Fresh Start Ministry

Insight from Chiune Sugihara (Japanese Ambassador)

CHIUNE SUGIHARA WAS BORN on a day of new of new beginnings–January 1, 1900. As a boy, he cherished the dreams of becoming the Japanese Ambassador to Russia. By the 1930s, he was the Ambassador to Lithuania, just a step away from Russia.

One morning, a huge throng of people gathered outside his home. They were Jews, who had made their way across treacherous terrain from Poland, desperately seeking his help. They wanted Japanese visas, which would enable them to flee Europe and the Gestapo.

Three times Sugihara wired Tokyo for permission to provide the visas; three times he was rejected. He had to choose between the fulfillment of his dream and people’s lives. He chose to disobey orders. For twenty-eight days he wrote visas by hand, barely sleeping or eating. Recalled to Berlin, he was still writing visas and shoving them through the train windows into the hands of refugees who ran alongside. Ultimately he saved six thousand lives.

Sugihara was not only a courageous Japanese; he was also a committed Christian. He spent his remaining days in Japan, humbly selling light bulbs. When his story was finally told, his son was asked, “How did your father feel about his choice?” The young man replied, “My father’s life was fulfilled. When God needed him to do the right thing, he was available to do it.”

Point to Ponder:
As we seek to obey God, one of our most powerful assets is a set of proper priorities. What comes first in our lives? Our world places great importance on personal goals, financial achievement, and powerful status because they claim to guarantee both security and self-satisfaction. As significant as these accomplishments may seem, however, we have to guard ourselves against allowing them to diminish our commitment to God and His righteousness.

Power Quote:
Submission to God’s authority provides hope, peace, and personal fulfillment.

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 1:6 – The LORD protects everyone who follows him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.

Insight from Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Theologian)

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER WANTED TO see moral responsibility, unselfish concern for others, intellectual integrity, self-discipline, and personal commitment demonstrated in the Christian life. The rise of Nazism and the church’s compromise of values in order to fit into Hitler’s agenda appalled him and his family.

As the Nazi’s gained more ground in Germany, Bonhoeffer had to choose between a comfortable and politically correct church or a living relationship with the living Christ. The second choice was the only one he could conscionably make, but it meant loss of security, persecution and, potentially, death at the hands of the SS.

As the temptation to compromise increased, Bonhoeffer’s commitment deepened. He was not concerned with the criticism of his brothers and sisters; he was concerned only with the approval of his Lord. His choice of spiritual power rather than political power ultimately cost him everything. Nonetheless, he preached from the depths of his heart: “When dark hours come, and when the darkest comes upon us, then let us hear the voice of Jesus Christ, which cried in our ears–victory is won.”

Point to Ponder:
We know from Scripture that spiritual rebirth means that God has begun a new work within us, transforming us from the inside out by renewing our minds. Obedience requires us to do our best to obey Him and to cry out to God for help when the going gets rough. As in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s case, when the most difficult situation arises, our obedience will be complete because of our willingness to obey and God’s willingness to assist us.

Power Quote:
Obedience with God begins with and act of the will and is made complete by His empowerment.

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 139:12 – But you see in the dark because daylight and dark are all the same to you.

Insight from Helen Roseveare (Medical Missionary)

HELEN ROSEVEARE GRADUATED FROM Cambridge University with her medical degree in 1951. She was a strong-willed, self sufficient Christian woman, who had once asked God’s permission to serve Him as a medical missionary.

Her years in Africa were marked by both success and failure. Dr. Roseveare nearly single-handedly started a training hospital, and she taught the Congolese medicine. Although her desire was to spread the Christian gospel, her duties as a physician consumed her days. He strengths were also her weaknesses–she had at times antagonized her fellow missionaries with her controlling personality, impatience, and willfulness.

During the war for Independence between Congo and Belgium, she stood her ground. Eventually, she and her colleagues were captured by rebels. Dr. Roseveare was beaten and raped in the process, and she was held captive for five months. During that time, she shared the gospel with her fellow prisoners, and she comforted other women who also had been raped.

