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God’s redemption

Single Mother Finds Hope In Jesus After Two Divorces

by Rhoda Gayle May 18, 2023

A single mother of two children found hope in Jesus Christ after going through two painful divorces.

Single mother

Pura was raised in a Catholic family of 10 children in the Philippines who knew about God but never had an intimate relationship with Him. During her college years, the temptations of worldly things got to her and she started partying.

While at one of the parties, she slept with a friend and ended up getting pregnant. Because she knew that what they did was wrong, they decided to redeem themselves and their daughter by getting married. A year into their marriage, they had another child. However, because of the problems they encountered, their marriage didn’t last and they end up separating after three years.

“To me, it seemed God didn’t care much about me. So one day, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to be the master of my own destiny.’ The religion didn’t matter much to me,” Pura recalled.

The Pentecostals of Sydney [@POSydney]. Pura Testimony. Facebook, March 29, 2022, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=314138484123530

Divorced twice

She moved back in with her parents who helped her raise her children. After six years, the executive at the company where she was working proposed to her. He promised her a good and comfortable life for her and her children. His proposal was too good to refused so Pura decided to marry him.

They settled in Sri Lanka together with her children. They lived a very luxurious and comfortable life but her husband started being mentally and emotionally abusive towards her. In their 10th year of marriage, she decided to she couldn’t take it anymore and got divorced again.

“Now divorced twice, with no money, no job, and our future uncertain. I felt I was being punished and God had completely abandoned me because of my mistakes. I was burdened with a lot of shame, guilt, and self-condemnation and lost any hope of getting right with God.”

God’s redemption

Emotionally broken and spiritually lost, the Lord showed Pura love and mercy after her son became a Christian. He invited her to his church and there she felt the love of God for the very first time. Her life was never the same again. The Lord has since redeemed her and her children.

“I was overwhelmed by the warmth and love of God that I’ve never experienced before.”

Pura is now married to her third husband who is a pastor and together they are serving the Lord.

Reference: Facebook | The Pentecostal of Sydney
Header Image: (2023). Mother and daughter [Photograph], Retrieved May 18, 2023, from: www.canva.com

May 18, 2023 0 comment

Faith

We Are All Cracked Pots

by Corine Channell September 18, 2022

written by Corine Channell

It is eye opening really, when you realize finally and completely, that God was never asking you to serve Him without knowing exactly what He had to work with.

He wasn’t looking for perfection because, well – at the end of every day we are still gonna be human. Humans are NOT perfect. And yet, somehow – we expect ourselves and others to be just that. NOT possible. On my best day, with my best of intentions, and my ducks with their hair slicked back all in a row and standing in formation, I am still going to fall or fail or at the very least – flail.

I was thinking about myself today, thinking about how I wrote two books – telling my story and subsequent healing journey, and I STILL feel like my story is messy. STILL messy. I was wondering if I would ever NOT have a messy story.

THANKFUL FOR THE CRACKS

I think not. I mean, a pot that is broken and put back together, STILL has visible cracks. Ah. I still have visible cracks. I am NOT broken anymore – THAT is true, BUT I have the effects of having been a broken pot. From broken to cracked – from useless to useful – from ashes to beauty – from shattered to restored.

“Waking up to a new sunrise
Looking back from the other side
I can see now with open eyes
Darkest water and deepest pain
I wouldn’t trade it for anything
‘Cause my brokenness brought me to You
And these wounds are a story You’ll use
So I’m thankful for the scars
‘Cause without them I wouldn’t know Your heart
And I know they’ll always tell of who You are
So forever I am thankful for the scars.” (“Scars” by I AM THEY)

HE PIECED ME BACK TOGETHER

So yes, I wrote two books about my healing. Yes, I have and AM still healing. And yes, I will always have visible cracks to remind myself of God’s redemption and putting me back together. You know – like Humpty Dumpty.

I think finally I am at peace with my own humanity. God asks us to come to Him as we are. It is the authentic and honest turn of our heart TO Him that He is looking for. And then, voila – He works THROUGH us.

A perfect God with a perfect plan, working through imperfect people – how perfectly imperfect. I get it. I can stop beating myself up now. I am SO okay with being just a crackpot. Because it is NOT about the pot or the cracks but ALL about the light shining out FROM those cracks. Romans 5:5 says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Stories are messy. Pots are cracked. And it is okay. Every story matters. Every pot carries light shining from – cracks. We become cracked pots full of God’s love shining forth.

#storiesaremessy #weareallcrackedpots #WeAllNeedJesus

___________

Becoming One With The Savior

by The Shulammite July 26, 2021

written by The Shulammite

Becoming one with the Savior results in cosmic changes. In Matthew 8:1-4, there’s an underlying message which showcases the Savior’s willingness to become one with sinful people. Here, a leper perceived that Jesus was the gateway to another destiny, and his story reflects the great love of Christ.

Let’s discover its beauty!

