Eric Linden

We'll be hearing the personal testimonies of all sorts of people who have one thing in common, Jesus has transformed their lives. Jesus used parables because he created us to learn best through story. And as we listen to how God has worked in others lives, we find encouragement and inspiration for our own faith walk. Whether you are already a believer or just a curious seeker, we believe that as you listen to these stories, you will be encouraged on your own faith journey.

We are sure that God can speak to you through one of these episodes and that you will see that our Heavenly Father truly works all things together for our good. When we simply love and trust him. If you are currently going through a trial, we believe that you will come to see that your troubles, heartbreaks, and failures are not gravestones, but stepping stones into new life in Christ. Here's Jesse with today's guest.

In 1962. And in 1966, my family was highlighted in the Decatur daily newspaper with a father's day photo of me, my mom, my older sister, all surrounding my dad and I Dylan image of a happy family. Everyone smiling. If only that image would last. By the time I turned six, my parents were divorced. During a routine custody weekend with my dad, my sister and I were taken to Birmingham. Where we ended up spending the next three months.

At the end of that time, I had been introduced to a woman who would become my stepmother. And two young girls who would be my new step sisters. I didn't see my mother again for six years. My father kept moving a surround begin in the California bay area over 2000 miles from my home. I attended three different first grades is my father attempted to hide us kids from anyone who might be trying to find us. From there.

I lift the typical elementary school kids live Cub Scouts, little league baseball, but. There was something lurking. Early on in this time, I was suffering from terror attacks at night. I woke up in fear and fright. I heard noises and was convinced that there was someone in the house looking for me. I woke up at times, literally tingling with numbness shaken by my nightmares. At school, I was distracted. My parents were told that it would take a two by four to get my attention in class. At home.

I walked in fear of upsetting my stepmother, who would use the metal spatula on my backside. If I happened to interrupt her daily nap or. Somehow disappoint my father. I lived with that pit of your stomach ache through most of my childhood. After four years of this new family, my father's relationship with his second wife decade. During the stressful time I asked my father, if I could call my mom. Whom I hadn't either seen or spoken to in roughly five years. My father hit me that night.

I had a bruise over my eye for months. As the marriage spiral that got loud. One night, my sisters and I huddled in a room away from our shouting parents and we called the police to come and end the chaos of the night. Soon thereafter, my father was divorced again. That's my father's world crumbled. He decided against being a father any longer. He sent his 12 year old son back to Alabama. And into the arms of his mother and his 17 year old daughter was left to fend for herself.

Life, however, didn't improve much back into cater. My mom had married a guy she'd met in the bar. second marriage for each of them, meaning I inherited another step sister and two step brothers. Fortunately, my new stepfather didn't have custody, but every other weekend, our house got crowded with three new inhabitants. Another thing that was different was that my mother had a job. She worked at the local hospital and I became a latchkey kid. My stepfather was a mess.

He suffered from depression and alcoholism. There were multiple times when he was away for a few weeks or months for treatment. Almost two years into this life I inherited in you half brother. We've got a little complicated because my mother's alcoholism adversely affected her his health at birth.

I pretty much coasted through life because I was not the focus of either parent and my father ignored me focused on his third wifi, My mother and I attended the same church we had attended when I was much younger. I enjoyed singing in the children's choir and learning how to read music. Around two years after moving back home. My mother's marriage was on the rocks. My stepfather had become abusive to both of us. My mother took my half brother and me to Dustin Florida.

We attended a small church, which celebrated the working of the holy spirit. And that was a catalyst in my development as a young Christian. Living on the coast. I love being able to fish and catch crabs. Life was really fun. I spent every available minute at the water. Then my stepfather came for a visit. Next thing. I knew my mother was leaving for Decatur. Leaving me alone with the associate pastor of our church and his family.

Three months later, I finished seventh grade and I was driven to Pensacola and placed on a Greyhound bus for a 12 hour ride back to Decatur. Alone. My mother's reunion with my stepfather did not go well. Within a few months, we had packed up again and headed for a new sanctuary. My aunt and uncle's home in Huntsville. No more step family. However, my half-brother and I now had two cousins. Adjusting to a new extended family was difficult.

But a very loving aunt and uncle softened, this transition. My mother half-brother and I lived with this family for nine months. I attended the local high school, but never fit in very well. Being the new kid in town. I had no friends gradually. I made acquaintances and then friendships. Back in the seventies, it was not a badge of honor for a kid to qualify for free meals at school. My clothes didn't fit in either. And I was a poor kid in an affluent school.

I started working part-time at a grocery store when I was 15. I had free access to cigarettes and adult magazines. I learned how to make some poor choices and there wasn't any accountability. My mother was busy at work and with a toddler. And this high school kid will have to handle things for himself. The lady who watched my half-brother on occasion also had a daughter his age, every so often. She would ask me to watch her daughter when she needed a night out. I didn't mind.

I found she had a stash of marijuana and a doll magazines. I fed my budding addictions. Although I started high school as an honor student. In may of 1980, I graduated about middle of my class. I was not going to college. I was not going to live at home. My mother had remarried that April and my. Birthday slash graduation gift was luggage. I got the clue.

I helped my mother move to Ohio and then drove my 18 year old self from there, back to Huntsville, Alabama, and then to San Francisco to stay with my father and his third wife. I got a job at a radio shack and enjoyed working there. However, I didn't want to become a store manager, which is what they wanted me to do. I ended up joining the Navy. That was an awesome experience for me. And what year was this? Would've been 1980. Okay. I went in. In 1981, right after my 19th birthday.

Because of my aptitude for electronics, I qualified for an advanced training school and early advancement. I began to thrive in an environment with rules and accountability. At the end of six years, I advanced a first class petty officer. And funny thing in bootcamp I've been offered in ROTC scholarship, but I declined. After a few more years of growing up, I decided college would be a good idea, but the Navy wouldn't allow me to change my duty station, where I could attend school.

So I left after my six year enlistment. I was stationed at Jacksonville, Florida. I met a woman who happened to be pregnant by her. Ex-husband. I was still taken with her. And married her. Not too many years later, she was pregnant again. But not by me. We divorced. After my Navy time, I thought I would be going to work and making a lot of money in the middle east. But that effort failed. I ended up working second shift at a convenience store. I was at a new low.

I nearly took my life out of desperation. It was time for me to re-embrace my religious life. I found a welcoming church. I made some friends. It took on some responsibilities. Grew a little spiritually. And met the woman of my dreams. While at this church, I had an encounter with Christ and holy spirit. I attended a Cursio weekend where I was immersed in a conditional love. My reunion with my faith did not end many of my problems. But it did provide a foundation and source of support.

My messed up childhood did not leave me with many effective or healthy coping mechanisms. In my new church home, I learned more about unconditional love. I learned how to study the Bible and I learned that there was still quite a bit of baggage attached to me. Before our church priest would marry me and my wife to be, we both spent intensive prayer times with friends. We were breaking the bonds of past hurts, harms mental and physical. I invited the beautiful woman.

I mentioned earlier to prayer and praise meeting held at a friend's house on a new year's Eve. I proposed on Valentine's day. We were married just two months later. I was 33 years ago. After a few years of marriage, we struggled with infertility. But God had a plan. We followed the path for adoption, completed a home study with all the interviews and inspections and waited for a birth mom to choose us. Whiting and praying.

Eventually a young lady living in the same Alabama town where I had attended high school, picked us. This began the seven month journey to the birth of our son. We were so blessed to be able to stay with my aunt and uncle. That's the time for the Perth approached. And we were at the hospital when he came into the world. Less than a week later, the Jobson adoption judge sealed our adoption and we were free to return home to Florida. The next few years were a whirlwind.

My wife was able to quit her job and focus on being a full-time mom. And I focused on my job and going to night school. Things were challenging because my wife was the primary breadwinner when we were married. And it took me 10 years to complete my four year degree. I made up for it by completing my masters since 16 months. What that doesn't describe is the burden that, that placed on my wife being mom, stand in dad. Caring for my mom who had chosen to move nearby.

It was about this time that my maker coping skills or lack thereof impacted the health of our home and our relationship. It was easier for me to hide at work, pleasing my bosses, getting raises and promotions. Than to deal with the growing emotional friction at home. I started taking roles, which caused me to travel frequently, even overseas and for extended periods. As our son entered the middle school years. He began to act out and even challenge his mom. Soon he was out of control.

However, my avoidance of home life wasn't healing. It. It was our commitment to God and our vows, which caused us to seek prayer and counseling. One time. My wife was at breakfast with our priest and a friend of his Glen Ellison. Glenn and his wife, Sheila run an organization called the parent help center. My wife, boohooed her way through breakfast and the telling of our story. A few weeks later, my wife and I attended a parent help center workshop over a weekend. A couple of words about Glenn.

He's a former Marine. He played college football for Arkansas and then the Marine Corps. And the Oakland Raiders. Even in his advanced stage today, he's still an imposing figure. for the next four or five years, our family was a fixture around his organization. Learning how to parent an impulsive child. Learning how to love him again. And learning how to love each other again. This group uses a family camp scenario. So parents can watch other parents. Model effective parenting skills.

And see that their child can actually demonstrate respect. A good work ethic and control their temper. We embraced this lifestyle to the point where we frequently volunteered for family camp weekends. We facilitated parent support groups and became trained facilitators in the curriculum. One more thing about this group. At the end of the camp weekend, children are reunited with their parents. In an emotional and uplifting scene.

Glenn often gives his testimony, shares, get in Bibles and leads, many children and adults to salvation. Restoring peace to our home was helpful in restoring. Peace. In our relationship. And with our son. Our son completed high school with multiple certifications and now lives and works. In the DC area. And I will have the honor to officiate his wedding in a couple of months. About my faith journey. It seems, I've always known about God.

But it's only been over the last five years ago where I've fully embraced the idea that we're not called to rules or ritual. But to relationship. The foundation that idea probably came from being at a liturgical church for so long, where I relied on the priest to tell me what the Bible says. I read the lectionary. Every week. So I must be getting the word of God. A teacher, I follow reminds her readers frequently. How important it is that we read the Bible for ourselves.

And to use caution when relying on someone else's interpretation. We need to let scripture interpret scripture. And not lean on man's understanding. I have grown to be a daily reader of his word. This is so critical for my faith walk. I need that daily bread. I'm in the third year of daily reading, in addition to various small groups, I attend. God is using my hunger for his word to help feed others. This year, I was asked by our pastor to lead the outreach.

Our church sponsors at a local assisted living facility. I have the privilege to share a monthly message of faith with these residents, share communion with them. And pray with them. It's such a blessing. And I also go there one evening a month with a community praise band. And that's all I was led to.

Two or three letters. In the next five or six years. I saw him twice when I had gone to go visit. My grandmother, he showed up. I didn't have any idea. He would be there. And I wonder if I was mirroring that behavior when I was sorta hiding from my family, with my work and my travel. In school. When I played little league as a child. I was literally afraid to see my dad in the stands to see him out there because I didn't want to disappoint him. I knew I had to be.

As good as any other kid out there, regardless of my skill level. And if I disappointed him, life was going to be difficult at home. Fast forward to my son playing little league. Even though I was in night school that weekend school. I was still able to be one of the coaches on this little league team for four years. And I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the other coaches, interacting with him. And. I think I was able to share with him that. Sports can be competitive and they can be fun.

And you don't have to worry about your dad coming down on you. If you miss a fly ball. one of the other things I wanted to give him. That I didn't have growing up with some stability. We were living in Jacksonville. In a kind of nice area in town and he got to play little league for. The Ortega little league. Group. And because I never had the opportunity to grow up with the same kids. I wanted him to have that opportunity that I had missed. and that meant that. Aye. Didn't change jobs.

I worked for the same employer for 34 years because I didn't want to change towns. I had offers. I had offers to go work in all sorts of places. But. It was more important that my son had the opportunity to have. A chance to criminal put the same set of friends. Yeah. And it was a sacrifice for me. In my work world. But I would never change. How I did that. I would never chase a job out of state or in another town. And take my son out of that community.

it sounds like Your experience of moving from one house to another from one. Family situation to another. you did. You wanted to make sure that nothing like that happened. By the time I was 18, I had moved 18 times. And how many times did your son. Twice. Yeah. Echo at six. That worked out and God was so good through all of that. Life will never be perfect on this side of. Heaven. But God. Is so faithful that he gave us. Friends and relationships.

And when we didn't have the answers, God puts somebody in our path. Growing up with a rebellious teenager was tough. And he was so good at playing one parent against the other. Yeah. And because of my upbringing and my wife's upbringing, We didn't know how to play from the same playbook, much less the same page sometimes. And. Our son ate our lunch. When we attended that. Parent help center weekend conference. My wife and I weren't talking. But we went there for him.

Because we knew that we had to get something straight and our relationship with him, if he was gonna have any chance for success. And what Glen and Sheila told us that night was. We have to get to the point where we're doing daily displays of love and affection. Positive strokes and consistency. Those are the three legs of the stool that they talk about in that platform. I was not at a point in my life where I could tell my son I'd love to. I was hurting so badly. Yeah, I was angry at him.

I was angry at my wife. I was angry at everything. And had it not been for Glenn and Sheila. And the parents who had been through that lifestyle change before we had. Our marriage wouldn't have survived. I don't think Kendall would have survived. I think he would've gone off the deep end and. Explored the areas of. Situations it would not have. Worked out very well for him. But. Because we stayed in that lifestyle for many years, Kendall had immediate accountability.

If he didn't earn his checks for. Showing respect work ethic. If he didn't earn enough checks, he earned a trip back to camp. And so there was just this continuous reinforcement of these are our house rules. You're free to choose not to do it, but you're not free to choose the consequences. Right. Being able to. Course correct. Our relationship with my wife. Of course, correct. Our son. We were able then to. Help other parents. And so I have. Hosted.

Parent support groups every week for years in that community. we're not involved anymore. We were on the board of directors for seven years. we supported them financially. And it is. Something that literally changed our lives

I trusted him with my son. I trusted him with our family. And. God worked on mighty work through him.

Probably solve a lot of the troubles in this world. I know I made plenty of mistakes as a parent thinking I was doing the right thing. And my wife, of course, she was thanking, Sheila's doing the right thing. And then we just kinda. Did the best we could and, that's all, most people do.

Violated one of the house rules. You can choose what you want to do, but you're not choosing to free to choose the consequence. And. Once that became part of our vocabulary. Yeah, things changed. And Glenn's program told you that? vocabulary. Yeah. Yeah. there's a movie about that camp. It's called camp success. It's available on Amazon. it streams on several different platforms. Do you listeners to this podcast? Are we going to be looking for that? Camp success on Amazon prime.

Okay. Aye. Actually went out to audition for a role in that movie. But I was also, I was already cast in a play in Fernandina at the community theater. And so since I couldn't stay long enough, I wasn't able to get the audition. But Glen did have me sit down in front of the camera. After they had wrapped up recording. And. Gave me some time on camera to talk about how that lifestyle change effected our family. so I'm the last snippet in that movie? So after the credits roll, you'll see me.

Okay. I'm going to look for you. let me ask you about. You started applying scripture. A few years ago, It became more important to you and. How did that come about and how do you, how did you implement it? I had read the Bible and Ben and part of small groups as a young adult and growing up. But. It wasn't. Until for four or five years ago that I really began to see a change in all. The reason I'm convinced that happened. It's because. At our current church. At the end of every service.

We say a prayer. Everybody's encouraged to say this prayer along with new believers or somebody who's coming to faith in. In the service. And it's asking the holy spirit. To keep you a hunger for his word. If you have a hard time cracking your Bible open on a daily basis. Ask, and it will be given to you. I have a new found hunger for his word. There is not a day in at least the last year and a half. I have not picked up his word every single day. It's part of a structured Bible study.

We read through the Bible every year. I'd done a different one before this platform. But. He is so faithful. his word cannot go forth. Without creating something good. And so the more I spend time in his word, the more my hunger grows. I have read more books. Alright, long time ago. It used to be said. If fuchsia show somebody your checkbook they'll know what's important to you. Checkbooks are passe these days. Yeah. You will look at my library. You'll see. What's important to me, hi.

I become a full gracious reader. I read into, so in addition to reading our Bible, as we've done a revelation study earlier this year. That was quite a bit of reading because you read the same chapter a couple of times before he feel like he got an idea of what's going on in it. But. God is continuing to reveal himself in his word. And in the words of others in a way that I can understand it's given me a new heart for him, a new heart for his word, and you understanding of his word.

And three years ago. Coming up on four years ago. Now, when. I was in Jerusalem. I saw this neat little t-shirt that had similar to what's on your delete. It had the star of David. The menorah and the fish. And it said Romans 11, 17. And I'm thinking what's all that about. Not read this before. But if you read Romans 11, 17 now, As a child of God, you begin to see, this is just one more time that God is telling you that you have been grafted into his family.

You read it and numbers, you read it and Deuteronomy. he talks about the Sojourner. Who's going with you. That's who we are now. We are the Sojourner going with him. With his people.

But some of these branches from Abraham's tree, some of the people of Israel have been broken off. And you Gentiles. Who were branches from a wild olive tree have been grafted in. So now you also received the blessing. God had promised Abraham and his children. Sharing and the rich nourishment from the root of God's special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken on. You're just a branch, not the root.

And I'm talking to one of my good Jewish friends who is a believer, but not. Active in his faith. He grew up in synagogue in temple. But he doesn't practice his faith. And I told them Yehuda. And I said it to him in Hebrew. And I said all will come and bow before the Lord, our God focus. He is greatly to be praised. I said it in Hebrew to him and he just, his eyes just playing a bit, almost like.

You said that so well, and it's all about that wild olive tree being grafted in, we are called to make them jealous by our faith. Oh yeah. And if I can speak to them, quoting fair Bible. Yeah. As to why I believe in. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Maybe I can get a war a way to help them to understand that your shoe a. Is Isaiah 53. Personified. And. Before I retired.

I'm on these conference calls with guys in Israel and before everybody else is on the call, I might have a conversation with one of the two of the guys. And I'll ask him if I can pray for him. I'll tell him what's going on. I'll tell him where my faith comes from. And it's a boldness that I never had in me before. Would you read the part of Isaiah? The three that you are referring to is for the listener. I'm going to read a bunch of it. Who has believed our message.

To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm. My servant grew up in the Lord's presence. Like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected. How did the Pharisees treat him? A man of sorrows acquainted with deepest grief. who became sin on our behalf? We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised and we did not care. Because it follows Slater.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins, but he was pierced for our rebellion. Crushed for our sins. He was beaten, so we could be whole. He was whipped. So we could be healed. all of us like sheep have straight away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yeah, the Lord laid on him. The sense of assault. so there's competing school of thought in Israel. In Jewish history. If there is a tangible. Your shoe, savior. Or if Israel itself yeah.

Would be the savior. And that goes down a rabbit hole about. Oral Torah and things like that. That's really outside of the scope of conversation like this, but. Aye. Have been so blessed to maintain relationships with France and Israel. They know I'm a believer in your shoe, but they also know, I believe in their God. Yeah. there's so much ignorance in the world and then. Obviously, because Satan's the God of this world. Like back during the Holocaust, They excuse for. Hitler and tilling.

It did use was that they killed Christ. And that's such a distortion of Christianity that is just. It can only come from Satan, And then there's people that say, the Romans killed Jesus and the Jews killed Jesus. Not realizing that God says it right here. God sent him To die for each one of us in this. everybody who would ever be born. He died for all of us and that God sent him. To that he chose that. And as soon as we can embrace what that means to us individually.

We then get to be able to grow in his grace. And we begin to understand that. That had to happen. So God could forgive us and we could walk in grace. Let me go back just out of curiosity, how did you as a Christian. Gets turned on to study and did the. Abraham and the blessing of Abraham and. That's such a fun story. My wife wanted to go on a tour to is real. I had no interest at all. And this is about 2018. That's it. your sister wants to go. Why don't you just book a tour with her?

So they did, they booked a Paul Wilbert tour to go over. In 2019. I was working out in Colorado. I was on business. And I got an email. Came across my desk. And it said that the company that I was working for was looking for to lean continuous or lean six Sigma continuous improvement engineers. To take a temporary position in Israel. I was a lean six Sigma black belt, a continuous improvement practitioner. And. Is that well, let me call Jan and see what she says. When she said. yes.

I put my name in the hat and I was one of two people selected to go spend quite a bit of time in Israel. So I was able to fly her out there and she lived in the hotel with me in Haifa off and on Over the period of half a year. And. I knew as soon as I landed there. That something was different about that land. I didn't know what hit me. But the longer I was there and the more I learned about that land and. I had a rental car. So I was able to drive around and experience all sorts of stuff.

Plus living in the culture and living with the people, our hotel had a synagogue in it. And We learned what Shabbat is all about because every Friday night that place was packed with observant Jews, starting their Shabbat. And it was about that time that. We started observing Shabbat in our hotel room. So we'd light the candles and we'd have the holler bread in our hotel room. I feel like contemporary. Christianity has done such a disservice to. The old Testament. Yeah, good point.

And when God spoke his. Commands. The fourth one makes just as much sense to its audience, original audience. As all the others. Why do we pick that one out of our vocabulary as contemporary Christians? Because we're Americans and we believe in horrible work. And so does our father. Our father equipped us to do all of that hard work, but he also said, you know what? You're all just going to take a day of rest. Yeah. And once we learned how to embrace that. Even more peace came into our home.

One of God's appointed times his Mo D. He promises us that he will visit us. if we will make time for him. He will visit us. You want to get to know his peace? Make an appointed time with him. Keep his appointed time. Are you saying Shabbat? is that a point? That's one of them. Yeah. And if you read about the feasts in the old Testament, Never does anywhere in the new Testament say, all right, we're done with that one. In fact, our savior Jesus, you're sure.

Was celebrating the Passover pace off. When he spent his last few days in Jerusalem. Yeah. So if it was good enough for him, I think I'll keep up doing that myself. But so all of this got me started. I also learned that generations ago. I descend from, a Jewish man. Who, Has verified his roots go back all the way to Aaron. I am of the priestly lineage through my mother. But because I'm not a male of a male. That w that wouldn't inherit, but it's still, and it doesn't matter.

Anyway, we're already grafted in. It's just, I've got a few extra genes. And so I fell in love with some of the music that I was hearing. Yeah. And. When I got home, I could watch YouTube videos at the music and they show the transliteration on the screen. And so I could sing along with the words in Hebrew and see the English. Letters. That's how I learned the first from Psalm 96. But. there's so much passion in the messianic music.

I it's almost all I listened to anymore, but that's what got me started. I wanted to learn more Hebrew. And it has blessed me. Not because I want to be Jewish. I don't want to be a Hebrew. although I am, I've been through the water. I've been baptized that does make me a Hebrew. Are you talking about because you're baptized into the Christian faith. You're grafted down. if you look up Hebrew, it means that you've passed through the waters. Oh, okay.

So when the tribes of Israel were leaving Egypt and they passed through the red sea. It wasn't until after they had passed through the waters that they were called Hebrews. Oh, I didn't know that.

Just rather call him by what he is, and he's just the accuser. Yeah. I think that. you just look at what's happened since October 7th, how much hate. Has been stirred up against a population of people. Whether you consider a rifle or unjust. Just the sheer volume of hate. Yeah. That has been launched. That's because hate is one of the strongest emotions. And that's what the accuser's stirring up. It's Hey, it happens in our politics. Yeah. It happens in religion. It happens in cultures.

Yeah. Jesus. Satan was the God of this world. So obviously If we're not tuned in to the real God. We're going to be deceived by the false God. That's all he has is deception. Anyways. It's all in our. Human minds that we get so screwed up, but he knows how to work it though. Yeah. He's been deceiving people since day one. actually, So shortly thereafter. so did just go back to your personal story. What was your master's degree? I got a master of business. From J U. Oh, Jacksonville university.

Awesome. Yeah, it was. I really wonderful experience. I worked for a company that really took care of people. They paid for all of my undergrad. And who. About 20, 30% of my masters. but it was worth it. It gave me a foot to the next level and. It's what allowed me to retire as early as I did. let me. Ask is just in light of your whole story and we'll start wrapping things up here, but. Just listening to your story. You've been through a lot. And you had a rough childhood.

you struggled to make it in this world? Thank God for the Navy, huh? Absolutely. as you look back on your life, you. How do you see. God. At work. Yeah. how do you experience. Your life now in relation to your past, that's actually a question that I've been able to find a good answer for. And over the last few years. Because I grew up. Blaming my dad. Blaming my mom. Because my dad was absentee. He dragged me out to California. I lived in a really toxic environment for years.

Move back across the country to live with my. Alcoholic mother and her alcoholic husband. And. My mother was incapable. Of. Being a mother to. a young teenage boy that she hadn't seen for six years. Yeah. She wasn't prepared for it emotionally, physically, financially. And my dad wasn't helping out. I look at the situation and I look at how I responded. How depressed ICOT. Yeah, 13 year old boys don't need all SIRS. I'm just telling ya. As an older adult now I have finally figured out.

