I used to believe God never used physical affliction to do a spiritual work in the hearts of His people. I was taught that God has many means at His disposal to deepen our love and purify our faith, and sickness and infirmity were not among those tools.

Affliction always comes from the hand of the enemy, I was told, and Christ would never send such a thing our way because He died to deliver us from all the works of the enemy. So sickness is never God’s will for the saint, and if it lingers then there’s something wrong. These were things I believed and preached—until infirmity hit me.

I still believe it is God’s will to heal. But the Lord has adjusted my theology in this area and helped me to see that He sometimes uses affliction and infirmity as tools to refine His servants.

There Must Be More

Infirmity came to me at a time when I was feeling spiritually dry. I knew there was more in God than what I had experienced, but I couldn’t seem to touch it. I was dissatisfied with my Christian walk and longed for a greater dimension of kingdom living. I was doing everything I knew to do, but I had no idea how to move into the deeper things of God.

At that time, a deep cry rose up in my heart, and I sought the Lord fervently for a fuller experience in Him. In retrospect, I realize that that cry was placed in my heart by God—and that He had destined an answer to that cry.

God’s answer was to lead me into a great spiritual wilderness, launched through physical infirmity. I became physically handicapped, with no hope—according to doctors—of recovery. I went through many months of great darkness as I wrestled with God and pressed into Him to try to understand what He was doing in my life. Slowly I began to understand His purpose in allowing physical affliction: to build character in us.

I am not saying all sickness and infirmity is intended by God to produce character. Much of it accomplishes nothing but destruction, and God desires that we appropriate the provision of Calvary for divine healing. At times, however, God gives Satan permission to touch us (Job is an example), and He will not bring an immediate solution because He intends for the crisis to produce something deep in our hearts.

Correcting disobedience. Often the Lord uses affliction to correct disobedience. He does not discipline us simply to punish us for wrong behavior, but rather to restore us to right behavior. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Ps. 119:67, NKJV).

God’s discipline is always for the good. “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Ps. 119:71).

When affliction strikes, it’s wise to let your first response be one of broken repentance. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any way in which your life may be out of order. But do not assume that the presence of affliction automatically means you need to repent. That was the wrong assumption Job’s three friends made, and they incurred God’s anger because of it.

Nevertheless, the Scriptures testify, “He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:1-2). Physical affliction is instrumental in the hands of God to help us cease from sin.

Producing greater knowledge of Christ. Affliction naturally produces desperation within us. God purposes that we channel our desperation toward a fervent pursuit of His face.

Jesus modeled this for us: “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:44). How did Jesus respond when His pain increased? He sought God more earnestly. This is what God wants you to do.

If you allow your desperation to push you into Christ, you will come to know Him in a profoundly new and intimate way, as the apostle Paul did: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim. 1:12).

Because of his sufferings, he is able to say, “I know whom I have believed.” He is incarcerated, demeaned, shackled, subject to ignominious circumstances in a dungeon, exposed to ridicule and scorn, but there is one thing that causes him not to be ashamed: He knows Jesus!

Developing greater spiritual maturity. God did not create pain and sickness in order to cultivate maturity in His people. They are products of sin and the curse. God is the Master Redeemer, however, and He redeems evil circumstances, causing them to further His purposes.

Calamity can thus become a catalyst for accelerated spiritual growth. God’s intention is not to keep us interminably in the crisis but to use it to establish His kingdom rule in our lives.

The vital ingredient for turning affliction into maturity is perseverance. Romans 5:3-4 tells us, “We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” James 1:2-4 reiterates this truth: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect [mature] and complete, lacking nothing.”

There is no pathway to spiritual maturity apart from perseverance. And there is no perseverance without pressures. Fruitfulness is found only as we endure through crisis and hardship.

Removing judgmentalism. There’s no one quite as insensitive to the poor as the one who has always enjoyed wealth. There’s no one quite as insensitive to the sick as someone who has always enjoyed relatively good health. There’s no one quite as insensitive to the feeble as the one who has always been strong.

I never thought I was judgmental—until infirmity hit. Then the Lord began to show me that I had carried judgmental attitudes toward weak people. When someone was in crisis, my first inclination was to try to discover where he had blown it. I was insensitive to the fact that some people are caught up in situations over which they have no control.

