God is Faithful

Teachable Woman Podcast

Reverends Michele Owes and Diana P. Cherry

God is Faithful

[00:00:00]

Rev. Michele Owes: Welcome, welcome. Yay. Welcome back to the Teachable Woman Podcast. We are so excited to be back with you. I am Reverend Michele Owes. I am with Reverend Mrs. Diana P. Cherry, author extraordinaire, and together we are Teachers of Good Things. Mrs. Cherry, please say hello.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hello, Podcast Family. As I often share, we are indeed teachers of good things, but the most important thing is that we have listeners who receive those teachings, and that makes you teachable. So we're happy to be back with you again. I guess you can hear the excitement in our voice. You know that both of us are encumbered with a lot of family activities and a lot of responsibilities.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So when we get together to chat with you, [00:01:00] we are just absolutely happy about it. So have a happy time with us as we have a happy time with you.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. Amen to that. Our responsibilities are vast, and I'm sure many of you are in the same situation, but it's wonderful to be able to take a moment just to discuss the God that we serve, the one that we love, the one that provides for us, the one that is faithful to us, and that's what we're gonna be talking about today, just the Faithfulness of God.

Rev. Michele Owes: I want start this is to just share that there are so many days in life that we don't have the answers. We don't know the solutions, we don't know the way, we don't know what the truth is, and we are just hanging on the life. But Jesus is the way. He is the truth, and He is the life as we seek him, [00:02:00] I have found him to be faithful. Mrs. Cherry, over

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: the years I've just found him to be so faithful. What I've learned about myself is that I, I know little to nothing. There is some natural knowledge that he has blessed me to be able to. Obtain and to apply to this natural life, but the kinds of things that I need answers to only he really can supply. And I just found him faithful over the years. And if we just take a moment to look back and what we were concerned about 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30, if some of us are old enough to, have had some concerns 30 years ago. He has always answered

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: and that they are not the same concerns that we have today.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: get a new set of concerns with the New Decades,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: For sure.

Rev. Michele Owes: but he is faithful. [00:03:00] Come on. Help us with that, Ms. Jerry.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: All right. He is indeed a faithful God. And I, I've gotten to the point that I just, I kinda every day, even like where I am right now, I'm in pool class every day and even sometimes in the pool class, I'm just. Kind of like by myself, a lot of people around, and I'm just talking to God in my heart and just being thankful to him.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And the amazing thing about his faithfulness, all we have to do is love him, obey him, serve him. If we do that, he, I really believe he'll take care of whatever it is. I have so many things going on as I shared before. I'm trying to get back in college. I'm, I'm enrolled as a student, but I haven't gotten my everything done quite yet, and I'm writing a third book and just so much going on and I'm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I just live my life being so grateful that [00:04:00] God is faithful and all he wants me to do is love him, serve him, obey him, and of course, love my neighbor as I love myself, and, and it's so easy to do that. It's so simple to do that. And if we obey him. He will definitely continue to be faithful to us. There's so many things that we don't have answers to, and if we tried to figure it out, we would blow our peewee little brains trying to figure it out, and then all of a sudden it's like out of nowhere.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: You have the answer. And it wasn't, it wasn't your peewee little brain, it was the gr, good greatness of God, the faithfulness of God, the goodness of God, the grace of God. And all you can do is just say, thank you Lord. And I, for the most part in my life, I have really learned not to be,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Not, not to let [00:05:00] anything much upset me, it's not worth it because in the end, God's God really does have me. I know he does. And so. Well, at 82 and a half years old, I ought to be able to just live my life for him and just put all the stuff and garbage aside. God is faithful and he's going to take care of it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And the thing is, we can pray and think we want things done this way, and God will answer us in such a way that we never would have imagined, dreamed, or hoped. And it's exactly what we wanted. And didn't even know that that's the way it was gonna be. That's not what we needed. That's just what we wanted.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But he always gives us what we need and he is faithful. He's a faithful God, and I'm so grateful to him.

