365 Christian Men | 365 Christian Men

September 16. Matt Krueger. Matt was a hard-driving accountant. He was still a very young man when he had a close encounter of the God kind, and it changed his life forever. Here’s his story.

You can’t fight an enemy you don’t know exists, and you can’t fight a battle you don’t know you’re in.

The nurses kept coming back. The results must be wrong. They ran the tests three times. With normal cholesterol levels around 100 to 150, they couldn’t believe that healthy eighteen-year-old Matt’s was over 400. He was a candidate for coronary artery disease. For Matt, it was just business as usual … keep on drinking because life is short; party hard!

Matt was too busy getting on with life to let a medical test interrupt his wild lifestyle. He was in great shape playing sports and he just shrugged off the results and ignored God. He was having too much fun to be bothered with church and a relationship with God.

A few years later, Matt had a heart scan. So much plaque had built up in his arteries that the doctor warned him that he needed immediate surgery. He could have a heart attack or stroke at any moment. The shock overwhelmed him as he came face-to-face with his mortality. The fear of dying during surgery consumed him. What would happen; where would he go? Heaven or hell? The thoughts tormented him, and he put off the surgery.

But Matt’s fear of death began to wreak havoc on his marriage. He could only focus on himself and his wife Marina was left on the outside. She felt like she couldn’t meet his expectations. His fear was becoming a wedge between them. Where was this all headed?

In desperation Matt followed Marina’s lead and started going to church and listening to Christian radio. Finally, the fear became too much for the whole family and he scheduled the surgery. The surgeon was successful in opening up Matt’s arteries, but his fear of dying only got worse. Any pain he felt—he thought was a sign of a heart attack until one morning it finally all came to a head.

“After planting a tree, the previous day, I thought I experienced pain in my left shoulder and arm. Again, fear, anxiety, and paralysis took hold of my mind that morning. I thought this was the big one.”

This time, however, Matt’s fear turned to strength, determination, and resolve. Falling on his knees Matt gave his life to Jesus. “If this was really a heart attack, I asked Jesus to save me in the life to come, and if not, I pledged my belief in him in this life, as well.”

The pain left, and at that moment an overwhelming peace and a fighting determination welled up in Matt. He finally stood up to the bully that had been hounding him for years. “I remember in my prayer that day, literally telling the devil to go pick on someone else. I finally knew who he was, and I was finished with allowing him to torment me.”

It was no longer about Matt … it was about Jesus. His battle with the enemy’s condemnation was over. His struggle with the fear of dying ended when his knees hit the sidewalk that morning. Matt’s past life of running from God ended, and his new life in Jesus began.

Marina was the first to notice the change. “He became selfless. Matt has a heart for God and a heart to serve. He is 110 percent opposite of who he used to be.”

Today Matt and Marina have a strong marriage and family. He lives for serving Christ and sharing his testimony in word and music … standing up to the enemy and standing for Christ.

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV).

Are you ignoring the obvious? You are in danger of living in denial, look in the mirror. You can’t fight an enemy you don’t know exists, and you can’t fight a battle you don’t know you’re in.

Copen, Lisa and Matt Krueger. “Faith Begins When Worry Ends, The Story of Matt Krueger.” Rest Ministries. April 7, 2011. http://restministries.com/blog/2011/04/07/faith-begins-when-worry-ends-the-story-of-matt-krueger/.

Krueger, Matt. Matt Krueger Music. Accessed May 7, 2020. http://mattkruegermusic.com/the-music/.

Matt Krueger: The Heart of the Matter. Christian Broadcasting Network. Accessed May 7, 2020. https://www1.cbn.com/700club/matt-krueger-heart-matter.

Story read by: Joel Carpenter

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 15. Derwin Gray. Gray played in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 1993 after practice, Gray noticed a linebacker who showered, wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed his bible, and walked through the locker room “like a 1970’s pimp.” He strode up to guys and asked, “Do you know Jesus?”

