"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

                                                                                                                           by Dr. Paul E. McLaughlin

Welcome to UNCHAINED!

The accounts, stories and testimonies that you are about to read and experience, are actual true to life events in the lives of those signified; touched and set free by the Masters Hand.

When God is given the opportunity to change a persons' heart a miracle takes place, and the chains of sin's degradation and bondage will be altered and broken, for the glory of God.

BOB....

Bob had come to came Hope Haven one time before. His life was full of torment, trouble and turmoil that had been brought on by a constant yielding to appetite and misadventure. It started in his youth and followed him into adulthood!

Alcohol abuse and smoking pot brought only problems that multiplied each time Bob gave in to the cravings that held him in bondage. He was a prisoner to his flesh, and a puppet to his carnal cravings.

His life was empty, even when he attempted to fill it with the pleasures of sin for a season!

During his childhood, as a young boy, he had been molested. This with other unresolved issues helped to propel him on a misdirected course in life that led him down a road that offers unfulfilled promises, hopes and dreams along with the consequences that follow.

Bob came from a Catholic background, however, Bob never had a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words Bob had never trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He was like Nichodemus in the book of John chapter 3 that came to Jesus one night. Nichodemus was a religious man, but Nichodemus was not a Christian.

One's religious standing does not make them any more a Christian than a bicycle parked in a garage makes them a car. Bob had never placed his faith in Christ. In his earlier lifetime Bob had never called upon the name of the Lord to be saved. Growing up in Maine provided Bob with a lifetime of mixed emotions.

Because of Bob's alcohol addition and smoking marijuana he had lost his wife, children and home. Inferior tradeoffs due to bad choices and sinful habits like these in Bob's life affect many people of all ages and classes in life. Bob just happened to be one among the many wandering aimlessly, looking for a purpose and a place to fit in!

That brings us to the present in 2008 when Bob came to Hope Haven by the providence of God. There are no accidents or coincidences with God only appointments. Some might try to reason or rationalize to chance or just dumb luck, but they are ignorant of the Creator and His plan and design for mankind. For them it is easier to leave out God and ignore what they are denying in their hearts to be true.. Admitting that God exists obligates one to have to take personal responsibility for their actions. Living as if God does not exist makes it easier to live without boundaries and keeps people blinded to their personal chains of bondage and addictions that have them enslaved. God is real and there is more to what the eye can see. Just because we cannot see an atom for example, does not mean it does not exist. God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth(John 4:24). Bob had an appointment set up before the foundations of the world by God to keep at Hope Haven Gospel Mission.

Bob had an appointment to know the truth. He had heard the truth many times throughout his life, but the timing was not right and he was not ready to experience the blessings and freedom that come in having a personal relationship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was during a chapel service in Grace Bible Chapel at Hope Haven Gospel Mission that Bob finally let go and let God. The message had been preached and now the invitation had been given to whosoever will. Bob raised his hand and prayed the Sinner's Prayer and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He had finally come to the place in his life where he knew that unless he accepted Christ, at that very moment, he could not go on living they way that he had been. It all made sense and this opportunity was just for him and anyone else that wanted what God was offering. Freedom from the penalty of sin, freedom from the power of sin, and freedom to draw closer to God from the presence of sin.

At that very moment Bob asked God for forgiveness of his sins and asked Jesus to come into his heart to set him free and save him. This decision and moment for Bob was real! Bob was declared righteous before God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Bob based upon the Word of God was now a child of God, no longer just a creation. He had kept his divine appointment that had changed his life completely! The Bible tells us in 2^nd Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new ."

Bob has been drug and alcohol free for several months. He now knows the peace of God that passeth all understanding. He is enjoying his salvation and thankful to God for His Great Love. Bob has left Hope Haven, has a girlfriend and is attending a local Church in the area regularly. There are scars in his life that he has to bare. He is not alone and now knows God's plan for his life. Bob needs our prayers to stay the course and help to set others free through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as a Christian.

Recovery is a lifelong journey. We can choose what direction we want to go in life, but the greatest journey we can choose in life; is to go God's Way. This knowledge will liberate the captive and set them free. Taking the first step is only a heartbeat away!

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 37

CASEY STANLEY...

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement". Hebrews 9:27

It was during the latter part of May that Casey came into Grace Bible Chapel for the services. He sat at the far back, as some people do, right directly in front of the serving line for a meal in God's Kitchen at Hope Haven. He did not stand out in the sea of people present for chapel, but God has His eye on him especially on that special night in May of 2008.

After speaking with Casey later he told me that he had been coming sporadically to the Chapel Services before the evening meal.

Casey was new to me as one of our guests in attendance. Sometimes you get to fellowship with the regulars that come and other times some new person drifts in or gets your attention!

Casey could have had some addiction problems and possibly some legal problems for that matter, I really couldn't say not knowing him that well. What I can tell you is that on this particular date in time Casey bowed his head in prayer, asked God to forgive him of his failures and short comings, along with his personal sins, and asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart to become his personal Lord and Savior during the invitation that was given. After the service I asked him if he meant from his heart what he prayed and asked God to do; with tears in his eyes he said yes. He also expressed his appreciation for Hope Haven being here for him and others like him in need.

I asked him if he had a Bible and he told me that he did not, so I told him to keep the one that he was using and to write down today's date for his own personal assurance and peace of mind. I also told him to tell as many people that he knew about his decision in trusting Christ for his salvation. Casey said that he would. I gave him a hug and shook his hand for making the greatest decision in his life that would follow him throughout eternity.

