365 Christian Men | 365 Christian Men

May 23. Samuel Cathy. Samuel founded Chick Fil A— one of the top-earning restaurant chains in America. It pulled in “more than $9 billion in revenue in 2017, marking 50 consecutive years of sales growth.” And of those proceeds, in 2017 and 2018 alone, “$14.65 million was awarded in scholarships to Team Members, and $1.23 million was donated to charities.”

On this date in 1946, Samuel opened his first 24-hour diner. Here’s his story.

Obeying God can be tough, but it’s not optional.

Samuel Cathy, founder of Chick Fil A, was a man who stuck to his convictions, a man who wasn’t afraid to work hard, a man who lived according to his favorite Bible verse: “A good name is more desirable than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1, NIV).

In May 1946, Cathy and his brother Ben opened the Dwarf Grill—a 24-hour diner. Wisely, the diner was situated near the Ford assembly plant and the Atlanta airport, and the brothers quickly built a regular following. But with only two men operating a 24-hour business—alternating 12-hour shifts at the grill—they soon got exhausted.

The diner—with its four tables and ten stools at the counter—was a small business. And to survive financially, it had to operate every day of the week.

But Cathy decided to close the diner on Sundays—a day that normally earned restaurants 20 percent of their weekly revenue. “I was in the habit of going to Sunday School and church and being with my family,” he said. “I didn’t want to be robbed of that.”

Cathy took the Fourth Commandment seriously: “‘Honor the Lord’s Day and keep it holy.’ It’s a special day that the Lord has given Man.”

For Cathy, Sundays served as more than just a day of rest. After serving food all week in his diner, on Sundays he poured himself into the young people at church and fed them with God’s Word, a practice he continued for the next 50 years.

Dwarf Grill soon expanded into multiple franchises, and Cathy remained firm in his conviction that all his restaurants remain closed on Sundays.

In 1967, when he opened the first Chick Fil A, his practice of closing on Sundays was met with resistance: “Shopping malls are normally open on Sunday, and there are a few instances in which we were denied to go in there because of the fact we’re closed on Sunday. You don’t earn much money like that.”

Cathy said, “You have to make up your mind who you’re going to please. It’s a silent witness to the Lord when people go into shopping malls, and everyone is bustling, and you see that Chick-fil-A is closed.”

It could have ended in financial ruin, but God had other plans. Chick Fil A skyrocketed to success. Years later, when reflecting on his decision to close on Sundays, Cathy reflected, “God has blessed us for this. When people say, ‘Look how much money you lose by being closed on Sunday,’ I answer, ‘You’re wrong, because we generate more sales in six days than our competition does in seven.’”

God is still blessing Chick Fil A today.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath as a holy day. Six days a week are for your daily duties and your regular work, but the seventh day is a day of Sabbath rest before the Lord your God. On that day you are to do no work of any kind, nor shall your son, daughter, or slaves—whether men or women—or your cattle or your house guests,” (Exodus 20:8-10, TLB).

In which areas of your life is the Lord calling you to obey Him? Obeying God can be tough, but it’s not optional.

Daszkowski, Dan. “The Story of S. Truett Cathy: From One Tiny Restaurant to a $1.6 Billion Chick-fil-A Empire.” The Balance Small Business. Thebalancesmb.com. Updated July 26, 2019.
https://www.thebalancesmb.com/s-truett-cathy-bio-chick-fil-a-story-1350972.

Hoffower, Hilary. “Meet the Cathys, Heirs to the Chick-fil-A Empire . . .” Business Insider. Businessinsider.com. March 14, 2019. https://www.businessinsider.com/cathy-family-chick-fil-a-fortune-net-worth-lifestyle-photos-2019-3.

https://billygraham.org/story/a-conversation-with-truett-cathy/

https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1126&context=neje

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/08/the-world-according-to-chick-fil-a-founder-truett-cathy/?utm_term=.11e7f01f7d6e

https://thechickenwire.chick-fil-a.com/Press-Room

Story read by Blake Mattocks

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May 22. John Wycliffe. Wycliffe was a Protestant long before there were Protestants. The Protestant Reformation is a 16th century phenomenon, but Wycliffe lived in the 14th century.

Two-hundred years before Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle door, Wycliffe wrote and circulated 18 Theses, including outright challenges to the Catholic church’s authority. (Wycliff said their authority was second to the Scriptures.)

