blessed7

There are several instances in my life where God has used difficult circumstances to refine and purify my faith. One in particular involves the only child God blessed me to have. This situation taught me a very valuable lesson- Our children, family, and friends do not belong to us, they belong to God. We as human creatures are quick to say " that is "my" son, or "my" father, "my" friend. What we fail to realize is that we do not keep each other, we all belong to the Father. At a time when his life was being threaten and almost taken, I was not able to protect him. He was shot 7 times. One bullet wound in his chest is directly over his heart, per the doctors the bullet passed so close to his heart that it tore the sack in which the heart is contained, but the bullet was deflected to the right side of his chest, destroyed the top portion of his right lung and came out of the upper portion of the right side of his back. The doctors were mystified , the path of the bullet clearly showed it should have entered the heart , but it didnt, it made a sharp turn as if deflected and exited thru the right side of his body. It was not my hand that deflected that bullet. There are still fragments from 5 other bullets in the torso of this now father of 7, one other bullet was removed from his left arm, and the full story of this is his testimony to give , not mine. My testimony is this, Being a mother, with the only child you've had the joy to birth, nuture and love, laying in a hospitol bed, the doctors having done all they can, telling you that they cant say he'll survive the week. Who can you turn to? What can you do? Who can hold death at bay? Who can touch his body and heal? I'm his mother!! He came from my body!! He is a part of me, but I can't help him now. I turned to the Great I AM. I learned that night to humbly asked for his life for a little while longer. I turned to the Great I AM. I learned how to acknowledge that he belonged to the Father, he was just loaned to me for a little while. The Father held his life in His hands. No one else. Faith in who God is, Faith in what He can do, Faith in Jesus, who without His sacrifice and resurrection, I would not have been able to ask for life for the only child God blessed me to have. He heard the prayers, because I was not the only one praying for his life. Through this situation, Baptist, Muslim, Holiness, and other denominations of faith came together to pray to the One and Only TRUE GOD. Regardless of our different beliefs , we all knew and understood there is only one Great I AM!!

Gods part in securing our salvation is to shield us, our part is to be faithful. God loves us, sinner and saved. He keeps us. Through faith we follow the path of rightousness, thereby avoiding the darts, traps, and pitfalls set up by the enemy. Through His word, and the Holy Ghost we are guided ( when we listen and are obedient) . It is the same as when a natural parent provides food , clothing, and shelter for thier children, giving advise,warnings and teaching them to shield them from danger, heartache, hurt and pain. This is our spiritual father and creator doing the same for us spiritually.We as His chilldren need to faithful follow where He leads us , trusting in His love and infinite wisdom.

Sprinkling and obedience are together for they are one. The blood of Jesus cleans us( the temple) of sins, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us. Enabling us to do the works that we were called and created for, thus being obedient to God. It is so we can be "sprinkled" that Jesus was cruxified, the shedding of His blood for our sins, so we can be forgiven by the Father,( having been born in sin through Adam and Eve) washed in the Blood of the Lamb,( a new or second birth) being able to draw nigh unto Him, under His protective arm, bathe in His love. It is through disobedience that we are seperated from our Father, lead down a path of destruction and death. Sin is disobedience. To be cleansed is to be filled , to be filled is to obey, it is the path home. Faith in the resurrection of Jesus , understanding that He suffered for us , guided by the Holy Spirit, we are lead down the path of righteouness. All of our righteouness is as filthy rags,it is by the grace and mercy of the Heavenly Father who sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross , that we have salvation. We were dead in sin, reborn thru Christ Jesus.

I believe a Christian that identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one, is a Christian who lacks true knowledge, and does not understand that we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.Due to lack of knowledge, many people have come to accept worldly ways. A popular saying is that "no church is perfect" or "no one is perfect, we all have faults" which the later may be true to some extent, but we strife for perfection in our daily walk. To accept that no church is perfect to me is in direct conflict with the Word, which says Jesus would come back for a church without spot or wrinkle." Church" being the body of Christ, the people, Christians. As I study more of God's Word, I've learned to pray about , reject and resist the temptation to be worldy. I'm still learning. In order to bring our spiritual priorities in line, we have to be diligent in our study of God's word, constantly praying and asking for guidiance. Seeking to put on the armor of God as in Ephesians 6. Work out our salvation as in Philippians 2: 12-13. In Galatians 5:16-26 teaches us to live by the Spirit, which is to me the goal of every true Christian.

Hi, my name is Peggie, I live in North Carolina . I'm a 51 year old grandmother.