All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
DOES GOD HAVE FAVORITES?
Does God have favorites? Do some people seem to have much easier lives than others? This seems to be true. However, I wonder if it is actually true.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Welcome Garfleld... Welcome to the 'God's Favourites all over the world' club! :)
My Pastor said this today (roughly quoted) which rings of truth.... "God's favourites are those who are seeking truth.. keeping in mind, we cannot judge a persons heart as the Spirit of God can, because we don't intimately know the story of each person...we don't know where they've come from and where they are going...we also don't know how far they have come... only God knows"
Good to have another favourite of God's here in this place... WELCOME!
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good
Yes Chrstine, so tell me what it means to you sis?
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Permalink Reply by Stacey Osana Arquines on
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God does not show favoritism. He loves each one of us equally. He will put you through trials to test your faith so that you can become a stronger person to show others how you overcame adversity with the help of the Father in Heaven. I have gone through a lot and I have been tested many times, I cried of course and I have been hurt, but my Father was always there to carry me just like the story about the foot prints in the sand. When I was in the eighth grade I was humiliated with a fallacious rumor in front of all the P.E. classes . Someone wrote a huge sign about me doing something very disgusting. I cried but I didn't let the rumor bring me down. Yes it was humiliating but now I look back at it I am amazed. I terrified to walk around school because of what people falsely accused of me and I was so young. I still stood strong. All throughout my educational experience my english teachers were always sick. In the 7th grade my English teacher left our class for a couple months and us students had to adjust to new substitutes every week. My English teacher in the 8th grade left my class for a couple months, he had family issues and so I had to work with many different teachers again trying to adapt. In my freshmen year of high school my English teacher had to get surgery and we had a new substitute every week. It was hard but I persevered. In my sophomore year of high school my English teacher left for about half the school year and I basically was taught two different methods to write. My English teacher in the 11th grade was such a wonderful teacher but she was also sick she our class often to get help. I had to deal with many different English teachers. I saw other students who had stable English teachers, i used to think i was being punished but really I was being challenged. My father has built me into someone who can adjust to many different writing styles and I may have grammatical errors, but that doesn't mean what I am trying to convey is wrong. My educational background was tough but look at me now :) and I will continue to improve. What I have just shared with you is a short glimpse of the trials that I have faced and you see God does not favor anyone he brings you mountains down for you to climb to build strength. Whenever you think the world is coming down on your shoulders and whenever you think someone has a better life than yours then look again because God has a special marvelous plan just waiting for you so live a hard life so that you have much to share with people. I thought people had better lives than me but you know what I am living the life. I may not have all the riches in the world, but I have friends and family members. Even when my friends and family leave me I will still have my heavenly Father. :) I may not see him, but I believe and I have faith :) It is not true that God has favorites. Just look at the beauty of everything in your life and it is grand :) Don't compare your life with others. Focus on you life with God and your life will shine. I am not rich and I have little, but I have so much to offer. I have knowledge and I have love to share, I have advice, I have experiences that many others did not experience. (Unedited from the heart :) Turn the negative into positive its, like a pearl its ugly but then when worked on it is beautiful.
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Permalink Reply by ADOLF FENYI on
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That's a good thoughts but I believe it will be difficult to make any valid conclusion.Our earthly parents have greater love for their children who obey them so as I believe our heavenly Father loves those who keep his commandments.
