| Unchained |
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"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 |
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by Dr. Paul E. McLaughlin The accounts, stories and testimonies that you are about to read and experience, are actual true to life events in the lives of those signified; touched and set free by the Masters Hand. When God is given the opportunity to change a persons' heart a miracle takes place, and the chains of sin's degradation and bondage will be altered and broken, for the glory of God. BOB.... Bob had come to came Hope Haven one time before. His life was full of torment, trouble and turmoil that had been brought on by a constant yielding to appetite and misadventure. It started in his youth and followed him into adulthood! Alcohol abuse and smoking pot brought only problems that multiplied each time Bob gave in to the cravings that held him in bondage. He was a prisoner to his flesh, and a puppet to his carnal cravings. His life was empty, even when he attempted to fill it with the pleasures of sin for a season! During his childhood, as a young boy, he had been molested. This with other unresolved issues helped to propel him on a misdirected course in life that led him down a road that offers unfulfilled promises, hopes and dreams along with the consequences that follow. Bob came from a Catholic background, however, Bob never had a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words Bob had never trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He was like Nichodemus in the book of John chapter 3 that came to Jesus one night. Nichodemus was a religious man, but Nichodemus was not a Christian. One's religious standing does not make them any more a Christian than a bicycle parked in a garage makes them a car. Bob had never placed his faith in Christ. In his earlier lifetime Bob had never called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Growing up in Maine provided Bob with a lifetime of mixed emotions. Because of Bob's alcohol addition and smoking marijuana he had lost his wife, children and home. Inferior tradeoffs due to bad choices and sinful habits like these in Bob's life affect many people of all ages and classes in life. Bob just happened to be one among the many wandering aimlessly, looking for a purpose and a place to fit in! That brings us to the present in 2008 when Bob came to Hope Haven by the providence of God. There are no accidents or coincidences with God only appointments. Some might try to reason or rationalize to chance or just dumb luck, but they are ignorant of the Creator and His plan and design for mankind. For them it is easier to leave out God and ignore what they are denying in their hearts to be true.. Admitting that God exists obligates one to have to take personal responsibility for their actions. Living as if God does not exist makes it easier to live without boundaries and keeps people blinded to their personal chains of bondage and addictions that have them enslaved. God is real and there is more to what the eye can see. Just because we cannot see an atom for example, does not mean it does not exist. God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth(John 4:24). Bob had an appointment set up before the foundations of the world by God to keep at Hope Haven Gospel Mission. Bob had an appointment to know the truth. He had heard the truth many times throughout his life, but the timing was not right and he was not ready to experience the blessings and freedom that come in having a personal relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. It was during a chapel service in Grace Bible Chapel at Hope Haven Gospel Mission that Bob finally let go and let God. The message had been preached and now the invitation had been given to whosoever will. Bob raised his hand and prayed the Sinner's Prayer and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He had finally come to the place in his life where he knew that unless he accepted Christ, at that very moment, he could not go on living they way that he had been. It all made sense and this opportunity was just for him and anyone else that wanted what God was offering. Freedom from the penalty of sin, freedom from the power of sin, and freedom to draw closer to God from the presence of sin. At that very moment Bob asked God for forgiveness of his sins and asked Jesus to come into his heart to set him free and save him. This decision and moment for Bob was real! Bob was declared righteous before God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Bob based upon the Word of God was now a child of God, no longer just a creation. He had kept his divine appointment that had changed his life completely! The Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new ." Bob has been drug and alcohol free for several months. He now knows the peace of God that passeth all understanding. He is enjoying his salvation and thankful to God for His Great Love. Bob has left Hope Haven, has a girlfriend and is attending a local Church in the area regularly. There are scars in his life that he has to bare. He is not alone and now knows God's plan for his life. Bob needs our prayers to stay the course and help to set others free through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as a Christian. Recovery is a lifelong journey. We can choose what direction we want to go in life, but the greatest journey we can choose in life; is to go God's Way. This knowledge will liberate the captive and set them free. Taking the first step is only a heartbeat away! "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?" Mark 8:36, 37 CASEY STANLEY... "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement". Hebrews 9:27 It was during the latter part of May that Casey came into Grace Bible Chapel for the services. He sat at the far back, as some people do, right directly in front of the serving line for a meal in God's Kitchen at Hope Haven. He did not stand out in the sea of people present for chapel, but God has His eye on him especially on that special night in May of 2008. After speaking with Casey later he told me that he had been coming sporadically to the Chapel Services before the evening meal. Casey was new to me as one of our guests in attendance. Sometimes you get to fellowship with the regulars that come and other times some new person drifts in or gets your attention! Casey could have had some addiction problems and possibly some legal problems for that matter, I really couldn't say not knowing him that well. What I can tell you is that on this particular date in time Casey bowed his head in prayer, asked God to forgive him of his failures and short comings, along with his personal sins, and asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart to become his personal Lord and Savior during the invitation that was given. After the service I asked him if he meant from his heart what he prayed and asked God to do; with tears in his eyes he said yes. He also expressed his appreciation for Hope Haven being here for him and others like him in need. I asked him if he had a Bible and he told me that he did not, so I told him to keep the one that he was using and to write down today's date for his own personal assurance and peace of mind. I also told him to tell as many people that he knew about his decision in trusting Christ for his salvation. Casey said that he would. I gave him a hug and shook his hand for making the greatest decision in his life that would follow him throughout eternity. Late during the first week of June there was a murder committed over in Auburn, Maine. It was on the evening news that night, and in the Lewiston Sun Journal the following day about a stabbing that had taken place. The 2 people responsible for the murder had fled the scene and left the State of Maine. The victim was Casey Stanley who had not just one week before asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart and save him. On that miraculous day during the invitation Casey had secured for himself eternally his place in Heaven. NEVER TO DIE AGAIN to live forever in the Kingdom of God where moth and rust doth not corrupt. A CITY OF ETERNAL LIGHT AND EVERLASTING JOY. Casey broke the chains of death and the penalty of sin by his decision to trust Christ, where there is no sting, only victory for those who have been set free by the Truth of the Living Word. I am deeply saddened by his passing, but I am so thankful that he trusted Christ as his Savior that evening in Chapel, and is more alive today than he has ever been! One would never have thought that Casey Stanley's life would be compromised in such a way. A young man with what seemed a long life ahead of him. Who would have imagined that not even a week later that Casey would be absent from the body and present with the Lord in Heaven so soon. Life is brief and one never knows what can take place. Our guarantees in life are limited humanly speaking. We need to keep the right perspective and see: our lives are short and will come to pass and only what is done for Christ will last. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." James 4:14 CHARLIE.... 9 years old |