Trust Issues

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

The other night I watched my all-time favorite, German TV show called Tatort (loosely translated “crime-scene”). The detective in this particular episode investigated a homicide that kept leading her back to her boyfriend she deeply loved…

Join me today over at Laced with Grace to read the rest of my short devotion.

Photo: 1st TV Station Germany

Only God Can by Kathy Howard

Please welcome Kathy Howard, Christian speaker, author, Bible teacher, to Grace Alone. Kathy’s brand new book “God’s Truth Revealed” has been released. This book is a wonderful evangelism tool. But read Kathy’s blog below to find out more about “God’s Truth Revealed”.

Have you ever tried to convince an atheist that God exists? Or a postmodern thinker that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life?” Not easy tasks. In fact, they’re impossible. We can’t do it.

Only God can give faith to a skeptic. Only God can reveal truth to a heart. The Bible says that no one can come to Jesus unless God draws them first (John 6:44). But He does draw. He does reveal the truth about Himself to individuals. He wants people to know Him. And He wants us to make the introductions.

I’ve never convinced an atheist there is a God, but I’ve seen God do it. My friend Victor was raised by a military father who taught him that God did not exist. That there is nothing after death. That life is about what you can get out of it for yourself. And he believed it all.

But then God began to put “doubt” in Victor’s mind. As a young man he began to sense there had to be a great power behind the wonderful complexities of the world. He began to investigate all kinds of spiritual things including Taoism, Buddhism, and other eastern religions.

Then Victor came to one of my Bible study classes. For three months he learned what the Bible says about God, faith, and salvation. He heard about Jesus. When our class was over Victor told me he believed in God. But he didn’t know what to think about Jesus.

Time passed. Victor watched his wife grow in her new relationship with Jesus while he struggled with the idea of faith. But God continued to woo him. God slowly unveiled truth about life, eternity – and Jesus – to Victor.

Two years later Victor came back to Bible study. This time his hunger to know God was obvious. Victor devoured truth. And he met Jesus. God took Victor from atheist to skeptic to believer. And I got to have a front row seat!

God has allowed me to witness similar miracles dozens of times. I spent several years teaching the Bible to adults who’ve never studied the Bible before. Everyone’s story is different. Each person’s journey with God is unique. But God’s truth about Himself, life, and eternity is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And He has revealed this truth in the Bible.

I used the experience God gave me to develop a Bible study for spiritual skeptics and new Christians. This study provides biblical, historical, and scientific evidence to support creation; the reliability of the Bible; and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. “God’s Truth Revealed” is a straightforward journey through the Bible to help participants understand the importance of knowing God, not just knowing about Him. Each chapter also includes the real-life story of an individual like Victor who became a Christian as an adult.

Do you know someone that God is wooing? If someone in your life is asking questions about faith or God that is evidence that God is actively working! Ask God how you can join Him in what He’s up to. There isn’t anything more exciting.

Kathy Howard

You can find Kathy at Kathy Howard. You can purchase Kathy’s book “God’s Truth Revealed” at Amazon and Christian Books.

Thankful Thursday ~ Trust

“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.”
~ Psalm 9:9-10

You know, I love the Psalms. They have become a huge part of my life. The best thing about the Psalms is that most of them are an encouragement instrument (at least it is true for me)…I am encouraged that David who wrote most of the Psalms, struggled too with ‘every-day’ life. But God was His tower, His strength…

The other day I was thinking (again) about how faithful God has been in my life. Even when I was faithless, He never gave up on me. And to top everything off, He made sure that I (and all who believe) have a way to spend eternity in heaven with Him. It still boggles my mind that God would go this far to give up His son so I can be redeemed — marvelous indeed.

Seriously, how I can not trust God with the little issues in my life when He did the most important part — taking care of my Salvation…

We are currently uncertain how long my beloved has his current job (he been at the same place for the past 10 years — budget cuts), but I am not even a little nervous. I believe that what ever happens, happens for a reason. I will trust God to work everything out for the good…

So, this week, yours truly is thankful for trusting God – Who was, is, and will be forever…

Have a super blessed Thursday…And don’t forget, next week, Thankful Thursdayers will meet back here for the month of August…Thrilled to be back blogging/sharing my thoughts we you all. The sabbatical from blogging did me good 😛 …

To find more Thankful Thursday participants this week, please visit my sweet sister in Christ and friend, Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

grace_iris1