 You are seeing this right now. This is God's display of His love for you. Even if you came here on purpose or you were flipping through the channels on accident, there are no accidents with God. He is here for you today. My name is Corey and I'm joined here with Amy. And today we're gonna be talking about love. Yeah, talking about love. We know that God loves you, but did you know that, you know, I know you're binge watching love stories. I know that you're binge watching romcom and I know you're on Netflix because we love love. We love love stories. But did you know in the Bible that there are some really unusual love stories? We're gonna dive into them today with our special guest, Cheryl Palermo, as she talks about her new book, Unusual Love Stories from the Bible. And here's the deal. Some of the stories, just a little warning, are messy. Yes, and I think some of the most beautiful love stories are the messy love stories because love is unusual. And I know that God's love for me is very, very unusual. So listen, I wanna tell you this. By watching today's program, you will get a chance to learn how God delights in relationships. And you will experience the Holy Spirit right in your living room or wherever you are as we bring you God's word for today. That's one of the benefits of tuning in to hope today and experiencing the wonder of what God is gonna say. You know, I just ran into a couple. I was at Costco, okay, of all places. I'm in line. I have barely any makeup on. I maybe have had a hat on. I mean, I was kinda grunging it. And this couple is looking at me, are you sure? Yes, that's, are you Amy from Cornerstone Television? I said, yes, I am. Just out here running the little Costco run. And this is what she said to me. She said, we watch you every week on Cornerstone. And she said, my husband is not a believer. He's standing right there. And he cannot wait to watch Cornerstone Television. Wow. And unbelievable. That's why we're here. We're here because what other network, what other channels are sharing and bringing the good news? So Corey, I hope on your next Costco run that you run into a great couple that recognizes you. Well, I might not be at Costco. I'll probably be at Sam's though. Okay, okay, okay. But no, I totally, totally understand that. And it is, it's so special the opportunities with God does when we meet. We never often know exactly how the Holy Spirit is gonna speak to us and how he's gonna flow through what we share. But we're just thankful to be together. And then we're both wearing blue. I know, kind of matchy match. Yes. You know, we're about to discuss some love stories and unusual love stories. And isn't God's, from Genesis to Revelation, just one big scarlet thread of how much he loves us, how much he loves people, how he wants to redeem, how he wants to bring back his humanity. I actually didn't know for years. When I began to learn about God more, I did not know that the Bible was really typology, all pointing to Jesus. I thought they were isolated stories. But the Old Testament has Jesus woven all through it. And it is a love letter to us to get us back after the separation and fall. And that just makes me love God so much more that he would do so much and go through so much for us. For us. Whoo. The stories in the Bible are often messy since the Garden of Eden humans have proven themselves to be flawed and broken. And on today's program, Sherry Palermo brings us unusual love stories from the Bible. We'll take a closer look at how God delights in showing how redemption works in relationships. So Sherry, welcome to hope today. Thank you so much, everyone. And thank you for having me. I really appreciate this opportunity to speak about the love of God with all of you. Well, Sherry, what is your passion about love stories? I mean, what made you wake up one day and say, I want to write about love stories from the Bible. Well, that didn't, it didn't happen that way, Amy. Actually, I was on a mission, trying to find out more about love myself. And I explained that in the introduction of the book that even though I had been saved for 39 years, I know that's giving my age away a bit, but I just didn't think that I loved people. I know loving people with the love of the Lord is an eternal process or at least a lifelong. But I just wanted to experience the heartfelt feeling that went with my words. So I explored and studied love under the guidance of a mentor and with whom I also mentioned in the book and in studying all the different Hebraic terms and Aramaic because of the wonderful resources I had. I saw many facets or many aspects of love that the word love, the English word does not in and of itself describe. So in taking notes, writing copious notes over and over, I realized I just couldn't stop writing and I might as well write a book. So that's how the book came about, so. Cheryl, you know, we are raised on Disney Princess movies where they have the ultimate perfect ending to this love story right now. We are binge watching Netflix and we can't wait to watch the next rom-com out. What do you have to say about these unusual love stories in the Bible? I think the stories are portrayal of the many facets like a diamond of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, their love and if we can latch on to God's loving us no matter where we might fit into any one of these stories and I'm sure every reader, Amy, somewhere along the line is going to find themselves or be able to relate some way to recognize that love and to live with it and to walk with it and to know it and understand it and whether you feel anything or not, that's not the point. It's just to have that knowing and understanding. It's a life changer and I believe that God has utilized me as one of his vessels to portray. Just a teensy-weensy bit of how much he loves each and every, no matter who we are or what we have done. Okay, let's dive into