March 01, 2024

Love Is The Answer

March 01, 2024/ Daniel Hitz

This newsletter was originally written by Dan Hitz for The MST Project’s Real Men Pursuing Purity Event 40 devotional booklet, The Path to Holiness, in February 2024. The MST Project is a Christian ministry committed to helping every man realize his full potential. MST stands for "Mentoring Men, Strengthening Marriages, Teaching Truth." The MST Project was founded by Christian Lenty and is an international ministry headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. You can learn more about the MST Project at https://themstproject.com.

“There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”

Luke 7:41-43 NKJV

“The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don't have to play defensive games anymore. We don't have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross.”

Jerry Bridges, The Navigators

If you’re reading this devotional it’s likely that you’ve been forgiven for a lot of bad things that have caused you much shame. The good news is that even when we were living a sinful life, God showed how much He loves us by sending His son, Jesus, to take the punishment that we deserved. (Romans 5:8) When we come to Him in repentance, He takes away our sin and invites us to live our lives in relationship with Him. He offers us the joy, peace, and fulfillment that we were looking for all along. His offer of forgiveness continues as we learn to live in relationship with Him and overcome our sin day by day. (Romans 5:1-11) The more we realize how much He has forgiven us, the more our love for Him grows. (Luke 7:36-50)

Through relationship with Jesus, we realize that the sinful things that we once thought were so valuable actually have no value. Even though our sexual sins may have felt very powerful, they actually robbed us of our strength. They put us into spiritual debt. When we turn away from our sins and ask Jesus for forgiveness, He forgives our debts and teaches us to value His ways. In relationship, He asks us to surrender the worthless things that caused us shame, and gives us things of great eternal value in their place. His love for us empowers us far more than the destructive false love of sexual sin cripples us.

Focusing on the love of Jesus and the better gifts He offers us helps us resist sin. A while ago I was looking at social media as I was getting ready to fall asleep. Temptation hit. I had a choice to make. I could surrender to the offer of a lesser pleasure that would give an immediate powerful payoff, but would bring shame and guilt; or I could look to Jesus who truly loves me and offers a much better reward for surrendering to Him. Thankfully I chose to forsake the shameful offering of sin, and embrace the Lord’s offering of peace. It was my love for Jesus and the desire to live for Him that helped me forsake sin. I got off of social media, turned on some audio Bible verses, and went to sleep. I woke the next morning to a wonderfully intimate prayer time with Jesus and could sense Him sharing powerful spiritual insights. Jesus’ love for me and my love for Him helped me turn away from the lesser action of sin and turn towards His wonderful gift of sexual purity and emotional peace. His love can help you too.

It is so much easier to walk away from something if you know what you are walking toward. Ask the Lord to help you understand His love for you and His goals for your life. As your love for Him grows, your appreciation of the value of His gifts will grow too. Focus on these things during your times of temptation. God’s love and His gifts are far more powerful than the destructive pleasure of sin.

Can you fully receive the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers you, or do you struggle with condemnation?
What has your sexual sin cost you emotionally, relationally, and experientially?
What has Jesus offered you in exchange for your sin?

Dan Hitz is the Executive Director of Reconciliation Ministries of Michigan. He is an ordained minister and licensed professional counselor specializing in helping people overcome sexual brokenness, sexual abuse, and trauma. Dan has been in the ministry for over thirty years and lives with his wife, Marianne, in Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA.

Photo of man in grey hoodie courtesy of Guillaume Issaly via www.unsplash.com.

What is the MST Project?

Christian Lenty is the founder and director of The MST Project, a ministry that seeks to mentor men into a pursuit of sexual purity and greater wholeness. Christian has lived and worked in Thailand for over 22 years and resides in Bangkok with his wife. This information was taken from https://themstproject.com/about/ and reprinted with permission.

MST stands for "Mentoring Men, Strengthening Marriages, Teaching Truth." As a ministry, we seek to support men everywhere through our three initiatives, On The Street, Pathway to Purity, and Real Men Pursuing Purity. And through these three initiatives, we advocate for men pursuing purity, Biblically healthy marriages, loving and caring families, and an unwavering commitment to the truth.

