Idell Koury grew up Catholic but had a radical encounter with the true presence of God through a bright light filling her room as she fervently sought Him. She met her husband Tony, who invited her to a church where she clearly heard the gospel message about repentance and being forgiven by God - a stark contrast to her upbringing devoid of truly knowing God personally.
Despite a traumatic childhood marred by neglect, alcoholism, and her mother's horrific trauma, Idell found redemption through this divine experience. She witnessed her previously atheist father's powerful conversion to Christianity and her mother ultimately finding peace and healing after decades of pain. Idell's courageous story exemplifies how an authentic relationship with Jesus can redeem even the deepest brokenness through His mercy, grace and the power of forgiveness.
Content warning: This episode contains discussion of child neglect and sexual abuse.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jemese LaChel (00:00):
Can you imagine the feeling or idea of a
granddaughter talking with hergrandmother and it being very
warm, very conversational?
That is exactly what today'sepisode feels like, or it felt
like, for me, recording itanyways.
I met Adele and it was likeright off the bat we were just
(00:23):
two old pals.
It's like I had known her mywhole life.
So I'm really excited for youto hear this radical encounter
with Jesus Christ that she has.
She's sharing her testimony andI'll let her tell it in her own
words.
I'm not going to even try torecap it here for you, but I do
want to add a content warning.
So this episode she does speakpretty candidly about child
(00:45):
neglect and an instance whereshe literally almost died.
She talks about rape.
She talks about just thingslike this, and so, if you know
that you're sensitive to thatkind of material, use your
discretion, use discernment.
But yeah, I really believe thatyou want to tune in to this
because there's something inhere for you.
(01:06):
Let's go.
Welcome to a new creationpodcast.
I'm your host, jamis LachelleDrury.
I'm a Christian traumatherapist and mentor for women,
so glad that you're back with ustoday.
We are pointing women towardsvictory in Christ.
One Jesus story at a time.
(01:27):
Let's get right into today'sepisode.
Joining us today is Idle Corey.
She's a distinguished retirededucator with a wealth of
experience in academia andpolitics.
Idle's career includes teachinghigh school AP history and
serving as an adjunct professorof US history.
(01:49):
Beyond the classroom, she hasalso made her mark on Capitol
Hill, working alongside notablefigures such as US Senator
Harrison Schmidt, a formerApollo 17 astronaut, and
Congressman Herman Badillo, thefirst Puerto Rican congressman.
Now enjoying retirement, idlespends cherished moments with
(02:13):
her husband of 45 years, tony,and delights in the company of
her four grandchildren.
I am so excited to hear whatshe has to say.
Welcome, idle, thank you somuch.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
I can just.
We talked a little bitpreviously, but you have such a
passion for the Lord, for kids.
(02:36):
Just tell us a little bit aboutyourself in your own words.
Idell Koury (02:39):
Let me correct, correct you.
I have seven grandchildren, butfour of them are nearby.
I see Three of them are inVirginia and you know we don't
spend a lot of time with them,but I spend a lot of time with
the four grandchildren that arenearby One of them lives in our
(03:01):
neighborhood and the other onejust left and I sub at their
school a Christian school.
It's a private school and I subat their school.
Jemese LaChel (03:12):
Oh, that's wonderful.
What a blessing to have forthem as well, to have their
grandmother so close.
Family is important.
Yes.
Idell Koury (03:22):
Yes, and I grew up in New Mexico.
I'm Hispanic, if you can't tell, yo hablo espanol, I'm Hispanic
, and I grew up in New Mexicoand I was going to stay there
and I graduated from Universityof New Mexico and I taught in
(03:43):
the Albuquerque public schoolsand then I went to Billy Graham
crusade and I was very Catholicand I thought everybody else was
gonna go to hell Because I wasCatholic and they weren't.
And then God got a hold of myheart and he sent me to
(04:08):
Washington DC.
I visited a friend that wasliving in Washington DC and she
had me apply for a job on theHill and it was working for
Herman Bavio.
He was the first Puerto Ricancongressman, from South Bronx, I
(04:44):
guess, but he ran and I onlyworked for him for six months
and then Senator Schmidt was.
He was elected and I went toNew Mexico to to visit family
and I applied.
(05:05):
They were looking for somebodythat had Hill experience, that
was Hispanic like me and had aneducation background.
So I applied and I got the job.
So I came back to DC and Iworked for the US S Senator from
New Mexico and his name wasHarrison Smith and he was on the
(05:29):
Apollo 17, um mission, the lastmission to the moon.
And um, I found the Lord through, uh, through my husband.
It was on a blind date.
And um husband, it was on ablind date and a girl that I
(05:52):
worked with.
Her name was Clara.
She insisted that I go with herhusband's friend from
Pennsylvania Tony, my husband isfrom Pennsylvania, pennsylvania
, and Mike her husband.
They, mike and Tony, grew uptogether and she insisted that I
go with him, that I go out withhim, and she told me all these
(06:14):
sad stories and I said I'm notinterested, I I'm dating
somebody, I'm going to return toNew Mexico and I'm going to
return to New Mexico and I'mgoing to teach school.
And she insisted.
So I met him and we were.
We did not hit it off the firstnight, the first day.
That's not what I expected.
(06:35):
We did not hit it off.
Yeah, he came very late and andI thought he was rude, so we
went back to work and I wasnever going to see him again.
And we went back to work andClara and Mike my friend Clara,
(06:59):
she was working for the senatorand she said we have tickets to
watch a basketball game, aprofessional basketball game.
Do you want to go.
I know you love basketball.
And I said I do.
And I said, should I get a date?
And she said no, you have one.
So Mike told Tony the samething.
(07:20):
So Mike told Tony the samething that he was going to go
with me and we were going towatch a basketball game.
And then we neither one of usare shy and neither one of us
are, you know, wallflowers.
We talk a lot and we didn'thave anything to say to each
(07:50):
other.
The first thing we had incommon was a bridge that we had
in our mouth.
That was the same side.
That's what we talked about.
So then there was a party onCapitol Hill and so I invited
Clara and Mike and Tony to theparty on the hill and Tony said
(08:13):
I brought my own card.
Do you want to go with me?
And I said, okay, I can go withyou.
So he had a Jesus 76 button onhis console and I said you
believe in Jesus?
And he said yes.
(08:33):
And I said can I tell you mystory?
I cannot tell anybody in thesenator's office because nobody
believes me met God when I wentto DC and it's a long story, but
I took the Bible and I heardwhat Billy Graham said.
He planted the seed and BillyGraham said if you seek God, he
(08:56):
will come into your life.
If you seek him with all yourheart and pursue him, he will
answer you.
And so I went to the work forthe congressman at the time and
I was seeking God.
I started to read the Bible andit didn't make sense to me at
(09:18):
all.
I started in Genesis and it wasgobbledygook.
I was a very good Catholic.
I said my rosaries, the, ourFather, hail Mary, apostles
Creed.
I kept all the holy days ofobligation but I never read the
Bible.
I never was allowed to read theBible because the priest read
(09:41):
it for you and interpret it foryou.
So, anyway, I started to seekGod.
So every day I came home.
In the meantime I switched jobs.
I worked on the house side andthen I worked for the senator
from New Mexico Schmidt was hisname and I started to seek God.
(10:05):
I came home every single nightand I opened my Bible and one
night there was a bright lightin my room and I said, oh,
that's you, god.
You come into somebody's lifewhen they ask and they pursue
(10:27):
you.
And I've pursued you.
And I saw that light and Istood up instantly and I live
downtown DC on M Street andthere was a lot of burnt out
buildings, lot of burnt outbuildings, and I thought that it
(10:49):
was the light from one of theburnt out buildings, or it was a
car light and it wasn't.
