God’s Forever Beloved

By Roger Richter

Roger Richter's life had its ups and downs, but when his wife died and he faced bankruptcy, he found himself in need of God more than ever before.  At the darkest time of his life, Roger was blessed with a sense of divine comfort and security.  God showed Roger promises he could depend upon God to fulfill.  These promises did not come to pass overnight, but as Roger depended on God and trusted in His words they began to manifest slowly in his life.  He also realized these promises were not only for him.  They are for all believers.  As you learn from his experiences you will lean that is always worth seeking God's promises for your life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roger Richter
• Release date: Apr 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215795125

Book preview

Introduction

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very person must walk the path of his own life. From this main path, there are a number of rabbit trails that can take us into situations and places that we cannot imagine or dream of before we find ourselves there. Yes, we have a choice in the matter. But sometimes the choices are not ours to make and are made for us. Are we just blindly walking this path and not seeking directions? I would say there are times in all our lives that we feel we are on the trail and other times that we manage to veer off down a trail that takes us into unfamiliar grounds. How did we arrive at this destination? Why did we arrive at this place, at this particular time? Was it a divine appointment set in advance for us to experience? Or was it just a random happenstance? Did God intervene to keep us from making a wrong turn or, after we have made a wrong turn, did he just put us back on a track that is consistent with his will? Is there such a thing as predestination?

These are hard questions to answer. Depending upon the person and circumstances, the answer to each question could vary according to the individual. Are we not all unique individuals?

There are more questions than specific answers to individual questions, but once in a while, we are allowed to see and understand the answer to the questions of why. Once in a while, we are given the gift of revelation to understand why.

This is a story of my life and my search to find God and his purpose in my life. I thank God that, once in a while, he allows me to see and understand that his hand is working in and through me. Every life is unique and has many purposes. I am sharing a few of the events that the Lord has shown me and the purpose that they had in my life. In sharing these events, I have found renewed energy and excitement, knowing the Lord's hand is directing my steps and has given me a wonderful future that is full of hope and promise. In Romans, we find that suffering produces perseverance, and from our perseverance, we develop character. As our character develops, we can expect to have hope. God tells our hope will not be disappointed because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

In a journal one morning, I was given these words to write, and I believe they should serve as the introduction to this book. They are the inspired words of God, given to me on November 28, 2007.

A book is coming soon. This is a task that must be completed. The Holy Spirit will be at your side and the words that are written will be inspired by the Holy Spirit. The purpose is to share a journal of life, a life of contention to find the path and will of the Father. Many are on a path filled with contention. They must know that my love is always with them and my heart is reaching out to them to find the path I have set before them. There are many choices to be made. Not all are made correctly, but any mistake can be corrected and my path is forever ready for my saints to travel. Look at the thief on the cross next to Jesus. He chose his path at the end and fulfilled his destiny. His choice is forever recorded on Earth and in heaven. Always seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and the truth will be made known unto you. Be thankful even in times of crisis, for that is when the Lord comes through to show His great power and authority. Rejoice when you are under stress and duress and know that redemption is at hand. Feel the Grace of the God of all creation. It gives Him great pleasure to rescue those whom He loves and who have faith and believe in Him. Your day of redemption is here. Glory to God on high. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hope, glory, and honor are given unto those who believe.

This is a follow-up journal entry that confirms the previous journal:

February 2, 2008

Your heart is wondering if you are to write a book regarding your life. This book must be completed. It will inspire others to persevere and to seek the fullness of the Lord. There is a time to write and a time to publish. I will be with you to and give you inspiration to write and finish the work.

And finally, the last word before I began the book:

March 7, 2008

I will guide you through the next book. It will be a book of prophecy and hope for the church and for every man and woman who reads it. Be diligent and stay on task...the Holy Spirit will give you the insight to get a manuscript together. There is an editor that will polish the work and make it more readable for the general public. I want to cross traditional lines and make a work that can be enjoyable and informative. It will give a glimpse into what the future church's requirements will be. Go forth in the knowledge that My Spirit is with you and will partner in the book.

I hope the words of this book will give you inspiration to fight for the promise that God the Father has placed on your life. Be thankful for the struggle, for it draws us closer to the Lord and prepares us for the wonderful things he has in store for us.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11–12 NIV)

Take a journey with me as I recall some of my life's experiences. I would encourage you to look back on your own life and see God's hand on your life. Be glad for your experiences and know that there is a purpose for your life. I hope and pray that he will reveal it to you. Don't expect to get all the answers, but seek him with expectation and willingness in your heart, and you will not be disappointed.

