Stories - Page 20 of 81 - The Christian Heart

How Everyday People Live Out Their Christian Faith

Illustrating how men and women display their love for Jesus in their day-to-day lives.
Little things that may have an eternal impact. Might these stories motivate you to use your talents?

Overcoming Obstacles Prayer
A TRUE FRIENDSHIP

When I was 13, I started going to a new church. I was hesitant to get involved. Like most teens, I didn't enjoy being the new kid. As time passed, I began making a few acquaintances. One day, I overheard a girl inviting everyone over to her house for a sleepover. I noticed that I wasn't included, so I jokingly interjected. As much as she apologized and begged me to come, I couldn't help but feel it was a forced invitation on my behalf. But I went, and it was a night filled with typical girly activities. We had a blast! Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling of, "Was I really meant to be here?" I just started to pray and forced myself to ignore it. The next day as I was packing, I was in the room with the girl that invited everyone, just the two of us. We started talking, about everything. Before I knew it, she shared how excited she was that I wanted to come. She said she had a lot going on in her life and she just needed a real friend. So we decided to become friends. I didn't think much of it that day. But 15 years later, we are still best friends. That whole night, I'd felt I didn't belong there; I'd felt I intruded. My friend recently shared with me how that night was an answered prayer. She had asked God for a true best friend, someone she knew would be there for her forever. I had no idea God was going to use me that day or in that way. I was… Read More

September 28, 2022
Labor Loving Your Neighbor Mission Work
HOPE HEALTH CENTER

Every part of your life depends on you having good health. When most people think of health, they consider only their physical condition, but as a doctor, I repeatedly see that our spiritual condition is also a huge factor. Hope Health Center was started so that, like Jesus’ examples in the Gospels, we could address both the physical and spiritual needs of those who come to us. Our mission is to share the hope found in Jesus Christ while providing excellent whole-person healthcare to a very medically underserved community. That’s why we placed our medical clinic in the heart of our city in order to make excellent health care as accessible as possible since many of our patients don’t even have reliable transportation.
Hope Health Center came into existence a few years after our family returned from the Ivory Coast in West Africa. My wife Connie and I, with our three kids were medical missionaries there for 10 years. In that area, the medical needs were tremendous but the resources to meet those needs were almost non-existent for the poor. When God called us back to the United States after finishing our mission work, my heart’s desire was to do the same thing in the U.S. that we had done in Africa. I wanted to be a medical missionary in the States. So in 2003, we opened the doors of Hope Health Center. For eight years, I was the only doctor. Another doctor joined us in 2011. We also have a counselor since so many people we… Read More

September 21, 2022
Overcoming Obstacles Unique Ministries
MISS OVERCOMER

With all I have gone through I should be a statistic! Thankfully, the Lord had another plan. Between 2013 and 2015, my previous three decades of hardship culminated into a trifecta of even more heartache. My mother died prematurely. Six months later, I realized my 25-year marriage was coming to an end. A few months later, my father also passed away. The back-to-back devastation felt like a tsunami on my soul. All I could think about was the pain and shock of losing so many things that meant the most to me. My family was gone. My marriage was gone. My hopes and dreams seemed only a distant vapor in the rear-view mirror. I suppose those situations in and of themselves would have been a bit easier to navigate had they not occurred on the tail end of a long list of other headwinds of pain. Just when I thought I was getting over years of tragedy that included such things as domestic violence, date rape, poverty, and bankruptcy, a series of the unthinkable capstoned a huge mountain of pain. But during my darkest moments, God reminded me that I still had a purpose. He let me know my long list of heartaches was not something to be ashamed of. In fact, it was because of his grace and mercy that I was able to overcome each devastating blow. As such, he wanted to use my rolodex of reversal as a resume of empowerment, and a platform of hope, to help other women overcome. Read More

September 14, 2022
Overcoming Obstacles Verbalizing the Gospel
DISCOVERING JESUS AGAIN AFTER 9/11

