Humbled

[dverna]

I had breakfast yesterday with a couple I had met at a church meeting about 6 months ago. We became friends.

The wife is a steadfast believer but the husband had "lost his way" and was struggling with his faith. We connected in part because I am also stuggling with things...in particular with the inerrancy of the Bible.

Yesterday he told me that he had come full circle and had found his faith again. He thanked me for helping him....boy was I humbled. I had sent him emails of my thoughts and articles on questions he had. He told me that those helped him.

I felt so unworthy...to a large part because of the questions/doubts I still deal with. How amazing that I helped my friend!

I have concluded we do not need to be perfect in our faith to help others in their journey. The Holy Spirit works in ways I cannot ever understand.

[Markopolo]

the spirit speaks to us, and through us sir... sometimes we need only open our mouths and the words will come out.

praise God.

[Hickory]

Moses and David had problems with their faith also.
God judges the heart and you're saved by His grace.

[Wayne Smith]

Think of the Roman Centurion - "I believe, help me in my unbelief"! God is infinitely able to use us as He wishes, and infinitely able to deal with us as He wishes. You should ask questions, and expect answers but be willing to dig for them. You can download all 43 of A.W. Pink's writings for, I think it was, $9.99! They are all on my Kindle and I am reading through them, slowly.

[USMC87]

+ 1 For AW Pinks writings, God does just as He pleases with us and He used you for His glory.

[GhostHawk]

" The Holy Spirit works in ways I cannot ever understand. "

You have learned a valuable lesson. Now you just need to learn to trust it.

If you are sliding off the path the Holy Spirit will give you a nudge of one sort or another.

When you get one, backtrack, get back on the path.

Don't worry about doubts. Considering the bible is a compendium of books by a large number of different hands. Of course there are going to be inconsistency's. You know how hard it is for police to put together a reasonable explanation of exactly what happened based on witness reports?

What helped me more than anything was getting a King James bible as an Ebook, in a Red Letter edition. So Jesus's words jump off the page at you. There are very few inconsistency's there. It all boils down to forgiving those who hurt you, loving those around you. Helping those in need of help. And trusting in the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

And some days the Holy Spirit writes things here I would never have thought of.

God works through people, even people who don't believe, or who have doubts. Yes even you. He can take a tool that is not perfect, is flawed, and still use it in such a way that the person he wanted helped gets it, and the tool gets it also. He is the Master, and he has the Masters touch.

[Blackwater]

Don, let me congratulate you as well. It's awfully easy for many of us to drift away from what we know is true. So many temptations, and life's so short. And if temptations weren't enjoyable, at least for the time we're involved in them, they wouldn't be so attractive to us. So we muddle forward, and try to do our best.

And let me also add that it's your humility that will keep you in the throng. Only humble people take truth where they find it. Non-believers have to constructs their "truths" to their liking, so they'll be more "acceptable" to their atheism. You're doing well for a relatively new believer, even if you don't always feel like you are. I think you and I have much in common. We're both hard-headed, but serious, and we both want to KNOW, and not just believe. If your path is like mine, it will take a long time for you to realize that we have so many indications for the Truths in the Bible, that our lot is really mostly to just accept and believe and serve. Study is good, but even study can present problems. I once tried to wrestle the Truth out of what all I had to work with. Now, I realize that for a meek human like me to aspire to understand the wonder and majesty of a very real God, is rather egotistical and fruitless. Now, I know I just need to believe, based on what all I know to be true, and TRUST what God and Christ have left is in the way of direction and advice. And believe it or not, I'm MUCH happier and more satisfied now than I've ever been before in my life. I know it's a paradox, but it's true. But many of us have to satisfy our minds before we get to that point, and some reach it early and for some of us, it takes a lot longer. But it'll come, I assure you. Faith is "knowing without an explanation," and not everything has an explanation, or at least one we can fully understand. It is good to see someone progressing as well as you are, even if you don't always feel like you're progressing. Believe me, you truly are.

[WRideout]

We never know how our words will impact someone else, but I believe it happens more than we know. Witnessing to your faith is more than just handing out tracts and inviting people to church. It is about living your faith. Which you apparently do.

Wayne