I want to start this blog by saying I have made horrible mistakes in my life. I have sinned against God in some detestable ways. I have spent years of my life stuck in a web of pornography and everything else that the world has to offer. I put on a good show trying to cover over the secret parts of my life that didn’t look so nice. I have bullied people, stole, lied and cheated. There was even a time in my life when I called those chasing after God 'Bible Thumpers' while I myself professed to be a Christian. How unworthy I am of God’s mercy! My life and all that I have seen and experienced is a testimony that God remembers our sins no more if we surrender to Him.
Yesterday my three younger kids and I took a road trip. I needed to run into work and then we stopped off at the store. We had a good time together and some great conversation about God. As we neared our hometown, I noticed a group of turkeys next to the road ahead. As we drew closer they continued to stay put. When we came alongside them I counted them. Wouldn’t you know it, there were 7. Do you know what part of the conversation with my kids was about yesterday? I was teaching them about how God has shown me the number 7 several times to speak to me.
This morning I was listening to a message about how God speaks to you, by a man I greatly respect. In this message he was talking about how God often providently leads you to a specific place in the Bible and speaks to you through His Word. When I heard this I was in total agreement as I have ‘randomly’ opened my Bible sooooooo many times and began reading only to realize what I read was speaking directly to me about something I just heard, about a question I just asked, or about something that I was about to hear. Anyway, during his message he mentioned a Bible verse and I was like wow, I just read that exact verse yesterday! Then He mentioned another Bible verse. I opened my Bible to look it up when I realized I had almost turned to the exact page he was referring. When I found the verse number on the previous page I realized he misspoke the wrong number. When I turned back to the original page I had turned to I found the words that he had quoted. More coincidence? This happens over and over and over again.
The Bible verse he quoted was Titus 1:16 “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.” If you know God He will speak to you. For most of my life I heard very little from God, or at least I didn’t realize He was speaking to me. How is this possible when I called myself a Christian and believed in God? It was because I wasn’t obeying His word. But through my struggles with pornography, I begged and pleaded with Him to help me. So many tears fell through the years as I tried to break free from its grip. Even though I was caught up in a lot of trash at that time in my life, He knew that I genuinely wanted free. When the time was right, He gave me exactly what I needed to change course.
Yesterday my three younger kids and I took a road trip. I needed to run into work and then we stopped off at the store. We had a good time together and some great conversation about God. As we neared our hometown, I noticed a group of turkeys next to the road ahead. As we drew closer they continued to stay put. When we came alongside them I counted them. Wouldn’t you know it, there were 7. Do you know what part of the conversation with my kids was about yesterday? I was teaching them about how God has shown me the number 7 several times to speak to me.
This morning I was listening to a message about how God speaks to you, by a man I greatly respect. In this message he was talking about how God often providently leads you to a specific place in the Bible and speaks to you through His Word. When I heard this I was in total agreement as I have ‘randomly’ opened my Bible sooooooo many times and began reading only to realize what I read was speaking directly to me about something I just heard, about a question I just asked, or about something that I was about to hear. Anyway, during his message he mentioned a Bible verse and I was like wow, I just read that exact verse yesterday! Then He mentioned another Bible verse. I opened my Bible to look it up when I realized I had almost turned to the exact page he was referring. When I found the verse number on the previous page I realized he misspoke the wrong number. When I turned back to the original page I had turned to I found the words that he had quoted. More coincidence? This happens over and over and over again.
The Bible verse he quoted was Titus 1:16 “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him.” If you know God He will speak to you. For most of my life I heard very little from God, or at least I didn’t realize He was speaking to me. How is this possible when I called myself a Christian and believed in God? It was because I wasn’t obeying His word. But through my struggles with pornography, I begged and pleaded with Him to help me. So many tears fell through the years as I tried to break free from its grip. Even though I was caught up in a lot of trash at that time in my life, He knew that I genuinely wanted free. When the time was right, He gave me exactly what I needed to change course.
Have you ever wanted to hear God speaking to you? If we want to hear Him, we must know Him. To know Him we must fully submit to Him. How do we submit? James 4:9 says, “Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.” If we submit to Him and obey his commands, we will hear his voice. John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Days after the death of my wife my mom came and stayed with us. She suggested I go to the Dr. and get something to take the edge off for a while as I learned to cope with my new life. But God was with me. God helped me to realize that I needed to feel all the pain. At a time in my life when there was so much uncertainty, I was certain that I wanted to experience the pain. By human minds this makes no sense but looking back I realize that it was all part of God’s plan. By God’s power, I didn’t turn to food, sex, drugs, alcohol, or anything else in the world while I was grieving. I just ran to Him.
Today I live an amazing life. I am not boasting about myself or anything I have achieved or accomplished, I am boasting about God. I am boasting that I know Him and to know Him is inexpressively exciting! I am boasting that He knows me and that He often speaks to me. I am boasting that this world does very little to excite me. I am boasting that He has forgiven my horrible past and promises me a beautiful future.
If you believe in Jesus you have been invited to the wedding. You have been invited to receive all that God has to give which is far more than you could ever imagine. Don’t live a Titus 1:16 life like I once did.
Today I live an amazing life. I am not boasting about myself or anything I have achieved or accomplished, I am boasting about God. I am boasting that I know Him and to know Him is inexpressively exciting! I am boasting that He knows me and that He often speaks to me. I am boasting that this world does very little to excite me. I am boasting that He has forgiven my horrible past and promises me a beautiful future.
If you believe in Jesus you have been invited to the wedding. You have been invited to receive all that God has to give which is far more than you could ever imagine. Don’t live a Titus 1:16 life like I once did.
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