An act of Worship

Analyzing verse 2, we discover that:

A leper came worshiping and adoring Jesus and humbled himself. He acknowledged Jesus as the supreme authority of his life, saying:

“If it’s Your choice, desire, and delight, You have the power, and opportunity to purify, and cleanse me.”

What was the Savior’s response?

“And Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying I will; be thou clean. And immediately, his leprosy was cleansed.” (Matthew 8:3)

Here, the word for touch is “haptomai,” meaning attach oneself or touch.

So, Jesus attached Himself to the man’s uncleanness and declared that He would gladly purify him. Hence, it was the act of Jesus “becoming one” with the leper that brought about the transformation.

The Gift

However, the beauty of the story is highlighted in Jesus’ command to the leper:

“Go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”(Matthew 8:4)

What was the gift?

Jesus was referring to the law of the leper in the day of their cleansing (see Leviticus chapter 14).

A leper had to present themselves to the priest, who would examine whether the plagued was healed. If that was the case, the following occurred:

The leper was instructed to bring two clean and alive birds, cedarwood, scarlet, and hyssop. The priest killed one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water. The remaining would be dipped in the blood of the dead bird; the priest would then sprinkle the leper seven times with the blood using these.

Afterward, the other bird was let loose in an open field, alive and free.

What happened next?

The person then washed their clothes, shaved all the hair off their bodies, and washed themselves with water. Allowed back into the camp, they remained outside their tent for seven days, and on the last day, they repeated the washing and shaving.

On the eighth day, the cleansed person brought two lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb, an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and a log of oil. Then the priest would present a wave, grain, trespass, sin, and a burnt offering.

The wonder, however, is that upon killing one of the lambs, the priest took some of the blood and placed it on the right ear, thumb, and big toe of the cleansed person; the same ritual a priest received (see Leviticus 8). Likewise, these areas were anointed with oil, and the oil was also poured on the person’s head.

A Moment of Reflection

The gift of the leper revealed the identity of Christ and pointed to the day God would condemn Jesus in our place. We were dipped in innocent blood and set free because, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (see Hebrews 9:22). His gift testified that the earth no longer witnessed a shadow of good things to come (see Hebrews 10:1), but experienced the fulfillment of prophecy.

Touching the leper testified that the Savior, would take our pain, bare our sufferings, be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment of our peace would be on Him (see Isaiah 53:4-5).

For we know that “He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by Whose stripes we were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

A Call to Change

Like the leper, we’re commanded to “put on a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness…” (Ephesians 4:22-24)

We look to Jesus’ blood because it’s through His blood that becoming one with the Savior transforms our lives. He cleans our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God (see Hebrews 9:14).

Because of His blood, we’re anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit and are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Becoming one with the Savior, let our lives testify of the good things that have come!

July 26, 2021 0 comment

Faith

A Whale Of A Dilemma

by Corine Channell July 4, 2021

written by Corine Channell

You think you’re having the worst day ever!? Sometimes THAT is an understatement and yes, it truly could be the worst day ever. Been there, done that. But sometimes we measure bad days by the sum total of how many ducks got knocked off our rows. Maybe we broke our favorite coffee pot, or lost our keys and it made us late for work, or we drove straight into whiteout conditions, or a recipe called for 3 eggs and we only had one…and on and on and on that scenario could go in a day, and BAM – sum total = bad day. I think a REALLY bad day would be seeing a giant whale, like Jonah did, headed straight for you with its mouth open, and you realize you are his meal. And THEN you find yourself STILL alive in his belly. Now THAT is the sum total of a bad day.

A Very Fishy Story

You have heard of this guy. Jonah. Let’s go back to the beginning of Jonah’s day – before it went all wrong and straight to the depths of the ocean. His bad day was his own fault. I think THAT is the worst – when you know that whatever consequence you are going through, did NOT have to happen to begin with. Oh, the shame and regret.

God asked Jonah to do something he did NOT want to do (go preach to the wicked people of Ninevah), so he ran to hide. I see myself in this. I ran to hide a time or two (thankfully, I didn’t have to get swallowed up by a whale to get my full attention). Jonah jumped aboard a ship to hide from God. Logically, pretty sure you can NOT actually hide from God, but – he tried.

Fast forward – a fierce storm came upon the boat and its crew, and Jonah the stowaway. Hoping to stop the wind and the waves, they all prayed to their own gods with no avail. Then they threw cargo overboard to lighten the ship, and finally cast lots to see who was responsible for the wrath of the gods. The lot fell on Jonah and they asked him who he was – where did he come from – who were his people – what was his country? He answered and said, “I’m a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven; pick me up and throw me into the sea and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.” (Jonah 1:9-12)

I admit it – it was me!

I think we should note something RIGHT here – His admission of his own mistake, and NOT blaming it on anyone else – and being willing to face the consequences of his actions. Before God can even begin to rearrange or fix our mistakes and failures, we need to own them! This then releases a way for change to come. Jonah’s change came in the form of a whale. I am sure Jonah just figured he’d drown when they threw him overboard, and he obviously felt he deserved that fate.

