As you might expect, daughter-in-law Cortland (wife of our son David) Hendrick is not an atheist … any more. But, into her 20’s, she was.
The story of her journey from where she was to where she is now … is captivating!
Elements of it include …
- Growing up as a devout and articulate atheist just outside Washington DC
- Pursuing all that the world promised would result in her finding meaning in life
- Running the “jet set” with rich and famous friends whose lives were as empty as hers
- Praying to a God that she didn’t believe existed: “If you’re real, prove Yourself to me.”
- Making a 2-year study of all the major religions before reluctantly (and secretly) reading the Bible
- Her world was turned upside down by learning of the life of Jesus and the “foolishness of the Gospel,” (I Corinthians 1:18), recognizing this was not a story a man would create to form a religion
- Being completely alone in her search, with no other believers to explain anything to her
- Coming to understand that Jesus taught things that, in practice, would change the world and that He called His followers to “die” to their old lives and live completely new lives in Him, ones surrendered to His leadership. His death and resurrection was the means by which they would be empowered to do this as they were filled with the Holy Spirit
- Praying “God, if you can do anything more with my life than the mess I’ve made of it, it’s yours,” and being filled with an unspeakable joy that would not leave
- Continuing to work bartending in a celebrity nightclub in South Beach, Miami, Florida on the weekends, she was so brightly “lit up” from within that her friends were asking constantly what had happened to bring about such change
- Leading Bible studies from what she was learning … often at 6:00 AM after working all night, with her gay; Buddhist; rich; Atheist; drunk; and “fill-in-the-blank” other friends.
- Cortland Hendrick – wife, mother, and role model — is able to identify with a wide range of people who haven’t yet come to know Jesus, regardless of their background. She provides a terrific example of the fact that no one is beyond God’s loving reach
- To speak at your event – Cortland Hendrick is a terrific communicator who usually leaves her audiences inspired – and can be accessed at 618-980-8303.
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(Cortland Hendrick’s earlier persuasion regarding atheism brought back a memory of Frank Turek’s book: I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist!)
As Turek notes: It takes a lot of faith to believe that … without a Designer/Creator …
- From absolutely nothing … came something!
- From non-life … came life!
- From non-order … came the order and design of the universe!
- it is reported that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand in the entire earth! The North American Space Agency (NASA) reports that there are about two trillion galaxies in the universe, with billions of stars in each galaxy! In regard to God’s creating these vast numbers of stars, the Word of God, the bible, explains is simply: “He [God] made the stars also…,” (Genesis 1:16)
Many helpful resources are available in addressing atheism such as found at www.mocreation.org. Missouri Association of Creation, I recorded radio with its President Marv Schaefer, link listed below.
Radio “links” to past recordings on similar subjects and themes …
To hear … “Frank Turek: wrote ‘I don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist;’ defender of faith, visits St. Louis” … click on … https://harold-hendrick.com/2012/01/06/frank-turek-wrote-i-dont-have-enough-faith-to-be-an-atheist-defender-of-faith-visits-st-louis/
To hear … “Marv Schaefer, President, Missouri Association of Creation. Received Christ at age 50; sees animals in whole new light” … click on … https://harold-hendrick.com/2016/07/14/marv-schaefer-prez-mo-assn-of-creation-received-chr With IMB in Russia, son David Hendrick discovered IMB colleagues Dr. & Mrs. Yi murdered, martyred!ist-at-age-50-sees-animals-in-whole-new-light/
To hear … “Russian Vladimir Lebedev & son David Hendrick together ‘planted’ a church in Khabarovsk, Russia; they honor Vladimir’s late, persecuted father” … click on … https://harold-hendrick.com/2019/02/21/russian-vladimir-lebedev-they-honor-vladimirs-late-persecuted-father/
To hear … “Marv Schaefer re Missouri Association for Creation ‘Homeschool Day at the Zoo’ – www.mocreation.org” … click on … https://harold-hendrick.com/2016/09/03/marv-schaefer-re-missouri-association-for-creation-homeschool-day-at-the-zoo-www-mocreation-org/
To hear from Cortland Hendrick’s husband, our son… “With IMB in Russia, son David Hendrick discovered IMB colleagues Dr. & Mrs. Yi murdered, martyred!” … click on … https://harold-hendrick.com/2017/02/04/with-imb-in-russia-son-david-hendrick-discovered-imb-colleagues-dr-mrs-yi-murdered-martyred/