March 26, 2026 • 28 mins
He flushed the drugs, sat on the couch, and felt something he couldn’t explain. Years later, he still wasn’t “fixed” overnight and that’s exactly why Jared’s story matters. If you’re worn out from addiction, relapse, shame, or the quiet fear that you’ve gone too far, we made this conversation for you.
We talk with Jared about the long road from intravenous drug use, multiple felonies, and manufacturing meth to real sobriety and a new calling. He opens up about early warning signs, the first rehab experience that planted a seed, and a vivid encounter with God that changed his direction even when his behavior didn’t immediately follow. We also get into the less glamorous parts of recovery: jail, rebuilding a marriage, facing work setbacks because of a criminal record, and realizing that “fixing the mind” wasn’t enough if the heart stayed wounded.
From there, Jared shares what he’s doing now on the Mississippi Gulf Coast through Freedom Lighthouse in Waveland, Mississippi, a nonprofit sober and transitional-living program where men can come in for free and rebuild with structure, work, accountability, and faith-based support. He also describes how a church body formed in Bayside Community, one of the poorest areas in Hancock County, and how daily surrender keeps him grounded. If you’re looking for addiction recovery hope, a Christian testimony, or practical insight into what lasting transformation can look like, you’ll find it here. HERE IS THE WEBSITE: https://freedom-lighthouse.com/
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Announcer (00:01):
It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople, sharing real struggles,
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire, and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, RonMyers, the promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and
wondering if your life couldever really change?
Well, today it can.
Hello, my friends.
I'm Ron Myers, and the show iscalled Get the Hell Out of Your
Life (00:34):
Real Stories, Real Struggles, and Real Hope.
This show is for thenon-churchgoer, for those who've
been hurt.
Or maybe you just don't trustChristians anymore.
I'm so blessed and privilegedto share these stories of God's
amazing grace because everystory we hear, it validates his
(00:55):
love, his mercy, and hisforgiveness.
And after talking with hundredsof guests, I can tell you this
with confidence.
When you're in the middle ofthe worst moments of your life,
God is right there.
His grace far exceeds our sins.
And today's story is livingproof of that.
We're talking about a man whowent from drug addiction,
(01:17):
multiple felonies, manufacturingmeth, and hurting the people
closest to him to building afree rehabilitation ministry and
stepping into the role ofpastor in one of the toughest
and poorest communities on theMississippi Gulf Coast.
Let me say that again.
My guest went from drug dealerto ministry leader.
(01:39):
So wherever you are right now,driving, working, or just taking
a moment to breathe, lean inbecause this story might just be
the one that changes yours.
Let's jump into my conversationwith Jared.
Jared Emerson (01:54):
I couldn't just hit the off button once I turned
it on.
So where that rave would go onfor a night or a weekend, you
know, for me the the benderwould keep going for weeks.
Ron Meyers (02:05):
Where were your parents with all this going on?
They didn't recognize somethingwas wrong.
Jared Emerson (02:09):
So it was again in the 90s and early 2000s, it
was more free-range parenting.
They were starting a business,and at the time they were pretty
consumed with that business.
You know, they were around, nodoubt.
They were there.
But me and my brother wereslick.
We were manipulators.
And so my brother was so slickthat by the time they started
(02:30):
realizing my addiction waspopping up, they really tried to
clamp down and control.
And and but the more that theywould try to control my
rebellious spirit would flare upand it would rebel out even
worse.
So the more they would try toget a grip on the situation, the
worse it would be.
Ron Meyers (02:44):
Wow.
Well, what was the breakingpoint?
Jared Emerson (02:47):
By the time I was 17, I got my first four
felonies.
That was not the breakingpoint, but the for it it started
it.
The um my attorney told me youcan either go to read program at
parchment or you can go torehab, you know.
Okay, well, 18 years old, Ipicked up another felony of sale
charge for three and a halfgrams of marijuana.
And so that's when he's thejudge said you can go to read
(03:09):
program or you go to parchment.
So I went to rehab, secularrehab for the first time in my
life.
Um I didn't want to change, butI went to a 30-day rehab and a
seed was planted in me that Icould never go back and get high
unashamed again after that.
So from 18 to 22, I got out,you know, I started using
intravenously.
And next thing you know, I gotme and my brother get linked up
(03:32):
in Hattiesburg with these thiscriminal organization, I'll say.
And these guys were some reallybad people, some uh importers
of a lot of drugs, and they weregiving them to us on the front
for next to nothing.
So it was a a recipe fordisaster for somebody with an
addiction like mine.
The amount of money and drugsand damage I did to my brain and
and damage I caused in otherpeople's lives, and this this
(03:54):
four-year window was justincredible.
So by the time I was 22 yearsold, I'd had enough.
I was done selling drugs.
I only wanted really to destroymyself, and I was really done
doing that.
I was really tired, sick andtired of being sick and tired of
that old cliche.
So I called my mom and I said,Mom, I need help.
Help me find a place.
And this was genuine.
I really wanted out at 22 yearsold.
(04:16):
And she found this place inCalifornia through Dr.
Dobson's focus on the family.
Ron Meyers (04:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Jared Emerson (04:21):
And uh, so my mom was the spiritual leader of my
house.
Not that my dad wasn't a greatdad and man, too, but um, but my
mom was the one, this truespiritual leader of my house.
And so she implanted the wordof God in me at a very young
age.
Um, it just didn't take roottill till later on.
I you know, I ran from God fora long, long time.
Knew of God, but didn't trulyknow him, you know, knew about
(04:42):
him.
So I went to this place calleda Sunrise Ranch in Riverside,
and I got to my first 30 days,and I knew I was just scratching
the surface on the work thatneeded to be done.
So I signed up for anotherseven months of their sober
living program.
Well, I had FA'd threesemesters of college.
Well, this pro sober livingprogram offered to take you to
college every day and pick youup, bring you and drop you off
and pick you back up.
(05:02):
And so I chose to do that partof their program.
It was called Teach, was theacronym.
And um, so I completed my firstsemester of college and I felt
like, wow, I could actually dosomething.
You know, and but I was workingthe 12 steps.
Now I was I was sold out, I wassponsored, 180 meetings, 90
days.
I was working the program, andthat was it, you know, I had it.
And you know, I had sevenmonths in in treatment, and then
(05:24):
another three months ofsobriety.
And me and my I met my wife inrehab out there in California,
she's from Canada, and we metout there and we got apartments
once we finished treatment.
She had an apartment rightabove mine.
I moved in with a roommate, andso and we had three months of
sobriety, and then we startedhanging around with some of the
folks we were in treatment withthat relapsed, and we just we
(05:45):
went right back to ouraddiction.
Wow.
And so I introduced her tointravenous drug use and toted
all the shame that came withthat.
You know, she was there forriddling and alcohol and
combining those two, which was aserious addiction for her, but
I brought her to to deeper anddarker places than she could she
had ever been.