Late during the first week of June there was a murder committed over in Auburn, Maine. It was on the evening news that night, and in the Lewiston Sun Journal the following day about a stabbing that had taken place. The 2 people responsible for the murder had fled the scene and left the State of Maine.

The victim was Casey Stanley who had not just one week before asked Jesus Christ to come into his heart and save him. On that miraculous day during the invitation Casey had secured for himself eternally his place in Heaven. NEVER TO DIE AGAIN to live forever in the Kingdom of God where moth and rust doth not corrupt. A CITY OF ETERNAL LIGHT AND EVERLASTING JOY.

Casey broke the chains of death and the penalty of sin by his decision to trust Christ, where there is no sting, only victory for those who have been set free by the Truth of the Living Word.

I am deeply saddened by his passing, but I am so thankful that he trusted Christ as his Savior that evening in Chapel, and is more alive today than he has ever been!

One would never have thought that Casey Stanley's life would be compromised in such a way. A young man with what seemed a long life ahead of him. Who would have imagined that not even a week later that Casey would be absent from the body and present with the Lord in Heaven so soon. Life is brief and one never knows what can take place. Our guarantees in life are limited humanly speaking. We need to keep the right perspective and see: our lives are short and will come to pass and only what is done for Christ will last.

"Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." James 4:14

                                                             CHARLIE.... 9 years old

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

It was back in May that Charlie came to the Mission with his mother and 2 younger brothers. A young clean cut boy with a sparkle in his eyes who liked to play basketball out in the backyard with his siblings before coming in for the night and going upstairs to the Family Shelter. Charlie's youngest brother who is only 4 years old has only a 25% chance of surviving cancer, but you would never know this to be a stumbling block or a problem that existed; without prior knowledge.

Charlie and his family had attended Chapel services a few times during their stay prior to the evening meal. They were a very well behaved and polite family that would soon be leaving Hope Haven and going to their new residence to live after taking advantage of the various resources and opportunities available to them. They were being responsible and doing what was necessary to improve their circumstances!

Charlie and his 2 brothers would always come into the office when I was working the desk to say hello, share their day and then say goodnight to me. As a mater of fact, I looked forward to them coming in to share some time with me on those nights working admissions. It's not often when children take the time and make it a point to let you know that you are important enough to them to be a part of their life.

Kindness and honesty go a long way. It does not cost you anything either to be a friend or a good listener when someone needs your attention. After all, how else do children learn but by example!

It was on June 19th that Charlie and his family were present for their last Chapel service just before the meal. I had just finished preaching and gave the invitation for anyone that wanted to give their heart to Jesus for salvation. I asked, as I always do, for a showing of hands to pray with those who wanted to get saved, and Charlie was the only one, out of around 30 people, that raised his hand. I then led in the Sinner's Prayer, after finishing I asked Charlie, who was sitting with his family at the table, if he had prayed with me. He said that he did. I then asked him if he meant it from his heart and he said that he did. His mother smiled and so were his 2 brothers!

I congratulated Charlie for making the greatest decision in his life, for trusting Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. What a blessing to have someone like Charlie only 9 years old to become a Child of God at such a tender and young age. I am so thankful that God is no respecter of persons, and that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's the kind of God that we have who is patiently waiting for that, "whosoever will" to come with the faith of a little child and take Him at His Word.


"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house." Acts 16:31

SHANE...A young man with a past and now today a glorious future!

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6

It wasn't to long along back in July that Shane came to a realization that salvation is of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not about the righteousness of self that prevails in matters of heaven or hell, it's about the righteousness of God that determines where we go when our earthly existence comes to an end.

As a young boy growing up and later in his teens in and out of criminal mischief and other illegal activities, it was apparent that life on the streets is a dead end, but life in Jesus Christ is life everlasting.

It is almost like a rags to riches story when once upon a time a poor spiritually lost youth decided to take God at His Word during a Chapel service, when the invitation was given, and experience the riches of God's grace by faith. What a glorious day! What a wonderful Savior! Forgiven. Saved by God's grace and now a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

I am convinced that Shane's decision to trust Christ was genuine. One week after his decision to trust Christ Shane followed the Lord in Believers Baptism is attending Church, and living one day at a time for the Lord.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him". 2 Corinthians 5:21

Alberto.... Broken but not defeated.

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1^st Thessalonians 5:18

How could Alberto have known what God had in store for him after coming to the Mission? Not even 2 weeks later, little did he know what God's plan for him was!

The night he checked in he was broken, filled with pain, in a hopeless condition. Alberto was separated from his wife and not able to be with his children, due to inappropriate and sinful behavior, that held him captive. Alberto was in a state of defeat and spiritual turmoil! Earlier that day, after being released from jail, part of his conditions were to call in each night to check in with Maine Pre-Trial. On the surface, humanly speaking, things did not seem to be going well.

August 19^th of 2008 a day that will never be forgotten. A day that changed the life and eternal destination of a Roman Catholic into a born again Christian, child of God. A life that now has more purpose with God at the helm, never to be alone ever again. "For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Hebrews 13:5b

Since that day Alberto and I have prayed together, had several good discussions about what he should do next as a Christian. Naturally baptism is next and finding a good Bible preaching, teaching, New Testament Church to attend and grow in as a child of God. He has also been able to have visits with his children! If God can prepare a table for His children in the wilderness, God is able to do heal and reconcile a family, in His time.

Alberto left the other day, but he has promised to keep in touch. I told him that I am holding him to his promise to me. Before God can do anything with some people they have to come to a place of brokenness before He can do anything with us. Yes when Alberto came he was broken, but praise the Lord, he is not defeated.

Thank God for a new brother in Christ, in the Family of God!

"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that hath no might he increaseth strength." Isaiah 40:29