God Always Shows Up!

By Bob Moorer

I said to God, "If I live, it will only be because You are real, and if I find You are not, that day will be my last..." But over forty years later, I found out "You always keep Your word" because You God always show up!

Walking with the Living God

I felt God has asked me to share my personal, private life and how He has, i

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637692677

Book preview

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God Always Shows Up!

Bob Moorer

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2021 by Bob Moorer

Scriptures marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible.

Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the New International Version.

Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the New Living Translation. Public domain.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-63769-266-0

ISBN 978-1-63769-267-7 (ebook)

Contents

Dedication vii

Most Important ix

Chapter 1. God Always Shows Up...My Heart and My Joy in a Life of Miracles and Tragedy 1

Chapter 2. God Shows Up...Life or Death? 18

Chapter 3. God Shows Up...Our Covenant: God and I 28

Chapter 4. God Shows Up...Who Are You, God? 33

Chapter 5. God Shows Up...Tourette’s Syndrom, Mom, and

Brokenness 38

Chapter 6. God Shows Up...What Will I Do For Work...God Provides Career 48

Chapter 7. God Shows Up...Tithing and Faith...Why? 58

Chapter 8. God Shows Up...In the Little Things Too 68

Chapter 9. God Shows Up...No More Fear in Death 71

Chapter 10. God Shows Up...One-Year Anniversary—I Have Your Present on Me 86

Chapter 11. God Shows Up...Gives My Son His Name—Hand Me the Envelope, Please, It is...! 91

Chapter 12. God Shows Up...The House We Rent Sells...Matt is Born 94

Chapter 13. God Shows Up...Financial Faith God Provides 107

Chapter 14. God Shows Up...Devastating Sin—Pain—

Repentance—Forgiveness—Restoration 119

Chapter 15. God Shows Up...Miracle Promotion—New Friend, Bible Study, and Church 131

Chapter 16. God Shows Up...My Greatest Loss, My Greatest

Pain...Ever! 142

Chapter 17. God Shows Up...Matt Comes to Live with Me! 153

Chapter 18. God Shows Up...New Best Friend and Mentor Keith 166

Chapter 19. God Shows Up...Growing in the Church 175

Chapter 20. God Shows Up...New Age Stuff/Evil Spiritual Influences 183

Chapter 21. God Shows Up...This Present Darkness—Frank Peretti 192

Chapter 22. God Shows Up...I Asked God: "Lord, Will I Ever Lead Someone to Christ 202

Chapter 23. God Shows Up...I Buy a Guitar, But I Can’t Play...Yet! 214

Chapter 24. God Shows Up...Ministering with Kids—Royal Rangers and My Son 227

Chapter 25. God Shows Up...Allen—A True Man of God, a True Light to Mankind! 234

Chapter 26. God Shows Up...Celibacy—Say What? Is That for Today? 242

Chapter 27. God Shows Up...A Day Set Aside for God, the

Phone Call, a Man, a Car, and Salvation! 249

Chapter 28. God Shows Up...A Man with Cancer—

Same Day 256

Chapter 29. God Shows Up...The Calling of God—Three

Months, Three Cities, Three Complete Strangers! 263

Chapter 30. God Shows Up...A Short Story about One of the

Words Given by the Evangelist 271

Chapter 31. God Shows Up...The Second Calling—Ed Cole’s

Men Conference 277

Chapter 32. God Shows Up...The Third Call, The Anaheim

Vineyard Healing Conference 284

Chapter 33. God Shows Up...Oh No, My Fingers, My Hands 290

Chapter 34. God Shows Up...God Provides a Biblical

Foundation Surgery and the Master’s University 296

Chapter 35. God Shows Up...Sharing Christ at Work 304

Chapter 36. God Shows Up...Dealing with Demonic Oppression,

Bill Berry—Men Living from a Wild Heart 310

Chapter 37. God Shows Up...Man on Street, Man of Faith.