But I no longer assume that suffering people have done something wrong. That judgmental attitude has been removed by the purifying fires of affliction in my own life.

The Bible says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). God wants to produce a merciful heart within us that embraces the hurting and is totally free to touch them with the power and grace of God.

Restoring real Christianity. Real Christianity is lost when the pressures subside. Where there is great persecution, there is only one category of Christian: disciples. Where there is no persecution, there are two categories—believers and disciples. The Western world has many believers and few disciples. It’s sick.

But in the absence of persecution, God has other ways of applying pressure to His jewels-in-the-making. I’m referring to the fire of delayed answers.

One reason God allows financial, physical and family distress is because He wants the fire of delayed answers to ignite and rekindle our zeal for the Lord. Where there is no distress, Christianity stagnates. It is maintained in its pristine purity only under inflamed resistance.

This is why Jesus said to the believers in Laodicea, “‘So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth'” (Rev. 3:16). The church in Laodicea knew very little persecution. The climate was one of religious tolerance. The challenge for the Laodiceans was to serve Christ in the midst of a very permissive, hedonistic society. The Laodicean church had become lukewarm because the fires of resistance had burned low.

So Jesus came to them and said, “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich” (Rev. 3:18). He issues this same invitation to us.

The Holy Spirit wants to baptize us with fire (Matt. 3:11). One way He does that is in the fiery furnace of affliction. His purpose is to ignite within us a zeal and fervency for the Lord that will restore to us red-hot Christianity.

Revealing His glory. The disciples asked Jesus why a certain man was born blind—they thought that perhaps he or his parents had sinned. But Jesus said he was born blind, “that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3). Jesus then proceeded to reveal His glory by healing the man.

For reasons we don’t fully understand, there are times when the forces of evil are allowed to gain the upper hand over God’s people. Daniel says, “I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them” (Dan. 7:21). In the book of Revelation, John echoes these words: “It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them” (Rev. 13:7). Notice that this power is “granted” to the evil one, and he can make no headway against the saints without God’s approval.

The verse in Daniel goes on to say, “until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Dan. 7:22). When God renders a judgment on behalf of the saints, everything changes! This is the answer for which we wait.

The book of Revelation also testifies, “The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and there should be delay no longer” (Rev. 10:5-6). What a wonderful moment! There is coming a day, O afflicted soul, when the Lord will declare, “There shall be delay no longer.”

This is the moment of God’s manifest glory.

Chances are that some of you reading this article are presently experiencing great affliction. If that’s you, take heart: God will complete the work He is doing in you! “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). His purposes shall be accomplished!

Bob Sorge is a teacher and author of several books, including Exploring Worship, In His Face and The Fire of God’s Love. Through his own sustained crisis, he has learned to walk through darkness to great heights of intimacy with God. Bob and his wife, Marci, live in Kansas City, Missouri, and have three children.

Adapted from The Fire of Delayed Answers by Bob Sorge, copyright 1996. Published by Oasis House Ministries. Used by permission.

Have you ever been tempted to restrain your emotions in a worship service because someone might misunderstand or become uncomfortable? Often women have been accused of being overly sensitive or sentimental. But when your outpouring of love and thankfulness goes beyond words to tears, don’t be embarrassed. I believe the Lord receives those tears as worship.

Four times in the gospels, the story appears of a woman’s lavish gesture of worship—anointing Jesus with a very expensive jar of perfume. Three of these reports are likely descriptions of Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whose ministry to Jesus occurred during the final week of His earthly life (see Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:1-9; John 12:1-8).

The fourth account, however, though similar in detail, is a report of a separate event involving a different woman and occurring earlier in the life and ministry of Jesus than the week of His passion (see Luke 7:36-50).

This woman’s name is unknown. No one is even certain of the city in which the story takes place. Luke identifies her only as “a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town” (v. 37, NIV).

Drawn Into His Presence

The unknown woman evidently learned of Jesus’ whereabouts when He went to have dinner with Simon the Pharisee. “She brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them” (Luke 7:37-38).

