We had recently sold our cozy townhouse and were excited to move into a larger home with a yard for our daughters.  The day started out with a quiet breakfast of tea and cinnamon buns.   We were reflecting on the many fond memories from our time living in this wonderful, friendly neighborhood. Moving to a new neighborhood was going to be harder than we thought.

After breakfast, my wife Lynda and I kissed our two daughters, ages one and three, good-bye as they joyfully went to spend the day with their Oma.   We didn’t want to  worry about them getting in the way during a hectic day of moving.  The moving truck  came right on time and a handful of family and friends showed up to help us load up and get on our way. One of the last items that needed to be loaded onto the truck was the BBQ. I tossed the wet BBQ cover over the balcony railing and my father helped me carry the BBQ down the stairs. As I went to retrieve the BBQ cover from the back yard I discovered an unexpected package sitting directly in front of the back door.

An ordinary day flipped upside down

“How nice!” I thought. “One of our neighbors has left us a going away present.  I really will miss this neighborhood. It’s too bad the kids aren’t home to enjoy whatever surprise gift they would find inside.”   As I picked it up and as I walked through the back room and into the garage I remember wrestling in my mind about what I should do with the gift.  Should I put it on the truck for the kids to open later?  Should I run it up to Lynda for her to open?  While I stood there wondering, the brightly colored package violently exploded in my hands.

The deafening blast felt like a vicious slap by a tsunami of fire.  It had enough force to send me flying backwards, violently knocking the wind right out of me.  I was stunned, injured and in excruciating pain. My first thoughts, next to the utter shock of realizing that it was a bomb, were towards God. Before I hit the ground I sensed a deep connection with him as I asked with great surprise: “What do you want to do with this?”

Lying on the garage floor, holding my face together with my hands and gasping for breath my thoughts quickly turned to how grateful I was that my two precious daughters were not here to experience this horrific trauma. I was also grateful that my wife was upstairs packing, and my father was in the back room picking up boxes.   The blast sent razor sharp shrapnel tearing through my face, chest, arms and legs. I was bleeding from my face and having a difficult time catching my breath. All I could do to breathe was to breathe through a scream. The garage was full of thick smoke and I could hear my dad and my wife calling for me. As I lay on the floor desperately trying to stop the blood that was gushing from my face I could hear many people scrambling and screaming for someone to call 9-1-1.

The bomb left me with a severely lacerated face, abdomen, chest, and arm. I had a hole in my abdomen and burns from my abdomen to my knees.  My sinus was shattered and my jaw was cracked.   I was relieved to find so many people quickly coming to my aid. The police were just down the street when they received the many frantic 9-1-1 calls.  The ambulance seemed to only take minutes to arrive on the scene.  The next thing I knew, I was sitting outside on the sidewalk with a towel pressed up against my face.  Soon I was whisked off in the ambulance for a number of surgeries and five days in the hospital.

Seeing the destruction

I had the opportunity to return to our townhouse after I was released from the hospital. I was shocked to learn the extent of the damage done to our home. The blast blew large holes through the walls, ceiling and even the cement floor. It even blew through the neighbor’s window across the street. When I saw the damage done to one of our hardwood dining room chairs that was waiting to be loaded in the truck, I knew that it was only by the grace of God that I was still alive.

The experience sent my family and entire community into absolute chaos.  Everyone was asking the same question, “Who would plan to bomb and kill an innocent family like ours?” I have great confidence in the Langley RCMP and the officers who we have trusted to bring the people or person responsible to justice.  But a year after the incident, the question of “who?” still remains unanswered.  While there is no evidence to suggest that the bomb was targeted towards me or our family in anyway, we can see that whoever planned, built and carefully planted this evil device must have been tormented with incredible anger and hate.

Ever since our peaceful world had been so violently interrupted, I have become much more aware of the violence that continues to make headlines throughout our world and even my community.  Whether it is international news of a child suicide bomber, the latest victim of gang violence, or headlines of police being deployed with automatic assault rifles, we all recognize that something is terribly wrong with our world. We know deep in our souls that this is not how the world should be.

We are so inundated with acts of violence in our news that we are almost numb to it.  That is, we’re numb until it happens to someone we love.  We can try to ignore violence as long as possible, but every act of violence affects the entire community. One act of violence doesn’t just damage one life, it damages many others and potentially generations. Now through the power of the internet and instant information one act of violence is felt around the world as we increasingly become one global community.

What our souls crave

I recently read a book called Soul Cravings and I have really appreciated what my friend, author Erwin McManus  has to say about the common thread between love and community as opposed to hate and isolation.

In entry five of Soul Cravings Erwin writes: “The farther we move from community, the closer we move to violence.”