Tithing and Love Gifts 332

Chapter 38. God Shows Up...Erika, My Daughter, Sixteen, Dies 339

Chapter 39. God Shows Up...Starting Over Again...But I Did It

Right This Time, Didn’t I God? 347

Chapter 40. God Shows Up...God’s Miracle—New Life—17.000

Miles of Faith 354

Chapter 41. God Shows Up...I Have a New Place for You...The Beach! 361

Chapter 42. God Shows Up...The Book! 367

Chapter 43. God Shows Up...COVID-19—Not a Problem—A

New Beginning—Retirement 373

To the Reader: Why This Book and a Letter from God’s

Heart 290

Dedication

I dedicate this book to:

My wife, Julia—the rock, friend, and love of my life, my son, Matt—the joy of my heart, my family, and a special thank you to my close friend and mentor, Keith Chandler. The man of God who has spoken so much into my life and the one with whom together we learned the gift and importance of listening and acceptance to one another weekly for over thirty years. Also, to my pastors, leaders, friends, and to all the men and women of God who have helped me in my journey with God and who have all been witnesses to how God always shows up in every aspect of my life…and theirs!

Most Important

This book is dedicated to you, the reader, with whom I felt God has asked me to share my personal private life and how He has, is, and always will be with you and me; through the great, wonderful, powerful times of His blessings as well as the heartbreaking pain and sadness that life brings to all of us. Therefore, no matter what we have done, He is always by our side and will never leave us nor forsake us. God loves you and cares so much about you and wants you to know that no matter where you are in life or whatever you have done or been through, God is there watching over you. Our Father is taking care of you, just waiting for the time that you will open the door to Him and give Him permission to come into your heart to heal and lead you into a better life that our Lord and Creator has planned for you and me since before the beginning of creation. It’s impossible to understand the depths of our Father’s love that He personally has for you, and if you ask Jesus Christ to come into your life, God will show you the many times He has shown up in your life and how He has watched over you and been with you even in your most difficult times ever!

He loves you!

As you accept by faith that your Father is walking with you right now and will always be here, wanting a personal loving relationship with you, then you will realize that you are never alone.

Live life now!

The destination is the journey!

Walking with our Lord and Father!

Will you take a walk with me on my journey?

Bob

I said to God, "If I live, it will only be because You are real, and if I find You are not, that day will be my last… But over forty years later, I found out You always keep Your word" because You…

chapter 1

God Always Shows Up...

My Heart and My Joy in a Life of Miracles and Tragedy

As I share my life’s journey with God with you, I desire to open up, being fully vulnerable and truthful as I saw and lived it. One of the things I most want to share with you is that through all the pain, all the hard times, all the depression, and even my suicide, once I received Christ, my life became much easier than I could ever explain. It took a while, but I learned to have joy and be at peace, no matter what came my way. I want to re-emphasize this, the closer I came to God, the more time I spent in His Word and the more I matured in Christ, the easier it was for me to deal with anything and everything this world threw at me. When money was gone, parents dying way too early, my daughter dying at sixteen, losing everything two different times, divorce, being molested at seven years old, and over sixteen surgeries, I was completely cared for by God. His Holy Spirit comforted me, guided me, and lifted me up every single time. I had joy, I had fun, and, most of all, I had a precious relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ. The more time I spent with Him, in His Word, personal worship, praying, and with godly friends, the more I was prepared to face anything that came my way. But when I neglected daily time with God, those times were very stressful, overwhelming, and I was not prepared for what was to come. So, I learned to seek out God every day and night, whether I was in times of storms and life was full of darkness or when times were easy, full of life, everyone healthy, and finances abounding. I now have learned by faith that God is in control and I am not. No matter what I go through, He will be there by my side, walking with me every step of the way. God says He knew me and you before the foundations of the world were ever created (Ephesians 1:3-5, Jeremiah 1:5, Romans 8:29).

Nothing is a surprise to Him, so nothing worries me. Yes, there is pain, but there is also so much joy, love, friendship, and trust, knowing that God is in control of my life as well as yours, and He will never fail, never leave me, never forsake me, and never quit on me—no matter what I do or have done. When I have fallen, sinned, and made bad decisions, God would deal with me quickly. If I turned, repented, and made right what I did, when He put a check in my spirit/heart (to make you or me stop what we’re doing and double-check that you’re making the right choice), life would move on.