The MST Project focuses on three primary initiatives: On the Street ministers to men who visit red-light districts through sidewalk conversations, 1-on-1 meetings, and online resources. Pathway to Purity provides 1-on-1 mentorship, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly accountability, and online resources. Real Men Pursuing Purity hosts quarterly events, provides weekly connect groups and online resources. Please refer to each specific ministry page for a comprehensive overview of each of our initiatives.

We believe that God's love, mercy, and grace is for all men, in all places, and at all times. We view all men as the fathers, brothers, and sons they are and whom God cares deeply about. (Genesis 2:7, 2 Peter 3:9) All people deal with issues, but not everyone has someone to help them overcome those issues. Our heart is to be that support for men wanting to make changes in their life.

When a man invites us to be a part of his life and the struggles he is encountering, we don't run away. We listen, we offer hope, we provide practical guidance, and we share the truth. Our care for men is best demonstrated by our commitment to men.

Visit https://themstproject.com/ to learn more about online resources and support.

September 27, 2023

My Broken Mess: A Life Changed through Living Waters

September 27, 2023/ Daniel Hitz

Rhonda Ross is a good friend of Reconciliation Ministries and has attended two sessions of Living Waters. Her testimony is shared with her permission in the hopes that it helps many receive healing from Jesus, the One who heals the brokenhearted.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:10,12 NIV

In March of 2022 after my first Living Waters attendance, I realized that after being a very active member of my local church for 52 years, that I was NOT OK. After decades of being crushed by sin and darkness of the world, I had come to a point where there was nowhere to turn but to God. Seeing beauty in brokenness was not something I could even understand. Psalm 51 tells us that we can ask God to create in us a new heart, and renew a steadfast spirit in us. The psalm also references that He can restore us to the joy of our salvation and grant us a willing spirit to sustain us. These verses are talking about a broken spirit. Even though the revelation that I was not ok made me feel defeated, I did know that He is always with me and could heal my heart.

What really stopped me in my tracks was that after Living Waters was over, I suddenly had the realization that I had a story that I didn’t realize was actually “keeping me” from a true healing of my emotions and blocking healing from childhood and adult trauma. I didn’t know I was broken. BUT I WAS BROKEN. God gently reached down and began to walk with me through my healing journey. I HAD TO DIE TO SELF in order to be spiritually fruitful.

Those of you that don’t know me let me just tell you in a capsulated form what brought me to my knees….

Parental emotional abuse.
Parents were emotionally unavailable.
My father was unfaithful to my mom, multiple times in his life and my “little girl” image of my dad on a pedestal fell to the floor and broke.
My mom lived a bitter life after that and made it very difficult to love her.
My mother-in-law was verbally abusive to my husband and myself right up to her death.
My husband had a disease called FAP which in layman’s terms means polyps that form in your entire intestinal system that have to be monitored and removed to avoid cancer. He had multiple life-threatening surgeries from as early as 1990. My youngest son was diagnosed at 17 years of age with the same thing as my husband. My son’s illness progressed twice as fast as my husband’s and he suffered many years from countless surgeries. His life choices were detrimental to his illness. He was not able to really grasp the severity of his choices and lacked the understanding of how seriously ill he was.
In January of 2017 my youngest son passed away at the age of 32 from multiple complications. He died suddenly of cardiac arrest, pneumonia, and sepsis.
After his brother’s death my oldest son struggled as he loved his brother dearly. So hard to lose your best friend (brother).
In July of 2021 my husband of almost 41 years died after a prolonged battle with Leukemia.

I pushed all of this down emotionally and always had a quick answer to those who inquired and said “How are you?” I WAS ALWAYS FINE… NOT!

I came to a point where I physically, emotionally, and spiritually could no longer keep it inside. I began to trust Him to repair and restore me. To repair my broken heart. In sitting with Jesus and coming here to Living Waters I was able to pour out my pain and struggles. Jesus listened to every word. I also sought Godly counsel to help maneuver the many landmines I didn’t know were there. I am here today… No longer giving you the “pretend” me. I am in the process of true freedom for the first time in my life. I bring my brokenness to you being vulnerable so that you too can be encouraged that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Jesus suffered heartbreak for my sake on the cross, I thank Him for His sacrifice and for loving me so much. He can make something beautiful out of our messes.

