There is hope! Celebrate Recovery

There is hope!

We were privileged to welcome the Celebrate Recovery ministry team from Harrisburg (IL) First Baptist Church with us Sunday night. Eight men and women gave testimony of how God has changed their lives and brought them out of various addictions and sins, griefs and sorrows and into His marvelous grace - which is Jesus Christ.

The message that rang loud and clear from these transformed lives is this: There is hope! Truly, no matter where you've been or what you've done, no matter how many people you've hurt or how many have hurt you, no matter what's happened or where you've been, there is hope in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is the one for whom nothing is impossible. In Him there is freedom, there is forgiveness and there is victory. There is hope.

In Christ - through the blood He shed on the cross for the sins of the world - there is hope for a new tomorrow. There is hope for better things to come. There is hope for everlasting life.

When we come to Jesus and receive Him as our Savior and follow Him as the Lord of life, there is cleansing from the filthy stain of sin, for there is mercy in His suffering for our sake. When we turn away from sin in repentance and faith, our sins are wiped out and times of refreshing come from the Lord. When we confess our sins we discover that He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is hope. And there is peace in Christ - peace that passes all understanding when we present our requests to God with thanksgiving. It is a peace that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and remove our anxious, worrisome ways. And there is joy - joy that is unspeakable, for our Savior is able to keep us from falling and presents us before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy.

I want to thank the ministry team from Celebrate Recovery for their honesty and openness in sharing their hurts, habits and hang-ups, and for giving God the glory for the great things He has done. These are real people who have stepped out of denial into God's grace. May the Lord bless them richly and reward their work to lead others to faith and recovery in Christ.

If you want to learn more about this ministry, or how you, too, can know the hope Jesus gives go to http://www.celebraterecovery.com.