Rev. Michele Owes: First Thessalonians five and 24 says, faithful is he that calleth you who will also do [00:06:00] it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: I believe that it is a common mistake that we think we have to do it. now we don't just get to lay down and he does everything, he already has a plan. He has things laid out, and if we will obey as you stated, then we'll see the faithfulness of God. first Thessalonians three and three, it says, but the Lord is faithful, who will establish who shall establish you and keep you from evil. And being faithful means to be trustworthy. It means to be steadfast. It means to be sure and God is that and so much more. Now he wants us to be faithful servants as well, and we're able to do that because he's a faithful God. And so if we take on his character, we can be like him 'cause we were [00:07:00] created in his image and after his likeness. But there's gotta be some times that we all experience. Where we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know how it's going to work out. don't know what God is going to do or how he's going to do it, and and I think that's really good for us because it teaches us who's in control. And so we can have some moments where life is going on and, and we can just pretty much gauge how this is gonna go and gauge how that's gonna go. And I thank God just enjoys throwing us a curve ball. or allowing a curve ball to come our way. Let me say that, just so that we can remember who really is in charge. who answers the questions of our lives and who supplies all of our needs and, and who's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us. All of that just keeps bringing us back [00:08:00] who he is we're approaching. The Len season where we are going to be talking about the sacrifice that God made us to be his children so that we could have a relationship with him. And when we look at that sacrifice, again, we see the faithfulness of God because he was, was willing to allow the things that happened to Jesus to happen to him so that he could have a relationship with us.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hmm, my goodness. He is, God is awesome and we will never, with a natural mind, we'll never, ever understand how he does what he does, and therefore, it's incumbent upon us to trust him

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and just to have faith. His faithfulness. sometimes we talk about our faith, [00:09:00] but I like to, I like to have faith in his faithfulness because I know he does not change.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I know that his ways are not my ways, his thoughts are not my thoughts, and if the more I learned to rest in him, the more he's able to. rest rule and abide with me and to lead God and direct my path, all I have to do is just seek his will, seek his way, and do everything that I can do to further his will in the earth.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And I think that. We focus more on furthering the will of God and the Earth. He'll take care of all these little things that we think are major, and basically we'll find out they, they're really not that significant, not in the eyes of God. We think this stuff is so big, but to God, it's like, why don't you just release it?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Stop worrying about it. [00:10:00] Just let me have it, and, and you go on about your way. Go on, do what you're gonna do. I got this. And sometimes, sometimes I just feel like God says, like, the situation that I'm in right now with, changing some things and adjusting some things, and I think God just says, I've got this.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: if you're gonna worry about it, why do you, why do you give it to me? I've got this. And, I think that in, in, in remembering how faithful God is, I think that that would be a cute little cliche for us to develop and we could even say it to one another. He's got this, a lot of times we hear people say.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: you've got this, well, my cliche, my meaning he's got this, he, he's got this, whatever this is, he's got it. He's never gonna leave us. He's never gonna forsake us. He's not gonna allow anything to come against us that we cannot handle. He's [00:11:00] already equipped us to handle it. I mean, just look at you and look at me.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Having lost, yesterday was seven years since I lost my husband. And if you had told me eight years ago that John was gonna leave and that I was gonna be fine, I would've probably told you that you are a raving maniac. But God's got this. And so I think I would like for everybody to leave the podcast.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Day with the thought that whatever it is, God's got this. As long as we love him, as long as we obey him, as long as we serve him, then we have a right for him to have this. So let God have it. Whatever it is, let God show you how faithful he is and how faithful he is to you. Reverend Os and I know that he's faithful to us, but I want.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: All of you to know that he's faithful to you. Just [00:12:00] give it to him and then say, he's got it. So he's got it. I'm not gonna worry about it. Whatever it is, and however it comes out, or however it works out, I'm gonna believe that that's the way he wanted it to be. So I'm just gonna rest in that because I know God is faithful.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, he is. One of the things I have come to do more is to say to the Lord, I have need of thee. I

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Oh, I love it.

Rev. Michele Owes: I need you to tell me how to think,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I love it.

Rev. Michele Owes: what to do, what not to do. Lord, help me.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: are some challenges that I realized that after the passing of my husband, the day-to-day life challenges that I never even knew existed, he just handled the things right

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I know.

