Would you please pray for me as I go through certain tough decisions right now?
I need to know how to deal with the people in my life - those closest to my heart... Several times each day I face dilemmas and I don't know who to turn to for comfort and reassurance that one day all this will pass. I pray, and God gives me strength to do what is right but when it comes to dealing with people that I interact with every day and accepting them as they are, that's where things become really difficult for me. This results from me feeling like I'm not accepted as I am, I feel like I have to achieve great things in order to be valued just as I am. So pray that God will grant me strength and grace to be vulnerable and/or draw the line in such situations and so I will know exactly He would want me to do in times like these.
I also have career decisions to make. I'm applying to nursing school this semester. I can't wait to get in!!! I've wanted to be a nurse (like my mom) for a long time now. And I don't know what I'd do if I didn't get in. I trust this is really the direction the Lord wants me to go. I've prayed about about it and know this is what the Lord wants for me. However, I have to have a backup plan and every nursing school's requirements are different from others. Applying to several schools would just mean more time staying in school, if I don't get into ECU-SON and get into some other place. I've been in school (college) 6 years now and am finally getting close to getting done with school with something that I love to do - care for people. It's hard for my parents watch me struggle to get a degree this way, not in terms of difficulty getting in but just with how many changes I've had to go through and how long it's taking me to get an undergraduate. They support me well but I'm sure it can get frustrating and very discouraging for parents to watch their child go through this and them not being able to do much to change it or make it better.
Please pray... there's so much more I could give you details of so you could get a clearer picture but my posts are long enough as it is. If you want to know something more (specifically), please feel free to post a question in the comments section, only if you will take the information you find here to the Lord in prayer. Thank you for praying.
Sincerely and with loads of love in Christ,
Beula
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Dear Beula,
Okay, which way is it, by Grace, by Faith, or by Works, that brings us into eternal salvation?
How about all of the above?
For many non-Catholics, the answer to the question is one of 'Either - Or', but with Catholics, the answer is 'And'. (This is an example of Boolean Logic)
"Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by GOD and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works."
This is a Joint Declaration on Justification (Salvation) by faith, paragraph 15. This joint declaration was agreed upon by the Catholic and Lutheran Churches in 1999 after 33 years of discussion.
"Even so let your light shine before men, in order that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
"Make no mistake: GOD is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due season we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up." (Galatiansl 6:7-9)
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12)
Hi Michael,
Thanks for your comment. I am not completely sure but I'm going to assume that you are referring to the statement in my 'about me' section where I've said "I'm saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone" when you started off your comment. I am saved BY grace alone, THROUGH faith alone, IN Christ alone - these are 3 different answer phrases in the same statement to 3 different questions - What, How and Who. I hope this clarifies what that statement means, in case that's where your question arose. I put that statement there because many people out there, including Catholics, believe the verse Ephesians 2:8 in the Bible and to some, including myself, they're just terms they've heard pretty much all their lives and have learned to agree with. I was hoping to, if not clarify, then cause ANYONE who read it to think about it for a minute before they identified with it as soon as they recognized the verse (if they did identify with it).
In addition though I would also mention that grace and work are not independent of each other. It is because I have been saved by grace that I'm inspired to do good works. Salvation, that is whether I'm going to spend eternity in heaven or hell, is determined through putting my faith in the Lord Jesus and believing that I am saved by His grace alone. The moment I sincerely confess that I'm a sinner and turn my life over to Him and proclaim Him as Lord of my life believing in Him while doing so, I'm saved and my place in heaven is reserved and His Holy Spirit indwells me from that moment onwards guiding me as to my life after Christ comes in. No one and nothing can separate me from the love of Jesus Christ (Rom 8:35-39).
My works, or good works if you will, on the other hand, are inspired by my gratefulness toward Him that He has saved me from the hell that I really deserve to go to, not as though we're doing God a favor but because we still owe Him. He deserves all our praise in every single thing we do and all of the good works in this world will never be enough to exalt His name because we have missed God's standard of perfection. So we need to let the Holy Spirit guide our hearts as we go through each day and let Him work in us, doing each good work for His glory only, not for our own.
There's more I could say but at this point, I'm wondering if this is what you were driving at. =)
-Beula
Beula said...
I'm saved and my place in heaven is reserved..
Dear Beula,
I was saved, I am saved and I am being saved.Yes, but only GOD knows who they are.
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" - Romans 10:9
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" - John 3:16
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" - John 3:36
"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" - John 6:40.
Those are only a few of God's promises that tell us that we can know that we can know for sure that we're going to heaven. We've got to "work out our salvation" in terms of examining ourselves constantly.
Dear Beula,
Who Has The Authority?
And who does not!
Authority comes from the "Author of Life", Acts 3:15. All authority comes from GOD, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." (Romans 13:1-2).
Notice that GOD is selective as to just who He gives authority.
The Catholic Church has a form of government called a theocracy and operates as an "Hierarchy".
Like any other form of government, it has to have "authority" to function.
The Church received its authority from its founder, Jesus Christ...
God bless you
Michael Gormley
Hey Beula, I just want to say thanks for continuing to share about your life and your struggles... that transparency is admirable (and crucial). I'll talk to you soon about how things are going with me... and with you. Please continue to live inspired by Christ and don't worry about the criticism anyone throws at you because all that matters is what Christ thinks of you... what God's view of you is. You're one of the most real people I know
Appreciate that George! =) Whenever the time's good for you is a great time to talk. And you have no idea how much YOU've inspired me. hehe.
Post a Comment