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yes If I were a mother and I had a child who always obeyed me I would be able to show my child more love cuz I would not be occupied in disciplining my child, though I love the child dearly. The child would see how abundant my love is because no longer do i have to teach the child a lesson on how to obey my rules. Basically once a child learns their lesson about the rules that must be obeyed and knows that I am in control then they can feel the abundance of love or better yet the child could realize all the love I have been giving the whole time unfortunately it was difficult to notice cuz I was busy trying to get the child to understand that all they have to do is follow my commandments. Kinda like God, he loves all of us but do we love him back? And how do you love him back? what are the commandments he left us with? Are we following his commandments? I bet if we were really loving him with all our heart, mind, and soul and love others, we would feel happier, stress free, and at peace. In my opinion to love God with all your heart mind and soul means to pray everyday, to read the word of God everyday to examine your life in relation to the Father at all times, and constantly be asking yourself this question in mind "Will what I do at this very moment make my Heavenly Father happy?" Personally I ask this question all the time and of course i make mistakes, but I am always happy stress free and living the life, not because I am only 19 but because I have Jesus Christ on my mind all the time and I think of how to shine for my Heavenly Father all the time. I sing to him I thank him I praise his name. Everywhere I go I do my best to shine and to be kind and to love others even when people are mean to me. I greet people without hesitation and I pay for a strangers meal once in awhile lol I am not rich in money but I am rich with many blessings :) the greatest gift to me is watching the beauty of human interaction that is kind and loving and gentle and not angry or loud or scary.
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Yes :) How about you?
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Permalink Reply by Rodney M Hall on
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Could it be that the ones that seem to have it easier are the ones that actually have stronger faith? THe reason that I make this comment is because I am currently reading a book called "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Olsteen. The main point that I have read so far is that we have to have faith that God wants us to have the best. That it takes us to step out in faith and really believe that we are true children of the King and He wants us to be blessed. But so many times we go through life exectig the worst. ANd he says that we get what we expect. He does not say that we will not have problems. But when we do experience them, our attitude affects the outcome. We can stay in the corner eating cheese and crackers or we can join God at the banquet table.
The reason that this makes sense to me is because I have gone through a lot of "bad luck" in the last ten years. Being diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. Its a progressive disease that will eventually take away my mobility. Through the years I have thought that I have handled it pretty well. The people that knew me the best expected me to crawl into a ball and hide in the corner. But thankfully I was able to maintain a somewhat normal attitude. But as I look back at the time that has passed I realized that I have allowed Satan to take away my dreams. I have given up on life getting any better. ANd the thought of sitting in my house the rest of my life is not appealing. But like I said, I had let the devil convince me that I didn't deserve any better. But the thing that I have learned is exactly what the book said. I have received exactly what I expected. I didn't believe that God loved me enough to help me.
ANd I now understand that it can change. God expects us to do what is natural, and then God adds the super. Add them together and you get the supernatural power of God. That and another were comments from his book.
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Dear Rodney,
I would respond to this question that you asked with an emphatic 'No"!
"Could it be that the ones that seem to have it easier are the ones that actually have stronger faith"?
God is not about giving us our best.. He is about giving us His Best! This does not mean prosperity, or perfect health! It also does not mean 'our dreams'...
We are to pick up our cross daily!
This means that when we go through trials of any kind, Jesus will strengthen us to endure. He will never leave us nor forsake us. NO MATTER what we go through here on earth God has promised that He is with us.
Our attitude does affect the outcome, however, we must realize that God's ways are far above our ways and His thoughts are far above our thoughts. Our attitude matters because God hates complainers (murmerers).. IT is not God honoring to murmer...or complain. (I'm not saying you are complaining..just responding to your post)
You have said something that struck a cord with me... you said this:
The reason that this makes sense to me is because I have gone through a lot of "bad luck" in the last ten years. Being diagnosed with Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. Its a progressive disease that will eventually take away my mobility. Through the years I have thought that I have handled it pretty well. The people that knew me the best expected me to crawl into a ball and hide in the corner. But thankfully I was able to maintain a somewhat normal attitude.
Dear brother....It is terrible when we have to go through health issues.. I underwent open heart surgery 4 months ago. I was in perfect health and the doctors detected a heart murmer which ended up being a congential heart defect it was called 'sever aortic stenosis'... I don't know why they detected a heart murmer at 40 years old....I haven't had one my whole life....My downturn happened quickly....They got me in for surgery rather quickly due to the circumstances that God worked out....amazing actually! I plan to post my testimony of God's faithfulness through that ordeal...I can see part of the amazing outcome that has made Romans 8:28 very very real for me.. Keeping in mind that it is God's purposes that He works for....not our(my) own. I don't see this as satan having taken away my dreams...my life has changed....but satan has not taken anyting from me.