What was she thinking when she pulled that expensive vial out of hiding? What did the bottle of perfume represent to her? Was she holding in her hands a bit of security in an uncertain world?

Whatever significance the perfume held for her, this woman saw something in Jesus that perhaps no one else in the room understood. She courageously risked the public disdain and rejection of a room full of holy men in order to get into His presence, because she saw Him for who He was.

Undoubtedly, she had encountered Jesus before. Perhaps He had met her gaze one day in the marketplace with eyes of compassion and understanding. Maybe her heart had been touched by His preaching, or perhaps He had stopped to speak a kind word to her or even to heal one of her sick children.

Entering Simon’s house, the woman was probably anxious about being turned away before she could find Jesus. Nevertheless, she made her way to where He was reclining.

By this time, surely everyone was staring at her, shocked by her presence. But she was undeterred from her purpose.

The Ministry of Her Tears

Standing behind Jesus, she began to weep. Hot tears fell like rain upon His dusty feet as she was overcome with gratitude and love for Him. She had come to worship Him!

The air was probably thick with the critical murmurings of the men. Not only did she show up uninvited, but she was crying and touching Jesus!

Jesus was not uncomfortable with her emotional outpouring at all. In fact, He was deeply touched by it and quietly received the ministry of her tears.

As she knelt at Jesus’ feet, she must have noticed that He’d not been offered the basic hospitality of water, so she washed His feet with her tears and wiped them dry with her hair and her kisses. Then she took the expensive jar of perfume and began to anoint His feet.

I believe this woman saw the need of our Lord as only God’s women can. She ministered to Him as best she could, using her very own tears and hair, because no one else had acknowledged His need for water and a towel.

As he watched the intimate drama unfold, Simon called Jesus’ behavior into question, declaring it completely unbecoming a spiritual leader. He said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39).

But Jesus did know, and He wasn’t repelled by her presence as the religious hierarchy was. Going against the current of popular religious opinion, Jesus welcomed her worship. After all, His entire mission was to seek and save the lost. This woman was a priority in His eyes, not an unpleasant interruption!

Outpoured Hearts

There were probably those present who were dismayed, also, by this woman’s extravagant waste of the costly perfume. Her gift may have been rejected outright by the religious men gathered there in Simon’s home because it was very likely the proceeds of her past immoral lifestyle.

But worship is about the outpoured heart, and that’s not always religiously correct! This woman had experienced a life-changing encounter with Jesus and had come to lavish upon Him, as an offering of worship, what was perhaps the greatest material treasure of her life. Jesus did not rebuke her. In giving Him her treasure, she also gave Him her heart (see Matt. 6:21).

For his part, Simon received from the Lord a well-deserved rebuke. He had invited Jesus into his home for completely selfish reasons and then treated Him badly. It was considered a serious breach of etiquette and an insult not to offer a guest in your home water to wash his feet.

He had also neglected to greet Jesus with a kiss on the cheek, a practice still observed by men in the Middle East. Simon bypassed this formality and even omitted the inexpensive touch of perfumed oil for His head, a common preliminary to a feast in those days. But Jesus had graciously overlooked Simon’s offenses.

Until Simon commented to himself about the woman’s reputation. Then, using the parable of the two debtors as an introduction to His correction, Jesus contrasted Simon’s negligence with the woman’s heartfelt adoration (see Luke 7:40-46) and concluded: “‘Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.’ Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins have been forgiven'” (vv. 47-48).

This woman did not need anyone to point out to her the fact that she was a sinner. I’m sure someone was around to remind her of it every day of her life. But it was this very fact that caused her to love Jesus so much: She was indeed a woman who had been forgiven much.

Simon, on the other hand, had little regard for Jesus because he was self-righteous and blind both to his own need for forgiveness and to the authority of the One reclining at his table.

Are you a Simon, or do you identify more closely with the woman holding the vial of perfume? If you are like the woman—a sincere worshiper of Jesus—He will receive you, no matter what your past may be and no matter how emotional or lavish your expression of love. You are already deeply loved by Him and always welcome in His presence.

Lord, help us to see You for whoYou are and to “love much” as we extravagantly worship You with outpoured hearts!

