Sue has a gift for illustrating gospel truths with practical examples from her family life. When she tells me about her heart, she helps me to see mine. She is unabashed in her honesty about herself, and compelling in her passion for Jesus (or "the gospel message"). Her sense of humor often catches you off guard and succinctly drives her point home."
Saundra Cuyler, actress

“When Sue Cortese, my sister-in-law, communicates the gospel to women, I listen and learn. Her instruction always seems to undress my self-righteousness and self-dependence and sends me scurrying to the cross for covering. Why is she so effective?—because she’s soaked in this stuff, she’s biblical, authentic and passionate. She writes and teaches like a desperate mendicant whose found the bread of life and desperately wants you to have it, too.”
Ray Cortese, Senior Pastor of Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church

“Sue’s enthusiasm for her Savior and His word is captivating and inspiring. She makes her subject interesting and understandable. Her lessons are challenging to me, more "meaty” than I had before, and I love it!”
Amy Pavay, high school student

"Sue Cortese has been a friend for many years. Our friendship developed because we were two women who knew how much we needed the bread of the Spirit to sustain us each day. There is not too much written today to help men and women live out of the power of the gospel, which leads to a life of repentance and faith. Sue does this. She is Reformed and Biblical and very honest about her need for the Gospel to impact her life each day. It is always refreshing for me to hear how Christ continues to teach and sustain her, again and again bringing her to humility before the cross of Christ in the hard situations in her life. She honestly cares that women and children take a hold of these truths and live out of them. Recently we went for a walk together and she shared how she sought out children and asked them questions to help them understand themselves and the world in which they live. All along the gospel was applied. Her desire is to put these truths into written form."
Rose Marie Miller, author of From Fear to Freedom

Sue Cortese graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary in 1983. She is married with 5 children. She has written devotional materials for Mission To the World, and a workshop for The Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.  She has spoken at retreats, banquets and World Harvest Mission’s "Sonship Week."

Autobiography

I was powerfully converted to Christ during the “Jesus Movement.” All my life I had felt empty and utterly alone in a cold, lifeless universe. Suddenly I was flooded with the joy of knowing and being known by my Creator.

“What is God like? How do I keep him happy?” These were some of the questions I asked the Christians I was beginning to meet. Meanwhile, Christians brought questions of there own, like: “Do you speak in tongues? Do you believe in the rapture? What version of the Bible do you read?” I began to believe that God was hard to please! I labored to become the best Christian I could. Predictably, my joy began to wane.

Years later, I was utterly frustrated. I had tried so hard to be what I thought God wanted. I had been to seminary, married a pastor and had three young sons. I had excelled at school, but life at home was too hard to manage. I was bored, irritated and completely unable to “fix” my godless attitudes. I knew that Jesus wanted my heart to be full of the patience and love that characterized him. But, the harder I tried to love, the angrier I became. Loving my family was impossible! No one seemed to know how to help me. I felt pressured by Christians to deny my struggles and pretend to be better than I was. But my conscience wouldn’t let me. Finally, one day in total exasperation I yelled at God. “What do you want from me?” Suddenly my suppressed resentment spilled out. “Jesus, if you wanted me this miserable, you did not need to leave heaven and die on the cross!” These were the first honest words I had spoken to him in a long time. As I listened to myself, I knew I was missing something very basic to the “good news” of the Gospel. I finished my prayer with a quiet plea, “Jesus, I am wrong about you somewhere, but I don’t know where! Would you please show me?”

The next day I read a sermon on Romans 4:5 by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones. “To the one who does not work, but believes in the God who justifies the wicked, it is credited righteousness.” The “missing piece” to the Gospel was right there in front of me. God did NOT want me to spend my time working hard to earn his favor. Instead, he wanted me to believe that he is the kind of God who loves to “credit” women as wicked as I am with the “righteousness of Christ.” This verse is in the present tense! My wickedness wasn’t supposed to have disappeared at conversion. What a relief, since I obviously was still wicked! I need God’s grace every day of life! Suddenly my joy returned!

I began to realize that it was right to be honest about my struggles and the incredible Savior who came for women as wicked as I am. I began to teach the good news of the Gospel to Christians. I saw amazing results as women responded to a Savior who came to rescue them, not to condemn them. Every day I am amazed at the power of the Gospel to transform lives, especially mine!