Ellen's personal testimony
"Most of you know Walt and me.  You know that we have had some serious problems in our marriage this last year.  I want to tell you why and to warn you to avoid the pit I fall into.
"I was abused by my father when I was a teenager.  As a result, I felt dirty and worthless for much of my life.  Walt and I were not believers when we got married, and we both drank a lot and got caught up in the drug scene.  Then Pastor Cliff introduced us to Jesus., and our lives were changed overnight.  Some of you remember the change.

Then last year, my sister called me and said she had found the solution to our wounded hearts in a seminar being run by a psychologist.  I remember telling her, I've accepted Jesus as my Saviour.  He has washed me white as snow".

carol's response was, you're repressing your memories, Ellen.  Hidden underneath the cheerful veneer is a heartbroken little girl crying for comfort.  You owe it to her to go back into the past with a psychologist so you can deal with the unresolved issues of what Dad did to us.

I said to her, 'But Carol, I've forgiven Dad.  He didn't know the Lord.  I still love him in spite what he did to us.  I want him to know Jesus too.

Carol said, 'you are just not in touch with your true feelings, Ellen.  You've got to learn to hate Dad and make him pay for what he did before you can really forgive him.
I have never heard Carol sound so bitter.  But I promised I would read the book on the wounded heart, so I bought it at the Christian book store.  As I read it, i began to sense an uneasiness growing in my heart.  My old anger and hurts returned, only worse than before.  It began to affect my feelings toward Walt, and I withdrew from him.  I went out to attend a seminar on sexual abuse with my sister, and came back convinced that only a psychologist could really understand my problems and how to deal with them.

"My anger and bitterness continued to grow until I couldn't separate my anger at my father from my bitterness towards Walt.  Soon I forgot all about the person who actually abused me and directed all my venom at my husband.".

"I began regular therapy with a psychologist at$90 an hour, and it was causing us deep financial stress.  On top of that, I spent hours on the phone with my sister.  If Walt dared to complain about the expense, i just got even more angry.  He couldn't win.  I was angry if he tried to talk to me about my attitudes, and angry if he kept quiet.
I began to realize that I wasn't getting better, but now my pride kicked in.  I was too embarrassed to admit that therapy was only making matters worse.  Walt kept begging me to go to a biblical councelor with him, and I finally agreed.

"I still had enough faith in God to believe that the Scriptures are true, so when the councelor began sharing verses with me, I found that my heart responded.  I began to remember what it was like when i first accepted Christ-how free and clean, i felt.  I remember the joy Walt and I had shared, and I wanted that again...........

"The councelor had me read 2.Peter chapter one out loud.  I understood the deception I had bought into.  It was almost like Saul's experience in the Bible.  it seemed like scales fell from my spiritual eyes, and I could see the love of God clearly again.  Hallelujah!"

The testimony of Jim Hohnberger
Q.: When you first recognized that something was wrong in your spiritual life, what was it that led you to decide that simplifying your life was the answer?

Jim: "I wasn't raised in the faith that I am  presently in. After we had come into the remnant church of God, we became very active in sharing the truths that brought us into the church. But I began to find out that a lot of my Christian experience was outward -- church attendance, giving Bible studies, etc. I became the head elder at the church. I was preaching and had been involved a little over three years. Well, I came home one night and Sally and I got into a real bad fight. My 3-year-old and my 5-year-old were screaming. They didn't know what was going on, they were too young to understand. Sally went for a walk on our 40 acres and when she came back I just said to her, "Honey, what's going on?"

Later, I called my office. (I owned an insurance agency then.) I told my office staff that I was leaving for 10 days for some time out. Sally and I pulled our travel trailer up to Imp Lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by Watersmead, and spent 10 days re-evaluating our lives.