Lynn DeShazo is a gifted worship leader and songwriter for Integrity Music, best known for such songs as “More Precious Than Silver,” “Lead Me to the Rock,” and “Be Magnified.”

I remember seeing my mother kneeling at the side of her bed and praying aloud for each of her children and grandchildren. That memory is forever etched in my mind and I will never forget sensing a strong presence of God through her intercession. I came away with a sense of reverential fear and trust that no matter what would happen to any of us, God would honor her prayers on our behalf.

My mother is in glory now and it’s a comfort to know that the Lord continues to honor those prayers. It encourages me to continue to pray for my own children and grandchildren no matter how uncertain their futures or what they are currently facing.

I am sure that there are bittersweet moments for each of us whose parents have gone on to be with the Lord. We remember them. We miss them. We now realize how wise they really were. Our hope in the Lord is that we will see them again and enjoy His presence together.

Except for Eve, the mother of all living, we’ve all been blessed with mothers. Our mothers helped shape who we are today—for good or not so good. We learned from their example and from their mistakes. And when we had children of our own we realized what a challenge they faced raising us.

Some of us are privileged to have our moms around to help us with our own children. They bring the wisdom of experience and offer their time, love and energy to the task. What a blessing to have a doting grandma to pour unconditional love on our offspring!

But even with all that, the Holy Spirit is our best adviser, teacher and counselor. He knows what’s best for each child and can give us the insight to know what each needs and how to pray His will concerning each one. God hears a mother’s prayer.

I am thankful for His instruction and “coaching” as I grappled through years of raising an autistic son in a ministerial fish bowl filled with well-meaning parishioners giving “expert” advice concerning things they knew nothing about. Without the Lord, we would not have made it. Time and time again, He would admonish me to trust Him with our son.

That was not an easy task. We would place him on the altar so to speak, and then quickly take him off, load ourselves with worry, then place him on the altar again. Then we’d call on the Lord for help and take one day at a time doing as He directed. The result was miraculous! Today, he’s a grown man who loves and serves the Lord, is gainfully employed and active in the men’s group at church. Surely, God is worthy of our trust.

Surely, He knows what’s best for us and for our children. He is totally trustworthy.

Sometimes we worry when we don’t see our children going in the direction we feel would be best for them. Yet we have His promise that if we raise them and train them in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from them (see Prov. 22:6). Though they may stray as they try to find their own way in life, they will return to what was instilled in them (see 2 Tim. 3:15). It’s a promise.

Perhaps you are a single parent wrestling with raising your children and working full time. You feel exhausted and overwhelmed. You wonder how you are going to make it through another day. Take heart. You are not alone. The Holy Spirit will provide and direct you each step of the way. Our Father hears a mother’s prayer. Trust Him.

If God has blessed you with a special-needs child, know that He has given you a treasure. It may not feel that way sometimes. You may feel as if you are the only one carrying the responsibility relating to your child, your spouse, your other children and the household. And if you also work outside the home it’s a balancing act like no other. But His grace will enable you to do all He requires of you. You will learn the meaning of unconditional love and enjoy deep fellowship with Him. His love and grace is available—and it’s free.

Perhaps your children are grown and your mom is in her golden years and needing care. The tables have turned and you are now the caregiver and she is the one needing your help. It’s difficult for her to transition from total independence to needing care and provision. Do you struggle with the demands of your own family and her needs? Well, you are not alone. Honoring your mom in this season takes as much grace as handling a household of kids, a special-needs child, a full-time job and a cranky husband. But God is able to sustain you and go even beyond your need. He is there to give you His sufficiency, rest and restoration as you take time to get alone with Him.

No matter what season of life you are walking through, the Lord is there for you. As a daughter honoring her mother, a mother enjoying her children or one who is pulled in many directions at once, our God is more than able to provide you with everything you need to make this the most wonderful season of your life. Remember that God answers a mother’s prayer. Happy Mother’s Day!

Last Tuesday my organization, the High Impact Leadership Coalition, held an open-air rally in D.C. to oppose a same-sex marriage reciprocity bill, which is currently being pushed through the D.C. city council. Several hundred concerned citizens—including more than 100 pastors—attended because they felt their opinions were not being heard. Many felt that the bill had been surreptitiously advanced.

