Take the next step:
How to help the homeless
10 Ways to help your community
Take a lesson: Cultivate generosity

“I knew I had to change but I didn’t know how.” Still, just one tiny step in a positive direction made a big difference in her life.

Are you struggling with hurt from your past? Talk to a mentor today.
Has your low self-esteem driven you to make decisions you regret?

After you have watched the video above, consider the following:

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, and 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?

Are you ready to choose a different path?

Jesus came, and died, and rose again to wipe the slate clean. He was scourged, tormented, and finally nailed on the cross for humankind’s sins – this was all part of God’s plan to bring you and I back into relationship with him. God wants to be a part of your life … in fact, not just a part of your life, but wants you to live in full fellowship with Him. Is this the life for you?

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He longs for you to have the kind of full life you were always meant to have. So why do people not experience this kind of life? People are lost and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love. Because of our sins, we justly deserve judgement. But God provided his Son, Jesus Christ, as the only provision for our sin. He died in our place, then he rose from the dead.

We must individually trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally, receive forgiveness for our sins, and experience His love: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

We trust God through faith. You can trust Christ right now by faith through prayer! (Prayer is just talking with God.) God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need you. 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 the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.

If you feel distant from God try our Life Lesson “Finding Freedom”

When I was eight, I was into gymnastics. I loved to tumble, do cartwheels and round-offs. There was one rule: not in the house. But our living room was long and inviting (despite the knick-knacks and figurines my mother had inherited). It was the perfect place to do three cartwheels in a row, especially on a rainy, cold day. So, at the dare of a neighborhood friend, I did – almost.

Into the second cartwheel my big toe whacked the coffee table. It hurt, a lot, but I wobbled and finished the third one, then limped off to my room. My toe throbbed but I fought back the tears. I longed to run to my mother and have her make it all better, but I knew if I did my bottom side would be throbbing as well when I told her how I hurt my toe.

When my mother came into my room I didn’t run to greet her and let her love on me. I pretended I was taking a nap. The rest of the day I feared she’d call me to come do something for her. When she called us to dinner, I didn’t want to go because I’d limp to the table and the questions would start.

When I didn’t come, Mom came to me.  The walls of guilt crumbled in her presence and I held onto her waist, blubbered through tears about my pain and confessed the whole thing. I told her how sorry I was, and cried for her to help me. She hugged me all the way to the emergency room.

That is how I picture God when I have sinned. He wants to love on me and forgive me, but I am the one who shrinks away not wanting to own up to what I have said, or done or thought which is not in line with His will. I am ashamed, and sorry. Even though I know He sent His Son to die on the cross for my sins, and perhaps because of that, my guilt prevents me from being in His presence. The longer I go without confession, the more the hurt inside me throbs. But eventually He comes to me. How will I receive Him?

Some people feel they can never go to God, so they try to hide the pain and guilt in other ways – drugs, alcohol, sex, theft, adrenaline rush extremes. But cheap thrills only mask the pain for awhile. No matter how far you think you have distanced yourself from your Heavenly Father who loves you, it is never farther than His hand can reach to hold onto yours and draw you near. Until you reach out to Him, He will seek you.

There may be consequences to your sin.  Mine was wearing orthopedic saddle oxfords all summer long until my broken toe healed while everyone else was swimming and romping barefoot through the grass. But, Mom never stopped loving me and was there to sympathize when the tears flowed. I expect nothing less from God. Neither should you.

Question: What pain are you hiding from God, and perhaps yourself? Will you go to Him with it?

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Beginning Life Again

Are you searching for a source of peace?  Take this study.

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” (Isaiah 61:1).

While at one of the most conservative schools in the nation, Texas A&M University, I served in the jail ministry. Every Sunday I would roll up my naive sleeves and drive downtown to lead a Women’s Bible Study.  Dressed in bright orange jumpsuits, slipper shoes, and Bible in tow these women would grace me with their presence.

One by one they would come and sit in plastic chairs that made a semi-circle in a concrete laid room with brick walls. The word that came to mind when looking at the decor was hopeless.   “Ladies, I would like to ask you to open your Bible to Isaiah 61:1. Would someone like to read it for us?”  Timidly, one woman who was fairly new to the class read the verse. Stumbling over a few of the words she finished reading.

“What does that mean to you?” I asked. Blank stares and hardened hearts seemed to fill the room, until one brave soul spoke up.  “Freedom means to me that I no longer have to live the street life–hooked on drugs, sex, and men. I can wake up with a sound mind and body knowing that I may be behind bars, but free in Jesus.”

Another woman said, “I am free from guilt of murdering someone.”   And with that transparency, I noticed a softness come over the women—one by one they began sharing with me how that Jesus is the change and freedom. Free from alcohol, lesbian relationships, pornography, and theft to name a few.   No one gasped–no one flickered a glare…not one. We knew that we were in the midst of breakthrough–where the power of God’s word intersected the lives of others to make them free.

