Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Write an INSPIRATIONAL article (11/27/14)
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TITLE: Transformation | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gary Ritter
12/03/14 -
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The sin, the hurt, the corruption in people’s lives is overwhelming when we hear what they’ve been through. Last night we had a men’s group in which sixteen showed up. Our pastor was there, and because he hadn’t heard the stories of a number of the men, he asked that we each spend several minutes recounting what was going on in our lives and what the Lord had done in them.
In those two hours where the men were open and transparent I was blown away by how messed up most of our lives have been, and for some, continue to be. I recall how I was similarly affected not long after I first came to the Lord nine years ago. Our men’s group in that church did a study using Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. In a similar evening the men shared the brokenness of their lives. They spoke of how their fathers were either abusive or simply not there, whether mentally or physically. I had no idea! Being new in the Lord, not a terribly social person, and rather naïve in many respects, I had no clue what others went through in their family lives. Mine had been tranquil. My father was there, was a provider, and loved my mother and our family. We went to church weekly (although in looking back, I question how much true Biblical instruction there was – certainly nothing about true salvation, sad to say). Regardless, I grew up in a moral, ethical family. How different were the experiences of so many of these men telling their stories!
Last night was like that. Many had spent numerous years deep in the bondage of drug and alcohol usage. Our pastor is a Teen Challenge graduate, so you can imagine the depth of his addictions. Broken families, absent dads, single moms, struggle. Multiple divorces were common among us. One had been a convicted felon, spending time in prison. A couple had severe physical issues: one because of his affliction is in a wheelchair; another has suffered multiple broken bones through his reckless lifestyle and experiences constant pain. The list goes on. If all we were was a group of men sitting around a bar, drinking, and commiserating how nothing ever went right in our lives, what a miserable, bitter bunch we’d have been.
But that wasn’t the case at all. Each man is in a different place in his walk with the Lord, but several had remarkable witness. One had been a self-proclaimed atheist, and because his daughter nagged him to come to church because “it’s fun,” he grudgingly went and soon responded to an altar call to give his life to Jesus. He turned around from a bitter, self-pitying, angry man to one of the sweetest guys you’d want to meet. Another was on the verge of his fourth divorce. He attended a spiritual experience weekend a year ago and came away literally transformed. He is absolutely a different man now that he has surrendered to Christ and is truly living for Him. Another man had a blister on his lip that lingered. In going to the doctor he was told that the biopsy was probably benign and there was nothing to worry about. A couple days later the doctor called and told him to come in right away. It turned out he had a dangerous melanoma with two outcomes: survival chances after surgery would be 50%; or if the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes he’d be dead in nine months. He was a man of prayer, believing in the power of the Holy Spirit to heal, so he and others prayed. When he went in for surgery, the entire cancer was gone. That was four years ago. Again the testimonies could go on.
The bottom line – the truth of the matter – is that God is real. Faith matters. Jesus Christ really did die for the sins of mankind. When we are “in Christ” all things are possible. Broken lives are changed. Hearts are transformed. God truly heals today.
Brokenness and surrender go hand in hand. How desperately the world needs Jesus! Just think of what could happen in the lives around us if the people in their brokenness would surrender and give their lives to the One who came to reconcile us to the One true God.
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