And I stood up and I said thatmust be you, god.
It's an effervescent light andit's in the corner of my room
and I said that's God, that'sthe Holy Spirit.
So I went to sleep and Ithought that happened to
everybody.
So at this point I was workingfor the US Senator Schmidt and I
(11:15):
told the girl I was workingwith about a senator about the
light and she was working forthe senator too and she had been
to California and she told meall these stories.
And I said, working for thesenator too, and she had been to
California and she told me allthese stories.
And I said I can tell heranything.
She didn't believe me.
She didn't believe me and Itold a lot of the people in the
(11:35):
senator's office about my lightexperience and nobody believed
me until Tony.
And then when I asked Tony ifhe believed in Jesus and he said
yes, he had this button on hisconsole.
And I said can I tell you astory that I haven't been able
(11:56):
to tell anybody else?
And he said, yes, you can tellme that story.
So I told him the story aboutthe lightning.
He said, yeah, that's how Godcomes into your life.
And I said wow, that's awesome.
So he invited me to his church.
It was called I don't know whatit was called, but it was
(12:17):
started by Larry Tomsic and CJMahaney.
They wrote a book to Catholicscalled Take and Give Tag and it
met on Washington in WashingtonDC.
Actually it was in Maryland, itwas across the street in
Maryland.
And he invited me to his churchon a Tuesday night.
(12:43):
And I said first of all, youdon't go to church on Tuesday
night, you go on Saturday andSunday.
I was very Catholic and he wasraised Catholic too, and so he
understood my hesitation and hesaid you want to come to my
church?
(13:03):
He found the Lord there at TATake and Give the year before,
and so, anyway, he invited me tohis church and I went and I
heard them talking to God outloud.
They didn't do the genuflect,they didn't do the sign of the
(13:26):
cross, anything, they justtalked to God out loud and I
said, oh my goodness, they're,they're a cult, they're, they're
, they're, they're crazy.
And I saw healings and I saw, Isaw the spirit work, and I saw
the spirit work.
So I left and I didn't wantanything to do with him again
(13:49):
and he kept calling and he keptcalling and he kept calling and
(14:10):
I returned to his church and Iheard the gospel, loud and clear
, that you need to repent andask God to forgive you.
It wasn't the Saturdayafternoon ritual that I followed
.
I saw a priest at a confessionalevery Saturday and I confessed
my sins, or the sins I thoughtabout you know committing and he
said you need to confess allyour sins, to acknowledge and
confess, repent and turn.
(14:32):
And I heard that message veryclearly and I went running down
and Larry Tomsik and CJ MahaneyI don't know where they are now,
but they were there at thechurch and I kept writing down.
(14:52):
I said you don't know how muchI sinned.
I've sinned a lot.
You don't know how much I'vesinned.
I have to make sure that all mysins are forgiven.
I have to make sure that all mysins are forgiven.
And they said God forgives youtoday.
Tomorrow he's forgiven all yoursins.
(15:15):
And so I agreed I wouldn't comedown anymore, I wouldn't run
down with tears anymore.
So we started to go to churchtogether with tears anymore.
So we started to go to churchtogether.
I told Tony, my husband, that Iwas going to go to church and
God really revealed himself tome.
(15:35):
He revealed himself when I hadthree boys in a year and a half.
I have twins and the oldest sonis 18 months older than the
twins and and God revealedhimself to me during that time.
(15:57):
He taught me completedependence on him and I saw it.
My twins are alive and well andthey were born under very
difficult circumstances.
We almost lost one of them andhe was a pound.
(16:17):
He went down to a pound 15ounces and we almost lost him
and he had surgeries.
He's alive and well and it wasgod that healed him.
Praise god, it was god praisegod.
Jemese LaChel (16:34):
Wow, so it's almost like you.
I mean, it is like you had a.
The scripture that says thatabout having a form of religion,
but it lacks power, Right?
Idell Koury (16:48):
That's what you were living Exactly right, I had
a form of religion and I readthe Bible and I understood it
and I understood how thereligious people crucified
Christ the religious people.
He didn't follow the rules andso they crucified him.
(17:09):
They went to the Romans andthey crucified Christ and I said
that's exactly what my faithwas.
It was crucifying Christ, itwas religion, it was an
organization and it was areligion and it was a power
structure and it was religion Ihad.
(17:30):
I met all the holy days ofobligation, I met all the
criteria, but I didn't know God.
I followed the rules, but Ididn't know God.
Jemese LaChel (17:44):
Yeah, Wow, and he found you, he found me when I
was seeking him.
Idell Koury (17:52):
I had to turn my face towards him and seek him
and I would come home everysingle night.
I work on the hill and thenevery night I got out my Bible
and I said I'm not going to letyou go until you come into my
life.
And I pursued him, I pursuedhim and I pursued him.
(18:13):
I heard Billy Graham say thatthat if you pursue God, that he
will come into your life.
And so I remembered that and Ipursued him and I pursued him
and he came into my life.
He had a light that came intomy room and I knew it was God
(18:41):
came into my room and I knew itwas God.
The chances of a Pennsylvaniaman and a New Mexico girl
meeting in Washington DC.
And I was working for thesenator from New Mexico and he
was in DC and working forMichelin.
You know, my husband worked forMichelin for 45 years and he
was in DC and he met Mike andClara on the hill and he made
(19:09):
friends with Mike growing up andGod doesn't make mistakes no,
he doesn't.
Jemese LaChel (19:17):
He is very, very orchestrated with how he does
everything so purposeful.
That's beautiful.
Tell us about.
I know you have a book whereyou talk a lot about some of
your experiences.
So, tell us a little bit aboutthis.
Idell Koury (19:36):
Well, it's a long story, but my mom was very
Catholic and she married anatheist.
My dad was an atheist and hecalled me I baby.
He called me I baby.
There's a verse in Second Peterthat says love covers a
(19:59):
multitude of sins.
My dad loved me.
I know that he he doted on me.
I was spoiled, I think, and mydad was an atheist, but he sent
us to Catholic school because hewanted the best education for
his daughters.
(20:20):
And I grew up in New Mexico.
And my mom she died last summer.
She was almost 101.
We celebrated her 100thbirthday and, um, she was very
(20:41):
Catholic and she was looking forGod in religion.
And um, she was.
She asked me not to finish mybook until she was with the Lord
and so I held off.
I started writing it about 10years ago and she said there
(21:04):
were too many painful memoriesand she was very religious, but
she stayed with her cousinsduring the summers and when her
dad worked and she was gangraped.
So she was raped and raped, andraped every single night.
(21:26):
She told me the story when mydad died and she said I never
knew how to relate to men, butyour dad was a good man.
He was a good man, but hecouldn't stand my adultery and
my dad came home from work hewas a taxi cab driver in
(21:49):
Albuquerque and that's how theymet and he found her on the sofa
or in bed with a man numeroustimes and my mom never, never,
knew how to relate to men.
She thought you get married,not, you get married, you have
(22:14):
sex and then you get marriedlater on.
And, um, she never knew the wayit was.
She never knew, she neverlearned courtship or anything.
She was right, it was stolenfrom her yeah, it was stolen
rightyeah, I listened to lauren
daigle and she has a song thatsays your innocence has been
(22:39):
taken.
And she's right.
My mom's innocence was takenfrom her and and my sister, my
older sister, linda.
I dedicate the book to her.
Well, I dedicated it to my momand I acknowledge Linda, she's
one of my sisters.
(23:00):
When my mom was, she drank tocover up the pain.
