Ryan Callahan's Blog

With everything that has happened with the intense turmoil we have all gone through the last two years, people are aware of their mortality perhaps more than ever before. Anxiety and fear are plaguing the whole world for one reason above all else; people are afraid of death. This truth confronts and tests all of us, no matter who we are or where we live. None of us want to die, but we all know that someday we will take our last breath. We also know that when that happens we will step into eternity, and deep down we know that we need a Savior. Deep in our hearts we know our souls are eternal and we know we need to be saved. We can only be delivered from the fear of death and have peace with God when we accept this truth and come to know our Savior.

Although our bodies are mortal, we all inherently know our souls are eternal because God has placed eternity in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We instinctively know that when we die our souls will live forever somewhere in eternity. All of us want that somewhere to be Heaven. God’s Word, the Bible, teaches us that there are only two places in eternity: Heaven or hell. It also teaches us there is only one Way to Heaven, and we must be forgiven of our sins to get there. Our sins separate us from God, and the only Way to be forgiven and enter Heaven is by knowing our Savior who died as a sacrifice of atonement to forgive our sins, and reconcile us with God. The only One to ever do that for us is God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Only through believing in Jesus can we be forgiven of our sins and made righteous before God.

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” -Romans 3:22-24

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 6:23

We can only be set free from the fear of death by knowing Jesus. People are afraid of death because the devil holds the power of death. That is why death is terrifying. We all know deep in our hearts that there is something very real to be scared of in death unless we have a Savior. Jesus is the only One who ever defeated the devil, and He is the only One who can rescue us and save our souls. Only Jesus can break the bonds of slavery to the fear of death. Only Jesus can give us freedom and eternal life!

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” -Hebrews 2:14-15

This great salvation is a gift from God that can never be earned. Eternal life in Heaven is by God’s grace alone, and can only be received through faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of good works will ever be enough to achieve Heaven because our sin separates us from God. We must have our sins washed away, and that forgiveness can only be attained by believing in Jesus. His blood shed on the cross is the only blood powerful enough to cleanse us from all our sins.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” -Ephesians 2:8-9

“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” -Hebrews 9:12

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” -Romans 5:1-2

Please heed the warnings of Jesus, and accept His invitation to eternal life! You do not need to die in your sins, you do not need to fear death, and you do not want to lose your soul! There is no condemnation in Jesus. Jesus loves you, He will forgive you, and He will give you eternal life in Heaven!

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” -Jesus speaking in Matthew 16:26

“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” -Jesus speaking in John 3:16-18

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” -Jesus speaking in John 5:24

Again, you can only receive eternal life through faith in Jesus. Believe in Jesus this very moment, and your sins will be forgiven, and your soul will be saved! Once you place your faith in Jesus, God will fill you with His Holy Spirit, which will give you power and guidance to live a holy life that pleases God. The Holy Spirit is God’s seal on us guaranteeing our redemption. This is not a metaphor. It is a beautiful miracle and gift of God. Everyone who believes in Jesus is literally filled with the Holy Spirit, and is blessed with the fruits of the Spirit in their lives.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” -Romans 10:9-13

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.” -Ephesians 1:13-14

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” -Galatians 5:16-18

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” -Galatians 5:19-21

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” -Galatians 5:22-24

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” -John 7:37-39

You don’t have to be afraid of death anymore! Come to Jesus, and He will set you free!

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” -Jesus speaking in John 10:27-30

Grace and peace to you all!

Hello friends and family, and God bless you all. Today is January 6th, 2022. Ten years ago, on January 6th, 2012, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. To say it has been a long road and a difficult journey over this last decade would be an understatement. It has been absolutely torturous at times, and many of the lessons I have learned along the way were learned the hard way, but the last ten years have also been filled with the Lord’s faithfulness and forgiveness. Jesus has been with me through every step of this broken road of suffering, and He has never left me nor forsaken me. My prayer is that this post will bring Him glory, and encourage others who are living with chronic illness and pain.

When Christians think of suffering, many of us immediately think of the story of Job. I wish I could say I was as faithful as Job was through his suffering. Sadly, I was not. When I speak of faithfulness, I am referring only to the Lord’s faithfulness to me. After being diagnosed with Celiac, I became angry and bitter. Even though I had walked with Him since October of 1996, I fell away from the Lord for a time, and that bad decision just caused more pain for me and my family. Thankfully, the Lord is gracious and merciful and He never gave up on me.