They called him the Naked Preacher, and it took five years since that first nudge for Gray to see the truth. Now he declares: “I am a follower of Jesus whose sole purpose of existence is to love God with all that is within me, love myself in light of how God loves me, and love my fellow human beings compassionately … .”

Nowadays he is lead Pastor of a multiethnic, multigenerational, mission-shaped church in South Carolina. On this date in 2015, Gray published his book: The High Definition Leader.

The void of the absent father is filled by the man who steps up.

From his first middle-school touchdown to his first day on the AstroTurf as defensive back for the Colts, Gray never saw his dad in the stands. Or anywhere in his life. But God sent coaches.

“I don’t want to imagine life without the coaches I had growing up,” Gray said.

His high-school Defensive-back Coach Mike Sullivan was most influential in Gray’s life. Coach Sullivan pushed Gray to limits he hadn’t known he could reach. This was no easy job. Coach Sullivan worked to develop Gray’s character and demanded his best—regardless of the strain it put on their relationship.

When Coach Sullivan named Gray team captain, it went to his head a bit, and Gray decided he could skip a practice.

So, the next day, when he showed up for practice, he discovered he had lost his starting position and his chance to play the next several games. Coach Sullivan was more concerned about Gray’s character than winning the game.

Coach and Gray sat and had ‘the talk.’ As tears welled in Coach Sullivan’s eyes, he reminded Gray of the greatness Coach had seen in him. Speaking like a father, Coach explained that for Gray to reach his potential as a young man, he had to demand the best of himself every day. The best of himself as a football player. And the best of himself as a man of true character.

After that hard conversation, something in Gray shifted. He had a new sense of excitement. And not just for football, but for life. He realized Coach Sullivan had seen who Gray could be, and he was committed to bringing it into existence.

At a future game, Gray sat on the sidelines, watching the team from the bench, when he heard Coach Sullivan shout, “Dewey, get in!” Gray jumped up and shot onto the field like a rocket. And Coach’s call to put him in at that moment carried their team to victory.

Gray had learned that team leaders must lead by example and not from an attitude of privilege. That high-school team, and every team Gray played on afterward, counted on him to be an example of commitment, excellence, and character.

“Coach Sullivan was like a second father to me. He saw the greatness that was buried deep down within me, and he called it out of me by challenging me to step up and be a man,” Gray said.

“For I, as an honest judge,helped the poor in their need and the fatherless who had no one to help them,” (Job 29:12 TLB).

Be on the lookout today for someone you can encourage to reach for their best life. The void of the absent father is filled by the man who steps up.

Grey, Derwin. “Limitless Life.” Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013. p. 77

Story read by: Nathan Walker

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

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

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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365 Christian Men is a project built on some basic truths about God and His character. God cares deeply about each man, and He has a specific purpose for every man’s life. In fact, God wants to tell His stories through the lives of His men.

One man had a vision for the project—to find the real-life stories of Christian men from all walks of life, men from the first century through last week. Some of the stories would be about pastors and missionaries, but he would also feature mechanics, a barber, a former mob boss, a dad, a star football coach, the voice actor for a Star Wars character, and many more!

These very short stories would be about men who have fought their battles, are overcoming their obstacles, and are using the lessons they’ve learned to help others. For this vision to come to fruition, we needed a team, which would include the project manager, more than thirty writers, an editor, an audio engineer, a graphics designer, a website builder and many other talented people who believed in the project’s vision.

For more than two years, the team has worked hard to see that vision come to life. To make that happen, they were committed to several foundational truths:

1. History is shaped by how men live their lives.

2. No man is perfect. Many of the great triumphs in life have come through trials, great fails, setbacks, and heartache.

3. God can use real-life stories to demonstrate His power, His goodness, and His love for men. He can do tremendous things through a man who recognizes his need for God, is willing to submit to His plan, and will trust Him with his future.

