God and Us: The Pain, the Betrayals, the Shame, and If You Endure, the Triumphs

By Marie Epaphrodite

This is a true story of a woman who lost her parents at a young age but later on finds success through hard work, commitment, endurance and more importantly God's grace. Sometimes, when saved by grace, we tend to forget where that grace came from. We begin to make our own rules and this comes with a high price. This is what happened to the people of Israel which resulted to them spending forty years in the wilderness instead of just forty days. The author can relate to this and has found herself in a lot of difficult situations.

She then realized that when God says wait, he means for you to actually wait! Knowing that we have to wait on God is called Knowledge while the action of actually waiting is deemed as Wisdom. The healing of the Lord knows no boundaries. God will find you even to the pits of hell and he will deliver you from all evil.

This book aims to let the readers know that through life struggles, if we can trust God, He will see us through. In this book, there are many other chapters that people can relate to including useful subjects such as getting rid of poverty, achieving success, leadership and making a difference in the life that God has entrusted us with. The author hopes that the readers will enjoy reading this book!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524678388

Marie Epaphrodite

Marie lost her parents at a very young age. Through the grace of God, she managed to study, build a career, and become a lecturer. Through disobedience and lack of wisdom, life became so hard until God came to her rescue. She learned many life lessons, including the need to exercise patience, work hard, and submit all to the hand of the Lord.

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© 2017 Marie Epaphrodite. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Published by AuthorHouse  02/21/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-7833-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-7838-8 (e)

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 Perfection As An Enemy Of Greatness: How The Grace Of God Uplifted Me

Chapter 2 Learning How To Follow The Manual

Chapter 3 Dare To Observe His Nature To Understand Who God Truly Is

Chapter 4 God’s Purpose For His People: God And Us

Chapter 5 Is It Really Because Of Time Or You And I?

Chapter 6 Walking Head High In Victory: How To Get The Results We Want

Chapter 7 What God Expects Us To Be

Chapter 8 Reaching Out To The Poor And The Less Privileged

Chapter 9 Self-Control Or Lack Of It

Chapter 10 The Tenth Commandment: The Spirit Of Entitlement And Self-Fulfilment

INTRODUCTION

The pain, the betrayals, the shame, and if you endure, the triumphs.

W hen Jesus said, It is finished, He meant it! This book provides some answers that humankind might need in daily life, with the author’s own life stories to illustrate that it is possible to have a good life through faith and hard work.

In the Bible, Mark 11:21–24 states that you shall speak to the mountain be ye removed and cast out into the sea, and it shall surely happen. This book provides practical real-life answers, but it also raises up some points of concern that people need to be aware of and take charge of if need be. The author hopes that readers will discover the answers to some of life’s challenging issues and see that the Lord is the only way out.

The author further hopes that the Holy Spirit will reveal to His people the answers they are seeking to give their lives meaning. The author wants this book to be a starting journey for discovering more about God, who He truly is, how He loves us, and how we can live a life that gives glory to Him. This is one of the main purposes of this book.

The Father really deserves our love more than anything, as He loved us first by sacrificing the life of His only son, Jesus Christ. This book will teach you how to love God and encourage you to live a righteous life through the acceptance of God’s precious gift: Jesus Christ the Messiah. God is holy and does not associate with ungodliness; the Bible says that we need to live a righteous life, without which no man shall see the Lord. So we have no choice but to try to live a good and godly life.

Jesus set a good example for this. Though He had fun with his disciples – for example, they went fishing and used to evangelise – Jesus also lived a righteous life here on earth. We can inherit the same lifestyle through Him who strengthens us. The Bible asks, what good is it for a man to win the whole world but lose his soul? What other choice do we have if we want to live a happy life in this world and the world to come?

This book will help you discover your purpose and set for you a certain living standard that guarantees a very successful life, as well as a good relationship with God. It will advise you on how to forever be God’s friend and maintain a spirit of entitlement. The author guarantees this to be the most fun and funny part of the book.

CHAPTER 1

Perfection as an Enemy of Greatness: How the Grace of God Uplifted Me

Dear God, now I understand why you allowed the shame, the blame, the loneliness, the abuse, the rejection, and even the betrayal I had to go through. It was because through these I had to learn a lot. It now makes sense, all that has happened to me.

Dear Lord, you wanted me to find the hidden treasure in me to discover first who you are and then who I am, and then my purpose in life. To dig gold I am sure requires blood and sweat. For sure what I have now only requires pain. This is why they say, No pain, no gain.

Dear God, you proved to me that problems are not harmful. They are assets, because only through pain, God, are you to be glorified.

N ever criticise God when He is cooking for you. I am nothing without God; nobody is. Not everyone has realised this yet, but surely time will tell. The sooner we realise it, the better it will be for us.

As for me, I just got off the devil’s train, and I promise I am not looking back. If I do, His grace is sufficient. I will be uplifted once again! The devil will try me, but I will surely know when he does. I am no longer in ignorance. Let me tell you so you too learn a lesson.

I was born in Africa but live and work in the UK. My parents died when I was quite young. I remember the day when my mum was very ill; she called to my sister and me, and she stated that she was worried she was leaving us very young. We would have to be brave for her. Little did my mother know that she was nothing but a vessel God used to bring me into this world.

At that point, I had no idea how life could look like without Mum. I truly wish that I knew then how to invoke the name of the Lord. We could have prayed for my mother, and she would have healed instead of dying. It pains me when I think about the fact that we did not know how to intercede for my mother. I can now see why the Bible says that my people die because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). This is how my mother ended up dying, for we did not know how to pray for her.

I wish I had known how to call God to help so He could heal my mum. But God knew that He was going to take care of me and everybody else. He did take good care of my family and me. He did more than we could ever imagine. When I reflect back on my parents, I have to say that my mother was a best friend and my dad a real role model for every one of their children.

My parents both worked really hard in their lives to raise up us all. They woke up at six in the morning for work. My father had a long-term job. As for my mother, for a very short period of time I saw her being a housewife, and for another short period of time I saw her being ill, and then she was gone.

Their hard work made me who I