# You Were Loved Before You Were Born

Before your first heartbeat...

Jesus loved you.

Before your first cry...

He knew your voice.

Before you ever took your first step...

He had already planned the path of grace that would lead you back to Him.

You may wonder if anyone truly understands you.

Jesus does.

He knows the tears you never let anyone see.

He knows the battles you fight in silence.

He knows the prayers that never made it past your lips.

He knows the fears hidden behind your smile.

And still...

He loves you.

Not with a love that comes and goes.

Not with a love that changes when you fail.

Not with a love that depends on your perfection.

But with an everlasting love that never fades.

When the world says,
*"You are not enough,"*

Jesus says,
**"My grace is sufficient for you."**

When guilt whispers,
*"You will never be forgiven,"*

Jesus gently replies,
**"I have already paid the price."**

When loneliness tells you,
*"No one cares,"*

The cross answers,
**"Look how much I love you."**

The greatest proof of God's love was never written in the stars.

It was written in scarred hands.

It was not spoken only in words.

It was demonstrated on a hill called Calvary.

Love wore a crown of thorns.

Love carried a rugged cross.

Love stretched out its hands.

Love shed innocent blood.

Love chose forgiveness over revenge.

Love chose mercy over judgment.

Love chose you.

The beauty of Jesus' love is that it never asks you to clean yourself before coming to Him.

He says,

*"Come as you are."*

Bring your broken heart.

Bring your regrets.

Bring your doubts.

Bring your fears.

Bring your failures.

He is not waiting to reject you.

He is waiting to embrace you.

There is no distance His love cannot cross.

No darkness His light cannot enter.

No sin His mercy cannot forgive.

No heart His grace cannot restore.

If you ever doubt your worth, remember this:

The value of something is revealed by the price someone is willing to pay for it.

Jesus gave His life for you.

That means your worth is not measured by the opinions of people...

It is measured by the love of the Savior.

So never believe the lie that you are forgotten.

You are remembered.

Never believe the lie that you are unwanted.

You are chosen.

Never believe the lie that you are unloved.

**You are loved with a love that left Heaven, embraced a cross, conquered a grave, and will never let you go.**

**That love has a name.**

**Jesus Christ.**

*"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." — Jeremiah 31:3*

A Tale of Two Ministries

John's disciples have departed but Jesus isn't done speaking on John the Baptist. So he puts the question to them, what did you travel outside the city outskirts to see? He extolls the role of John the Baptist and taunts anyone claiming that John was a weak or ineffective preacher.

Jesus makes it clear that not only was he a prophet, he was THE prophet spoken of 800 years before His birth. He was here to point us to Jesus. Among those born of women not one is greater than John. Jesus is saying that essentially John was the greatest man ever born.

Despite the glory of John's position as the final old Covenant prophet, the least member of God's kingdom is greater than he.
John's only mission was to point Israel to Jesus.

There were no miracles, no signs or wonders, John's ministry was a precursor to Jesus’. He was a wild man in the desert who spoke the truth.

And John the Baptist had followers up to the time of the book of Acts. And after Jesus, John's disciples were still preaching repentance. But John's message never saved a soul. It was never meant to.

Jesus then comments on the Kingdom of God being taken by violence and the violent take it by force. What is He speaking of here?

There are two possible interpretations of this passage. First, Jesus is discussing how God's kingdom has always been under attack. That God's enemies were currently attacking the men of God.

Second, the ‘violence’ is taken as more of a metaphor describing a zeal for God that is a call for believers to act in the face of persecution and attacks. This was the view of Saint Augustine and it is understandable, him wanting a more positive spin, sadly I believe he was wrong.

John is close to the time of his execution. Jesus is getting closer to his time for the cross. I believe Jesus is warning His disciples. ‘Following the kingdom of God comes with a cost sometimes.’ Sometimes the enemies will win, or appear to be winning. And Jesus knows that John's death will be a blow to his followers. He knows his own death will do the same for His followers before His resurrection. He is warning them, preparing them to understand that very difficult times are coming.

The enemies of God will kill to stop the message of the Gospel from spreading. Jesus says, that's the way the enemy has always done it.