Lady Liberty in New York could not even trump the freedom waved over this group of women this one Sunday morning.   Whether the jailhouse or the church house–Jesus wants to set you free. What areas of life do you desire freedom?

We try to convince ourselves that our areas of struggle are somehow better than the ones my ladies were experiencing. Are they really? Or just packaged more neatly? In God’s economy all of us are in need.   I glanced at the analog clock that reminded me of my childhood school days—it was time for our bible study to end. I left them with these words that are for us all–”You may be bound, but you are free.”

Questions: What areas of life do you desire freedom? How can you become free?

Searching for meaning to existence? Tell us your thoughts

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Chinese man shivered and pulled the collar of his shabby coat up around his neck to protect himself from the pelting rain.  Through the darkness of the night he saw the lights of a rescue mission, and they seemed to offer a place of shelter.  Following another man in, he found himself in a chapel.  He fell into a seat at the rear, groggily wondering why people were singing.

Then some men stood up to tell about how Jesus Christ had saved them from a life of sin, alcohol and drugs, from the power those things once had over their lives.  The miserable man looked up hopefully.  How long he had sought release from the bondage of opium–the “demon on his back”!  After twenty-three times in sanitariums, he was still a slave.

The speaker also told how Jesus Christ delivers from sin and enslaving habits.  At an invitation, the man stumbled forward to seek deliverance.  It took the workers at the mission three days to bring the man to a coherent state.  Then they asked him, “Did you really mean it when you came forward to receive Jesus Christ?”

“I have just one question,” the man said.  “Did Jesus Christ die for the Chinese too?”

“Yes,” came the answer.  “Christ died for all people.”

“Then I want Him for my Savior,” said the man.  Instantly and finally delivered from his long enslavement, the happy man became a faithful witness for Christ, telling all he met about how Christ had delivered him from the drug habit and had saved his soul and life.

What a wonderful thing it is to realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not limited to only one nation or for only one type of person.  The Bible says, “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9).

God’s Salvation Plan
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ” (Romans 6:23).

“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:9, 13).

Are You Saved?

Many people think they are Christians, but what if they have never truly received Jesus Christ as their Savior?  How about you? Do you hope you will go to heaven someday, perhaps because you think you are a good person, or go to church, or got baptized? Well, to get to heaven, we have to do it God’s way, as the above Scriptures specify. On the other hand, do you think that you are too bad to be saved, too unworthy?

Well, no one is worthy!  The good news is that Jesus Christ died for your sins on the cross just as He did for that poor enslaved Chinese.  Why not bow your head right now and, humbly repenting, receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. Ask Him to save you and transform your life.  And He will! He’s only a prayer away.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: How to be sure you are a Christian

Questions: Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior? Why don’t you tell us about a time when you first decided to follow Jesus.

About the Author Muriel Larson

Do you feel hopeless? Take this study.

“I get so depressed sometimes I wish I could die!” the sad woman exclaimed. “You don’t know what it’s like to live with a man like my husband!”

“I realize it may be bad, Maria,” her pastor consoled. “But while he’s at work, can’t you shake off this depression that gets you down? Have you tried reading the Bible or listening or viewing some good Christian programs on radio or TV?”

She shook her head. “Oh, life with my husband isn’t the only thing that gets me down. It’s life in general these days–so much trouble going on in the world–war, sickness, increase in crime and immorality. What if my children get involved with drugs or something like that?”

“Now, Maria, you’re looking for trouble,” answered her pastor. “Yes, I agree these are bad days in which we live. But we have the same Lord today that Christians down through the centuries have had. He makes all the difference in a Christian’s life.

If we set our affections on things above, we won’t be dragged down by things on this earth. God doesn’t want His children to live in the dumps. He can lift us up to the heavenlies with His joy and peace. But we have to take every problem to Him and trust Him to take care of it!”

Maria is like many Christians today. They spend too much time down in the dumps with the devil, when they could enjoy the princely privileges God gives His children even in this life.

Down in the dumps

The dumps isn’t a pretty place. All kinds of garbage lie around. Unpleasant smoke stings the nostrils with its acrid fumes. The company there isn’t pleasant either, for you can hardly stand yourself at times! Your mind whispers discouraging suggestions such as, “Why don’t you just give up” and “Why don’t you kill yourself? The garbage surrounding a person in the dumps is enough to depress anyone. There are those old regrets (but you can’t relive the past). There are present problems. (But does worrying ever solve them?)Sometimes the future seems hopeless.

When we are in the dumps we are not much use to anyone, and we certainly are no testimony for the Lord. We are miserable. We can’t sleep. We snap and bite. Our faith is at a low ebb. And we are vulnerable to Satan.

Up with the Lord

Jesus said to His followers, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). When we turn to the Lord in faith away from our garbage dump of troubles, we find a wonderful peace steals into our hearts. We experience such grace that suddenly we want to sing as the angels in Heaven. “Praise the Lord!”

