When Jon* stepped up to the front of the room to deliver his message during the house church meeting, he felt the Lord tell him to preach about the prodigal son.
He knew that the Lord meant it for a particular purpose, and Celeste* was that purpose.
She sat among the members of the congregation—listening carefully but still unsure what to expect. As Jon continued his message, she felt as though he was speaking right to her.
Raised in an upper class family, Celeste had once known the finer things in life. More recently, she had rebelled against her family, and spent her days caught up in a culture of drugs and alcohol … from which she felt escape was impossible.
But as she listened, she suddenly felt a pang of hope in her heart. Maybe this Jesus was the one who could set her free and give her the chance to start again with her family. That was the day that Celeste trusted Jesus in everything.
Since then, she has left her life of drugs—miraculously without medical intervention—and she has reconciled with her family . . . even bringing them to the church service to introduce them to the God who gives her hope each day.
*Names changed for security reasons.