Rom 4:17
17 (as it is written, "A father of many nations have I made
you") in the sight of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to
the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. (NAS)
Do you struggle with faith? Do you feel that your
faith is weak or non-existent and yet you have a relationship with God. Maybe
the real issue is not your faith but your understanding of the character and
nature of God. It just might be that your struggle with trusting God is based
on a misconception of who God is. The Apostle Paul in writing to the Church at
Rome recognized their struggle with faith. He uses Abraham as an example of
someone who trusted and had faith in God. Because of Abraham’s faith God
blessed him and made of him the great nation He had earlier promised. The
answer to that promise came not as a result of Abraham’s deeds, but his faith.
Outward evidence would have indicated to Abraham that the promise would
never be fulfilled but because Abraham knew God he still believed. It is impossible to trust something or someone you
don’t know. We need to understand the character of God and His attributes in
order to have faith in Him.
Psalm 9:9 The LORD also will
be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble, Ps 9:10 And
those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; (NAS)
The word ‘name’ means far more than we would mean when we say we know
someone’s name. It means we know Him, his character and acknowledge His
attributes. He is a stronghold. Thus He can be trusted.
Once we get to know His character we learn to trust Him and express our
faith in Him. A little boy was on the roof of the house and the ladder broke. A man on
the ground said, “jump I will catch you.” The little boy’s response; “Go get my
Daddy, I know him.”
Do you know the character and nature of God? The more you know Him the
stronger your faith will become.
Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ
I am so blessed with opportunities to share the story of Jesus and how He has made a difference in my life. I believe one of the ways God matures you into someone who is like Jesus is through adversity and trials. The trials of my life have opened many doors to share the story of Christ and His hand upon me and my family, and that God has used them to make me Christ-like.
Thursday October 30th I will be speaking to the XYZ group at Grace Community Church in Tempe. The luncheon meeting will give me one more time to tell about God's goodness. On Sunday November 2nd Sandy and I will be speaking to a Sunday School class at City of Grace Church in Mesa, AZ. Our long time friends, Mel and Shawnee Worters lead that class weekly. Sandy continues teaching the Young Mom's Class on Tuesday mornings at FBC Tempe.
I will be preaching at the First Baptist Church Intersect Service in the LOFT on November 30; December 28; and January 4 at 9:30 AM. Our annual ministry of evangelism, teaching and outreach in Quartzsite, AZ is schedule for January 16-24, 2015. Sandy and I still have several times available to preach or teach at your church or small group. Please email me with your request.
Sandy's brother, Sammy, and his wife, Kathy will be visiting us Thursday through Sunday this week. We so look forward to seeing them. They are eager for the opportunity to go Trick or Treating with Johnny and Justin. We all are. Collin will spend the week-end at Magic Mountain with his church's youth group. He is pumped. Burke and Bennett continue to work on their schools Fall Musical.
Many of you have inquired about my health. Seems like I just continue to need tests run and procedures performed. Thursday October 24 I had a PET scan looking for possible cancer in other parts of my body. On October 28th I have scheduled a biopsy of two very large lymph nodes Please pray for a good report from these two tests. I continue to struggle with lots of pain. The doctors do not know why as of yet. Thanks for your prayers.
The concern you have shown over the years is overwhelming to me. Your words of encouragement to me and Sandy are so important to us. We truly are blessed with such a strong support system. May God bless you in a special way.
Words cannot describe what I feel inside. Gratitude is close. Love may be better; but still inadequate to tell you thanks for what you mean to both of us.
Blessings. ~ DGW
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