Last week’s rally was the beginning of what may become the ultimate battle for marriage in our nation. By the end of the week four major events had happened. First the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) held a major press conference announcing their “No Offense” campaign with Carrie Prejean featured in their presentation. The campaign will help the average American see that there is reverse persecution already occurring in our great nation. For example, photographers in New Mexico were hauled before the state human rights commission because they choose not to photograph same-sex weddings.

Second gay activists began running television ads calling Carrie Prejean a “religious bigot.” Third more than 100 ordained ministers from the decided to purchase a full-page ad that will appear in The Examiner, a Capitol Hill newspaper, the day of the next legislative meeting on May 5.

Finally last week was the first time a coherent voice was able to state displeasure with the bill. Many denominational streams and ethnic groups worked together hand-in-glove. Most of the spiritual leaders who worked with me were surprised that the majority of the community’s churchgoing population was barely aware of the proposed law and its ramifications.

The bill is scheduled for a final vote. If fully ratified, it then moves to the Congress for review. The review could be as short as 30 days, if the bill is uncontested. This means that a national congressional debate on gay marriage could begin as soon as this month. Naturally, such a debate would draw citizens from around the nation to contact their congressman.

So where do we go from here? First we must develop a legal strategy to keep this bad law from being set into motion. Many groups are qualified to deal with this including the Alliance Defense Fund, American Center for Law and Justice and Liberty Counsel. Their work must be rapidly coordinated, synthesized and implemented.

Second churches must contact their political leaders. In D.C. the Missionary Baptist churches are leading the way with a postcard campaign, calling for a vote from the people to decide on this important issue. Other groups, such as the Progressive Baptists, are mobilizing. Hopefully the Southern Baptists, who have a strong lobbying influence, will stand up and be counted. Nationally church headquarters from every denomination must start a letter writing and lobbying campaign to key congressmen.

Until now church activism has rarely been multiracial and multiethnic. Yet the recent victories of marriage amendments in Arizona, California, and Florida have demonstrated a new model for moral and political engagement. As part of this new unified approach, black churches must communicate with the Congressional Black Caucus. Hispanic leaders must also contact the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Finally there must be grassroots mobilization and education. The most affective blocking mechanism to foil the advances of gay marriage has been informed grassroots voters, especially when they threaten to throw politicians out of office.

There have been 29 votes in states across the country as to whether gay marriage should be legalized. In every vote, the people have reaffirmed their support for traditional marriage, rejecting the prospect of legalizing gay marriage. The important reasons why a majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage often do not get fully reported and discussed during a contentious campaign, where the news reports tend to be of the “he said, she said” variety.

Supporters of same-sex marriage have recently begun to frame their case by saying that religions should not be forced to solemnize any marriages that are inconsistent with their faith, but that the state should grant civil marriages to all in the name of equality. They claim that you can separate civil marriages from religious marriages cleanly and simply. But you can’t.

For the vast majority of our citizenry, marriage does have spiritual elements that cannot be easily ignored. The institution of marriage, which predates our country by thousands of years, brings together the two halves of humanity to form mutual sacred commitments. This has been taught by virtually every faith to every generation of humankind.

Now because gay activists have succeeded for the first time in making marriage a political issue, we are being told to put aside thousands of years of history and the teachings of almost every faith community and simply accept same-sex marriage in the words of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom “whether you like it or not.”

Over 300 gay-affirming clergy will descend on Washington for two lobbying days, May 4-5. They intend to let their voices be heard in the halls of Congress, advocating for every piece of legislation that zeroes in on gay interests. This same group will undoubtedly make major campaign contributions along with their requests for help. These kinds of lobbying efforts mean that biblically faithful churchgoers and conservatives must engage more than ever before. We cannot just assume that since the majority of citizens believe like us that our elected officials will simply do the right thing. We must let our voice be heard loud and clear … now!

Harry R. Jackson Jr. is senior pastor of 3,000-member Hope Christian Church in the nation’s capital. Jackson, who earned an MBA from Harvard, is a best-selling author and popular conference speaker. He leads the High-Impact Leadership Coalition.

