Called and Paid?

Encounter God's Love, Repair your heart, and Redeem your story.

I have a confession to make to you.  Sarah and I have gone to bed quite a few times with issues between us.  But, Ephesians 4:26-27 (CSB) says,  26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity.  I used to hear this taught that you need to settle things with people right away. You don’t want to go to sleep having an unsettled disagreement because the devil will cause a divide. I remember how overwhelming that felt. I thought it was just because I wasn’t good with conflict but it was exhausting just thinking about the idea.

There is talk of fear all over in these days of COVID-19. I am reminded of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in the story from Daniel 3 in the Bible and the trial they endured. These three Jewish boys refused to bow down to the King of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzer. As a result, the king ordered them thrown into a fiery furnace, which was heated seven times hotter than normal. Now, most people would expect God to pour down rain, or vaporize the furnace, or turn the fire into water, but He doesn’t. Instead, He MEETS them IN THE FIRE. This story is one of my favorites because it demonstrates that more often than not, God meets us in the fires of life before He extinguishes them. It is in the isolation of these fires that our fears can overwhelm us. During times like these it is important to try not to isolate, but find creative ways to connect because we need each other. I recommend that you find silence and stillness to be with Father God and allow Him to comfort you and show you what you need to know (When sitting in silence with God, don’t fight thoughts, let them come and go, but keep in stillness). Natural fear can lead to caution which keeps us safe. Fear is unhealthy when we become obsessed with worrying about what might happen and what is happening, and we see ourselves as victims and not victors. Here are three healthy ways to deal with fear: (You could turn these into “DO” statements - would read more positive) Don’t deny your fear (Acknowledge your fear) Don’t ignore your fear (Pay attention to your fear) Don’t avoid your fear (Address your fear) It is understandable that many folks would be in fear and distress right now. Allow God’s peace in. You may want to ask yourself some of these questions and ask God to help you discover the answers: What am I really afraid of right now? Is it my business folding or something deeper? Maybe being a disappointment to my family? Maybe that the story I have always told myself, the one that says I will never be good enough will be proven true? Where is this stress really coming from? Maybe it’s more than a house full of kids fighting? Maybe it’s the lack of control I feel? Where do I feel this fear in my body? How does it manifest in my body? What does God want to tell me about all this? Be inquisitive! Act like a three-year-old. Ask “Why? Why? Why?” Then ask Father God to help you release this fear and pain once you have acknowledged it so you can begin to replace your fear with trust. (See Proverbs 3:5-6) I heard an interview with John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza . He said the best way to deal with these pandemic situations is to tell the whole truth because the virus or disease is like the monster in a horror film. The monster brings the most anxiety before you ever get to see it. Once you see it you know what to expect the next time it shows up. Right now, fear itself is the monster. Once we see it for what it is, it loses some of its power over us. Remember, no matter where you are in your journey, YOU ARE NOT ALONE and we all have the choice to face our fears and let God do what He does best; love us through our fears, pain, and shame to experience His healing and His peace. Doug PS: Thank you April Jones who wrote the original version of this message. Don't forget the 202020 sale going on right now for all downloadable material! Use the code 202020 at checkout and receive 20% off .

After reviewing and studying students’ testimonies for the past couple of years in an effort to more precisely define what Shiloh Place does, we realized we don’t just bring healing to hearts; we strengthen families and teams through healing hearts. The orphan is unable to feel accepted in a family or group. Family is the source of pain and rejection for so many people, so when we target allowing God to heal these areas, we strengthen the fabric of families and teams.

