We have all experienced pain, trauma and hurt in our lives. The devil’s intention according to the bible is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), but we praise the Lord Jesus, that He wants to give us life, and more abundance!
This is my story. My testimony of how I came to know Jesus. How He saved me from the dark and evil grip of Satan, and broke me free from addiction.
I grew up in a household where I was exposed to alcohol and physical abuse. My sister and myself were never abused, but we saw our parents fighting all the time and there was always financial pressure.
I grew up in a loveless environment, and a house that was void of Jesus. Problems were dealt with by the misuse of alcohol, resulting in the abuse thereof. All of these situations and examples formed and moulded me into a young man with a flawed character.
By the time I was 13 years old, the year before I went to high school, my parents divorced. I was broken. A few month later my mother passed away in a motor vehicle accident.
This was too much! I reached breaking point, and spiralled out of control.
This pushed me to start using substances to cope with my feelings. I started drinking and smoking which quickly escalated to using marijuana. From the age of 13 to 18, I started using every drug I could lay my hands on to get emotional relief and forget my inner pain and depression. I also fell into the bad habit of harming myself to take my mind of depression. I also ran away from home before the age of 18.
At age 18 I was already addicted to meth (tik). I was smoking daily and already out of control. I was lying and deceiving and stealing to fund my habit. I was a rebel and couldn’t be trusted and relied on. I couldn’t hold a job at all.
My father even called the K9 dog unit from the police to search me and to confirm their suspicion. And they found drug paraphernalia in my room, and did a drug test.
I was “sentenced” to house arrest to rehab myself. I just couldn’t break free from the chains that drugs had on me.
It was IMPOSSIBLE.
Until I met Jesus. He broke every chain. When I finally heard the true gospel of a life changing Jesus, and saw various people changed by this gospel, I gave my life to the One who gave His life for me. And my life was forever changed.
Was it always easy? No. Is it a journey? Absolutely. Is it possible? Yes! With Jesus all things are possible!
Jesus desires to change your life! All He needs is your willingness to open your heart to Him.
(More of my story and people who have walked this journey will follow in this series). (Contact: Hein Swarts at 060 729 9512 if you have any prayer requests.)
Mountain Movers
Today my six year old looked at me with those wide eyes and asked, “Momma, is it true? Can I really move a mountain if I have faith?”And I was sincerely thinking about how to answer him and not think like a pastor, or theologian.
Or someone who has preached this verse…Jesus help me think like a child again. Because when Jesus said in Mark 11:23 that if you speak to a mountain and do not doubt in your heart it will move… what did He mean?
Was He teaching landscaping? No. Of course not. In Jewish thought a mountain was never just a pile of rock. A mountain symbolized something immovable. Overwhelming.
Impossible. Rabbis even called great problem solvers “uprooters of mountains.” Imagine that! I will be an ‘uprooter of mountains’!
So when Jesus said, “Speak to this mountain,” He was speaking into a culture that understood symbolism. He was saying: What looks impossible is not immovable when God is involved. Jesus did not say, “have strong positive thoughts.”
Or shout loud enough. Or manipulate reality with your words. He said, “do not doubt in your heart.” The Greek word for doubt means divided, split in two… Faith without division.
A heart aligned. A will surrendered. Mountain moving faith is not about bossing God around. It is about being so aligned with Him that what you speak is already echoing His will. Tough one hey?
Jesus never randomly moved mountains. But He calmed storms. He forgave sins. He broke religious systems. He moved what stood in the way of the Kingdom. That is the key. Mountains move when the Kingdom needs a path.
Sometimes the mountain is outside of us. A diagnosis.
A financial impossibility. A closed door. And sometimes the mountain is inside of us. Fear. Unforgiveness. Unbelief. Often the first mountain God moves… is the one in our own heart. So when my little boy asked me if he can move mountains, I told him: “Yes, my love. You can. But not because you are powerful. Because God is.”Faith is not magic. It is trust. Faith is not control. It is surrender. Faith does not deny the mountain. It speaks to it while standing with God.
And sometimes the mountain does not physically move.
But something stronger happens. You do.The same Jesus who spoke about mountains also walked to a cross instead of avoiding it. Some mountains are removed. Some are climbed. Some are carried. All are surrendered. The point was never about rocks shifting.
It was about hearts that do not split in two. It was about children who believe their Father can do what looks impossible. And honestly?
I think that is why Jesus said we must become like little children. Because my six year old did not ask if it was metaphorical.
He did not ask for Greek definitions. He simply asked, “Is it true?” And the answer is yes. Not because we command creation. But because we belong to the Creator. Move the mountain? Yes.But first… let Him move you. (VICKY LUDICK)