The Lord drew close to me, even when I shook my fist at Him and wrestled Him with disappointment and bitterness in my heart. He met me right where I was in my darkest hour and let me pour out my heart to Him. He held me in His loving arms as I foolishly fought against Him, and struggled to come to terms with my new reality. And finally, with His deep unending love and forgiveness, He lifted me up, helped me arrive to a place of peace and understanding, and graciously reinstated me to continue fulfilling His calling and purpose for my life. It was astounding and amazing when He called me to publish my testimony and start blogging in 2018, and I am forever grateful.

One Man’s Very Strange Supernatural Life

Those years from 2012 to 2018 were the hardest and most painful years of my life. So many regrets and so much time I can’t get back. However, they are also years the Lord strengthened my faith and caused the roots of my trust in Him to grow deep. I will never forget the miracle the Lord performed to save my life when I stopped breathing on April 28th, 2012. Talk about a faith builder! Many of you know what happened that day. If you don’t, please read my post titled:

My Lazarus Moment

I quite literally died that day due to anaphylactic shock, and the Lord brought me back in the power of the Holy Spirit. The mighty wind of the Spirit was all around me, and my wife heard it rushing through our room just like on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts! It was the most excruciatingly painful and the most miraculously glorious day of my life, and I am only alive today because the Lord had mercy on me. Thank You, Jesus!

The greatest lesson I have learned through a decade of suffering is that the Lord’s grace is truly sufficient for me. No matter what you are going through, please don’t give up. Dig deep into your faith and cling to Jesus with all your heart. Even if the pain is so bad that you are barely hanging on by your fingernails, don’t let go! He is there with you even now, and He will never abandon you!

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” -2 Corinthians 12:9

I have wanted to give up so many times. Those first few years when I couldn’t stop throwing up and going #2 eight times a day. The endless days, weeks, months, and years of burning pain in my gut that would drop me to my knees. The horrific weight loss down to 128 pounds, and the torturous pain of a damaged small intestine so bad I could barely walk. The terrible pain of starvation as my body struggled with digestion and a severely restricted diet. So many times I cried out for God to take me as I lay face down on the floor barely clinging to life. So many times I just wanted it to all be over.

Jesus never stopped comforting me. He never left my side even for a moment. Every day He picked me up off the floor, dried my tears, and gave me strength to press on. Even if I could barely sense His presence and all I could muster was whispering His Name to help me, He was right there with me. Even when horrible thoughts of taking one last walk in the woods with my pistol in hand plagued my mind, still He protected me and fought for me. Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I love Him with all my heart! Keep loving Him and rest in His love for you!

This life on earth can be so painful for so many of us, but there will be a day when He wipes all the pain and tears away. Don’t ever forget that! He is coming back soon, and He will make all things new! Jesus loves you so much! Run to Him, fall in His arms, and never let Him go!

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” -Revelation 21:4-5

I was 33 when I was diagnosed. I am 43 now. After all the pain and despair I have lived through the last ten years, I am still standing victoriously in the Lord by His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love.

Since having the emergency gallbladder surgery last April, I am no longer suffering the excruciating gut pain, and I have even stepped out in faith to enjoy going out to eat at a few restaurants. I still have to be careful about cross contamination, but there are many options for those of us who can’t eat gluten, dairy, eggs, or soy, and it has been a huge blessing. We took our kids to Disneyworld on January 1st, and I was even able to enjoy lunch and dinner at the nice restaurants at Epcot. I hadn’t eaten out since being diagnosed, and it’s something I never thought I would do again. Even now as I still have days where I struggle with pain due to intestinal and colon trauma, I have hope that things are getting better and the Lord still has good plans for me.

Nothing is impossible for God. Keep hope alive and never stop believing He can do all things! His love is greater than any suffering on this earth!

Grace and peace to you all!

Hello friends and family, and God bless you all! This will just be a quick post to follow up on my prayer request regarding my health. The doctor called me today to discuss the blood work and ultrasound results for my thyroid and liver, and he gave me good news. Everything is normal and healthy, and no further testing is necessary! Praise God!

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! I am so thankful to the Lord for the excellent news! My heart, liver, thyroid, and all my enzyme levels are okay and functioning properly. They even checked the common bile duct and the area where the gallbladder was removed, and all of that looks great too. It is very comforting to know that my body is still working right even after all I’ve suffered with Celiac. Glory to God!

Now I just want to move forward and get back to writing consistently for the Lord. Thank You, Jesus, for all You have done for me and my family! Your grace is truly sufficient in all things!

