Archives: Episode

December 8. Tim Tebow. As a quarterback for University of Florida, on this date in 2007, Tim won the Heisman Trophy—the first sophomore to ever earn that honor. He also won two national championships and went on to the NFL. 

Then he switched to baseball and signed on with an AA minor-league team. He used his football savings to upgrade the team’s meals and buy equipment for them. The next season he was called to the New York Jets. 

He founded the Tim Tebow Foundation and started a movement that has swept the nation. It’s called A Night to Shine, and it’s a local church-supported extravaganza for people with special needs. Churches staff the place with trainers, hairdressers, makeup people, and escorts. They dress up the guests of honor and treat them to an evening prom with all the trimmings. 

Tim said, “Being outspoken about my faith isn’t just something that I do; it’s who I am because my faith isn’t just a little piece of my life. It is my life.” 

Sometimes, the best way to stand up for what you believe is to kneel. 

Before he played baseball, Tim Tebow played football. Before his Florida-Gator years—when he led his college team to win two division championships, before the day he won the Heisman Trophy, before he began his professional-football career with the Denver Broncos and three other NFL teams, Tebow was a high-school sophomore who loved Jesus. 

The scent of the crisp autumn air mixed with popcorn and tangible excitement. Fans in green-and-white filled the bleachers. Friday-night high-school-football had begun. With more energy than a boatload of Red Bull, the cheerleaders led the crowd, and the Allen D. Nease High School football team took the field. 

The display of testosterone coupled with deep calls of “Let’s do this!” And the crowd yelled even louder. They could feel the win that was headed their way. 

Then one player put a little distance between himself and his teammates, and he knelt. On the field, in front of all those people, he knelt. He thanked God for the opportunity and his ability to play. 

And after the game—Tim knelt and thanked God again—an action that would become known in the NFL as “tebowing.” 

During his sophomore year, Tebow was brutally tackled early in the game. And after he got up, he limped a bit. 

“It’s just a bruise, toughen up,” the coach said. “He didn’t want to come out anyway, so I told him, ‘This is the stuff legends are made of. Keep going, keep going.’” 

As the game wore on Tim’s limp became more and more obvious. He hobbled through the fourth quarter. And as he ran twenty-nine yards for a touchdown to tie up the score, Tebow’s gait resembled a toddler tottering urgently to seize a toy. 

By the end of the game, Tebow could hardly stand. But he managed to kneel after the game and thank God for the opportunity and his ability to play. 

After the game when they x-rayed his leg, it showed a fracture—a jagged break. 

The God before whom Tim Tebow knelt is the same God who gave Tim enough strength and perseverance to play almost an entire game of football on a broken leg. And God gave Tim the perseverance that led him to play professional baseball after his football career ended. 

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:33 ESV). 

What do you believe in so much that you would stand for, even if others do not? Sometimes, the best way to stand up for what you believe is to kneel. 

Borden, Sam. “Backup to Starter to Phenomenon. Repeat.” New York Times. March 30, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/sports/football/mania-for-tim-tebow-rooted-in-big-moments.html.  

Peter, Josh. “Tim Tebow not happy about ‘Tebowing’ being brought into national anthem protests debate.” USA Today. June 8, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2018/06/08/tim-tebow-kneeling-national-anthem/686533002/. 

Townsend, Mark. “Tim Tebow fires back at people misrepresenting ‘Tebowing’ photo as national anthem protest.” AOL. June 10, 2018. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/10/tim-tebow-fires-back-at-people-misrepresenting-tebowing-photo-as-national-anthem-protest/23455303/. 

Story read by Nathan Walker 

December 6. John Perkins. John was born on a Southern plantation, with no father and a mother who died when he was seven months old. She died of malnutrition—in 1930—in the United States. John went on to become janitor, welder, equipment designer, Bible teacher, civil-rights activist, and community developer, and he has written fifteen books. On this date in 2006, John published Let Justice Roll Down. 

He has spent 50 years leading demonstrations and filing lawsuits on behalf of Black Americans regarding equal pay, hiring practices, poor treatment of inmates, and voting rights, and he always champions forgiveness. 