He tells them plainly, John was the Elijah to come. And his ministry was to prepare you for messiah and you still won't listen.

He compares their behavior with children in a marketplace who did not respond in mourning for John's message of repentance nor did they respond to Jesus’ message of joy and forgiveness.

It quite simply didn't matter what message was being preached, by whichever ministry many of the Jews were never going to accept it.

What is the lesson here? Many will reject the gospel, many will reject you and do so violently, PREACH ANYWAY.

Many will reject calls for repentance because they wish to remain in their sin. Just as many will reject the love of Christ because they feel unlovable or unloved.

PREACH ANYWAY.

These were two different Ministries. With two differing messages. They worked together for one purpose: to reveal the Messiah.






Matthew 11:7-19

[7] As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? [8] But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! [9] But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. [10] This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ [11] Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [12] And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. [13] For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. [14] And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. [15] The one who has ears to hear, let him hear. [16] “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, [17] and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not mourn.’ [18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The First 15.
“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 18:19-20 ESV

One of the most impactful ways God reveals himself is through others. Jesus taught us in Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” We can learn aspects of God’s heart through others that we simply can’t learn alone. In relationship with others we learn about God’s heart for unity, grace, humility, and love in new and powerful ways. In fellowship we encounter people with various giftings, perspectives, and past experiences that are different than our own. And in community we discover God’s heart to use others for the building up, healing, and sharpening of ourselves. James 5:13-16 says,

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

God longs for you to give yourself fully to the community around you. He longs to use you for the healing and building up of others. And he longs for you to embrace humility and receive help and sharpening from others around you.

Ephesians 4:16 says, “From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Investing in community gives you the opportunity to be used by God to be built up in love with a group of believers. It positions you to receive help from fellow believers who are pursuing Jesus. And it equips you to pursue freedom and life in areas where you might not have gotten victory without the help of others.

Pursue wholehearted community today, not because fellow believers are perfect, but because you, as an imperfect child of God, need help from fellow imperfect children to encounter the fullness of abundant life God intends for you. Have grace for others. Love when you are unloved. Help when no one else will. Build up the body that Jesus loves that the world might better know the loving and available God we serve.

1. Meditate on the importance of investing in, and being invested in, by fellow believers.

“From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Ephesians 4:16

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you whom you ought to invest in today and who he wants to use to invest in you. Ask God to help you humble yourself that you might love and show grace regardless of the faults of others.

3. Take some time and encourage a fellow believer. Ask God to show you his heart for that person and send them an encouragement from him. Ask God for a Scripture that he is speaking over that person. May you be used to build up another in love today.

I believe that the Lord has a few people for each of us that we are called to be totally open with. Oftentimes healing for our sin comes through confession and repentance to God and to fellow believers. When our sin is truly brought into the light in front of believers, we can better see it for what it is and gain help and accountability. May Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 encourage you today as you seek to develop much needed community with fellow believers:

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Extended Reading: Ephesians 4

THE FRAGRANCE OF A GOOD LIFE

Stories of remarkable men and women whose kindness continues to touch generations.

Episode 2: Mother Teresa – A Heart for the Forgotten

- Michael "Dash" Chukwu

Some people make history with power, wealth, or influence. Then there are those rare souls who make history simply by loving the unloved. Mother Teresa belonged to the latter.

Born in 1910 in Skopje, she left the comforts of ordinary life to serve among the poorest of the poor in the slums of Kolkata, India. There, she encountered people whom society had forgotten—the hungry, the sick, the dying, the abandoned, and the unwanted. While many looked away, Mother Teresa looked closer. While many saw problems, she saw people.

Her mission was not built on grand speeches or political influence. It was built on small acts of extraordinary love. She picked up the dying from the streets, cared for abandoned children, comforted the lonely, and restored dignity to those who felt invisible. Through the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order she founded, her compassion spread across continents, touching millions of lives.

What made Mother Teresa remarkable was not merely what she did, but how she did it. She believed that every human being, regardless of status, wealth, religion, or condition, deserved love and respect. To her, no act of kindness was too small. She famously taught that if we cannot do great things, we can do small things with great love.

Critics and admirers alike agree on one undeniable fact: she dedicated her life to people whom the world often ignored. In an age obsessed with recognition, Mother Teresa found purpose in serving those who could offer nothing in return.