Rev. Michele Owes: or would share with [00:13:00] me the outcome. And, and now all of life situations have found me and I feel like they found me right? I don't get to coast anymore, and I am working through these life situations with the Lord, I know that there's so many things that. I'm not versed in right, and I don't need head knowledge. I don't mean head knowledge. I mean, I wanna respond to it the way he wants me to,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: I wanna make sure that whatever the situation is, that I do no harm to the body of Christ, means that. I don't get to just respond the way I'm thinking or the way I'm feeling, or I have to pause. I have to put me on pause and just say, Lord, I have needed, I need your help. What do

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that.

Rev. Michele Owes: me to say? I know what I'm thinking, but I'm it's not what you think [00:14:00] I

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I love that.

Rev. Michele Owes: do, but I'm 100% certain that's not what you want me to do. and I was sharing with Mrs. Cherry before we came on that. I was with my two granddaughters I was, we were having a meal together and we were just having a conversation and I was thinking that I was not doing a really good job as it relates to caring for my granddaughters. And I was thinking that, primarily my life was so quiet. Before, before they came, they're young, now I'm finding that the volume of my voice is a little louder than I want it to be, a little

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Cool.

Rev. Michele Owes: than I wanted to be. And so I was, I was just standing in the kitchen listening to the two of them talk.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I was thinking to myself, God, I'm probably not really doing a good job. I I, I'm so sorry. I, I need your help in terms of what I'm doing and, and what it is you want me to do. And so, one of them. Just paused for just a minute and said, I'm gonna [00:15:00] say this. And then she said, no, I'm not gonna say it. And then she said, yes, I'm, she said This is the best family right here. And I said, really? She said, yes, it's, this is the best one right here. I said, even when, when grandma is yelling at you, she said, even when you're yelling, I said, even when I'm telling you to pick your things up and get your homework done and this and that, even when you're doing that, she said, even when you are whipping our butts, this is still the.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I love it.

Rev. Michele Owes: That was the faithfulness of God, right? I, because I'm thinking I'm older, I've raised my children now I am in the throes of first grade, fourth grade. how to even think about the fact that somebody laughed at your grandchild because my granddaughter tells me that some boys in her classroom told her hairstyle was stupid. Okay, [00:16:00] so. And you're crying because some guy said that your hair looks stupid. This is a very nice hairstyle. I know. And if they wanna, if they want to weigh in, tell them to grow their own hair. Right. So. What do we say about all of these? These are things I have not had to deal with for so long. And, I'm, I'm always trying to think of the right thing to say, 'cause my first response is point about I'll have a conversation with him when I'm picking up.

Rev. Michele Owes: Or should we bring your dad with us? I think we need your dad for this. So, but these are not the things that God would have me to say. Just to, to say and to do things the right way. So, just that was, that was God being faithful.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes,

Rev. Michele Owes: That was God giving me a wink, saying, girl, you doing okay? I know

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: yes, yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: what you planned.

Rev. Michele Owes: I

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: what you thought it was going to be. I, I know it takes [00:17:00] a hundred percent of who you are, but it is where I need you to be.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Praise the Lord.

Rev. Michele Owes: be well with it. Right. Don't judge you. keep your relationship well with me we'll handle all the rest.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Isn't it amazing?

Rev. Michele Owes: you

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: That's amazing. So another example, God's got this.

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes, yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: But that story that you did share with me before we started the podcast? That, that was almost like a miracle to me. your heart, you're keeping it within, and you're talking to him silently in your heart, and you have no idea that your granddaughter's gonna make this comment.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And I mean, that must have been just like manna from heaven that,

Rev. Michele Owes: I was just so

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I mean out outta the mouth.

Rev. Michele Owes: impressed with God. It's like, wow, God, you're [00:18:00] just answering my thoughts. I'm far off. You are. I am here questioning what I'm doing. It's like, is this really what you want me to be doing? Am I in the right place? Am I doing the right things? Just on, God. Just, just help me. And

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And

Rev. Michele Owes: was my answer

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: out the mouth of a,

Rev. Michele Owes: yes. Outta the mouth of

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: The thing that's so interesting is how your granddaughter hesitated to share her heart with you. and, and I wonder, what was she thinking? Why was she hesitant? but God has a thousand ways to bless us. Like I said, if we love him, if we serve him, if we obey him, and if we keep ourselves in his will.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: He has to 'cause, not because of us, not because our of our strong faith, but because of who he is and his faithfulness to his word. He's not gonna ever leave [00:19:00] us. He's not gonna forsake us. And we have to learn how to just say, God's got this. And not in some kind of a phony fakey. My faith is so great that God's gonna, my faith is gonna move.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: God, no. God's got this because I'm his child, because I love him, because I serve him. Because I obey him and because I do the best that I can do and I'm trying to be the best that I can be, and God, just with his omnipotence in his omnipresence, and his omniscience, he just haul off and give us an answer that just blesses our socks.