September 14. William McKinley. In 1861, McKinley was a 17-year-old teacher in a country school when the Civil War broke out, and he enlisted. By the end of the war in 1865, he was a major. By 1897, he had become the 25th President of the United States. He was a man who knew his duty and did it. On this date in 1901, McKinley died from a gunshot wound, a wound inflicted by an assassin.

Faithfulness to God demands daily decisions.

In July of 1864, 21-year-old Second Lieutenant McKinley found himself on Lieutenant Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes’s staff, currently in the Virginia valley near Kernstown.

The Confederates began firing.

The Union army, having underestimated the South’s strength, retreated. Hayes turned to McKinley, a young man he had come to think of as a son, and gave him a task—a dangerous task that would require more courage than Lieutenant McKinley had ever shown.

“There’s a regiment caught in the orchard, still under fire,” Hayes told McKinley. “We need them to move into retreat—if they haven’t already fallen.”

Years before, McKinley had given his life to the Lord. And he had no doubt of the rightness of the North’s cause. So he put his life in God’s hands and simply mounted his horse and took off toward the advancing enemy and the stranded regiment.

In spite of the constant shelling from the enemy, McKinley charged across open fields while his fellow officers watched in concern. The young man directed his mount to sail over fences in plain view. To forge through ditches. To keep moving forward.

The air filled with vapor from the barrage of cannons, and shells whizzed all around. Then one exploded very near to him; the smoke obscured him from view. All the officers who marked his progress flinched, for Lieutenant McKinley was a favorite with everyone, enlisted and officer alike. They feared Lieutenant Colonel Hayes had sent the promising young man to his death.

Then suddenly, “Out of this smoke emerged his wiry little brown horse with McKinley still firmly seated and as erect as a hussar.” (That’s a Hungarian horseman.)

Hope soared as McKinley reached the orchard. Once there, he directed the stray regiment to join the retreat. After one last volley with the enemy, the regiment followed McKinley to safety. They soon fell in line with their brigade to march back to a more secure position.

Young McKinley returned to the side of his commanding officer. Hayes turned to him, “I never expected to see you in life again,” he said.

McKinley simply smiled, acknowledging he had done the duty asked of him for the sake of the men in that regiment.

“We know love by this, that [Jesus] laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16 NASB).

Faithfulness to God demands daily decisions. Can you be counted on?

Freidel, Frank, and Hugh Sidey. “William McKinley.” The White House. Accessed July 1, 2020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-mckinley/.

Hawks, Steve A. “Two Future U.S. Presidents Fight at Kernstown wayside marker.” Stone Sentinels. Accessed July 1, 2020. http://stonesentinels.com/less-known/battles-of-kernstown/two-future-presidents-wm/.

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

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

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 13. Stubborn Teenager. Today our story is about a man much like you and me. When he was a child, his parents took him to church, but when he became a teenager, he was ready to put away childish things—childish things like church and preaching. This kid was from Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s his story.

If you’re suffering from a stony heart, God’s got the cure.

Before it was the birthplace of NASCAR racing, before it was the home of the NFL’s Panthers, before it was home for the NBA’s Hornets, Charlotte North Carolina was called the most church-going city in the country. And that was before the arrival of Dr. Mordecai Ham.

On the edge of Charlotte, the Christian Men’s Club built themselves a wood building on a steel frame. It may have been a ramshackle structure with a sawdust floor, but it could seat 5,000 people. And those devout men intended to fill it.

They called a self-educated evangelist—Dr. Mordecai Ham. They called him to preach to anyone who would listen. They called for a revival.

Dignified and strong, white-haired Dr. Ham knew his Bible, and he preached up a holy typhoon—morning and evening, six days a week, for eleven weeks.

This is where our mule-minded teenager entered the picture. “Everything I heard or read about [Dr. Ham] made me feel antagonistic toward the whole affair,” the boy said. “It sounded like a religious circus … I did not want anything to do with an evangelist—particularly with such a colorful character as Dr. Ham.” He told his parents he would not be joining them in the audience.

