The Journey Of God 's Work On Earth

Worry ends when faith in God begins. Faith has been a part of history since the beginning of time and has remained constant throughout life today. Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Burning House”, examines pure faith and the cry for God’s love in a time of need. Alongside of the poem from 1666, the movie ‘Courageous’, produced by Stephen Kendrick, represents during a tragedy, it is not always easy to keep a focused mind on the Lord, but the most significant way to be led through a tough time, is to praise the Lord. Anne Bradstreet’s poem and the movie ‘Courageous’, shows the relentless love from the Lord in a time of an aching heart.

God has just recently chosen my family to enter into and walk through a season of adversity and suffering. With my wife being diagnosed with uterine cancer, it has given us the platform to greater glorify God through suffering. It will be extremely important to walk this path with complete faith in God’s plan. Rankin wrote, “God is glorified when our faith is tested and proved genuine in the crucible of suffering.” I believe one of the reasons for this season is to demonstrate our faith to our kids and the church.

Some times the question of “Where is God” surfaces with all the adversities, and I find myself asking “what is God doing for all these people who are suffering?” But however amidst all the issues I know that He is there, and all these problems and conflicts do not change the fact that God exists, and I still have hope for change for these suffering people no matter what the circumstance.

As Hope and her family fought cancer, their faith in God kept them grounded. Stuart and Shelby, Hope’s parents, would often ask God for signs that he was watching over her. Some of God’s signs were miraculous to say the least. When Stuart was in the mountains, he saw a huge billboard that read, “Hope Thou in God.” Additionally, when Shelby went to pray in the chapel at the hospital a stained glass window titled “The Hope Window” featured a picture of a young girl on crutches with God’s hands placed on her shoulder as he was healing her. God was certainly watching out for the Stout family.

The human experience is what connects people to one another. What we experience defines who we are and who we become. It also defines how we interact with others. The amazing thing is that not only do the events that bring joy, peace and happiness connect us but also those that bring anxiety, fear and despair. This brings to light the fact that God somehow in his sovereignty uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These ideas are brought to light in Jerry Sittser’s book, A Grace Disguised which is his personal journey of loss and the insight and experience that was gained in the face of great tragedy. In his book, Sittser discusses various insights he has gained, such as how Christian’s view sorrow, how families recover when

God has endless compassion for each of us. Often we allow this compassion to pass by unnoticed, holding back from completely trusting and opening our hearts to God’s love. In so doing, we become like a dry desert awaiting the rain. Though this desert might seem tough and lifeless on the surface, the rain eventually provides nourishment which transforms the desert into a habitat of flowers, beauty, and life. We are like the dry desert awaiting the rains of compassion from our Lord. I say, wait no longer. God constantly floods us with compassion; we must open the gates of our hearts and allow this compassion to flow in. This essay synthesizes ideas and text from Father Gregory Boyle, Dr. Sanchez’s lectures, and my own life, providing a comprehensive

Because mankind was made in God’s image, Christians aspire to follow the footsteps of Jesus as he leads the pathway to the Kingdom of God. So just as Jesus, “healed the leper, the paralyzed, the blind, the deaf, and many who suffer from many diseases,” followers of the gospel are called to “pass through this world doing good.” Not only did Jesus heal, but he turned it around and allowed the once sick to heal. They became “agents of healing and invited to be agents of their own destiny” (Saying and Showing, pg. 31). And as Christians, the gospel calls them to do the same, focusing their attention to the “most abandoned and mistreated” and help bring them to be a part of society.

I swiftly move myself into a resting position with my face towards the window, wondering if he caught me. I pull out my pair of earplugs and my Bible from my backpack. Tides of pain and salvation permeate my ears from my favorite song, “Green Leaves”, by my favorite artist, Montell Fish. A two-edged sword pierces my soul as I read deeper and deeper into the Word of God. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” My expected end hasn’t come yet, but the Lord is always mindful of his own and his promises are full. I sit in awe of the faith and hope of the intimacy I have towards God, myself, and people, oddly thinking of rainbows and clouds of love instead of hurt and self-pity. I shift myself to Mark’s seat, open my Bible, hope to God that He will open Mark’s heart to at least a speck of

God has a plan to reconcile His relationship with man after sin entered the world. This plan revolves around making His name known throughout all tribes and nations. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible presents God’s missionary purpose for humanity. For this reason, Christians involved in missions will travel to dangerous places to proclaim God’s name and saving power.

