Finding favor with God

Explore and discover Gods purpose for you

By Denise Finochiaro
www.findingfavorwithgod.blogspot.com

Copyright 2009

This book is dedicated to my mother Lois, who has shown me over the years what it means to be a Godly wife, mother, friend and woman. To my daughter Emily, who loves me anyway even when I am not being all that God created me to be. To my husband Perry, who loves and supports me in every way and is a constant reminder in my life that God answers prayer.

This book is also in loving memory of my best friend and mentor Melvina Ruth Mickie Mom Thompson, who went home to be with the Lord March 10, 2009. She was the best friend and encourager that God has ever given to me and she is surely missed.

Introduction
I began my Christian journey in May of 1996. I was raise in church all of my life, new the bible well and all of the dos and donts of a Christian. At the age of 21 I had been married for almost three years and had a beautiful baby girl, but I knew that something wasnt right in my life. During my pregnancy the year before, we had a ladies bible study in my church that I was a part of. It was during the course of that study that the Lord began dealing with me and I began to realize that I wasnt a Christian. However, I managed to convince myself that I was ok, after all I had been raised in church and made several professions of faith over the years so surely one of them had to be the real thing, even though deep down I knew better. A year later, in May of 1996, I was at a revival service in my church. I was sitting with my parents and my husband and was hoping that God would change my spouse, but instead, God got a hold of me. By the time the sermon was over, I was shaking in the pew and my heart was beating a mile a minute and I just knew that everyone could hear it thumping in my chest. I knew what I had to do, I couldnt stand it anymore. When the preacher asked for those who needed to be saved to step out and come down that aisle I thought I was going to pass out. What would everyone think? After all I had been a member of this church for 21 years. But the conviction was almost overwhelming. I leaned over to my mother and grabbed her hand and said, Will you go with me? As we stepped out and walked down that aisle, I will never forget the indescribable feeling I had. I had such a sense of fear and relief at the same time. When I got down at the alter I looked around me and realized I wasnt alone. There were many, many other people there, including long-time members of my church, who were accepting Jesus as their savior for the first time too. As the preacher explained to us that becoming a Christian meant by turning our lives over to God and asking him to come into our hearts and forgive us of our sins and be the Lord of our lives, he then asked us to bow our heads and silently repeat in our hearts the prayer he was about to pray. The moment I prayed that prayer I instantly knew that I had been changed because all of the fear I once had over the past year suddenly disappeared and I had peace for the first time. One of my greatest convicting fears before I got saved was that at night after I went to bed that I was afraid to go to sleep because I knew that if the Lord came during the night, I be left behind. However, that first night after I got saved I realized when I went to bed that night, that my fear had disappeared, I knew that if the Lord came back that night, he wouldnt leave without me. I wrote this book with the desire to share with other women my faith that I have learned over the years as I desire to continue to find and explore Gods purpose for my life. It is my prayer that this book will open a desire in your heart to find your favor in the eyes of the Lord and that you will strive to become the woman that God designed you to be. In his Love, Denise Finochiaro

Table of Contents Chapter One: Who is God? Chapter Two: Finding Favor Chapter Three: Mothering with favor Chapter Four: Love and marriage Chapter Five: Woman of Gods own heart Chapter Six: Live and learn, lessons well learned Chapter Seven: Forget me not Chapter Eight: Forgive and forget? Chapter Nine: Gods grace in the storm Chapter Ten: Giving glory

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Chapter One Who is God?

Before you can begin your journey to finding favor with God, you have to know who he is. You cant get married until you have found your mate and know who they are, what their desire is for you and what they expect from you. The same is true in finding favor with God. You cant have an eternal relationship with him until you come to the realization that you are a sinner and have a need for him in your life and have accepted him as your savior. As with any relationship, your relationship with God takes effort on your part once you become a Christian, it doesnt just happen. Although you dont have to put out effort or work to keep your salvation, you do have to put forth effort for the relationship to grow. In order to grow in your relationship with him you have to talk with him, listen to him, obey him, find out what his desire is for you and what he expects from you. So just exactly who is God and why do you need him? The bible tells us in Genesis 1:1,
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In Genesis 1:26-27 it says,

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (vs. 27) so God created man in his own image, in the image of god he created him; male and female created he them.

In Genesis 2:21-22 it says,

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; (vs. 22)And the rib, which the Lord god had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

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God is your creator. He created you in his own image. He designed a unique and special individual when he made you. Your mold was broken at your birth because there is no one else in the world that is just like you. He desires for you to be like him, love him, know him, and serve him. He wants to have a love relationship with you. Maybe you are wondering why in the world the creator of the universe would care about you so much and want a relationship with you? The answer is because he loves you. I John 4:16 says,
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

I John 4:19 says,

We love him, because he first loved us.

Think of it this way, if you have children, they were formed in and born of your own body, they are made in your image because they have your physical attributes and characteristics, as their mother you love them unconditionally. There is nothing that they could ever do that would make you stop loving them or change the fact that they are YOUR children, your own flesh and blood. This is the way God feels about you. He formed and created you in his own image, as your heavenly father he loves you unconditionally. Once you become a Christian you become a child of God and there is nothing that you could ever do that would make him stop loving you or change the fact that you are his child. Romans 8:38-39 says,
For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (vs.39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Because God is perfect, his love is perfect. He is without flaws or sin and he desires to love and be loved by the ones he created. However, there is a problem; because he is perfect and we are not, we are not worthy of his love or to even be in his presence, but because his love for you is unconditional, he still longs for you and wants to be with you. Romans 3:10 says,
As it is written there is none righteous, no not one.

