Persoanl Journal

Our God forgives our daily sins for he knows that we are imperfect. Yearningly, I hope my children to imitate this Godly quality and “forgive one another freely”, thus building strength in their faith in their relationships, whether it is with God, their spouse, or their friends. All of my relationships are present today due to forgiveness. Optimistically, I wait to teach my children to resemble forgiveness so they will cultivate strength and be unmovable with their faith. When people witness my future offspring and I demonstrate these acts of forgiveness, kindness will continue and flourish in the family, community, and hopefully the world.

During this time, I continued to look for God within the Christian tradition and came across a very intelligent Christian professor. Because I thought the Church of God was missing intelligence I thought that I had found what I was looking for within this professor, finally somebody who could provide me the truth. Within my mindset I thought that I would find the perfect truth if I only kept searching and in this man, who always was very wise and seemed to understand the deeper things of life, I thought that I had found it, finally the gold I was digging for. This man’s view of God was so much deeper than that of the Church of God and relieved my pain of feeling that the Christian God was angry at me because I could not keep his commandments perfectly. God all of a sudden

Thanksgiving is coming up, and it is a time for thanks. You should think about everything that you are thankful for, like education, family, and friends. In my life, I value many different things. Some things that I value and that I am thankful for include my education, my family, and my friends.

In Shaped by the Word, by Robert Mulholland Jr., one finds a way to read scripture in order to provide a deeper understanding of God and allow His Word to shape one’s spiritual life. In the Introduction, in chapter 1, the reader is introduced to the idea that there is a movement in the church that seeks to become deeper and stricter in spiritual formation. He claims there are many books written for this purpose, and his intending purpose for this book is for God to use however he may want in the reader’s spiritual life. Mulholland provides the reader with a prayer to pray in preparation of reading this book and states there may be points where God is knocking and calling the reader’s attention to something new.

I began to pray for my co-worker and for our situation. In the beginning it wasn’t easy, but as the days went on it became easier and I felt blessed to be able to pray for her.

"What is grace? In the New Testament grace means God’s love in action towards men who merited the opposite of love. (Definition of God's Grace)

One memory that this reading brought up to me was when I was in undergrad and I was raped by someone whom I believed to be my friend. Before this incident happened I wouldn't have called myself very religious, but I trusted God and the word of God. I was very involved with church and attended very regularly. After the incident happened I no longer trusted in God. I knew he was still watching over me, but I felt betrayed and I felt that he wasn't there for me when I needed him the most. With this I struggled for a long time with trying to get over the incident and trying to just get through school. I knew there was help, but I had fallen in such a deep hole there was nothing anyone could do. I found myself not worthy of things, I drank more and more each day, and I just felt like I hit rock bottom. One day my mother thought that I should attend church service on a Sunday so I did. I went to church and talked with church family. I was scared that I was going to be judged over what I had become. It was amazing I had struggled so much that after talking to my church family and allowing God back in I saw that God was the only way. Once I had opened my eyes and heart and let the word of God and God back into my life it was a major turn around for my life.

There are many stories that revolve around God that if you do something wrong, it seems that you hurt God in the process because they watch over you and are always around you. Our souls are spiritually connected to them when we pray. When we ask for forgiveness from God(s), it gets rid of the negativity you are carrying within your soul. Others think of Forgiveness as a cleansing

One example of a time that I truly experienced God’s grace was a time that I ran out of gas. I was on the way home from work and decided to get gas near home instead of closer to work, because the prices were lower. As I was turning into the gas station parking lot my SUV started puttering and staled. Instead of freaking out, I calmly asked God to allow my SUV to start up to get to the first pump. On the first try my SUV started right up just so I could get to the pump. I love just thanking him for the good things in life but also still thanking him and praising him when things are not going my way.

Every year before I eat the big Thanksgiving meal, I stop and think about what I’m thankful for. My family, friends, and health are important to me.

God does not make mistakes, and this devotion, unfortunately, reminds me of my bad attitude displayed at Sunday’s Women’s Day service. I was just in a bad mood and the sisters noticed it. I had to repent and ask God to forgive me and deliver me from this dark place I found myself occupying.

And he said unto Him, If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that You talk with me. Judges 6:17 (NKJV).

I prayed that I would keep a humble heart and follow anything told to me today. God delivered. I learned great things from teacher Sylvie. She truly imbeds the word of God into not only the lessons she teaches, but into her interactions with the children as well.

In this bible talk, David Mier focuses on the idea of grace and “Why it is worth fighting for.” He starts off referring to the well-known historical figure, Martin Luther, whose ninety-five theses were a key catalyst in the reformation and schism of the Roman Catholic Church in the 16-century. He goes on to say how within these were complaints that the Catholic Church had strayed from the scriptures, how they were focusing too much on deeds or religious works and not on grace. He argues against this idea, stating that grace is the only way to be saved.

“Cause we all make mistakes sometimes and we’ve all stepped across that line” (Toby Mac, 2012). What is asked for by many when a mistake has been made? This would be forgiveness. Toby Mac, a Christian hip hop recording artist sings about the burden of carrying around sin and how hard it is to ask for forgiveness and to forgive. Some people forgive more easily than others and often depending on the situation, forgiveness may take time. In a world full of temptation even Christians make mistakes. In his song “Forgiveness (feat. Lecrae)”, the lyrics: My heart’s been broken and my wounds been open - And I don’t know if I can hear I’m sorry been spoken - But those forgiving much should be quicker to give it - And God forgave me for it all, Jesus bled – Forgiveness - So when the stones fly and they aimed at you - Just say forgive them, Father, they know not what they do (verse 2, Lecrae).