“Frasier” actor Kelsey Grammer opened up about how he “cursed God” following the murder of his sister, but love — and a “reawakening” that happened while promoting the film “Jesus Revolution” — restored his faith.

In the wake of his younger sister’s brutal murder nearly 50 years ago, the 70-year-old Emmy-winning actor said his grief was so intense it shattered what little remained of his faith.

“When the deaths occurred, starting with my grandfather, and then my dad — and I didn’t really know my dad — and then when Karen was killed, hanging on to what I’d always seen as a kind of gift of faith, became … hollow faith,” Grammer told Fox News Digital. “It wasn’t working. I thought, ‘Why did I lose this? What happened?’ I felt betrayed by it. And, so, I sort of cursed God at one point and said, ‘You know, hey, I’d rather you didn’t bother to help at this point because, honestly, this was colossal. I’m not interested.’”

Grammer, best known for his role as Dr. Frasier Crane in “Frasier” and “Cheers,” was only 20 years old and studying theater at Juilliard in 1975 when his sister, Karen, 18, was kidnapped outside the Red Lobster where she worked in Colorado Springs. The men who abducted her intended to rob the restaurant but instead took Karen, raped her repeatedly, and stabbed her to death.

Her killer, Freddie Glenn, was convicted in 1976 of Karen’s murder and the murders of two other people. Although the Colorado Supreme Court later ruled that Glenn could seek parole after 30 years, Grammer has twice opposed his release.

“He just thinks it’s been long enough and, so, when do I get out of prison? So, when am I done with mine then? Because I’m still stuck,” Grammer said. “And although this book has helped release a great deal of that feeling, there is a kind of … well, ‘We’re in this together, Freddie, you and me.’ And … if I don’t get free, you’re not either.”

Grammer shared these reflections in his memoir, Karen: A Brother Remembers, which honors his sister’s life and recounts the devastating impact of her loss.

“She was my best friend and the best person I knew,” Grammer wrote in a letter to the parole board in 2009. “She had so much to live for. I loved my sister, Karen. I miss her. I miss her in my bones. I was her big brother. I was supposed to protect her — I could not. I have never gotten over it. … It very nearly destroyed me.”

Karen’s murder was not the first tragedy Grammer experienced. At age 13, his father was shot and killed during a home invasion. Following Karen’s death, his two half-brothers, Stephen and Billy, died in a scuba diving accident in the Virgin Islands.

In his darkest moments, Grammer said he turned away from God, but he now urges others facing tragedy not to follow the same path.

“I would advise people to step away from that. If I could, I would say, rather than turn away from God, turn toward Him in these situations,” he said. “Because it doesn’t [mean] God’s out to get you. But it feels like that sometimes. And that was very hard.”

Over time, Grammer said, love and family helped rebuild the faith he had nearly lost. His wife, Kayte Walsh, and their three children — including a daughter named Faith — brought healing to his life.

“By virtue of writing this book, my faith has gained a little ground. By virtue of meeting Kayte, by virtue of living through what we’ve lived through as well, has fortified my faith,” he said.

Grammar played Pastor Chuck Smith in the faith-based film “Jesus Revolution.” The actor told the Los Angeles Times that the biggest “reawakening” of his faith came while promoting the 2023 film, which dramatizes the “Jesus Movement” of the 1970s.

“I don’t go out proselytizing, but I am not going to deny my faith; I’m not going to deny Jesus Christ,” Grammer said.

“Jesus Revolution” went on to be a significant box office success; produced on a $15 million budget, the film grossed over $51.7 million domestically, more than tripling its production costs.

The award-winning actor has openly discussed his beliefs in recent years and how the road back to God wasn’t exactly easy.

“I’ve had hiccups,” he told USA Today of his faith journey. “I’ve had some tragic times. I have wrestled with those and worked my way through them: sometimes rejecting faith, sometimes rejecting God even, in a period of being pretty angry about it, like, “Where were you?” That kind of thing. But I have come to terms with it and have found great peace in my faith and in Jesus. It’s not cavalier — Jesus made a difference in my life. That’s not anything I’ll apologize for.”

In 2024 appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” he shared how, as a boy, he “would walk […] hand-in-hand with the idea of God’s Word, and God, and Jesus, and stuff like that,” but “difficult things” in his life prompted him to walk away from the faith.

“I cursed God and said, ‘No thanks. I don’t need your help. I’d rather just handle this alone if this is the way it’s going to be.’”

“And eventually, I just kind of got back on track and met — re-met Jesus — I guess you could say, and I carry Him with me, and it’s been a great thing.”
Sources:Christianpost

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Actor Jesse Hutch is most known for his TV and acting career, but the devout Christian is also an outspoken man of faith who experienced a near-death experience that changed absolutely everything.

Long before he ever considered acting, the “Homestead” star was a whitewater rafting guide while attending college. Hutch said he was a wilderness fan at the time, enjoying all things outdoors — so living that out on the job was a fun-filled experience.

“[Acting] was never on my radar,” Hutch said. “Never in my history of growing up was I ever like, ‘I’m going to be an actor.’ Now, that being said, the one caveat is: I did love movies. I always watched movies. I went to the theater. I collected the movie posters. I loved it.”