The Early Days

The Rabbit Hunt

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he day was bright and sunny, and a gentle breeze swept through the hilly pasture. The pasture was covered with natural prairie grass, and the blades swayed in the breeze. In the distance, you could see the tops of an ancient grove of cottonwood trees that were just huge. There were a few leaves still hanging on and waiting for a strong wind to release them on their way. Running through the pasture were steps that were created by running water. Today there was no water except for a little man-made damn that my father and his brothers had made many years ago. To enter the pasture, I had to cross a barbed wire fence. It was strung tight, so I needed to be careful, or I would get caught in the barbs. I had been caught by this before, so I was extra careful. I placed my gun on the other side of the fence and pushed down on the lower strand to make room to squeeze through. As I started into the pasture, I checked my gun to make sure it was loaded and then started down a cow path that had been made by my grandfather's cows years ago. The pasture was empty of livestock, so I was allowed to hunt there.

I can remember my father reluctantly buying this gun for me. It was single-shot 22-caliber. It was a JC Higgins brand, and we bought it at a Sears store. As much as I lobbied for a gun that held more shells at one time, he was not going to let me have one because of obvious safety reasons. After all, I was just eight years old! However, I was, I must say, mature for my age! It was only through my constant harassment and deluge of promises that he relented. It was probably the best-selling job I have done in my life. Yes, I was very young, but with the promises I had made and the compromise of it being just a single-shot rifle, my father made the purchase. I was very excited to try it out, but there was a catch. You see, I had to buy the ammunition myself, so I needed to find a way to make some money. Money was a little hard to come by in the 1950s, but I was determined. Eventually I made enough to buy a box of .22 shorts. This was the cheapest ammunition I could buy. Each box had fifty bullets in it and, since I was shooting a single-shot gun, fifty bullets could last me a few days if I was careful with what I shot at.

My prey was always the large jack rabbits that seemed to like this pasture. These rabbits were huge, not the little cottontails that most people are familiar with. They could run fast and jump high. I never was able to get very close, so I had to take my shots as they were running and jumping at full speed. It was a very difficult shot. But that also made it more fun.

So this is how I spent my Sundays on Grandpa Richter's farm, the farm my father grew up on as a child. We lived in a town of fourteen thousand people, but all my father's relatives lived on farms in the country. My grandfather had homesteaded the land, and my father and his three brothers had grown up there. We often would go to the farm after church on Sunday to have lunch with my dad's parents, and on holidays, we would gather with the whole clan. I would play with all my cousins. It was the typical Sunday lunch, and there was fresh chicken from the farm, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and fresh, homemade bread, and butter that was churned fresh on the farm. My favorite part was always the fresh bread and butter. Yes, even today I like my butter on fresh bread. I spent a lot of hours turning that butter churn handle. I think Grandma knew how to burn up some of that little boy energy since she had raised four herself! Dessert was usually the same. Grandmother made homemade cookies. I was always amazed that the chocolate cookies always tasted like the sugar cookies, even though they looked different. When it was just my parents and grandparents and no cousins or aunts and uncles were there, I would take off and go hunting after lunch. I always went hunting alone because if my cousins showed up, we would just play around the farm buildings. They were not as interested in hunting as I was. They could go anytime they wanted, and they would rather play together and horse around, being kids. But given the chance, I was off hunting.

My grandparents always had a few dogs on the farm. I don't think you could call them pets. They were not allowed into the house, and most of the time, they had to scavenge for something to eat. I never remember any dog food being put out for them. It was like they adopted the farm as their home and were allowed to stay. They had some benefit because they helped keep the coyotes away and protected the hen house. The dogs were always glad to see me because if I went hunting, I usually brought back a large rabbit that they would carry off and feast upon.

One day, I was walking down the cow path to look for a rabbit to take a shot at. It was a good thing that there were a lot of rabbits. They were hard to hit, and sometimes I would shoot almost all my shells to get just one. Eventually I was successful, and as I crawled through the fence to enter the farm yard, the dogs were always there to greet me and carry off their prize. This event was repeated a number of times during the fall. It usually wore me out to carry these rabbits back. They were almost as big as I was, and I had to drag them most of the way back to the farmhouse. In those days, nobody ate jack rabbits. They were considered a pest, and a number of people hunted them and sold them to mink farms as food for their minks. So this became my Sunday routine when we visited the farm until one day, when everything changed.

I was on my Sunday hunt and had just killed my usual rabbit. I only shot one rabbit on my hunt because they were so heavy to carry