God's Workshop
by Joseph H. Hovsepian
 od's Workshop is the devotional book you've been waiting for! Here's a sneak preview of the book cover, the author's Introduction to the book and more details about the book and how you can get a copy.
Happy reading... and God bless!
Introduction
How She Found Peace
 he was about twenty years old. Although one of her legs had been amputated before she was even eight years old, she was determined to do well in life. She was beautiful, healthy and had already started her own business. But deep inside her heart she felt empty. Something was missing" nothing gave her the joy she was searching for. There were admirers, proposing marriage, but even that did not impress her much.
The bookkeeper at her father's brick factory, a poor young man, gave her a book to read. It was the Bible. One day, feeling empty and joyless, she took the book and went to the beach, which was less than a mile from her home.
She started reading and, although she was a God-fearing person and had practised her religion faithfully, she could not understand much of what she read. Then she came across a short portion that got her attention. She read it over and over again. Then she read it out loud:
- 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. (John 3:16)
Tears poured down her cheeks. She fell to the ground and, with all her strength, she cried out, "God, heavenly Father, thank you for loving me so much. Thank you for sending your Son to save me, too. God, forgive me, the sinner. I promise to serve you for the rest of my life."
She got up and said, "God, I love you more than anything or anyone else in the world. Please, Jesus, take my life and my all and be my Lord."
She returned home a new person. She removed all her jewelry and gathered whatever she thought was worldly or vain and got rid of them. Then she ran to her mother and told her that she had found what she was searching for: peace, joy and life. She could not keep the wonderful news to herself. She shared it with everyone she met.
Eventually she told those who were interested in her and the man who wanted to marry her that she was a new person and that her life was going to be lived for Jesus, her Lord and Saviour.
Not long after her conversion, she was married to the bookkeeper who had given her the Bible. He was a born-again believer who was anxious to share the gospel with all those who would listen. They became a wonderful team and were blessed with two children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1995. He was a faithful servant who served his Lord until his last breath.
Her testimony always starts something like this: "It was not at a crusade or at a revival meeting, nor even at a church. And, no, it was not even someone showing me the way to Jesus. I was saved on a lonely beach. I was searching for God and God was there to be found. He took my empty life and gave me a new one, a wonderful life, full of excitement. He can do the same for you too."
She is 86 years old today and still serving her Lord. She has a prayer ministry going all day - two telephone lines ringing all the time, with people calling her to pray with them over the telephone. She still is excited about her Lord.
You may have already guessed that this woman is my mother - my teacher, my friend and one of the prayer warriors who daily pray for my ministry and for me.
Do you think the believer's life is not exciting, that God does not answer prayer? If you could speak to my mother, Ovsanna (Hosanna), you would see that her excitement of serving the Lord, instead of decreasing, grows by the hour.
Are you experiencing the joy of your salvation? I hope you are!
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Publisher Information
od's Workshop was published in June 2001 by Guardian Books (Essence Group).
Author: Joseph Hovsep Hovsepian
Editor: Ann-Margret Hovsepian
Cover design: George Toufexis
Interior page design: Ann-Margret Hovsepian
To get your own copy of God's Workshop, please contact Good News Ministries at goodnewsministries@canada.com
God's Workshop is also available at Christian bookstores in Montreal. You
can also order it through regular
bookstores and on-line.
To hear Pastor Hovsepian's radio program (Montreal region), tune in to WCHP Champlain (760AM) every weekday at noon.
Pastor Hovsepian's church:
Temple Baptist Church
5815 Durocher Avenue
Outremont, Quebec, H2V 3Y5
Phone: 514-279-9626
E-mail: temple@canada.com
Web site: www.templebaptistmontreal.com
Editor's Note
 t seems fitting to follow this tribute to the author's mother with some words from his daughter.
The legacy of incredible faith and dedication to Jesus Christ, passed on from my grandparents, generation to generation, is awesome. This spiritual inheritance has included a profound desire to share the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ with those around us. And that's the call my father has been responding to for the past forty years or so - from his electronics workshop, from the church pulpit and, more recently, over radio air waves.
This book reflects a life spent in God's workshop, both as a clay jar (2 Corinthians 4:7) and as a tool (Proverbs 27:17). It is a sample collection of his sermons, articles and radio messages, and even a few of his poems (highlighted as "coffee breaks" in Part One).
After a number of people suggested that my father compile these meditations into a book, encouraging him to share his insights with a larger audience, he prayed about it and decided that God was indeed calling him to publish this book. And at last, after a lot of hard work, here it is.
The book is divided into three sections, following a Christian's progress through "God's Workshop": our redemption and salvation through His grace, our spiritual growth as He works on and shapes our lives, and our deeper maturity as He refines us through our Christian service and through the challenges we face. Each meditation has a suggested Scripture reading and can be used as a daily devotional.
It has been a wonderful privilege for me to work on this book and my prayer is that you will be as inspired and encouraged by these devotionals as I was while I read and proofread and read them again!
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