“I felt like the wall that surrounded my heart came down and I’m able to feel and process my pain better. I don’t feel as numb and disconnected. I also feel healed from some mother and father wounds as well as some symptoms of PTSD from traumatic events in my life.” - Raquel - Oct. 2019 Power of Father’s Love Encounter Raquel is at a new beginning in her life. She later told us attending the September Heart of Sonship Encounter saved her marriage and possibly her husband’s life. Her husband’s testimony is quite dramatic. He was set free from deep trauma. When he left the Encounter, he was beaming. He said he really didn’t expect much, but he came because a mutual friend recommended it. The message and ministry impacted them so much that they attended the Power of Father’s Love event in Burlington, NC two weeks later. The fact that they traveled from their home in New England to South Carolina, and two weeks later back to North Carolina with a five-month-old in tow speaks powerfully about how God met them! This is a true testament of willingness to go to any length for healing and connection with God. Whether by sharing your own experience of healing, giving a Shiloh Place book as a gift, making a recommendation to attend an Encounter, through prayer or financial support, many of you reading this make stories like Raquel’s and countless others possible. God’s goodness doesn’t end there! Here are more of those stories of God bringing wholeness this Fall: “Shiloh Place Encounters have been a safe harbor for me. I have cried, I’ve been hugged and allowed just to be sad. Because of that, I have been able to receive healing not only for my recent losses (deep family division), but for hidden strongholds that were keeping me from experiencing Father’s Love.” - Beth ( Heart of Sonship 2018 & Power of Father’s Love 2019) “I had a revelation of how much pain was connected with my childhood sexual abuse and the lies I believe about life/love/God as a result. I see how I have caused pain in those I love as a result of my pain. I am beginning the walk to allow God’s healing as the roots of my pain are exposed.” - Rod (Sonship 2018 & Power of Father’s Love 2019) “When I came I did not know I had an orphan heart. I did not really know how that heart had been developed. All my life I had been focusing on the symptoms and not the cause. Thank you Jesus!!! I can finally see my enemy. Thank you so much!” - Luis (Sonship 2019) “Before I came, I was grasping at straws and without hope. I feel now I have dealt with parental issues and past trauma. I have let go of so much anger, unforgiveness and bitterness. I think now I am able to place my offenders at the foot of the cross. I know it will be a process to completely step into my identity as a daughter and leave the orphan thinking but I am encouraged and excited because I now have hope that I will totally be healed. I am not forever broken. God bless you Shiloh Place.” - Jennie (2019 Sonship) These are the stories that people shared on evaluation forms and gave us permission to share, and there are so many more stories we have the privilege of hearing every time we minister. It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of God’s work in these people’s lives. We often see God change the future of family trees before our eyes. Recently, a son and daughter-in-law attended an Encounter because they saw their mother come to life after she attended a couple of Shiloh Place events. In a matter of months, she was a different, life-giving person because of what God did in her life. And guess what? The son and daughter-in-law had breakthrough as well. Although they were skeptical at first, they left with huge smiles on their faces. This is what your support does. We thank you for considering Shiloh Place Ministries on Giving Tuesday (#givingtuesday), December 3rd, and for your end-of-year giving. We are grateful for all of the people who stepped up and helped us last Fall after the flooding. Things seemed so uncertain, but because you and others like yourselves rallied around us, the future is bright and lives are being changed as the power of Father’s Love meets them in their need! I (Doug) am presently in Medellin, Antioquia in Colombia, South America doing a Father’s Love Conference with our friends Robert and Cyndi Hartzell. We were brought in by Tom and Jenn Atwater of 911 Life Ministries . The Atwaters wanted to introduce the message to local pastors. So far, the reports are amazing. The message has deeply impacted a few key pastors who are at the event, and I will share more on that in the coming weeks.

What do we do when leaders wreak havoc amongst the people they should be leading and shepherding? It’s a sensitive subject and has become a hot topic that seems to be happening more often. To be clear, we are not talking about someone who has ended up in an affair because they have unaddressed pain. That is tragic. We are talking about abusive behavior that seems almost crazy to be occurring anywhere, much less the church.

People wonder, “Why do I still have trouble getting healing when I know so much? I have read this book and gone to that seminar. I can tell you how my issues started.” How much you know might be the problem. We see it all the time. People come to our events and they nod their heads in agreement because, well, they “know” that...

Matthew 4:1-3 1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of [...] The post If you are, then prove it! appeared first on Shiloh Place Ministries.