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Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden weighing heavy? Is it all too much to carry? Let me tell you about my Jesus. Do you feel that empty feeling? You could say you've done all that stealing And you're desperate for some healing. Let me tell you about my Jesus. He makes a way where there ain't no way. Rises up on His deep grave. Ain't no sinner that He can save. Let me tell you about my Jesus. His love is strong and His grace is sweet. And the good news is I know that He Can do for you what He's done for me. Let me tell you about my Jesus. And let my Jesus change your life. Oh, He will change our lives, morning friends. Welcome to Testimony of the Goodness of God. Jesus. He can wipe away the tears. From broken dreams and wasted years. Until the ties that disappear. Let me tell you about my Jesus. And all the wrongs done to you. What's going on to lift you up? He'll deliver you for your good. Let me tell you about my Jesus. He makes a way where there ain't no way. Thank you Ann Wilson for Let Me Tell You About My Jesus. It's just called My Jesus. Hi friends. And once again welcome to Testimony of the Goodness of God. Wonderful to have you with us today. And we look forward to giving you Another wonderful testimony. About how God has changed someone's life. Or someone's situation. We have a great one lined up for you today. And we'll get to that in just a moment. First, just a reminder. Drop us a line. Let us know if you want to share your testimony. At our email. tgoodnessofgod at gmail.com tgoodnessofgod at gmail.com You can also look us up on Facebook. If you're on that social media platform. Testimony of the Goodness of God. We post daily scripture. Devotionals and other little tidbits To help you along your day. And that is the first place Our new podcasts are released. Are right there on Facebook. Or audio.com That's who hosts our podcasts. Either way, we're just happy to have you with us. And we ask you to share Each and every podcast you get With someone you know. That very well may Just brighten someone's day up. And turn their day around. So share if you can. And we sure would appreciate it. Today's testimony friends Carla Predico. A young lady who came from a Two parent home. She had siblings. And they attended church. So she knew who her Savior was. Or is. And once she got through school and college She was just trying to get ahead of the world. And grasp and hold on to as much of the world As she could consume. And alcohol. And drugs and other things. And At one point in her life She finally said Enough is enough. And she turned to Christ. It's just a wonderful testimony. And it reminded me so much of When I was in law enforcement. And as many families as I've seen Go through The torment of Having folks in their home That abuse alcohol and or drugs. And of course I know alcohol is classified as a drug. But we're going to separate them for today's podcast. And It always was concerning to me when I Would watch a husband and a wife Or boyfriend and girlfriend. Both of them would be drinking. Going back and forth. Arguing. Fighting. Most of the time there was violence. Definitely threats of violence. And in the background there were children watching. Um That was just heartbreaking. And a person That is under the control of that alcohol Doesn't see that. They don't want to see that. Because they're only concerned with One thing. Themselves. And of course Christ tells us To deny ourselves. Come and bear his cross with him. And once you do that That should open up your mind And your heart. And you should be able to walk away from that stuff. It's a lot easier said than done. Um Personally I haven't had a drop of drink In over three years. And don't ever plan on drinking again. Because I know what it did to me. Personally and my family. And the destructiveness That it causes. And the discontent. And the unsettledness. And how it affects the children. And makes them nervous. You know when um When they're around people that are drinking. Now I know I'm going to get pushed back In an argument from folks. Well it's legal to drink. There's nothing wrong with it. Jesus turned water into wine. For goodness sakes. Have a drink. Chill out. Well I don't think the wine that Jesus made Made people destroy themselves. Or their home. Or in some case Accidentally kill another. Certainly wasn't the intention When you started drinking. But that can happen also. Or those nights when you drink And you don't have a clue What happened the night before. Or when you have conversations With others. And promising things. Set up things. I know a person who Actually gave a quote For a construction job. And boy did he misquote it. But you know what? They held his feet under the fire and said Hey this is the quote you gave me. You've got to honor it. I think at the end they did bump it up a little bit. But the point is Alcohol Will control your life. If you're living your life For your next party. For your next drink. For your next Gathering To see