“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV)
Earlier today the Lord Jesus had me share a little bit of my testimony in the writing, “God Chose the Despised,” and again he is leading me to share a little bit of my testimony here, for I really identify with what Paul said here, and the Lord is leading me to share that with you today. So, there may be a little bit of overlap from the previous writing, but the writings will not be the same, I am certain. So, I am just praying for the Lord to lead me in this.
Now, I was born “Susan Jane Thorn” on December 31, 1949, in Akron, Ohio (USA). I had a mother and a father, two older brothers, and two younger sisters. My parents died in the year 2000. My youngest sister died in 2015 and my brother second in age died in 2019. My oldest brother and my sister next to me in age are still living here in the USA. I am closest with my sister. And I believed in Jesus as my Lord and Savior at age 7 at summer camp.
Now I am not a pastor or anyone with any authority over anyone, and I am a firm believer that women should not be in biblical authority over men. But we are all called of God to share the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world. And as Christians we are all called to minister to one another within the body of Christ, and to speak the truth in love to one another, and to exhort one another daily so none of us are deceived by sin.
I am married to my husband Rick of nearly 52 years (in August). We have four grown children (three of them male and one female), all in their 40s, and we have a son-in-law and two daughters-in-law and an x-daughter-in-law. And we have 14 grandchildren from ages 6 to 25 and two grandsons-in-law. And we are a close family, most all of whom profess faith in Jesus Christ, and we enjoy our times together with our family on a frequent basis.
I began teaching the Scriptures at age 16, and I have taught the Scriptures probably 50 years of my life, for I had a period of time in my life where I walked away from my pure devotion to the Lord and I did what was against his will and purpose for my life, for I had been through so much suffering, and so much heartache, and so much persecution that my mind and emotions gave way to sin. But thanks be to God, he brought me back!!
Anyway, I am not a gifted speaker, but the Lord led me in 2020, I believe it was, to begin making video talks of my some of my daily devotions. And I am not a smooth talker and I don’t normally plan out these talks in advance. I normally begin with reading a passage of Scripture and then I just let the Lord lead me in what to say. So it is a lot like we are just sitting across the living room from each other just sharing what we are getting from the word.
So I identify with Paul here. I am not one who proclaims the word of God with lofty speech and lofty wisdom. I just ask the Lord to teach me what he wants me to learn and to share and then I share it as he gives it to me. And I do come to you in weakness and in the fear of the Lord and not thinking I know everything or that y’all are just going to accept whatever I say as truth. I know better. And I know some of you will reject what I say.
But what I am called of God to do is just to share what I am getting from my times with him in his word. And I am called to share Christ crucified on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. I am called to share the gospel that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught which teaches that by faith in Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23).
And I know that does not make me popular. And I know that I am not going to be widely accepted. I know that this will get me hated, rejected, persecuted, abandoned, falsely accused, and the like. And I know people are going to oppose me and fight against me, and some will mock me and think I am crazy or just odd. And I accept that as par for the course of obeying my Lord in doing what he has called me to do in sharing the true gospel.
And I try to regularly remind my readers or listeners to test what I am sharing with them, what I am getting from the teachings of the Scriptures, and against the Scriptures, but taught IN CONTEXT. And test everyone and everything you hear or read, and even what you think you see, for so much today is faked and altered. So many liars are teaching the Scriptures out of context and are making them say what they do not say if taught in context.
So I am here to share Jesus Christ with you, as being called of God and led of the Holy Spirit and for no other reason. I gain nothing from this other than the peace and joy in knowing that I am in the center of God’s will doing what he has called me to do and that God is taking these writings where he wants them to go, and he is using them in other people’s lives for his purposes and for his glory and not for my glory. So God gets all the glory!
Now the Lord has me doing video talks to go along with some of these writings, but the writings and the video talks are not usually scripted, so they are not normally exact duplicates of one another. But here is the video talk for today to go along with this devotion/testimony:
Video Talk
https://youtu.be/2FBfFYGT_eE
Caution: This link may contain ads
A Believer’s Prayer
An Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.
Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.
Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.
https://vimeo.com/114796263
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