Enter – the whale. (Cue the “Jaws” soundtrack).

I don’t know about you, but this is the most horrifying, yet amazing way of escape I have ever heard in order to save a man’s life and his purpose. “Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)I guess if God wants to get your attention He would hand select the very thing that would most likely get your attention and turn you around to go in the right direction. I mean, parents know exactly what works for each of their kids. My guess is Jonah was REALLY bull-headed and really needed a whale of a smack upside the head. Or in his case, his WHOLE body.

So just for a minute – put yourself in his place. You may or may not have been completely clear about the fact that a whale swallowed you up until you woke up in his belly. Or did you still NOT know? You have no flashlight to take an assessment of your current surroundings. You just know it’s incredibly dark and that you are still alive (like the walking dead) and that it’s unbearably hot and it stinks (whale breath must be putrid)! And you are 100% convinced there is NO escape from this realm of the dead – and worse than ALL that? You know everything happening to you was your own fault!

I have had some moments in my own life of realizing things (decisions, choices) that were my own failures and feeling utterly consumed by my own shame and guilt. Jonah felt the same. And so he did what I have done in those times. Prayed to God. Period. Desperate loud pleading prayers! When all seems hopeless and over, we cry to the Lord in our distress. We cry for HELP. I am not too proud to beg for God’s help. Nor was Jonah. He dared to ask God if He was somewhere, anywhere – listening, if He would rescue him.

God Our Rescuer

I love this. Jonah was in the belly of a whale, somewhere out in the depths of the ocean. No one could help him. He couldn’t help himself. But here comes that BUT GOD moment. In our darkest, most foul moments, even if it is our own fault – our own mess – our own failure – our own shame – our own regret – IF we admit our fault, own it, and ask God for His help, He will deliver us.
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help.” (Jonah 2:1)

No matter what; no matter how far down or far gone you think (or know) that you are, you are NOT too far from the grace and mercy of God. Call on Him like Jonah did. Did Jonah actually know for sure that whale would puke him up on the shore line? Nope. He did not. Did it even look possible? Probably didn’t actually cross his mind. I am sure he really just felt hopeless. Yet, he still called on God. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You Lord.” (Jonah 2:7)

The whale puked up Jonah. After 3 days and 3 nights of desperate praying and crying and screaming and being barely able to breathe, God delivered Jonah. Okay Jonah, NOW let’s pick up where you left off. Let’s get it right this time. Second chance. If you read more about the life of Jonah, yes – he DID go back and preach his original message to the people of Ninevah. But he still didn’t have a great attitude – even after his whale of a detour. Humanity is really bull-headed. And yet, God is really merciful.

Despite our worst failure, God can redeem us. No matter our vilest sin, God can forgive us. Whatever ugly mess that stains our conscience or the backdrop of our life, God can turn it into a whale of a beautiful message.

___

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned…”

by Corine Channell April 27, 2021

written by Corine Channell

HOW did I miss studying Mary Magdalene in the Bible? Why did I not pay her more attention? I always have been all about Ruth, Esther, and Deborah – and I missed Mary Magdalene. Maybe it just wasn’t time for us to meet yet. Now it is.

MARY MAGDALENE

She was one of Jesus’ disciples. More than just being one of them, she was the FIRST one and the ONLY woman. She was present at the landmark days in Jesus’ story – His crucifixion and then His resurrection. “Now when Jesus rose early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene…” (Mark 16:9) Surely she must have been the cream of the crop, lady in waiting, precious jewel polished and shined to have received such a calling upon her life.

Oh, wait – the rest of Mark 16:9 says, “…out of whom He had cast seven devils.” This is the one Jesus chose to be His first follower. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE everything about this!

Well, if there ever was a more tortured soul than she, I do not know! She was demon-possessed, and not with just one demon but with SEVEN demons. Seven being the number of ‘completion’ it would seem that to have seven demons was completely too much of too much despair in her life – an overload of evil torment. She must have cried. How she must have screamed. She must have loathed her life. How downcast she must have felt. An outcast. The subject of gossipers. Definitely, the avoided one. The shamed one. A prisoner in her own internal hell. Day after day after day.

JESUS CALLED HER NAME, MARY

Until. Until she heard Jesus call her name. “Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned…” (John 20:16) Her immediate response was, she turned to face Him.

And yes I know He delivered her from her 7 demons. I am sure He addressed them to leave her with His powerful authority over them. But I LOVE that the very first thing He said was HER NAME.

I absolutely know that Jesus wasn’t the least bit threatened by those seven demons. He was only interested in saving her soul. He saw past the demons in her, and He saw HER. And He KNEW her. As a result, she knew it was her creator. Whoa. In her utter brokenness and despair, she recognized Jesus simply by hearing Him call her name.

THEN He took care of her demons – after she responded to His call.

