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TW: abuse, s*xual assault

Lusu grew up in a Christian household, going to church but didn’t understand her “borrowed faith.”

She had a tough relationship with her parents due to verbal and physical abuse growing up. 

For university, Lusu moved to a different country for school and was sexually assaulted. She was in a very rough mental space. She wasn’t going to church anymore and didn’t want to. Then a random guy invited her to church. 

She was hesitant at first, but eventually went to a church event that changed her life.

Lusu rededicated her life to Jesus and was baptized in May 2019. 

After becoming a Christian, she still faces difficulties in life. And she has still has had trouble being fully obedient - feeling attached to the world, trying to have a full life outside of God. But God is faithful. Through His Word He reminded Lusu that with Him is life to the fullest. Even on bad days, they're not really that bad because she has the Lord.

Also with having God, Lusu has experienced restoration and forgiveness - she now has a better relationship with father.

She realized that God is working in the lives of people who hurt us. He’s not just working in our own lives, but He’s also working in the lives of those around us who might hurt us.

Lusu’s advice for people who aren’t sure about Jesus: Reach out and find Him. 

Lusu also encourages us to pray for the global Church. As someone from Malawi, she talks about Malawian Christians - they don’t have much money, but hold onto the Lord and are content.

Thanks for listening!

Resources:

• Luke 15:1-7 He leaves the 99 for the 1 lost sheep
• Jeremiah 29:11 He has plans and a hope for us
• John 10:10 “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
• Isaiah 55:6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found”
• Psalm 84:10 “Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else.”

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Hey friends!

Thanks for listening! This is part 2 of Drew & Rachel answering your questions. Today’s episode covers Christian community, Bible passages and worship songs that have helped us in our faith journey, and how to practically maintain purity & keep Christ at the center of dating relationships. Let’s dive in together!

Christian Community

• Youth Group Memories
• Staying in touch with friends when you graduate
• How Christian community benefits your Christian walk
• Speaking truth in love when you need to be challenged

“Mount Rushmore” of Bible Passages

Drew’s:

• Romans 12:1-2 | living sacrifice
• 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 | flee sexual immorality
• 1 Peter 5:6-7 | humble yourself, He will lift you up. Cast your anxieties on Him, He cares for you.
• Deuteronomy 8:11-18 | remember what God has done for you
• 1 Samuel 8:7-8 | “They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.”

Rachel’s:

• Romans 8 | flesh & the Spirit, adoption, hope, the Spirit interceding for us, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
• Exodus 33 (& 34:5-7) | God’s presence, God’s character
• Hebrews 12 | running the race, discipline as God’s children, Mount Sinai vs Mount Zion
• Acts 17 | Bereans searching the Scriptures, Paul in Athens
• Honorable mentions: Numbers 23:19, Ezekiel 16, Ezekiel 36-37, 2 Corinthians 3-4, and so many Psalms and Isaiah passages 

Top 5 Christian Songs

Drew:

• The Road, the Rocks, and the Weeds by John Mark McMillan
• Breathe by Ben Wolverton
• All That Breathes by Andrew Word
• Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson
• Son of Suffering by Maverick City Worship
• Honorable Mentions: Forever YHWH by Elevation Worship, Gratitude / Worthy of It All / You’re Worthy of My Praise by Maverick City Worship

Rachel:

• Made for Jesus by John Mark Pantana
• Is He Worthy / Agnus Dei / We Fall Down by Maverick City Worship
• The Road, the Rocks, and the Weeds by John Mark McMillan
• Redeemer by Nicole C. Mullen
• Touch Your Robe by Gable Price and Friends
• Honorable Mentions: Mark Barlow, Isla Vista Worship, Rich Mullins

Keeping Christ at the Center of Relationships:

• Maintaining purity practically with boundaries
• How to keep Christ at the center in dating

Other Resources:

Sexual Sanity by David White

Ephesians 5:3

Please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends! You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast and join our Facebook group to stay in touch. May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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Hey friends! Long time, no see!
In this episode, my husband Drew & I talk about how God has been taking care of us through the massive transitions of moving back to the U.S. from Japan and being pregnant!
We also answer the first couple of questions that you guys submitted, this time addressing how we saw God moving in Japan and memories we want to take back with us to the United States.
We hope you enjoy the episode! Stay tuned for part two where we address how God has worked in our lives through community, scripture, and music. As well as relationships & purity.

