Topic > Christian Beliefs > God > Love of God >
I am Loved by the One I Despised
Written By Edwin B. Yambot, Philippines Growing up in a poverty-stricken and hostile environment, I was ashamed of my life. And though my grandmother was a devout Methodist, my negative perception about the world impeded my growth in the Christian faith and contributed to my cynicism about God. After graduating with a degree in Social […]
While listening to the Bible study on May 29th on I Corinthians 1: 3-7, I realized where the Lord has placed me as a Barnabas. 26 years after choosing an abortion for an unplanned pregnancy, I found healing and restoration in a Bible study for post-abortive women at a pregnancy care center. Through that experience, I began to volunteer at a local pregnancy care center. About a year ago, I had the blessed experience of co-facilitating the same post-abortive study (Forgiven and Set Free) with the woman who was the facilitator when I went through the study. I rejoiced in seeing the participants transform as they accepted God's forgiveness and embraced freedom. I still volunteer at our local center and always come home feeling blessed by the clients the Lord brings my way. Not all are post-abortive, but all are on the road I once took. God is so awesome in the plans that He has for us!
ReadWhy I’ve Always Loved Superheroes
Written By Desiree U. Angeles, Philippines Growing up, I was a huge fan of Batman. I know it’s probably unusual for a girl to like this character, but I’ve always found the winged hero fascinating because he could defeat villains even though he didn’t have any supernatural powers. Perhaps I loved Batman also because I […]
Poem: A Lesson on Love from Mary of Bethany
Written By Raiza Javier, Philippines I know exactly what Love looks like. I knew it the moment He stole my heart. Love was when He came to our home. My sister, Martha, and I were there and we welcomed Him. He spoke to me as I sat and listened by His feet. Love was when […]
Motivated By Love
In the 1920s, Bobby Jones dominated the golfing world, despite being an amateur. In one film about his life, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, there is a scene where a professional golfer asks Bobby when he is going to quit being an amateur and grab for the money like everyone else does. Jones answers by explaining that the word amateur comes from the Latin amo—to love. His answer was clear: He played golf because he loved the game.
As I grew up, I knew my grandma as a saint. She didn't just get her bible out of the closet on Sunday, go to church and then come home and do her own thing the rest of the week. She went to church every Sunday morning and night, every Wednesday night, until they passed, she did ladies hair for church every Saturday. She was also on the prayer chain at her church. And every morning, she read Our Daily Bread (which is why I started reading it too :) ). But I went too church when I had too, at her house on any weekend. I was baptized at her church at the age of 9, but nothing changed. I kept living the same (not sinful, but not saintly), kept watching the same shows, sleeping in on Sunday mornings, normally, etc. But, at the age of 16, I was in a bad accident that almost, should of, killed me (fell off a bridge off a motorcycle 30 ft; shattered pelvis, broke a leg, arm, a finger and my collarbone and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Spent 4 1/2 months in the hospital, a year in a wheelchair and shattered dreams (Air Force Academy was no longer an option.) But then God orchestrated events that brought me closer to Him. Met a kid in High School at lunch who inspired me to read the Bible, at CU met my current best friend (who's currently a missionary in Spain to North African Nations) who led a Bible Study and with whom I started attending church regularly. Baptized in 1984, bad accident in 1991, started reading the Bible in 1993, attending church regularly in 1994. (Also started reading Our Daily Bread in 1995.) Maybe, not the right way, but better late than never!
ReadMy husband was involved in a vehicular accident March 2010. A sleepy motorbike rider collided with Fier from behind and they both crashed in one of the busiest sections of EDSA. It was the first miracle that he had that day, no other vehicle was behind him and he had a chance to get up and walked to the side of the road. Second miracle of that day was he never lost consciousness - he was fully alert of what was happening and even had the chance to call and inform me of what happened.
He underwent surgery to put a metal plate to support his shattered right collarbone.
The other guy fled the scene and the third miracle that day was that a fellow motorbike rider helped my husband and they were able to get the license plate of the guy who collided with my husband. After a few months, I was able to trace the guy who collided with him.
We met with him and his mother. He explained that he was up partying all night and fell asleep on the wheel.
If you know who I am, you would expect that I will burst out throwing expletives to the guy for all the trouble that he'd caused. We were neck-deep in hospital bills and my husband wasn't able to work for 2 months. Everyone who knew me back then would expect me to file a lawsuit and wrung-dry the guys family for moral damages.
But lo and behold, I was able to keep calm and let God do all the work. My husband and I agreed to forgive him - which I think surprised both him and his mother. We just told him to be careful next time and that he should not be behind the wheel if he's not in a condition to be. We parted ways and my husband and I both had this heavy weight lifted from us because we have given forgiveness.
The Lord indeed moves in mysterious ways. His love and mercy can soften even the hardest of hearts. There is blessing when we forgive just as the Lord had forgiven our sins.
Thanks be to God!
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No Need Is Too Trivial
Several mothers of small children were sharing encouraging answers to prayer. Yet one woman said she felt selfish about troubling God with her personal needs. “Compared with the huge global needs God faces,” she explained, “my circumstances must seem trivial to Him.”
Louis Zamperini: Every Hero Has a Story
I ran into former Olympic track runner and World War II prisoner of war (POW) survivor Louis Zamperini in the bargain bin—his book was going for $5. “An extraordinary true story of courage and survival”, said the book cover. A review by Vanity Fair magazine called it “One of the most remarkable survival tales ever […]
The Superpower I Always Wanted to Have
Written By Amy Ji, Singapore When asked what superpower I would like to have in my younger days, I would always reply, “invisibility.” As a teenager, I’ve been through many embarrassing moments where I wished I could just disappear, like when I woke up late and my hair looked like a mop, or when my […]
"My parents divorced when I was a teenager, so I moved on my own to the United States. I got into trouble there and was put in jail.” It was during…
ReadNeed a reminder that God hasn’t forgotten you?
Remember Me! That was the heartfelt prayer of a woman who felt lost and completely forgotten by God. Discover how God answered Hannah’s prayer in a personal and loving way.
How does God want us to respond to the life He’s given us?
We’re not in control of the hand we’ve been dealt. But we do have a choice in how we play the cards we have. Join us as we conclude our study in Ruth with a biblical challenge.
