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Jodi Jackson Tucker, Lisa C. Qualls, and Betsy Kylstra share their stories as an adoptive mother, adopted child, and birth parent to equip those affected by adoption to experience healing from the wounds caused by broken families. Hear about God’s redemptive and transformative work through adoption.

Receive a copy of "Healing for Every Heart in Adoption" and an audio download of "Healing Wounded Hearts After Adoption" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

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Like many kids, Mickey never seemed to have enough time in a day. Until, that is, he stopped sleeping.

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Betsy Kylstra offers some encouragement to parents who’ve chosen adoption.

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Elijah was depressed. Among God’s word to him were these: “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael…Then anoint Jehu…Finally, anoint Elisha…to succeed you as prophet” (1 Kings 19:15-17 MSG).

These assignments add up to one point: Get moving. God’s message to the prophet was “I still have work for you to do. You may think you’re alone; you’re not. Thousands will stand with you. It’s time for you to get back in the game.”

God’s message to you is this: You are more than the sum of your dark days. I bought you, and I have a destiny for you. Now, with my help, let’s get back in the game.

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For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

David Letterman was one of the kings of late-night television for years. His offbeat sense of humor gave him a prime spot in America’s entertainment constellation for a long time. But one day, suddenly everybody stopped laughing. David Letterman, whose family had a bad history when it came to heart problems apparently, went in for some seemingly routine cardiac tests. Suddenly, this comic king was rushed into surgery by his doctor and given a multiple bypass operation on his heart. The doctor saw major blockage in David Letterman’s heart and he took radical action to save him.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Only Hope For a Dying Heart.”

We all have heart trouble—potentially terminal heart trouble—according to God. Even if you have perfect EKGs and cardiac test results, you may very well have the kind of spiritual heart trouble that can only be removed by the greatest Heart Specialist in the universe. Like David Letterman, if you don’t allow the Surgeon to take radical action, your condition will be fatal—forever.

God’s Book, the Bible, says that our heart “is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9). Then God says, “I the Lord search the heart” (Jeremiah 17:10). Man, God knows all the darkness we’ve concealed from everyone else. His heart tests expose every lie you’ve ever told, every adulterous thought or relationship, all the anger, all the selfishness, all the prejudice, bitterness, everything you’re ashamed of, and everything you wish you hadn’t done.

It isn’t that you don’t want to change—that you haven’t tried to change—but there’s this darkness inside of each of us that it seems nothing on earth can change; nothing on earth that is. In fact, a parent of yours, a grandparent of yours, may have had the same kind of heart trouble—the same sins. Those sins probably hurt you didn't they, and now maybe you’re hurting people you love repeating those same sins.

Without radical action, we die spiritually from our heart trouble. That’s die as in being separated from God and His love forever in a place Jesus called hell. That’s the penalty for our sin, but your hope is in this wonderful word for today from the Word of God in Ezekiel 36:26. God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit in you.”

God actually says He wants to give you a heart transplant; a whole new perspective on life, a whole new power to change, a whole new eternity. He wants to forgive all the sin and remove all the sin that has clogged your heart for so long.

It took His Son, Jesus, dying for your sin to make this miracle possible. And then Jesus walked out of His grave under His own power on Easter Sunday to prove He can give us eternal life. If you’ll give yourself to Jesus Christ and trust Him to be your Savior from your sin, the healing heart miracle can begin in your heart that very moment.

If you want to begin this life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ - and oh how I hope you do - you need to tell Him that right now. Tell Him, “Jesus, I know that I have sinned against You by running my own life. I know the penalty for that is spiritual death. Thank you for taking that penalty for me. Thank You for rising from the dead and for giving me this chance to begin a relationship with You. I want to, Jesus. Beginning right now, I’m Yours.”

If you want that, and you'd like a little encouragement in that direction, go to our website. It's for you for a moment like this. It's ANewStory.com.

See, religion can’t do this. It can only make you look better on the outside. Jesus will change you from the inside. There’s no need to hurt like this anymore. There's no need to go on flirting w

Who is God and who are we to Him? And what will really matter when this life is over? In today's bonus episode, Barry Meguiar breaks down the Gospel in simple terms, reminding us that we were created for Eternity, and that we cannot earn our way to Heaven. Each of us must choose whether we will merely admire Jesus or truly follow Him. This message offers a powerful call to put Eternity in perspective and receive God’s gift of Salvation, so that we may help others find their way to Him.
Host Barry Meguiar is a car guy and businessman who hosted the popular TV show, Car Crazy, on Discovery Networks for 18 years. He loves cars, but he loves Jesus even more! Learn more about Barry at IgniteAmerica.com
Get your copy of Barry’s book Ignite Your Life: Defeat Fear with Effortless Faith at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and other online booksellers.
Learn more about:
- Why obedience matters when sharing the Gospel
- How we can work God into any conversation
- Why 80% of Americans are looking for God
- When we can use humor to share God’s message
- How the Holy Spirit gives us a voice
Check out Why Share? on IgniteAmerica.com to learn why it is important for every believer to share their faith. Then visit First Steps which provides practical ways to get started in your faith-sharing journey. Sign up to receive emails that will bring you solid faith-sharing tips and powerful inspiration.

00:00 Welcome to Ignite: Who Are You to God?
01:19 The Magnitude of God: Eternal, Omnipresent, and All-Powerful
02:27 Created for Eternity: Why God Made You
04:05 Admirers vs Followers: The Critical Difference
04:23 You Can't Earn Heaven: The Truth About Good Works
06:25 The Cross: God's Blood Sacrifice for Your Sin
06:53 Free Choice and the Reality of Evil
08:08 What You Love, You Talk About: Where Is God in Your Life?
08:37 Revelation Chapter 2: When God Is No Longer Your First Love
09:41 The Hour We Can't Give: Choosing the World Over God
10:21 Known Before the Foundation: God's Intimate Knowledge of You
11:36 Two Judgments: The White Throne and the Lamb's Book of Life
12:05 One Day Too Late: The Tragedy of Putting Off Salvation
12:51 Joint Heirs with Christ: The Unbelievable Inheritance
13:12 Why Barry Always Talks About God: I Don't Want to Lose You
14:05 What Matters Most in Heaven: Who Else Is There Because of You?
14:29 Your Friends Are Lost: The Urgency of Sharing the Gospel
15:26 The Reality of Hell: More Scriptures Than Heaven
15:46 Rewards and Punishments: The Ultimate Incentive Plan
17:40 Eternity in Perspective: 10,000 Years Is Just the Beginning
18:10 The Narrow Gate: Most Will Miss Heaven
18:35 Don't Miss Heaven: Make the Decision Now
18:59 How to Receive Christ: It's That Simple
19:28 Freedom in Christ: Make My Day, I'm Going to Heaven
20:14 SeekingGod.org: Your Next Step to Eternal Life

Anne shares about sacrifice and loving God from Hebrews 13:16.