In the last year I have seen Jesus Christ in many parts of my life but mostly in my time spent at the Brookwood Community, a community for people with mental disabilities. Philippians 2:4 says "Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also the interest of others". This bible verse greatly explains our calling to serve others. God calls us to give our time in helping others.While at Brookwood, I played basketball, participated in chapel and many other activities that they held for their citizens. All the citizens at Brookwood each have unique talents, each of which amazed me, for example a man named Thomas was a excellent basketball player and all around athlete. Another thing that truly amazed me was the love for God that the

Like never before, I read stories of real men and women, that God loved and desperately desired a renewed and committed relationship with. I was moved to understand that it was not just “cause and affect” rationale I was reading about, but rather the story of God’s amazing grace and call of hope to His creation.

In the past, my faith had been challenged on numerous occasions. The very first time that my faith was challenged was when I was nine. I was diagnosed with type one diabetes (T1D). This was so hard for my family and I to cope with and to understand. I did not know anything about T1D nor all the strains that came with it. I blamed God for giving me this disease, I had asked him “Why me, what did I do to deserve this?” I spent a lot of time seeking for this answer.

Today, urbanized centers throughout the world are becoming increasingly more populated. In these urban centers and neighborhoods alike, poverty and oppression burdens those that lie within. And, as Christians, we hold fast to the fact that God hears the cries of these people—he is not ignoring their pain. In fact, God is qualifying adherents to take up the torch and help make a change for their fellow man (Baker, 36). We, as humanity, are all flawed, thus we must be willing to help each other. The Bible says that Christ holds all creation together through the Holy Spirit (Col. 1:17). Thus, we assert that God is actively working in the world for his purposes. If this is so, believers can hold fast to the fact that “God has back to theology and the biblical account” (Myers, 53).

My mom once told me when I was young and ignorant, “Faith is the foundation of a beautiful friendship with the one person who will always remain by your side”. These words were expressed even more profoundly every Sunday in the echoing corridors of a small church by a priest I had yet to know or even care about. Preaching with his perplexing words in which I could only muster barely a fourth of my full attention span listening to. Thus, the term faith did not exactly resonate with me until many years later. My early years were filled with the teachings of the bible in Sunday school and later on as well in middle school during Friday night sessions. Unfortunately, my mom was an extremely strong enforcer of our faith for she was also raised Catholic from birth, but my dad on the other hand has a more scientific approach to how the world came to be. The years I spent in Sunday school blurred into an everlasting line of bleak nothingness just a ticking clock waiting till an end. Even today I do not remember anything that occurred within those taxing sixty minuets of constant bible studies it’s as though I lost the key to the inner workings of my childhood. Nonetheless, there have always been unbelievably great role models in my faith such as my mom, youth ministers, and friends who encourage me to be open to my faith. However, it’s always been my own restrictions that prevent me from furthering my relationship with God. So when my sister suffered her first severe

The mission of God is to reach all nation. God uses chosen people to spread the Good News, to the nation. As He called Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22: 18; 26:4; 28:14). Jesus taught that we must preach repentance to all nation ( Matthew 28:19 ; John 20:12; (Act 1:8). Jesus was sent by God to teach all nation about Him and His return (John 20:21). Christian should accept all people of all walks of life. The church should continue to teach the word of God as it is in the Bible and to show love to all ethnic diversity. To equip people to participate in multicultural ministry is to embrace the love of God to all. The biblical base of philosophy is “Love covers over a multitude of sins” ( 1Peter 4:8). To get the saints and un-believers to join in unity with Christ. Cultural influence biblical interpretation, thus as we teach or preach we must remember whom our audience are and be able to get the message across so they can understand, by keeping the social also cultural of the Scriptures in mind.