Do your problems get in the way of your relationship with God? Sometimes we let hindrances such as disappointment, pride or the cares of life block the flow of the Holy Spirit in us and we become ineffective for Him.

Pastor Riva Tims encourages you to deal with intrusions that cause you to miss out on the Father’s will for your life in her powerful message. Click below to watch the video clip.

To learn about pastor Tims’ ministry, click here.

{youtube}DJRkIYPTtxE{/youtube}

Terri Cadiente is a wife, mom, life coach, stuntwoman and jet-ski world record holder—who once ended up in a gutter.

Terri grew up in a broken home and felt unloved. It “tinted” her perception of life, she says, and she didn’t have the internal structure to know which way to go. The external structure of high school guided her, but after she graduated, when that structure was gone, her life turned upside down. She says, “I just imploded in a big way.”

She became a drug addict and fought that battle for more than seven years. But one night, Terri had a life-changing epiphany: “I found myself bloodied and laying in a greasy gutter of the street and that’s when I said to God, ‘If You’re who You say You are, will You help me?’ … I realized for the first time in my life that I had a choice in the matter.”

Terri explains that God showed her how great she is, that she has value. She knew life was worth living. “I pushed up from the ground that night, and I walked away from that gutter. And I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going, but I knew with every step I would never return back,” she says.

“I was walking away into a new direction. … My identity was not going to be wrapped up in being a drug addict. I was choosing a different way.”

She did not go through a program but was clean after a short time in recovery. She says God gave her the grace to make the choice. “I chose to walk it with Him.”

She has come a long way since that night in the gutter 21 years ago. As a stuntwoman, she worked on the TV show 24 for the last three years and has been a stunt double for Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan. She is also a 15-year Kawasaki world-record holder and has been a life coach for the last six years. Now she is moving out of stunt work to fully concentrate on coaching. Her life message and passion is to “champion the authentic identity of every individual.” She says her heart beats for the freedom of each person.

Terri hasn’t always lived in the freedom she wants to help others attain. She says that because of what she experienced as a young person, fear was her master. She says the enemy uses fear to confound and imprison people. She believes she is to be an advocate for the restoration of people’s honor and dignity.

One group she is passionately seeking to restore is those exploited by the sexual slave trade. On a visit to Taipei, Taiwan, she saw firsthand the reality of this horrible business. She was certainly burdened for those victimized in that country. But when she returned home, she became even more indignant. She says Americans, and even more so Christians, should be concerned and outraged about this type of bondage. “Slavery of any kind is not OK,” she adds.

To help people understand the horror of sex trade reality, Terri created the seven-minute documentary Stuck in Traffic. When people watch it she wants them to be still for a minute and receive what they see, but also to be uncomfortable enough to react.

Terri is reaching out to a larger audience with her new book, Live Courageously. She wants to help readers “choose to be the real you,”to accept themselves and the way God has made them, and not try to be somebody else. She explains, “Living courageously … has to do with experiencing the freedom to be who we really are. And that’s not outwardly, but it’s inside where it counts. … Oftentimes we see our identities as like being tied to what we do. … Identity has much more to do with our being than our doing.”

Terri has overcome many obstacles to live a courageous life. She shares her heart to help others confront their fear and shame so they too can live in victory and freedom.

Visit Ragdoll Restoration Foundation for more information about the documentary Stuck in Traffic. Click here to purchase Live Courageously.

May 1, 2009 — Vowing that it will “never forget,” a California church is today unveiling an interactive exhibit honoring the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust.

Built by Cornerstone Church in Fresno, the Holocaust Experience will guide visitors through scenes of 12 major events that took place between 1933 and 1945. The scenes span from the rise of Adolf Hitler to Kristallnacht, or “the Night of Broken Glass,” when nearly 1,000 synagogues were set on fire across Germany, to Hitler’s decision to execute genocide as “the final solution to the Jewish question.”

The exhibit, which will be on display until Sunday, is housed in the church’s 15,000-square-foot educational facility and cost nearly $10,000 to build.

(Click here to see a photo gallery from the Holocaust Experience.) 