At the time of this writing, John is 89 years old and still fighting against racism and for justice and forgiveness. About continued racism in the US, John wrote: “This is a God-sized problem. It is one that only the church, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can heal. It requires the quality of love that only our Savior can provide.” 

Out-love the people who live to hate. 

In the early seventies in the deep south—long after slavery had ended—bigotry and segregation persisted vigorously. But John Perkins and his supporters had made up their minds to change that. 

After some supporters attended a peaceful civil-rights protest in the streets of Brenden, Mississippi, they got into their cars and headed home. Suddenly the sound of police sirens broke their laughter. They pulled to the curb, lights flashed behind them, and officers approached their vehicle. 

One by one, the protesters were escorted from the car, arrested—and beaten without cause. The police stuffed the men into patrol cars and drove them to the county jail. 

Perkins, a local leader who had organized the protest, got word of what had happened, and raced to the jail to get his innocent friends out. 

But the Sheriff of Brenden was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and not at all happy about the uprising Perkins had started. So, when Perkins arrived at the jail, he met the fury of the local police force and was brutally attacked. The corrupt policemen dragged Perkins into the jailhouse. 

From the cold, concrete floor of the jail cell, Perkins cried out for mercy, as round-after-round of feet, fists, and clubs landed on his head, ribs, and groin. Perkins realized the same hate was rising in him, too. “I discovered that I hated them back, and I hated them as much as they hated me. I saw that I was a bigot, too.” 

Perkins told God that if He got him out of that jail alive, he would dedicate his life to preaching the Gospel. The Gospel would overcome the hate that he saw in them, and in himself. 

Days later, in his hospital room, Perkins was surrounded by the steady beep of a heart monitor, the chatter of nurses in the hall—and a staff of kind, white people. But he wanted nothing to do with them. 

“One of my Doctors was white. He would come and sit with me every night at the hospital until I’d go to sleep … I was out-loved by those people I needed to hate,” Perkins said. 

Through this first-hand experience with the power of hatred, Perkins had come to see its root—not as a racial problem—but as a spiritual problem. 

He realized we all need the Savior. We all need to be healed. Miraculously, Perkins was transformed by the Spirit of God and was able to sincerely forgive. He returned good for evil, and God filled him with a love for his enemies. 

“How satisfied you are when you demonstrate tender mercy! For tender mercy will be demonstrated to you” (Matthew 5:7 TPT). 

Is there an injustice you’ve encountered that could be overcome with God’s love? Out-love the people who live to hate. 

“Improving Race Relations: An interview with John Perkins.” Accessed August 16, 2020. https://youtu.be/fG5YNduwF-Y .  

 Perkins, John M. Let Justice Roll Down. Ada, Michigan: Baker Books, 2012.  

Story read by Nathan Walker 

Story written by Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/ 

December 5. Joseph Hovsepian. At 12, Joseph gave his life to the Lord Jesus. At 17, Joseph volunteered to serve in the Royal Greek Air Force as a wireless engineer and he served the king’s plane. At 20, he traveled 10 days at sea, 2 days by train, and arrived in Montreal—“tired, sick, and almost penniless.” Two days later, he met the people from Temple Baptist Church, and he was home. For 60 years, he has served that church, the last 36 years as its volunteer pastor. 

Joseph “has baptized close to 200 people, many of them from non-Christian backgrounds and faiths. Two tracts he wrote have been reproduced millions of times and distributed locally and around the world, one of them in 12 languages. He has been on the radio every day for over 12 years with a 5-minute inspiration message at noon. His devotional book, God’s Workshop, was recently translated into Eastern Armenian and is being distributed freely in Armenia and surrounding areas.” 

Let the spark that ignites your passion become a flame that burns with purpose. 

From an early age, a main theme of Joseph’s life could be labeled: shenanigans. 

The first time he tinkered with electronics, he was ten years old. He discovered that touching the ends of a nail to the poles on his father’s motorcycle battery created a bright glow. And he gleefully continued this experiment until the inevitable happened. 

The next morning, when his father tried to start the motorcycle, the battery was dead, Father was unhappy, but Joseph’s love for electronics sprung to life. 