Rev. Michele Owes: Right. And then, I think part of my challenge personally, and I don't mind saying so because God is so faithful, is that this is not my generation. And understanding this generation and, and understanding that I cannot just [00:20:00] respond the way that maybe I did parenting 20, 30 years ago. but. my, one of my granddaughters asked me if Jesus had an Instagram or a YouTube channel because she was watching an educational show.

Rev. Michele Owes: and at the end of it, it said to like, and subscribe. And she says, grandma, does Jesus have, Instagram or YouTube channel? And I said. said, because I was watching this and it said like, and subscribe and I want to like and subscribe his channel. I want him to know I like him and everybody needs to like him.

Rev. Michele Owes: Everybody needs to know what his channel is. What is his channel? Grandma? Okay. I had to pause. And my response was, he does not have a channel like the YouTube channel or I said, but his, his channel is in your heart

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: that you know that you love him. You know that he loves you, and then you [00:21:00] share his love with others.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I said, that's how people grow and get to know who he is. But it's not Instagram or YouTube channel the way that you think. And then I was like, okay, did I answer that right? Jesus.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: It sounds right to me.

Rev. Michele Owes: I just thought it was so cute that she wanted to know if he had a channel so she could like and subscribe. And then it helped me to also see that the way that they view the world is different. It's very different.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: So that Therefore, therein, look, therein lies my challenge Sometimes. It's like, okay, Lord, what do we do here?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Well, I think we need to.

Rev. Michele Owes: God is faithful.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. And we have to remember that God didn't change, the world has changed,

Rev. Michele Owes: Yes.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: but the same spirit that was in my great-great-great-great great grandmama is the same spirit that's in me. And we communicate with [00:22:00] God's spirit to spirit. And he's greater than any YouTube or any internet, Instagram or whatever those.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Things are that they have nowadays. And I, I think that more and more and more, those of us who are strong, born again Christians, we're gonna have to go back to the old. Beliefs, the old way of doing things. The world has changed, but God hasn't changed. And I, I often make a statement that one of our biggest challenges in life is the fact that we live in an ever changing world, but we serve a never changing God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And, somehow we've gotta learn how to minister to the young people in a way that. It's hard, I'm not gonna lie. It's hard, but in some kind of way that they know that God didn't change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. [00:23:00] And even though the world has changed and things have changed, we have to.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: We have to trust that God didn't change and he's not going to change.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: the more morals that we had as young people, they still work today. one of the saddest things that ever happened to me in life was many, many years ago, a little boy. Oh, I was at a restaurant and I said something about God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And this little boy was maybe about seven years old, and he said to me, who is God? And I was like, wow. And I know that everybody doesn't think like we do, but I'm not gonna change. I can't. I've lived too long now trusting him and knowing that he's faithful and I will not change. And I think that more and more and more people who are strong Christians.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: we are gonna have to live in this world, but just we don't have to change. We don't have to be [00:24:00] like the world. We don't have to dress like the world, don't have to look like the world, don't have to act like the world, don't have to do all the crazy things that the world is doing. And that's hard.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: That's hard. It's hard to be different, but it's glorious in the sights of the sight of God.

Rev. Michele Owes: It is, isn't it? Because God is faithful and his faithfulness and his love toward us. allows us to grow in him, through all the mistakes that we make, through all of the, the good decisions, the not so good decisions, the, the great decisions and just the plain old wrong decisions. His love for us allows us to grow in all of those things, in that he's not casting us aside. he allows us to still call him father.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: our God and he does not cast us aside, but he's willing and able to teach us, willing and able to [00:25:00] direct us and to show us his will and his way,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: have to be willing to receive it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes, yes, yes, yes. He is faithful. He's always gonna be faithful, and I love the way one of my girlfriends. Every time you say, hi, how are you doing? And she said, well, I'm grateful, and God is faithful. That's her standard response, and I just love that and I say it when I'm not around her, around people who've heard her say it.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I don't want nobody to know that I flat out stole it.