Yet, I still had to deal with any consequences that followed. But if I didn’t pause and look at my life and continued walking in the wrong direction, He would discipline me swiftly like we discipline our kids. And that would break my closeness with Him, and that was worse than anything I have ever been through. As soon as I repented and turned back to Him, He would come rushing in, and I sensed and felt His loving presence, and we would move on with our life as if nothing happened. Jesus is full of grace and mercy, and I needed all of it.

Some of what I’ve gone through was because of my own actions, but as I grew stronger in Christ, most of what I was going through was just living life in a broken world, with broken family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and people in general.

As you read this, most of you will relate to one degree or another. Some less, some more, and many much more. But this my life trusting God and how we spent our life together. And I want to share it with you. Sometimes I think how my life would be better if I could change the past and not have so much pain. But then I think to myself, Would I even know God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit? Would I know Him in such a personal way as I do now? Would I have seen how He kept me safe and provided for me and my family every day of my life? Would I have been the man I am today? Would I have the joy I have now? My answer to all these questions is this: I wouldn’t change anything! I have more than I could have ever imagined! A life with the maker of the universe and my Lord and Savior…and friend!

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:13-17 (NIV)

A Foundation of Faith

If God is for us, who can be against us?

More Than Conquerors

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)

We have Jesus Christ, God who knows us and can relate to us and our struggles because He has been tempted in every way just like you and me!

Jesus the Great High Priest

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)

"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure" (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (AMP)

First Corinthians says to me, all things we go through are the same or at least similar to what all men, women, boys, and girls go through. Some less, some more, some so much more that it would be hard to believe anybody else could have gone through such things. But whether they are simple day-to-day problems or unspeakable tragedies, one thing God tells us in His Word, we are in this together. Someone somewhere and at some time is dealing with exactly the same thing. That is why instead of keeping us in a small, isolated bubble or wiping the whole world clean and starting over, our God and Father chooses to walk by our side and even inside of us (if we choose to let Him in). He helps us as we go through our daily struggles of life day by day and moment by moment. God enjoys us seeking Him and wants to help us. He wants to raise you up to do all kinds of wonderful things, and He has plans for you and for me—each and every one of us! If we just seek Him first daily and then go on with our day, amazing things can happen! There will be good days, and there will be rough days, but He will be right by our side.

We make mistakes, and boy, have I made a bunch, especially one that destroyed my life and caused my son to bear the brunt of the pain of having to endure a lifetime by being separated from his best friend and father by thousands of miles. But even in this, our Father is right there to help us make it right. But are we willing to make it right? Are we willing to seek Him, repent, and seek forgiveness from those we hurt? If we are, He will walk us through it and make it right.

There are always consequences of our actions. We may have to pay a heavy price physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially. We may even cause pain or problems to those we love the most. But if we seek Him first and pray, read His Word, and then begin our day, our God will work with each one of us personally and walk with us to bring about His good plan.

God our Father is molding our character, our thoughts, our beliefs, and our lives to complete His goal and His plan. This plan is unique to each one of us, and if we open our hearts, we can see He is always here working, molding, and loving us all the time. He cares and knows what we need. As we pray for ourselves and others, our prayers are already being answered. It may be Yes, No, or Not now, it may not be the answer we like. Yet, God is not limited by time or by our reasoning.

He knows what you need and what is best for you and me. So the question is, are we willing to let go of our lives and give them over to God, or are we going to demand our own way? We have a choice; we can fight against God, or we can join Him and let Him guide us on this journey and realize the maker of all the universe and the one who spoke all of it into existence and the rules it’s run by wants us to join Him and be a part of something great!

Jesus says we are His friends, that He and the Father are One, and we are One with Him. This means we are One with the Father, and that is God’s plan and desire for us…Relationship! He loves us and wants only the best for you and me, even when it doesn’t feel like it. He loves you, and as you get through this and grow and even as you are going through this, God will raise you up and take you into the world, your city, your neighborhood, your friends, your family and even bring you to strangers. He will use you to help many of these people to get through whatever they may be going through at the time.

Since you have already been there and God and you have already been through it or are still going through it, you will be so close and connected to God that you will be able to help others get through it. Since you are holding on to God so closely, reading His Word, crying out to Him daily, praying, and listening, sometimes just to get through the day, He will be able to tell you how to help them. He will give you the wisdom, character, and experience to guide them. Also, you will be able to introduce them to Jesus who, by the Holy Spirit, can guide them and rebuild them from the inside out, and you can share how God always showed up in your life.