Of course, my addiction gotworse as it all always gets
(06:05):
progressively worse.
And so we ended up moving backthere, back to Mississippi after
about two years of runningamok.
And we're we took a break inthe relationship for about a
year.
Now I'm running around like achicken with my head cut off
cooking crystal meth.
I gotta back up now.
This is this is what happened,and this was a game changer for
(06:26):
me.
And 20, 22 years old, I'mliving in California.
We finished rehab, and I'mliving, I'm at my wife's
apartment, and I I got thismeth, and I it scared me so bad
it didn't have all the negativeside effects.
And the negative side effectswould keep me away from it for
periods of time.
So I got this stuff and I putit up one night and I quit and I
I got something to eat and Islept, which was incredible to
(06:48):
do with that drug in the firstplace.
Woke up the next morning and Iheard this voice.
And I said, flush it.
Flush it.
Well, I had like an eight ballleft, and I I didn't even think
about it.
It wasn't even a contemplationbeing had.
I just went and grabbed the bagof dope and I just flushed it.
And I went and sat on thecouch.
And if I would have known whatwas fixing to happen, I would
have flushed that dope yearsbefore.
(07:08):
But this was this was my time.
I sat on the couch and justwaves of raw emotion and
euphoria just started pulsatingthrough my body, just like over
and over, and just tears juststarted streaming down my face.
And I didn't even know why Iwas crying.
And this was about 10 minutesof this.
It was the best feeling I'veever felt in my life.
And I had been to some veryartificial euphoric places
(07:30):
before, but this was real, itwas genuine.
And I looked over at my wifeand she she was, I said, I don't
know what's happening.
She said, I don't I don't knowwhat's going on either.
I said, But it feels right, itfeels cleansing, it feels like r
purifying.
And so I went and stood in thekitchen and I was leaning up
against the counter and and itwas at that moment it dawned on
(07:51):
me that I was in the presence ofGod.
And I felt these arms come andhug me, wrap around me, and just
the tears started coming downeven harder.
Like my visions, it was messy,like my visions all blurred up,
and and I look down and I'mstaring at that tile on the
floor, and my tears cometogether and drip down.
And as my vision's clearing up,I'm staring at Jesus.
(08:13):
And his face was ambiguous, butit was clear as day in my heart
that it was Jesus revealinghimself to me, and that I was in
his presence.
And so I pick up the phone andI call my mom and I said, Mom,
you won't believe what justhappened.
And she said, Son, you're 22years old.
Most people won't have that intheir lifetime.
She said, What are you gonna dowith it?
And you think I would have justgot it all together and sold it
(08:35):
out to the Lord.
No, I I tried to run from theLord for another two and a half
years in my addiction, anothersix years in sobriety.
I tried to run for anothereight and a half years like
Jonah.
You can't run from the Lord.
He's you can't get He'severywhere.
You're not gonna get away fromhim, and he's gonna He's gonna
hawk us down.
You know, he'll he's he's notgonna force himself, but he'll
woo us, he'll pursue us, andhe'll make it very awkward for
(08:57):
us to to keep running from him.
And so, very uncomfortable,right?
And so at this time I got thiscalling put on my heart, rehab.
That's all I knew.
And I didn't know that the twowere correlated.
I thought I was running theshow still.
You have to have 22 years old,still not even lukewarm with my
faith.
I had God revealed himself tome, think that I would have sold
(09:17):
out.
No, not this stubborn,rebellious child.
So I I spend I I moved back toMississippi and I'm I'm I I get
into manufacturingmethamphetamine and my
addiction, you know, the endresult.
I wasn't even selling it at thetime.
I was just making it formyself, really.
Ron Meyers (09:33):
Well, I just had to pause for a minute.
You see in a puddle of tearssomething that was Jesus, you
felt Jesus, and you called yourmom to me would stop me, but
there was something that wasstill pulling you to the dark
side.
Jared Emerson (09:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Wow.
Enemy was after me at a veryyoung age.
I could never really deny Jesusnor the devil because uh how
prevalent he was.
I accidentally, about eight ornine years old, messed with a
Ouija boy with my neighbor, andI opened up some portals to
hell.
And I know that now.
God revealed that to me in mywalk with him, that that's
(10:09):
that's really when things gotout of hand.
Ron Meyers (10:11):
And so, what was the age where you finally said the
party's over, Jesus?
Let's do life.
Jared Emerson (10:17):
All right.
So 24 years old is when I gotsober, and then I was in
incarceration for manufacturingmethamphetamine.
I was in that's what that'swhere it happened for me, a
shift in mentality.
Now I didn't sell my heart outto the Lord for another six
years after that.
I wanted it.
I started working out, Istarted doing Bible study in
jail, still lukewarm, but I wasdoing Bible study, started
writing.
I didn't know it was beginningin these addiction 101 classes I
(10:40):
teach today, life skills,coping skills, and then couple
that with the word of God.
So I started doing those thingsand I kept doing those things
when I got out.
But I knew only a matter oftime before I was going to go
back out and get high again.
I knew it.
So we we decided to move toCanada, and that's where I
started pursuing this callingthat God had put on my heart
years before.
And so, well, not initially.
(11:01):
For the first three years, Igot into hockey, boxing, and I
was working out five, six days aweek.
I was just endorphin, I neededendorphins and massive amounts
of them.
And so I was pretty muchaddicted to to hockey and boxing
and working out.
And uh, but it was a, it was,uh, it wasn't destroying my life
and my family.
So I was, you know, gung-howith that for three years.
(11:22):
And I got three years into mysobriety, and I said, okay,
you're you're physically tough,you're physically strong, but
you're still emotionally andspiritually weak where it
matters.
And you need to do somethingabout that calling that God put
on you.
And and so I said, okay, well,I'm gonna go back to school.
I'm gonna go to school foraddiction counseling and finish
this degree out.
So I got my trials college, Iwent to finish my addiction
(11:43):
counseling degree, and then Iinterned with Salvation Army at
a homeless shelter in Oakville,Ontario, and I fell in love with
the work.
Still lukewarm, gotta imagine.
This is hard to imagine that Iwas still lukewarm through this.
But I knew that that it was acalling.
I knew it was more than just anine to five, even though they
ended up hiring me on and payingme.
So I ended up going to work forthem for two and a half, three
(12:05):
years, and then we moved backto, we decided to move to Tampa,
Florida.
And I got a job in Tampa,Florida as an addiction
counselor at a um at a at amethadonis of boxing clinic.
Now, keep in mind, I neveragreed with that philosophy of
recovery at all, but I wanted towork with addicts.
I wanted to counsel addicts.
So it was the first opportunityI could work in the States with
(12:27):
addiction, so I jumped on it.
The FBI fingerprinted all theemployees and decided to let me
go.
My felony record was expunged.
I had 12 or 13 felonies rackedup over the years.
Um, I was on a run from U.S.