Stop right here. For me personally, this is everything. Jesus saw her as is. Not just full of sin, but full of demons. Not just full of failures, but full of demons. This seems to be the worst of the worst condition for a human to end up in. YET Jesus went to where she was. He searched for her. He didn’t come with religion or magic or rituals or formulas.

HELLO! He called her by her name. “Mary!”

HER TRANSFORMATION

Oh to hear Him call her name. It wrecked her and saved her and transformed her in a word, and that ONE word was her name. Does anyone else find this mind-blowing? First of all, ALL the love of eternity was in that Voice. Second of all, All the hope. All the deliverance. And all the destiny. It was her moment to turn and face her creator, and to know her place in His creation.

She was there at His crucifixion – “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25) She was there at His resurrection – “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” (John 20:1)

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) The same God who created us knows us by our name IN our mother’s womb. He had set YOU apart before you were even born. “Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother He named my name.” (Isaiah 49:1)

Can YOU hear Him calling to you? I did. “Jesus said to me, “Corine!” And it has forever changed me.

#InsertYourOwnName

April 27, 2021 0 comment

Faith

Don’t Miss The Lilies

by Corine Channell January 27, 2021

written by Corine Channell

In case you were questioning or wondering about certain seasons of your life that appear as wastelands (a dust bowl) or barren ground (nothing grew there), remember, “To everything, there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) It may appear as yes, a wilderness, a desert, a dust bowl (love that visual), and a place that maybe makes you shudder. BUT I venture to say that if you look carefully, and allow yourself to see PAST what you did NOT see growing THEN, you will NOW see tiny signs of life that WERE growing! Maybe you missed them because of their seemingly insignificant size. Or maybe they are meant for you to see right NOW. Don’t miss it again!

In the jungle rivers of Honduras lay alligators among beautiful water lilies. The flowers grow by the hundreds all along the side of the river, right in the face of unseen danger. When I got to go there a few years back I am sure I was very safe in that speeding tourist boat for ONE solid hour of fear, but those hungry alligators looked threatening. I am so thankful that I noticed something far greater than the hungry reptiles along this forbidding jungle river. There were lovely submerged lily pads everywhere. And I DO mean, everywhere. Such fragile beauty in the midst of danger. It was a stark contrast, simultaneously dwelling together.

God Chooses Our Path

A lily pad is a large floating leaf with a beautiful flower jutting up through it; by actual name it is called a Water Lily – it grows IN the water. It grows in the same waters WITH the alligators. The daunting alligators peer ominously out of the murky waters, right NEXT to them. You could call it the lily’s season in the sun, the place where God chose for them to grow into ALL they were meant to be, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their growth.

This taught me that beauty can still bloom and blossom in the midst of danger, and it reminds me of how strong and resilient WE as humans can be. Maybe you were much like the water lily growing strong in spite of all the alligators next to you, or maybe even BECAUSE of them. “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I have learned by experience that NOTHING is wasted – the good, the bad, and even the ugly ALL have something that was…is…or will be contributed into the bigger picture of our life. I had this experience recently. And I had a dark season where I felt like maybe I should have made a different decision. Where I was wondering about all the would’a/should’a/could’a’s of that time frame. I kind of felt like it was a fail on my part. Man, if only I had done THIS instead of THAT. You know, all the doubts.

THEN…

One morning recently I woke up to a memory of a word I had been given during that time. Literally, a single word. Someone had said they felt to tell me this one word – that it was from God and they themselves had NO idea what it meant. Fast forward a few years later and that one word was foundational to my healing journey out of abuse. IF I had never had a front seat to that hard season, I would not have received a specific “meant/for/only/me” KEY to unlock a bolted door in my life. This was a stunning and humbling revelation to me – NOT to despise past hard times, NOT to question God’s ways and choices for me, and NOT to beat myself up anymore for what I thought to be a failure.

Don’t Miss His Perfect Plan

I now see that sometimes though people or circumstances seem to just fall into our stories, they are there for a reason – not to destroy us, but to help our growing process. I NOW understand that even if we make the wrong decision, God can and WILL bring good out of it. He will ultimately perfect the original plan He had for your life. Sometimes we need to just wait. Wait to see the final completed work – wait to see where each puzzle piece fits – wait to see the lilies growing next to the alligators. NOTHING is wasted in God’s creative handling of our stories. Nothing. “The Lord will perfect that which concerns ME…” (Psalm 138:8)

We must each stop and look back at our own alligator filled river or barren wastelands. Or what APPEARED to be so. I promise you SOMETHING WAS growing there. Don’t miss it! Maybe you didn’t notice then but look again NOW. Maybe it was a relationship, a timely word, a seemingly insignificant gesture, a puzzle piece that you didn’t see yet. OR maybe what was growing was – YOU.

January 27, 2021 0 comment

Faith

Saying Yes In The Suffering

by Michelle Nehme April 27, 2020

written by Michelle Nehme

Dearest one, I see you. I see that you’ve suffered long and without respite. You’ve walked through the dark night, wondering if your promise will ever come. Maybe you’ve lost more than you thought was possible in this lifetime. I see you, and I want to tell you a story about saying yes in the suffering.