“What we want people to come away with is, hopefully, to experience something emotionally after seeing these depictions,” said Jim Franklin, pastor of 3,000-member Cornerstone Church.

“People need to be aware of what happened so we will not repeat it,” he said.

Franklin, a longtime supporter of Israel and Fresno director of Christians United for Israel, said he was inspired to build the memorial after hearing Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad call for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

“I said, ‘I’ve heard these types of rantings before,'” Franklin told Charisma. “They were reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and his desire to extinguish the Jews.”

After talking with his teenage son, Franklin said he realized that younger generations may not be fully aware of what took place during the Holocaust. “If we’re not aware of [the atrocities], then we, especially with what we’re hearing in the world climate today, we could possibly repeat those,” Franklin said.

Using nearly 100 actors from the church, which is housed in a historic Fresno theater, the Holocaust Experience begins at an induction center, complete with Nazi soldiers stationed at guard towers.

Visitors then view a documentary showing how Hitler rose to power and move through a series of scenes, including a depiction of the Warsaw Ghetto that features actual video footage and a reconstructed prison train car featuring the recorded account of a Jewish rabbi who at age 8 rode one of the trains to Auschwitz.

The exhibit also includes scenes depicting the gas chambers and ovens where mass murders and cremations took place, as well as a timeline of the Holocaust that adorns a long hallway. The exhibit ends in an auditorium displaying a memorial and a video with survivors’ testimonies.

“They have done an absolutely extraordinary job,” said Rabbi Robert Ourach of Temple Beth Israel in Fresno, who toured the exhibit with another rabbi earlier this week. “It’s not just a series of pictures. There are people, there is audio, there is all kinds of extraordinary information they’ve made available. I think it’s going to be an extraordinarily important thing for the community as well as for those of us in the Jewish community who have the opportunity to see this.”

Ourach said for a church to create a presentation remembering the Holocaust is “an extraordinary thing for the Fresno community.” He noted that as Holocaust survivors die, it becomes easier for some to say the atrocities never took place.

“While the focus really of this exhibit is mostly on what happened on the Jewish community, certainly if we do not stand up against genocide in this day and age in a meaningful way and remember to tell the story of what happened to these people, it would be as if they had died in vain,” Ourach said.

Before building the memorial, which took two years to plan and two months to build, Franklin visited the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C., consulted with Jewish leaders and was assisted by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

He said the church, which frequently puts on theatrical productions, was fully supportive of the undertaking. “We have torn up an entire wing of our church, built walls in it, brought dirt,” Franklin said. “I know a lot of churches where there would have already been three deacons meetings and four congregational meetings and the pastor would be gone. Our church has embraced this with a passion and has really recognized that buildings are for people not people for buildings.”

The Holocaust Experience is part of a weeklong commemoration that concludes with A Night to Honor Israel event on Sunday. Tonight the church will premier Janka, a play that writer Oscar Speace adapted from a journal his mother kept while imprisoned in a concentration camp.

Franklin said the memorial will be part of an annual event in support of Israel. He hopes to one day find a building to house the exhibit permanently.

Vowing that it will “never forget,” a California church is today unveiling an interactive exhibit honoring the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust.

Built by Cornerstone Church in Fresno, the Holocaust Experience will guide visitors through scenes of 12 major events that took place between 1933 and 1945. The scenes span from the rise of Adolf Hitler to Kristallnacht, or “the Night of Broken Glass,” when nearly 1,000 synagogues were set on fire across Germany, to Hitler’s decision to execute genocide as “the final solution to the Jewish question.”

The exhibit, which will be on display until Sunday, is housed in the church’s 10,000-square-foot educational facility and cost nearly $10,000 to build.

“What we want people to come away with is, hopefully, to experience something emotionally after seeing these depictions,” said Jim Franklin, pastor of 3,000-member Cornerstone Church.

“People need to be aware of what happened so we will not repeat it,” he said.

Franklin, a longtime supporter of Israel and Fresno director of Christians United for Israel, said he was inspired to build the memorial after hearing Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad call for Israel to be “wiped off the map.”

“I said, ‘I’ve heard these types of rantings before,'” Franklin told Charisma. “They were reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and his desire to extinguish the Jews.”