Lives Are Changed through the Living Waters Program.

Living Waters is a Christ-centered discipleship/ministry program for men and women seeking healing in areas of sexual and relational brokenness; including codependency, fear, shame, self-hatred, pornography addiction, sexual addiction, homosexuality, sexual ambivalence, emotional abuse, childhood sexual abuse, transgender issues, and difficulty in establishing and sustaining healthy relationships. Our next program is starting soon, call 586.739.5114 for more information.

Here are just two examples of the many participants who had their lives changed through the power of Jesus Christ in the Living Waters program. Their testimonies are published with their permission.

“More than anything else Living Waters has taught me that I am able to be brutally, completely honest with God and He will not reject me for it. God desires an intimate relationship with me because He created me and loves me. Despite all of my sin and flaws I do not need to hide from God.”

“When I signed up for Living Waters, I felt like I was a failure as a wife, mother, and human being. I was not respected by my family, nor by myself. The Living Waters focus was on being honest on many different topics, and was about healing me, not anyone else. In the process of healing me, I was and am blown away that my marriage is improving, and that my adult child who wanted nothing to do with me has said that she loves me.”

Photos used are courtesy of www.unsplash.com and are not the actual participants.

August 04, 2023

A Captive Set Free - Cassie Giroux

August 04, 2023/ Daniel Hitz

Cassie has been a valuable member of the Living Waters ministry team for many years. She and her husband, Larry, serve on the Reconciliation Ministries Living Waters team, and coordinate a second Living Waters program near Oakland University. Cassie has experienced the depths of despair, and the great love of our Heavenly Father. Her life is a wonderful testimony of the grace, redemption, and transformational power of Jesus Christ. This article shares her personal experience as a human trafficking survivor, and her reaction to the movie, The Sound of Freedom.

“He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.”

Luke 4:18b CSB

There was a strange quiet walking out of the movie, Sound of Freedom. Fourteen of us from my family went and we are not usually quiet. We drove several cars, but my ride home was marked by complete silence. I am not sure what everyone was thinking. I thought that the producers handled a devastating topic with prudence, while bringing stark awareness to an unknown reality that traps so many people. I could not help but think back to when I was 15 years old and got sucked into the undercurrent of human trafficking.

My childhood home was a joyful place in many respects. My stepdad married my mom just before I turned three. She and I were baptized, which brought the happiness of faith, church attendance and regular prayer into my life. Everything was better with my stepdad, except for the continued involvement with the sexual predators on my mom’s side of the family.

My older sister said that the sexual abuse started for me when I was still in diapers. She hid in fear of these relatives, but I sought them out. I enjoyed the sexual attention, along with the cigarettes, drugs and alcohol that followed as I got a little older. It was a double life for me early on, as I was drawn to this wickedness, while treasuring the good from my new dad.

They often said, “Don’t tell your mom or dad or they will kill me.” It is cruel to burden a child with a violation and the task of protecting the violator. This severed my heart from the love of my parents and my church, as I kept silent.

By the time I was 12 years old, drug and alcohol abuse was a regular part of my life. My parents left no stone unturned trying to find help for me. At 14, they learned about a “treatment” center through a nearby church. This church endorsement was what my parents needed to cement their trust. They were unaware of the brutality and deceitfulness of those people.

I was taken 275 miles south to a warehouse. I would spend over 100 hours a week locked in that building and several hours each night locked in a foster/host home. Over the next 17 months I stayed at 27 different homes.

As a result of my first two escapes, I met men who offered shelter and understanding. It was as if they waited in the downtown plaza to help kids like me. This was my first introduction to sexual slavery and the making of violent porn. The silence that had concealed the shock, pain, sorrow, and shame of sexual abuse remained. On both occasions, I was arrested and returned to the torture of the warehouse. The third escape would be my last.

Returning home was not an option, because my parents did not believe the many stories of abuse within the warehouse. My travels covered 4,223 miles, in the dark underside of many cities where people are bought and sold. I could not help but be grateful while watching Sound of Freedom that I was not a little child like those in the movie, but I have seen this on our own soil. I have seen little children torn from their parents to satisfy sinful appetites and perversions. Parents were taken to sweatshops or farms unless the mother could be used in other ways.