The Beginning

I spent my twenties buried under addictions and unhealthy relationships. A history of sexual assault and abuse had left me angry at God and put me on a path of self-destruction. When I became pregnant at twenty-nine, I knew my life needed to change. I told Jesus He could have all of me, but I had no idea what those words meant.

Through my daughter, Cora, I learned to love and be loved. I started to heal from my past, but it was hard. I was a single mom with complex trauma trying to make ends meet. I’d care for my child during the day and work nights, only getting four or five hours of sleep before I’d start the whole process over again. Trauma memories resurfaced, along with PTSD, depression, and night terrors. Little moments of breakthrough suffocated under the weight of my circumstances.

Heaviness

Cora was diagnosed with a chronic illness when she was two. Our days became filled with doctors, medications and protocols. Nights, I sat in the dark of her room, listening to her labored breathing. As I sat, I prayed “this isn’t sawdust, this isn’t a snake” from Matthew 7 over and over again, willing myself to believe that God wasn’t punishing me for my past (I know now that He wasn’t – not even a little).

Days ran into years. I pressed into my walk with Jesus, saying yes to Him in the ways I knew how. At the same time, I carried exhaustion in my chest like a bag of bricks and my bank account was often in the negative. I pleaded with Jesus for mercy, reminding Him I was only dust. I felt like I had nothing to show for my hard work but more suffering. Every bone in my body longed for all this to be over. Even still, I could hear Jesus calling me higher up the mountain.

Saying Yes

One day, an intense pain began to grow in my side. It was so bad I was barely able to walk. I knew I was at the end of myself. I felt I was being crushed to the point of death. But, God gave me a vision. I was wandering in the desert, dying of thirst and all I possessed was a tiny straw. Over and over, I tried sticking my straw into the ground, thinking if I went deep enough, I would find water to ease my pain. Instead, my mouth kept filling with sand.

“This isn’t sawdust,” a gentle voice said. Startled, I looked to see Jesus standing with me. “Give me the straw, Michelle.”

“But Lord, it’s all I have left. If I give it to you, I will die.” My feeble answer echoed through the empty wasteland.

Jesus gently held out His hand to me, and I saw it was nail-pierced from the cross. I realized He was asking me for my yes, once again. The choice was mine to make. I handed Him my straw.

The Secret To Overcoming

Philippians 4:11-13 says “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.”

Most of us know verse 13 well, but we often think of it as the path through suffering. We work hard to do “all this” and feel shame when we can’t do it all or when we show weakness. Shame then hinders our awareness of God and His love for us. However, I believe Paul meant it to be the promise we receive, once we are set upon the path.

Verse 11 reveals the secret path Paul speaks of, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” The Passion Translation convey this line another way: “I have learned to give up everything I have.”

What if the secret of overcoming is learning to give up everything we have to Jesus?

Overcoming Suffering

When I just wanted my suffering to end, Jesus knew to take me the way of the Cross. He knows that’s the only way to resurrection. He asked for my last straw – my yes. And there, in my place of barrenness, in my valley of despair, I found a hidden door to the greatest love story I’ve ever known. As a result, I practiced sitting before the Lord and listening to His voice on nights that were hard. Days I felt bone tired, I practiced rest and gratitude in the small moments. My circumstances didn’t change right away, but it was like the sun – the Son – began to rise on my life, and I drank deeply of His presence.

Cora’s health is doing much better, and while we still have hard days and continue to pray for complete healing, we are living a story full of wonder. The laughter of Christ floods our home. We have amazing community. Worship is a way of life. I never knew it could be so good.

Not long ago, Jesus took me to the place where I experienced most of my trauma as a teenager. There, He touched me with His fire and healed me. My PTSD, depression, nightmares – all gone. He said, Michelle, I am crediting to your healing all the tears anyone has ever cried over being abused. I knew immediately what He meant. All those years, He wasn’t holding back, giving me a measured amount of redemption. He has always and will always give us all the redemption He holds. He gives us all of Himself.

Are You Ready To Say Yes?

All this – for anyone who says yes.

Your yes is the path to abiding in His strength. No matter how dark the night gets, don’t lose hope. Keep sitting with Him, giving Him everything in your heart. I promise you, it’s worth it. The prize of knowing Jesus in the barren places is worth everything. Even now, He’s making a way into the greatest love story you’ll ever know…

Good Friday: Discover The Significance Of The Cross And It’s Place In Our Lives

by Ann Cuddy-Sullivan April 18, 2019

written by Ann Cuddy-Sullivan

As we mark Good Friday, let’s take a fresh look at the Cross of Jesus.