After talking with his teenage son, Franklin said he realized that younger generations may not be fully aware of what took place during the Holocaust. “If we’re not aware of [the atrocities], then we, especially with what we’re hearing in the world climate today, we could possibly repeat those,” Franklin said.

Using nearly 100 actors from the church, which is housed in a historic Fresno theater, the Holocaust Experience begins at an induction center, complete with Nazi soldiers stationed at guard towers.

Visitors then view a documentary showing how Hitler rose to power and move through a series of scenes, including a depiction of the Warsaw Ghetto that features actual video footage and a reconstructed prison train car featuring the recorded account of a Jewish rabbi who at age 8 rode one of the trains to Auschwitz.

The exhibit also includes scenes depicting the gas chambers and ovens where mass murders and cremations took place, as well as a timeline of the Holocaust that adorns a long hallway. The exhibit ends in an auditorium displaying a memorial and a video with survivors’ testimonies.

“They have done an absolutely extraordinary job,” said Rabbi Robert Ourach of Temple Beth Israel in Fresno, who toured the exhibit with another rabbi earlier this week. “It’s not just a series of pictures. There are people, there is audio, there is all kinds of extraordinary information they’ve made available. I think it’s going to be an extraordinarily important thing for the community as well as for those of us in the Jewish community who have the opportunity to see this.”

Ourach said for a church to create a presentation remembering the Holocaust is “an extraordinary thing for the Fresno community.” He noted that as Holocaust survivors die, it becomes easier for some to say the atrocities never took place.

“While the focus really of this exhibit is mostly on what happened on the Jewish community, certainly if we do not stand up against genocide in this day and age in a meaningful way and remember to tell the story of what happened to these people, it would be as if they had died in vain,” Ourach said.

Before building the memorial, which took two years to plan and two months to build, Franklin visited the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C., consulted with Jewish leaders and was assisted by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

He said the church, which frequently puts on theatrical productions, was fully supportive of the undertaking. “We have torn up an entire wing of our church, built walls in it, brought dirt,” Franklin said. “I know a lot of churches where there would have already been three deacons meetings and four congregational meetings and the pastor would be gone. Our church has embraced this with a passion and has really recognized that buildings are for people not people for buildings.”

The Holocaust Experience is part of a weeklong commemoration that concludes with A Night to Honor Israel event on Sunday. Tonight the church will premier Janka, a play that writer Oscar Speace adapted from a journal his mother kept while imprisoned in a concentration camp.

Franklin said the memorial will be part of an annual event in support of Israel. He hopes to one day find a building to house the exhibit permanently.

My trip to Israel took me to many interesting and fascinating places. On the second day of my travels, I toured Caesarea, an ancient port built by King Herod. There I saw ruins of an ancient vomitoruim (my tour guide, Tison Ben David, explains the meaning of the name in the clip) and a reconstructed Roman theater. When biblical history meets archeology, the Bible truly comes to life.

{flv width=”300″ height=”250″}Valerie{/flv}

Israelis shifted gears on Tuesday evening from mourning its fallen soldiers to celebrating the nation’s 61st Independence Day.

Opening the official ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said, “We have come once again to this hill—on one side the grave of the prophet [of Zionism], on the other the graves of our children—to remind ourselves once again from where we came, and where, with the grace of God, with the blood of our children and with the sweat of our brow, we have succeeded in reaching so far.

Rivlin said that moving directly from Remembrance Day to Independence Day is the “purest preparation” for the subsequent joy. Earlier in the week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a memorial gathering to honor slain Israeli soldiers and that the global threat of terror was greater than ever. “We have no choice but to fight terror until it is obliterated and to defend our lives,” he said.

Addressing bereaved families gathered for the official state ceremony at the Mount Herzl military ceremony, Netanyahu continued: “The price we have paid and are still paying is unbearable, I know. My family has also been struck by bereavement; your sorrow is my sorrow. I feel the pain deep in my heart and carry with me the memory, the yearning and the burden of the loss.”

The prime minister’s brother Jonathan was killed during the 1976 IDF raid on Entebbe to free Israeli hostages.

For more information about this story, go to .