I am God's child..He is holding me. I trust Him that HE knows what HE is doing. DO I UNDERSTAND IT? no i don't! and I don't need to! However, as the story of my life unravels, i can see more and more of the outcome of all things which God is Sovereign over.
Please do not think of things as 'bad luck'...that is far from God honoring. 'Luck' should not even enter in the vocabularly of a child of God.
You also said this: But thankfully I was able to maintain a somewhat normal attitude. Christ Jesus has anything but a 'normal attitude'... God's chosen ones have the mind of Christ....there is nothing 'normal' about that.
Please don't think that I am picking apart your words... that is not my intention.
There is something quite 'not right' about Joel Olsteen and I can't quite put my finger on it...i think it might be that he preaches 'our best life'...but scripture tells us that we can make all the plans we want..but it is God's plans that will prevail..God's purposes, God's Will. This should make us Rejoice! not have fear or complain about it.
Rom 8:27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints [fn] according to the will of God.
Rom 8:28 And we know that God [fn] causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Rom 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
Rom 8:30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
When things go topsy turvey in our life..we must look to God! When we are in smooth waters 'We MUST LOOK TO GOD!.. When we are in trials, and we look to God, it is then that our faith is strengthened...because God is faithful!
If I look at the lives of people who have suffered and know Christ ...and walk with Him...those people have a strength of Character that is not like others who have never suffered.
We are not here for 'our best life'.. We are here to Give God Glory in all circumstances of our lives...no matter what!
Blessings!
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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on
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Amen sister Carla and brother Alan. GReat impute family.
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Love you Rodney.
Not just saying that bro, I wish that AAG could one day have a get together of those members who want to meet, somewhere in the middle of the country I suppose. So we could actually shake hands and exchange hugs.
Your transparency I am sure blesses many. You are already acting in faith by speaking about your unbelief and changing it to faith. Praise God my dear brother.
Joel makes some great points about faith and I do enjoy listening to the brother, he is a good writer and speaker for those of us who are saved.
I will share a short "real" story with you.
A dear brother in Christ was serving God faithfully when suddenly he was striked from one day to another with a partial paralysis that left him on a wheel chair. I would visit him and tell Him to unburden his heart with me if He so desire. We were co-workers in Christ and good friends.
He was always; I mean always joyful and never complaint. Not traying to bring condemnation to anyone who does complain for that is a very natural response, but just pointing out that we can reach maturity levels in Christ that help us react in such a way that we bring Glory to God with our actions. People would come up to him and asked him, where was His God now etc... Brother Mike never complaint and always smile and gave them a loving answer. He had faith that God could heal Him, but was ok if God chose not to.(I am familiar with what faith teacher would say to my previous statement, but bear with me.)
I am leaving out a whole bunch of detail to keep this short, but to get to the point, God restore Him and he could now preach about the joys of bringing God glory through it all and aout God's sustaining power. He was a mature Christian who understood that while on earth we will suffer because we live in a fallen world.
Our gift in this life is not the worldly gains or the health we may or may not enjoy, is Christ himself. Our blessing is the ability to Rejoice, I say it again Rejoice through it all.
Our God is good and Holy and we can have peace that surpasses all human understanding through it all. Ohh and if He so pleases once we seek the kingdom and all his righteous, He can add abundant blessings. :)
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.
Love you!
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Permalink Reply by david merle atkins on
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A MEN thats beutiful dave, i pray in my time of testing i will rejoice, i pray everyone in there time of testing will rejoice. A MEN.
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wow carla, i could read the word of the LORD through you all night.
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