Sept. 18, 2013–God’s Grace Restores Greatly

September 18, 2013 By

Darren at Peggy's CoveThe Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. (Job 42:12-15)

The prophet’s life is often a living prophetic utterance of what God wants to do in the lives of His people.  I often think my life is only a kind of first fruit of what God wants to do to an entire generation.

My life was dark and broken.  Unlike Job who was a righteous man who lost it all, I was an unrighteous man who lost it all, and yet the same grace that God applied to Job’s life to restore everything the devil stole from him is also on my life.

We have no righteousness of our own.  There is nothing I can do to earn my way to be seated at the right hand side of the Father with Christ.  And yet, by the mercy of our Saviour, that is exactly where I am seated.

The evidence of this grace is that broken lives are being restored in every way.  I look at my family, my home and the blessings on our lives as evidence that God is restoring what the enemy took from me.

Many years ago my ministry was destroyed in the province of Nova Scotia.  I couldn’t hold my head up in that province at all because of the destruction and ruin that came over my life.

I was a preacher there when I was a young man and had much success leading young people to Christ, but when I was removed from that pulpit, great sadness came over me and the ones that I was leading.

In the natural, I never thought I would ever be restored to those people I once considered my closest friends. Yet just this past weekend I was preaching in that pulpit again, but this time with greater love and greater anointing than I ever experienced there before.  Our hearts were knitted together in a greater way.  I blessed them, but they certainly blessed me.

You see, when God restores what the enemy steals from you He gives back a greater portion. This is what he did for Job and this is what He will do for you.

God’s grace on our lives is not an earned commodity.  It is given to show that He is a loving God intimately interested in blessing that which He created.  It is because He loves us that He blesses us–not because we did something right or wrong.

The story of the prodigal son is one of great grace.  The son did everything he could to separate himself from his father.  He took his inheritance and spent it all on wild living.  He even had selfish motives in returning to his father’s house.  He felt he would be taken care of and that he would eat well if he could become his father’s servant.

And yet his father, the scripture says, ran to him “even when he was a great distance off,” to restore him to his proper place within the family.

This is the way our God is.  He is kind and compassionate, loving and embracing.  He will restore to you all that was lost when you turn your heart toward Him and begin the long march toward home.

His grace does indeed restore greatly. This is my story and it can be your story as well.

Filed Under: Pastor Darren Canning

Sept. 17, 2013–Yucky To Yummy Testimonies

September 18, 2013 By

banana_bread-5“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he has anointed me…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1, 3)

At the conclusion of the DWOD for Sept. 11, 2013, I had issued an invitation to you, our subscribers, to share testimonies in which a life which was like a yucky overripe banana was transformed into a yummy loaf.

With her permission, I am sharing with you a testimony sent by one of my elementary school classmates, Jewelcy Jawahar.

“I would like to share about my loving cousin Mr. Stephen Dan Jose. When I was a small child, he used to be a drunkard roaming in the wilderness, though he had a loving family behind him. It is electrifying to hear his testimony and how he became a child of God.

Though he was born in a Christian family, he led a wayward life. He spent all the money he earned in drinks.

But, one day, he heard God’s calling while he was alone in the forest. Then he started to go to a prayer cell and gradually his life changed.

After that, he faced a lot of problems, debts, etc. But, he stuck to His Almighty and now he is doing His Ministry particularly among the drunkards. His life is like the bread made of very ripe bananas. Praise be to His name.”

In yesterday’s “Prime Time With God” devotional, Os Hillman shared this incredible testimony that will warm your heart.

“Victoria grew up like many middle income families. She loved school and was even the in her homecoming court all four years in high school. After some tragic family deaths during her teen years, she began to experiment with alcohol and drugs. She was raped, underwent multiple abortions, and began working as a dancer at local nude dancing club, which she continued for more than four years.

After suffering nosebleeds from her cocaine addition, Victoria became very involved with the new age movement, nearly had a nervous breakdown, and eventually became suicidal. By the age of 28 she was homeless, stranded and fired from her job as a strip-club dancer. Barely 100 pounds, she was no longer profitable to the industry. Then a Christian gave her a Bible. The first book she read was Job and something gripped her heart. A church family took her into their home. They surrounded her with love and pointed her to who she was in Christ. Victoria says, “Jesus is the only healer of deep, deep wounds.”

Now, years later, Victoria’s compassionate heart is focused on reaching other lives on the brink of life or death. She founded a ministry called Victoria’s Friends, which goes into the heart of the darkest places of the city in the strip clubs. Trained women ministry volunteers bring baskets to the dancers in their dressing rooms with no motive other than to show they care. Men stay outside the clubs and pray for the women going inside. It is the ultimate rescue mission. It is the love of Christ expressed in a simple, but powerful way. This act translates into relationships that are formed between those who continue to show their love for them.

Hundreds of young women have come out of this lifestyle because one woman decided to do what others had done for her – rescue her from the pit of darkness.”

Praise God who takes yucky bananas and transforms them into yummy banana bread!

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam