180 Degree Change

Jill called in recently to talk about some problems she was having at school. She was being made fun of by the other students constantly and needed to talk to someone about it. The HopeCoach asked her why the other students gave her such a hard time. She said it was because she dressed and acted differently than most of them. You see, Jill dressed in all black all the time and loved dark and evil things; she worshipped satan and said she talked to demons. Her reason for doing this was very interested though, she told the HopeCoach that she worshipped satan because she did not have anyone else to turn to. The Hopecoach jumped on that opportunity and asked if she had ever had anyone tell her about God's love. She had. In fact, she said that many people had tried to talk her about it but she was not interested. He then asked if he could have just 5 minutes to explain the gospel. She agreed to 5 minutes. He shared with her about the great work of Christ for much longer than 5 minutes but Jill didn't complain. When he finished sharing he asked if she wanted to give her life to Christ and enter into a relationship with God. She said that she couldn't because she already given her soul to satan. The HopeCoach said, "That's not what I asked. I asked you if you wanted to have a relationship with God." She paused...and said, "Yes, I do." After they had prayed she said she felt weird- like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. At the end of the call they prayed together and Jill prayed, "God, if there is anything left in my life that is not of you, then take it away!" Wow! Talk about a complete 180 - Jill went from having given her soul to satan and rejecting everything of God to given her life to Christ and rejecting everything of satan by God's power! God's love and power truly have no boundaries! I thank God that I am part of a ministry that He has set up to reach people like Jill - lost and lonely and would never think of darkening the door of a church but are starving for the great love of God!

Feedback

One of the difficult things about the ministry of the HopeLine is that we very rarely get to see what God does with a life after the call is over. This week, however, we got to hear from a few people who were calling to give an update on how they were doing. The first call was from Taylor who originally called to talk about a problem with a guy. After some probing questions from the HopeCoach he discovered she had serious self image problems and was so desperate to be considered pretty that she had turned to bulimia and so desperate to fit in with the 'cool crowd' that she had started smoking pot with them. This girl claimed to be a Christian but didn't exactly have an active relationship with God. The HopeCoach really emphasized to her that she needed to start reading the Word and praying daily. She wasn't very responsive to this but the HopeCoach knew it was what she needed. Recently, we received another call from Taylor. She had called just say 'thank you'! She admitted that when she got off the phone with the HopeCoach she was unconvinced that beginning an active relationship with God would help but then said that she had started reading anyway and it was really helping her - the only thing that ever really had. Taylor, because of God's challenge through the HopeCoach, had tasted and seen that Lord is good!
The other call was from Tiffany who, when she originally called, was very depressed and felt she had nothing to live for. She had a terrible past having been molested and lost loved ones and really had no one to talk to. The HopeCoach listened to her, encouraged her, and shared the gospel with her. She was very eager to have a relationship with this God that loved her so much. She prayed to receive Christ. Afterwards she told the HopeCoach that she was in her basement that prior to the call was very cold and dark but after recieving Christ she said it was brighter and warmer! Two days later she called in just wanting to let us know that she was doing great. She had already led her brother to Christ and was talking to her sister, who has cancer, about the great love and saving power of Jesus Christ! Wow! Thank God for the privelege of being used to make and eternal difference in the lives of other people and thank God for feedback, though we don't get much, it are so encouraging!

Someone To Listen

We often say that we are helping teens and young adults "within a yard of hell". This is a phrase taken from a quote by CT Studd found on another part of this blog. Well, when Jennifer called it became clear to the HopeCoach right away that she was one of those teens "within a yard of hell". She had been raped as a child by her uncle - often. Her mom knew it was going on but did nothing. The pressure, abuse, and guilt eventually took Jennifer's mom over and she committed suicide. This left Jennifer, already scared, absolutely devastated. On top of all that, a while later her brother had run away leaving her feeling utterly alone. The loneliness and terrible memories of her mother and her abuse drove to her to find away to escape. She found that escape in cutting (where a person will take a knife or razor blade and routinely cut themselves, usually on the arms and legs). Jennifer, like many who call in, had no one to talk to so when she heard about the HopeLine she called in hopes that she could find someone who would listen; someone who would care. She found it. The HopeCoach listened to her as she shared about her awful past. He knew that he would not be able to fix these problems but he could be there to listen. He also knew that this young girl needed to know about the incredible love that God has for her. After she had told her story and the HopeCoach did what he could to encourage her he began to share the gospel. When he started she told him that she was a Mormon. He asked if he could be honest with her and share a truth that might offend her. Jennifer responded by saying that she would listen because she trusted him and because he was the only one that had ever really listened to her. He shared the truth about Mormonism and the truth about the amazing love of the one true God shown in Jesus Christ. When he finished presenting the gospel she said that she had always thought God hated her and was angry with her because she cut. Jennifer began to weep. She was overwhelmed by this God who wanted to have a relationship with someone like her. Through her tears she accepted the love of Christ, renounced her Mormon beliefs, and said she was going to start living for the one true God. This story shows the wonderful power of God manifested through someone who was there to listen to a broken girl who had no one else and simply tell her about a God who loved her.

Greater Is He That Is In Us

There are two things that have become abundantly clear since the Chattanooga HopeLine has started. The first is that satan absolutely hates this ministry and is constantly doing things to try to disrupt it. Often, we will hear of things happening that discourage new HopeCoaches from coming. One simple example of this was recently when a HopeCoach who was going to take calls from home for the first time attempted to open the internet on his computer and was unsucessful. He tried several things to fix the problem but nothing seemed to work. Finally he stopped and started to pray. He said, "Lord, I know that You want me to do this ministry and I know that You want to speak Your love through me tonight so I pray in the name of Jesus that..." and as soon as He said "in the name of Jesus" the internet started working. The second thing that has been clear is that as bad as satan hates this ministry God loves it more, and as many times as satan tries to stop what is going on God triumphs over His attempts and shows His power to HopeCoaches through it. We have seen 1 John 4:4 proved over and over again - "Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world."

God is Sovereign!

Skyles, a young man from North Carolina called saying he had been sexually abused by his father. This obviously broke the heart of the HopeCoach taking the call. He talked to Skyles about his pain and then about forgiveness. He said Skyles needed to forgive his father to be able to experience healing from his past. The HopeCoach went on to share about God's great love for Skyles and how God Himself wanted a relationship with him. The caller did not pray to receive Christ and the call ended like all calls - the HopeCoach praying for the caller.
This may not seem like a very exciting story and unworhty of being posted on our blog but that is only because you haven't heard the rest of the story...about 30 minutes later the same HopeCoach received a call with two young men on the line. They said their names were Josh and Steve. They went on to say that one of them had called earlier under the name Skyles and told a story they had both made up about Skyles being sexually abused by his father. They said that after they had hung up the phone they felt awful. They said they felt so badly about it that they had to let the HopeCoach know what they had done and apologize. The HopeCoach was shocked! He had no idea the previous call was a prank. The boys asked the HopeCoach for forgiveness, which, of course, he gave and then he went on to share again about God's love and His amazing forgiveness. The boys both fell under deep conviction and both gave their hearts to Jesus! Afterwards they said that they felt like their lives were truly changed forever! Wow! I can't help but think of the verse from Joseph's story as he talks to his brothers and tells them that what they meant for evil God used for good. All praise be to our sovereign and loving God!