Even when his folks went and had a sort of spiritual awakening, for a whole month, the kid refused to go—until he heard the rumors.

As the high-school kids told it, that white-haired preacher had proof that a house across the street from the school was a den of immoral activity. It was said that kids were buying grain alcohol and the upstairs had been turned into a brothel. And Mordecai Ham meant to shut them down.

But truth was—a Men’s Group leader’s marketing strategy included leaking the news of the brothel to the preacher and getting signed depositions to back up the preacher’s accusations. Mordecai Ham got dubbed “the fighting preacher.” Who could stay away?

When a bunch of high school students decided to resort to might to defend their collective honor, even our church-hating teen couldn’t stay away. He wanted to see the fighting preacher. Mostly, he wanted to see the fight.

He sat in the far back, confident he was untouchable. And after the meeting, the boy couldn’t remember what the preacher had talked about, but he said, “ … I was spellbound. In some indefinable way, he was getting through to me … ”

“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19 ESV).

All the loud talk about sin and hell, and all the feelings that went with that bore down on the teen. Even way in the back row, he became convinced Dr. Ham was preaching right at him.

“Why would the evangelist always be pointing his bony finger at me?” the boy said. “I became deeply convicted about my sinfulness and rebellion. And confused.” After all he had been brought up in the church and doing good deeds.

That’s why he joined the choir—so he could stand on the stage behind the preacher and avoid the old man’s accusatory gaze.

Still, the Holy Spirit found the boy, and for the first time, he realized he didn’t know Jesus for himself. Hand-me-down religion was no longer enough.

So, when the preacher invited sinners to come to the front and find relief, the boy walked down the aisle. He didn’t feel anything and almost went back to his seat, but a tailor he knew came up to him and told him the gospel.

The boy said, “For the first time in my life I got down on my knees without being told to do so. I really wanted to talk to God. ‘Lord, I don’t know what happened to me tonight,’ I prayed. ‘You know. And I thank You for the privilege I’ve had tonight.’”

About the next night, the teen said, “All my father’s mules and horses could not have kept me from getting to that meeting.” He showed up every night for weeks.

And when the revival was over and Charlotte flowed back to normal, it wasn’t too long before the boy realized God had called him to preach. And he did.

Maybe you’ve heard of him. His name was Billy Graham.

Billy went on to preach about God’s love to nearly 215 million people around the world. He met with every sitting US president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. In 2000, he received the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Freedom Award for his enduring contributions to the cause of freedom.

Is there something keeping you from turning your life over to God? If you’re suffering from a hard heart, God’s got the cure.

Bailey, Laura. “The Night Billy Graham Was Born Again.” November 6, 2017. https://billygraham.org/story/the-night-billy-graham-was-born-again/

Graham, Billy. Just As I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham. New York: Harper Collins, 2018.

Hammond, Sarah Ruth. God’s Businessmen: Entrepreneurial Evangelicals in Depression and War. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017. pp. 72–74.

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?

In May of 1934, Christian businessmen in Charlotte, North Carolina, held an all-day prayer meeting on his father’s pasture. Billy Graham’s father, William Franklin Graham, Sr., recalled one of the men’s prayer that day: “That out of Charlotte the Lord would raise up someone to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.”

The Christian Men’s Club who invited Dr Ham to Charlotte, had been established by the fast-moving preacher Billy Sunday ten years before this story.

Story read by: Chuck Stecker

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Story written by: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 12. Majed El Shafie. Majed founded One Free World International, an organization devoted to supporting and speaking for persecuted people around the globe. He works to persuade world leaders to change the way they treat Christians, women, and other minorities.

Today’s story takes place back when Majed still lived in Egypt. He had converted to Christianity, and the persecution hit him fast and furious. Because he was from a prominent legal and political family, Majed tried to work within the Egyptian system to reform the country’s human-rights policies. But—because he was a Christian, because he wouldn’t turn over the names of all the other Christians—when Majed was 22, he was arrested, tortured, and condemned to death. Wait until you hear what happened.

