Hi, I'm Kristi Graham, host of On the Ground with Samaritan's Purse.

On the Ground with Samaritan's Purse, brings you stories of how God is working,

and I have the privilege of introducing you to staff, volunteers, and the people we help,

like Alex, who received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

I'm looking back and realizing that many miracles that God had done to protect me through the war,

and one of those miracles was that shoebox that I came at a time when I had lost hope.

Listen to On the Ground with Samaritan's Purse on Apple or Spotify,

or find the link in today's show notes.

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During today's conversation on back porch theology, we're going to talk about a heartwarming

story in Mark's Gospel that involves a man named Bart, who much like the little engine

in children's literature, persevered through significant adversity, and by doing so,

experienced the miracle of both physical and emotional healing.

We're also going to talk about a Greek word that's used in the original telling of Bart's story,

Epidemiope, which means to command with the implication of a threat,

and how some of us have laid down God-authored dreams, because of the cold water others have

poured on our proverbial fires. Our deep hope is that Holy Spirit will use today's conversation

to spur some of you to pick up a divine dream you prematurely discarded,

and that much like Caleb and Bart, you'd begin to realize your latter years will be even better

than your former, and that our compassionate creator, Redeemer, is not through writing the

redemptive chapters in your story yet. Today might just be the day that real hope

barges back into your battered heart. So please grab a cup of coffee in your Bible,

...