She was an alcoholic andadulteress and she was married
to an atheist and she drank alot to cover up her pain, her of
her past.
And she was drunk and she waswith one of her lovers and I was
(23:25):
dying.
I was dying on the front stepand I had dysentery.
I had something, I had eaten,something that was bad, and my
sister, linda, took me to thehospital in a little red wagon
and she yeah, she, she knew thatI was gonna die.
(23:45):
She said you're dehydrated.
I was in and out ofconsciousness, I was sitting on
the front step and I was aboutto die.
So she took me to the hospitaland I remember the doctor being
very upset and he said where isyour guardian?
(24:07):
And I woke up and then I wentout again and he I remember him
being very red in the face andhe questioned my sister and I
went out how old were you?
I was 11.
I was 11.
And no, I was nine.
(24:30):
At that point I was 11.
When I came back, I was nineand my sister was 11 or 12.
And her name is Linda.
And I went out and the doctorput me in the hospital.
I remember the words this childneeds to be hospitalized.
(24:54):
And I was almost dead and mymom came with her lover to visit
me in the hospital.
And I said Badu is not my dad, Idon't want to see him again.
And the nurses saw how upset Iwas and so they told them not to
(25:17):
come.
The next visitors I had werethe foster mother.
They had taken my sisters mytwo sisters and me away from my
mom because, um, she neglectedus, I was dying and she didn't
(25:39):
take care of us, and so they putus in a foster home.
It was in another town, it was35 miles outside of Las Cruces,
it was called Doniana.
They took us away from my mom,they put us in a foster home.
(26:07):
Then they came to us and theytold us two years later that my
mom was rehabilitated.
She wasn't.
They said she is and you needto go back to her.
(26:48):
And we didn't want to go backbecause my dad wasn't there.
My dad had trouble dealingsisters very nice, but he
treated her horribly when hefound her.
But so I grew up.
I went back to my mom when Iwas 11.
And then, when I was 13 and 15,I went to live with the sister
because my mom was stilldrinking and she was still
(27:08):
having affairs and she had had ababy by one of her affairs, one
of her lovers, and I didn'twant to.
I did not want any part of that.
I didn't want to have any partof my mom.
So my mom and my dad got backtogether.
(27:31):
Years later they got backtogether and my dad, he was an
atheist and he had no faith atall.
But some missionaries came.
They came to my dad and momsplit and then years later he
(27:51):
came back.
He had a heart issue and helived with my mom.
She took care of him and somemissionaries were visiting
Albuquerque at the time and theysaid God told us there's a very
sick man living in thisapartment and my dad never knew
(28:13):
the stranger.
He was very jovial, he was veryoutgoing and he said no.
They said we have to beobedient to God.
God told us we're only herethis weekend and we're here for
a revival.
And God told us we need to comeand see you.
(28:34):
And he said no, they said yes.
Anyway, my mom came back fromthe store and my dad was on his
knees asking Jesus Christ intohis heart and he died that night
.
Jemese LaChel (28:48):
Oh, wow.
Idell Koury (28:49):
Yeah, so God's real and he answers prayers.
I prayed for my dad all thetime.
Yeah, I prayed for my dad allthe time.
Yeah, I prayed for him and Ivisited him and his new wife and
their kids.
I visited them and I prayed forhim all the time and I said God
(29:11):
, don't take him before he knowsthe truth and before he commits
to follow you.
So God took him that knife.
He didn't have a victoriouslife, but he knows.
I know that I'm going to seehim in heaven.
Jemese LaChel (29:28):
Yeah, and my mom.
Idell Koury (29:29):
We want to cry yeah , and my mom saw him.
Uh, she came back from thestore and she saw him
surrendering his life to theLord and then she told me she
had told anybody the story aboutthe gang rapes and her cousins.
She told me I did not know howto relate to a man because
(29:55):
that's why you went to thefoster home, that's why I had
affairs.
She cried for two to three days.
We never took off our pajamas.
She cried and she told me.
She said your dad was a goodman.
He was a very good man and hewas an atheist.
He didn't understand.
(30:17):
There was a reason, there was atransformation that you could
repent and say you're sorry.
And he didn't understand that.
So I told mom that she did nothave to go to the Catholic
Church anymore.
If she wanted to, she could,but she didn't have to.
(30:37):
She wanted to, she could, butshe didn't have to.
She could just confess all ofher sins, all of her past, and
receive forgiveness and receiveChrist.
And she did that and she neverleft God's side.
She always stayed in theCatholic Church.
She made rosaries until she wasin her 90s.
(30:58):
She did.
She made rosaries till she wasin her 90s and she faithfully
served in the Catholic Church,but she knew God.
She knew God and she told meabout her past and she had never
told anybody before.
But she told me.
Right after my dad's funeral,she told me.
Jemese LaChel (31:18):
Yeah, what a testimony.
Oh my goodness.
Idell Koury (31:23):
I know it was a very powerful testimony.
My husband, tony, didn't wantme to write this book.
He didn't want me to tell mystory because it had a lot of
pain.
I was in foster home.
My mom was an alcoholic, anadulteress, my dad was an
(31:44):
atheist and he didn't want me totell anybody.
But just recently, in the lastcouple of years, he said you
need to tell your story.
You need to tell your story.
It will inspire other peopleand I don't want to let go of
God, ever, ever, ever again.
(32:08):
I tell my grandkids I said thespirit of God, god came down and
he put on a bodysuit and I saidthat's who Jesus is.
He put on a bodysuit and hesaid I'm going to show you how
to live.
I, you know, made a covenantwith the Israelites and they
betrayed me over and over again.
(32:29):
So I'm going to say I'm goingto tell you how to live.
And so Jesus came.
He put on a bodysuit and he andhe ministered for three years
and to prove he was God.
And then he died, he wascrucified by the Romans at the
(32:51):
request of the religious peopleand then he left his spirit.
And his spirit is here with usand I see his spirit all the
time.
I said I tell my grandkids, doyou see the wind?
And they said yeah, we see thewind.
And I said no, you see theeffects of the wind.
(33:14):
You never see the wind.
You don't see the wind.
And I said that's like thespirit.
You see the effects of thespirit.
You see the fruit Jesus calledit fruit you see the evidence,
but you don't see it.
You don't see the spirit.
And that's how the spirit.
(33:34):
You see the spirit.
You see the spirit, the evilspirit and the good spirit.
It possesses people, and yousee the effects.
You see the fruit of the spirit, but you never see the spirit.
So I live by those rules.
Jemese LaChel (33:53):
Yes, the spirit of God is so important.
The Holy Spirit is so, soprecious.
We need him.
He is who convicts of sin,righteousness and judgment.
He is the only way that we caneven know that we need God.
We can't even understand Jesusapart from the Spirit of God,
(34:15):
and I love how you just madethat so simple to understand.
Idell Koury (34:19):
Yeah, I tell my grandkids all the time.
You know, I live by the spirit.
I see the fruit of the spirit.
I cannot get enough of the wordof God.
I cannot get enough becausehuman nature never changes.
We read from judges today intheir devotionals and there's a
(34:43):
lot of junk in judges.
People did what was right intheir own eyes.
There was no king and theydidn't have a standard to live
by.
And they did what was right intheir own eyes.
My mom did that.
She did what was right in herown eyes.
So did my dad, and I said youknow what the word of God is
(35:10):
true.
God gave into the people ofIsrael when they screamed for a
king.
He gave him Saul.
And they screamed for a king.
We want a king, we want a king,we want to be like everybody
else.
And he gave him Saul.
And then Saul died a horribledeath, and then David, but human
(35:34):
nature has never changed.