Godly defiance may bring persecution. Be strong.

When Egyptian police broke into Majed’s home, dragged him to the police station, and demanded the names of his coworkers, he refused to turn his friends in.

With others, Majed had founded two underground churches, a bible school, a small clinic, and a newspaper. And he had exposed injustices against religious minorities. He wasn’t about to reveal anybody’s name.

They sent him to Abu Zaabel prison—“hell on earth”—and it almost killed him. For seven days, officers systematically scalded and questioned Majed.

When he still didn’t talk, the officers said they would bring in the dogs. Not just any dogs. German Shepherds. Trained to maim and mutilate.

Majed asked God to let him die before morning.

But the next morning, the sickening smell of sweat and blood hung in the air like a slaughterhouse. Trembling, Majed backed himself into a corner, squatted low, covered his face with his hands.

The cell door opened and three huge panting dogs entered the cell.

“Attack!” an officer commanded.

Majed waited, breathless. But nothing happened.

He slowly uncovered his face.

The dogs sat motionless and looked at Majed.

Astonished, the officers made excuses. Something was wrong. “The dogs must be sick.”

Quickly, the prison officers sent in three more German Shepherds.

“Attack!” an officer commanded.

Majed waited.

One of the dogs licked Majed’s face.

Stymied, the officers took the dogs and left Majed alone. He knew God had delivered him.

The following day, a muscular officer promised Majed anything he wanted in exchange for cooperation.

“Sounds good,” Majed said, “But I need to eat first.” So, they served him Egyptian shish kabob.

Afterward, Majed explained he could provide the name of his leader, but the rest of the Christians were too many to recall. “He knows all of our names,” he said. “I’m only a servant.”

“Well, who is he?” the officer demanded.

“Jesus Christ. If you can catch Him, catch Him.”

The officer knocked Majed across the room and then sent him to be crucified. They sliced his shoulder to the bone and poured in lemon and salt. They tied him to a wooden cross, and he hung upside down more than two days and blacked out. He later awoke in a hospital.

They accused Majed of trying to start a revolution, trying to change the state religion, and worshiping and loving Jesus Christ.

He told the judge, “If loving Christ and if worshipping Him is a crime, I’m guilty as charged, your Honor.”

He was placed under house arrest and sentenced to die in four days. What really hurt was that it was his own uncle who had asked for the death penalty.

But a group of armed Christians showed up at Majed’s home, kidnapped him, and fought off police. They sped him to Alexandria.

“You must leave the country,” they told him. “You can no longer stay in Egypt.”

Majed hid with a Bedouin family in a port city and monitored the border patrols on the sea.

Finally, Majed stole a jet ski and crossed a narrow stretch of the Red Sea. He knew Israeli and Egyptian patrols wouldn’t crossfire, so he evaded Egyptian gunfire by maneuvering between them. He surrendered to Israeli authorities, and they protected him until he obtained political asylum in Canada.

“So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den … At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’

“Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions … . And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God” (Daniel 6: 16–21 NIV).

If loving Christ were a crime, would you be found guilty as charged? Godly defiance may bring persecution. Be strong.

Bernis, Johnathan. “Majed El Shafie, Escape From Egypt.” Jewish Voice Ministries International. “Majed El Shafie, Escape From Egypt.” Accessed June 15, 2012. https: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=AjCpv-KOKLw.

El Shafie, Majed. Freedom Fighte. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers Inc., 2012.

Story read by: Blake Mattocks

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 3. Sádhu Sundar Singh. Sundar was desperate to know the truth about life. He knew it must mean something. In his extremity, he cried out for the One-in-charge to reveal himself—or Sundar would end his own life right then.

And Jesus, the Messiah, revealed Himself to Sundar and recruited him to feed His sheep. On this date in 1905, Sundar was baptized into the body of Christ.

