Announcements:

Round 2 of the March Madness voting begins today. I hope your favorite series has made it to this round! If you have not already, you can take part in our battle of the books by signing up for our newsletter at www.literaryscape.com/newsletter. We are also offering a free 25-day inspirational journal for current and new subscribers. This journal is a companion for Jody Hedlund’s Colorado Cowboys series.

Our next author expert training will be on Thursday March 21st at 6:00pm EST. Author Abbey Downey will share how authors can leverage the power of Flash Fiction to grow their author platform. This class will not only give tips and tricks to make writing the shortest stories easier, but will also show you why you should try, and how flash fiction can help your writing career and marketing efforts. The cost is $17 for non-HCRW members and free for members. You can sign-up with the link in this episode’s blog post.

If you would like to link arms with other historical Christian romance authors, consider becoming a member of HCRW for just $37 a month. Our writers’ group provides training, support, and a network for authors of historical Christian romance. It is the only one of its kind. You can learn more and become a member by clicking the button below.

Let’s dive into this week’s unique episode.

Episode Notes:

We did not have an author interview to wrap up our most recent series and initially, I was just going to skip an episode for today. However, a couple of Sundays ago, I heard an incredible testimony that I just had to share.

A missionary shared how God had used him to reach a former ISIS member turned hitman. I will do my best to relay this incredible miracle.

Every day, this missionary would visit the same café. Another man was also a frequent patron of the café. He noticed how the missionary was always happy. After a while, he realized that not only was he not happy, but no one else in the café was happy except for this missionary.

One day he saw this missionary on the street and stopped to speak to him. He said, “I feel like I am supposed to talk to you.”

Now the missionary was ecstatic, realizing God had brought this man to him. He spent time sharing Jesus with him. I am unsure how many times they met and talked, but the man had shared that he was a former ISIS member and now worked as a hitman. He even went so far as to share the hit sheets that showed who he had been contracted to kill, how much he was paid, and where he disposed of the bodies.

The missionary kept sharing Jesus with him until the man said, "Okay, man, I understand.”

At that time, he was recovery from a stab wound. When he left the missionary, he sought revenge on the man who had stabbed him. He had captured that man and tortured him for three days before pulling a gun and putting it to the man’s head. However, he could not pull the trigger.

He then went back to the missionary and said, “I have been hard all my life. Violence is all I have ever known. Why couldn’t I pull the trigger?”

To which the missionary replied, “Because God has replaced your heart of stone with one of flesh, just like he said he would in Ezekiel 36.”

Ezekiel 36:26-29

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness.

Today, that man lives on mission for Christ and shares Jesus with everyone he meets.

This is not a testimony from long ago, but from the present. Our God is a God of miracles. Only he could turn a former ISIS member and hitman’s heart of stone into a heart of flesh.

God is still here with us, using us to reach his lost children, even those we think are unreachable.

I hope that testimony bolstered your faith and encouraged you to live on mission for God every day. The impact was so strong that I couldn't help but share it with you. God bless you and we will be back next week with our next book discussion.