Word: godly
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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There are several stories in the book about you being hurt by the actions of church members, such as when your husband was removed from a leadership position. How difficult has that been? It's unfortunate. I feel my relationship with God is strong enough that when other Christians have treated me wrongly, I can sort it out and know that's not God. But I think it's more difficult for many people to make that distinction. When they're hurt by the church, they feel hurt by God as well. And so sometimes their tendency is to reject...
...Abraham to explore finding faith and God outside of the church? Abraham is such a fascinating figure. Three world religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - all claim him as a patriarch. He was raised in a religious home. And yet he rejected religion in order to pursue a personal relationship with God...
...write about the fact that God ordered Abraham to leave behind his family, a command that Jesus gave his disciples as well. Do you believe that's still a requirement for following God's will? When Jesus says you must leave your family to follow him, he doesn't necessarily mean physically. He means leave your dependence on them, make an emotional break with them. For me, that meant I had to be willing to step outside the opinions of my parents when I started Bible Study Fellowship [a Bible school for laywomen in North Carolina...
...write that often instead of following God's will, people try to compromise by doing some of what they think they're supposed to while still staying within a comfort zone. You know, God sent Abraham to Canaan, but Abraham didn't go to Canaan - he stopped 200 miles out, in Haran. And it just didn't work. Compromising with God never does. There are a lot of people living in Haran. They call themselves Christians and they probably are, but they haven't gone all the way. It took Abraham 40 years to get to the point where...
...draw from Abraham's story? Abraham wasn't perfect. He failed - a lot. He got into complicated situations because he did the wrong thing. But he never quit. Like him, I've made plenty of mistakes. There's this prosperity message out there today that tells people God blesses you by giving you a problem-free life. When life is good and we have no problems, we can almost let ourselves believe we have no need for God. But in my experience, sometimes the richest blessings come through pain and hard things...