He became a Sádhu—a holy man and teacher—and he traveled and preached throughout the Himalayas and even into Nepal and Tibet, which were closed to the gospel. Today’s story is about one day’s work in Sundar’s life.

Surprise your enemies—don’t try to get revenge.

Dressed in his signature saffron-colored robe and matching turban, his feet bare, Sundar approached the Indian men working in the Markanda field. They were working hard to reap crops under a blazing sun, and he saw men who needed a savior.

He watched them swing their scythes. They listened to him with little more than indifference as he—a sádhu, the Indian word for holy man or sage—talked to them about Jesus Christ.

Gradually, the workers’ disinterest morphed into disapproval. Although Indians have always revered religious men, these men grew impatient with this man’s strange teachings. They rained curses and threats on Sundar, and suddenly a stone sailed through the air and hit its target: the sádhu’s head.

But moments later, the man who had thrown the stone developed such a bad headache that he had to stop working.

Feeling compassion rather than vindication, Sundar picked up the man’s scythe and took his place in the field, working alongside the now-astonished men.

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35 NIV).

The men grew quiet and attentive and Sundar knew that his actions had demonstrated the faith he had been sharing.

At the end of the day, the workers invited him to join them for their evening supper. At home, long into the night they listened to his compelling message about the Christ, and then he left them.

Later, when the men had rested, they went out to take inventory of their harvest. It soon became obvious their yield was much greater than what they had seen in previous years. Shocked and somewhat fearful, they declared to each other that they had surely been visited by a holy man.

An opportunity to disarm an enemy awaits; look for it and take action. Surprise your enemies—don’t try to get revenge.

Parker, Mrs. Arthur. Sádhu Sundar Singh—Called of God. Madras: Christian Literature Society for India, 1919, xiv.

Heiler, Friedrich. The Gospel of Sádhu Sundar Singh, trans. Olive Wyon. Lucknow, IN: Lucknow Publishing House, 1970, 1.

Story read by: Chuck Stecker

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 2. Deano Sargent. Deano was a man who loved God, loved his neighbor, and loved to farm. He was a faithful man. A faithful man who did the job at hand, cared for the people at hand, and didn’t worry himself about getting to the top. Here’s his story.

When you value God’s people, they begin to see their worth.

The tractor motor roared, and Deano kept a steady eye on the horizon, a wake of heartland dust rising behind him. His heart overflowed with gratitude. How could simply serving God and loving others have led him here?

For as long as he could remember, Deano had always hoped of being a farmer, and now he was living the dream.

As a new resident of a small-farming town and rookie farmer, Deano decided to meet his neighbors. Rejecting the scuttlebutt about the “odd” couple who lived in the little red farmhouse, one day Deano showed up on their front porch—with a firm knock and a friendly smile.

The door opened, and a committee greeted him: there was Floyd and Mary and a heap of cats. Deano took Floyd’s leathery hand and pumped. And a unique friendship began.

Deano soon learned that this elderly couple had no children and no one to help them out in their time of need. And Floyd and Mary’s concerns became Deano’s to-do list.

“Everyone has a story, and their story deserves to be heard,” Deano often said.

From then on, Floyd regularly invited Deano to help on the farm. And Deano was happy to serve. He figured that was what God had created him for—and why God had put this love of farming in his soul.

But, in Floyd, Deano also found a farming mentor. And the two men enjoyed a growing bond around their shared love of farming.

One chilly spring morning, Deano got up before the sun made its appearance, and he hopped in his truck. He rumbled down the old gravel road to Floyd and Mary’s farm, and his coffee sloshed in the cupholder.

As he stepped out of his truck, Deano smiled and thought it was a beautiful morning. Without being asked, he had stopped by to spray Floyd’s fields for weeds before he went to work.

From the farmhouse, Floyd had heard the truck pull up and hurried out to see who was there. Surprised to see Deano, especially at this hour, Floyd walked out to the field and said, “Deano, I want you to do something for me. I want you to tell me you will take care of Mary if anything should happen to me.”