Billy Graham had a profound understanding of the Crucifixion: “The Cross splits the world,” he wrote. “Either you look at it and think – that’s pathetic or you look at it and you think– that’s powerful. If you think it’s pathetic, Paul says you are perishing. But if you think it’s the ‘Power of God’, you are being saved. But it’s one or the other”

Peter, Newman writes In The Meaning of the Cross, “Our faith must begin and end at the Cross. The trouble is that many Christians have bypassed the Cross and are trying to be moral by their willpower and self-effort rather than trusting in the indwelling power of Christ to transform them (Galatians 3:3) But if we attempt to build our spiritual life by any other foundation than Christ crucified, we are doing so by our natural strength.”

“Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

In April 2007 Decision magazine wrote: “We preach Christ crucified. This is the focal point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a picture of blood flowing from Christ’s veins as He hung on the Cross. The message of shed blood is repugnant to many, and they turn from such a gory sight, feeling that their delicate sensibilities have been outraged. Many people will accept Christ’s character, but they reject His crucifixion.”

“For the message of the Cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18 AMP)

The Truth of the Cross is that God Himself offered salvation by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die as an atonement for our sins. This atonement, a free, unmerited, undeserved gift, provides each of us the singular path to eternal salvation. While the receiving of this gift is dependent on the receiver, it is only through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are saved from eternal damnation and separation from the Kingdom of God as adopted sons and daughters and rightful co-heirs of that Kingdom.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:1) and that name is Jesus Christ!

As RC Sproul says in The Truth of the Cross, ”The Cross of Jesus Christ is God’s intentional method by which to bring salvation. To assume that we mere humans can do anything in our own power to gain entrance into the Kingdom is blasphemy. But for the finished work of the Cross, there is no salvation, there is no hope. The Truth of the Cross is an uncompromising reminder that the atonement of Christ is our gift of grace and mercy from the Throne of God Himself. “If you take away the Cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity.”

“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the Cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Newman, Peter; in The Meaning of the Cross says: “We must never lose sight of Christ’s triumph on the Cross. ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the Cross… (Hebrews 12:2).’ We were saved by faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and we now over come by faith in Christ’s victory on the Cross. The Cross is the secret to our overcoming. Christ conquered satan and sin on the Cross.”

So, this begs the question – If the Cross of Jesus is the beginning and the end of our faith, then why are so many Churches removing it from view?

The Cross is our message of hope

The Cross is our message of hope and you cannot take the Cross out of the Church. To do so, negates the reason Jesus Christ died. You cannot downplay its role in the life of the Church or the believer. It is on the CROSS of Calvary that we are saved through the brutal barbaric whipping and lashes Jesus took on His body. It is on the CROSS of Calvary that our sins are buried under the blood that poured out of His crucified body. It is on the CROSS of Calvary that we are granted eternal life with Him in Heaven.

As David A. DePra says in The Centrality of the Cross, “The Cross of Jesus Christ is the central truth of Christianity. This is exactly why Satan has tried to minimize its importance, substitute for it, or, in many places, shut it out all together. The Cross is the instrument of Satan’s defeat, the means of our freedom from the power of sin, and is the doorway to newness of life. Take away the Cross, and everything else falls.”

This Good Friday, see the Cross as a place of victory, peace, joy, and newness of life. Accept Christ’s call to run to Him and find rest. Go to the Cross of Jesus Christ. The world needs this message today. This is the message of hope, peace and brotherhood. This is what the world calls “foolishness’ but what God has been pleased to call “wisdom”. What do you call it?

Written in collaboration with Michael Sullivan

Also see:

Why Are Churches Removing The Cross?

April 18, 2019 2 comments

Faith

The End Is Better Than The Beginning

by Corine Channell March 8, 2019

written by Corine Channell

I personally think one of the saddest stories in the Bible is the story of Mephibosheth. It is a story of something really bad happening to someone whose life then becomes altered – at NO fault of their own.

Mephibosheth was just a child of 5 years old when his life was forever changed. This right here – a child. He had no way to protect himself and no way to prevent what was about to happen to him. His nurse dropped him. She literally dropped him to the ground, and it crippled him for life. So many sad things playing out here – first, again – he was a child. Add in the fact that an adult hurt him. The adult did it unintentionally; she did not mean to drop him – she was running very fast and actually trying to protect him. In trying to save him, she crippled him. I am sure she herself lived out the rest of her days in her own prison of relentless guilt and shame. I almost can’t bear the sadness of this story.

“Jonathan the son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.” (2 Samuel 4:4) The backstory is that both his father Jonathan and grandfather King Saul were killed in the Battle of Mount Giboa.

This is tough stuff. Bear with me as we explore this.

In fear and trembling and having lived through an experience myself that was not my fault and altered my own life, I want to suggest that perhaps the thing that actually saves us in the end, was something that crippled us at the beginning.

What if. What if the nurse had NOT tripped, kept running, and both of them had also been slaughtered that day? What if Mephibosheth had died – he was the last of his father’s name – father dead; grandfather dead. There would have been no one to carry on the name. What if the crippling of his body preserved the essence of who he was in his soul? After all, the body is just a house for a soul. We are not defined by all the bodily things that are crippled or broken. We ARE defined by who we are on the inside. Perhaps Mephibosheth became who he was meant to be BECAUSE he had been dropped.