one of these love stories, the story of Rahab. I want you to share what it looked like in that time of Rahab. What was she doing? How was her story such an unusual love story and how do we see God's love in Rahab's story? Well, Rahab changed over the years due to her occupation, would be a tough nut to crack. And how many of us are desensitized to the point of even seeing a crush on the road and thinking, oh, how disgusting, rather than sympathizing over the poor thing. Many things can cause this hardness and Rahab's story shows nothing is too difficult for God. He can break through anything, he can and he is willing. So her story is directly linked to Joshua, the appointed leader of the Israeli army by Moses himself. Going back 40 years, Joshua and Caleb and 10 other tribal leaders were sent by Moses to strategically scout out the land. Joshua and Caleb were the only two to deliver a good report. Instead of one from each tribe, Joshua sent two to evaluate the situation in Jericho. They wound up at an inn on the wall owned by Rahab. She hid them from the King's soldiers and aided in their escape. When the time came for Jericho to be toppled, Joshua sent the same scouts to rescue her and her family and ultimately live victoriously among the Israelites. I can go on a little bit, want me to about Rahab? Sure. Say a little bit more? Yeah, just skip through some of the talks. Well, moving away from Jericho meant change to location as well as lifestyle for Rahab. She no longer lived in a hardcore dog eat dog society. Here, the Israelite encampment was close and had one important thing in common. They loved God. They had the scrolls, the commandments, the prophets and the Ark of the Covenant. They were headed to the promised land. The miracle of Jericho was no small secret. The Israelites encircled the city once a day until the seventh day, then encircled it seven times. Joshua's command, they shouted, blew the shofars and the wall fell. Rahab and her family were rescued as the army went in and destroyed Jericho. The destroying Rahab's old way of life. She was considered part of the miracle. She spared the lives of the scouts, enabling them to return with important information allowing Joshua and his leaders to plan strategically to order to secure the battle. She went, in other words, from prostitute to hero practically overnight. And you mentioned that a lot of these women in the Bible, they end up in the lineage of Jesus Christ. I mean, a prostitute, someone that's looking out on the wall, having men in their house ends up being in the very family of Jesus Christ. It is so amazing. But a lot of these unusual love stories in the Bible, they're not all just male and female. But you talk about the love stories from father and son, like King David and Absalon. You talk about sibling, a great love story about Lazarus and Mary and Martha. Can you kind of just touch on one of those unusual love stories and how God brought redemption? Well, God is not an authoritarian. That opens up his kingdom to certain types only. How can we reach the center if everyone is a royal? And even some of the royals have questionable background. God's including the lowest rung of the ladder or the social ladder speaks to his mercy and immeasurable love. Our salvation is not based on our good works and deeds. It's based on the blood sacrifice that covers everyone. The blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God's son the savior. And in rare instances, but in some of those instances, such as Rahab, such as Ruth, such as different ones that one would not think. Ruth, I mentioned her even though I don't discuss her so much. I just referred to her in the book, but she was a foreigner. But there are people everywhere having done everything you can possibly imagine that God has utilized and some so much so that he included them in the very lineage of Jesus Christ himself. Cheryl, what you're talking about is absolutely, I'm sorry, absolutely incredible. Can you tell us, what do you feel that the Lord led you to talk about these particular stories? Why did he prompt it on your heart to do that? Well, that's a good question, Corey. And I honestly don't know the answer except that as I was right, I felt like I had the pen of a ready writer, so to speak. As I'm writing one sentence, another thought would come to mind and then I would research it. I think that the book will bear that out. And after I would finish one story, actually the stories that I wrote were not in the order of the book. I then put them in chronological order, but then all of a sudden another story would come to mind and I would find myself curious to how could this person have gotten to this place? A good example of that would be the madman from Gadar, the demoniac, and how he went from being a demoniac to an evangelist. I mean, there's gotta be a lot of information there. And not all the stories end positively. There's the whole situation with David and it's on Absalom. And just, it was mainly curiosity, but I thought that I was being more or less led to research these particular characters. And I wanted to write more, but my pastor said, believe it, this is enough. You have made your point. No, you've gotten the message out there, you don't need to add. So I'm planning on a second book to get some of these, get more characters in there. It's just like, how did they go from A all the way to Z? Cheryl, how has God's love touched and changed your life? Was there any messy parts in there that He walked with you and loved you through? Sure. Well, I have a little script here. It's not gonna answer it exactly, but I grew up in a Christian, a non-Christian environment, even though my parents didn't realize that, I think, you know, being religious. But there was a dichotomy there because one served a very well-known church. And the other one was, one was Catholic, one was Protestant, believe it like that. So, you