Another time, he mystified his grandfather. Young Joseph invented a mechanism connected to the bedroom-ceiling light. When Grandfather lay his head on the pillow, the light turned on. And when the old man sat up, the light turned off. Not everyone involved was entirely amused. 

But the spark inside Joseph never stopped glowing, and eventually it led to a successful career selling and repairing radios and other electronics. 

Today, his 80-year-old hands, head, and heart are still in the fixing business. He has a shop, and it services antique radios. So one of the themes of his life has shifted from shenanigans to restoration. 

Some of the radios and tape recorders he gets have been neglected for years in a basement or garage. Opening them up often reveals dirt, dead bugs, and even mouse droppings. The wiring and parts inside may be rusty, dried up, melted, or burned. The exterior may be scratched up and discolored. 

But Joseph takes great pleasure in the process of restoring each piece brought to him. He says, “While I work on these units, I think of God and His workshop, where He takes battered and neglected lives and deals with every little part of them. He fixes what’s broken, cleans and polishes what’s tarnished or soiled, and refines the entire person. He removes bad habits and vices that have affected the lost soul. Sometimes the process is quick, but other times it’s more painful.” 

“So whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV). 

Understanding the difference that a masterful touch can make to a radio or a person, Joseph approaches people with care and compassion, knowing they can be restored with God’s help. His business is part of his mission field, and he grabs every opportunity to talk with his customers about faith, their eternal souls, and the God who loves them. 

Next to his business cards on the service counter sit gospel tracts and New Testaments. 

“I have seen many radios that were discarded become useful and enjoyable again,” he said. “I have also seen many broken and rejected souls come back to life after the Master Technician touched them and restored them.” 

Do you have a talent that could meet someone’s need? Let the spark that ignites your passion become a flame that burns with purpose. 

Based on an interview with Joseph Hovsepian, 2019. 

Joseph Hovsepian Ministries. “Joseph (Hovsep) Hovsepian.” Accessed August 14, 2020. josephhovsepianministries.com/​joseph-hovsep-hovsepian/.  

Story read by Blake Mattocks 

December 4. AW Tozer. The main thing about Tozer was that he was obsessed with the holiness and the goodness and the glory of God. And he wanted everyone to know that awesome Being. 

Although Tozer was self-taught—he wrote more than forty books, and two of them are Christian classics. He never attended seminary, but he pastored for forty-four years. He lived a simple, non-materialistic life, never owned a car, and had six sons and a daughter. He believed the church was headed the wrong way and in danger of compromising with the world, and he was never shy about it, but spoke up every chance he got. 

For thirteen years, Tozer was also a magazine editor. In his first editorial he wrote: “It will cost something to walk slow in the parade of the ages, while excited men of time rush about—confusing motion with progress. But it will pay in the long run, and the true Christian is not much interested in anything short of that.” 

Find the courage to speak; God will bring the power to change. 

When seventeen-year-old Tozer wasn’t making a living selling “candy, peanuts, and books on the Vicksburg and Pacific Railroad or hand-cutting rubber for Goodyear,” he spent his days with his head buried in any book, dreaming of wild adventures. Although he regularly attended church with his family, he was unaware of his need for salvation—until a neighbor dared to ask him what no one had ever asked him before. 

Tozer told the story: “We had a neighbor by the name of Holman. I do not know his first name or initials. I had heard that he was a Christian, but he never talked to me about Christ. Then one day, I was walking up the street with this friendly neighbor. Suddenly, he put his hand on my shoulder. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘I have been wondering if you are a Christian, if you are converted. I just wanted the chance to talk it over with you.’” 

Tozer replied politely, “No, Mr. Holman, I am not converted, but I thank you for saying this to me. I am going to give it some serious thought.” Tozer then bid Mr. Holman goodbye and went about his business, outwardly unchanged by the conversation. 

A few days later, when walking home from work, Tozer was shocked to see a German man shouting on a street corner in a thick, almost incomprehensible accent. Being a curious boy, Tozer ambled over to listen carefully. 

This strange man was a street preacher, and what he said next hit Tozer harder than a hammer to the chest: “If you don’t know how to be saved, just call on God, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner,’ and God will hear you.” 

