Jim Cymbala - The Rescue: Seven People, Seven Amazing Stories...

CONTENTS

ZONDERVAN

The Rescue

Copyright 2017 The Brooklyn Tabernacle

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ISBN 978-0-310-35117-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-310-35120-7 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-35119-1 (ebook)

Epub Edition January 2018 9780310351191

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016963487

ISBN: 978-0-9978542-0-6

Cymbala, Jim, 1943

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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Published in association with the literary agency of Ann Spangler & Company, 1415 Laurel Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.

First printing December 2017 / Printed in the United States of America

Though the individuals whose stories are told in

The Rescue are identified by name, a few people who

appear in their stories have been given different

names in order to protect their privacy.

Many of us feel hemmed in by impossible problems for which there are no easy solutions. Barraged by headlines that continually announce fresh trouble in the world, we feel deeply pessimistic, not just about whats going on in the world, but also about the state of our own lives and the lives of those we care about.

Perhaps we have achieved a measure of success but still feel empty inside, as though something is missing. No matter how much money we spend or how many relationships we have or how hard we work, struggle, play, or pretend, we cant find a sense of peace and happiness. A cloud still hangs over us.

Or maybe we are fighting personal battleswrestling with financial challenges, struggling with addictions, facing a relationship breakup, suffering from sickness, or battling the effects of abuse.

As I travel throughout the country, I often meet people so battered by life that their hope seems as fragile as a candle burning in a rainstorm. One more gust of windone more difficulty or challengeand the flickering flame will be snuffed out, leaving them in total darkness. If they are not discouraged about their own lives, they are deeply concerned by whats happening in the lives of their children or others they care about.

Fortunately, we dont have to live like that, feeling beaten down by lifes challenges or hopeless about the future. No matter how strong our personal storm or how difficult our life circumstances may be, we can emerge with strength and hope.

Instead of feeling confused, defeated, angry, and depressed, we can begin to experience life in a way that will bring profound healing and deep peace. We will not need to keep repeating self-destructive behaviors or be victimized by forces we cant control. Instead we will be able to face the future with hope and expectation.

How can we do this? Is there a seven-step plan or a secret path to success that will yield these benefits? Is there a how-to book that will magically solve our worst problems? You probably know there is not.

Rather than offering you a spirited pep talk, or a set of persuasive arguments, or a self-help manual that promises to improve your life, I simply want to share a few remarkable stories. Though each of these stories is unique and dramatic, all of them revolve around common problems and struggles, some of which you may have experienced at one time or another in your own life. Or perhaps someone close to you has.

If I had a big enough house, Id invite you into my living room to sit down with me and the seven friends whose stories I tell. As you listened to each of them, a window would open up, offering you a glimpse not only into their pain and confusion but also into the joy and peace theyve found as a result of a profound transformation. In that intimate setting, you would be able to watch the expressions on their faces and hear the tone of their voices as they recounted their experience of being rescued from impossible situations.

But since my wife and I live in a small one-bedroom apartment in downtown Brooklyn, thats not possible. Instead Ive done my best to share these stories in the way they were told to me. As you pick up this small book, I hope the miles between us will shrink until you feel as though we are all sitting down together and that you are listening to each of my friends as they speak openly and honestly about what has happened to them.

But why these particular stories and not others? Truthfully, I could have found countless stories that are every bit as gripping. Such stories happen every day across our country and around the world. Ive chosen these because I know the people personally and because I believe that the stories of their transformation have the potential to transform your life and the lives of those you care about. To my seven friends whose stories are told in this bookto Lawrence, Timiney, Rich, Robin, Kaitlin, Alex, and ToniI say thank you for your honesty and courage. I am profoundly grateful for your willingness to tell the truth so that others can be helped. Thank you for giving me the privilege of sharing your stories.

To everyone else, my hope is that, like my seven friends, you will experience the deep transformation that I call the rescuean experience that will change your life so that you will no longer feel defeated by your problems or overwhelmed by your worries. Instead you will have learned what it means to live a life of profound transformation, one that will bring you joy and give you the kind of peace that will never leave you.

LAWRENCE PUNTER IS A FORMER COLLEGE ATHLETE AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR. A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESSMAN, HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING BROOKLYN TABERNACLE CHOIR. IF YOU MET HIMALL SIX FEET FIVE INCHES OF HIMYOU WOULD NEVER GUESS THAT THIS HANDSOME, SOFT-SPOKEN MAN, WHO OFTEN SHARES HIS STORY IN PRISONS, WAS ONCE A BOY NOBODY SEEMED TO LOVE.

I ROLL OVER IN BED , bone tired. Ive been lying here for most of a day, grateful at least for clear skies and bearable temperatures. Even when sunlight breaks through the clouds and makes me squint through my closed eyelids, I force myself back to sleep, since dreams are my only relief.

My makeshift bedroom is not located in a cozy apartment or a comfortable home. Its not tucked away in a friends guesthouse or out on a screened-in porch. Night after night I sleep in a place without windows or walls, on a dingy mattress in a dirty alleyway between two apartment buildings.