This is very important to remember—I noticed over the years I seemed to help more people as I was going through a tragedy than when everything was going great.

We seem to naturally run to Him when we are hurting or have nowhere else to go, yet, when everything is going great, we seem to have to push ourselves to seek God and read His Word. And even though He would much rather we come to Him all the time and have a continued relationship with Him, He waits patiently and allows circumstances of life and our own reckless sin to crush us to the point we run to Him again. And God loves us so much He’s there just waiting, knocking at our door, ready to run into our lives and carry us through.

One of the most important things to remember is that we will always have problems. Someone is always getting hurt, family and friends getting sick or dying, finances and jobs crushing us, relationships breaking, and so on. As soon as we get through one struggle, minor or catastrophic, another crisis will come along. We tend to want to rush through it thinking life would be great as soon as we get through this. Yes, there are seasons of rest, but the point is God wants to be there with us and there will be another struggle!

Life is long and hard, seasoned with joy, love, hope, and happiness along the way. If we can learn to always seek God and spend time in His Word and with Him (even if we start with just thirty minutes a day), we will already be connected in a relationship with God the Father, the Creator of the universe, and filled with His Holy Spirit ready to hear Him for any warnings that may be in our near future. As long as I kept up my relationship with my God and Father, the most intense catastrophic times of my life, for example, my mom’s suicide on the day of my son’s baby shower, one month before he was born, seemed to be much easier to get through than I would have thought (not that something that horrific can ever be easy). Yet, because I was listening and communicating with my God and Father very intensely at the time because of another very difficult situation that had already been going on, I was able to walk through it with His strength and power. I was able to guide my family, grandparents, and everyone else involved through it.

Without God, I could have crumbled, being an only child raised by a single mother almost my entire life. It was the only relationship that I had that really had any foundation in me. I didn’t meet my dad till I was eleven, and since then, he had not been a very good or healthy influence. He was a gambler, alcoholic, selfish, and an emotionally unavailable womanizer, who later would rather have hookers than have to deal with a real woman, his problems, and emotions. And between him and my mom, there were eight-plus marriages, all ending in divorce. So, this could have been devastating…but it was quite the opposite. God was with me, and He was my foundation, my strength, and my comforter. And what a comfort He was!

Anyway, what was happening just as this happened was the home we were renting sold, and we had to move out soon, the place we were moving to fell through, and we had no place to go. My wife was almost nine months pregnant, and we were losing our home and had no place to move to. We couldn’t even find a decent apartment to move into; all doors seemed to be closed. But I was unusually calm. I didn’t know it at the time, but since I had been reading my Bible and seeking God every day during this period of my life, I was able to hear God speaking to my heart, and He had been preparing me for several weeks. At one point, I felt death all around me and thought maybe I was going to die. I took an insurance policy out on myself for 250,000 dollars, thinking maybe God wanted me to provide for my family if He took me. But God was just preparing me for the perfect storm! No house, not much money, a child being born, the baby shower at my mom’s house the very morning she committed suicide and with all the family coming to her house. All the while, I was at work, not realizing what was unfolding.

But leading up to this day, I knew deep inside everything was going to be okay. I knew my Lord and God was in control, protecting us, and He was going to provide everything we needed. It was funny, but I felt so calm and assured and knew God had a house and a place for us to live. And God prepared me the day before my mom died. Actually, He was preparing me at the exact time she was doing it.

A week before, about nine in the evening, I was doing my daily Bible reading, and suddenly God spoke to my heart and said, Next week at this same time, I want you to be here with me. I was like, Huh…what? Okay. In fact, as I look back, this seemed to be the first time I really heard God and knew He was speaking to my heart. That next week, Tuesday or Wednesday night, I opened my Bible, and I thought it was funny no one was around so late; my wife was gone, and it was just me and God. I started opening the Bible, and everywhere I opened, God was teaching me about death and life. I didn’t study the right way per se, I just kept opening it up to wherever it fell and read. Each time for over an hour, I read on death, children and adults being raised from the dead, resurrection of Christ, and so much more. Not one time did I open a page that talked about anything else. It was as if God was turning the pages in an exact order to teach me that death was just a moment in time, and there was so much more. That I didn’t need to be afraid of it in any form, and even till this day, death for me is just a passing from here to awake before Christ and my Father, and that I would lose this old body and receive one that would be perfect in every way with no more pain or sorrow nor tears or regrets.