Why is this? Because the farther we move away from understanding and caring for the needs of others, the closer we are to selfish judgment, prejudice and hatred.  This may not be true in every case of violence, but it seems to be true in the case of the quiet community of Jefferson County Colorado when two teenage boys planned for over a year to ruthlessly massacre as many students and teachers at Columbine High School as possible.

In Soul Cravings Erwin writes:

If I know nothing else about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, I know that they had given up on love. They no longer considered themselves as part of the human community. They cared for no one and cared about no one, not even themselves. Where there is no love there is no value for life. When hate consumes our hearts, all we can think of, all we desire is to destroy.
When there is disengagement from human community, there is the potential for inhumanity.

The human heart was not created to be a container for hate.

When we allow bitterness, jealousy, envy, racism, lust, greed, and arrogance to fuel our souls, we create an environment within us to be agents of violence.

We live in a time when the most terrifying bomb is not a nuclear one, but a human one.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe that we are created for love and to love, not to hate. I believe that we are created to live and thrive in community, not in isolation or exclusivity. The danger of loving nothing or loving ideas that teach that one view of the world is superior over another, is that these ideas only fuel racism and fanaticism.  There is a dramatic difference between fanaticism and love.  Fanaticism justifies and defines who you hate.  True love is unconditional – true love sacrifices oneself for another without expecting anything in return. Unconditional love embraces and forgives and leaves no room for violence.

So if we are created for love, what happens inside a human being when belief in an ideology becomes more important than a human life?

I recently read that the security costs for the upcoming Vancouver Olympic Games were originally estimated to be $175 million dollars, but now critics are claiming the new estimates for security will push past $1 billion.  I am all for the games, and believe that we need to have security at the games. But it is the fear of violence that costs us all in the end. You don’t even need to know the ins and outs of world politics to realize that something is wrong with this picture.   This is not what the world was created to be like.

How dark must a human soul become to justify taking the life of an innocent person just to make a point? In light of what happened to us last November, this question resonates with us the most. Even though we may never know the true answer to the question of motive, I think it is what our entire community seeks to know.

I think McMauns communicates the issue clearly when he writes in Soul Cravings:

We stand in the midst of a human dilemma.

We long for community; we long to belong; we long for love.

Yet what we long for most we seem incapable of sustaining.

Humanity has no natural predators except each other.

We are safer in the jungle than in the city.

We are our own worst enemies.

I have heard many people say that religion is one of the main causes of violence and war, both historically and presently. As a person of deep faith and a follower of Jesus, I think that the world has a skewed perception of the difference between organized religion and having a dynamic, life transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. It is through my relationship with Jesus that God has absolutely transformed my life.

As a Christian, my holy scriptures describe God as a loving creator and father.  As a father who is deeply involved in and concerned about his creation he knows the depth of our potential to hate, and our inclination to violence, so he provided a way to deal with this problem through Jesus. Jesus took on the full judgment/penalty of God’s anger against humanity’s violence.  God is a  father who is passionately pursuing us much more than we are trying to pursue him. The Bible is filled with stories of God reaching out to us with mercy, grace and love despite the many ways we make a mess of our lives and our society. The main message of the Bible can be simplified to one simple yet profound passage:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. Who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” What great news!

It’s simply about trust and accepting God’s gift of love. I’ve come to discover that it’s not about do’s and don’ts or rules to follow, which is what the religions of our world has taught us to believe. In the book of Jeremiah, God says that he loves us with an everlasting love. God’s heart is that no one would perish but have everlasting life and relationship with him.

Again, I really like what Erwin McManus says about love in his book Soul Cravings:

We speak of true love not only lasting a lifetime, but lasting forever.

We can’t manage [what’d it be like] to meet the standards of love [forever], and so we just accept that love isn’t all it’s made out to be. Prepare to be disappointed. Isn’t that the history of love? We can never live up to its standards. I think we recognize this when it comes to God. If God loves conditionally, we’re all in trouble. And this, when you whittle it down to its bottom line, is the basis of all religion.

God loves but on condition. Meet the conditions and gain the love. Love is something that is attained. Oh, we use different words for it—forgiveness, mercy, acceptance, grace—all really different words for love.

In this it appears that all religions are the same. They give God a name and then establish the rules that we must follow if we are to gain his favor and affection. I think this is why a lot of us see all religions as different ways of getting to the same thing.

Some girls want flowers; others, chocolates; others, meaningful conversation (and you thought the flowers and chocolates were expensive); all different ways of trying to get to the same place— to be loved, to find love.