Dr. Rosevear’s career was a continuous struggle between success and failure. But God met her in her most vulnerable, powerless condition and gave her strength to carry on.

Point to Ponder:
One of the great Christian mysteries is God’s extraordinary ability to use our weaknesses to His best advantage. While the world demands personal empowerment and offers countless ways of strengthening our bodies, minds, and wills, Christ insists upon being powerful in our lives in the very areas where we are weakest. He takes our inability to love and embraces unlovable people through us. He takes our failures and uses them, through us, to teach others His best lessons to us and to others.

Power Quote:
When we declare ourselves powerless, God’s unlimited power is unleashed.

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 12:10 – When I am weak, I am strong.

Insight from Jack Eckerd (Owner, Eckerd Drugstore Chain)

JACK ECKERD WAS CONFRONTED by Charles Colson while working with him for prison reform in Florida. Colson looked the sixty-nine-year-old executive in the eye and said, “You businesspeople make all these tough decisions, but when it comes to something that will affect you for eternity, you keep sitting on the fence. When are you going to make up your mind?”

Eckerd had built two small drugstores into the nation’s largest drugstore chain. To him, business was war, and competition sent his blood surging through his veins. The idea of submitting to God, giving up control, and loving the enemy wasn’t particularly appealing.

Could he really give the credit for his success to God and submit to Him? Could he learn to love the competition he had always hated? Eventually, recalling Colson’s challenge, Jack Eckerd got off the fence and gave his life to God.

He said, “I’m still competitive, whether on the tennis court or in the non-profit ventures I manage. And I still face the everyday struggle of giving control of my life to Christ. I’ve had to ask myself, ‘Are you doing this because you think the Lord wants you to do it or because of vanity or ego? Sometimes it’s a tough call. But I know now that God is in charge of my life.”

Point to Ponder:
Releasing the control of our lives is essential to our relationship with God. It involves trusting an unseen Power with the things that matter the most to us. It means letting go of our own methods for success. And it requires submission to the divine will. This cosmic struggle ultimately determines the destiny of our souls. Are we willing to let God be God?

Power Quote:
Submission to God’s authority provides hope, peace, and personal fulfillment.

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 1:6 – The LORD protects everyone who follows him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.

Insight from Richard Gonzales (Real Estate Agent)

RICHARD GONZALES HAS WON the Century 21 Centurion Award several times. To receive it, an agent has to close $150,000 in real estate commissions in one year. Clearly, Richard is a powerful achiever in his field, but lessons learned early in life have given him a sense of God’s power and the power of God’s Word.

As a young man, Richard was caught up in what he describes as a “sin-sick, drug-oriented southern California lifestyle.” He was finally confronted by his girlfriend Elva, who said, “This life is destroying us. Sure we have every luxury money could buy, but we are still miserable. I’m leaving!”

In his desperation, Richard turned to God for a new way to live. One day while trying to learn more about the Bible, he discovered Matthew 6:33: “But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.” He felt led to take that Scripture as a promise. If he would focus on God, Elva would return. About a month after his conversion, she called, curious about his new faith. He insisted on taking her to church with him. During the service, she received Christ, too.

Richard Gonzales applies God’s Word to his business as well as his personal life. His remarkable success speaks for itself. He has not been disappointed.

Point to Ponder:
God’s Word is a living message to His people, literally “God-breathed.” Those who read Scripture often recount the times when a particular message jumped off the page and spoke to their hearts. Of course, He doesn’t intend for us to use His Word like a collection of disconnected slogans that promise us everything we want. But when we sincerely seek to know God, the Scriptures provide clear guidance, warm comfort, and supernatural solutions.

Power Quote:
God’s Word tells us the truth about Him, about ourselves, and about the way He does things.

Scripture Reading:
Numbers 23:19 – God is no mere human! He doesn’t tell lies or change his mind. God always keeps his promises.

Insight from Billy Diamond (Illusionist)

BILLY DIAMOND DEVISED DARING escape feats and planned the “disappearance” of major buildings to enhance his career. But the only things that seemed to disappear were his money, his conscience, and his peace of mind.

