Learning The Hard Way

Honestly, I am not fond of reading true to life stories before. When I became a Christian I have read the amazing stories from the likes of Brother Yun, Franklin Graham, Dennis Byrd and a few others.

Knowing how God had moved to the lives of His people got my interest in reading them now. The miracles, the healing and the unimaginable twist and turns God allowed in someone's life bring inspiration and help my faith to grow more and cling into Jesus steadfastly.

This book by Kuya Kevin Sanders is a compilation of stories contributed by Filipinos. The lives of these people had been touched by God in different ways but shared with one denominator, falling into sexual sin.

Sexual sin does not come in one form and there are many factors around us that could put anyone at risk of falling into it when the person is oblivious and imprudent. The body is not meant for sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6:13) but for the Lord. God is abounding in love but also just and definitely there are consequences for all our sinful actions and most of it is severe.

There are eighteen heart breaking testimonies where you can learn from on this book. But moreover, you can see God's goodness and faithfulness when they started to yield their circumstances to Jesus. God is truly a God of second chances and real hope can only be found in Jesus!

This book also speaks about the reality that is happening inside our churches. It only shows that Christians are really not immune to temptations or sins and also capable of making wrong decisions. Disobeying God or living a life without Him could definitely lead into catastrophe. But what matters most is how you get up after falling just to continue the race God asked us to run, an attitude reflected in virtually all the stories here.

My favorite stories are "Sexual Sin and Stronghold" and "Confessions of a Porn Addict". Not only I can relate to these people but I was simply amazed on how God turned their lives around. My story was featured last entitled "Living with HIV". It's available at PCBS, National Bookstore and Power books.

"Our journey is one of faith. The Lord's glory is often hidden from our sight. While it may seem dark as we struggle along the darkness can also be a door into union with the Lord if we allow Him to walk with us in our journey. Walking with Him gives us hope and peace."