That. Neither of those parents are responsible for who I am now. It's my relationship with my Lord and savior that has helped me get to where I am now. He has gifted me. He's given me. Insights things that have allowed me to be who I am, has given me the freedom to learn how to serve him in multiple ways, whether it's working in a prison ministry, which. Leading praise and worship groups. Being a handyman. And getting to help out. Customers who were in their eighties. Yeah. I have had to learn.

To forgive my mother and my father. For every perceived hurt. that I've had. Why would I ever think that I would have a perfect parent? Because even if I had a perfect parent, I wouldn't have been a perfect child. So it doesn't matter that crap that I had to come up through. What I came through is a testimony that God can use anyone for his purpose. Where you may have just answered it, but my next question is going to be. What if you had a one bit of advice that you could pass on to.

Anybody out there listening. Say a young man who's. Evan. parental troubles. What would you say? I tried to allude to that earlier. And I think it has to do with us. Embracing. God's love for us first. Because we can't. Forgive someone else until we know what it feels like to be forgiven. We need to know just how much. God loves us how real it is. And once we can internalize that. We can begin to see those who have heard us. As people who are just as loved by God.

So we need to learn how to forgive them and know it's not easy. 'cause we carry Hertz. We carry burdens. We carry pain since cars. Sometimes some scars are generational. And we need, God's help to break through that. We need this power of the holy spirit to break those tethers that. Keep us chained to our history. Yeah, and we need to learn how to forgive. I think that's maybe why Jesus included is so prominently in the what's called the Lord's prayer.

So seems to be a fundamental spiritual principle. So one thing I was talking about. Just want to revisit the Shabbat. The power of Shabbat. For me was learning about. Peace. Learning about Shalom. I grew up hearing the word Shalom. just meant peace near. Those are the two finger salute piece, It wasn't until I studied it. And I looked at some mid rash, some Hebrew commentary on it. Where you begin to understand what that word. Truly means to someone in the culture to whom it was spoken.

one of the books I read recently was reading the Bible with rabbi Jesus, and it helps put you in context with so much. It's written. You've got to remember. Jesus and his disciples didn't have a new Testament to read. All they knew was Torah the writings, the profits. And so that's why once you understand. The old Testament, so much of what you read in the new Testament. It's just repeat. Yeah. it's just incredible. But. Learning about what Shalom meant to the original hearers.

When. Moses and Aaron are coming down from Mount Sinai. And God tells Moses. This is how you are to place my name on my people. And he goes through there's prayer. And at the end of it. The last word is Shalom. And what did that word mean? It means wholeness. It means completeness. If anything has been taken from you, it will be restored. That. If you're missing something, it will be provided for you. That your crops would yield fruit, that your laborers would return. A prophet.

All of these things. You do a word study on Shalom and it's more than just. God's peace. Y'all. And it wasn't until I began to understand that. this prayer that Aaron and his brothers are being instructed to pray over God's people. It's telling him that God wants to put his name on them. And gift them. Everything they need. Yeah. And by extension us. So Sheila is something that most people really. You don't understand that as a thank you, baby.

The hard to understand without having the old Testament, such as Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61. Psalm 1 0 3, all the benefits to remember all the benefits as. Does show long where we, when we remember all he's done for us already. That's Shalom. And we can't really live. We can't really experience Shalom. Without. His presence. And we can't do it with a hard heart. If we have a hard heart, because we've withheld forgiveness from someone. We'll never know that piece.

That's why I think it's so important that we learn how to forgive. Yes.

You will probably never know how that small effort can make a big difference in someone's life, but our Heavenly Father knows. Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus follower with a story to tell, please send them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast. It may encourage them to tell their story. That person may even be you. Our only criteria is that Jesus be glorified.

Most Christians don't share their faith because they mistakenly think their story is not interesting enough, or that it's self centered to talk about themselves, or that they are not competent to explain the gospel correctly. But none of that is relevant. If Jesus has changed your life, you have a story to tell. All of our stories are completely unique. No one has a story like yours, and you may be the only one who can reach someone else through telling your experience. So don't be intimidated.

A story is just that, a true account of your own experience, and no one can disagree with your experience. When we tell what Jesus has done in our lives, we are being obedient to his command to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It's not about theology, and it's not about how interesting or special you are. It's all about Jesus. So when you're ready to tell how Jesus has impacted your life, you can let Jesse know at his ministry website, jesseduke. net.

There you can download guidelines that will make it easy to prepare to tell your story. Thank you for listening today and Shalom.