One day, while working on a river, things took a turn he could have never expected. It was a beautiful and sunny day, but Hutch said the “water level was at a pretty high peak.”

“This particular rapid … was kicking … and there’s three standing waves,” he recalled, noting he was helping lead others on the water at the time.

With the choppiness of the waterway, Hutch’s boat went upside down, and he was plunged underwater in an area called the “green room” — a place where you’re deep enough to be in a current but where the sunlight is making the water appear green.

“All of a sudden, I just feel this pressure on my body,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Wow, I went down pretty fast.’”

Hutch wasn’t panicking, but he knew he needed to swim out. However, the pressure made it impossible. He was forced to make some tough decisions, including going limp to try and relax his muscles and maximize the oxygen he had left.

“I’m quite logical about it,” Hutch said. “I’m not panicked yet, but I know that I’m running out of oxygen and I can feel that.”

That’s when he realized the situation was “not good.” Unable to hold off any longer, his body naturally tried to breathe in and water began pouring into his lungs.

“It feels like someone pours liquid concrete,” Hutch said. “It’s heavy. It goes in. It felt like every part of my body, like where water doesn’t even go went, and it felt like it was in my arms. It felt like my muscles went dead.”

Realizing his life would very likely end, the actor began to recognize he might be “done,” calling it one of the “scariest moments” of his life.

“I knew in my brain I was finished,” Hutch said. “And, immediately after that, I had 100% peace because I ended up in this position where I was like, ‘OK, I’m in your hands, God … I completely surrender.’”

Ironically, despite the pain, chaos, and uncertainty, Hutch said he felt total peace.

“That was the most peace that I ever felt,” he said.
Sources:faithwire

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Nick Shakoour, who has inspired millions through his portrayal of Zebedee in “The Chosen,” is openly sharing his incredible faith journey.

Shakoour told CBN News his new book, “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography” — which details his path out of darkness and into Christianity” — is a “tribute to God.”

The text recaps his personal story, tackling everything from Shakoour immigrating to America from Lebanon to his radical encounter with Jesus — a stunning, spiritual moment that led him to faith.

Shakoour, whose encounter with Christ came after he started working on “The Chosen,” shared the details behind what unfolded, explaining how new Christian friends made during filming helped lead him into a true walk with the Lord.

“I’ve always said ‘The Chosen’ was a conduit that God used to get me over to Texas,” he said. “Lo and behold, I didn’t think it would lead to a church conference invite with friends that I started to make with the construction crew, and then there are friends outside of the production.”

Shakoour continued, “I started running in all these, I’d say, believer circles. So, it amalgamated to the Holy Spirit encounter. But so much had to happen, as I talk about in the book, starting with my grandfather, Nicholas, who was a Greek Orthodox … spirit-filled priest.”

The actor explains all of this in “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography,” but it’s his radical encounter with the Lord that is perhaps most eye-catching.

“It happened after the church conference was over,” Shakoour said. “We were in an empty arena. It was just me and pretty much nine people praying over me.”

The moment came at a key time in Shakoour’s life, as the actor admitted he had reached a “climax of not understanding the point to life.” Though he wasn’t suicidal, he was deeply struggling and knew he needed something more.

“For some reason, I was thirsty to know who God really was,” he said. “I was growing tired of people telling me to refer to Scripture.”

“[I was like], if this is real, like, where is God? Where is God?’” he recalled. “On the way to the conference, I actually had a physically tangible, I guess you could call it low energy demonic attack … where I felt like I was being swallowed alive and my body froze.”

Shakoour said he ended up terrified by the time he reached the conference, finding himself “completely broken, and disarmed, and desperate.” He said he had no idea where life would be heading after the conference, but ended up leaving totally transformed.

“It was unbelievable because I just thought, ‘OK, they’re they’re coming in. They’re going to pray over me. Great. Good luck with that,’” he said. “And the next thing I knew, when they placed their hands over me and they were praying in what they called speaking in tongues, all I know is what happened was on a cellular level, my cells started to vibrate and it was like I was in a massage chair, man. Like, it was insane.”

Shakoour continued, “A force outside of me was growing larger, and larger, and larger as my body was just almost shivering … quivering in fear. … And, as that was happening.”

He believes he was experiencing the presence of God in those moments, describing the profound impact the ordeal had over his body as the group continued laying hands on him and praying. Shakoour believes it was the moment he received the Holy Spirit.

Initially, he was confused.

“I said, ‘Yeah, but I thought that happened when my grandfather baptized me,’” he said. “And the intercessor there said, ‘Well, that may have been resting on you when your grandfather baptized you, but he’s resting in you.’”

Shakoour then asked if the experience he had was the reason so many of those who prayed over him were “so crazy about Jesus.” He now understood the power in Christ’s presence.

“It really changed everything,” he said.

He’s hoping “Transformer: Awakening From A Spiritual Coma – A Nick Shakoour Autobiography” — a book written in the spirit and excitement of a comic book — will inspire people to look deeper at his journey and to discover the power they, too, can find in the Lord.
Sources:faithwire

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