Abraham was a man of faith. Describe one way you might hope to emulate the faith of Abraham.
OR
Jacob was a bit of a deceiver. It took him quite some time to come to a realization of his need to be dependent on God for all things. Can you think of a friend or acquaintance who seems to be struggling against God? Please don't name the person, but describe what you might say to him/her in encouraging him/her to trust in God.
OR
Joseph, in kindness, forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery. Describe an instance where you needed to forgive someone. How was it hard? How did it affect you after you forgave him/her?
For the longest time, my brother picked on me for my differences. He would call me names, such as "lazy," "anal-retentive" and "anti-social," along with other names I can't post on this blog (please don't get the impression that he's a bad person). Last month, we found out I had Asperger's (mild autism) and that was the reason for my differences. Since then, he's been treating me a lot nicer and as an equal as his way of making up for picking on me. He even found my autistic mind intriguing. While it was easier than I thought and I certainly wanted to forgive him, it was still difficult because I still held a negative view of him. After I forgave him, I felt good about myself and was relieved because I could move on and look forward to a healthier relationship with my brother. -Eric
ReplyDeleteDuring my sophomore year in high school my cousin, and who I thought was my best friend, hacked my facebook and started posting nasty things about me and changing my settings to make me as something I wasn't. My cousin was a family member, obviously, so I had to forgive her since there have been many family gatherings. It was very hard to deal with because she was family and the other girl was a best friend. I felt betrayed by them. I thought I could depend on them but they turned around and hurt me. It took several months but eventually I forgave her. But I always remember, forgive but never forget.
ReplyDeleteAbraham was given a message from God and he listened. I would like to be that individual that hears what the Lord has to say and without doubting, act on it. Regardless of how crazy the idea may be if God says to do it, I want to be first in line doing it.
ReplyDeleteI hope to emulate the faith of Abraham in that I will trust in everything God says because I know that He has a plan for me and that even if it seems bad at the moment, good will come. Abraham's circumstance is something I cannot even currently fathom...having to sacrifice my child because God told me to. I know Jesus was sacrificed for us and our continuous sins, but I'm not sure I could ever sacrifice my own child for God. I hope one day I will learn to become like Abraham in that God is the meaning in life and everything and anything that I do, I do for Him.
ReplyDeleteI forgive my younger sister a lot. She is 25 but my parents still consider her the baby. One time she hit my car with my mom's van and lied about it but my brother came forward and told me it was her. She has never came forward to tell me the truth but I still forgive her and don't feel as mad about it as I did before. It was hard at first because I had just bought my car but in the end I able to just let it go and move on. - Amy
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, my cousin and brother would always call me "scary woman monster" in our native language. I would always feel bad about myself like I wasn't appreciated or good enough in anything, always feeling worthless. But I thought to myself, they were immature kids who didn't think of the effects their words would do to me but were always there by my side so I forgave them. Now at times they will bring it up and we all just laugh because I know they can be cruel and mean with their words but they will always have my back and will continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteWhen i was in middle school I decided that the lying and deceiving that my friends were doing to their parents was really bad. Turns out that most of the friends that i had then now have drug related issues and have been recently admitted into rehab centers out of the state. Had i not made the change before they started with drugs, who knows where i might have been today. But i believe that the 3 girls struggle to trust in God the way that i do, and maybe therapy out of state will help them become better people and also open themselves to the strength God can give them.
ReplyDelete-Allison
My brother lied on me one day when I was eight years old. He told my father that I tried to burn the house down, and I got wiped so bad. I thought I wouldn't be able to forgive my brother for that, but I did. The next week he got wiped for getting an F on a test so I guess he got what he deserved.
ReplyDeleteJessica Johnson is the anonymous person.
DeleteSo for Christmas a couple years ago, my sister and I both got itunes gift cards. I of course always used mine up right away but my sister when never spend hers. So one day, she couldn't find hers and she blamed me that I used it and told my mom. (Now I don't have the greatest track record b/c I did one time used the rest of her card but it was only like $4...still no excuses, it was wrong, it know) My mom freaked out and grounded me for a week. She didn't believe me when I was actually telling the truth and I was super annoyed. So like a month later, my mom was cleaning out the office desk and found an unused itunes card. It turned out to be my sisters from christmas which proved my innocence. Both my mom and sister ended up apologizing but i was still kind of upset that they didn't trust me enough or believe me when I was actually telling the truth and that hurt. I eventually got over it but I still sometimes bring it up when I need to make them believe me.
ReplyDeleteI hope to emulate the faith of Abraham by being able to wait. Abraham was 100 years old when he had Isaac after he waited for years of wandering and settling. Sometimes I feel that when I pray, I am not being answered - at least not in the way that I want. I need to be faithful by being patient for God. I need to trust that no matter what happens or how long it takes, God will provide in the way that He knows is best for me.
ReplyDeleteAbout 6 months ago a friend of mines said some inappropriate things on a social network about my sister. It made me really mad at the person and I no longer wanted to associate with the person anymore. Even though I was upset about the situation I still managed to forgive the person. --Bianca S.
ReplyDeleteGod told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, and Abraham was willing to do it purely because it was God that told him, and God always has a purpose. I get frustrated a lot when my life isn't going the way I want it, and I would like to be able to trust that God has a plan and purpose for everything even though I don't see it at the time. Abraham would've killed his only son because his trust was so great, and if I can have a tiny fraction of that faith then I'll be able to trust that God gave me the experiences and life that I have for reasons He knows.
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