Three years ago today, 49 men headed to a thriving gay nightclub in Orlando, unaware it was the last thing they would ever do.
The next morning, our nation would be united in grief and horror at the 49 lives that would be taken that night in a carefully calculated plot by a follower of a demonic religion.
That shooter, who carried out what at the time was the worst shooting in US history, thought that the death and carnage he created would bring glory to his false god.
What he never counted on was the way God would work in the lives of two men and turn a horrific tragedy into an incredibly powerful testimony of His grace and mercy.
Even in the darkest hour, God is always working.
Today, two of the men who made it out alive from the Pulse shooting are more than just survivors–they are saved. Covered in the blood of Jesus Christ, they live today to share the incredible power of His Word and His sacrifice, and they’ve dedicated their lives to spreading this Good News to anyone and everyone they can.
“In the Early Morning of June 12, 2016 as I was laying on the ground inside of Pulse Nightclub, shot multiple Times and a shattered Femur, I made a pact with God,” writes Angel Colon.
“I Promised him I would worship and serve him for the Rest of my Life. I’m so grateful to be Here today, working for the Kingdom and winning souls for My King. Thank You Father for always taking care of me and giving me strength every single day. I LOVE YOU.”
“I should have been number 50!” says another survivor, Luis Ruiz who shared his powerful testimony just before the Freedom March in Washington DC last month, which he and Colon attended:
Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My struggles were real! The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ Jesus. I’ve grown to know His love in a deeper level. 2 out of the 49 were my close friends and are no longer with us. They lost their life that night. I should have been number 50 but now I have the chance to live in relationship and not religion – not just loving Christ but being in love with Christ and sharing His love. I know who I am and I am not defined with who the enemy says I use to be – but who Christ Jesus says I am.
Colon and Angel both survived the Pulse shooting, and both went on not only to find redemption in Christ, but to tell the world that there IS such a thing as an ex-gay, and they are, quite literally, living proof.
The world wants you to think that the desires of your flesh are an irreversible part of who you are, but these amazing young soldiers in Christ are here, alive, today to tell you that Christ can work in anyone, no matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you are going through.
Please keep the families and loved ones of the victims of the Pulse shooting in prayer today and pray they can all find redemption and comfort in God our Savior.
