been promoted within my company, and I was unhappy in the new job. I prayed that I could get another job where I could be as happy as I was with my former boss.
Shortly thereafter I ran into my former boss. It seems his new assistant didn't work out and my old position was open again. Say what?! To make this long story a bit shorter, I soon was back working for my former boss.
God didn't just give me a job where I could be "just as happy" but that very job. And from that experience I realized that God is very real, and very available to hear our concerns and needs. And respond to them.
Today, I'd love to hear the verse or experience that took your faith to the next level. Just click the words "Chatty Comments" below.
10 comments:
This is a tough one. My faith journey is LONG! I'll try to abbreviate. I had to have my faith shaken to the core, by an untimely death in my family.
Then I did a study by, John Piper, on faith. That helped me start to build the right foundation.
Now, cooincidently, I'm doing the Beth Moore study called Believing God every Thursday. This is revealing even more "holes" in my faith that God is lovingly repairing.
I am so glad that God NEVER gives up on us. He is so loving and gracious.
So, to answer this, there are too many scriptures to quote them all, and God is still working on me. :)
When we (Mr P and I) married and moved away from both of our parents we were excited and a little bit scared. Neither one of us had ever lived far from our parents, nor had we ever been married, and in fact we felt kind of green at being grown up. Could we do this on our own?-this produced a bit of anxiety for me as life began to throw us some hard times- like the death of his mom and grandmother. Then us... parents? (joy and anxt there!). I found extreme comfort in:
Isaiah 41:10 and 13 "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strenghten you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. vs 13 "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you.
also Isaiah 40:11 "He tends his flocks like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."
We were not all alone in our marriage, in our parenting, or our lives. God was there and would guide us!
Just found your blog...looking forward to your Tuesday Tips.
I had an epiphany moment when I was about 16 and I read Jesus' prayer not for just those on the earth at that time but for all to follow, and I KNEW he meant me; there was no misinterpreting that!
The time I felt the closest (like he was sitting there beside me) was the time I had to shut up and listen (you know the story).
I liked the verse you quoted. I may copy it and add it to my bulletin board. I also like the one Mrs P quoted, Isaiah 41:10 and 13.
Hi Kelly,
Mine took place as a young teen. I was struggling hard with anger, unforgiveness, "Ugly Pam" feelings and feeling incapable of being loved by anyone except God I knew His love but felt that this journey was getting to hard. He gave me 1 Corinthians 10:13. I read the word "situation" instead of "temptation" This verse got me through. I believed that God would make a way of escape if things got to rough, otherwise keep believing and hang on! Years later I read the verse again and discovered that the word "temptation" also does mean "situation" in the greek.
I love this quote, "The Bible is the only book where the author is present every time you read it."
Love you my friend!
Pamela R.
Hi CK,
As a young child, I was sitting through a revival service led by my daddy, and rather than listen to a lot of things that did not make sense to my childish mind, I decided to pray for the man sitting in front of me. I was praying for him to be saved. I was around 6 yo., and I was a Christian, and I knew that God wanted everyone to be saved. That night, the man went forward during the time of invitation, and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. On the way home, I told my daddy about my prayer. Daddy told me that the congregation at that church had been praying for that man to turn to Christ for 20 years! It was my first answered prayer, and I remember how amazed I was that I had prayed for someone that everyone else was praying for, not even knowing it, and that God had cared to answer my prayer in such an incredible way, right before my very eyes.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14)
I felt the Lord, rather than heard him, or had him speak to me through scripture.
It was a warm feeling in my chest, and it eneveloped my whole being. I felt him say "I love you". It's hard to describe, I didn't hear the words spoken, but felt them in my heart. And that is when I really started to work toward a relationship with my Lord.
The scripture that means the most to me--and so many of them do!!---is the same as yours. Phil. 4:6-7 was the first one that I ever claimed while as a Jr. in college. My faith was put to the test in a situation where denomination played a factor. Unfortunately, I was not brought up in a church where memorizing scripture was encouraged! So... I was sorta lost! Then, I called a childhood friend who was at a nearby college. I knew that she was involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and hopefully, she would be able to help me. Through her, God showed me that His love doesn't care what denomination you are. She shared that scripture with me, and 20 plus years later, it's still my favorite :).
Love ya,
Susan
My faith was taken to the next level when my Dad took his last breath on our kitchen floor in Jan.2001.
My son,who in his first year at college was very close to his grandpa.In fact he was closer to grandpa then his own dad,his dad and I divorced when he was 4.
Losing his grandpa meant...someone else had left him.
I remember thinking how is my son going to deal with this lost? No sooner did that thought end when God laid on my heart Romans 8:28, at the time I had no clue what that verse said.
my son's search for contentment has lead him down the road of 'life's a party.'
Romans 8:28 has given me hope,faith I can't see now but a promise I hold close to my heart... God will work all things to good for His glory.
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