Religion exists not because God loves too little, but because we need love so much. In the end all religions misrepresent God. They either dictate requirements for love or simply become a requiem for love. I think many of us have rightly given up on God on this basis alone. We’ve been told that God is a reluctant lover and that his standards must be met before there can be any talk of love. This is lunacy. Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love that we so desperately yearn for.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is in the book of John chapter 8 when the religious leaders try to trap Jesus by bringing him a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. In that day the crime of adultery was punishable by a violent death of stoning:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-11, NIV)

Through this passage we see God’s heart of unconditional love and forgiveness. The world seems to view Christianity as a set of rules, but this passage clearly reveals God’s true heart and love for people.  God’s main message is about relationship and forgiveness.  It is only through experiencing God’s unconditional love and forgiveness in my own life that gives me the ability to pass on love and forgiveness to others – whether it be someone who cuts me off in traffic, or the person who placed a bomb at my doorstep and nearly took my life.

If we really believe that the only way we are going to see an end to violence in our world today, and experience community in the way God has created it is to live a life of unconditional love as Jesus did.   The only way I know to live like Jesus is to follow him.  God is good and approachable, he is not hard to find as he says in his Holy word, “If you seek me you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised. Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest. Please let us know about your decision by clicking below, and let us know how we can help you continue your journey!

Pictures of me as a little kid are really cute –– curly blond hair, a quick smile and eyes always looking for the next adventure. I had the confidence that comes from knowing you are truly loved. If we painted pictures at school, I painted three. I had a storybook childhood and it showed. But I didn’t stay that way.

Around grade six I became the kid everyone picked on. Maybe I didn’t wear the right clothes, maybe kids are just mean sometimes, for whatever reason it started and it kept going. By high school there was a group of four or five guys who told me I was stupid and ugly every single day.   I believed them.

It is amazing what you accept as truth when you hear it enough times. As my confidence faltered and my self esteem withered away I stopped talking in class, in groups, or in the hallways. I dreaded lunch hour, never stepped foot inside the cafeteria and the thought of class presentations literally made me sick. I stopped smiling altogether. They tell me I went a whole year and never smiled once.

My whole life revolved around being as invisible as possible.

I thought that I couldn’t get hurt if everyone forgot I was there. I was convinced that there was no way out — you have to go to school.  I was too afraid to talk to my parents about it, even though we were close. (Years later I learned that if I had told them what was going on there were a dozen other options for school.)  I was so afraid, so hurt, so confused and so lonely that I began planning my suicide.  I choose a method and was working out the details when I had a dream that saved my life.

I don’t know if you believe in God, but I had this dream that I cannot explain any other way.  I had decided on the mechanics of how I was going to doing it.  In the dream it was like someone had taken the roof of of the house and I was looking down on it from above.  I could see myself in one room and what I had done. At the same time I could see my Mom, standing on the other side of the locked door pounding on it, weeping.   In the dream I started to talk, to bargain, and this other voice said simply “It’s too late.”  Melodramatic, maybe, but I have never had a dream like that again.  And today, some 15 years later, I could draw you a picture of exactly what that dream scene looked like.  I cannot forget it.

Suicide is something that you can’t take back.

I’ve heard people say that suicide is a cowardly, selfish choice.  All I can say in response to that is  “clearly, you’ve never been there”.  Suicide is never that simple.  People choose suicide when they truly believe it is the only choice left.   As an adult, I know now that there were other options, but back then the pain was so great it blocked out everything else – even the people who loved me.  I had not yet arrived at a place where things were beyond my control and I was able to choose differently.  I know that’s not always the case and I am grateful that I got a second chance.

Back at school, things did not improve.  Halfway through grade eleven I transferred to a different high school in a desperate attempt to get away. The insults stopped but I still had to face myself; a change of scene wasn’t going to fix that. The following summer I attended a conference with the youth group from my church and found answers in the last place I would have expected.

At the conference I came to realize that God loves me very, very much. I matter to God.  He is in the details of my life, even when I try to hide.  This knowledge gave me value, and in beginning to accept that God loved me, I could start to see the other people who loved me too.  It gave me a foundation to build on and the healing process began. The world is a scary place when you stop liking yourself. This gave me hope. I had learned about God as a child, but just trying to survive had consumed me and I had long since forgotten about Him. God had not forgotten about me.