know, it was a strict, and it was oftentimes a restrictive environment, but I stayed there until I was 19. And then since it was so restrictive, and I wasn't allowed to do mostly anything, including go out on my first date until I was 18, I tried to make up for lost time, partying and clubbing all while going to school. Now, into my third decade, once again, I'm referring to my age, much of that was behind me. I was ready to settle down and get a little more serious about life and God. Then He sent a laborer, and this laborer was a major change in my life in that now I took things more seriously. I mean, I had prayed the center prayer in the past. I had walked up to the television screen when Billy Graham would be on, and I'd repeat the prayer after him, but none of it stuck. But after this time, and I'm driving my car when I'm saying the center's prayer, this time, you know, I'm confessing my sins to the Lord and asking Him to forgive me my sins, but this time I got filled with the Holy Spirit. He led me to this wonderful woman who became my mentor. And that milestone became a major change in my life, and I've been going strong ever since. My only regret, Amy, is that I did not receive Jesus into my heart sooner. Wow, Cheryl, that is profound, and that is exactly what we want for all those watching, for them to receive Jesus as early and as quick and as soon as they can. Thank you, Cheryl, for this awesome book, Unusual Love Stories from the Bible. You can find the links to purchase her book on our website. Thanks so much, Cheryl. You're more than welcome. I recommend everybody go on a self-exploration. Open up the Bible. Read a little bit of it every day at the very least and see what God will unfold to you and see how He will change your life, how He will take you from A to Z, which is all a part of His purpose and plan. Don't worry, He won't give up on you. He'll stay with you as long as you reach out to Him and call upon the name of the Lord. Amen, I agree. When we come back after the break, we will have a powerful time of ministry and prayer, but first, here is Sydney with the latest on The Glory Hour. Ramadan starts Sunday, March 10th at sundown, and millions of Muslims are gonna be fasting and praying. And on this episode of The Glory Hour, you're gonna hear the story, the salvation story of a Muslim background believer and how God met her in a very special way. She learned that growing up as a Muslim, that Jesus was simply a prophet, but when God entered in and met her life in a special way, the truth of Jesus set her free. It was so hard for me, but I kept going. I kept attending the church. I kept going to the church because I loved the worship. I loved the way Christians will worship God. So be sure to tune into this episode of The Glory Hour happening this Wednesday, at 3 p.m. you can tune in on Cornerstone Intelligence Network's YouTube channel. Also, we're now streaming on Spotify. You definitely wanna hear this conversation with Sarah. It's so insightful, so enlightening. She also goes into how we are called as the body of Christ as believers to be uncomfortable, to step in, and to have relationship with Muslims so that we can show them the love of Jesus like never before. I can't wait to see you there. Discover what God's word has to say about healing and deliverance. Best-selling author John Eckhart makes topical Bible study easy with his new book, Scriptures for Faith, Deliverance, and Healing. This handy reference is for those who wanna have a greater understanding of healing and deliverance to incorporate God's word into their prayers. Eckhart also includes targeted commentary to highlight key scriptures and life application. His spirit-filled perspective will enhance your time in God's word and encourages the spiritual disciplines of memorization and meditation. Request scriptures for faith, deliverance, and healing as our thank you gift when you support Cornerstone Television this month. Request your copy today. If you want to strengthen the ministry of CTVN, share your best gift by visiting us online at ctvn.org slash donate or call us at 888-665-4483. Thank you for your partnership. Hope happens here. Welcome back to Hope Today. We just had a phenomenal interview by Cheryl Palermo talking about unusual love stories in the Bible. But I know that you have an usual love story in your life right now. In many of us, one of the reasons why we struggle with having a love life with the Lord is because we compare God to people. And God is not like people. He's not like men. He's not like women. But God has an unusual pursuit of your heart in a way that you really may not understand. I know for years I struggled and said, God, I know you love me, but I don't know if you like me. We talk about that oftentimes. I love you, but this is like a like generation where it's like liking is more heavy than loving because love is, you gotta do it. But like is, I want to do it. And for you, you might not feel like God wants you. You might say, I feel like I did too much. I feel like I'm out of the parameters of God using me. But when you look into scripture, those in the Bible were very, very messy. And in the midst of the mess, please understand this, that the identity that God has for you is not the identity that your mistakes put on you. I know people struggle with that. And I wanna say this, Amy, what is one way that you feel that people can begin to experience God's love in the midst of them making mistakes in their life that has defined them? Well, you know, one of my favorite scriptures, King David said, listen, when I made my bed in hell, you were there. Not only was he there, he gets down and he pulls you, it says, he pulls me up out of the Myrie clay. I mean, he pulls you up from the abyss of darkness, from despair, from despondency, from rebellion, from hatred towards God, from addiction. I mean, for any, he pulls us up and he