My heart breaks when reading the attacks on this movie, calling it a “conspiracy theory.” How I wish that were true. That my young life was only a bad dream, along with so many others. People have told me as much. I often wondered why no one came to help. Why did these men, many of whom were husbands, fathers, and brothers, not offer help? Why did they not call the authorities or ask where my parents were? Instead, they took another piece of me away and returned to their lives.

One of my owners tried to explain this to me. He wrote on my heart like it was a blank slate. Some of the things that he said stayed with me for many years. His lies “helped me” to make sense of things. “You save marriages and protect young girls from sexual abuse because you are not a person. If they did this to a real person, it would be wrong, but you are a machine made for sex.” He also told me that I would never see my family again, never marry or have children, and that I would die young. When I could no longer hide that I did in fact become a mother, the child in my womb was stomped by his boot heel. My body had become a tomb.

As the hours and days passed, marked by disintegration and terrible aloneness, it felt as if I was getting farther and farther from home, and any hope of ever returning. It seemed nothing was left of me to return home anyway. I was a shell. When I started out, I kept count of my sexual partners. I am not sure why, but it seemed important. I lost track in the 400’s when I realized that it did not matter; I did not matter.

Our Heavenly Father was not going to let the enemy have the last word in my heart. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18.

I was in Las Vegas, working long hours for gun toting thugs like those depicted in the movie, and God parted the waters for me. The story of my escape will not fit in this article, but I declare that our God is faithful, true, and His love is powerful! I returned to my family at 17 years old. They did not send me back to the warehouse. Several months later, my mom found a church with a 12-step recovery meeting, and I went.

Fast forward to 2012. I was married for 26 years to a good man, the mother of 14 wonderful children, a grandmother, active in church, and 27 years clean and sober. Something else happened that year; my stepdad adopted me. I was 45 years old and was thankful for my new life. Our generous Father let my heart be turned upside down until I could not take the pain anymore. This all seemed so ridiculous, like I should be past this, stronger than this, not to mention grateful. Somehow, God was calling me to bring Him my secret darkness and to receive my inheritance as His beloved daughter.

In my quiet search for the cheapest Christian counselor, I stumbled onto Dan Hitz at Reconciliation Ministries. I was embarrassed even to call. I thought this sort of thing demonstrated a lack of faith and a terrible character deficit. Not the first time I was wrong, and I am sure it has not been the last. God’s loving hand was parting more waters, making way for more freedom. After about six sessions, Dan released me and recommended Living Waters. I was not sure about gathering and working with people from different churches, but I trusted Dan. That was an act of God because I usually trusted no one. I went through two sessions as a participant and then was invited onto their team. I am still there, because there is nothing quite like the sound of chains breaking, The Sound of Freedom!

Words cannot express the change and healing that have come to my heart, and to my whole family. God’s word, His power, and His love have taken on new meaning for me. Very deep wounds have become trophies of grace. He really is kind and merciful!

"What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the house tops."

Matthew 10:27 RSV

Cassie speaking at an overcoming Strongholds seminar in 2020.

When I think of my future, I think of the house top. I spent so many years identifying as a "freak of nature," and I am finished with enemy’s lies over my identity. My heart breaks for others when I see this prison, the enemy narrative, stealing and destroying every good thing. I will speak louder, I will speak the Word of God, the power of His love to change everything. Jesus purchased me with His blood, and I praise Him and thank Him, out loud with my eyes fixed on Him.

If you have been objectified and abused by human trafficking, there is freedom and restoration in Jesus. His love can heal you and He uses the people who serve Him. There are hotlines for current victims and help from law enforcement. I was set free from the foul residue years later by the prayer ministry at Reconciliation Ministries and Desert Stream/Living Waters. God has servants everywhere. Find Him, find them; find them, find Him. He has not forsaken you, He never will.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

John 8:36 ESV

If you or someone you love needs help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888.373.7888, or visit them online at www.humantraffickinghotline.org.

You can also text 233733.

Photo of sad girl and woman on bed used under license with www.shutterstock.com.

at www.mendingthesoul.org. A workbook is available.

