The Bible gives us clear commands that God expects His people to obey. He instructs us in how we are to think, believe, behave, and relate to others. Although as believers in Jesus, we want to walk in God's ways, too often we fail. We desire to walk forward with the Master, but we tend to trip over the events and experiences of our past. We need healing in our souls so that our past is not prophetic of our future. If we are to walk in holiness externally, we must be relatively whole internally. Fashioned for Glory is written for two purposes: to aid in the healing and restoration of those individuals who have been wounded by life, and to equip them to help others find freedom and healing through biblical counseling and prayer. Isaiah 61:1-4 is the foundational passage of Scripture of this book. It speaks of formerly wounded, broken captives being comforted and restored to a place of joy and right living where God is glorified. Then those restored believers are anointed to bring healing and restoration to other hurting people. Biblical counseling deals with human problems from a biblical perspective. Since God created us and knows us thoroughly, we can be certain that what He says about man in His Word can be trusted to be the final authority on all human problems. Jesus is the answer and has the answer to every situation of sin, pain, fear, and bondage. Those being born into the kingdom of God now are seldom the untainted, Sunday school attending people of earlier years. Today's converts are similar to the hippies who were swept into God's kingdom in the 1970's during the Jesus People era. Scores of today's new believers have had addictions to alcohol, drugs, food, the Internet, or sex. Many are from dysfunctional families where they were abused and/or rejected and abandoned. Many have had abortions or were party to an abortion. Several have participated in New Age practices; some have been involved in the occult. It is safe to say that all new believers need some measure of emotional healing. They need people to stand alongside them as they overcome life-controlling issues, and they need intentional, strategic discipleship in God's Word. We who are called by the Lord's name must be able to minister to them. We need to be equipped to adequately help those dealing with grief, chronic illnesses, depression, oppression, and recurrent sin patterns. Fashioned for Glory is a "how-to" book, giving strategies of how to function under the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order to bring healing to the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to captives, to comfort those who mourn, and to usher the despairing into a new place of hope and praise. It will help equip you to minister effectively to those He brings into your sphere of influence, teaching you how to pray with them for freedom from bondages, crippling inner pain, and demonic oppression. God has fashioned each of us for glory; let us pursue our destiny in Him! And while doing that, let us assertively and compassionately assist others as they journey toward their God-given destiny. Jesus is returning for "a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). Let us make every effort to be found ready for Him upon His return!
About the Author: Yanit Ross, the daughter of an interdenominational church Minister, grew up in Waco, Texas. She completed her BA degree in psychology, studying at Oral Roberts University and Stephen F. Austin State University. In 1981, Yanit went to South Africa as a missionary to serve youth and families in pastoral work and counseling. In 1988, she married Reuven Ross, a native of Chicago, and moved to Jerusalem, Israel, where he was living. There they pastored single believers and hosted and taught at singles conferences throughout Israel. For the past 25 years, the Rosses have pastored and served the Lord and His people while living in Israel and South Africa, and have preached and taught God's Word in numerous other nations. Yanit has had an active, effective counseling ministry for over 35 years. Her chief focus is on bringing inner healing to the wounds and traumas of the human soul. Using the Bible and prayer, she guides people into an encounter with God at their point of need. This book helps people navigate through the waters of their pain into the liberty and healing that the Lord provides. Yanit models the compassion she saw in her parents and grandparents (who were also clergy). Her passion for others to find healing in their souls was inspired by her own pursuit of healing through her grief caused by her father's early death and other traumas she endured. She writes out of her healing experiences with Jesus, her training as a pastor and counselor, and out of her ministry to hurting people. Yanit has taught seminars in biblical counseling nationally and internationally. Besides their focus on ministering inner healing, Reuven and Yanit teach on making disciples strategically and intentionally, and have trained spiritual leaders in over 20 nations in this ministry. They have written books on disciple making, which have been translated into numerous languages. Their burden is to see the Body of Christ mature, whole, and holy, and ready for the Lord's return. They also see the importance and significance of training disciple makers who can conserve the harvest as people come to faith in Jesus. On their web site (www.making-disciples.net) can be found more information on other books they have written: Go and Make Disciples, Introducing Discipleship, The Making of a Disciple, The Lifestyle of a Disciple, Relating to an Awesome God, and Flying Solo.