Her legacy challenges us today. The forgotten still exist among us—the poor, the elderly, the lonely, the displaced, and the marginalized. The question is whether we will pass them by or, like Mother Teresa, stop long enough to care.

More than two decades after her passing, the fragrance of her good life continues to inspire humanity. Her story reminds us that true greatness is not measured by how many people know our names, but by how many lives are better because we lived.

Reflection:

The world does not lack talented people; it often lacks compassionate people. Mother Teresa's life proves that one heart filled with love can illuminate the darkest corners of human suffering.

About the Author

Michael "Dash" Chukwu is a writer, storyteller, and social commentator passionate about uncovering the timeless values that shape humanity. Through The Fragrance of a Good Life series, he explores the lives of remarkable men and women whose compassion, courage, sacrifice, and service left an enduring mark on the world. His writings seek not only to inform but also to inspire readers to live purpose-driven lives and leave behind legacies that transcend generations.

Brenda Walsh Ministries.
True Cost of Salvation.

No one can earn salvation. You can’t work for it, purchase it, or acquire it for someone else. No matter how much you want a friend or loved one to be saved, you can’t save them. There is only one Savior, and He is the only One who has earned that right. Christ paid the price for your sins when He willingly gave His life so that you could live. There is no greater love than that! The Bible says in John 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, the power of sin was broken. Satan can no longer hold you by the bondage of sin–all you need to do is give your heart to Jesus, and you are free from the devil’s grasp. Romans 6:6 says, “We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” God didn’t have to save us! He didn’t have to send His only Son to this earth to be ridiculed, gossiped about, beaten, and left to die on a cruel cross. It was His deep and abiding love for you that was behind God’s plan of salvation. Without Christ’s death there would be no hope! When you’re feeling down, discouraged, overwhelmed, and unloved, reflect on the blessed hope of eternal life with Jesus and the true cost of salvation–all motivated by His amazing love for you! Text: Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, John 3:16-17, Matthew 7:21

Daily pearls from the shore🫧

It isn’t logical.

"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

God loves you with passion, with a divine Agape love that knows no boundaries, and no reasoning. Love that is unstoppable and unconditional.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

It may not seem logical, but that's the whole point- it isn't "logical"!

It's passionate, it’s divine, so true, so all consuming, that Father God did everything He needed to do to make us right with Him AGAIN. He did what He needed to do to FIX what we, humans, BROKE.
And that is hard to understand for us, because we're used to "fair" and "getting what we deserve"... But if we stop and think for a second what the deserving actually would have looked like for the kind of deeds - we might not ever reason what we deserve. If it wasn't for His love and mercy, the only thing we deserved was punishment.

God will show you that what He is giving you, as a Good Father, is infinitely better.
Titus 3: 5 beautifully brings it ," ..He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit..."

And God, being God as He is, even gives us the opportunity to understand His love for us, so that we may receive it even more fully. Only He can show us the entirety of His Love.

"..may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ... " (Ephesians 3:18)

So today, let’s choose to rest in the knowing that the Creator of the Universe loves you.
He loves you passionately.
So passionately that He gave His Only Son to die on the cross and be raised again from the dead, so that He may be able to be with us again. What longing that must be?
You know why? Because He loved us enough to miss us. And He has been missing us since the Garden of Eden.

If you feel unloved, abandoned or unworthy of love, it’s time to step out of the lies and run to the One who calls you "beloved". Let’s help you find love of God for you and help you join the family again. Connect with us: Voice Of The One Calling: WhatsApp @ +918437213863

#agapeloveofGod
#AbandonedNoMore
#Christiancounseling
#reunitedwithfamily
#BelovedofGod

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What Do You Crave?

Every day, multiple times a day, little alarms are triggered inside your brain. They make your stomach growl, your mouth water, or your mind become fixed on that which you crave.

God gave us physical needs that mirror our spiritual needs, too. Needs that must be met to stay healthy and alive. Needs that must be satisfied over and over again. In fact, food is often used in the Bible as a metaphor for our spiritual needs (it's called "our daily bread" in Matthew and the "pure milk" of the Word in 1 Peter, to name a couple.)