Billy attempted suicide, but three days after taking a bottle of sleeping pills, he woke up, alive and amazed. Before swallowing the pills, he prayed, “Lord, this is my only way out. If You could just forgive me, if You could only get me out of my situation…I would perform my magic for the kingdom of God.”

But it wasn’t long before Billy forgot his promise. He headed for Hollywood, and his troubles followed him. Soon drugs and alcohol compounded his problems. He was on the verge of another suicide attempt when he remembered two things–his first attempt, when he promised God that he would use his talents for God’s glory, and 1 John 1:9, which says that if we confess our sins, God will forgive and cleanse us.

Ultimately, Billy gave up his career goals. He entered a rehab program for his substance abuse, and he is now keeping his promise to serve God. He says, “Today I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wants me to use my talents for His glory. Why? Because He’s changed my heart. I know there are no other God’s before Him.”

Point to Ponder:
Sometimes we assume that God doesn’t take our promises to Him seriously, so we pretend we never made them in the first place. Nonetheless, He listens to the smallest whisper of truth that can be heard in the midst of all our shouting–the tiny confession that we really want to do the right thing. It has been said, “Be careful what you pray for, or you’ll get it.” That is surely true when we pray for healing, for righteousness, or for eternal life.

Power Quote:
God hears the silent cry of your heart. Are you listening for the response of His still, small voice?

Scripture Reading:
Proverbs 9:10 – Respect and obey the LORD! This is the beginning of wisdom.

Insight from Maria Grzanka (Overcomer of Illiteracy)

MARIA GRZANKA WAS SEVEN years old when she began her lifelong struggle with literacy. Every day at school, she was ordered to stand and read. Terrified, Maria got up and hoped the words on the page would make sense. When they didn’t, her teacher locked her in a closet.

One night when she was eleven, Maria dug a ditch in the backyard, climbed into it with her schoolbooks, and said, “Please, God, kill me or make a miracle! Make me able to read.”

It seemed that God had not heard her prayer. Maria married and had children of her own. She became angry when her sons and daughters were unable to read; she secretly hoped they would teach her, but she realized they, too, were caught in a cycle of illiteracy.

Then a TV announcement made her aware of a local literacy program. She signed up with a volunteer tutor and began to study. Before long, her children joined her. Their grades improved, and Maria’s self-esteem grew dramatically. She even found enough courage to go back to her old high school and speak to the students about the importance of reading. Sitting in the audience was Maria’s proud daughter. Maria realized that the cycle of illiteracy had been broken, and that a thirty-year-old prayer had finally been answered.

Point to Ponder:
We often speak to God during times of great emotion. Then when we don’t experience immediate results, we assume He either didn’t hear us or didn’t care about us. We often fail to consider His view of our lives–His infinite perspective–and His refusal to become entrapped by our sense of the immediate. God is an eternal Being who operates on an eternal schedule. He heard Maria Grzanka’s childhood prayer, and He answered it when it was the perfect moment to bless her–and her children.

Power Quote:
God’s unfathomable intelligence determines that the time is right–then He acts with lightning speed.

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 23:12 – If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honored.

Insight from Dennis Connolly (Prisoner)

WHILE SERVING A LENGTHY prison sentence, Dennis Connolly began to sense, by reading the Bible and good literature, that he wanted more of God’s love in his life. And he gradually began to see that his family needed to be reconciled.

Twelve years had passed since he had seen or heard from his mother, father, sister, or brother. Dennis said, “I prayed to God in the name of Jesus Christ that if it was His will to bring my family together, it would come about through Him.”

First, he spoke on the phone to his mother, who told him his father had died. Next, he heard from his sister, who wrote him an angry letter, listing past offenses. Before long, the two brothers were communicating on a weekly basis. Then, the sister and mother went to visit Dennis.

