In His Grip

A young woman, beginning to see her career as a recording artist start to take off, hears the diagnosis no young person ever expects: “You have an inoperable brain tumor.” Listen as Caitlin describes her battle to find a cure and then just when life seemed to be turning around, the news that shook her world once more.
Caitlin Jane’s story is a light in the darkness for all who face uncertain days, but especially young women and young men as they struggle with the challenges of walking by faith when life is turned upside down.

Caitlin’s response to life a life-threatening medical diagnosis, disappointments, even to standing against the tide of cultural pressures is a remarkable and a unique journey that will encourage other young people that they have choices in the way the respond not only to typical teenage pressures, but life crises and a culture that challenges their core values.
Caitlin’s story will “raise the bar” for young women who are struggling – in that they will realize they, too, can walk by faith when life seems to be a mess.

To book Caitlin Jane for a concert or to check out her music, visit:
www.caitlinjanetunes.com/

If you have been following along in this intriguing series, Souls of Steel, Feet of Clay, you probably share the frustration with Samson that his own parents must have experienced as they watched him make one bad decision after another. We hope for a display of spiritual power. Even knowing the tragic end of the story, we watch the drama unfold, hoping for a different ending. In Judges 15, brief as it is, we see Samson submitted and faithful to God’s purposes in his life. It is a spiritual pinnacle for him, but what follows is a pitiful and sorrowful crash into spiritual impotence. And yet, Samson is mentioned in the Hebrews 11 as a man of faith.

Violence, sex, betrayal, intrigue, a super hero, lots of villains. Samson’s story has it all. But mostly, it is a story of redemption that flows from the grace of God to a man who deserved nothing. And this is a picture of our own salvation. We can’t go so low, that Jesus isn’t willing to come for us. In this message, Samson’s Bachelor Party, Dr. Betters leaves nothing out as he opens this powerful message about a man whose unsatisfied lust proved to be his downfall. But that’s not the end of the story.

Once more God hides nothing about the people He loves. The story of Samson is rich with practical application for our own lives. Samson is a man with feet of clay, yet chosen by God to demonstrate His power and love.

Samson, called a hero of the faith is a man of many faces, conflicted in his walk with God, determined to do things his own way, a man who played dangerous games with terrible consequences. Once more, we see Samson experiencing great strength but demonstrating a lack of wisdom that creates great anguish, not only in his life but in the lives of others. God graciously gives us the whole picture, He hides none of the dark places in the lives of those He loves. And such a story gives us a picture of undeserved grace from our perfect God.

Scriptures hide nothing when it comes to the “heroes of the faith” and the story of Samson tells a tale of a self absorbed young man whose hormones ruled and temporarily trumped God’s plan for his life. He tells his parents that he has seen a Philistine woman and they must “get her for him as his wife. Their pleas that he choose a wife from his own people fall on deaf ears. Samson must have what he wants. And so begins a downward spiral that creates enormous pain and havoc, not just for Samson but for many others. Riddles and betrayal lace this story that demonstrates once more God’s grace does not depend on our behavior, but on His great love.

Depression affects more than 15 million American adults – 6.7% of the population 18 or older. Twenty percent of teens experience depression before adulthood and 70% will have more than one episode of depression before adulthood. 8.3% of these teens suffer depression for at least a year.
Women are twice as likely to suffer from depression.

Untreated suicide is the leading cause of suicide and suicide is the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 – 24.

These overwhelming stats demonstrate that depression is a broad life crisis with many unique circumstances but in this interview Danielle’s story demonstrates that depression in young adults is often rooted in childhood. It’s easy to hide depression and to slowly hide away rather than fight the dark feelings of sadness, loneliness and worthlessness. Danielle offers help and hope as she describes the steps she took to find her way back to a life of purpose.

For more help and hope about depression and counseling options:

www.ccef.org/topic/depression

She was sterile and remained childless, we don’t know for how long. . Her people did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. During that time of discipline, an angel visited this nameless woman and told her that she would conceive and have a son. The angel gave her specific instructions on how to raise this child because he was to be set apart to God from birth. And wonder of wonders, he would be the man who would begin the deliverance of Israel from the bondage of the Philistines. And so begins the story of Samson.

He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows yet we considered him stricken by God. Who put Jesus up on the cross? Pilate? The Pharisees? Who really put Jesus up on the cross?

Words are important. Speech is important and that is why we believe in what is called verbal inspiration of scripture. What we mean by that is every word in the original Greek or the original Hebrew, every word from which our bible comes in the original language...those words were chosen by God and were not just thoughts put into the Apostle’s heads.