Oct 20th, 2025 @ YWAM Kona withh Tom Cole
https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Heart-Restoration-Through-Beatitudes/dp/0986427705
Sanctification is a process of a lifetime. When God shows you something, you release it and share it with others. In doing so, He affirms what He has done in your life and uses it to multiply the work in those around you.
Back in the day, in many homes, fathers provided financially but showed little emotional care. Despite the dysfunction in the family, fathers were expected to take responsibility for provision, while emotional needs had almost no place or language. Tom’s dad was the picture of masculinity, a veteran of the Korean War, and Tom looked up to him. Without even realizing it, Tom was being shaped into the image his father had for him.
After returning from the war, his dad carried deep shame and trauma from the battlefield. The weight of severe PTSD made it nearly impossible for him to express affection or respond to the attention Tom longed for as a boy. Through the eyes of a child, this absence felt like rejection. Because this was the man he admired most, the silence became a wound.
As Tom grew older and began searching spiritually, he explored many paths, Buddhism, Islam, astrology, hoping something would fill the void inside of him.
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God created in us a need for relationship. The constellations cannot give or share the goodness of God the way people can. Humanity was created for dancing, singing, and connection.
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Just as God brought the animals to Adam in pairs, giving him a picture of what he lacked before he even understood it. God often gives small hints before revelation. Tom says God often speaks to him in the shower, and one day this scene from Genesis was highlighted to him as breadcrumbs from God, gently awakening longing.
When Tom walked into church for the first time, he was moved by what he saw. The posture of worship looked like a child reaching up for a big hug from God, a picture of surrender. He believes that even non-believers are curious, even when they act offended.
In time, love conquers everything. Tom learned what it means to love and to be loved in a simple place, the kitchen, watching Rosie, the waitress, and the chef share a beautiful relationship that emanated warmth and safety.
After Tom gave his life to Jesus, Rosie warned him that whenever the Kingdom of God advances, the kingdom of Satan feels threatened.