HOME
October 2020 Prayer Letter
Click here to request our Newsletters
![Healing Hearts Ministries Internaional [LOGO]](https://www.healinghearts.org/nimages/HHLetterhead_Web700.png) Dear Friend,  This month we’re excited to share a testimony with you that was sent to us by a participant who recently completed her study of The Hem of His Garment through our online E-Ministry. Set in the turmoil of our present pandemic, M.T.’s story shows us a God who pursues and never stops calling to us. It is also a beautiful example of the kind of work God does in a heart as our Certified Healing Hearts Counselors faithfully walk an individual through His Word—exposing sins, challenging wrong-thinking, extolling God’s truth, and ultimately administering His healing grace and forgiveness. We pray that this testimony will encourage you. As a partner in our ministry to the brokenhearted, you are making an eternal difference! Prior to enrolling in a Healing Hearts’ The Hem of His Garment study, I hid from God, carrying an unbearable weight of guilt and shame for my sin, as well as for the sins of others. Although I accepted Christ at 19 and faithfully attended church services and midweek small group meetings, I had failed for several years to cultivate my personal relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer and Bible study. For I had forgotten my First Love amidst problems, trials, and deep-seated emotional pain. In my mind and heart, the latter loomed large, while it seemed that God Himself was distant and condemning and could never listen to or accept me.  Attempting to dull such internal turmoil, I turned to other “gods” at various points—food, academic excellence, busyness, work, friends, and marriage. I even met with many biblical counselors who lovingly shone the light of truth on my sinful responses to others’ sin. I, in turn, was shocked at their lack of compassion and quickly grew bitter towards them. From my vantage point, everyone—especially my husband, various family members, church leaders, and even counselors—needed to repent for the ways they had sinned against me.However, as I quickly downspiraled to a place marked by suicidal thoughts and self-injury, I finally decided to enroll in Healing Hearts Online. As I journeyed through the study, I discovered that it was time for me to remove the speck from my own eye in order to see the speck in my brother’s eye (Matt. 7:3-5). From the beginning, the Lord helped me to move out of the darkness and shadows into the light of His truth, grace, love, and forgiveness. As I finally humbled myself and poured out my heart before Him, I was surprised by the following song lyrics that echoed in my mind: “You’re the God who stays. You’re the One who walks in my direction when the whole world walks away. You’re the God who stands with arms open wide, and You tell me nothing I have ever done could separate my heart from the God who stays.” While I had chosen to wander away, God remained faithful, gracious, and unchanging and was calling me to return, just as I was, to intimate fellowship with Himself. Thus began the process of healing that I never thought was imaginable or possible… Soon after, as I spent quite a bit of time confessing patterns of unrighteous anger, the Lord repeatedly reminded me of the brevity of life (James 4:14). Like never before, I was cut to the heart by the amount of time I had wasted blowing up about insignificant matters, particularly in my marriage. By the end of that week, I felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic sweep through my county as the public school where I worked, the library, and churches all closed their doors. Through this abrupt turn of events, the Lord removed more distractions, jealous for my unhurried time and attention. The week before Easter, the study led me through portions of the four Gospels, where I saw the sufferings of Christ afresh. How desperately I needed to be reminded that I belong to a Savior who understands what it is like to be mocked, ridiculed, and rejected. Rather than running away from Him during such moments, I can draw near because the veil has been torn in two. Words cannot express how grateful I am for the kind and gracious work of conviction the Lord did in my heart as He revealed past sins that needed to be confessed. He granted me the gift of repentance as He pierced my heart with the gravity of longstanding pride, selfishness, deception, angry outbursts, foolishness, and busyness. Prior to working through this study, I was blind to the depth of my pride and the extent to which I had drifted from Jesus and lived for myself and the things of this world. He crushed the strongholds of hatred, bitterness, and unforgiveness in my life. Although I had read Ephesians 4:31-32 and Hebrews 12:5 several times in the past, I saw like never before that I had sinned in response to others’ offenses and needed to repent, deny myself, forgive as Christ had forgiven me, and trust Him with the outcome. As a result, my thinking radically shifted from “Look what they’ve done to me!” to “Look what I’ve done to God!” Last but not least, the Lord showed me that I had sinned against several individuals, many of whom I had not seen or spoken to for quite a while. As I sent emails and text messages, repenting for specific acts of gossip and slander, I did not know what to expect. To my great surprise, the majority extended grace and forgiveness to me!! All glory, praise, and honor to Him!! – M.T. Do you know someone who needs freedom from spiritual or emotional bondage? No matter the hurt or pain, there is always hope and healing in God’s Word. Please share M.T.’s testimony with them today! Local Healing Hearts groups and online counselors are ready to help at healinghearts.org/get-help-now. Believe in what we’re doing? Please consider donating today at healinghearts.org/donate or by mailing a check in the enclosed envelope. We rely on donations to help us continue to supply materials and provide training and support to biblical counselors just like the one who ministered to M.T. SPECIAL PROJECT: Help us increase our reach! COVID-19 has presented our ministry with new challenges, but also with a bigger vision to meet those challenges and expand our global reach. Social distancing restrictions continue to prevent many of our face-to-face small groups from gathering, but we’ve thankfully been able to lead groups through our online Bible study interface (our “e-ministry”). While the core of this interface is still useful, there are some key upgrades we need to make in order to reach even more people in the season ahead. You can help us do this! Visit healinghearts.org/donate to learn more and give to the “E-Ministry Retooling” project. |
Ways you can help
|
To Make a DonationYou may use the donation form on our website to make a donation, or you may also submit your check to the address provided below. Healing Hearts Ministries is a federally registered non-profit corporation, all contributions are tax deductible. One hundred percent of all contributions made to Healing Hearts go directly toward supporting the various aspects of our ministry no "administrative fee" is collected by a fund-raising service. All donations and expenditures are internally and independently monitored and audited. Annual financial statements are available upon request. We thank you for considering contributing to our ministry. Your contribution will enable us to reach out and touch individuals who need the hope and healing message that only Jesus has to offer. To donate online click this link: https://www.healinghearts.org/donate Send checks to: Healing Hearts Ministries PO Box 44670 Rio Rancho, NM 87174 phone (505) 355-6922 |