sets our feet upon a rock. And you know, I know so many moms right now, so many grandmas that are believing God for their son or daughter. I mean, you need them to see and to know how much God loves them. And I remember myself, Corey as well, needing God to show me how much he loved my daughter more than I did. I mean, she was, she never, she always loved God, but she very much had the pull of the world on her. And honestly, she was rebellious towards, you know, her father and I, and I just did everything that she could as a strong, willed daughter. And I struggled through that season. But one of the scriptures that God gave me to stand on is one that our guest mentions in her book. And boy, when I read that, I was like, whoo, these flood of emotions hit me. It was almost overwhelming because, you know, now my daughter came over before I came to the television station today, mom, hi mom. She's going to work at the church. You know, she did leave me my grand dog to watch, you know, all day. And I just thought the joy, the peace, the saving grace on her life, it's all because we just believed God, that God would open the eyes of her heart, that she'd be flooded with light, that she would be submitted to Christ, submitted to God's will. But here's the scripture, Corrie, are you ready? Hosea 14. And if you haven't read the book of Hosea, just please do it right away. It is the ultimate love story. Actually, the love story is really about God in Israel, but it's so applicable to our life today. But this one line, I will heal their waywardness and love them freely for my anger has turned away from them. And I just thought, God right now, you are healing her waywardness. Maybe you need to say right now, God right now, you are healing his waywardness. You will love them freely and your anger has turned away from them. Like, let them see that. Let them know that. Let them experience that for themselves. God is the master, like nobody, Corrie, can outrun or outcommit God's love. And when his mind is made up about us, there's nothing you can do to change God's mind about you. And it's like when you have a baby, you've already chosen the name for that baby before the baby knows what their name is. And how does the baby learn their identity? It is in the constant repetitive calling and looking of that direction. My son's name is legend. My daughter's name is wisdom. And they learn their names by how much affection we had with calling them continually that same name. And God calls you beloved. He calls you fearfully and wonderfully made. He calls you his peculiar people. And you may not feel like that at all because the world may have named you and it may have named you by your mistakes and you may have named yourself as failure and misfit, not loved, unlovable, unwanted. But God never turns his idea of you. He just continually, consistently beckons you with what he knows about you until we start to say maybe that's my name. Maybe I am loved. Maybe I am special. He doesn't change his mind because the more you spend time with him, the more you'll feel the confidence and the authority to know that I can run to him when I make a mistake. I know I hid from God for a long time because I was afraid. I was afraid of rejection. But you know what? God, there's moments of rejection where he does things to get us back in alignment with him but he never rejects us from his love. It's impossible. No, it's impossible. You know, my son, when he was little, like two, three, four, he always wanted to pour his own milk into the cereal bowl and you know it, that's why you're all just like, please, because there's about to be a huge mess. Okay, first of all, they put in too much cereal. The milk pushes the cereal out over, then the milk spills and then they carry the bowl because they want to do it themselves. And it's just, it's a mess. So this one time, my son has this great big thing of milk and he pours it and it just spills everywhere. And I'll never forget what he did. He ran right to his father, grabbed his leg, he said, daddy, daddy, daddy, I love you, I love you, daddy, daddy, daddy, I'm sorry. And I thought, wow, instead of running away, hiding from getting the heck out of town, run to the father, run to his love, run to his grace, run to his forgiveness. That's what God wants for you in your life today. I know you screwed up. It actually says that we've all sinned, we've all messed up, we've all fallen short of the glory of God. That's why we needed Jesus. That's why Jesus came, for this cause was I born, for this reason I was born. You messed up, I messed up, he messed up, we've all messed up, we're all in this same camp. Run to the father, run to his love. And when you run to him today, you're not gonna find rejection. You're gonna find, this is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter. I am well pleased with you. And one thing I love about God is he doesn't bring it up over and over like people. With people you have to have a consistent credibility of doing the right thing all the time. And they're gonna remind you of what you did. But God is like, I don't even remember. I threw it in the sea of forgetfulness. And he continues talking with you as if nothing ever happened. And you might be wondering, when are you gonna bring that up? And when are you gonna hit me about that? It's like, I know and you know what happened, but you're back and I'm here to heal you. I'm here to love on you. And I'm here to show you who you really are. Most people do what they do in the world because they feel like the world is where their love and their affirmation comes from. I'll keep doing this because I keep getting rewarded for it. And even though it doesn't feel like pure love, it's enough for me. But God is elevating your experience of love to another degree today and forevermore. Thank you so much for joining us. And I pray that God's love stays with you continually.