During my second year of university, I came across the verse in the Bible that is now my favorite.  It reads,

“I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:9&10)

The truth is simple. We are all the walking wounded, some scars are just easier to see. It’s not an easy thing to say “I need a savior”, but I did.  I still do.  In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new.   Even if you’re not a church person, chances are you’ve heard John 3:16.  It’s the verse that talks about God sending his Son to save the world.  In The Message, a recent modern language translation of the Bible, it’s written like this:

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (John 3:16-18, The Message)

Words are powerful things and God’s words of love are the most powerful of all. If you want God in your life, you can have Him there today.  All you need to do is pray, just talk to Him.  God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words. You could pray something like this:

God, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for the things I have done. Come into my life and direct it.  Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

If you prayed today, we’d love to hear from you.  You can use the form below to let us know, or to ask questions.  We would love to talk to you about the difference Jesus makes.  He changes everything.

I smile a lot now –– I guess I’m still making up for that one silent year. While I doubt I’ll ever be a public speaker, I no longer walk around with my eyes on the floor. I am still learning, but I am no longer a danger to myself.  My Mom tells me that I remind her of this little girl she used to know with curly blond hair, a quick smile and a glint of adventure in her eyes.

If you are in a place in your life that scares you, please know that you are not alone. Do not make the mistake I did of thinking that there’s no way out.  If there’s something on your mind, start a conversation.  Send us an email, we’d love to hear from you. We’re available any time, from anywhere in the world.  Your email will be matched with someone from our team who will respond. From there it’s up to you.  If you want to keep talking, just hit reply.?  ?The conversation is free, confidential and non-judgmental.  We believe that talking about life, ideas, decisions and fears is better than not talking about them.

If you are worried that you might be a danger to yourself, or if you are having suicidal thoughts, please, please, don’t try to go it alone.  There are people ready to help you right now.  Hotlines, counselors and other help is available, 24/7.

Jesus said that he came to make all things new. His death on the cross can have a profound impact on your life. You have to ask yourself: Is this the life for me?

When asked to describe yourself do you reach for your job title? Do you define yourself by your relationships — spouse, parent, lover, friend? Do you think of your successes, your failures, your dreams, your past?

All of these are parts of who you are, but you are more than what you do, more than what you own, or where you live. You are loved by God.

You are intelligent.
You are beautiful.
You are loved.
You are not alone.

Read more in “A Conversation about Love & God” and “Living Life to the Fullest”

What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate? God wants to be part of your life. Are you ready to start your own faith adventure?

If are considering starting a faith adventure, have questions, or just want a listening ear, we’d love to hear from you. Just go the mentoring page and one of our email mentors will respond. All emails are responded to personally and privately.

Questions about faith:
Who is Jesus?
Does God care about me?
Questions about life
Questions about God
How can I find peace?
How do I know if I’m a Christian?
How can I grow in my faith?

Discover a Faith Journey

Do more than just cope
Does truth exist?
Discover purpose
Experience true love
Live your life to the fullest
Is the world not what it should be?
What does your soul crave?
You can know Jesus personally. Take a free study with a coach

Start a Faith Adventure
Millions of people the world over have made the decision to invite God into their daily lives and start a faith adventure.  Here are some of their stories.

Ed’s Story: Redefining Success – I thought I was successful. I thought I could accomplish anything if I just tried hard enough. But when my son fell ill and died, I felt helpless.

Kim’s Story: Are Truth and Love in the Stars? – As long as I can remember, I’ve been looking for truth and love. I started investigating the idea that something “higher” existed in the spiritual world.

Hugh’s Story: My Search for Truth – I reasoned that man-made religions would reflect human error. As a scientitst, I used the facts of history and science to test each of the “holy” books.

Joe’s Story: Strange Road to Success – I started to see that there was another game plan besides the world’s. One that was not based on money, position or winning football games.

Christie’s Story: Unthinkable Loss – All the hopes and dreams that I had for myself and my baby were gone in that instant. I have no words to describe the pain, the utter despair I felt.

Sara’s Story: Beginning Again – Have you ever wanted to start life over again? I did. There were events in my life that left me with a longing to have a ‘new beginning’.

I was just three months old when my parents adopted me.

Thanks to my new parents, I learned that after life there is an eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. It was easy enough to decide which was better. When I learned that receiving Christ was the only way to heaven, I knelt with my father, and asked Jesus to forgive my sins and give me eternal life.

The purpose of life

I lived smugly until a certain question began to haunt me: What is the purpose of life? What are we here for anyway—to live, make babies and then die? I was not interested in chasing after material riches only to leave them behind in 70 years. There just wasn’t a good reason for living anymore. Nothing I could do was going to matter in a hundred years anyway, much less for eternity.

But at a summer Bible Camp I learned that there was a purpose for my life. It came from God. I learned from the Bible that God made me to relate personally with Him, to know Him and to love Him.

I learned that completely giving my life over to Him was the key to an abundant and meaningful life. Suddenly, my life had purpose and significance. I was created to know God and to glorify Him for eternity.