But human nature has neverchanged.
Human nature is the same as itwas in the garden, as it is
today.
Yeah, situations have changed,circumstances have changed,
cultures change, but humannature doesn't change.
Jemese LaChel (35:53):
It's still the same.
And by that you mean that weneed a savior, don't we?
We need a savior, Don't we wedo?
The book of Judges is a rollercoaster.
It is a roller coaster, right.
This one was serving the Lord.
That one wasn't, and man.
(36:15):
You look at history and evenEcclesiastes, it tells us that
there's nothing new, Nothing newunder the sun.
People are still living thatway.
We need a savior.
We do.
Idell Koury (36:29):
We need a savior and we need rules to live by.
You know, the epic of Gilgameshwas not the source of the Ten
Commandments.
It wasn't.
We need rules to live by.
(36:51):
That's where our Constitution.
I have a degree in the USConstitution.
I'm a James Madison Fellow.
They select one teacher perstate per year and I won in 2005
.
I won for the James MadisonFellowship.
It's $.
(37:12):
Hmm.
They followed the Constitution.
The founders knew theConstitution.
They knew the Constitution, thewritten law from England and
(37:32):
from all these other places.
But they said we need a law togovern our lives and we need a
law and we need the Holy Spiritto govern our heart and we need
a law.
We need commandments to followbecause we're sheep.
Yes, we're like sheep.
(37:54):
Yeah, we need a shepherd, andsometimes he breaks our legs and
he puts us on his shoulders andhe carries us.
Jemese LaChel (38:06):
Yeah, we need that sometimes.
Yeah, we need it sometimes,yeah.
So I want to ask you this as wewrap up what would you tell
someone who did not know Jesusfor themselves, one who did not
know Jesus for themselves, whatwould?
What would be something thatyou would tell that person if
they were, if they wanted toknow who he was for themselves?
Idell Koury (38:26):
Okay, first, of all , I don't think we prayed, but
we need to pray.
Jemese LaChel (38:33):
We will pray and we'll do that.
I'm going to ask you to do thatat the end.
Idell Koury (38:36):
Okay, yeah, and and um, I would tell the person
that god is real, it's not justa spirit.
Uh, there's organizations.
There's organizations like thepresbyterian church and the
catholic church and the baptistchurch.
There's organizations, butthey're not God.
(38:58):
And they have rules, butthey're not God.
God is real and he's a spiritand God.
We have to worship him inspirit and in truth.
We know the truth through hisword.
He's inspired all the writersin the Bible, but we have to
(39:20):
receive him, we have totransform, we have to repent, we
have to call up everything thatwe can remember that we've done
wrong and, even if we don'tremember, we have to confess,
acknowledge, repent and turn andreceive his forgiveness.
(39:40):
He says it's a free gift.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it to you,you just have to receive it.
And that's what I did, that'swhat my dad did too, and my mom,
and they received this freegift.
And um, I went down and Iconfessed gift.
(40:03):
And um, I went down and Iconfessed there's a lot of
teaching that's out there thatyou don't have to confess
because of grace and I said, yes, you need to confess, you need
to repent, you need to turn andreceive his forgiveness.
It's a free gift.
We just have to acknowledge andrepent and turn and turn from
our evil ways.
(40:24):
And he's faithful to forgive us.
And I live with that joy ofknowing not, everything's not
perfect, but I live with the joyin knowing that I'm going to
live forever and that's what Iwould tell people.
He's real, he forgives sins.
He forgave my atheist dad andmy alcoholic and adulterous mom.
(40:51):
He forgave them and he gave mymom.
My mom lived to almost 101.
He gave her joy.
He gave her joy unspeakable,without understanding where it
came from.
She was a joyous person in herlast days.
Jemese LaChel (41:11):
Yes, she was Praise God.
Idell Koury (41:13):
Yes.
Jemese LaChel (41:14):
How incredible, oh, that's so beautiful to me
and so encouraging.
Idell Koury (41:19):
I know.
Jemese LaChel (41:20):
So encouraging your whole testimony.
So I would like to ask you ifyou would pray for us or pray
for the listeners.
Rather, pray for the listener,however the Lord leads you to
pray, and then after that we'llshare where listeners can find
your book or find your work andall that kind of thing Does that
sound good, okay, okay I loveto pray.
Idell Koury (41:42):
Yes, dear awesome God, we just come to you in
spirit and in truth, we justconfess all of our sins.
We come to you and we just askyou to come into our lives and
we just ask you to come into ourlives and we pray for the
(42:11):
listeners of this podcast thatthey would know you personally,
that they would come to you andsubmit and surrender their lives
to you, that they would meetyou where you are, where they
are, and that they would come toyou and confess and repent and
turn turn from their evil ways.
And you're faithful to forgiveus.
You're faithful to come intoour lives and forgive us and
(42:34):
give us joy unspeakable and giveus direction and intervene in
our lives.
You do that.
You've always done that.
I've seen that.
I've seen your work and yourhand in this world in Africa, in
Asia, in China and in America.
(43:05):
I've seen that.
I've seen your hand and yourdeliverance and you just ask us
to repent and turn.
We know John the Baptist saidthat you need to confess and
repent and he prepared the wayfor Jesus Christ and he said you
need to acknowledge everythingyou've done wrong.
We know that it's not perfect,we know that it's not just here
(43:29):
and we put everything at thealtar and it's every single day.
We pick up our cross, Everysingle day.
We ask for forgiveness, Everysingle day and you're faithful
to give it and I just I love you.
I thank you so much fortouching me and directing my
(43:51):
path and sending me to thispodcast, and I lift up all those
people that are wondering wherethere is hope and joy and peace
.
And it's in you.
It's in knowing our maker, theGod of heaven and earth, it's
knowing you, and I pray this inJesus' name Amen.
Jemese LaChel (44:16):
Amen, praise God, thank you so much, so tell us
how we can find your book orconnect with you.
Idell Koury (44:25):
High Bridge published it and it looks like
this.
My husband, tony, took thispicture.
The publisher thought we had toget rights from a photographer
and I said no, my husband tookthat picture in our backyard.
So if you look in our backyard,you'll see this in the fall.
(44:46):
That's beautiful and it'sHighbridge and it's at Amazon.
It's Amazon under iBaby, amemoir, and if you go to Amazon,
they'll deliver it.
We're gonna have a book signing, um, this friday at a coffee
(45:07):
shop and, uh, I have a lot ofbooks, but amazon will ship it
to you and highbridge I don'tknow if you can see that
Highbridge is a publisher andHighbridge.
They did a great job, butAmazon will deliver it to you.
Jemese LaChel (45:29):
Okay, wonderful, and I will include a link to
that somewhere around here inthe show notes.
We just appreciate you so much.
Thank you so much.
I'm leaving this podcastepisode feeling so full of the
joy of the Lord.
Idell Koury (45:43):
God is real.
Yes, he's real and he answersprayer.
Yeah, I'm a living testimonythat he does answer prayer.
Jemese LaChel (45:55):
Yes, he does.
We just have to call out to him, don't we?
Idell Koury (45:58):
Yes, we do Very simple.
Jemese LaChel (46:01):
Yes, he makes it very simple, on purpose.
He makes it easy for us.
Idell Koury (46:08):
We make it hard.
We have these rules from thechurch and we make it hard.
He's easy.
He came down, he wanted arelationship and he said I'm
going to choose Abraham and hisdescendants and I'm going to
show how I relate to people, I'mgoing to discipline them and
(46:33):
I'm going to give to them, butI'm going to come down in a
bodysuit because they killed allthe prophets.