Obviously, his ideas got him in trouble with the Catholic Church, and on this date in 1377, Pope Gregory XI issued 5 public decrees against Wycliffe denouncing his 18 Theses as “erroneous and dangerous to Church and State.”

Wycliffe pointed out that Moses learned God’s law in his own language (Hebrew), and the Apostles learned it in their own language (Greek). Even the contemporary very rich could read it in Latin. But ordinary people had no translation they could read. Wycliffe set out to change that, and directed the production of Bibles handwritten in Middle English—at least fifty years before the invention of the Gutenberg printing press. Here’s his story.

Flattery means nothing to a man determined to obey God.

John Wycliffe spent most of his life standing up against the church’s hypocrisy. Over the decades, he had seen friars take advantage of the poor, kidnap young people and force them into ministry, and call preaching the gospel outside of religious places heresy.

John had just finished a work calling for the Bible to be translated into English. Regular people had been starved of the Word of God. He would spend his life making sure God’s Word was spread to the people! To make the Word easy to send out, and to make sure the most people possible could read it, John packaged the New Testament in small portions. It had a been a huge, important project.

But now, John could barely move and was confined to his bed. Whatever sickness had struck him had hit him hard with paralysis, and he had to rely on others for help. After so much division in the church and so much fighting, was he now going to be taken away? Surely, his work wasn’t finished.

The rest of the Bible needed to be translated into English, and someone had to keep exposing the hypocrisy of the friars. As he lay there with nothing but his thoughts, he overheard his helpers say that visitors had arrived at Oxford, coming to wait on him.

The door opened, and eight men appeared: four senators from the city and four friars, each from different orders within the church.

John’s eyes wandered to meet their glances, but he was unable to sit himself up to greet them, and so remained stretched out on the bed. The friars approached and offered him their good wishes and flattery. Only months ago, they called him a heretic and wanted the Pope to punish him. Now, they offered sympathy in his plight, even daring to hope he’d recover.

John stayed silent and allowed them to speak.

The longer the friars stayed, the more critical their speech became. Sympathy turned into judgment. They reminded him how wrong he had been in his sermons and writings, how his views on Scripture and the Holy Orders had been contrary to the truth the friars taught.

With pouty lips, and shaking heads, they looked down on him—in every sense of the word.

His illness was so severe—surely John knew he was dying—they hinted. Heavily. So it would be wise for him to confess his sins against them, to recant all that talk about letting regular people read the Bible.

John stayed silent.

When they finished, he raised his hand. He was weak and barely lifted it off the bed. Servants hurried to him, and in a soft voice he asked if they might put some pillows behind his back and sit him up, so he could face his visitors.

The friars watched expectantly, doubtless wondering if their flowery speech had done the trick. But when John sat up, he eyed each of them, and his voice boomed. “I shall not die, but live, and yet declare the evil deeds of the friars.”

The friars’ mouths dropped open. They were supposed to get a confession, not defiance.

But God was not done with John Wycliffe, and he would recover enough to finish his work.

Dumbstruck, the offended—and disappointed–friars hurried out of the room. Whatever rebuttal they’d planned had been preempted.

In the end, John Wycliffe did recover enough to resume his work, and his recovery allowed him to work on one of God’s biggest plans for his life: translating the Bible into English.

“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people,” (1 Peter 2:15, NIV).

What can you do to make sure you stay on the right path—the path of God’s plan for your life? Flattery means nothing to a man determined to obey God.

“John Wycliffe.” English Bible History. Greatsite.com. Accessed August 10, 2020.
https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/john-wycliffe

Murray, Thomas. The Life of John Wycliffe. Edinburg: John Boyd, 1829. Internet Archive. Web. 21 Jan. 2019.
https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/john-wycliffe.html

Story read by Chuck Stecker

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May 21. William Farel. Farel was a man of intense courage, boldness, and fearlessness, and he eventually became a significant figure in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. He started out as a pro-Reform Catholic preacher, but the Catholic efforts were too slow for Farel. He moved from France to Switzerland, where he encountered many leaders of the Reformation, including Martin Luther.

In Switzerland, Farel traveled from town to town and spread Protestant ideas. Sometimes he was successful; other times, not so much. While in Geneva, he was beaten and shot at, and Genevan authorities kicked him out of the city several times. Because of widespread immorality in Geneva, one Easter Sunday, Farel refused to serve Communion.

But he persevered in reaching out to the people, and on this date in 1536, Farel brought the Reformation to Geneva. Together with John Calvin, another Frenchman, Farel continued to work in Geneva until both of them were expelled in 1538. Here’s his story.