Deano was surprised. And with a compassionate smile said, “Sure, Floyd. You bet.” That was it. A short conversation, and they got on with the business of spraying weeds.

In the days ahead, Deano invited Floyd to Stiles Christian Church, where Deano served as an elder. Floyd gave his heart to Christ there, and was thrilled to have finally found a church family who accepted him and loved him like Deano.

And it was this same church family who wrapped their arms around Mary, when Floyd unexpectedly passed away.

From that day on, Deano visited Mary nearly every night, and he brought along caring conversation and a few jokes to brighten her day. He became the son she never had.

Whether taking her for Sunday drives around the farm, or attending special events at her nursing home, he was doing what he did best, planting seeds of love—in God’s creation.

On one of their many drives around the farmland, Mary said to him, “Deano, I want you to have all of this when I’m gone. All 600 acres.” And when she joined Floyd in heaven, she made that happen.

To anyone who would listen, Deano would say, “J.O.Y.—surely means Jesus first, yourself last and others in between.”

“Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love” (Hosea 10:12 NLT).

Is there someone in your life who needs to be reminded of their value? When you value God’s people, they begin to see their worth.

Based on an interview with Sandy Sargent and Melinda Sargent Bray, August 4, 2019.

Story read by: Chuck Stecker

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

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

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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September 1. Alok. Alok was a young man in India—a young man who faced addiction and deception and thought running away was his only choice. But one day, during Alok’s private devotions, God spoke to him and sent him on a whole new adventure.

God gave Alok a new life of purpose. Now Alok leads a group dedicated to planting churches in northern India, where both Hinduism and Buddhism began. When Alok started preaching, not even one percent of the people there were Christians, but today there are more than a million Christians and 22,000 churches!

Running from God? He has a rescue plan.

When Alok was in his teens, too often he had watched his parents crying and begging the gods to help him. I cannot be a good man, thought Alok.

Alok wanted to be a good man. He wanted to please his parents. And he wanted to please the three-eyed Hindu god, Shiva.

Because Shiva loved marijuana, Alok smoked it. This would help Alok build a relationship with him. Instead Alok was trapped. Powerless to break his addiction to marijuana, drugs, and alcohol, he left home and planned to kill himself. Maybe they will be sad one or two days, thought Alok. But then their suffering will be over.

Now, far from home, Alok stared at the nearby railroad tracks. He would try to please Shiva one last time. If the god didn’t communicate, Alok would lie on the shining metal. Smoking marijuana and drinking, he refused to sleep or eat, but he chanted all night and all day. The gods required Alok to chant his mantra 108,000 times. It was impossible to count, but surely two days of chanting would get Shiva’s attention.

Nothing happened.

“There is no god,” Alok said. “Just darkness and death, so I must go and die.”

Indulging in one last alcoholic binge, Alok stared toward the railroad tracks when a painter caught his attention. A new message gleamed on the building across the street. It read: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NIV).

In a drunken stupor Alok danced and sang out, “Jesus, if it is true, please save me because I’m going to die!” Then he passed out.

Alok awoke in a bed and tried to get up, but he had a fever and was vomiting. He slept fitfully throughout the day. About five o’clock, he heard someone say, “Alok, get up.”

Where had the voice come from? Weak, he crept from bed, looked beneath it and all around the empty room. There was no one there. He got back into bed, fully awake, and Someone touched his back.

He jumped.

“Alok, get up.” The voice was sweet and soft, like a father calling his son, but Alok saw no one.

Terrified, Alok clambered out of the bed, and he ran. He ran out of the building.

Outside, the falling rain streaked his face, and the wind whipped about him. He stared across the street, and a song floated from a building over there. “Jesus is calling you,” sang a chorus of voices.

A presence propelled Alok forward. As he reached the building, his bones began cracking, and a black shadow came out of his body!

“You have come to a good place, my friend,” the people in the building said. “God loves you.”

A god loved him?