And he said I'm going to comedown and then I'm going to come
down in a bodysuit because theykilled all the prophets.
And he said I'm going to comedown and then I'm going to leave
my spirit.
And he left his spirit.
And the spirit is here.
It's here.
Jemese LaChel (46:51):
Praise God.
Thank you, lord, thank you.
Lord, this is wonderful.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, jimmy.
Yeah, yeah.
Can you imagine the feeling or idea of a
granddaughter talking with hergrandmother and it being very
warm, very conversational?
That is exactly what today'sepisode feels like, or it felt
like, for me, recording itanyways.
I met Adele and it was likeright off the bat we were just
(00:23):
two old pals.
It's like I had known her mywhole life.
So I'm really excited for youto hear this radical encounter
with Jesus Christ that she has.
She's sharing her testimony andI'll let her tell it in her own
words.
I'm not going to even try torecap it here for you, but I do
want to add a content warning.
So this episode she does speakpretty candidly about child
(00:45):
neglect and an instance whereshe literally almost died.
She talks about rape.
She talks about just thingslike this, and so, if you know
that you're sensitive to thatkind of material, use your
discretion, use discernment.
But yeah, I really believe thatyou want to tune in to this
because there's something inhere for you.
(01:06):
Let's go.
Welcome to a new creationpodcast.
I'm your host, jamis LachelleDrury.
I'm a Christian traumatherapist and mentor for women,
so glad that you're back with ustoday.
We are pointing women towardsvictory in Christ.
One Jesus story at a time.
(01:27):
Let's get right into today'sepisode.
Joining us today is Idle Corey.
She's a distinguished retirededucator with a wealth of
experience in academia andpolitics.
Idle's career includes teachinghigh school AP history and
serving as an adjunct professorof US history.
(01:49):
Beyond the classroom, she hasalso made her mark on Capitol
Hill, working alongside notablefigures such as US Senator
Harrison Schmidt, a formerApollo 17 astronaut, and
Congressman Herman Badillo, thefirst Puerto Rican congressman.
Now enjoying retirement, idlespends cherished moments with
(02:13):
her husband of 45 years, tony,and delights in the company of
her four grandchildren.
I am so excited to hear whatshe has to say.
Welcome, idle, thank you somuch.
Tell us a little bit aboutyourself.
I can just.
We talked a little bitpreviously, but you have such a
passion for the Lord, for kids.
(02:36):
Just tell us a little bit aboutyourself in your own words.
Idell Koury (02:39):
Let me correct, correct you.
I have seven grandchildren, butfour of them are nearby.
I see Three of them are inVirginia and you know we don't
spend a lot of time with them,but I spend a lot of time with
the four grandchildren that arenearby One of them lives in our
(03:01):
neighborhood and the other onejust left and I sub at their
school a Christian school.
It's a private school and I subat their school.
Jemese LaChel (03:12):
Oh, that's wonderful.
What a blessing to have forthem as well, to have their
grandmother so close.
Family is important.
Yes.
Idell Koury (03:22):
Yes, and I grew up in New Mexico.
I'm Hispanic, if you can't tell, yo hablo espanol, I'm Hispanic
, and I grew up in New Mexicoand I was going to stay there
and I graduated from Universityof New Mexico and I taught in
(03:43):
the Albuquerque public schoolsand then I went to Billy Graham
crusade and I was very Catholicand I thought everybody else was
gonna go to hell Because I wasCatholic and they weren't.
And then God got a hold of myheart and he sent me to
(04:08):
Washington DC.
I visited a friend that wasliving in Washington DC and she
had me apply for a job on theHill and it was working for
Herman Bavio.
He was the first Puerto Ricancongressman, from South Bronx, I
(04:44):
guess, but he ran and I onlyworked for him for six months
and then Senator Schmidt was.
He was elected and I went toNew Mexico to to visit family
and I applied.
(05:05):
They were looking for somebodythat had Hill experience, that
was Hispanic like me and had aneducation background.
So I applied and I got the job.
So I came back to DC and Iworked for the US S Senator from
New Mexico and his name wasHarrison Smith and he was on the
(05:29):
Apollo 17, um mission, the lastmission to the moon.
And um, I found the Lord through, uh, through my husband.
It was on a blind date.
And um husband, it was on ablind date and a girl that I
(05:52):
worked with.
Her name was Clara.
She insisted that I go with herhusband's friend from
Pennsylvania Tony, my husband isfrom Pennsylvania, pennsylvania
, and Mike her husband.
They, mike and Tony, grew uptogether and she insisted that I
go with him, that I go out withhim, and she told me all these
(06:14):
sad stories and I said I'm notinterested, I I'm dating
somebody, I'm going to return toNew Mexico and I'm going to
return to New Mexico and I'mgoing to teach school.
And she insisted.
So I met him and we were.
We did not hit it off the firstnight, the first day.
That's not what I expected.
(06:35):
We did not hit it off.
Yeah, he came very late and andI thought he was rude, so we
went back to work and I wasnever going to see him again.
And we went back to work andClara and Mike my friend Clara,
(06:59):
she was working for the senatorand she said we have tickets to
watch a basketball game, aprofessional basketball game.
Do you want to go.
I know you love basketball.
And I said I do.
And I said, should I get a date?
And she said no, you have one.
So Mike told Tony the samething.
(07:20):
So Mike told Tony the samething that he was going to go
with me and we were going towatch a basketball game.
And then we neither one of usare shy and neither one of us
are, you know, wallflowers.
We talk a lot and we didn'thave anything to say to each
(07:50):
other.
The first thing we had incommon was a bridge that we had
in our mouth.
That was the same side.
That's what we talked about.
So then there was a party onCapitol Hill and so I invited
Clara and Mike and Tony to theparty on the hill and Tony said
(08:13):
I brought my own card.
Do you want to go with me?
And I said, okay, I can go withyou.
So he had a Jesus 76 button onhis console and I said you
believe in Jesus?
And he said yes.
(08:33):
And I said can I tell you mystory?
I cannot tell anybody in thesenator's office because nobody
believes me met God when I wentto DC and it's a long story, but
I took the Bible and I heardwhat Billy Graham said.
He planted the seed and BillyGraham said if you seek God, he
(08:56):
will come into your life.
If you seek him with all yourheart and pursue him, he will
answer you.
And so I went to the work forthe congressman at the time and
I was seeking God.
I started to read the Bible andit didn't make sense to me at
(09:18):
all.
I started in Genesis and it wasgobbledygook.
I was a very good Catholic.
I said my rosaries, the, ourFather, hail Mary, apostles
Creed.
I kept all the holy days ofobligation but I never read the
Bible.
I never was allowed to read theBible because the priest read
(09:41):
it for you and interpret it foryou.
So, anyway, I started to seekGod.
So every day I came home.
In the meantime I switched jobs.
I worked on the house side andthen I worked for the senator
from New Mexico Schmidt was hisname and I started to seek God.
(10:05):
I came home every single nightand I opened my Bible and one
night there was a bright lightin my room and I said, oh,
that's you, god.
You come into somebody's lifewhen they ask and they pursue
(10:27):
you.
And I've pursued you.
And I saw that light and Istood up instantly and I live
downtown DC on M Street andthere was a lot of burnt out
buildings, lot of burnt outbuildings, and I thought that it
(10:49):
was the light from one of theburnt out buildings, or it was a
car light and it wasn't.
And I stood up and I said thatmust be you, god.
It's an effervescent light andit's in the corner of my room
and I said that's God, that'sthe Holy Spirit.
So I went to sleep and Ithought that happened to
everybody.