Any truth worth believing is a truth worth defending.

William Farel was a wanted man, and—under a false name—he was hiding in Switzerland. Quietly, one person at a time, he told the truth about Jesus, and helped people connect with the all-powerful Savior.

Eventually, Farel took his own name back and went public. He had taken the tower; next he would take the town. “He ascended the pulpit and openly preached Jesus Christ to the astonished multitude.”

The bold, ginger-bearded preacher had one passion: teaching the Word of God in a way ordinary people could understand.

But the local religious leaders feared his teaching, saying, “If this man continues preaching, it is all over for our Church!” And they set themselves against him.

Days later, from a pulpit in a neighboring town, a local monk shouted to the villagers—about Farel, “It is the devil himself, who preaches by the mouth of this minister, and all those who listen to him will be damned!” Convenient for the monk, Farel had missed that sermon.

Then the monk rushed from the scene, focused on his next item of church business: it was his job to accept the donation of a few barrels of the best wine in Switzerland—on behalf of his religious community.

But when he got there, the monk unexpectedly came upon Farel.

“Did you preach against me at Noville, saying that the Devil spoke through me?” asked Farel.

The monk leaned in, and whispered that he had.

Calmly, Farel asked whether the friar believed it was possible for the devil to preach the gospel, and if the people who heard it could somehow be damned for listening.

Flustered, the friar raised his voice and said that notion was absurd.

Farel got louder. “Then why have you publicly spoken against me in such terms?…I would rather die than teach false doctrine to the poor people whom Christ has redeemed by his blood.”

The friar said he’d heard Farel was a heretic who led people astray. And he turned to walk away.

But Farel wasn’t done and followed him. Their argument went longer, their voices grew louder, and the crowd around them got bigger.

Farel gestured toward the monk. “You see this fine father,” Farel said to the crowd. “He has said from the pulpit that I preach nothing but lies, and that you will perish if you listen to me.”

Now, the monk got furious, denied he’d ever spoken a word against Farel. In a fit of rage, he whipped the hat off his head and stomped on it. With each fevered step, dirt and debris flew.

Right about then, a Roman magistrate arrived and hauled the two preachers off to jail. Causing a disturbance. A hearing at the Castle court was scheduled.

When Farel arrived in court, the friar was already standing before the judges. The Court asked Farel was asked to speak about the friar’s accusations.

“Let him make good his charges,” Farel said, “or if he cannot, let the people hear the gospel.”

The friar fell to his knees, before the Court and Farel, and begged forgiveness for his slanderous words.

“My friend and brother,” Farel said, “do not ask forgiveness of me, for I am a poor sinner like other men…ask pardon of our Savior.” Then Farel begged the Court to show mercy. The gospel had been defended, and this was all Farel really wanted—for the people of French Switzerland to have the Word of God.

“Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3, ASV).

How is God leading you to speak the truth of his Word in love, even if it brings conflict? Any truth worth believing is a truth worth defending.

The Editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica. “Guillaume Farel: French Religious Leader.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopediabritannica.com. Accessed August 10, 2020.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Guillaume-Farel

“William Farel.” Five Minutes in Church History. Ligonier Ministries. Accessed August 10, 2020.
https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/william-farel/

https://thirdmill.org/answers/answer.asp?file=99797.qna&category=th&page=questions&site=iiim

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

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

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May 20. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius’s early life followed a predictable pattern for boys born in wealthy, noble families. He started as a page and then a knight—both soldier and diplomat. On this date in 1521, while he was serving as soldier, he was severely injured by a cannonball. He almost died; his legs were damaged, and his career as a knight was decidedly over.

In Ignatius’s second career, he embarked on pilgrimages, lived as a beggar, and often spent up to 7 hours a day in prayer. Being orderly and diligent, Ignatius recorded the way he practiced Christianity in a document called “Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola,” which includes meditations, contemplations, and prayers. He practices these disciplines long before he became a priest, and he thought of them as helps for all believers, helps for the necessary change of heart.

Eventually, with like-minded believers, Ignatius founded a religious order known as Jesuits. Here’s how he got started.

What you’re living for may not be what you were created to do.

For 28-year-old Ignatius, cannon fire rang in his ears, the shouts of war echoed in his mind, and the vision of his useless torso and legs bound to a bed challenged his manhood.

