“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psalm 107:2).

Testimonies can be so encouraging. They demonstrate how the Holy Spirit applies the gospel at deeper levels in the lives of this who are receptive and responsive.

Here are two recent testimonies. Our associate in South Africa, Nehlsie DeBruto, sent this audio update on WhatsApp. She gave permission for it to be shared publicly. It illustrates how God leads His disciplers and how a crisis can become an opportunity for a senior citizen to discover new dimensions of God’s grace.

And here is a written testimony from a sister in Canada who has received personal ministry from one of GFI’s nine Guides. [“Guides” are those who have been certified as Exchanged Life Counselors through Grace Fellowship International and are accepted into the Guide program. They are then covered by our liability insurance, receive referrals and receive financial support through donations. For more information on how to apply to be a GFI Guide, contact Mark McKeehan at 865-429-0450, mark@gracefellowshipinternational.com.]

I hadn’t heard about the concept of exchanging your life with Christ until GFI counselling. When I was younger I went to Church and I don’t recall hearing about this topic — period. I remember being told do not sin, for you will make the Lord mad and therefore be sent to Hell for eternity. With GFI counselling, with Cheryl as my counsellor, I was able to understand who the true God is. He’s not some big, mean man in the sky who wants absolute obedience in order to be able to forgive and accept you. He accepts us as we are, however, when He comes to live in your spirit, sin no longer had any hold on you; as much as the Enemy will try and make you believe it does, it doesn’t.

Before GFI counselling I thought I was doomed. The way I saw it, my only choice in my ultimate depression was to die physically in order to end the pain I was going through. Since everything else I had tried to fill the void in my soul was ineffective, I was planning to commit the ultimate sin that I couldn’t turn back from. GFI counselling made me aware there is another way, and that is to die to my old self in Adam. Though at first it was a hard concept to wrap my mind around, with GFI’s excellent and unique way of teaching each topic and steps to surrender I was able to die to my old self in the flesh-life and really grasp the idea of what it meant to Exchange your life with Christ.

B.
A new woman!

We recommend books of testimonies as well. GFI publishes three of them:

• From Pastors to Pastors: Testimonies of Revitalized Ministries (ed., Charles Solomon)
• Discipling The Desperate (Charles Solomon)
• Exchanged Lives (ed., John Best)

See also They Found The Secret, by V. Raymond Edman (Zondervan)

Rev. Paul Andrew Travis, 90, of Hendersonville, NC went to be with the Lord on December 21, 2023. He is survived by his wife of thirty-four years, Joyce Travis.

Paul served as pastor and interim in many states. He spiritually influenced hundreds of lives  through personal and marriage counseling as well as churches, pastors and by his personal testimony and ministries.

Paul was helped by Dr. Solomon’s conference, then was trained in Exchanged Life Counseling through a workshop and internship at Grace Ministries International in Georgia. Two of Paul’s video lectures are in the Online Lectures Series course at www.GraceStudyHall.org

In 2005 Paul and Joyce joined the field staff of Freedom in Christ Ministries (FICM.org). He is the co-author of Grace That Breaks the Chains (originally, Breaking The Bondage of Legalism). 

John Woodward recorded three audio interviews with Paul. They are available here:

• Paul’s Testimony
• Using the 7 Steps to Freedom 
• Conducting Corporate Steps to Freedom in Christ

I grew up knowing the Lord, but at fifteen came to know Him in a more personal way that changed my life forever. I’m 32 now, and I have followed Him since that day. But, the last year of my life has brought tumultuous and uncertain circumstances. I came to GFI because, though I loved the Lord and wanted to follow Him, I was stuck in patterns of anxiety, confusion, and resistance toward my circumstances. I suddenly began experiencing panic attacks and daily physical anxiety that seemed to control my life. Though I pressed into the Lord for help, I felt unable to reach Him and often a disappointment toward Him. Why was I like this? How could I get out?

I found the “Handbook to Happiness” after searching on YouTube for people who God had led out of similar anxiety. The book spoke to my heart and touched heavily on the topic of “self”—a principle that the Lord kept highlighting in my life. I had been praying for the Lord to lead me to counseling if that was something He wanted for me. GFI seemed to me a resource that was Scripture based, Holy Spirit driven, and made sense. It felt like the Lord answered my prayer!