In the fourth beatitude, which are a series of promises Jesus made about God’s Kingdom, Jesus said this:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 NIV

Do you long for righteousness and justice? Do you desire the ways of God? Do you yearn for His kingdom to come? Do you want to be someone who chases after that which can never truly satisfy, or someone who hungers and thirsts after God?

In this upside-down kingdom where Jesus is Lord, the poor can be rich, the weak can be strong, and the empty can be filled.

Jesus Christ not only holds the keys to “living water,” but He is the “Bread of Life.” So, when you feel Him prompting your heart—to fight for justice, to love the unloved, to stand up for what’s right (even when it’s not popular)—pay attention.

He stands ready to fill you with everything you need.

BORN ABLAZE
I WAS ONLY TWELVE years old when I was converted. From that day, I wanted to be a soulwinner; I wanted to share with people what Jesus Christ meant to me. I was the seventh son of my parents. My father was the seventh son of his parents. I was raised on a farm where we all worked hard.
Lonnie, one of my older brothers, was converted at an old fashioned Oklahoma brush arbor meeting. There was such a change in him that I became very interested. He took me to a revival meeting in the little town of Mannford.
That night I received Jesus Christ as my savior. I started doing whatever I could to witness to unconverted people in my area.
With a toy press that I received as a Christmas present, I printed Bible verses on scraps of paper—my first tracts, and distributed them among the town's people, a population of not more than three hundred. I never dreamed that within a few years we would be publishing gospel literature in a hundred and thirty-two languages at a rate of more than a ton per working day.
I started preaching at the age of sixteen. Daisy and I were married when we were seventeen and eighteen years old and we became missionaries in India at the ages of twenty and twenty-one. I have preached face to face to millions of people in over eighty nations of the world. The more I study the Bible and the further I travel in evangelism, the more I am convinced that the greatest ministry possible for a Christian believer is to lead someone to faith in Christ.
The book of Acts begins with a reflection on all that Jesus began both to do and teach.
Ac.1:1 His life was the inspiration and model for First Century Christians. He had said to those who followed Him, Whoever believes on me, the works that I do shall he or she do also; and greater works than these shall they do; because I go to my Father.
Jn.14:12 They believed His words. Their focus was to continue doing and teaching what He had begun to do and teach. They understood that He was living and ministering through them. They were His voice, His feet, His body. He was now continuing what He had begun but now He was doing it through them.
Just before the Lord Jesus ascended back to the Father, He told His followers where to go and what to do:
You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.Ac.1:8
A First Century map indicates what this means: Jerusalem represents our hometown. All Judea suggests our state, province or nation.
No Discrimination But why did He make special mention of Samaria since He had already said in all Judea which included Samaria. He specified Samaria because it was a segregated area.
Remember how the woman of Samaria remarked to Jesus, The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
And the Jews slandered Jesus saying: Say we not well that you are a Samaritan, and have a devil? Jesus told His followers to reach all Judea, then He specified and Samaria the forgotten, hurting, unloved people.
Samaria could be Indian or Aboriginal reservations, minority communities, migrant settlements, ghettos, rehabilitation centers, immigrant and refugee communities or any place that is considered inferior or is segregated from the mainstream of society.
Obviously God is interested in marginal people as much as He is in any other level of human
society. He wants no one excluded.
- Dr. T.L. OSBORN (SOUL WINNING)
- Spiritual Notes

DAY 3 — The Overlooked Is Not Unseen

She was in the room…
…but never really chosen.
Not first.
Not preferred.
Not pursued.
That does something to a person.
You can live your whole life next to love…
and still feel unloved.
Leah knew that tension.
She wasn’t ignored completely—
just never first.
And when you live like that long enough,
you start trying to earn what should’ve been given freely.
So she tries.
Her first son: “Now my husband will see me.”
Second: “Now he will hear me.”
Third: “Now he will stay with me.”
It’s exhausting just reading it.
Because deep down, it’s not about the children.
It’s about the ache:
“Will I ever be enough to be chosen?”
And then something shifts.
Not around her…
inside her.
By the time her fourth son is born, she says:
“This time—I will praise the Lord.”
No condition.
No expectation.
No bargaining.
Just… praise.
That’s the turning point.
Not when she finally gets Jacob’s attention—
but when she stops needing it to define her.
And from that place…
comes Judah.
And through that line—
Jesus Christ.