He’d been a nobleman. He’d been a hot-headed gambler. He’d been a bon vivant—that’s French for high life of the party. And he’d never been shy about using his sword. He’d been Captain of the Spanish Artillery.

When the French attacked the Spanish town Pamplona, their fortifications weren’t finished yet, and the military outpost was weak. The Spanish officers wanted to retreat. But Ignatius wanted everyone to stay and defend the place until the reinforcements arrived.

Ignatius said, “…to shun the common peril is the nature of cowards; to perish in the universal ruin is the mischance of brave men. I should deem [a man] worthy of immortal glory if he had died of his fidelity.”

Since Ignatius wasn’t in charge, most of the Spanish troops did retreat, but Ignatius and the men he commanded ran into the citadel and fought fiercely. Ignatius stood on the wall. That would be the wall that the French were bombarding with cannon fire.

One cannon-strike drove a stray bit of castle through Ignatius’s left leg, and the cannonball shattered his left. He fell. His men fell. Pamplona fell.

And Ignatius became a prisoner of war.

But his wounds were severe, and the French admired his guts. So they treated him “with all honour for fifteen days.” And they administered the Last Rites.

When he gave up his helmet, sword, and shield, the French even carried him home to his family castle to recover.

But fever ravaged him, and he needed surgery. The leg would never fully heal—a limp was guaranteed.

It was a miracle Ignatius even survived the siege, let alone his injuries. But as his slow recovery lingered, it wasn’t the pain or the suffering that kept his mind dis-eased. His life had been dedicated to the chivalry of knighthood. How could he gain honor and glory in battle when he lay crippled in bed?

No, he would not let glory escape him! He was a soldier of the King. He’d remember his duty. No injury would keep him from battle!

He’d refocus on things that mattered. The knighthood. Being a soldier. Fighting for life and love.

He asked his caregivers for something to read. A good, chivalrous romance. Surely, that would keep his mind occupied. But the only books they had were like Life of Christ by a monk named Ludolph and Lives of the Saints.

Ignatius was perplexed and perturbed. Here he was, recovering in a great castle, but there were no stories of knights? He’d go mad without something to do. Reluctantly, he decided the books at hand were better than staring at walls.

Turned out, he found the true stories…enjoyable. Inspiring, even.

When he lay in that peaceful place between wakefulness and dreaming, he thought of his duties as a soldier, his quest for glory and love—all this was the pinnacle of his career. His joy disappeared. He felt empty. Dead inside.

But when he thought of Christ, the stories were just as glorious. Joy washed over him, and his whole self was bathed in peace. And the deep peace never left.

He compared what he’d read to his life. His years as a knight. Did he really want to spend his life fighting? After the initial high of a win, there was nothing.

All the war and its glory had been a waste.

But the saints served for the glory of Christ and not their own…that felt like true purpose! A heart-fire ignited within Ignatius, and as he recovered, he changed his routine. He’d no longer wish for his old life.

He’d make a new one. A life loyal to Christ. One night, he pledged himself—for the rest of his life—to be Christ’s servant.

“For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory,” (2 Corinthians 3:10, NIV).

What things that bring you glory are related to Christ? What you’re living for may not be what you were created to do.

https://www.academia.edu/25277002/The_Spiritual_Exercises_of_St_Ignatius_of_Loyola
Ryan, Edward A. “St. Ignatius of Loyola: Spanish Saint.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encycloperdiabritannica.com. Updated July 27, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/St-Ignatius-of-Loyola

“The Society of Jesus.” Immaculate Conception Church. Accessed August 10, 2020.
https://jesuitchurch.net/the-society-of-jesus

Treacy, Rev. Gerald C. Ignatius Loyola, The Soldier Saint. New York: Paulist Press, 1942. Internet Archive. Web. 5 Feb. 2019.

Thompson, Francis. Saint Ignatius Loyola. London: Burns, Oates, & Washbourne, 1910. Internet Archive. Web. 5 Feb. 2019.

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

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May 19. Colonel Jeffrey Williams. In 1993, Jeffrey graduated first in the class at US Naval Test Pilot School, Class 103. Three years later, he was selected to be an astronaut.

On this date in 2000, the STS-101 Mission began, and Jeffrey Williams was the Flight Engineer and Lead Spacewalker. This was the third shuttle mission for building the space station. The goal of the ten-day mission was to move and install more than 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies. On this trip, Jeffrey walked in space for 7 hours.

As of this writing in 2020, Jeffrey has spent 534 days in space. In 2019, he was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame. Here’s his story.