Rev. Michele Owes: Well look, it's on a full podcast now.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. Right, right, right. But I love that. How are you doing girl? I'm grateful and God is faithful. And I think that, that could be something that we could adopt, And especially, let's, let's mention,

Rev. Michele Owes: not a, doesn't say anything. We always say fine,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: yeah, right.

Rev. Michele Owes: always fine.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Right. But, let's, before we close out this podcast, let's [00:26:00] remind everybody, don't forget the 37 second prayer. And with the Lenten season starting on tomorrow, it's a good time for us. We'll be praying more, we'll be fasting more, and it's a good time for us to remember, once again, to pray the 37 second prayer and, let's, I believe some changes have been made because of that prayer.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And let's get back together and start praying again. And Reverend knows you might wanna close us out with what. What I'm talking about for those people who might not have heard of it before.

Rev. Michele Owes: the, me, the 37 second prayer is the prayer that we pa prayed out of Matthew,

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: it is. Commonly referred to as the Our Father Prayer.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: we have timed it in several of our retreats, and it always came out to be exactly 37 seconds. And that's how long it takes us to say that prayer. But that is the [00:27:00] example of prayer that Jesus left for us.

Rev. Michele Owes: And it covers everything. It's not the only thing we can say, but it is the. The most sufficient thing I would say that we could say, because it's the example that Jesus left us to pray.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes,

Rev. Michele Owes: And

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: please continue to join us in saying that prayer every day because part of it says that thy will be done, thy kingdom come. And we really want the will of the Lord to be done in the earth. We want his kingdom right here on earth. Us praying for the will of God to be done in the Earth, helps to fix some of the things external to our own personal lives that we may not even, God has not had permission to operate in. So we've been giving him permission to operate in the earthly realm by saying His will be done.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: us in the 37 second prayer, the continuance of that as Mrs. Cherry said. [00:28:00] Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which begins the Lynch season. Lin season is a time for us to really, just take an assessment. Of where we are in Christ Jesus and ask God what changes he has need for us to make. in order for us to continue to obey him and for our relationship with him to grow, we find that there'll be some things that we need to, to get rid of.

Rev. Michele Owes: Some things that we need to fast, some things that, and, and fasting is not just food. It can also be fasting of television, fasting of scrolling on your phone every five seconds. Fasting of those things that rob the time that belongs to God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: so, we not only want to bring our bodies under subjection, we also want to bring our day-to-day activities under subjection during this time.

Rev. Michele Owes: And so we fast, some for 40, some for 21 [00:29:00] days. and then we, Difference between what we do and what others may do is that once God identifies some areas of your life that he desires change in after the 40 days, after the 21 days, we do not pick them back up again. If

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Amen.

Rev. Michele Owes: has asked for them, we let him have them, and we deny ourselves, and we take up our cross daily and we follow him. So sit down, spend some time with the Lord. Be willing to make some sacrifices, give up some of the things that are not good for your life it relates to the, the, the fasting aspect. Liked carrots a day in your life to say that you're going to fast carrots. I want you to know that's not really a fast, you just. Not touching what you don't like anyway. those things that draw you in every day, all day. the things that you want [00:30:00] and the things that your flesh desires, the things that your mind bends toward that may not be in the will of God. And we're just asking you to give God an opportunity to show you what he will do with your obedience because reward. It's on the other side of obedience. We

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: know what it is we get on the other side. So

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: cross over to the other side with the

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: And.

Rev. Michele Owes: during this time of Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Amen. And as you pray that his will be done in earth. Remember that the first earth is our earth and vessels. So during this Lenten season, do pray that the will of God will be done in our lives, and that we will be obedient to him. Love him, serve him, and he will lead God and direct our past.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. And continue to pray for Mrs. Cherry and I, as she always says at the beginning of the podcast, the more challenges we have, the [00:31:00] less prayer you all are doing. So us on the prayer list. Allow God to be glorified in all things. We love you and we'll see you on our next podcast.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: God bless you.