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you.

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No matter what your past looks like, you are always just one call away from a new life.

Trigger warning: su*cide, drugs

Keith felt this hole in his heart from a young age. His parents divorced and Keith struggled with anger and depression. After going to rehab for suicidal thoughts, he attempted to fill the whole and numb the pain with anything and everything - drugs, marijuana, partying, cigarettes, alcohol, prescription pills. Keith dropped out of high school, was financially irresponsible, and got arrested a couple of times.

Instead of just a hole in his heart, it took over his whole life so that Keith felt completely dead inside. The enemy wanted to take his life.

BUT GOD encountered Keith through music. The songs spoke to his heart and he knew he needed Jesus. 

About his encounter with Jesus, Keith says: 

“It took the devil three months to get to the point where my soul felt dead, my spirit felt dead, and I wanted to kill myself. 30 seconds after I prayed, I felt the stress that I used to have on my shoulders lifted. I felt this fire of Jesus’ love burning in my heart. I felt joy, I felt peace, I felt love. I felt like I was drowning in deep deep deep water and Jesus just pulled me out and just breathed the breath of life in me. I felt like at that moment that my spirit became alive, that I was reborn - I was regenerated like the Bible said. I felt at that split second as I called on the name of Jesus, He just came… I’m alive in Christ.”

Because of encountering the love of Jesus, God has transformed Keith into a new creation. 

• Compassion & forgiveness
• Financial responsibility
• Willingness to serve
• Evangelism & preaching
• Speaking truth & life
• Feeling God’s presence

I hope you are encouraged by Keith’s story!

Bible references from the episode: John 10:10, 2 Chronicles 16:9, Luke 19:40, Matthew 6:33, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 3:4, Job 42, Romans 8:11, Philippians 4:19, Matthew 7:7-11, Psalm 2:4, Matthew 6:34, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Psalm 34:19, Hebrews 11:1, Isaiah 53:5, Ephesians 5:18

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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Yoji grew up in a family full of fighting, especially due to his father’s love of women and alcohol. When he was eleven years old, Yoji’s mother died of cancer. In his first year of middle school, his father’s company went bankrupt so he ran away, leaving Yoji and his three siblings to take care of themselves, which was difficult both emotionally and financially. Yoji felt like he had nothing to live for and spent a lot of his time hanging out with friends.

One day after hanging out late with his friends, Yoji couldn’t go home because he didn’t have his key, so he was wandering aimlessly around his town. A man invited him to a cafe to learn about Jesus. Yoji wasn’t interested in Jesus, but the coffee sounded nice. It was Yoji’s first time hearing about the Bible.

That very same day Yoji became a Christian and was baptized!

After that, he was refreshed and had peace. The circumstances in his life didn’t change, but now he had peace.

As he grew up, he wanted to become a pastor and prison chaplain, so Yoji went to Bible school which is also where he met his beautiful wife. They got married and now have three daughters and two sons.

When he was 31, Yoji started a church in Kumamoto.

About seven years ago is when the two boys joined their family through foster care and adoption and they are a blessing to the family. God has blessed Yoji’s life in so many ways!

Yoji encourages Christians to pray for Japan and to tell the Japanese people about Jesus. In Japan, there is only about 1% of the population that is Christian - and that 1% includes all denominations. Out of all the countries in the world, Japan is the 2nd least reached country for Christ.

Japan is an economically rich country, but there are many broken families and children trying to build a good life for themselves. Let’s pray for Japan and spread the Good News about Jesus!

Romans 10:14-15 “How, then, can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”

Thank you Pastor Yoji for sharing your story! And thank you Drew for translating!

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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Kaz did not grow up in a Christian home, his family actually did ancestor worship. After getting trapped for 4 hours in the aftermath of an earthquake and being rescued, Kaz’s life was changed. He made some Christian friends who invited him to church. It started out as Kaz’s little secret, but then he finally invited his sister to join at Christmastime.