how many drinking games You can have and see who's going to get Drunkest or who's going to pass out first. And all those Fun things. Think about it. Think about where you're at. Think about where you Thought you would be in your life. And the only thing I can tell you Is get help. If you need professional help get it. Now I sought help. My help Come from Jesus Christ. And my knowledge of him. And I got on my knees And accepted him and asked him to help me. And get me through some of my vices. And some of my problems and some of my sin. And get rid of it. And praise God it's happened. And now do I struggle? Yeah sometimes I do struggle. Not with alcohol. It's pretty easy to drop that And get rid of it. Seeing how destructive it is Personal. And I just want to share this testimony And share part of mine. And be kind of hard line about it. Because again I know I will get pushed back. And I'm going to ask the saints that listen to my podcast On a regular basis Take the time and let someone you know Get lost. And drink. And drink and drink. Someone who says They don't have a problem drinking. No I'm sure you don't. You tip that elbow and get loaded right up. And cause problem after problem. But of course it's not your fault. It never has been. But If we can help one person Just look at themselves And realize That they need help. And then we can help them realize Where their help lies. It all falls back To our Savior. And if you are listening to this And you are A binger, a weekend drinker Or an occasional drinker But yet you still get Drunk to excess And you have those blackout moments And it's causing you all those problems And I haven't even mentioned The money that it costs. To Sustain your Intake of alcohol. And God forbid You get a DUI, your insurance goes up Your health insurance is Absolutely going to go Crazy Once you start using it For all the other elements That come along With the alcohol. And My hope today is for you Or for your Loved ones Just to get out of it. Make that attempt to turn To Christ. Give their life To Jesus. Because I guarantee you He'll help you. I promise. I know He will. I am absolutely a thousand percent Sure. My faith is strong In the fact that He is my Savior And He is here for me. I pray daily. I read Scripture every day. And you have friends that are still Partying hardy And having a great time. I have a great time too. I have a great time with my family. We don't think about the need for alcohol. We don't think about the need for drugs. We don't think about the need for anything. But togetherness and food And conversation And playing games. Exactly the same thing you're doing Without the need For alcohol. And My prayer is today that This helps someone get out of that Get out of that Circle I like to call it a circle. You get drunk You pass out. You wake up the next morning Your spouse or your significant other Even if you have one Is just all over you. Your family is not Happy with you. You've got a headache. You don't feel good. You swear off drinking for two or three days And then you start the circle All over again. That's what it amounts to. But I know it sounds like I'm preaching to you And I guess I am. I'm just giving you what's on my heart. I look around And we see all this stuff on the news And this is happening And that's happening And these people are getting hurt And those people are getting hurt The thing that hurts the people the most Every day Every single day in some folks lives Is alcohol Can't live without it And they obviously can't live with it And my prayer is that You get out of that situation And if you don't know how to get out of it Send me a message Send me a text Send me an email Call me Call your loved one. Call your friend. Call somebody that can give you that direction That you need To move away from it. You'll be happier You'll be healthier And you'll have more fun Outside Of alcohol Than you've ever had. And once again all my years of experience I can tell you The last three years sober and clean Has been probably No Definitely Has been the three greatest years of my life Or my childhood Because it's been Without the need Or the desire For alcohol And again I know I'm going to get pushed back and that's fine Push me I know I still know people who drink They drink heavily And I pray for them every day I pray for you every day I just want what's best for you You And your personal relationship With your Savior Jesus Christ But Be that as it may I do have Carla's testimony coming right up Enjoy this testimony Take it to heart Share it with somebody Share it with somebody that needs to hear this And may God help you God help you My whole life I was really just Looking for people to approve of me And looking for like love I was really good at school I was president of my High school and then went on to college And joined probably about 15 different kind of honor societies Or leadership Organizations and I really Was looking just to feel Important really agreed with The lie that unless I had this Achievement I really wasn't valuable I was just