I can only speak from my own experience and what I have come to know is truth. As a child I too was dropped – not in a literal sense, but in an abusive sense. I couldn’t protect myself, therefore what happened to me was not my fault. I spent my life in hiding from my past, just as Mephibosheth did.

The Bible says after he was crippled he lived in seclusion in the land of Lo Debar. It was a town of lonely forgotten people; similar to the imaginary land of misfit toys in the movie ‘Rudolph’. Lo Debar means: “no pasture.” It was a place of nothingness. This breaks my heart – think about all the people you have ever seen or even known who dwell in such a place in the 21st century. They are the lost ones, maybe homeless, forgotten, abused, suicidal, and feeling like there is NO hope. Or maybe you feel this way right now. This is where we find Mephibosheth. None of this was his fault – he lost his father, his grandfather, his nurse, got physically injured, couldn’t get his crippled body repaired and seemingly was alone and forgotten.

Except that he wasn’t.

I wonder if we all spend a little time (or sometimes a lot) in the town of Lo Debar. We feel stuck. We can’t walk. We can’t change a thing. We can’t sleep at night. We feel completely lost. We sit in solitary loneliness. We literally have had all the life sucked out of us, and quite possibly too – it was NOT even our fault. Sure, we all make mistakes and fail. This can cause unpleasant repercussions and circumstances we have to face and overcome, due to our own bad choices. BUT for some people, they were dropped. Their life was altered by the error of another human, whether intentional or unintentional.

So Mephibosheth had been in hiding his whole life because he was the only one left in his family and in those days, it was the custom to kill off the whole family – leaving no one behind. He knew this, so he hid. As broken as he was, he must have questioned his own existence.

Enter King David. He had been Jonathan’s best friend. He had promised Jonathan he would never stop being kind to his family – a promise for life! He wondered if by chance there were any survivors from that battle; if by chance there was any lost relative of Jonathan’s that he could find. He had no intention of killing anyone; he wanted to shower them with kindness – remember, Jonathan had been his very best friend! Mephibosheth heard that King David was looking for him, but what do you think he thought? Right. He thought he wanted to kill him – finish off the family! After all he had been through, this was how it would end? I wonder – I wonder if he had any suicidal thoughts at this moment? I mean, he did NOT know how the story was going to end. The reason WHY we need to stick around for the endings in our journeys.

The ending of the story.

King David sends for Mephibosheth, bringing him out of his lonely existence straight to the King’s table. He restores to him his family fortune, his good name, his inheritance. Mephibosheth felt unworthy and next to nothing and literally could barely look David in the eye. “So David said to him, Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather, and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” (2 Samuel 2:7) He who had had nothing, now had everything restored to him. His crippled body at the beginning of his life, had saved him at the end of his life.

Does it make sense? Not really.

Sometimes we just have to trust that the Author and Finisher of our faith. Trust that He WILL indeed write us an ending to our story that will connect back to its beginning. It may appear upside down and backwards and perhaps there will be a ‘dropping’ and even a crippling, but the end of a thing is always better than the beginning. We just have to trust OUR King. King Jesus. We have to lift up our eyes and accept His invitation to eat at His table continually, even though we only see ourselves as damaged and crippled (King David even referred to Mephibosheth as one of his SONS…Wow).

For me personally, what crippled me early on and altered my life story, gave me a new story of saving grace that I now can pass on to others. I want to gently suggest again that perhaps the thing that actually saves us in the end, was something that crippled us at the beginning.

March 8, 2019 0 comment

Articles

But God – The Story of Ruth

by Corine Channell January 31, 2019

written by Corine Channell

If you have ever questioned your roots, or your past, or where you began, and you have ever worried or panicked that something about your origin made you doomed from the start – THIS story is for you.

Ruth.

We all immediately think of the great love story of Ruth and Boaz; the average girl who got the great guy. Similar to the shy girl in the science lab who catches the eye of the captain of the football team. You catch my drift. It is a great, true story, meant to inspire girls everywhere to be true to themselves while waiting for their own Boaz.

Are you aware that Ruth had quite the questionable origin behind her beautiful love story? Let’s run down the list of all the strikes against her – she was a Moabite first and foremost. Um, I hear you saying – what is a Moabite? Is that her career? Job? A disease? Is it scary? It was a tribe; her roots – and NOT a good one – no, not at all. The tribe of Moab originated from incest in Lot’s family (remember Sodom and Gomorrah) and they worshipped the Canaanite god Moloch, bound with child sacrifice. Research a picture of the idol Moloch and it is a pretty terrifying visual. Oh.My. Ruth was a Moabite? If anyone anywhere ever had such a hopeless beginning, maybe could call it acursed or even damned, it would have been Ruth.

But God.