By the end of the night, I was so full of joy I couldn’t stop smiling. Even when I got to work, my co-workers were asking me why I was so happy. I didn’t notice it at first, but there was a great feeling of joy and love surrounding me. I realized later God was holding me, protecting me, and carrying me through all that was about to happen. About 9 a.m., I came back from a break (I was a meat cutter at Ralphs), and my friend and assistant meat manager told me to go upstairs. I argued why because I just came from a break upstairs and our cutting room was downstairs underground in Sherman Oaks. He wasn’t good with emotions and busted out at me and yelled, Go upstairs! I was like, Okay! and as I started upstairs, God showed up in a very personal loving way and said to me, Someone died. I said to myself as I took a couple more steps, I hope it wasn’t my mom, took a few more steps, and thought, I hope she didn’t take her life. As I got up to the top, my wife was standing there with so much tenderness and took me by the hand and walked me outside. As we got past the doors and walked about fifteen feet, she stopped and turned, and, very softly and gently, she said, Your mom died… It was so strange. Just as she spoke the words (this will sound strange and unbelievable), I saw the words come out of her mouth rolled two and a half times as they came towards me, and just before they reached me, these two big loving arms came around me and held me with the most comforting warmth of love I had ever known. God held me, and my body and feelings kind of went numb, and great peace came over me, and we walked to her parents’ car. They drove us to my mom’s house, where all the family and friends were meeting for our baby shower. I had so much love for my family and strength to help her parents get through this as they arrived just as we did.

Seeing Death, My Mom’s Body, but Not Her…Woe!

Later, I went with her boyfriend to see my mom, and I wasn’t going to go in. We did not need to identify the body, but her boyfriend had to see her, so I drove him there. Yet, after talking with God outside, I decided to go in because I had never seen death and felt I wanted to see her one last time. As I entered, the blanket was up to her neck because they had done an autopsy and wasn’t really ready to be viewed, and they warned us not to remove it, and they let us in. As I looked, her boyfriend was hugging her, crying and weeping, but as I looked, God showed me something else. My mom wasn’t there. I saw her face with the skin sagging from off the bones; I saw a lifeless cold body, almost like it was just a vehicle that was empty and broken. And God showed me that this was just an empty body and that she was gone, her spirit was already taken. I said to her boyfriend, My mom isn’t there! I walked out and realized there really is a God that is right here with me. At that moment, it was like death was nothing to fear for those in Christ. I don’t know where my mom went, I don’t think she was saved, but it was between her and God, and it wasn’t for me to judge. But I had God; He showed up in the most wonderful way and helped me through what should have destroyed me or at the very least deeply wounded me. But since I had been with God the whole time, everyday spending time with Him, my fear of death was forever gone. In fact, I learned that He was always watching over me, and nothing could hurt me or destroy me because God, my Father, is always with me. He showed up, and He would always show up. The point is, I was prepared and listening to Him, ready to hear whatever He wanted to say. Through His Word, prayer, and, in my heart, through the Holy Spirit, I was in a place where God was able to speak to me and guide me personally through this heartbreaking time.

You know what’s funny, I did not have one Christian friend, nor did I ever go to church. After I tried to take my life when I was seventeen and He showed up, as you will read later, I just picked up the Bible and started reading and believing. Ten years later, when I met my first Christian friend Keith and started attending my first Bible study and church, I realized these people believed just like I do. They learned in church together by God’s Word just what I learned by being alone with God, His Word, and just hanging out with Him. I will tell you it is much better having Christian brothers and sisters and the body of Christ standing with you than doing it alone. I would have made a lot fewer mistakes and probably would have spent my entire life with my son by my side if I had a Christian brother to talk to and to help stop me from making bad choices. But being by myself, I made some poor decisions even when God was trying desperately to stop me. But when I sinned, He waited patiently and brought me back to Him, and we started a three-year period of repenting and changing my life. It was literally the hardest time of my life, losing my son to another state. But this time, I had godly friends to help me.

God