Struggling in your faith? The Bible is filled with messy, broken stories of flawed people—and God’s unrelenting love for them. Discover hope, grace, and redemption in Scripture’s rawest moments. Read more now!

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” – James 4:1

Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

— Proverbs 19:2

Addicts are often labeled as selfish, but the truth is, all of us play this same game. We could replace drugs with any number of self-serving idols—money, status, success, relationships, even ministry itself—and we’d see the same cycle play out. If we’re just trying to rearrange our circumstances, we’re still living for ourselves, and that will never lead to lasting transformation.

His final moments on earth have become legendary. As he stepped onto the execution platform, he smoked one last cigarette, fixed his hair, and then knelt in prayer. In the crowd, two priests secretly absolved him of his sins. And then, with courage, he met his fate—and ultimately, his Savior.

For me, it took the unraveling of my world to expose the truth. My ego didn’t collapse because of outside forces—it crumbled when I finally looked in the mirror and saw the real problem. It was me. Not my circumstances, not the people around me, not even the temptations I had fallen into. Just me. My pride. My desperate need to be seen as good, as worthy, as valuable.

Falling into the merciful arms of Jesus is not the end of the story—it’s the beginning of true restoration. From that place of surrender, a minister can begin to rediscover their ultimate calling: to be a minister of reconciliation. To reconcile others to God and to each other requires first embodying that reconciliation in your own life.

Mercy isn’t theoretical. It’s not something that exists at a distance, far removed from the messiness of real life. Mercy happens in the trenches, down where people are broken, hurting, and in desperate need of it.

When I was 20 years old, I left my parents’ home and moved to Florida. Hours away from my hometown, I began the journey of starting a family. Being the head of a household brought new revelations that I hadn’t fully understood as a child. The security my parents had provided all those years became clear to me in a way it never had before.

In my early teenage years, I became part of a Bible study in my hometown that was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was a small group of youth from multiple denominations, all seeking a deeper encounter with God. What began as an intimate gathering of passionate believers eventually evolved into The Ramp—a youth conference center, ministry school, and church that has gone on to influence thousands of people across the globe.