For the first time in his life, a preacher’s words burned on Tozer’s heart, and not only that, “They troubled him. They awakened within him a gnawing hunger for God.” 

He went straight to the attic and after much anguish of heart, he surrendered his life to God. And that afternoon in 1915, Tozer became a new man in Christ Jesus. He became a man whose pursuit of God would never end. 

Neither Tozer’s neighbor nor the street preacher could have imagined the profound impact their words had made on the boy, or how their kindness and courage had changed him. Nor could they have perceived that his books, In Pursuit of God and Delighting in God would be read by millions of people. 

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21 NIV). 

Is there someone in your life who needs to hear the life-changing news of Jesus? Take a minute today to ask the Lord for courage to share with them. Your words may change them forever. 

Find the courage to speak; God will bring the power to change. 

Snyder, James, L. The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God. Bloomington, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 2009. 

Hobson, John. On the Trail of A. W. Tozer: A Biography. Frome, Somerset, UK: John Hobson, 2015. 

Story read by Daniel Carpenter 

December 2. Michael Lovold. On this date in 2016, Michael completed the last of seven major surgeries that had left him in chronic pain in a downward spiral. And when he had come to the end of his resources, God gave him a whole new life. Here’s how it happened. 

When you’ve pitched your tent at rock bottom, let God turn your pain into purpose. 

In the dead of summer, Michael parked his car in his driveway so his buddy wouldn’t notice his whisky plates. He had gotten a DUI a few weeks before, and the shame bore down on him. And his buddy would be dropping by soon. 

For fifteen years, Michael had struggled through chronic, physical pain, which led to four back surgeries and three hip surgeries. 

Along the way, he had lost his job and ended up on Social Security Disability. This crushing blow stripped away his role—a big part of his identity—family provider. All he had done was work hard for his wife and three daughters. No more. 

Why had God brought him here? What would he do now? What was his purpose in life? 

His last surgery was the most successful. His pain subsided some. Never completely gone, but enough to get off pain medication. 

But the agony of not being able to physically work a regular job ate at him, so to escape, he thought, why not have a beer? And then another, and another. Like so many other times, instead of Michael having control of the substance, the substance took control of him. 

And then the DUI. English teachers might think “rock bottom” is a cliché, but Michael knew differently. He had pitched his tent there, and the tent had collapsed on his head. 

But God did not abandon Michael. Michael never took another sip of alcohol. 

Now, in the driveway, he looked at the car again, hoping his buddy wouldn’t notice the license plates that screamed, “DUI!” 

But as soon as he got there, the buddy announced, “You got whiskey plates!” 

It was a punch in the gut. Michael didn’t know what to say. 

“I’ve had those before,” the buddy said. “I’ve had a couple DUIs. Before you know it, Mikey, this will be so far behind you, you won’t even believe it.” 

Maybe he wasn’t alone. 

“I’ll pick you up on Sunday and take you to an AA meeting not far from here, if ya want. I usually go every week,” he said. 

Michael never wanted to be controlled by alcohol or any other substance again, so he said yes, and he went to that AA meeting, and for the first time in his life, he embraced it. Praying to God for another chance in life—with his wife, with his daughters, with himself—he continued going every week, and then other meetings besides that. 

He made new friends there, who had stories similar to his. Weekly coffee meetings with them started happening on a regular basis. He really wasn’t alone anymore, and in Michael, they had found a true friend. 

His buddy, who had first brought Michael to the AA meeting, encouraged him to take on some leadership roles, which he did. And that’s when Michael started realizing his life, his experiences—both good and bad—were worthwhile. 

Michael had been good at drinking beer. And he had been good at being a friend. Now he was good at being sober with his friends. He found himself on a path of doing something different and good and a perfect fit for him—he had a purpose in life. 

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). 

What are you struggling with right now? Big stuff? Not so big? When you’ve pitched your tent at rock bottom, let God turn your pain into purpose. 

Based on an interview with Michael Lovold, 2019. 

Story read by Nathan Walker 

December 1. Duncan Campbell. On this date in 1982, Channel of Revival: Biography of Duncan Campbell was published. Duncan was a man who trusted God and obeyed Him. Once, he was sitting near the pulpit at a church convention, when an overpowering urge to go to the island overcame him. 