Eternal significance

It was only minutes after realizing my purpose that I also discovered the plan that would bring eternal significance to my life. I was to share the truth and meaning that I had found in Christ, with others. I realized that pointing people to Christ helps change their destiny for eternity, just like my adopted parents helped to change my eternal destiny.

My nature is to be selfish and proud. I have a natural tendency to continually take the steering wheel of my life away from Christ. In my life, Christ has replaced a meaningless life. With Jesus, you can find the meaningful life you were meant to have.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

Have you ever wished you were someone else? I did!

I was raised in a great family with seven brothers and sisters. My parents were missionaries in Africa for many years and I naturally had a lot of knowledge about God and Christianity. At a young age, I decided to begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

An unsure self-esteem

As I grew older I became increasingly involved in sports and friends and did not see my faith as an important part of my life. I focused myself on ensuring that I was always part of the “in group.” People often thought I had it “all together.” However, inside I was very unsure of myself.

In high school I spent a lot of time working out in the gym. I thought that if I looked good then I would feel good. The problem was there was always someone bigger and stronger than I was. I always wished I had the gifts and abilities of others. I was just Ian Whitfield—your average guy.

Renewing a lost friendship

During university I again became interested in my spiritual journey but was afraid to give God full control of all areas of my life. I thought he would make me something I didn’t want to be. In hindsight, I realize how foolish I was but that was my reality at the time. I tried to fill the emptiness I felt with other things: sports, relationships, and school.

In my second year, a close friend of mine was killed in a car accident. I realized that it could have easily been me and I was not ready to die. I still had unanswered questions.

Around that time, another friend had been talking to me about his faith in God and his relationship with Jesus Christ. I called him immediately. He shared with me how God had not left me, but rather I had left him. I had not nurtured my relationship with Jesus. I needed to renew that friendship that I had begun so many years before.

Shortly after that I recommitted my life to God.

My help and hope

Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician, once said: “There is a God shaped vacuum in every man, woman and child that cannot be filled by any man made object but only by God made known by His Son Jesus Christ.?? I realized that I had spent much of my life trying to stuff all sorts of things into the void in my heart that could only be filled by God.

Since that time I have experienced a great deal of inner peace, even during the difficult seasons of my life including the death of my father. It has not been an easy journey but I would not trade a day with God for a thousand elsewhere. I still have challenges, but now I turn immediately to God for help and hope instead of trying to do it on my own. I still admire others’ gifts and abilities, but I no longer wish to be someone else. Today I am happy with who God made me to be and am happy that I have a special relationship with him.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

The Canadian Forces took me, Major Wes Bowers, around the world.

I was raised by Christian parents, but when it came time to make my own decision to believe in Jesus Christ, I have to admit, I cut corners. I really only took out the “proverbial fire insurance salvation policy.” I believed only because it would get me to heaven. I didn’t really care for a relationship with God. I didn’t recognize Jesus as the Lord of my life. Instead, I began to move gradually further and further from what my parents taught me.

Fortunately, before going too far down that road, I married a Christian girl.

But as I continued my education and then moved into the workforce, I started to forget about God. I began a career as a teacher after finishing university, but the lure of a life of travel, adventure, and excitement changed my plans and I joined the Canadian Forces in 1973 and received pilot training.

The wake-up call

Three years into my flying career I made another change in my life, but this time the consequences would be eternal.

During a routine flight over a remote region of Ontario, the weather turned sour and I decided I needed to land my helicopter immediately. But I quickly realized I was trapped in a steep-walled valley with increasing clouds and pouring rain. The helicopter I was flying was not properly equipped to fly in cloud so I had to remain within sight of the ground. To make matters worse, I was rapidly running out of daylight and there was no safe landing area to be found.

I thought to myself, I could die here! I had a strange sense of being “one step from eternity.” Yet, I did not feel prepared to stand before God after I died and give an account of my life. And now finally, God had my attention.

It all comes home when you have a test in your life. Alone and in the tiny cockpit of my helicopter, I made a decision that would change the course of my life: I turned my situation over to the Lord, whether I lived or died was up to him. I said out loud to God, “Lord, I realize I don’t have the right to ask you for any favors. But if you give me a second chance and show me the way out, this time I promise to follow your leadership.”

Saved

God heard my prayer and gave me a chance to prove my sincerity. Suddenly, and inexplicably, my anxiety left and I felt quite calm as I placed my life in God’s hands. As I continued to circle the valley, strangely, the sky seemed less dark in one area and I somehow felt drawn to fly in that direction.

I managed to navigate out of the valley and ended up landing at the nearest farm. When I landed I did two things: I thanked God for saving my life and then I told him I would need his help to keep my part of the deal.