Marshals at one point for fivemonths.
They didn't like seeing thenall those felonies on my FBI
record, even though I was veryforthright about my past with
them.
Um and they fired me and itkind of crushed me and
(12:49):
devastated me.
I was like, I really didn'tagree with this philosophy, and
now they fired me, you know.
I didn't stay defeated though.
I got up and I said, okay, I'mgonna go further my education
with psychology.
You see, this is the this I wasstill thinking this route.
And so I'm glad the Lord wasleading me this route for a lot
of good reasons that I know now.
So I studied, I tried to do allthe self-help gurus and the
(13:10):
psychological avenues forhealing to heal my brain.
The world told me that my brainneeded healing.
And I finally found out when Isold out to the Lord that it was
my heart that needed healingand that my brain would follow
my heart.
And so all the worldlyband-aids I was sold my whole
life, they never worked.
And I had to find that out thelong, hard route.
I finally surrendered.
I finally waved the white flag.
Ron Meyers (13:32):
What age was this?
Jared Emerson (13:33):
I was 30.
You were 30 years old.
30 years old.
Ron Meyers (13:36):
You know, and I met you last week.
Fit man, look good.
Never, never thinking a storylike that.
But you know, it goes to showyou that there are people out
there walking around that justlook like they should be on TV,
but there's hurts in them.
And and today you are acounselor.
Tell tell the listeners whatyou're doing today.
(13:56):
You're helping people becomefree.
Jared Emerson (13:59):
Yeah.
So all that was, you know,Genesis 50, 20 is one of my
favorite scriptures.
I say favorite a lot when Italk about the word of God, but
I have a lot of favorites inthere.
But and you intended to harmme, but God intended it for
good, to do what is now beingdone, the saving of many lives.
So you see, God had a plan andwhy he allowed all that.
So he rolled out some thingsfor me.
I moved back from Tampa with mywife.
(14:20):
That was a miracle of God uh ofGod in itself that we could
agree to move back here toMississippi.
And I started escape addiction.
I started doing outpatientcounseling.
And so that started out veryslow and very much, you know,
had the enemy in my ear thewhole time telling me to quit,
and had through people oftentelling me every reason why I
should not be doing that.
And if I would have listened,we wouldn't be here talking
(14:43):
today.
So escape addiction led me to2020, started to formulate the
Freedom Lighthouse, nonprofit.
So I was I was charging verylow prices for outpatient
counseling.
But the freedom lighthouse, Ithe Lord gave me a different
vision.
We were gonna take guys in forfree.
And it was gonna be once theywe got them job.
A second phase is what the Lordled me to do.
And I'm I believe in inpatient,that's a necessary step for
(15:05):
many, but I'm more concernedabout what the Lord led me to a
second phase in sober living,transitional living.
I'm more concerned about whatthey're gonna do when they have
some freedoms and some money intheir pocket and the ability to
make a poor choice.
What are they gonna do then?
Because we're gonna separate,we're not gonna do it.
The Lord's gonna separate thewheat from the tares there in
the second phase.
And so we started setting upthe nonprofit of the Freedom
(15:26):
Lighthouse, and we took ourfirst official residence in in
21.
And so that's been quite thejourney, and it's led to all
kinds of connections and justbringing God glory all over and
just meeting so many amazingpeople like yourself.
So, where is FreedomLighthouse?
Freedom Light House is inWaveland, Mississippi.
Six months to a year longprogram, and most need the year.
Ron Meyers (15:47):
Most I'm not very rarely you say you do this for
free?
Jared Emerson (15:50):
Well, I don't I don't get paid.
Ron Meyers (15:52):
No, I mean for the clients out there.
Jared Emerson (15:54):
The clients get to come in for free, but once
they pass that grace period andthey get acclimated and they're
ready to start working, thenthey'll pitch in the pot.
But that's just to keep rentand the lights on and and the
bills paid.
I don't make a dime as thedirector, nor do I ever want to.
The Lord doesn't He's given meother ways to make money with a
clear conscience.
I don't believe in in uhmonetizing the Word of God.
Ron Meyers (16:17):
So how has business been in the last few years?
Jared Emerson (16:21):
So it it's been awesome.
We've had we've had someamazing results.
So I'm gonna tell you the guysthat stayed and finished the
year, they're all doing amazing.
And and of course, we've had alot, you know, we've had some
that that haven't stayed andfinished the year.
Ron Meyers (16:35):
So it's never too late for anybody listening for a
whole new beginning, is it?
Jared Emerson (16:40):
No.
17 year addiction, the lasteight intravenous.
I've been in some dark anddesperate places.
If the Lord could polish me upinto something halfway decent,
he can do it for anybody.
Ron Meyers (16:49):
So right now you have the microphone.
Can you give someone hope thatmay be listening that is in an
addiction stage of life?
Jared Emerson (16:56):
Yeah, yeah.
I'll just add to one latestthing.
Just last October, the Lordbirthed the church in Bayside
Community.
It's one of the poorestcommunities, if not the poorest
community in Hancock County,through us, through his body and
and what we were doing with theFreedom Light House.
He birthed a a new church bodyfor what I call church a church
house or Sunday service, right?
We are the church body.
(17:17):
And so, and in and he made methe pastor of that.
I didn't do any of this.
How it all came together, Icould not claim it.
I did not do it, I did notthink about it, orchestrate it,
it just all came together.
So let me tell you, if ifsomebody, if the Lord can take
somebody like like me, justbottom of the barrel junkie, I
was a bottom feeder, I was oneof the most selfish individuals
you'll ever meet, one of themost stubborn, just brawlers,
(17:38):
fighters, just nasty individual,very lustful, very much a
womanizer, misogynist.
I mean, it it whatever negativelabel the enemy can put on
somebody, I owned it.
And and you know, owned itproudly.
And so if he could takesomebody like me and humble me
to the point, and that was whatthe addiction was about,
bringing me to my knees.
You see, the addiction broughtme to my knees, to the humility,
(18:01):
but but it was the struggles inmy marriage and the pain and my
cousin's death that had metruly surrender.
And now I have to staysurrendered every day.
That's that's that's not a oneand done born again, is not
something you just do one timeand you get dunked in that water
and you're clean.
As a matter of fact, 1 Peter 4says, baptism, not the removal
of filth from the flesh, but thepledge of a clear conscience
(18:23):
toward God.
And so we have to pledge thatevery day.
We have to die to ourself everyday and pick up our cross and
follow after him.
I know where my will got me.
It got me destruction, chaos,misery, and death.
Now, I should have been deadnumerous times and didn't get in
all those stories today, but Iwas dead inside.
I was a dead man walking.
And the Lord Christ came by oneday and he said, It's time to
(18:46):
get up out of that grave youbuilt for yourself.
It's time to live.
I want to give you life.
Ron Meyers (18:51):
Well, how do people get in touch with you or Freedom
Lighthouse?