He had never been there, didn’t know anyone from there, but he had to go. So, he got up and left in the middle of the meeting, leaving them without a closing speaker. A couple of planes, a car ride, and a ferry steroidi italia later, Duncan arrived at the island Berneray, population 500. 

When he arrived, he asked a boy to point him to the preacher, but the boy said both churches were pastor-less. To an elder, then. The boy pointed to a house on a nearby hill. 

Duncan trekked up there and sent the boy in to tell the elder that Mr. Campbell had arrived. After a few minutes, the boy came back and said, “Hector McKennon was expecting you to arrive today. And you are to stay with his brother. And he asked me to tell you that he has initiated a meeting at the church at 9:00 tonight and he expects you to address it.” 

Turned out, Hector McKennon had been out in his barn praying for God to send someone to lead a revival. McKennon’s wife heard him pray, “God, I do not know where he is, but you know, and you send him.” 

And God did. 

Today’s story is about a time when Duncan was young, and his heart was far from God. 

Pride can harden the heart of a child, but a praying parent can make a difference. 

Above the shrill and haunting sounds of bagpipes and Scottish step-dancing, young Duncan was drenched in sweat. 

His bagpipe music filled the air, and his band—with its lively Scottish step-dancing—had the dancefloor jumping, when a gentleman from the crowd approached the stage and requested a traditional Scottish song, “The Green Hills of Tyrone”—a song Duncan remembered from his childhood. 

When the band started playing the song, memories flooded Duncan’s mind. “As I came to the second part of that great tune, I found my mind altogether wandering …” back to a time when his family had sung this song together in their times of worship at home. 

In that moment, he heard the still small voice, and couldn’t respond fast enough. 

By the time the group finished the song, Duncan was so gripped by the Holy Spirit that he told the other players to carry on without him. 

One of the bandmates asked him, “Are you not well?” 

“I am very well in body, but terribly disturbed in my mind,” Duncan said. 

He left the stage immediately and headed home. Conviction consumed him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. On the way, he spotted a church with a light on inside. Duncan peeked through the keyhole. 

On this evening, the church was having an all-night prayer meeting. He saw man standing at the altar crying out to God. Duncan stepped inside and realized the praying man was his own father. “I’m sure he was praying for his wayward son,” said Duncan. Even though Duncan had been brought up in a sincere home of faith, as a young man he lived a godless life. 

In full Scottish costume, he made his way toward the front. He walked up the aisle and sat beside his father. 

His father turned to look at him, as if he had expected his son to walk in, as if he had had no doubt God was going to answer his prayers for his son that night. His father said, “I’m glad to see you here.” 

A young woman read from the Scriptures: “For God may speak in one way, or in another, yet man does not perceive it” (Job 33:14 NKJV). 

These words pierced Duncan’s heart like a holy arrow. The love and conviction of God overwhelmed him, and he left the church in a hurry so as not to cause a scene. 

On his way home, his conversation with the Lord intensified. “If I prayed one time along that country road, I’m sure I prayed ten times, crying to God to have mercy on me. I saw myself … sinful.” 

At home, he found his mother on her knees by the fire, praying. “I’m sure she too was praying for her wayward son,” Duncan said. 

Duncan got alone and cried out to the Lord. “‘Oh, God, I know not how to come, and I know not what to do, but if you’ll take me as I am, I’m coming now.’ And God … swept into my life. It was miraculous. It was supernatural,” he said. 

“Oh, thank God for Christian parents,” he said as he looked back on that night. 

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV). 

Do you have a loved one who needs Jesus? Pride can harden the heart of a child, but a praying parent can make a difference. 

“Brief Biography of Duncan Campbell.” oChristian.com. Accessed July 6, 2020. http://articles.ochristian.com/article13380.shtml. 

Campbell, Duncan. “Duncan Campbell Saved and Sanctified.” Accessed June 29, 2020. http://​www.sermonindex.net/​modules/​articles/​index.php?%20view=article&aid=10397. 

Story read by Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/ 

Story written by Shelli Mandeville, https://worthy.life/