So at this point I was workingfor the US Senator Schmidt and I
(11:15):
told the girl I was workingwith about a senator about the
light and she was working forthe senator too and she had been
to California and she told meall these stories.
And I said, working for thesenator too, and she had been to
California and she told me allthese stories.
And I said I can tell heranything.
She didn't believe me.
She didn't believe me and Itold a lot of the people in the
(11:35):
senator's office about my lightexperience and nobody believed
me until Tony.
And then when I asked Tony ifhe believed in Jesus and he said
yes, he had this button on hisconsole.
And I said can I tell you astory that I haven't been able
(11:56):
to tell anybody else?
And he said, yes, you can tellme that story.
So I told him the story aboutthe lightning.
He said, yeah, that's how Godcomes into your life.
And I said wow, that's awesome.
So he invited me to his church.
It was called I don't know whatit was called, but it was
(12:17):
started by Larry Tomsic and CJMahaney.
They wrote a book to Catholicscalled Take and Give Tag and it
met on Washington in WashingtonDC.
Actually it was in Maryland, itwas across the street in
Maryland.
And he invited me to his churchon a Tuesday night.
(12:43):
And I said first of all, youdon't go to church on Tuesday
night, you go on Saturday andSunday.
I was very Catholic and he wasraised Catholic too, and so he
understood my hesitation and hesaid you want to come to my
church?
(13:03):
He found the Lord there at TATake and Give the year before,
and so, anyway, he invited me tohis church and I went and I
heard them talking to God outloud.
They didn't do the genuflect,they didn't do the sign of the
(13:26):
cross, anything, they justtalked to God out loud and I
said, oh my goodness, they're,they're a cult, they're, they're
, they're, they're crazy.
And I saw healings and I saw, Isaw the spirit work, and I saw
the spirit work.
So I left and I didn't wantanything to do with him again
(13:49):
and he kept calling and he keptcalling and he kept calling and
(14:10):
I returned to his church and Iheard the gospel, loud and clear
, that you need to repent andask God to forgive you.
It wasn't the Saturdayafternoon ritual that I followed
.
I saw a priest at a confessionalevery Saturday and I confessed
my sins, or the sins I thoughtabout you know committing and he
said you need to confess allyour sins, to acknowledge and
confess, repent and turn.
(14:32):
And I heard that message veryclearly and I went running down
and Larry Tomsik and CJ MahaneyI don't know where they are now,
but they were there at thechurch and I kept writing down.
(14:52):
I said you don't know how muchI sinned.
I've sinned a lot.
You don't know how much I'vesinned.
I have to make sure that all mysins are forgiven.
I have to make sure that all mysins are forgiven.
And they said God forgives youtoday.
Tomorrow he's forgiven all yoursins.
(15:15):
And so I agreed I wouldn't comedown anymore, I wouldn't run
down with tears anymore.
So we started to go to churchtogether with tears anymore.
So we started to go to churchtogether.
I told Tony, my husband, that Iwas going to go to church and
God really revealed himself tome.
(15:35):
He revealed himself when I hadthree boys in a year and a half.
I have twins and the oldest sonis 18 months older than the
twins and and God revealedhimself to me during that time.
(15:57):
He taught me completedependence on him and I saw it.
My twins are alive and well andthey were born under very
difficult circumstances.
We almost lost one of them andhe was a pound.
(16:17):
He went down to a pound 15ounces and we almost lost him
and he had surgeries.
He's alive and well and it wasgod that healed him.
Praise god, it was god praisegod.
Jemese LaChel (16:34):
Wow, so it's almost like you.
I mean, it is like you had a.
The scripture that says thatabout having a form of religion,
but it lacks power, Right?
Idell Koury (16:48):
That's what you were living Exactly right, I had
a form of religion and I readthe Bible and I understood it
and I understood how thereligious people crucified
Christ the religious people.
He didn't follow the rules andso they crucified him.
(17:09):
They went to the Romans andthey crucified Christ and I said
that's exactly what my faithwas.
It was crucifying Christ, itwas religion, it was an
organization and it was areligion and it was a power
structure and it was religion Ihad.
(17:30):
I met all the holy days ofobligation, I met all the
criteria, but I didn't know God.
I followed the rules, but Ididn't know God.
Jemese LaChel (17:44):
Yeah, Wow, and he found you, he found me when I
was seeking him.
Idell Koury (17:52):
I had to turn my face towards him and seek him
and I would come home everysingle night.
I work on the hill and thenevery night I got out my Bible
and I said I'm not going to letyou go until you come into my
life.
And I pursued him, I pursuedhim and I pursued him.
(18:13):
I heard Billy Graham say thatthat if you pursue God, that he
will come into your life.
And so I remembered that and Ipursued him and I pursued him
and he came into my life.
He had a light that came intomy room and I knew it was God
(18:41):
came into my room and I knew itwas God.
The chances of a Pennsylvaniaman and a New Mexico girl
meeting in Washington DC.
And I was working for thesenator from New Mexico and he
was in DC and working forMichelin.
You know, my husband worked forMichelin for 45 years and he
was in DC and he met Mike andClara on the hill and he made
(19:09):
friends with Mike growing up andGod doesn't make mistakes no,
he doesn't.
Jemese LaChel (19:17):
He is very, very orchestrated with how he does
everything so purposeful.
That's beautiful.
Tell us about.
I know you have a book whereyou talk a lot about some of
your experiences.
So, tell us a little bit aboutthis.
Idell Koury (19:36):
Well, it's a long story, but my mom was very
Catholic and she married anatheist.
My dad was an atheist and hecalled me I baby.
He called me I baby.
There's a verse in Second Peterthat says love covers a
(19:59):
multitude of sins.
My dad loved me.
I know that he he doted on me.
I was spoiled, I think, and mydad was an atheist, but he sent
us to Catholic school because hewanted the best education for
his daughters.
(20:20):
And I grew up in New Mexico.
And my mom she died last summer.
She was almost 101.
We celebrated her 100thbirthday and, um, she was very
(20:41):
Catholic and she was looking forGod in religion.
And um, she was.
She asked me not to finish mybook until she was with the Lord
and so I held off.
I started writing it about 10years ago and she said there
(21:04):
were too many painful memoriesand she was very religious, but
she stayed with her cousinsduring the summers and when her
dad worked and she was gangraped.
So she was raped and raped, andraped every single night.
(21:26):
She told me the story when mydad died and she said I never
knew how to relate to men, butyour dad was a good man.
He was a good man, but hecouldn't stand my adultery and
my dad came home from work hewas a taxi cab driver in
(21:49):
Albuquerque and that's how theymet and he found her on the sofa
or in bed with a man numeroustimes and my mom never, never,
knew how to relate to men.
She thought you get married,not, you get married, you have
(22:14):
sex and then you get marriedlater on.
And, um, she never knew the wayit was.
She never knew, she neverlearned courtship or anything.
She was right, it was stolenfrom her yeah, it was stolen
rightyeah, I listened to lauren
daigle and she has a song thatsays your innocence has been
(22:39):
taken.
And she's right.
My mom's innocence was takenfrom her and and my sister, my
older sister, linda.
I dedicate the book to her.
Well, I dedicated it to my momand I acknowledge Linda, she's
one of my sisters.
(23:00):
When my mom was, she drank tocover up the pain.
She was an alcoholic andadulteress and she was married
to an atheist and she drank alot to cover up her pain, her of
her past.
And she was drunk and she waswith one of her lovers and I was
(23:25):
dying.
I was dying on the front stepand I had dysentery.
I had something, I had eaten,something that was bad, and my
sister, linda, took me to thehospital in a little red wagon
and she yeah, she, she knew thatI was gonna die.
