My Father in Heaven is Perfect

There was a time
when Todd wanted to be like his dad
But Todd's father was busy.
He did not have much time to play catch.

As Todd grew up,
his mother often said, 
"Don't be like your father."

Todd's mother showed disrespect to his father.
To young Todd, His father appeared weak and distant,
while his mother seemed quite strong.
Whenever his mother acted like his father was dumb,
Todd was humiliated and afraid to look stupid
so he decided not to become like his father. 

Todd bonded with his mother,
often siding against his father, 
but deep in his heart he longed for masculinity.
Since he could not allow himself to be like his father,
he began to seek masculinity in sexual ways.  

As Todd grew older,
he felt like God must have created him gay.
Then, when he read in the Bible that homosexuals
(along with all sorts of other sinners) 
will burn in the lake of fire.
He wondered what kind of cruel God
would create people for a lake of fire. 
It was impossible for Todd
to believe that God loved him.

Throughout his entire life,
his sexuality and his spirituality were at odds.
He wanted to do right, so in order to follow God;
he married the girl that was his best friend.
He really loved her
but his attempts to live a good Christian life
were constantly challenged by his temptations. 

Soon after Todd got married,
he began to drive to another town to buy pornography.
He was careful to hide the magazines
so his wife wouldn't find out.

In all of his choices,
he often felt he was doing wrong.
But he struggled with the question--
"Why would God create me
to have such feelings if they are wrong?" 

One day as Todd was driving back from the town
where he purchased the magazines,
the car in front of him flipped end for end.
It was a horrible accident.
It took all of Todd's concentration
to keep his own car on the road.

He was shocked and saddened
to think of what his wife might think
if she had to identify his body
and discovered what he'd been doing.
He really loved his wife.

But fear was not enough to quench Todd's thirst.
His emptiness burned night and day.
If only he could fill that emptiness.
He threw himself into church and volunteer work.
Every time he looked at the magazines,
He felt disgusted and promised himself
that he would never do this again,
but he fell right back into old habits the very next day.

One day, Todd had an opportunity
to join a prayer group with a new young minister.
Their goal was to pray every day for each other. 
Todd didn't tell anyone what they were praying for,
but they all prayed for his "secret request."

Within a few weeks,
Todd began to have a new awareness of God's love.
He began to realize that no matter what he had done;
God still loved him.

Todd read about Jesus,
speaking to the women caught in adultery.
"Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." 

Todd remembered how God had protected him
even while he was making the wrong choices.
He thought of the many times
that God could have exposed his sins,
But He hadn't.

When Todd began to walk with God,
He was overwhelmed by God's great love!  

One day on the fourth of July,
with a group of trusted Christian friends,
Todd confessed his struggles.
These friends were Christ-like
in their response to his pain and shame.
There was not a dry eye in the room
as they gathered around Todd and his wife
they laid hands on them.
They prayed for God to heal Todd.
That was Todd's independence day. 

Little by little, God healed the pain in Todd's past.
The relationship with his father was restored.
He soon discovered that God wanted
to re-create him in the image of God
and that in all of his brokenness
His Father in heaven had been waiting to heal him.
Todd had never known this was possible.
When Todd gave up his secrets
to walk in openness and light, the darkness fled.

Like the woman at the well,
Todd had been searching to fill the void; 
but instead of sexual gratification,
Jesus was the water of life that he had been craving. 

The people in Jesus' day reached out to Him for healing
and we can reach out to Him today.
It has been several years since Todd was healed.
Today he has no desire to go back.

God loves all His children,
no matter what their struggles might be.
Jesus died to bring healing to all broken people.
But every one of us will remain empty
until we allow God to fill us with His love. 

Jesus Came to Set Prisoners Free

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners…
Isaiah 61:1

Jesus Came to Heal Sinners

Jesus said they that are whole
have no need of a physician
but they that are sick:
I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance."
Mark 2:15

For I will restore health to you
 And heal you of your wounds, says the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:17

Sinners Cannot Inherit
the Kingdom Of God

"Do you not know that the wicked
will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither the sexually immoral
nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders
nor thieves nor the greedy
nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is what some of you were.

But you were washed,
you were sanctified,
you were justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of our God."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10

God Renews Our Minds

"Do not conform any longer
to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind."
Romans 12:2

God Heals Us From Sin

"Praise the Lord, oh my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases:
He redeems my life from the pit
and crowns me with love
and compassion.
He satisfies my desires
with good things,
so that my youth
is renewed like the eagles."
Psalm 103:2-5

"For I am the Lord who heals you."
Exodus 15:26

Inspirational Thoughts:

In the work of redemption there is no compulsion.
No external force is employed.
Under the influence of the Spirit of God,
man is left free to choose whom he will serve.
In the change that takes place
when the soul surrenders to Christ,
there is the highest sense of freedom.
The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself.
rue, we have no power to free ourselves
from Satan's control;
but when we desire to be set free from sin,
and in our great need cry out
for a power out of and above ourselves,
the powers of the soul are imbued
with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit,
and they obey the dictates of the will
in fulfilling the will of God.

The only condition upon which
the freedom of man is possible
is that of becoming one with Christ.
"The truth shall make you free;"
and Christ is the truth.
Sin can triumph only by enfeebling the mind,
and destroying the liberty of the soul.
Subjection to God is restoration to one's self,
--to the true glory and dignity of man.

The Desire of Ages p. 466