Jared Emerson (18:55):
Oh, that's easy.
They can email me or they cango to the website freedom dash
lighthouse.com.
Ron Meyers (19:01):
Freedom Lighthouse.com.
We're just about out of time.
I would like you to have anuclear prayer for our listeners
out there listening right now.
Jared Emerson (19:10):
All right.
Well, we invite the Holy Spiritin for that because He He's the
one that prays through us.
All right, uh, thank you, Ron.
Lord Heavenly Father, we justcome to your throne boldly to
just praise you this morning andthank you for all that you're
doing in our lives.
I thank you for my brother Ronand you giving him this
platform, Lord, and given givinghim these gifts that to use to
(19:31):
promote your kingdom, Lord, andthat he has sold out to his
relationship with you, that hecan spend the rest of his days
lifting you up and glorifyingyou, magnifying your works,
Lord.
So I ask you to continue to bethe wind behind his sails and
ours and everybody in thekingdom, Lord, that you just
continue bringing your churchbody together.
We don't care aboutdenominations, Lord.
We care about you and living inrelationship with you, Lord.
(19:54):
That you can just keep freeingpeople from all forms of
captivity and that's addiction,religious bondage, Lord, and
legalism, and that you can uhbring them into relation with
you and that intimacy, Lord,that close connection and fill
them up with your Holy Spirit.
Lord, I believe that you arepouring your spirit out on all
flesh, Lord, raising up an armyright now.
(20:15):
And that you have chosen peoplelike me, the least likely
suspects, the black sheep, theround pegs and the square holes,
Lord.
You have chosen people like usto make examples out of us so
that people can see your miraclepower flowing through our
lives.
I ask for your will to be done.
And for every listener outthere today, Lord, that you just
bless them.
You come and meet them withyour Holy Spirit and your
presence right now, Lord, andjust shower them so that they
(20:38):
can just have the most amazingday, Lord, and they can keep
having that and living for youfrom here on out.
We love you, Jesus, and wethank you so much for loving us
that we could love you and oneanother.
And we lift all this up in themighty and powerful name of
Jesus Christ.
Ron Meyers (20:52):
Wow, what a story.
Thank you, Jared, for being rawand real.
And his story wasn't a straightline.
This wasn't, oh, I had a momentwith God and everything changed
overnight.
No, his story was messy.
Years of running, years ofresisting, years of trying
everything else first.
And maybe that's where you seeyourself.
But here's the truth (21:14):
you can't miss a moment with God can
change your direction.
And giving your life to God iswhat changes your life.
Because Jared tried everything,didn't he?
Fix the mind, fix the habits,fix the behavior.
But nothing worked.
Why?
Because the real issue wasn'tthe brain, it was the heart.
(21:38):
And when the heart changed,everything else followed.
Now look at the transformation.
A man who once took frompeople, now gives everything
away.
A man who once destroyed livesnow restores them.
A man who ran from purpose nowwalks in it daily.
(21:59):
That's not self-help, myfriend.
That's transformation.
And I love this.
He doesn't charge for itbecause when you have been
pulled out of that kind ofdarkness, you don't sell the
light.
When I return, some finalthoughts and a prayer for the
week ahead.
Announcer (22:19):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life
with your host, Ron Myers.
Real stories, real struggles,and real hope.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Here's a refreshing word from the book of Ephesians,
chapter 5, verse 8.
For you were once darkness, butnow you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light.
Announcer (22:43):
What's your story?
We're looking for stories ofhope and overcoming life's
struggles with God's grace.
Your story validates God'slove, mercy, restoration, and
forgiveness.
We want to help you share yourstory with the world.
Visit our website,thepromoter.org, and click on
the share your story link andsubmit your story.
(23:06):
Your testimony of God's amazinggrace will change a person's
destiny for eternity.
Ron Meyers (23:13):
If you need something more out of life than
what you've already experienced.
Speaker 7 (23:17):
If you need a new start, a clean slate.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
If you want to live life forever, you need God in
your life.
If getting old has youdepressed.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Growing up sometimes scares the daylights out of you.
If you want to know what thefuture holds, get in touch with
the one who holds the future.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Stop wasting time and get a hold of God.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
It's not about earning points by being good.
It ain't about some bornchurch.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
It's not about working your way to heaven.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
Finding God is not about following some group who
claims to be the only way toGod.
It's not about being religious.
It's not about religion.
It's all about God's only Son.
It's all about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's all about Jesus.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
It's about Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It's all about you.
It's all about you, Jesus.
Jesus said, I am the way, thetruth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father butby me.
Speaker 7 (24:03):
Well, someday when I stand before God and he asks me,
Why should I let you intoheaven?
All that's gonna matter is if Iknew Jesus or not, and that's
what it's all about.
Speaker 8 (24:30):
Get the hell out of your life.
Get the hell out of your life.
Ron Meyers (24:38):
And maybe you're listening right now thinking,
that's powerful, but that couldnever be me.
Yes, it can, my friend.
Because the same grace thatchanged his life is available to
you.
We've heard it again today.
God's love is real, his mercyis real, and his forgiveness is
bigger than anything you'vedone.
And when you're in the middleof your worst moment, God is
(25:00):
right there with you, and hisgrace far exceeds your sins.
So don't wait.
Don't put it off.
Don't drift into somedaybecause someday turns into
never.
And before you know it, you'reliving on the island of regrets
with villages called shouldhave, would have, and could
have.
Don't live there.
(25:20):
Today can be your turningpoint.
Not because you have everythingfigured out, so why not today?
Take the step of faith.
Let go.
Give your life to Jesus andthen trust him.
Because what God has for you,no addiction, no pastor, no
mistake can stop it.
My friends, why do you thinkyou're listening today?
(25:42):
This isn't random.
God is sending you a message.
It's never too late for a newbeginning.
Let's pray.
Father, I lift up the personlistening right now.
You know where they are andwhat they're facing, what
they've done, and what they'recarrying.
And maybe they feel too fargone, too broken, too ashamed to
(26:03):
even look your way.
But today I pray they feelsomething different.
Not pressure, not guilt, butyour loving presence.
A peace that doesn't makesense, a love that they didn't
earn, a grace that coverseverything.
Remind them.
You're not waiting for them toclean themselves up.
(26:26):
You're right there in themiddle of it.
Give them the courage to takethat step of faith, to give
their life to you, to trust, andto simply say, Jesus, I need
you.
And for those battlingaddiction, shame, regret, break
the chains, replace the lieswith truth, replace the darkness
(26:47):
with light, and begin somethingnew today.
We thank you that no story istoo far gone, no life is too
broken, because your gracealways has the final word.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Join me next week for anothergrace-filled episode of Get the
(27:08):
Hell Out of Your Life, availablewherever you listen to
podcasts.
In the meantime, remember thisthat I love you, Jesus loves
you, and when you give Jesusyour heart, you not only get the
hell out of your life, but lifegets good.