looking for every avenue I could to feel important And to feel valuable I became addicted to the achievement I grew up in a Christian home And I would say that I knew about Jesus on some measure I never really believed that He cared much about me After college I got the Apprenticeship of my Absolute dreams I moved to New York City to work with a Fortune 500 leadership consultant Just got very quickly caught up Into the nightlife scene All consumed with Partying and drinking And promiscuous activity By day I was kind of walking In this dream job and then by night I was staying up until 4 in the morning At clubs I was surrounded by so much money By famous people And I'm sort of like who am I in this room I'm a 22 year old What am I even doing here These rich men would pay for me To get into these really expensive High end places Even just to get through the door was a thousand dollars Not to mention the Bottle service and the table You could easily spend five to ten Grand a night I was drinking Three or four times a week Like blackout drunk It did help me escape Kind of some of that pain that I was Experiencing from Disrejection and not feeling worthy And not feeling lovable Escaping that pain was something I did with Alcohol and then the promiscuity That piece was really trying to Convince myself that I was lovable Like if someone will take me home that means I must be lovable Then you wake up in the morning and they don't even Remember your name So I had been Partying at night working during the day And my birthday was coming up And so I invited what I call My night time friends To join me for my birthday Only one person Showed up it was so sad And she ends up going home And I decide to stay at this bar By myself on my 23rd Birthday at this point I'm like Well I may as well find somebody to go Home with I'm talking to this guy I'm vodka soda drunk And I hear a voice And it says This is not your life And As soon as I heard those words I knew They were true It was almost as if Someone had turned the lights on In the bar for me it was like I could see Clearly even though I knew I was still drunk And I needed to leave that bar Like instantly And go find What is life what is my life I immediately put my drink down The guy is still probably trying to talk to me And I just walked straight out of the bar And I got in a cab And as soon as I get in the back seat I look up front and there's actually A man and a woman They agreed to take me home Despite being off duty The woman in the front seat She said something to her husband Something like Doesn't God know it And I only caught A couple words But I heard the word God And I instantly knew that that voice That I had heard in the bar Was God I stuck my head through the little taxi window And I said do you believe in God And they start Sharing the gospel with me Just telling me what Jesus thinks about me And how much he loves me And that he died for me I had heard this story before But for the first time in my life It felt like it was just for me Like I knew He came And just like sovereignly Cut through All the mess that I had made Just for me As they're talking to me I instantly start repenting To these people That night Everything changed I started Really looking for what my life was I started pursuing Who is this God person If he could invade my life And speak to me in the middle Of a Manhattan bar What else could he do What else was he like I found a church My pastor pulled me up to the front And laid hands on me And I immediately felt Just fire Course through my entire body And I start hearing myself Praying in a language That I didn't understand I couldn't have produced this on my own strength This was extremely Specifically A line in the sand With my walk with God I was instantly delivered Of cursing I haven't had a sip of alcohol since that day I stopped sleeping around No one even had to tell me to stop sleeping around I just didn't have The desire for it I really just found myself Constantly wanting to pray for people To see the city of New York Know him God never Ever asked me To earn his love It was never about the doing It was never about getting it right When we actually believe And know that we're loved And that we were first created And designed to be the object Of God's affection You start doing the things that align With his heart There's a difference between the peace That the world thinks is peace And the peace that only Jesus Can give you That's one of the greatest gifts That I experienced When he saved me Thank you Carla for that Wonderful testimony Friends that's our testimony today For testimony of the goodness of God And he certainly was good For Carla there And he can be that way for you too If you need help with it friends Let us know We can pray with you, pray for you Teach you how to pray if you don't know Either way we can We can do what's best for you And help you through Your trials and troubles By introducing you to someone Who can get you through all Of your trials and troubles Praise God Until next time friends Stay blessed