Things gradually began to change in my life after that day and my concept of trusting God began to grow. And for this military officer and his wife Gail these changes were long overdue.

The importance of family

Some military men have a tendency to value their military career more than their wife and children. I had to learn how to talk to my wife and how to love my wife better. It’s a significant task to build a marriage and family. I’ve learned that you’re in it together.

I also decided that spending Friday evenings at the bar with my pilot friends until late at night was not healthy for my marriage and family. It was a struggle for me to give that up, but I realized that I would have to choose to follow God’s leadership on a daily basis and this was what was best for my family and me. God gave me the power to change.

Today, Gail and I have been married for almost 40 years and we take joy in spending time with our grandchildren.

Content with life

After 20 years of flying for the Canadian Forces, I retired from active duty in 1993. I returned to academic life for a time and attended seminary.

In 1995 I joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ and began working in the Leadership Ministry. I currently work in the TruthMedia Internet Ministry, taking the gospel message to people around the world through the Internet. For Major Wes Bowers, this is the ultimate promotion. I’ve gone from being a Peacekeeper to working for the Prince of Peace.

What about you?

My life experience has taught me that drifting away from God is harmful to one’s self-worth as well as to relationships with family, friends and co-workers. I wish I knew then, what I know now—the key to a growing sense of fulfillment and a sense of purpose in life is to learn how life-changing it can be to follow God’s leadership through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 

If you know, like I do, that you need changes in your life, you can ask God to change you today. God gave his only Son Jesus Christ to us. Jesus died on the cross for all of our sins—every time we’ve lied, stolen, cheated, hated…the list goes on. After three days, Jesus rose from the dead. He offers us complete forgiveness and the gift of grace. We just need to believe in him. You can know God personally. Ask, by faith, for Jesus Christ to take control of your life and he will do as he promised. If you don’t already know Jesus, I encourage you to pray the following:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me be the person you want me to be. Amen.

Is it the desire of your heart to make this prayer yours? If yes, pray now and according to his promise, Jesus Christ will come into your life.

I’m the third of four children. From all outward aspects, we were the average suburban family, living outside a large city in eastern Canada. But we were not a perfect family – we had our “hidden secrets,” and our “we don’t ever talk about that” situations.

What people saw on the outside of our home was not necessarily a reflection of the inside. From an early age, there were events that took place in my life that left me with a longing to have a ‘new beginning’.

A hard beginning

As a teenager, the sudden death of my father was very difficult for me; my father and I were close, and he was my friend. The void in my heart increased with his passing. I was heading into rebellion, but his death – along with the ongoing deterioration of my relationship with my mother – hurled my life into self-destruction.

At nineteen, I left my family and moved to Canada’s Pacific coast, determined to have that new beginning. Within three months, I met Tom. Two months later, we began living together. We fought our way through the next year-and-a-half, and I believed the solution to the turmoil was to get married. The following year, in 1971, we did. In 1973, our son, Pernell, was born. One year later, I was pregnant again. After much turmoil, it was determined that I should have an abortion. In 1976, our daughter Sara was born.

By now our home was like my childhood home – what you saw on the outside was not a reflection of what was taking place on the inside. Once again, I had become a master at covering up the imperfections and pain, longing for a way to wipe the slate clean. By the age of thirty, I was becoming dependent on prescription drugs; as a consequence of post abortion syndrome, I experienced depression and thoughts of suicide.

Trying to cope

I took the two children and went back to see my family. I considered staying back east, to try and find a new beginning. I would have done so had my husband not called me several times and persuaded me that the children and I belonged with him, and that if I returned there would be changes. I knew I really loved him and I wanted our marriage to work. So I returned – to make a new beginning.

In 1981, Jonathan was born. My husband was laid off a year later and could not find a job. I went into the work force. Shortly after that, he stopped looking for work.

Our relationship was as stormy as ever, and my coping mechanism was to turn my energies to a career. I enjoyed the enormous amount of responsibility that came with my position, along with the great rewards of appreciation, elegant dinners, lots of positive attention and relationships outside of my marriage. But there was a price – long days and weekends at the office, regrets at night and an ever increasing longing within.

Five years later – having barely seen my children, having no relationship with my husband, having unhealthy relationships outside of my marriage and a career that was going somewhere when I was sober – my longtime friend Barb took me for a walk and said, “Sara, ever since I’ve known you, all you ever wanted was to be a mom and a wife. If you don’t make changes now, you will come home one day and find your kids have grown up without you and you will have missed it.”

I knew she was right. I thought about a solution: if I took the kids and left my husband, ended the unhealthy relationships, cut back on the drinking and the hours at the office, perhaps then I could have a new beginning. In October 1987, I put the kids in the car and drove away.