No matter what you are going through, keep trusting in Jesus, and never give up. He’s got your back and He will see you through it to the very end!

Grace and peace to you all!

Hello, friends and family. God bless you all. Just wanted to give a quick update on my visit with the doctor regarding my heart, and ask for prayer again regarding some of the things we discussed.

First of all, thank you all for praying for me. The doctor gave me mostly good news about my heart and blood work results. There is a small amount of build up in my aorta showing a bit of atherosclerosis, but he said it is minor and normal for my age. The echocardiogram and stress test didn’t show anything serious. He said my heart is fine and joked with me that I could live to be 150 with the heart I have. He wasn’t sure what caused the chest pain back in March, but he thought it might have been due to the gallbladder infection and stones I was suffering at that time. Remember, I had that removed just a few weeks after the chest pain episode.

Anyway, my cholesterol and triglycerides are excellent, so the atherosclerosis is just hereditary. It’s something he will check in 2 years, but nothing he was worried about. Praise God my heart is okay!

He said my vitamin D levels and sodium were low, so I need to start taking a D supplement and adding a little salt to my diet, but my glucose, and red and white blood cell count were excellent. It’s actually pretty amazing I’m only deficient in vitamin D after 10 years fighting Celiac. He said he could tell I eat very good, and told me to keep up the good diet.

The only discouraging news was that the blood results showed my thyroid and liver enzymes were too high, so he was concerned about that and ordered more tests. I had to get more blood drawn this morning, and next Wednesday I’m having an ultrasound done for my liver. I am really tired of all these medical appointments, especially getting jabbed for blood work. Please pray for healing for my thyroid and liver. He is hoping it was just a fluke in the lab results from a little dehydration, but he wants to make sure it’s nothing serious.

The worst thing I am still dealing with is the terrible hemorrhoid pain I suffer at times. As embarrassing as it is, I must ask for prayer for that to be completely healed. It is awful and it is really affecting my quality of life. Several times a week I have to lay on my side for a few hours because I can barely walk or sit down. I’ve already seen doctors and specialist surgeons about it, and surgery is not an option for me. I cry out to God every day to heal me of it. On top of everything else I deal with, it is truly a painful and humiliating ailment to suffer.

History records that Martin Luther also suffered terrible hemorrhoids, which actually gives me a sense of closeness and fellowship with him. It also makes me respect him and his reformation ministry even more knowing the pain he was going through during his preaching and teaching. I’m sure he asked the Lord to heal him many times.

In all my suffering, I am trusting in the Lord to see me through it victoriously. I get very discouraged and feel a deep hopelessness at times, but I know God can heal me at anytime and He can do all things. Nothing is impossible for the Lord. He has done incredible miracles in my life, and I know He can heal me, restore me, and make all things new. May His will be done.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. I know many of you suffer from chronic illness. I am praying for you too. Let us never give up hope! Someday the Lord will take away all the pain and wipe away every tear. May that great hope overflow in our hearts as we wait for the Lord and trust in Him. He will never leave us nor forsake us, and we will see Him in eternal glory very soon!

Grace and peace to you all!

First, I want to thank everyone who prayed for me regarding my surgery today. Guess what?! The cyst has been getting smaller and healing, and when I went in this afternoon for surgery the doctor said I didn’t need surgery anymore!! Praise God!! God is so good!!

The doctor said it is resolving naturally and it will go away in time. What an awesome answer to all of our prayers! Now I just have the appointments for the blood work and the tests for my heart. I pray for continued good news with that too!

I am so glad I didn’t need surgery today! I have been so tired from all the health issues. This is a huge blessing from the Lord! I pray it completely heals and never comes back!

May we all praise God for His goodness and faithfulness to us! He cares for us deeply, and He heals our wounds. He takes our anxiety and comforts us. His love is truly amazing! We can trust Him with all our hearts, no matter what we go through!

Thank You, Jesus, for Your love and faithfulness! Thank You for healing me and delivering me from the surgery! Thank You for Your grace and mercy! Thank You so much, Lord! I love You! Amen!

Thank you all again for praying for me! Jesus hears our prayers, and our prayers in His Name are powerful! Don’t ever forget that. May we always trust in Him and believe He can do all things!

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, ‘ declares the LORD…” -Jeremiah 30:17

All blessing, praise, glory, and honor belong to Jesus! May we glorify His Name forever!

Grace and peace to you all!