Obedience to God | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Obedience to God’ Category

God Wants to Use You!

Posted on: November 6th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

Shortly after forgiving Anthony, I closed one of my letters to him with this: I pray for God’s will in your life, and that He uses you where you are for His purposes to further the Gospel! Be an ambassador right where you are! Be sure not to waste your life in there. I believe we’re all placed right where we’re supposed to be. I was listening to a sermon by John Piper the other day…what was so prominent about this particular sermon was his call for all God’s children to not waste their lives. Most of us do, and that’s a tragedy. Just because you’re in prison, doesn’t mean that you’ve wasted your life. Allow the Spirit of God to use you in there to transform lives according to His will!!! Do not let my dad’s death be in vain. Do not let your life be in vain. God…

Freedom Through Grace

Posted on: October 23rd, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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“He’s doing it again,” I told my friend, Sarah, “listen to this!” I read the letter I received that afternoon from Anthony. “Why won’t he simply say ‘I did it. It was my fault. Period.’” I said. “He’s still trying to justify his actions! He committed murder! He killed my dad! There’s no justification for that!” After talking it though, I sat down and began to type my response, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I wanted to rebuke him. Set him straight. He claimed to be a Christian now. Why isn’t he repentant? Why does he keep blame shifting? I thought. I wrote, words pouring forth like flood waters out of my heart, addressing each of the issues and backing them with scripture. Oh, this is good, I thought, but I knew. This was not the response God wanted. I prayed, as I awaited direction from Jesus. Days passed and…

{Red Like Blood} Freedom Through Grace

Posted on: October 18th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs

Today, I have the honor to be guest blogging for RedLikeBlood.com. Join me there to read about the moment I was given the grace needed to forgive Anthony in my latest post entitled, Freedom Through Grace. If you’re visiting from RedLikeBlood.com, welcome! I hope you’ll take a moment, read, and stay a while… Red Like Blood is a book written by Joe Coffey and Bob Bevington, two men who have both experienced the amazing power of God’s grace in their lives, as I have. I, for one, will be reading their book. Here’s a little synopsis: …the grace of God is much more than sweet. It is also explosive, pervasive, powerful, relentless, amazing, devastating, raw, and beautiful. Grace is deadly serious stuff. Many of our encounters with grace—the real, true grace by which God changes us one step at a time—are much more like confrontations. These confrontations are jarring. They shake us…

{Love Your Enemy} Overcome Evil With Good

Posted on: October 16th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:17-21 Overcome evil with good. As I prayed about how to apply this scripture, I realized that God calls us to treat every person––regardless of who they are and what they’ve done––with dignity and kindness. This included Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. It became increasingly clear that if I…

{Discerning God’s Will} When Doors Shut.

Posted on: October 12th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

I was reluctant to correspond with Anthony prior to my planned visit, but I found it was necessary in order to work out the details of the visit. We exchanged several letters as we awaited approval from the prison, each letter unearthing feelings I unknowingly buried years before. One day, I received a letter from the warden of the prison. As I opened it, I was sure it would be the approval I had been waiting for. Much to my surprise, however, I read the following: Dear Ms. Coombs: Your visiting application was forwarded to this office for consideration. Due to safety and security conserns for the institution because you are the victim’s daughter, we are not approving visiting privileges for you. Sincerely, {Name Omitted}, Warden I was confused. My application for visitation was denied. Did I hear God wrong? God called me to bring Anthony a bible. I was certain…

The Same Spirit…

Posted on: October 10th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

Why do we feel that we must wait for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit when the Spirit continually resides within every believer? If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. – Romans 8:11 {The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in each and every believer! Live, knowing you are empowered to do that which Jesus calls you to!} Do you ever struggle with not feeling empowered do that which He calls you to? Leave a comment below!

Just a Bunch of Dumb Sheep

Posted on: October 5th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs

“Really, we’re all just a bunch of dumb sheep,” I told my sister on the phone yesterday. “We’d like to think that we’re smart, that we can figure it all out on our own, but it’s simply not true. Dumb sheep must stay close to their Shepherd!” It doesn’t take long when observing sheep to realize they’re not the brightest of creatures. Because of this, they are vulnerable and need a shepherd to guide and protect them. In the bible, we are likened to sheep, and we are told that Jesus is our Shepherd (John 10). Referring to a shepherd, Jesus says, The sheep hear [the shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice…. I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down…

Why Obey God?

Posted on: October 2nd, 2012 by Laurie Coombs

It’s my first “vlog” or video blog! I apologize in advance for my awkwardness…. Hopefully, by the grace of God, I will get used to speaking to a videocamera imagining that I’m speaking to YOU! I hope you enjoy! {We obey in response to God’s love. And, of course, God knows best!} So, what do you think? Should I keep doing vlogs?? Leave a comment below!

{Love Your Enemy} When the Path is Unclear

Posted on: September 21st, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

I was freaking out. There’s simply no other way to describe it. I just received that first letter from Anthony, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I should respond. I didn’t know how to respond. Again, I knew God was leading me down this path, but I didn’t know what to do next. I needed to know His will. I needed to know what He wanted me to do. I prayed. I spoke to my husband. I called one of my best friends, all of which helped, yet still, no clarity. Then, I called one of my pastors. “Bobby, I just got a letter from the man who murdered my dad. I don’t know what to do,” I said. I gave him some background as he listened on the other end. “I just want to do what God wants me to do, but I don’t know what…

{Love Your Enemy} Pray Like the Dickens!

Posted on: September 18th, 2012 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

I have to be honest, when I began this journey, I understood my need to forgive and knew that forgiving would bring me to a new and better place. I wanted to forgive. The thing I did not want to do, however, was love my enemy. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. The word “love” in the same sentence as “enemy” didn’t seem to make sense to me. What’s more, the word “love” in reference to Anthony was repulsive. Still, I knew that this is what the bible tells us to do. Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Yet, I didn’t quite understand it. The only insight I had on how to do this was to pray for Anthony and to do what God told me to do, which was to bring him a bible. So, out of obedience,…