Tag Archives: There is hope

Return to God

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28 NIV)

For almost 20 years, I have been teaching Bible studies, and for the last 10 years, mentoring incarcerated women who are seeking to know truth and rebuild their lives with the help of Jesus. When they first meet with me, they are often desperate. They tell me they have messed up their lives so badly that the only way to find true freedom is by turning their lives completely over to Jesus.

Fascinated by their conviction, I ask them, “Why? Why do you think Jesus is the answer to your problems?” The typical response is something like this: “I grew up in church, but when I got to high school, I got mixed up with the wrong crowd. My mother (or grandmother) took me to church and has always prayed for me. I now know I should have listened to them.”

Hindsight is always 20/20, isn’t it? We make choices—even ones that seem good at the time—only to find ourselves in a place we never wanted to be. This is just like the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32. The youngest son ends up in a pigpen one day and having to face the consequences of making a series of bad choices, decides to return home, where his father has long been awaiting his return. We turn away from God, and once we realize we’re not where we wanted to be, we can return to Him, repent, and ask Him to help us rebuild our lives.

God watches patiently as we try to run our own lives, until the day we finally see that we need Him—and have needed Him all along. He embraces us, welcomes us back into His loving arms, without condemnation for what we have done.

I love this story, and I love how the incarcerated women I mentor see themselves in this story too. Is that your story? If you think it is, God wants you to come back. He is waiting patiently for your return. So how do we actually return to God?

The Bible makes it clear that the path begins with honest repentance—a heartfelt turning away from sin and turning toward Him. As Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

This isn’t just feeling sorry; it’s a deliberate change of direction. Start by confessing your sins to God openly—no excuses, no hiding. He promises in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Humble yourself, pray, seek His face, and turn from whatever has pulled you away, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 assures us: God will hear from heaven, forgive, and bring healing and restoration.

Practically, this looks like daily steps of reconnection: Spend time in Scripture to hear His voice again, pray honestly (even if it starts as a simple cry for help), and surround yourself with a supportive faith community that encourages you. Worship Him, not just in songs but in a posture of surrender.

God isn’t distant or angry—He is gracious, compassionate, and slow to anger, as Joel 2:13 describes, “When we return to Him with our whole heart, He doesn’t just forgive; He restores what was lost, refreshes our spirit, and welcomes us home with joy.”

No matter how far you’ve wandered, the Father is standing by, arms open, ready to run to you. That kind of love is worth everything you have to run away from, give up, or let go of in this world.

Youth Matters… Don’t Quit!

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GGBlog

Proverbs 22:6 King James Version (KJV) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

 This past year I have been teaching bible studies in our local County Jail. I open my bible study each time with the question; “Tell me about your church background and how familiar you are with the bible?” The number one answer is, “I used to go to church when I was younger, but haven’t been in awhile.” A few even have some knowledge of the bible; yet they are still sitting in jail – as law breakers of our society.

I am convinced that whatever their exposure to church was when they were younger, these girls received the motivation to check out bible study in jail; when God plants the there, to get their attention and reveals to them a better way of life. He chose not to reach them on the streets, instead he uses the streets to capture their hearts and put them in a place where they have to stand face to face with the bad choices that they have made with their lives

It takes courage to sign up and have your named announced on a loud (and I mean loud) speaker and then to visibly line up to be escorted through the whinding hallways of spectators before arriving at the bible study room. Yet they come.

I’m always surprised and amazed who enters the room. I’m not able to ask what they’ve done or get overly personal, I’m just there to bring the message of hope of Jesus Christ, no matter what they have done. To love them, accept them and show them that God has a better way, a better plan and a brighter, hope-filled future. I feel a frog in my throat and tear up realizing how profoundly blessed I am to be able to minister to them in this way.

My main message today is to say… whether you are mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, foster parent, aunt, uncle or neighbor, thank you for bringing the children in your life to church. I passionately teach 3rd graders on Sunday mornings about having a relationship with Jesus and in many ways, it’s in the hope that they find Jesus and commit their lives to him while they are young in an effort to prevent them from having end up as societies

I realize that the world (TV, friends, social media, teachers, etc…) tell them a whole different message; a confusing message. I have my own teenagers to know that. Here is my petition… don’t quit.

Even if your child rebels and walks away from their faith later in life, even to the point of being put in jail, God can use your faithful commitment to draw them back to himself. I seriously can’t thank you enough for doing whatever it is that you have to do to get them here – weekly.

The other day I sat with a beautiful young girl who requested a 1:1 because she realized that she messed up her life and needed to get right with God. She prayed to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior and in tears she replied, “Thank you, I have lost everything, my job, my house, my car, my marriage, my kids and everything that I own, but I now have Jesus. I’m ready to start building my life over again, but this time with Him in charge.” How did she know that she needed Jesus? She said her Grandmother took her to church when she was younger and she has an Aunt who is “very religious” and prays for her. I was blessed to witness a transformed heart, right before my eyes, and if I could meet her Grandmother or Aunt I would say, “Well done good and faithful servants!”