Dennis said, “All my prayers to see my mother and sister were being answered…When I reached out to her with open arms, she ran up, embraced me, and started to cry. I cried, too. Then I saw my mother crying and reached out to her without releasing my sister. We were all crying…Why not? We were all witnessing the birth of a miracle…Love!”

Point to Ponder:
It is so much easier to walk away from a hurtful past than to confront the issues. And our hectic, transient culture makes it easy for us to start over far away from the people and places we have left behind. But we discover that we cannot remove the past from our hearts–it is there to stay. And the only hope for true peace with the past is to face it at its worst and, with God’s help, to seek to forgive, to be forgiven, to make amends, and to be reconciled.

Power Quote:
No matter how great our hurts or fears, they shrink in the presence of God’s forgiving love.

Scripture Reading:
Proverbs 27:5 – A truly good friend will openly correct you.

Insight from Ruth Bell Graham (Wife, Mother, Author)

“THE JOY OF THE LORD is your strength” is God’s promise to His people (Neh. 8:10 NKJV). And few Christians have taken that promise more to heart than Ruth Bell Graham. Her colorful and very visible life has been interwoven with pain, loneliness, and difficulty. And yet she has chosen to cling to God’s joy.

Although Ruth Bell’s parents were hardworking missionaries, and her father was one of the finest surgeons of his time, the family came first. Ruth grew up in a home filled with music, laughter, and faith. As a young wife and mother, she longed to recapture the joy of that childhood household. But her beloved husband was called by God to minister all around the globe, and she and their five children rarely were able to travel with him.

She faced the children’s growing pains with faith and courage, but not without an aching heart. Volumes of her beautiful poetry record times of despair along with overcoming hope and love.

Ruth Bell Graham continues to share her wit and wisdom. While her husband preaches to countless millions, Ruth reaches out, one by one, to individuals. Her body is weakened by degenerative arthritis, but her spirit is strong. Her smile is radiantly joyful with the joy of Christ whom she has made “her home, her purpose, her center, her confidant, and her vision.”

Point to Ponder:
“The joy of the LORD” is an attribute we receive from heaven. It is both a gift and a choice. The Lord’s joy doesn’t provide constant happiness or shallow amusement. Rather, it is a deep awareness that we are His, and that eternal life is ours.

Power Quote:
Joy is not a natural high; it is a supernatural empowerment.

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 37:18 – Those who obey the LORD are daily in his care, and what he has given them will be theirs forever.

Insight from Al Kasha (Actor and Songwriter)

AGORAPHOBIA IS AN INTENSE fear of being in public. Al Kasha had already fought his way through eating disorders, workaholism, drug abuse, and panic attacks when the phobia imprisoned him in his home.

At age seven, Al appeared on Broadway with Ethel Merman in “Annie Get Your Gun.” His brother Larry became a Tony Award winning theater producer, and Al’s career was soon to be successful. He won his first Academy Award for writing the hit son “The Morning After.” The award led to the worst panic attack he had ever experienced.

Al’s battle with agoraphobia intensified, and he and his wife, Ceil, separated. In a rented apartment, Al popped Valiums and sat up all night, trying to figure out a way to get his life back together. He heard a television minister say that fear could be removed by having Jesus in one’s life.

It was hard for Al to say the word Jesus because of his Jewish upbringing. But he finally got the word out and began to pray, then to weep, to confess his sins, and to beg God for reconciliation with his wife.

That night, deep in his heart, Al heard God speak these powerful words: “You are My son and I love you.” His agoraphobia disappeared. He and his wife were reunited in faith. His new life of freedom from fear had begun.

Point to Ponder:
Sometimes inner panic intensifies even though careers are soaring, marriages are flourishing, and finances are multiplying. When we can no longer live with the agitation within our souls, we need help from outside ourselves. Like Al Kasha did, we need to speak the name Jesus aloud. He could calm the Sea of Galilee with a word; surely, He is able to calm the turbulence of our raging, stormy emotions.

Power Quote:
With God’s help, we are responsible for our emotions–they are not supposed to control us.

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 34:4 – I asked the LORD for help, and he saved me from all my fears.