Learning of a new love

My first and biggest challenge as a single parent came within weeks, when I tried to obtain custody of our three children. As I had worked for five years outside the home, I could not presume that I would be granted custody. I left for the courtroom that day, very fearful that I would lose my children. Before I left the office, my manager, Jim, offered to pray for me. I had turned to him for advice because he was a gentleman whose life was a marked contrast to mine!

Jim did not smoke, drink, or swear. He was patient, calm, very wise in business and family and faithful to his wife of many years. Definitely a life under control – while mine was out of control. When Jim mentioned prayer, I said “Well great, you pray, I’ll go” – to which he replied, “Sit down.” Then I asked, “Will you be praying out loud?”, to which he answered “yes.” So I sat there, with my eyes open, while he prayed about the custody. As soon as he said “amen,” I bolted for the door.

At the courthouse, my lawyer advised me that I might have a better chance if I were to seek joint custody. But as my husband’s lawyer got up and gave a very uncomplimentary – but true – description of my lifestyle for the past five years, my head dropped. I felt the judge would never consider me a fit parent. Then, because of a technicality, the judge negated my lawyer’s efforts to defend me. I believed my dreams of motherhood were over at that point. Yet to my amazement, a few minutes later, the judge granted joint custody with equal access to each of us.

At last I knew that there was a God, who must love me – as Jim had often told me – and that this God had intervened on my behalf. I ran out of there to call Jim. As he answered the phone, I blurted out, “Okay – I want to know more about this God of yours. You obviously have a direct line and I’m prepared to listen.”

Rescued from hopelessness

In the following weeks, Jim shared more with me about Jesus, whom I had always thought of as merely a baby at Christmas and not much more. Jim told me often that God loved me and created me to know Him personally. Sometimes when I would come into the office with a hangover, Jim would patiently tell me that the reason I wasn’t experiencing God’s love in my life was because I was insisting on going my own way – and that way was sin. I always thought of sin as murder, stealing, lying . . . etc. Besides, I reasoned, I wasn’t any worse than the rest of the people in the office.

As Christmas approached that year, my problems remained the main thing on my mind. For the first time since becoming a mom, I would be spending Christmas Eve and morning alone without my children. On December 22, as I drove Jim to the airport, he said to me, “You know you have nothing left to lose. After thirty-seven years of you being at the controls, you don’t have a home, a husband or your kids. All you have is your car, and your job – and that’s only because I am your boss. So, why don’t you give control of your life to God and experience a new beginning.”

It wasn’t the first time Jim had made this suggestion. My first response came from my discouragement: “Well, that may be fine for you, but it won’t make any difference in my life. It’s easy for you – your life just goes along smooth no matter what.” Jim again patiently asked if I would repeat a prayer after him. Again I said, “You pray, I’ll listen.” With that, he told me that the Bible said if I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead, I could be rescued from my hopelessness. I challenged him: “Where does it say that?” He answered. Accurately. Word for word.

So I prayed, repeating what Jim was saying. It went something like this: Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Saviour and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

I never thought at that point that it would change anything, let alone give me that elusive fresh start. However, before I said “amen,” lifted my head and opened my eyes, something profound had happened inside me. I could not explain it, but I knew it was real. For the first time in my life – the emptiness inside me was gone. When Jim told me I was forgiven for all my sins, I knew what he said was real somehow and I felt very free. I didn’t know why, but I knew for the first time in my life I could really start over.

A new life

In the ten years since that night, there have been many storms to go through. My son, Jonathan, fought a battle with lymphoma cancer. During his treatments, my mother suddenly passed away. My two oldest children have been off traveling the world, and had some very frightening and disappointing experiences. But my life slowly changed.

As I began to read the Bible and pray, listen to teaching tapes and then eventually start to go to church, my responses to life’s turmoil began to change. My old habits of smoking and drinking, angry tirades and unhealthy relationships all began to fade away. The strongest evidence has been that, if I am faithful to read my Bible and to pray, there is always an unexplainable peace that presides over every day and every circumstance.

Working through the ongoing and as yet unresolved issues with my children’s father, having to deal with the day to day aspects of life as a single parent, running a household and working full time . . . I cannot imagine trying to cope with life alone, without having the assurance that God is in control. I can honestly say that I have a new life. God gave me my new beginning.

Is this the life for me?

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised. Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

In 1986 I had a visit in Dublin from Dennis Burkitt

An astonishing discussion

I had envisioned an evening of detailed medical discussion, when the heights of medical advances in fiber controlled diets would be a good topic of discussion for my colleagues. I sat astounded when Dennis swept his eye across the gathered group and announced that he was delighted to be there and that he wanted to let us know that Jesus Christ was the one single most influential figure in his life!