Jesus also said that where our treasure is, there also will be our heart. If we count our treasure as being in Heaven, then the temporary things that take place in this world will not matter half so much. For as our minds are set on things above, we will know in our hearts that God’s hand is on everything concerning you.

Dr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Depression is NOT spiritual failure

About the Author Muriel Larson

Is anger defining your relationships?  Take this study.

As a mentor with TruthMedia I answer emails from troubled people of all ages. A number of them are troubled because they have few, if any, friends. “I feel so alone,” some say. “I can’t understand why people don’t like me!”

Young people from ages 11 on up may handle it by cutting themselves. It’s a form of self-punishment, and since it relieves them a bit, they get pulled into addiction to it. So they have to wear clothing with sleeves. They know it’s bad, but they can’t kick the habit.  Adults may also develop addictions such as anorexia, bulimia, drugs  or alcohol to deal with their lack of self-esteem.

Think about it for a minute. What kind of person do you like? You’d probably answer, “Well, I like someone who makes me feel I’m wanted.” Yes, we all like to be made feel “wanted” or loved, don’t we! The advice our Lord Jesus Christ gave in His sermon on the mount certainly holds true here: “And just as you want people to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31, NKJV).

Actually Christians should find it easier than non-Christians to be friendly and cheerful. Since our Father in heaven is love, then we His children have it in us to reflect that love. If we do, then others will want to warm themselves by it. Jesus also said He would give the contagious quality of joy to those who follow Him. The key to getting that joy, of course, is to follow and obey Jesus.

The most successful church is one characterized by friendliness, which shows Christian love. At greeting time at my church, I have a wonderful opportunity to do that. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans that they should be hospitable, should help people out.  (Romans 12:13)

Peter used a companion Greek word that carries the meaning of fondness for guests when he wrote, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” (1 Peter 4:9) If we do this, we will joyfully open our hearts to fellow Christians, as well as to those who need Christ. Let’s show other people we care with a warm smile and friendly word! I notice that everyone I smile at smiles back at me!

“Love is the doorway through which the human soul passes from selfishness to serve and from solitude to kinship with all mankind.” (Anonymous)

Questions: Do you find that people are attracted to you? What is it about you that makes them want to be with you? As Christians, what should others observe about us?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Soul Cravings Webcards. These are an easy way to invite someone to be mentored. Pin them on notice boards, leave a few in a waiting room or hand them out to friends. Order here >>>

Secrets secrets are no fun.  Secrets secrets hurt someone.

But who are you keeping your secrets from?

In a recent interview, well-known and beloved children’s author Robert Munsch shared a secret with the world.   Munsch’s books like The Paper Bag Princess and Love You Forever have sold 30 million copies worldwide, and he took a big chance when he admitted that he is a recovering cocaine addict and alcoholic (clean for about four months) as well as being diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive.  Surprised?

Munsch goes on to note on his website that although news to his fans, it was nothing new to his family. “They have been a big support to me over the years, and I would not have been able to do this without their love and understanding.”

Interestingly, he goes on to ask that “Everyone will talk to their kids honestly, listen to them, and help them to do their best with their own challenges”.  Wise words.  People who struggle with difficulties in life still have much to offer to society in my opinion.

But how will the parents of these youngsters view him now?  For years, he has been known to have a gift for communicating with children.  He is able to span the communication gap between the parents and the child, building bridges through humor and outlandish circumstances to entertain, yet also teach children important life lessons.  Will people be quick to focus on the negative and turn a blind eye to the positive impacts he is making?

In society, there is a reason secrets exist.  People are afraid to admit to wrongdoings, to weakness, to mistakes, for fear that their past transgressions will cloud their present, and more importantly, their future.  Many feel that although they have sought forgiveness, and done everything to move past their negative behaviors, that it will be held against them for forever. They feel like they will never meet the standard others have made for them.

Do you feel that way? I bet Robert Munsch does.  I know I do.  But you should know that you don’t have to be held a prisoner by your secret.  The truth can set you free.  Take a page from Robert Munsch’s book, and begin to let others know about your secret, begin to acknowledge your problems and let those around you help you move past them.  So many better things are waiting.  You can take a look at this life lesson here, called “Secrets: How to Stop Hiding” for help with this issue.

I know that I struggle with sharing secrets, past mistakes, or hurts that I have caused others.  But sharing with others is a good way to explore your feelings and begin to take control of your life again.  Sometimes talking to someone can help in surprising ways.  Feel free to talk to one of our mentors.

What do you think?  Do you have secrets that you are keeping that you don’t want to anymore?  Are you worried about what those around you will think of you if you do share?  Let us know what you think; we’d be interested to hear it.

Upcoming online chats: Join us for daily online chats! One of our features will be “Spirituality in marriage” on May 30 at 12:15 pm EDT Please join us to discuss spirituality in your marriage.