July 12, 2023

The Road Less Traveled

July 12, 2023/ Daniel Hitz

Tom and Donna Cole are co-directors of Pure Heart Ministries International. They have shared the message of God’s transforming love in over 43 nations. Tom started his ministry experience at Reconciliation Ministries and served as Executive Director from 1994 to 2003. They have four children and six grandchildren with another on the way!

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11 NKJV

My life would take a dramatic turn in November of 1986. Before that day I was a deeply broken and lost man. I had been actively involved in the gay community in Detroit for seven years. I had secretly been involved sexually for the 7 years before that. And I was miserable. I thought if I just embraced who I really was, and give myself fully to it, I would find true happiness and fulfillment. My friends and family that knew about my homosexuality embraced me and accepted me. But deep down I was suicidal and miserable. I drank and did drugs regularly. I kept searching for the right man to love. But in that search I became sexually addicted as well.

Then in November of 1986 I was introduced to Jesus Christ through the precious witness of a woman I worked with. I went to church with her and her family and gave my life to Christ at the end of the service. I knew I was different from that moment on. Shame was broken off as I realized Jesus forgave my sins. But that was just the beginning of my journey. I would spend the next 6 years dealing with the root issues of my same-sex attraction. I was saved, but Jesus is all about transforming us into His image. And that takes time. In the midst of this process I met and became best friends with Donna, a former lesbian. Two years into that process we both realized that we had fallen in love. We married on Christmas Day of 1988. Does marriage heal homosexuality? Not even close. We both were still very broken in our first years of marriage and much healing would still need to occur for us to walk in victory over our brokenness.

God is faithful. If we lean into Him, and trust His ways, He will bring about our transformation. It may not be in the timeline that we desire. But He will change us in so many ways. I leaned into God and recognized that I was a weak man. In my weakness God became my strength. I did not overcome same sex issues in my own strength. I didn’t have strength to do anything. Slowly, but surely, I found my attractions diminishing. I began to see men the way God intended. I sought out deliverance, healing and godly counsel on this journey. I attended church services and worship nights. I read the Bible voraciously. I would spend hours in my room just worshipping Jesus. I built healthy friendships. I love that we get to partner with God in the process of sanctification! I also had to renew my mind. I had spent so many years focused on an unhealthy view of men. My mind was so polluted by my past. I memorized scriptures that dealt with temptation. I did deep studies in the Bible concerning His will for my sexuality. I read books and testimonies of others who had overcome. I joined with God in the process.

I honestly give all the glory and credit to God for the last 37 years of transformation. Is life hard sometimes? Absolutely! I’ve known grief intimately. I’ve battled temptation with God at my side. I’ve had conflict in my marriage, with my children and with friends. But I have always continued to lean into Christ through prayer, worship, solitude and through studying His word. I heard a worship song that said “If you don’t quit, you win”! Profound and true words! I think that is the key to true transformation.

My wife and I are coming to the Detroit area in July and will be sharing our testimonies at Great Lakes Church in Sterling Heights Sunday, July 23rd at 9:00 AM. Come and join us to hear us share our stories. We will also be doing a Pure Heart weekend conference July 28th and 29th in South Lyon. The weekend addresses the primary wounds we all have received in life. It’s a healing experience for everyone. This is not just about homosexuality. It’s for each and every one of us. Please come and join us, and bring a friend.

For more information about Pure Heart Ministries, visit them at www.pureheart.rest.

Photo of sunrise courtesy of www.unsplash.com.
Photo of Tom and Donna courtesy of www.pureheart.rest.

Tom and Donna Cole will be sharing their testimonies at Great Lakes Church on Sunday, July 23rd at 9:00 PM. They will also be doing a question and answer session at 6:00 PM. Great Lakes Church is located at 39051 Dodge Park Rd, Sterling Heights, MI 48313.

Tom and Donna will be doing a Pure Heart weekend conference in South Lyon at The Barn on July 28th and 29th. The eight lessons of Pure Heart are based on the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew. There will be worship, teaching and ministry times following. This is an experiential weekend. Come expecting to have God heal and transform your heart. Tom and Donna have ministered Pure Heart to many thousands of people. Testimonies continue to come in from many years ago that Pure Heart changed their lives and that they have had lasting change. You can register online at https://www.pureheart.rest/events/july-23-24-2023-in-south-lyon. The exact address will be given when you register.

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