Romans 3:23 says,

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

When Adam and Eve committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden they were instantly aware of their sin and became ashamed of themselves. The bible says that they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8). Even in the midst of their sin, after they had done the very thing that God commanded them NOT to do, God demonstrated his love for them and sought them out in the garden. He even called out to them and said, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9). God is more than just your creator. He is also your Savior. He knows that you are not perfect and sinless as he is and he also knows that given those circumstances there is no way that you could ever be with him in you sinful, un-perfect state. This is where he steps in and makes a way for you. He desires to be with you so much that he selflessly laid down the life of his own son so that you could have redemption of your sins and be with him. John 3:16 says,
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Notice that the bible doesnt say, whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have life, but only for as long as they live and breathe on the earth. No, the bible says EVERLASTING life. The Merriam-Websters dictionary defines everlasting as :
1: lasting or continuing through all time: ETERNAL 2: continuing for a long time or indefinitely.

The dictionary also defines eternal:

1 a: having indefinite duration: b: of or relating to eternity c: characterized by abiding fellowship with God 2 a: continue without intermission b: seemingly endless 3 archaic 4: valid or existing at all times: TIMELESS

So you see what that means is that God promises you life with him not only while you are here on this earth, but for all eternity, even after your body dies and your soul departs from it. Notice what the definition of eternal says in number four: valid or existing at all times: TIMELESS. Think about it, if God promises you everlasting life that means that you will be valid and existing at all times SOMEWHERE, either heaven or hell, throughout all eternity. How does God make a way for us to be with him if we are so unworthy, sinful and imperfect? The bible tells us in Romans 5:8,
But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 14:6 says,

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the father, but by me.

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The word life in this verse refers to eternal life (read John 17:23, Matthew 7:14 and Revelation 22:19). God loves you so much that he sent his only son, Jesus, to die on the cross in your place as payment for your sins. He did this because there was no other way. Your sin keeps you from being worthy of Gods love and stands between you and him. Because you are not perfect and sinless as he is, you could never pay a price high enough, work hard enough, or be good enough to get yourself into heaven. There was only one way and that was for Jesus, the sinless and perfect son of God, to come down to earth and bear the burden you could never carry. He died on the cross so you didnt have too. He offers you a free gift of salvation. It is just that, a gift. You can not earn it, buy it, sell it, or accept it on someone elses behalf. It is a gift of unconditionally love from your heavenly Father and it is offered to everyone. Romans 10:13 says,
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Saved from what? We will be forgiven of our sins and from eternal separation from God when we die. Dr. C.I. Scofield defines salvation as,
(1)The believer has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin and is safe. (2)The believer is saved from the habit and dominion of sin. (pg.1192, Scofield Study Bible.)

The bible says in Romans 6:23,

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So how do you accept this free gift of salvation and receive forgiveness for your sins and everlasting life? All you have to do is ask for it. You dont have to pray a fancy prayer or make any speeches. You just have to ask. The bible says in 1 John 1:9,

Finding favor with God pg. 6 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 10:9-10 says,

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (vs.10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and asked him to forgive you of your sins I urge you right now to stop reading this book and take a few moments to think about everything you have just read. God, the creator of the universe, created you in his image, he longs to have a love relationship with you, to give you the desires of your heart, to forgive you of your sins and to give you everlasting, eternal life. He not only wants that for you, he loves you so much that he has made a way for you to have that, by sacrificing his only Son, Jesus, to pay a debt that you could never pay, so that you might have hope of a life with him. Do you know of anyone else in this world that could, would or has ever offered you that kind of love? Wont you accept this free gift that he is offering to you right now? You dont have to speak religiously or say anything fancy, just bow your head and pray a simple prayer something like this:
Dear Lord, I know I am a sinner and I have failed you. I know I could never do or be good enough on my own to receive your free gift of salvation and I need you. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to turn away from them. I believe that your son Jesus died on the cross for me and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for my sins. The best I know how, I ask right now, Lord please come in to my heart and be my savior and Lord of my life. I want to live for and serve you from this day forward. Amen

If you have just prayed this prayer, CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD DEAR BROTHER OR SISTER! You are now a true, bona-fide child of God. You have such a new life waiting for you ahead because you have Jesus on your side! If you attend church somewhere, call your pastor or a mentor at your church and tell them about the decision you have just made. You will find your church family will be able to help you understand

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your new found faith and help you grow in your walk with God. If you dont have a local church I urge to find one and become a part of it. I also love to hear about new brothers and sisters coming to know the Lord. Please email me at denisefinochiaro@yahoo.com and share your story with me! Knowing who God is and what he has done for you is the first step to finding favor with him. He is so much more than just a thought or figure up on a cloud in the sky. He is your God, Savior, friend, lover, redeemer, confidant, father, and the list goes on and on. In the rest of this book we will talk about many of these things and how they apply to you and many situations in your life, we will learn what favor is and how find it and what it means to have it in your life. Exploring who you are in Gods eyes is a valuable vision you need to have so that you can become one step closer to the woman he wants you to be.