A man in the front of the room talked about Jesus, and then Alok knew where the voice had come from. Somebody loved him. Somebody had died for him! Alok rushed forward. “I want to know Jesus!” Falling on the floor, he rolled around and cried for a half hour.

A few days later Alok returned to his parents. “Your son has now changed,” he told them. “He has become a good boy.”

Maybe, like Alok, you have felt the hopelessness of sin and the weight of deception or addiction. Running from God? He has a rescue plan. Run to him.

Based on an interview with Alok in 2018.

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man?

You can also read more of the story in Treasures in Dark Places by Leanna Cinquanta, published by Chosen Books, a Division of Baker Publishing, 2017.

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

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Story written by: John Mandeville, https://www.johnmandeville.com/

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project manager: Blake Mattocks

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August 31. Andy Kellywood. Andy was the maintenance man for Navajo Ministries. And he was eager to help boys who needed help.

The director had his hands full with three particular boys, ages nine to fifteen. They ran together, sneaked out at night, and caused trouble. So the director assigned the boys to work for Andy every morning that summer. Here’s what happened.

When you trust an untested man, he can grow to pass the test.

The first day Andy had the three troublemakers on his maintenance crew, he lined them up and pointed to a patch of weeds. The day was over 90 degrees. The work was dusty, monotonous, and back-breaking. The boys wiped sweat on their shirt sleeves, but not once did they complain. For a whole week, they persevered. At first, Andy stayed close. As they proved themselves, he left periodically to show they had earned his trust.

The next week Andy introduced the boys to the push mower, used to care for more than an acre of lawn. He taught them to check the oil and gas, explained the mowing pattern, and then pulled the cord. The engine rumbled to life.

The boys took turns. When grass clippings filled the bag, he showed them how to empty them into the front-end bucket on the blue tractor. Then he drove the tractor to the dumpster, deposited the clippings, and taught the boys to reattach the bag. After the lawn was finished, he told them to refill the mower’s gas tank.

The boys seemed more engaged. But the day he led them to the blue tractor really drew them in. “Do you wanna drive?”

Their eyes widened in shock. He was trusting them with the tractor? Fear and excitement flitted across their faces.

Andy invited Casey to climb onto the driver’s seat and showed him where to place his hands and feet. The others watched as he taught Casey to turn on the tractor and put it into the low-low gear.

The chug-chug of the engine matched the slow speed of Casey’s first drive. And Andy walked right next to him.

Once Casey had control, Andy put the tractor in a higher gear. As Andy repeated the process with the others, eagerness shone in their eyes. They became proficient. Their grins widened.

Then they learned their favorite part—how to release the bucket, so the clippings fell into the dumpster.

As summer progressed, Andy gave them more responsibility. When one task was finished, they asked what else needed to be done—and they stayed past their mandatory work hours. The boys took ownership of their work.

When water lines broke, they put their backs into digging through the hard earth—even breaking concrete—to help with repairs.

Andy knew their work was not only an investment in Navajo Ministries but also in the boys’ futures. He watched for opportunities to teach them new skills. They changed oil, brakes, and rotors on the ministries’ vehicles. And when it was time for new tires, he taught them to shop for the best price so no one would overcharge them. “If you ever get a car, then you know what to do,” he said.

Once summer was over, the boys found Andy after school and asked if they could help. “They are standing taller,” said Andy.

Half Navajo and half Laguna Pueblo, Andy knew what it was like to struggle to grow up, navigate multiple cultures, and get into trouble. When he blew it, he had no one to talk to. But it’s different for these boys—they talk to him. Andy loves planting good into their futures, and “to plant that one little seed” has Andy standing taller too.

“But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” (Mark 4:8 NKJV).

Whose life can you seed into? When you trust an untested man, he can grow to pass the test.

Based on an interview with Andy Kellywood, September 10, 2019.

*Names of minors have been changed.

Story read by: Joel Carpenter

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter

Audio production: Joel Carpenter

Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/

Project Manager: Blake Mattocks

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