After reaching out, I began meeting weekly with Cheryl. I will always be grateful for my time with her. Through her, the Lord helped me see how I was living through my own strength, a life of striving and “trying” to be like Jesus—but, of course, always falling short and growing more and more frustrated. Through our time, I learned how God wanted to live through me and the true meaning of surrender. I found comfort in the truth that He uses uncomfortable circumstances, like mine, to bring us into greater surrender which ultimately leads to more intimacy and life in Him.

The Lord has been bringing me to this surrender, and I have found that I am not so afraid anymore. Things that I could not do before because of fear, He is enabling me to do now. If you are in a spot of frustration, fear, and disappointment, like I was, then I highly recommend GFI. For me, it was the truth I needed to begin laying down my “self” and looking to Jesus for true life. I am very thankful for Cheryl and her kindness, wisdom, and gentle way of helping me understand. We had a great time chatting and I always looked forward to our time together! She made it so easy for me to be open and honest. Thank you to her and GFI for all your help, encouragement, and resources. I pray your ministry would be blessed as you continue to aid Christians in their walks with Jesus. Here’s to “exchanging” our life for His!

One of the important virtues for the Discipleship Counselor as well as the disciple/counselee is a consistent, grace-oriented personal devotional life. This includes the essentials of daily time in God’s Word and prayer.

Another kind of resource that is a helpful supplement is a daily devotional book. This should not take the place of the Scriptures, but can be a beneficial addition.

Here on ELCmatters.org we have a list of recommended daily devotional books. Some are only available in print, others are online, and some are available in both formats.

In his introduction to his compilation of daily readings Miles Stanford wrote,
“None But the Hungry Heart is a devotional study. There are twelve sections each containing thirty-one daily portions. The following factors have been considered in arriving at this form of presentation:

1. A spiritually hungry heart is the requisite for entering into the growth truths of identification with Christ.
2. Prayerful study on the part of the believer is the means by which the Holy Spirit ministers these truths.
3. The concentration of the Christ-life truths in brief daily studies facilitates their assimilation.

This resource is conveniently available online at AbideAbove.org
(Keep in mind GFI’s glossary for more precise definitions of “old man,” “sin nature,” etc.)

Although we trust God for a breakthrough as our counselee/disciple discovers and appropriates the gospel of identification with Christ, this process is encouraged and supported by him/her “soaking in” grace and truth daily.

In his forward to the daily devotional volume, His Victorious Indwelling, Nick Harrison observes,

“Today, many Christians are wholly unaware of the spiritual resources they possess in Christ. Nor do most believers in Christ daily experience an awareness of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. And yet at what time in history has the Christian church and her teachings been so widely disseminated?… Yet for all this exposure, the perception of many is that the depth of our Christian life and witness is perhaps a mile wide, but an inch deep…”

We can say amen to that. Harrison continues,

“God chooses to work on us from the inside out. He wants to live His life through us, by the agency of His Spirit, so that our lives reflect the presence of Christ to those around us. There will indeed be dramatic change in the Christian who purposes to know God and His victorious indwelling – but it will be largely through the process of learning to abide in Christ, rather than instantaneous, divine ‘touch’ from God.” (His Victorious Indwelling, pp. 6,7. Available in paperback and Kindle)

May we continue to sample and use daily devotionals for our edification and so we can coach our disciples in using one as a “homework” resource and for ongoing spiritual growth.

JBW

Whatever counseling approach one uses, there is a need for basic counseling skills.

Compare this to cooking. Whatever the recipe and ingredients a cook has in mind, cooking skills are needed for preparing food, using utensils, operating a stove or oven, etc. Similarly, there are basic skills that we need keep in mind and develop in Exchanged Life counseling and coaching. (Some of these are identified in the lecture, Counseling Skills, in GFI’s Online Lecture Series course.) 

In this video lecture Fred Antonelli of Basic College Ministries presents five practical counseling principles for counseling young adults on college campuses. He briefly discusses:

1 Learn to listen

2. Be empathetic

3. Know when to triage (refer to a counselor with more training)

4. Don’t be judgmental

5. Keep Jesus the center of your counseling

Although his target audience is college ministry, these principles are basic for other contexts as well.

In September I attended a lecture by Dr. Janeen Davis on Biblical conflict resolution. She uses resources from the ministry Peace Pursuit. This model complements our teaching on The Wisdom of Forgiveness (in The Christ is Life Conference and Dimensions of Forgiving at GraceNotebook.com). Their Quick Start Guide is available at PeacePursuit.org as a free download. They also have a downloadable app to facilitate this process step by step. Dr Davis’ site is www.purposeandpeace.com. I recommend this as a biblical, practical resource for “phase 4” ministry.

-JBW