The breakthrough didn’t come when she was chosen by a man.
It came when she realigned with God.

Where am I still trying to earn someone’s approval?
Whose voice still defines my worth?
What would change if I stopped needing to be chosen?

Today—cut one internal agreement:
“I am only valuable if ___ notices me.”
Replace it with truth:
“I am already seen. I will live from that.”
Then act like it.

https://ashes2artistry-shop.fourthwall.com

About Ashes to Artistry – Out of the Ashes

There was a night I will never forget—the noise, the lights, and yet an overwhelming emptiness beneath it all. In the middle of that life, I found myself on my knees, whispering a desperate prayer:
“God, if You are real, change my life.”

I didn’t understand then what I was asking. I didn’t yet know that when God answers, He does so in His way—not ours.

Exactly three weeks later, my life changed in a way I never expected. I found myself in prison.

What felt like the lowest point of my life became the place where everything began. In that confinement, I was finally forced into something I had avoided for years—introspection. For the first time, I truly faced myself: my choices, my pain, and my patterns. It was uncomfortable. At times, unbearable. But it was necessary.

And God did not leave me there.

He placed people in my path—guides, mentors, and vessels of His grace—who helped me begin again. Through them, I started reading the Bible, little by little, day by day. Slowly, truth replaced confusion, and hope began to rise where there had only been emptiness.

There was one scripture that became engraved on my heart:

“To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…” — Isaiah 61:3

That scripture changed everything.

Where I saw ashes, God saw beauty.
Where I felt broken, God saw restoration.
Where I believed there was no hope, God showed me that there is hope for all of us.

I entered prison at 40 and spent three and a half years there. Today, I stand years later with a perspective I never had before—God’s timing is perfect, even when it feels painful.

If I have one regret, it is that I did not call on Him sooner.

But by His grace, I am here. Changed. Restored. Still growing—one day at a time.

Our Mission

At Ashes to Artistry, we believe in a God who gives more chances than we could ever deserve.

Our mission is to take what was broken, forgotten, and cast aside—and turn it into something meaningful, purposeful, and God-honoring.

“Ashes to Artistry” is more than a name—it is a testimony.

We are committed to:
• Helping parolees rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose
• Guiding individuals toward a life rooted in Christ
• Creating faith-inspired products that reflect redemption, hope, and transformation
• Reminding the world that no one is beyond God’s grace

We believe freedom is more than physical—it is spiritual.

Through faith, through creativity, and through Christ, we aim to help others step out of the ashes and into a new life.

Because in God’s hands, even ashes become artistry.

About the Designer – Tara Pluke

My name is Tara Pluke, the heart and hands behind Ashes to Artistry.

This is not just a brand—it is my testimony.

When I was released, I quickly realized something painful: the world does not easily forget. Labels like “criminal,” “unforgiven,” and “unworthy” follow many parolees long after they have served their time. And because of that, so many struggle to stay on the right path—not because they want to go back, but because the world often gives them no way forward.

It reminded me of the story in the Bible—how quick people were to pick up stones, ready to condemn. Even today, it feels like society still does the same. We judge. We reject. We turn away.

But that is not what God calls us to do.

Ashes to Artistry was created to be different.

Through this shop, my hope is not only to create faith-inspired products, but to build something bigger than myself—a mission. Every design, every purchase, every step forward is part of a greater purpose: to help sponsor parolees into work programs, to give them opportunity, dignity, and a real chance to rebuild their lives.

Because everyone deserves more than a second chance—they deserve support, guidance, and love.

We want to do what God has called us to do: to love the unloved, to reach the unwanted, and to be His ambassadors in a world that so often forgets grace.

This is personal for me.

I know what it feels like to be broken.
I know what it feels like to be judged.
But most importantly—I know what it feels like to be restored by God.

And now, I want to be part of someone else’s restoration story.

Ashes to Artistry stands for redemption, purpose, and transformation.

Because no one is beyond God’s reach. And in His hands, every life can be made new.