(23:45):
She said you're dehydrated.
I was in and out ofconsciousness, I was sitting on
the front step and I was aboutto die.
So she took me to the hospitaland I remember the doctor being
very upset and he said where isyour guardian?
(24:07):
And I woke up and then I wentout again and he I remember him
being very red in the face andhe questioned my sister and I
went out how old were you?
I was 11.
I was 11.
And no, I was nine.
(24:30):
At that point I was 11.
When I came back, I was nineand my sister was 11 or 12.
And her name is Linda.
And I went out and the doctorput me in the hospital.
I remember the words this childneeds to be hospitalized.
(24:54):
And I was almost dead and mymom came with her lover to visit
me in the hospital.
And I said Badu is not my dad, Idon't want to see him again.
And the nurses saw how upset Iwas and so they told them not to
(25:17):
come.
The next visitors I had werethe foster mother.
They had taken my sisters mytwo sisters and me away from my
mom because, um, she neglectedus, I was dying and she didn't
(25:39):
take care of us, and so they putus in a foster home.
It was in another town, it was35 miles outside of Las Cruces,
it was called Doniana.
They took us away from my mom,they put us in a foster home.
(26:07):
Then they came to us and theytold us two years later that my
mom was rehabilitated.
She wasn't.
They said she is and you needto go back to her.
(26:48):
And we didn't want to go backbecause my dad wasn't there.
My dad had trouble dealingsisters very nice, but he
treated her horribly when hefound her.
But so I grew up.
I went back to my mom when Iwas 11.
And then, when I was 13 and 15,I went to live with the sister
because my mom was stilldrinking and she was still
(27:08):
having affairs and she had had ababy by one of her affairs, one
of her lovers, and I didn'twant to.
I did not want any part of that.
I didn't want to have any partof my mom.
So my mom and my dad got backtogether.
(27:31):
Years later they got backtogether and my dad, he was an
atheist and he had no faith atall.
But some missionaries came.
They came to my dad and momsplit and then years later he
(27:51):
came back.
He had a heart issue and helived with my mom.
She took care of him and somemissionaries were visiting
Albuquerque at the time and theysaid God told us there's a very
sick man living in thisapartment and my dad never knew
(28:13):
the stranger.
He was very jovial, he was veryoutgoing and he said no.
They said we have to beobedient to God.
God told us we're only herethis weekend and we're here for
a revival.
And God told us we need to comeand see you.
(28:34):
And he said no, they said yes.
Anyway, my mom came back fromthe store and my dad was on his
knees asking Jesus Christ intohis heart and he died that night
.
Jemese LaChel (28:48):
Oh, wow.
Idell Koury (28:49):
Yeah, so God's real and he answers prayers.
I prayed for my dad all thetime.
Yeah, I prayed for my dad allthe time.
Yeah, I prayed for him and Ivisited him and his new wife and
their kids.
I visited them and I prayed forhim all the time and I said God
(29:11):
, don't take him before he knowsthe truth and before he commits
to follow you.
So God took him that knife.
He didn't have a victoriouslife, but he knows.
I know that I'm going to seehim in heaven.
Jemese LaChel (29:28):
Yeah, and my mom.
Idell Koury (29:29):
We want to cry yeah , and my mom saw him.
Uh, she came back from thestore and she saw him
surrendering his life to theLord and then she told me she
had told anybody the story aboutthe gang rapes and her cousins.
She told me I did not know howto relate to a man because
(29:55):
that's why you went to thefoster home, that's why I had
affairs.
She cried for two to three days.
We never took off our pajamas.
She cried and she told me.
She said your dad was a goodman.
He was a very good man and hewas an atheist.
He didn't understand.
(30:17):
There was a reason, there was atransformation that you could
repent and say you're sorry.
And he didn't understand that.
So I told mom that she did nothave to go to the Catholic
Church anymore.
If she wanted to, she could,but she didn't have to.
(30:37):
She wanted to, she could, butshe didn't have to.
She could just confess all ofher sins, all of her past, and
receive forgiveness and receiveChrist.
And she did that and she neverleft God's side.
She always stayed in theCatholic Church.
She made rosaries until she wasin her 90s.
(30:58):
She did.
She made rosaries till she wasin her 90s and she faithfully
served in the Catholic Church,but she knew God.
She knew God and she told meabout her past and she had never
told anybody before.
But she told me.
Right after my dad's funeral,she told me.
Jemese LaChel (31:18):
Yeah, what a testimony.
Oh my goodness.
Idell Koury (31:23):
I know it was a very powerful testimony.
My husband, tony, didn't wantme to write this book.
He didn't want me to tell mystory because it had a lot of
pain.
I was in foster home.
My mom was an alcoholic, anadulteress, my dad was an
(31:44):
atheist and he didn't want me totell anybody.
But just recently, in the lastcouple of years, he said you
need to tell your story.
You need to tell your story.
It will inspire other peopleand I don't want to let go of
God, ever, ever, ever again.
(32:08):
I tell my grandkids I said thespirit of God, god came down and
he put on a bodysuit and I saidthat's who Jesus is.
He put on a bodysuit and hesaid I'm going to show you how
to live.
I, you know, made a covenantwith the Israelites and they
betrayed me over and over again.
(32:29):
So I'm going to say I'm goingto tell you how to live.
And so Jesus came.
He put on a bodysuit and he andhe ministered for three years
and to prove he was God.
And then he died, he wascrucified by the Romans at the
(32:51):
request of the religious peopleand then he left his spirit.
And his spirit is here with usand I see his spirit all the
time.
I said I tell my grandkids, doyou see the wind?
And they said yeah, we see thewind.
And I said no, you see theeffects of the wind.
(33:14):
You never see the wind.
You don't see the wind.
And I said that's like thespirit.
You see the effects of thespirit.
You see the fruit Jesus calledit fruit you see the evidence,
but you don't see it.
You don't see the spirit.
And that's how the spirit.
(33:34):
You see the spirit.
You see the spirit, the evilspirit and the good spirit.
It possesses people, and yousee the effects.
You see the fruit of the spirit, but you never see the spirit.
So I live by those rules.
Jemese LaChel (33:53):
Yes, the spirit of God is so important.
The Holy Spirit is so, soprecious.
We need him.
He is who convicts of sin,righteousness and judgment.
He is the only way that we caneven know that we need God.
We can't even understand Jesusapart from the Spirit of God,
(34:15):
and I love how you just madethat so simple to understand.
Idell Koury (34:19):
Yeah, I tell my grandkids all the time.
You know, I live by the spirit.
I see the fruit of the spirit.
I cannot get enough of the wordof God.
I cannot get enough becausehuman nature never changes.
We read from judges today intheir devotionals and there's a
(34:43):
lot of junk in judges.
People did what was right intheir own eyes.
There was no king and theydidn't have a standard to live
by.
And they did what was right intheir own eyes.
My mom did that.
She did what was right in herown eyes.
So did my dad, and I said youknow what the word of God is
(35:10):
true.
God gave into the people ofIsrael when they screamed for a
king.
He gave him Saul.
And they screamed for a king.
We want a king, we want a king,we want to be like everybody
else.
And he gave him Saul.
And then Saul died a horribledeath, and then David, but human
(35:34):
nature has never changed.
But human nature has neverchanged.
Human nature is the same as itwas in the garden, as it is
today.
Yeah, situations have changed,circumstances have changed,
cultures change, but humannature doesn't change.
Jemese LaChel (35:53):
It's still the same.
And by that you mean that weneed a savior, don't we?
We need a savior, Don't we wedo?
The book of Judges is a rollercoaster.
