Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, and let us Reason Together, Saith the LORD: though your sins be as Scarlet, they shall be as White as Snow; though they be red like Crimson, they Shall be as Wool.”
Hat-tip: Kristi Ann for bringing this verse to mind.
While my husband and I were separated I became ill and was hospitalized. He was across the country visiting his sister who was having very serious surgery. This was a terribly lonely time. One of the women from the Bible study, the wife of the preacher, visited me when I was discharged. She spoke to me of the Lord very gently and truthfully and prayed with me. Later when I was alone in my rented room I knelt down and admitted to the Lord that I had messed up my life and asked Him to fix it. I didn’t say a special prayer but was truly sorry. I didn’t have sound doctrinal thoughts about repentance and faith but only my simple need for Him to fix my life. (I haven’t shared much about the sin that brought a kind of ruin because it isn’t best.)
The first change in things was in my nightly prayers for my sister-in-law. I had been saying the rosary for her healing. Gently the Lord impressed upon me that this wasn’t needed, to simply pray for her. The second change was in how I saw things: I understood why my Christian friends said ‘the Lord’ all the time, not just ‘God’. (You may have noticed me using ‘God’ a lot in my testimony. I’ve done this to show you the distance between me and our Holy Lord.) Also, I clearly saw that in this world there are people who are saved and people who aren’t. For the first time I saw the Kingdom of God.
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
My sister-in-law’s surgery went well and my husband came home. To his surprise I met him at the airport. I explained all that had happened, my illness and prayer, and how sorry I was for not being a good wife and hurting him. I never felt so sorry for anything in my life. He was puzzled but happy – he wasn’t a Christian yet – but accepted what I had to say as real because of the change the Lord had made in me. We have lived as husband and wife since that time in the summer of 1979.
As the Lord continued to speak to me in His Word, and through my circumstances seen in the light of His Word, I lived in Psalm 119 and learned how He saw my situation, drinking it in. Jesus, thank you! I didn’t want pain but was comforted by Your Word. The following year my husband trusted the Lord Jesus as his Saviour and awoke to a brand new world!
Psalm 119
65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord,
according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge:
for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray:
but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good;
teach me thy statutes.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
that I might learn thy statutes.
75 I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right,
and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
What a wonderful testimony! To God be the glory for opening your eyes to see the truths in God’s Words. I am so thankful for people like the preacher’s wife who didn’t forget about you. Also, I am happy for you and your husband that he didn’t hold your decision to leave him against you and that he also has come to know our Lord and Savior. Praise God!
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Chris, he came to the Lord the following year. The year after this his Mother was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly after. My husband is grateful that he had the Lord’s strength for this ordeal.
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I don’t know how people living apart from our great God deal with death. Just as our Lord gave your husband the strength to handle his Mother’s death, God has given me great comfort after my father’s death (on May 3rd). We are so blessed to have the Holy Spirit in our lives. Apart from Him we can do nothing! Thanks for sharing!
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Chris, let me express my sympathy for what you suffered in your father’s passing. May the Lord comfort you!!
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Thank you for your kind words, Maria. My father was a humble man and brought me up in the Christian faith. I am comforted, indeed, by the knowledge that I will see him again someday!
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That is so wonderful, Chris!! I’m glad for you!
Please pray for a little friend of mine who is near despair, that the Lord will strengthen her and deliver her from evil!
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I will pray for your friend, Maria. Thank you for asking me.
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Thank you, brother!
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Chris, yes, we are so blessed to have God’s Holy Spirit. It is crushing to think about frightened people facing eternity and we must tell them about the One Who died for us. God be praised for His mercies.
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Amen, Maria!
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Amen!
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What a wonderful testimony! \o/ ❤
(my prayer was as yours-"fix it God! Going my own way hasn't worked!")
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exactly, Sherry. we sheep are alike and totally needy.
Praise Him forevermore! \o/ ❤
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I’m really enjoying following your story.
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Angela, thank you for your kindness! I’ve read your series on Philemon and am concerned and praying about this with you.
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Thank you so much! I appreciate your prayers.
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Of course! ❤
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Wow amazing grace of God that saved your marriage!
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He did, Pastor! Praise Him forever for all His kindness to us all!!
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=)
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:0)
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Thanks for sharing this series, Maria. Praise Him! Our Lord certainly does make us lie down in green pastures.
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Right, Tom!
Titus 3
3 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, 2 to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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My friend,
I know that you suffered from the torment of your guilt. I’ve been there too. I don’t know what you did, but I’ve done much evil in my past that has done permanent damage to people that I love.
And God has cleansed me.
And He has cleansed you too. I just want to share that with you as a way of encouraging you that you’re not alone in what you’ve struggled with.
God loves you, and He remembers your sins no more.
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May I also add that I sought the forgiveness from the people that I’d hurt. And not all of them forgave me. Some did, some didn’t. But God can move on any person’s heart to heal emotional pain.
So I’m adding that in case you have people who haven’t forgiven you.
Don’t forget…God loves you just like you are.
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Thanks, Lee! People have been forgiving to me, praise God! But I need to keep in mind that this might not happen all the time, and then to walk on with the Lord, knowing that He forgives me. I’m sorry that some people don’t forgive you but glad you understand these things.
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Thank you, Lee, for being a Barnabas to your brothers and sisters!
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