Announcer (27:36):
Today's show was produced by Ron Myers
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And would you prayerfullyconsider making a tax-deductible
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And join us next week foranother broadcast of Get the
(27:57):
Hell Out of Your Life.
Real people, sharing realstruggles, and offering real
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It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople, sharing real struggles,
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire, and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, RonMyers, the promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and
wondering if your life couldever really change?
Well, today it can.
Hello, my friends.
I'm Ron Myers, and the show iscalled Get the Hell Out of Your
Life (00:34):
Real Stories, Real Struggles, and Real Hope.
This show is for thenon-churchgoer, for those who've
been hurt.
Or maybe you just don't trustChristians anymore.
I'm so blessed and privilegedto share these stories of God's
amazing grace because everystory we hear, it validates his
(00:55):
love, his mercy, and hisforgiveness.
And after talking with hundredsof guests, I can tell you this
with confidence.
When you're in the middle ofthe worst moments of your life,
God is right there.
His grace far exceeds our sins.
And today's story is livingproof of that.
We're talking about a man whowent from drug addiction,
(01:17):
multiple felonies, manufacturingmeth, and hurting the people
closest to him to building afree rehabilitation ministry and
stepping into the role ofpastor in one of the toughest
and poorest communities on theMississippi Gulf Coast.
Let me say that again.
My guest went from drug dealerto ministry leader.
(01:39):
So wherever you are right now,driving, working, or just taking
a moment to breathe, lean inbecause this story might just be
the one that changes yours.
Let's jump into my conversationwith Jared.
Jared Emerson (01:54):
I couldn't just hit the off button once I turned
it on.
So where that rave would go onfor a night or a weekend, you
know, for me the the benderwould keep going for weeks.
Ron Meyers (02:05):
Where were your parents with all this going on?
They didn't recognize somethingwas wrong.
Jared Emerson (02:09):
So it was again in the 90s and early 2000s, it
was more free-range parenting.
They were starting a business,and at the time they were pretty
consumed with that business.
You know, they were around, nodoubt.
They were there.
But me and my brother wereslick.
We were manipulators.
And so my brother was so slickthat by the time they started
(02:30):
realizing my addiction waspopping up, they really tried to
clamp down and control.
And and but the more that theywould try to control my
rebellious spirit would flare upand it would rebel out even
worse.
So the more they would try toget a grip on the situation, the
worse it would be.
Ron Meyers (02:44):
Wow.
Well, what was the breakingpoint?
Jared Emerson (02:47):
By the time I was 17, I got my first four
felonies.
That was not the breakingpoint, but the for it it started
it.
The um my attorney told me youcan either go to read program at
parchment or you can go torehab, you know.
Okay, well, 18 years old, Ipicked up another felony of sale
charge for three and a halfgrams of marijuana.
And so that's when he's thejudge said you can go to read
(03:09):
program or you go to parchment.
So I went to rehab, secularrehab for the first time in my
life.
Um I didn't want to change, butI went to a 30-day rehab and a
seed was planted in me that Icould never go back and get high
unashamed again after that.
So from 18 to 22, I got out,you know, I started using
intravenously.
And next thing you know, I gotme and my brother get linked up
(03:32):
in Hattiesburg with these thiscriminal organization, I'll say.
And these guys were some reallybad people, some uh importers
of a lot of drugs, and they weregiving them to us on the front
for next to nothing.
So it was a a recipe fordisaster for somebody with an
addiction like mine.
The amount of money and drugsand damage I did to my brain and
and damage I caused in otherpeople's lives, and this this
(03:54):
four-year window was justincredible.
So by the time I was 22 yearsold, I'd had enough.
I was done selling drugs.
I only wanted really to destroymyself, and I was really done
doing that.
I was really tired, sick andtired of being sick and tired of
that old cliche.
So I called my mom and I said,Mom, I need help.
Help me find a place.
And this was genuine.
I really wanted out at 22 yearsold.
(04:16):
And she found this place inCalifornia through Dr.
Dobson's focus on the family.
Ron Meyers (04:20):
Yeah, yeah.
Jared Emerson (04:21):
And uh, so my mom was the spiritual leader of my
house.
Not that my dad wasn't a greatdad and man, too, but um, but my
mom was the one, this truespiritual leader of my house.
And so she implanted the wordof God in me at a very young
age.
Um, it just didn't take roottill till later on.
I you know, I ran from God fora long, long time.
Knew of God, but didn't trulyknow him, you know, knew about
(04:42):
him.
So I went to this place calleda Sunrise Ranch in Riverside,
and I got to my first 30 days,and I knew I was just scratching
the surface on the work thatneeded to be done.
So I signed up for anotherseven months of their sober
living program.
Well, I had FA'd threesemesters of college.
Well, this pro sober livingprogram offered to take you to
college every day and pick youup, bring you and drop you off
and pick you back up.
(05:02):
And so I chose to do that partof their program.
It was called Teach, was theacronym.
And um, so I completed my firstsemester of college and I felt
like, wow, I could actually dosomething.
You know, and but I was workingthe 12 steps.
Now I was I was sold out, I wassponsored, 180 meetings, 90
days.
I was working the program, andthat was it, you know, I had it.
And you know, I had sevenmonths in in treatment, and then
(05:24):
another three months ofsobriety.
And me and my I met my wife inrehab out there in California,
she's from Canada, and we metout there and we got apartments
once we finished treatment.
She had an apartment rightabove mine.
I moved in with a roommate, andso and we had three months of
sobriety, and then we startedhanging around with some of the
folks we were in treatment withthat relapsed, and we just we
(05:45):
went right back to ouraddiction.
Wow.
And so I introduced her tointravenous drug use and toted
all the shame that came withthat.
You know, she was there forriddling and alcohol and
combining those two, which was aserious addiction for her, but
I brought her to to deeper anddarker places than she could she
had ever been.
Of course, my addiction gotworse as it all always gets
(06:05):
progressively worse.
And so we ended up moving backthere, back to Mississippi after
about two years of runningamok.
And we're we took a break inthe relationship for about a
year.
Now I'm running around like achicken with my head cut off
cooking crystal meth.
I gotta back up now.
This is this is what happened,and this was a game changer for
(06:26):
me.
And 20, 22 years old, I'mliving in California.
We finished rehab, and I'mliving, I'm at my wife's
apartment, and I I got thismeth, and I it scared me so bad
it didn't have all the negativeside effects.
And the negative side effectswould keep me away from it for
periods of time.
So I got this stuff and I putit up one night and I quit and I
I got something to eat and Islept, which was incredible to
(06:48):
do with that drug in the firstplace.
Woke up the next morning and Iheard this voice.
And I said, flush it.
Flush it.
Well, I had like an eight ballleft, and I I didn't even think
about it.
It wasn't even a contemplationbeing had.
I just went and grabbed the bagof dope and I just flushed it.
And I went and sat on thecouch.