When we courted each other we were madly in love. I mean we had a beautiful romance. But once we got married we just jumped on the merry-go-round that's in this society, this giant treadmill. We thought to be happy we had to have the bigger home -- We went through three homes. We were now in a 3,000 square foot, all cedar log home on 40 park-like acres with a little lake. Had all the fine vehicles; was making a great income. I was head elder of the church, very active in the community, but we had grown apart. There was an eroding process that actually separated  us and the only thing we didn't have now was each other. We had all the trappings of what "they" said was success, but we were failing.

So as we re-evaluated ourselves over those ten days, we began to look at others in my career. We looked at others in the church, not from a critical standpoint, not pointing fingers, but seeing what we could learn from them and we didn't like what we saw. We determined that success was not in the direction that we were going. We had to regain our time (the only thing we didn't have now was time), and apply it to really finding a walk with God, not just truth and not just the church. And then making our marriage a priority and our children a priority. And so we knew we had to get off this fast pace, this treadmill that we're on in the United States. Of course, Europe is on it, Australia, Canada and England too -- it's not just the United States.

The whole controversy that God has with His people is that they are in charge of their lives.  That's the whole issue with humanity.
When Lucifer wanted to be in charge, that was the sin problem.  The method is simple: Jim Hohnberger must learn how to surrender the control of himself in the present, and then maintain that surrender through the influence of the Spirit in his conscience, allowing God to be in control throughout the day.  That is the Christian life in a nutshell.

               Something Better.

  God can truly make a difference in someone’s life. He offers “Something Better” for those who accept him. Let me share with you what he did for me. 

   I was in the Rock Music Industry, Masquerading as someone special. I say Masquerading because if those in the industry were honest, especially with themselves, they would admit to a deep loneliness and a need for “Something Better” in their lives, well that was me. Although I enjoyed a reasonable amount of low level success as a musso, I was empty. Most in that scene do drugs, I was no exception, few were the waking moments when I was straight.

   Looking for that “Something Better”, some normality in my life, almost consumed my thinking, I wanted out.  Hatred built in me against the whole thing, against the venues and managers where we performed, against other musicians, against my self and anybody who came near me and fights became common. Now when I look back, I can plainly see that the anger and frustration was because I had two powers trying to work in my life. Gods Holy Spirit was calling me out trying to tell me, there’s “Something Better”, and Satan wasn’t happy. Confusion dominated me because God was calling me up, while Satan tried so hard to keep me down where he had me.

   The void in my life started to be filled when I met a young lady who was different from the rest, she had happiness, direction, and  purpose. It was this lady that led me into Christianity, she showed me that God does love and care for me. This young lady also showed me that she loved and cared for me and our marriage soon followed. Twenty years on and the love is still there between her and me, and us and God, only the love now is much stronger.

   When I first left the music industry I still had a lot of baggage, drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. These things had been a part of me so long, that escaping them, I thought, would be near impossible, but prayer changes things. Personal prayer and prayer from others on my behalf, soon gained me the victory. Friends prayed the same prayer that I was praying, that God would take all desire for these things away. Amazingly God answered those prayers, I have never in twenty years had the slightest craving for any of those addictive substances. God can truly make a difference in your life, he offers “Something Better”.

   A promise of Gods, found in the bible has always meant so much to me, ( Math 11:28 ) says “come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” what a promise !!  I certainly was heavy laden, and the rest and peace God gave me really is sweet.

   Dear reader, I don’t know what your circumstances are, I’ve no idea what has happened in your life. You may be a murderer or a rapist, you may think that God won’t help you because you’ve been too bad. The good news is that it is impossible to be too bad for God, he loves us all and is willing to help any who will ask. Jesus himself said it in ( John 6:37) “The one who comes to me I will by no means cast out”. Friend, his heart is open and so are his arms. Do you have a deep desire for “Something Better”? Why not give God a try, it works !! and that’s not just my experience, but the experience of countless others in my church also. Let me say it once more, God can truly make a difference in your life.

   May God bless you as you consider what you have just read.  Mark Gale, SDA Church Esk, Australia

                                    (to be continued....)

He  that is in Christ is become a new creation

You may want to accept JESUS the good shepherd and be born again.

GOD is good-GOD is great.