They both ended up giving their lives to Jesus through a Bible study led by a construction worker who shared his testimony. When their mom found out that they became Christian, she was upset that they were not continuing the ancestor worship. But Kaz asked her about her reason for worshiping the ancestors and it made her think… then through both Kaz’s mom and Kaz’s dad having cancer at different points in life and hearing the gospel through their children and through friends, they had to decide for themselves. Listen to the episode for more!

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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I’m so excited for you to hear Mami’s story of how she encountered Jesus.

In Japan, only 1% of the population is Christian, so Mami had the rare & miraculous experience of growing up in the church. 
She knew about God, but it wasn’t until later that she actually felt God’s nearness and knew His love in her heart.
With having Jesus in her life, God guides her life and she knows that He is with her.

Many Japanese people are seeking happiness - so they work hard and try to build meaningful relationships, but there is still an emptiness... there are not many places in Japan to hear about God, but it is good to have an open heart to Jesus.

Check out the episode to hear more!

Thank you to Mami for sharing her story and thank you to Drew for translating!

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!
You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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I'm so excited to share Julie's story with you! The Lord has been so faithful to her from a young age. Originally, Julie was not interested in going to Japan at all, but God worked in her heart, and she ended up becoming a missionary in Japan! 

Through being a missionary in Japan, Julie shares some amazing stories of loss & forgiveness, falling in love & getting married, and trusting God's guidance through it all.

Julie has known Jesus most of her life, and because of knowing Jesus:

• she trusts God to lead her
• she prays for others
• she can feel His presence 
• she loves to worship Him
• and much more!

You will not want to miss this episode!

If you like listening to the podcast, please rate, write reviews, and share with your friends!

You can follow us on instagram @lifeishardgodisgoodpodcast or join our Facebook group!

Have a great week! May the LORD bless you and keep you!

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Hello friends! This week, our Bible study leader, Andrew, shares his story of how he encountered Jesus.

Although he grew up in a family that attended church, Andrew tried to seek faith on his own and as a teenager, he ended up turning his back on God.

He called himself an atheist and really wrestled with some tough questions:

• Does life have any meaning?
• What happens when we die?
• Is love real or just chemical reactions?
• Did God create the world?
• How can God be real if there is so much suffering?

Through some “coincidences,” Andrew was able to wrestle with answers to those questions with a Christian friend. 

Not only did he find truth in God, but he discovered that “the God of the universe loves me, a broken sinner.”  

After giving his life to Jesus, Jesus changed (& is still changing) Andrew over time…

• from being selfish to loving others 
• from being a broken sinner to being saved & set free
• from searching for meaning to life making sense
• from being unsure about life after death to having hope in eternal life

Looking at his life now, Andrew realizes that life is so much more than what he used to think: “it’s not fate, it’s not accidental, there’s a beautiful story being written with my life - all the broken pieces are being put into this beautiful water and it’s making something extremely beautiful, interesting out of something that was such a mess, out of such a messy person.” 

Without God, nothing makes sense. “We can’t make sense of anything as humans on earth without God.”

And the gospel is not just that Jesus died for our sins, but we have the hope of an eternal future with God for those who believe. “Christianity without the resurrection, is not Christianity… Jesus has made a way for us to live with Him for eternity.” 

Do you know Jesus personally? Not sure where to start? Feel free to send us a message on Facebook or Instagram @lifeishardGodisgoodpodcast

Thanks for listening to the Life is Hard, God is Good Podcast! Be sure to rate, write reviews, and share with your friends to help others find this encouragement!

Have a great week!

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Zoe is one of the most joyful people you will ever meet, but she wasn't always that way.

Zoe first heard about God when her mom was bedridden with a spinal disease, and some Christians came to pray for her and she was healed.

She discovered God's power and attended church & Christian activities, but she did not know God's love until she met some very loving Christians.

Her relationship with God developed over time - learning how to pray, starting to enjoy reading God's word, hearing God's voice...

She also noticed a difference in her relationships. Family that she once hated, Zoe now had empathy for them and she wanted to show them love.

From a young age, Zoe believed that she was negative and gloomy, but a Christian lady spoke to her that her gift is JOY and that people would come to know Jesus through her JOY. Zoe believes the truth that she has JOY and shares that with everyone she meets.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8