And if I would have known whatwas fixing to happen, I would
have flushed that dope yearsbefore.
(07:08):
But this was this was my time.
I sat on the couch and justwaves of raw emotion and
euphoria just started pulsatingthrough my body, just like over
and over, and just tears juststarted streaming down my face.
And I didn't even know why Iwas crying.
And this was about 10 minutesof this.
It was the best feeling I'veever felt in my life.
And I had been to some veryartificial euphoric places
(07:30):
before, but this was real, itwas genuine.
And I looked over at my wifeand she she was, I said, I don't
know what's happening.
She said, I don't I don't knowwhat's going on either.
I said, But it feels right, itfeels cleansing, it feels like r
purifying.
And so I went and stood in thekitchen and I was leaning up
against the counter and and itwas at that moment it dawned on
(07:51):
me that I was in the presence ofGod.
And I felt these arms come andhug me, wrap around me, and just
the tears started coming downeven harder.
Like my visions, it was messy,like my visions all blurred up,
and and I look down and I'mstaring at that tile on the
floor, and my tears cometogether and drip down.
And as my vision's clearing up,I'm staring at Jesus.
(08:13):
And his face was ambiguous, butit was clear as day in my heart
that it was Jesus revealinghimself to me, and that I was in
his presence.
And so I pick up the phone andI call my mom and I said, Mom,
you won't believe what justhappened.
And she said, Son, you're 22years old.
Most people won't have that intheir lifetime.
She said, What are you gonna dowith it?
And you think I would have justgot it all together and sold it
(08:35):
out to the Lord.
No, I I tried to run from theLord for another two and a half
years in my addiction, anothersix years in sobriety.
I tried to run for anothereight and a half years like
Jonah.
You can't run from the Lord.
He's you can't get He'severywhere.
You're not gonna get away fromhim, and he's gonna He's gonna
hawk us down.
You know, he'll he's he's notgonna force himself, but he'll
woo us, he'll pursue us, andhe'll make it very awkward for
(08:57):
us to to keep running from him.
And so, very uncomfortable,right?
And so at this time I got thiscalling put on my heart, rehab.
That's all I knew.
And I didn't know that the twowere correlated.
I thought I was running theshow still.
You have to have 22 years old,still not even lukewarm with my
faith.
I had God revealed himself tome, think that I would have sold
(09:17):
out.
No, not this stubborn,rebellious child.
So I I spend I I moved back toMississippi and I'm I'm I I get
into manufacturingmethamphetamine and my
addiction, you know, the endresult.
I wasn't even selling it at thetime.
I was just making it formyself, really.
Ron Meyers (09:33):
Well, I just had to pause for a minute.
You see in a puddle of tearssomething that was Jesus, you
felt Jesus, and you called yourmom to me would stop me, but
there was something that wasstill pulling you to the dark
side.
Jared Emerson (09:49):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Wow.
Enemy was after me at a veryyoung age.
I could never really deny Jesusnor the devil because uh how
prevalent he was.
I accidentally, about eight ornine years old, messed with a
Ouija boy with my neighbor, andI opened up some portals to
hell.
And I know that now.
God revealed that to me in mywalk with him, that that's
(10:09):
that's really when things gotout of hand.
Ron Meyers (10:11):
And so, what was the age where you finally said the
party's over, Jesus?
Let's do life.
Jared Emerson (10:17):
All right.
So 24 years old is when I gotsober, and then I was in
incarceration for manufacturingmethamphetamine.
I was in that's what that'swhere it happened for me, a
shift in mentality.
Now I didn't sell my heart outto the Lord for another six
years after that.
I wanted it.
I started working out, Istarted doing Bible study in
jail, still lukewarm, but I wasdoing Bible study, started
writing.
I didn't know it was beginningin these addiction 101 classes I
(10:40):
teach today, life skills,coping skills, and then couple
that with the word of God.
So I started doing those thingsand I kept doing those things
when I got out.
But I knew only a matter oftime before I was going to go
back out and get high again.
I knew it.
So we we decided to move toCanada, and that's where I
started pursuing this callingthat God had put on my heart
years before.
And so, well, not initially.
(11:01):
For the first three years, Igot into hockey, boxing, and I
was working out five, six days aweek.
I was just endorphin, I neededendorphins and massive amounts
of them.
And so I was pretty muchaddicted to to hockey and boxing
and working out.
And uh, but it was a, it was,uh, it wasn't destroying my life
and my family.
So I was, you know, gung-howith that for three years.
(11:22):
And I got three years into mysobriety, and I said, okay,
you're you're physically tough,you're physically strong, but
you're still emotionally andspiritually weak where it
matters.
And you need to do somethingabout that calling that God put
on you.
And and so I said, okay, well,I'm gonna go back to school.
I'm gonna go to school foraddiction counseling and finish
this degree out.
So I got my trials college, Iwent to finish my addiction
(11:43):
counseling degree, and then Iinterned with Salvation Army at
a homeless shelter in Oakville,Ontario, and I fell in love with
the work.
Still lukewarm, gotta imagine.
This is hard to imagine that Iwas still lukewarm through this.
But I knew that that it was acalling.
I knew it was more than just anine to five, even though they
ended up hiring me on and payingme.
So I ended up going to work forthem for two and a half, three
(12:05):
years, and then we moved backto, we decided to move to Tampa,
Florida.
And I got a job in Tampa,Florida as an addiction
counselor at a um at a at amethadonis of boxing clinic.
Now, keep in mind, I neveragreed with that philosophy of
recovery at all, but I wanted towork with addicts.
I wanted to counsel addicts.
So it was the first opportunityI could work in the States with
(12:27):
addiction, so I jumped on it.
The FBI fingerprinted all theemployees and decided to let me
go.
My felony record was expunged.
I had 12 or 13 felonies rackedup over the years.
Um, I was on a run from U.S.
Marshals at one point for fivemonths.
They didn't like seeing thenall those felonies on my FBI
record, even though I was veryforthright about my past with
them.
Um and they fired me and itkind of crushed me and
(12:49):
devastated me.
I was like, I really didn'tagree with this philosophy, and
now they fired me, you know.
I didn't stay defeated though.
I got up and I said, okay, I'mgonna go further my education
with psychology.
You see, this is the this I wasstill thinking this route.
And so I'm glad the Lord wasleading me this route for a lot
of good reasons that I know now.
So I studied, I tried to do allthe self-help gurus and the
(13:10):
psychological avenues forhealing to heal my brain.
The world told me that my brainneeded healing.
And I finally found out when Isold out to the Lord that it was
my heart that needed healingand that my brain would follow
my heart.
And so all the worldlyband-aids I was sold my whole
life, they never worked.
And I had to find that out thelong, hard route.
I finally surrendered.
I finally waved the white flag.
Ron Meyers (13:32):
What age was this?
Jared Emerson (13:33):
I was 30.
You were 30 years old.
30 years old.
