The Veil Removed

Jesus spoke the truth of God, and when God's truth penetrates our hearts, life change occurs.  We read in John 8:
30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Transformation occurred as Jesus taught.  The Bible teaches that the entrance of His words into our hearts and minds can ultimately result in life change.  We can encounter our own spiritual breakthroughs as we allow His Word to do its work, opening up our eyes so that we can see Him more clearly and know Him more deeply.  And, those who don't know Him can experience His presence and recognize that they need to be saved.

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God can remove our spiritual blindness, open up our eyes, and show us the path to freedom in Christ. In 2nd Corinthians 3, Paul is speaking of those who do not accept the Word of Christ. He writes:
16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

One could say that Crystal DiGregorio had it all: she was making almost $400,000 a year, lived in a $10 million home, and owned "a handful of luxury cars."  And, she walked away from it all: she found it hard to find a job and eventually went bankrupt.

What would possess someone to walk such a course?  The desire to please God; to leave a lucrative job in the porn industry, according to ChristianHeadlines.com.

The article says:

...one Easter Sunday at a church service she encountered God and it changed her life. DiGregorio knelt down at the altar before God and asked him to save her from an abusive relationship and asked God into her heart.

She told CBN News, “That Moment was a moment of giving hurt and fear to God. I was bawling my eyes out crying and praying for God to release me from the abusive relationship I was in and all the bad things in my life.” She continued, “It was a full surrender.”

The story also relates: "'God removed the veil from my eyes, I started looking at the world differently,' she told Fox. "'I noticed how much people were being hurt by the porn industry and I never really thought of it before that.'"

CBN also reports:

When she tried to transition out of porn, her reputation preceded her. Several employers fired her when they found out about her past life and her son was bullied for her decisions.

Crystal says giving up stardom was worth it.

"I left the money and limelight of that world and I'm more peaceful now with the Lord because I don't have to be the sex object, I don't worry about money, I just worry about my soul and becoming a better person every day," she told CBN News.

Christian Headlines reports: "eventually she became a Christian counselor. The former porn star uses her testimony to encourage others working in the sex industry to give their lives to Jesus."

CBN quotes Crystal DiGregorio-Bassette, who is a mother of three:

"My story has given people hope that God can forgive and change us, no matter what your past is. I hope people learn more about the Lord and want to get to know him," she said.

The article continues:

When asked how Christians can pray for sex workers, Crystal says: "Pray that the veil from their eyes get removed! That the industry causes pain and that God will reveal it to them."

That is a powerful statement - we know that the enemy will blind us; Jesus wants us to see Him and lead us to a breakthrough.  The Word of God, activated by the Spirit of God, can enlighten the minds of those who do not know Him and can illuminate our minds so that we might know Him better.  And, we can always remember that no person is beyond the grace of God; someone may have looked at Crystal and thought she was too far gone, too embedded within a corrupt industry.  But, we can continue to hold out hope.

It is important that we understand the pervasiveness of pornography. And, there is less of a moral stigma to it - a Gallup poll last year found that, according to the study summary, "Forty-three percent of Americans now believe pornography is 'morally acceptable,' a seven-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest level since Gallup first began measuring moral perceptions of pornography in 2011."

We can always remember to be aggressive toward sin in our lives; porn is not a problem for everyone, but there are certainly so many other areas in which we are tempted and vulnerable to sin - we are all sinners and need the grace and power of God.  We can take the necessary steps to confess our sins, receive forgiveness, repent, and depend on God's power to walk in His freedom.