The reason I LOVE this story is that her origin, her roots, her beginning, her BLOOD line did NOT define her. Nor does mine. Nor does yours! When God chooses someone regardless of well, ANYTHING – then hope and purpose are born. Such a story of redemption. Wait till you hear the ENDING!

Ruth was born a Moab and raised in the land of Moab. In fact, her father was the Moabite King Eglon, who oppressed and assaulted Israel. NOW watch this story unfold – enter a family from Israel who moved to Moab because of a famine in their land – Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. Fast forward to the two sons marrying two Moabite women: Ruth and her sister Orpah. And by the way, Israelites were warned by their own laws NOT to marry foreigners.

Okay, so Ruth the Moabite married Chilion the Israelite. THIS is important to take note of.

In spite of her roots and her own blood line, God had her marry into a different tribe. Wait. Didn’t her husband die though? Yes. Yes, he did. Oh great; now she almost made it out of her acursed tribe and her husband died. And her sister’s husband died, AND her mother-in-law’s husband also. What? Three widows? How is this a good thing? Now what?

But God.

Ruth’s husband’s mother, Naomi, was the key to unlocking the door to her future. Don’t limit whom God may use for your greatest blessing to come through – it could be your mother-in-law. Also, don’t view widowhood as some kind of life prison sentence that places a stigma of reproach, or shame, or makes you “less than”. God straight up says He is a husband to the widow, which means HE will be taking very good care of you and life is far from over. Just sayin’ – from one widow to another…

Naomi decided to return to her homeland of Israel. Her husband AND her two sons had died. Hers was a family torn apart by tragedy. So, Naomi and her two daughters-in-law started out on the journey to Israel. At some point I wonder if Naomi in her pain and exhaustion, just knew there was a chance bringing these girls with her would not be good for them. What if they hated it there or what if she couldn’t provide for them? She instructed the girls to return to Moab. Both of them were quite attached to Naomi and cried. I am sure both their hearts were torn. Or were they?

Orpah opted out and chose to stay in Moab, and for this choice she has been judged through the ages. It would seem she chose wrong, but my hope is that God knew her heart and understood her fears of the unknown and leaving all that was familiar to her. I pray that she found peace and purpose from the time she had shared with her mother-in-law, Naomi. Never judge the end of someone’s story by what you can only see with your eyes. Ruth, however, chose to stay with Naomi with a heart of humility and grace that set her apart and made her a history maker. Her words have even become part of wedding vows – such a devoted heart she had to go off to parts unknown with Naomi. “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go, I will go. And where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)

This is everything. Right here. Ruth NOT defined by her past or even her blood line or her widowhood – but defined by her HEART.

Because of her choice to go against the odds, to take a risk, to follow her heart, to be loyal and faithful, to not think of herself, Ruth aligned her heart with the plan of God. Did she know the end of her story? No.

But God.

Ruth traveled to Israel with Naomi, and went to work in the fields to take care of their finances. This was a girl ANY mother-in-law would wish to have. Wow. The love Ruth lavished on Naomi was a beautiful example of what it COULD look like, you know. I too had an amazing mother-in-law; I literally can’t think of one negative thing to say about her. I totally believe I am the woman I am today because of HER. It all matters. It was the relationships that Ruth had in her life that would launch her into her future; a future she could not have even dreamed up!

In the fields (yes, literal fields) Ruth was known as a woman of integrity and hard work. She obviously just did her job, kept her nose out of other people’s business, had no “diva” attitude or victim mentality. Though she was a beautiful single woman, she went to work to work; not looking for love.

But God.

Boaz was the rich owner of the field where she worked. That made him her boss and the most eligible bachelor of the day. He noticed Ruth. He instructed everyone to be kind to her and to even leave her extra wheat for her to collect for herself and Naomi. He noticed her. Remember that – he noticed her.

Finally, let’s just get to the great part of this story – (drum roll…) Ruth got the guy! Or should I say…Boaz got the girl! They were a match made in heaven. They got married! The previous daughter of an evil King in an evil land, widowed, now living in a land she was not familiar with, serving a God she had not been raised to even know about – THIS girl got a real life…happily ever after.

But God.

Why a “But God” here, at the end of a happily ever after declaration? Because there is MORE. Ready? Are you aware that Boaz and Ruth had a son? His name was Obed. Why is this SO important? THIS is THE final piece in the beautiful puzzle of Ruth’s life – this seals her destiny, her purpose, and her legacy. Obed is named as one of Jesus’ ancestors. You heard me right. Jesus came from the blood line of Ruth.

This.

This story of redemption and hope and destiny and love. This story tells me I will be okay. You will be okay. No matter our past or our beginnings or even curses – God can and will weave a beautiful story; one we can’t even begin to imagine. All we need to do is keep our hearts open, and pure, and ready. Ready for the “But God” moments that change everything.

Oh, and Naomi, the mother-in-law? She was taken care of for the rest of her life by Boaz and Ruth, and got to become a grandmother – which I am sure was her most favorite role of all. I know it’s mine!

#ButGod

January 31, 2019 1 comment

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