Ron Meyers (13:36):
You know, and I met you last week.
Fit man, look good.
Never, never thinking a storylike that.
But you know, it goes to showyou that there are people out
there walking around that justlook like they should be on TV,
but there's hurts in them.
And and today you are acounselor.
Tell tell the listeners whatyou're doing today.
(13:56):
You're helping people becomefree.
Jared Emerson (13:59):
Yeah.
So all that was, you know,Genesis 50, 20 is one of my
favorite scriptures.
I say favorite a lot when Italk about the word of God, but
I have a lot of favorites inthere.
But and you intended to harmme, but God intended it for
good, to do what is now beingdone, the saving of many lives.
So you see, God had a plan andwhy he allowed all that.
So he rolled out some thingsfor me.
I moved back from Tampa with mywife.
(14:20):
That was a miracle of God uh ofGod in itself that we could
agree to move back here toMississippi.
And I started escape addiction.
I started doing outpatientcounseling.
And so that started out veryslow and very much, you know,
had the enemy in my ear thewhole time telling me to quit,
and had through people oftentelling me every reason why I
should not be doing that.
And if I would have listened,we wouldn't be here talking
(14:43):
today.
So escape addiction led me to2020, started to formulate the
Freedom Lighthouse, nonprofit.
So I was I was charging verylow prices for outpatient
counseling.
But the freedom lighthouse, Ithe Lord gave me a different
vision.
We were gonna take guys in forfree.
And it was gonna be once theywe got them job.
A second phase is what the Lordled me to do.
And I'm I believe in inpatient,that's a necessary step for
(15:05):
many, but I'm more concernedabout what the Lord led me to a
second phase in sober living,transitional living.
I'm more concerned about whatthey're gonna do when they have
some freedoms and some money intheir pocket and the ability to
make a poor choice.
What are they gonna do then?
Because we're gonna separate,we're not gonna do it.
The Lord's gonna separate thewheat from the tares there in
the second phase.
And so we started setting upthe nonprofit of the Freedom
(15:26):
Lighthouse, and we took ourfirst official residence in in
21.
And so that's been quite thejourney, and it's led to all
kinds of connections and justbringing God glory all over and
just meeting so many amazingpeople like yourself.
So, where is FreedomLighthouse?
Freedom Light House is inWaveland, Mississippi.
Six months to a year longprogram, and most need the year.
Ron Meyers (15:47):
Most I'm not very rarely you say you do this for
free?
Jared Emerson (15:50):
Well, I don't I don't get paid.
Ron Meyers (15:52):
No, I mean for the clients out there.
Jared Emerson (15:54):
The clients get to come in for free, but once
they pass that grace period andthey get acclimated and they're
ready to start working, thenthey'll pitch in the pot.
But that's just to keep rentand the lights on and and the
bills paid.
I don't make a dime as thedirector, nor do I ever want to.
The Lord doesn't He's given meother ways to make money with a
clear conscience.
I don't believe in in uhmonetizing the Word of God.
Ron Meyers (16:17):
So how has business been in the last few years?
Jared Emerson (16:21):
So it it's been awesome.
We've had we've had someamazing results.
So I'm gonna tell you the guysthat stayed and finished the
year, they're all doing amazing.
And and of course, we've had alot, you know, we've had some
that that haven't stayed andfinished the year.
Ron Meyers (16:35):
So it's never too late for anybody listening for a
whole new beginning, is it?
Jared Emerson (16:40):
No.
17 year addiction, the lasteight intravenous.
I've been in some dark anddesperate places.
If the Lord could polish me upinto something halfway decent,
he can do it for anybody.
Ron Meyers (16:49):
So right now you have the microphone.
Can you give someone hope thatmay be listening that is in an
addiction stage of life?
Jared Emerson (16:56):
Yeah, yeah.
I'll just add to one latestthing.
Just last October, the Lordbirthed the church in Bayside
Community.
It's one of the poorestcommunities, if not the poorest
community in Hancock County,through us, through his body and
and what we were doing with theFreedom Light House.
He birthed a a new church bodyfor what I call church a church
house or Sunday service, right?
We are the church body.
(17:17):
And so, and in and he made methe pastor of that.
I didn't do any of this.
How it all came together, Icould not claim it.
I did not do it, I did notthink about it, orchestrate it,
it just all came together.
So let me tell you, if ifsomebody, if the Lord can take
somebody like like me, justbottom of the barrel junkie, I
was a bottom feeder, I was oneof the most selfish individuals
you'll ever meet, one of themost stubborn, just brawlers,
(17:38):
fighters, just nasty individual,very lustful, very much a
womanizer, misogynist.
I mean, it it whatever negativelabel the enemy can put on
somebody, I owned it.
And and you know, owned itproudly.
And so if he could takesomebody like me and humble me
to the point, and that was whatthe addiction was about,
bringing me to my knees.
You see, the addiction broughtme to my knees, to the humility,
(18:01):
but but it was the struggles inmy marriage and the pain and my
cousin's death that had metruly surrender.
And now I have to staysurrendered every day.
That's that's that's not a oneand done born again, is not
something you just do one timeand you get dunked in that water
and you're clean.
As a matter of fact, 1 Peter 4says, baptism, not the removal
of filth from the flesh, but thepledge of a clear conscience
(18:23):
toward God.
And so we have to pledge thatevery day.
We have to die to ourself everyday and pick up our cross and
follow after him.
I know where my will got me.
It got me destruction, chaos,misery, and death.
Now, I should have been deadnumerous times and didn't get in
all those stories today, but Iwas dead inside.
I was a dead man walking.
And the Lord Christ came by oneday and he said, It's time to
(18:46):
get up out of that grave youbuilt for yourself.
It's time to live.
I want to give you life.
Ron Meyers (18:51):
Well, how do people get in touch with you or Freedom
Lighthouse?
Jared Emerson (18:55):
Oh, that's easy.
They can email me or they cango to the website freedom dash
lighthouse.com.
Ron Meyers (19:01):
Freedom Lighthouse.com.
We're just about out of time.
I would like you to have anuclear prayer for our listeners
out there listening right now.
Jared Emerson (19:10):
All right.
Well, we invite the Holy Spiritin for that because He He's the
one that prays through us.
All right, uh, thank you, Ron.
Lord Heavenly Father, we justcome to your throne boldly to
just praise you this morning andthank you for all that you're
doing in our lives.
I thank you for my brother Ronand you giving him this
platform, Lord, and given givinghim these gifts that to use to
(19:31):
promote your kingdom, Lord, andthat he has sold out to his
relationship with you, that hecan spend the rest of his days
lifting you up and glorifyingyou, magnifying your works,
Lord.
So I ask you to continue to bethe wind behind his sails and
ours and everybody in thekingdom, Lord, that you just
continue bringing your churchbody together.
We don't care aboutdenominations, Lord.
We care about you and living inrelationship with you, Lord.