We were awakened by an explosion that shook our building. We ran to our terrace on the 24th floor, just six blocks from the World Trade Center. Above us was thick, black smoke coming from the North Tower. Right from our terrace, we watched as a second plane came roaring overhead and struck the South Tower. The impact hurled us backward into our living room and knocked us unconscious. When we came to, we ran down the stairs, barefoot and wearing pajamas. Soon after, the towers fell, covering us with dust as we desperately searched for a clear air pocket. We were unsure if we’d survive the day. After waiting in Battery Park, a boat finally rescued us. As we sailed across the Hudson, I could see at least fifty boats approaching the area where my husband and I had been just minutes earlier. These boats were rushing to rescue the thousands of people who had been trapped by the burning, falling Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. I felt grateful that my husband was by my side during what might have been our last moments on earth. But as I prayed to God, asking Him to spare us, I also felt utterly alone. I had abandoned my faith years ago, so why would He answer me now? The boat dropped us off in New Jersey, filthy, traumatized, and with little understanding of what had just happened to us and our beloved city. Only two things were clear: we weren’t going home any time soon, and we had no idea where to go or what to… Read More

September 7, 2022
Loving Your Neighbor Overcoming Obstacles
LOVING AND SERVING OTHERS

I live with pain every day of my life, and yet my schedule is packed full. If I’m not helping a young mom, I’m running errands with a vision impaired friend, or sending cards of encouragement. People ask, “How do you keep going when you have so much pain?” I tell them if I stop, I will give up. I do fight discouragement because of my pain and limitations. Some days, I feel useless. But God gives me strength to press on. Any good I do or happiness I give to others is only because of God’s grace. I suffer from severe arthritis throughout my body. Chronic pain is hard, but it has made me a more caring, compassionate, and praying person. I’ve also learned there is more to Kingdom building than physical work. Every morning, I send out a large group text with an inspiring message and then pray about who might need a special word. When someone is on my heart, I send a specialized message. Often, they respond with, “That is exactly what I needed.” A day a week, I am the eyes of a friend who is losing her vision—I take her on errands, do her mending, or we just sit and play Quiddler. Throughout the week, I stop by some homes to give the moms a break. I entertain the children, cap strawberries, or do whatever jobs can be done sitting down. People know they can come and talk, and I have the time to give them a listening ear. Sometimes I say, “I commit to praying every hour… Read More

August 31, 2022
Labor Loving Your Neighbor Verbalizing the Gospel
CROSSES IN MY POCKET

For more than 10 years, I have enjoyed making small wooden crosses and giving them away to random people. We all run into people from time to time that seem distressed, troubled or overwhelmed. I try to find a way to give them a cross. As I offer the crosses, I usually say, “The cross reminds me that God is good.” I seek opportunities to give them away as often as possible. I hand them to anybody I run into during the course of the day. It might be my waiter at the restaurant or the receptionist at the doctor’s office. I carry five or six of them in my pocket, just looking for a chance to give them out. When those are given away, I replenish from a supply I keep in my car. I would estimate that I’ve given away several thousand crosses to people. It’s a simple act, and I don’t ever have any expectation for a particular result. As a retired chaplain, I just give the cross and let the recipient decide its value to them. But the responses I receive have been incredible and so heartwarming. I have seen people break down and cry upon receiving one. I’ve heard countless people say, “this is just what I needed today.” These responses give me a sense of joy and motivate me to expand my efforts. I use a wide variety of wood and I get the wood from all over. I have picked up limbs and scraps that people put out on the street to be collected. I have… Read More

August 24, 2022

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 38

Church Activities 59

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 38

Loving Your Neighbor 66

Mission Work 51

Overcoming Obstacles 111

Prison Ministry 11

Senior Citizens 22

Special Needs 47

Unique Ministries 160

Verbalizing the Gospel 73

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