It is a roller coaster, right.
This one was serving the Lord.
That one wasn't, and man.
(36:15):
You look at history and evenEcclesiastes, it tells us that
there's nothing new, Nothing newunder the sun.
People are still living thatway.
We need a savior.
We do.
Idell Koury (36:29):
We need a savior and we need rules to live by.
You know, the epic of Gilgameshwas not the source of the Ten
Commandments.
It wasn't.
We need rules to live by.
(36:51):
That's where our Constitution.
I have a degree in the USConstitution.
I'm a James Madison Fellow.
They select one teacher perstate per year and I won in 2005
.
I won for the James MadisonFellowship.
It's $.
(37:12):
Hmm.
They followed the Constitution.
The founders knew theConstitution.
They knew the Constitution, thewritten law from England and
(37:32):
from all these other places.
But they said we need a law togovern our lives and we need a
law and we need the Holy Spiritto govern our heart and we need
a law.
We need commandments to followbecause we're sheep.
Yes, we're like sheep.
(37:54):
Yeah, we need a shepherd, andsometimes he breaks our legs and
he puts us on his shoulders andhe carries us.
Jemese LaChel (38:06):
Yeah, we need that sometimes.
Yeah, we need it sometimes,yeah.
So I want to ask you this as wewrap up what would you tell
someone who did not know Jesusfor themselves, one who did not
know Jesus for themselves, whatwould?
What would be something thatyou would tell that person if
they were, if they wanted toknow who he was for themselves?
Idell Koury (38:26):
Okay, first, of all , I don't think we prayed, but
we need to pray.
Jemese LaChel (38:33):
We will pray and we'll do that.
I'm going to ask you to do thatat the end.
Idell Koury (38:36):
Okay, yeah, and and um, I would tell the person
that god is real, it's not justa spirit.
Uh, there's organizations.
There's organizations like thepresbyterian church and the
catholic church and the baptistchurch.
There's organizations, butthey're not God.
(38:58):
And they have rules, butthey're not God.
God is real and he's a spiritand God.
We have to worship him inspirit and in truth.
We know the truth through hisword.
He's inspired all the writersin the Bible, but we have to
(39:20):
receive him, we have totransform, we have to repent, we
have to call up everything thatwe can remember that we've done
wrong and, even if we don'tremember, we have to confess,
acknowledge, repent and turn andreceive his forgiveness.
(39:40):
He says it's a free gift.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it to you,you just have to receive it.
And that's what I did, that'swhat my dad did too, and my mom,
and they received this freegift.
And um, I went down and Iconfessed gift.
(40:03):
And um, I went down and Iconfessed there's a lot of
teaching that's out there thatyou don't have to confess
because of grace and I said, yes, you need to confess, you need
to repent, you need to turn andreceive his forgiveness.
It's a free gift.
We just have to acknowledge andrepent and turn and turn from
our evil ways.
(40:24):
And he's faithful to forgive us.
And I live with that joy ofknowing not, everything's not
perfect, but I live with the joyin knowing that I'm going to
live forever and that's what Iwould tell people.
He's real, he forgives sins.
He forgave my atheist dad andmy alcoholic and adulterous mom.
(40:51):
He forgave them and he gave mymom.
My mom lived to almost 101.
He gave her joy.
He gave her joy unspeakable,without understanding where it
came from.
She was a joyous person in herlast days.
Jemese LaChel (41:11):
Yes, she was Praise God.
Idell Koury (41:13):
Yes.
Jemese LaChel (41:14):
How incredible, oh, that's so beautiful to me
and so encouraging.
Idell Koury (41:19):
I know.
Jemese LaChel (41:20):
So encouraging your whole testimony.
So I would like to ask you ifyou would pray for us or pray
for the listeners.
Rather, pray for the listener,however the Lord leads you to
pray, and then after that we'llshare where listeners can find
your book or find your work andall that kind of thing Does that
sound good, okay, okay I loveto pray.
Idell Koury (41:42):
Yes, dear awesome God, we just come to you in
spirit and in truth, we justconfess all of our sins.
We come to you and we just askyou to come into our lives and
we just ask you to come into ourlives and we pray for the
(42:11):
listeners of this podcast thatthey would know you personally,
that they would come to you andsubmit and surrender their lives
to you, that they would meetyou where you are, where they
are, and that they would come toyou and confess and repent and
turn turn from their evil ways.
And you're faithful to forgiveus.
You're faithful to come intoour lives and forgive us and
(42:34):
give us joy unspeakable and giveus direction and intervene in
our lives.
You do that.
You've always done that.
I've seen that.
I've seen your work and yourhand in this world in Africa, in
Asia, in China and in America.
(43:05):
I've seen that.
I've seen your hand and yourdeliverance and you just ask us
to repent and turn.
We know John the Baptist saidthat you need to confess and
repent and he prepared the wayfor Jesus Christ and he said you
need to acknowledge everythingyou've done wrong.
We know that it's not perfect,we know that it's not just here
(43:29):
and we put everything at thealtar and it's every single day.
We pick up our cross, Everysingle day.
We ask for forgiveness, Everysingle day and you're faithful
to give it and I just I love you.
I thank you so much fortouching me and directing my
(43:51):
path and sending me to thispodcast, and I lift up all those
people that are wondering wherethere is hope and joy and peace
.
And it's in you.
It's in knowing our maker, theGod of heaven and earth, it's
knowing you, and I pray this inJesus' name Amen.
Jemese LaChel (44:16):
Amen, praise God, thank you so much, so tell us
how we can find your book orconnect with you.
Idell Koury (44:25):
High Bridge published it and it looks like
this.
My husband, tony, took thispicture.
The publisher thought we had toget rights from a photographer
and I said no, my husband tookthat picture in our backyard.
So if you look in our backyard,you'll see this in the fall.
(44:46):
That's beautiful and it'sHighbridge and it's at Amazon.
It's Amazon under iBaby, amemoir, and if you go to Amazon,
they'll deliver it.
We're gonna have a book signing, um, this friday at a coffee
(45:07):
shop and, uh, I have a lot ofbooks, but amazon will ship it
to you and highbridge I don'tknow if you can see that
Highbridge is a publisher andHighbridge.
They did a great job, butAmazon will deliver it to you.
Jemese LaChel (45:29):
Okay, wonderful, and I will include a link to
that somewhere around here inthe show notes.
We just appreciate you so much.
Thank you so much.
I'm leaving this podcastepisode feeling so full of the
joy of the Lord.
Idell Koury (45:43):
God is real.
Yes, he's real and he answersprayer.
Yeah, I'm a living testimonythat he does answer prayer.
Jemese LaChel (45:55):
Yes, he does.
We just have to call out to him, don't we?
Idell Koury (45:58):
Yes, we do Very simple.
Jemese LaChel (46:01):
Yes, he makes it very simple, on purpose.
He makes it easy for us.
Idell Koury (46:08):
We make it hard.
We have these rules from thechurch and we make it hard.
He's easy.
He came down, he wanted arelationship and he said I'm
going to choose Abraham and hisdescendants and I'm going to
show how I relate to people, I'mgoing to discipline them and
(46:33):
I'm going to give to them, butI'm going to come down in a
bodysuit because they killed allthe prophets.
And he said I'm going to comedown and then I'm going to come
down in a bodysuit because theykilled all the prophets.
And he said I'm going to comedown and then I'm going to leave
my spirit.
And he left his spirit.
And the spirit is here.
It's here.
Jemese LaChel (46:51):
Praise God.
Thank you, lord, thank you.
Lord, this is wonderful.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, jimmy.
Yeah, yeah.
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