(19:54):
That you can just keep freeingpeople from all forms of
captivity and that's addiction,religious bondage, Lord, and
legalism, and that you can uhbring them into relation with
you and that intimacy, Lord,that close connection and fill
them up with your Holy Spirit.
Lord, I believe that you arepouring your spirit out on all
flesh, Lord, raising up an armyright now.
(20:15):
And that you have chosen peoplelike me, the least likely
suspects, the black sheep, theround pegs and the square holes,
Lord.
You have chosen people like usto make examples out of us so
that people can see your miraclepower flowing through our
lives.
I ask for your will to be done.
And for every listener outthere today, Lord, that you just
bless them.
You come and meet them withyour Holy Spirit and your
presence right now, Lord, andjust shower them so that they
(20:38):
can just have the most amazingday, Lord, and they can keep
having that and living for youfrom here on out.
We love you, Jesus, and wethank you so much for loving us
that we could love you and oneanother.
And we lift all this up in themighty and powerful name of
Jesus Christ.
Ron Meyers (20:52):
Wow, what a story.
Thank you, Jared, for being rawand real.
And his story wasn't a straightline.
This wasn't, oh, I had a momentwith God and everything changed
overnight.
No, his story was messy.
Years of running, years ofresisting, years of trying
everything else first.
And maybe that's where you seeyourself.
But here's the truth (21:14):
you can't miss a moment with God can
change your direction.
And giving your life to God iswhat changes your life.
Because Jared tried everything,didn't he?
Fix the mind, fix the habits,fix the behavior.
But nothing worked.
Why?
Because the real issue wasn'tthe brain, it was the heart.
(21:38):
And when the heart changed,everything else followed.
Now look at the transformation.
A man who once took frompeople, now gives everything
away.
A man who once destroyed livesnow restores them.
A man who ran from purpose nowwalks in it daily.
(21:59):
That's not self-help, myfriend.
That's transformation.
And I love this.
He doesn't charge for itbecause when you have been
pulled out of that kind ofdarkness, you don't sell the
light.
When I return, some finalthoughts and a prayer for the
week ahead.
Announcer (22:19):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life
with your host, Ron Myers.
Real stories, real struggles,and real hope.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Here's a refreshing word from the book of Ephesians,
chapter 5, verse 8.
For you were once darkness, butnow you are light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light.
Announcer (22:43):
What's your story?
We're looking for stories ofhope and overcoming life's
struggles with God's grace.
Your story validates God'slove, mercy, restoration, and
forgiveness.
We want to help you share yourstory with the world.
Visit our website,thepromoter.org, and click on
the share your story link andsubmit your story.
(23:06):
Your testimony of God's amazinggrace will change a person's
destiny for eternity.
Ron Meyers (23:13):
If you need something more out of life than
what you've already experienced.
Speaker 7 (23:17):
If you need a new start, a clean slate.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
If you want to live life forever, you need God in
your life.
If getting old has youdepressed.
Speaker 7 (23:23):
Growing up sometimes scares the daylights out of you.
If you want to know what thefuture holds, get in touch with
the one who holds the future.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Stop wasting time and get a hold of God.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
It's not about earning points by being good.
It ain't about some bornchurch.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
It's not about working your way to heaven.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
Finding God is not about following some group who
claims to be the only way toGod.
It's not about being religious.
It's not about religion.
It's all about God's only Son.
It's all about Jesus.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's all about Jesus.
Speaker 7 (23:48):
It's about Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It's all about you.
It's all about you, Jesus.
Jesus said, I am the way, thetruth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father butby me.
Speaker 7 (24:03):
Well, someday when I stand before God and he asks me,
Why should I let you intoheaven?
All that's gonna matter is if Iknew Jesus or not, and that's
what it's all about.
Speaker 8 (24:30):
Get the hell out of your life.
Get the hell out of your life.
Ron Meyers (24:38):
And maybe you're listening right now thinking,
that's powerful, but that couldnever be me.
Yes, it can, my friend.
Because the same grace thatchanged his life is available to
you.
We've heard it again today.
God's love is real, his mercyis real, and his forgiveness is
bigger than anything you'vedone.
And when you're in the middleof your worst moment, God is
(25:00):
right there with you, and hisgrace far exceeds your sins.
So don't wait.
Don't put it off.
Don't drift into somedaybecause someday turns into
never.
And before you know it, you'reliving on the island of regrets
with villages called shouldhave, would have, and could
have.
Don't live there.
(25:20):
Today can be your turningpoint.
Not because you have everythingfigured out, so why not today?
Take the step of faith.
Let go.
Give your life to Jesus andthen trust him.
Because what God has for you,no addiction, no pastor, no
mistake can stop it.
My friends, why do you thinkyou're listening today?
(25:42):
This isn't random.
God is sending you a message.
It's never too late for a newbeginning.
Let's pray.
Father, I lift up the personlistening right now.
You know where they are andwhat they're facing, what
they've done, and what they'recarrying.
And maybe they feel too fargone, too broken, too ashamed to
(26:03):
even look your way.
But today I pray they feelsomething different.
Not pressure, not guilt, butyour loving presence.
A peace that doesn't makesense, a love that they didn't
earn, a grace that coverseverything.
Remind them.
You're not waiting for them toclean themselves up.
(26:26):
You're right there in themiddle of it.
Give them the courage to takethat step of faith, to give
their life to you, to trust, andto simply say, Jesus, I need
you.
And for those battlingaddiction, shame, regret, break
the chains, replace the lieswith truth, replace the darkness
(26:47):
with light, and begin somethingnew today.
We thank you that no story istoo far gone, no life is too
broken, because your gracealways has the final word.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Join me next week for anothergrace-filled episode of Get the
(27:08):
Hell Out of Your Life, availablewherever you listen to
podcasts.
In the meantime, remember thisthat I love you, Jesus loves
you, and when you give Jesusyour heart, you not only get the
hell out of your life, but lifegets good.
Announcer (27:36):
Today's show was produced by Ron Myers
Ministries, a listener-supportedministry.
For a copy of today'sbroadcast, please visit our
website, thepromoter.org.
And would you prayerfullyconsider making a tax-deductible
donation so that we maycontinue to share stories of
God's amazing grace with theworld?
And join us next week foranother broadcast of Get the
(27:57):
Hell Out of Your Life.
Real people, sharing realstruggles, and offering real
hope.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
We would like to express our gratitude to Coffee
News for their support of thisprogram.
Are you tired of scrollingthrough the same old news feeds
every morning?
Then switch things up withCoffee News.
Our publication is filled withinteresting stories, brain
teasers, and uplifting quotesthat are sure to brighten your
day.
And now you can access CoffeeNews anytime, anywhere by
(28:24):
visiting our website.
So whether you're sipping yourmorning coffee at your favorite
cafe or browsing online fromyour desk, we've got you
covered.
Start your day off right withCoffee News at
readcoffeewsonline.com.
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