A very wise man said something to me a long time ago that I have never forgotten. I was in a bad place emotionally, hurting from a broken heart, and stuck in the quagmire. I knew there were things I could do to make my life better—but I wasn’t doing them. Sound crazy?
Well, it is crazy. And you and I do stuff like that every day. There are better ways to do things, better ways to live, but we are stuck in our own muck, often feeling sorry for ourselves and living—no, existing —as though we are on a treadmill, going nowhere fast.
During that time in my “treadmill condition,” my friend asked me this profound question: How much longer do you want to feel bad?
How much longer did I want to feel bad? I had an immediate answer: Not another day—not another hour. I was sick and tired of feeling bad.
That was the moment.
I just needed to hear myself say it. I was tired of my life as it was, and it was time to do something about it. So I did. I reached out to God and made the remarkable discovery that the entire time He had been reaching down to me. He had a miracle with my name on it.
How about you? Is there something in your life you are sick of? Have you had enough? Are you ready to have a better life? Are you ready to get the junk out of your life that is stealing your peace, keeping you from living a life that counts for something?
If your heart says yes, then I have great news for you: God has a miracle waiting for you!
The stories you’ve read here are all true, but far more importantly, they are stories of truth. Each of these people you’ve read about will gladly tell you that truth—a God who is real, personal, and who cares about you specifically—has changed their lives forever. That’s what miracles are all about: God reaching down into our circumstances, touching our lives, and changing us forever. Do you want that?
I believe that as Jesus was breathing His last on the cross, He was whispering my name. “Jody...I am doing this for you...” He knew that 2000 years later, a little boy would be born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1956 who was going to need a Savior—a rescuer.
He knew that you’d be born too, and that you were going to need Him to reach into your life and perform a miracle or two. And He whispered your name with His last breath, just before He died on that cross.
He did it for me.
He did it for you.
Fade to White
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The Passion of the Christ ends with a beginning. It doesn’t fade to black like most films. It fades to white.
The open expanse made for your new beginning.
This book ends with a beginning also—but only if you want it to.
You can easily move from places of darkness in your life to a place of light. All it takes is a willing heart that says to God, “I need You. I can’t do this alone. I don’t want to do this alone. I am tired of life as it
is, and I want Your miracles—I want to be a different person. I believe that what Jesus did—His passion for me—is all I need. Change me the way You changed the people in this book. I receive what You want for me, because I know You have my best interests in mind all the time.”
I assure you that if you open the door of your heart just a little bit and ask Jesus to come on in, you will never, ever regret
it. Your life will be changed forever.
Don’t believe me? Then ask Sam Marte—the former Godhater. Or Anthony Scott, who is now friends with a man whose jaw he broke. Or Michael and Krista Branch, whose baby daughter is alive and well after drowning. Or Jan “Lightning Boy” Michelini.. .or Dan Goldberg, a Jew who now knows why Jesus lived and died—and rose again. Or dozens of women in that prison in Florida who will never be the same...the stories go on and on and on.
Where is your miracle?
What will be your story?
There is another chapter just waiting to be written.