He spent the next hour talking about Jesus. No hesitation. No embarrassment. No deviation. He wanted to share with us what he felt was the best and most significant person or discovery he had made in his life.

Too many coincidences

I learned a powerful lesson that I carry with me to this day. Having had a medical training, I have seen the wonders of the human body under a microscope and I have inkling of how complicated the human body is.

I stand in awe of those who believe everything came about by chance. Their faith is stronger than mine if they believe one cell happened to meet up with another cell and developed into the complicated mass of cells that we call the human. I read a statement recently: ‘Coincidences are where God works a miracle and then decides to stay quiet about it!’ I feel that in my daily life there are just too many ‘coincidences’ around me.

A life of miracles

I was very fortunate to be born into a Christian family and hear Bible stories from a young age. I had the opportunity to realize the need for a personal relationship with God while I was still young. I have always realized that God had a purpose and a plan for my life. Getting in to medicine was a miracle. Getting through medicine was a miracle! Knowing that the Creator of everything gave his only son for me is a miracle. My life is so full of miracles!

My favorite verse in the Bible is Jonah 4:7. Jonah is moaning and groaning against God because He didn’t destroy the people of Nineveh. Jonah was cross with God. In Jonah 4:7 it says that God sent a worm to eat away the shade from Jonah to show him that God was in control of everything. God sent a worm! I feel that if God can use a worm, he can use me!

I have absolutely no doubt that my God cares, loves, protects, and guides.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

Someone I could relate to

Six years ago I spotted a notice in a shop window about a “Life in the Spirit Seminar”. One of the speakers’ names caught my eye – the Catholic Evangelist Joe Dalton. I invited six friends to come and we stayed on for the entire seminar. There was an announcement for an Alpha Course and three of us decided to stay for that course.

Alpha was very special for me. I liked the friendly atmosphere and I was really challenged by the talks. Toward the end of the Alpha we had an away-day. The whole concept of Alpha fell into place for me during that day. I came into a personal relationship with Jesus and I found a God who was so close, so real, and someone I could relate to. I left the venue filled with the power of His love, peace and joy. That day changed the course of my life.

A deep hunger for Scripture

St. Michael Prayer and Bible Group became my anchor. St Michael’s is an interdenominational group that meets every Wednesday night. With the help of this group, I have been growing spiritually in love, support and encouragement.
Now the Bible has a new meaning. I come away feeling refreshed. I have a deep hunger to know and understand Scripture.

I have helped run seminars and Alpha courses with St Michael’s Prayer Group. One Alpha course was attended by 150 people. It was lovely to see so may lives being touched by the Lord as he did mine six years ago.

A changed life

Over the past six years, my life has changed in many ways. My prayer life has changed. I have been healed from my smoking addiction. My interests and hobbies have changed. I am learning to rely on the Lord when I face challenges. I have a great sense of fulfillment. I have inner peace and joy, even in difficult situations.

A verse that has helped me in my life is Revelation 3:20: “Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If any one hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him and he with Me.” When I open up to God, I feel his love, peace, and strength. I know I am not alone.

I now work full time with Power to Change. As I travel around the country as part of the Power to Change Team, I help to equip individuals to share their faith. I have been blessed by the people I meet. Some are searching for meaning in life as I was a few years ago. I know they can find that meaning if they have a close and personal relationship with Jesus. The power of His love brings peace, healing, grace and new beginnings. Jesus gives power to change.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

I am Patrick, a sinner. I am contemptible in the eyes of a great many people. My father was Calpornius, a deacon. He was the son of the presbyter Potitus. He came from the village of Bannavemtaburni where he had a country residence. It was there that I was taken captive.

My captivity

I was almost sixteen at the time and I did not know the true God. I was taken into captivity to Ireland with many thousands of people. We deserved this fate because we had turned away from God. We had not kept his commandments nor obeyed our priests, who had warned us about our salvation.

The Lord’s fury bore down on us and he scattered us among many heathen people, even to the ends of the earth. This is where I now am, in all my insignificance, among strangers.

God’s protection and comfort

The Lord there made me aware of my unbelief that I might at last turn my attention to my sins and turn whole-heartedly to the Lord my God. He showed concern for my weakness and pity for my youth and ignorance. He watched over me before I got to know him and before I was wise or distinguished good from evil. In fact He protected me and comforted me as a father would his son.

I cannot be silent then, nor indeed should I, about the great benefits and grace that the Lord saw fit to confer on me in the land of my capacity. This is the way we praise his wonders before every nation under heaven.

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.