Opportunities are easily missed. Keep your eyes open.

For six weeks, Astronaut Jeffrey Williams had been orbiting Earth. Working aboard the International Space Station (ISS) was a dream come true for a man who thoroughly enjoyed God’s creation.

But being an astronaut on the ISS got lonely. For weeks, there was only Jeffrey and Cosmonaut Pavel. One May morning, the loneliness and sameness weighed heavy. God had given him this awesome opportunity, but Jeffrey felt—forgotten.

Every day he got to talk to Anne-Marie, his wife. But being physically separated from his family was weird. Tough. He was having an adventure, sure. But they were going on with their lives down there. He told Anne-Marie what he was thinking, and she said she’d pray for him.

That was good. But it felt like God had forgotten him.

After the call, he floated to where his work was stationed. And he passed by a window where he had a camera set to take pictures of Earth. He had time to snap a few photos for NASA.

He looked down on Earth—snowy mountain peaks surrounded by gleaming water. The Aleutian Islands off the tip of the Alaskan peninsula. He snapped photos, but something was wrong.

A giant plume of smoke billowed from the mountain peak. And this was no ordinary mountain fire. The mountain was a volcano—Cleveland Volcano—and it was erupting!

The station was already passing the area, and by the time Jeffrey called Pavel to see the volcano, it was out of sight.

Jeffrey called Houston and reported the eruption, and the excitement stirred. No one on Earth knew about it, and as scientists, they were excited. Jeffrey sent pictures for confirmation, and Houston notified the Alaskan Observatory. But the Observatory thought it was a prank.

Ninety tension-filled minutes passed Before the station flew over the volcano again. This time Jeffrey saw no smoke. Now, like liquid fire, streaks of red and gold lava surged down the sides of the volcano.

Jeffrey’s body pumped adrenalin, and he was pumped. Even NASA was giddy about the discovery. Jeffrey was probably the only person on—or above—Earth who had seen the Cleveland Volcano erupt.

God had heard his wife’s prayer. And He hadn’t forgotten Jeffrey. Think of the immensity of the universe. Think of the grandeur. Think of one man being in the exact right spot at the exact right time to see one mountain peak so far away. Pavel was right there, and he didn’t get to see it.

Likewise, having a down day was a pretty small moment in Jeffrey’s life. But the Creator of the immense-and-grand universe cared about Jeffrey, cared about how he felt, cared that he knew his Creator hadn’t forgotten him.

“He takes care of us continually in the little things,” Jeffrey said.

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you,” (Jeremiah 32:17, NIV).

What are some little things you’ve noticed in God’s creation? How might they remind you of how much God cares for you? Opportunities are easily missed. Keep your eyes open.

Institute for Creation Research. “NASA Astronaut Colonel Jeffrey Williams.” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2019.

Jeffrey Williams. “Above All the Earth.” Acts & Facts. Institute for Creation Research. 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2019.

Story read by Chuck Stecker

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May 18. Thomas Chalmers. In the very early 1800s, Chalmers was a prolific writer on a variety of topics: economics, theology, social work, and astronomy, to name just a few. He obtained his divinity degree at the age of 19, was licensed to preach at the age of 20, and was ordained at the age of 22. But ministry was not his passion, at least, not yet. He loved mathematics, philosophy, economics, and science, and took every opportunity to learn and teach those subjects.

Unfortunately, that did not make the church happy. Nor the university. So Chalmers considered launching a political career, and he began writing economic literature.

But when he began researching evidence for Christianity, his life took an unexpected turn. He became a committed evangelical, and with his usual enthusiasm, Chalmers threw himself into ministry in earnest: preaching, organizing Bible societies and charities, and building chapels. He continued to write. His most notable work of this time includes a defense of the compatibility of science and religion. He also began a campaign of poor relief.

Eventually, he retired from active ministry to become a full-time professor of moral philosophy. As always, he continued to write, but his topic now was the application of Christian principles and ethics within the field of economics. Chalmers moved on from teaching philosophy to teaching theology, but when he joined a group of ministers who seceded, “en masse,” from the state church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland, he lost his position as Chair of the Theology Department. On this date in 1843, Chalmers was elected as the moderator of the newly formed church’s first assembly.

The love of God can transform indifferent men into compassionate warriors.

When members of his congregation passed him on the street, Thomas Chalmers offered them a smile and a brief greeting, and he quickly moved on. When he managed to visit the sick, he offered small talk rather than prayer. And on Sundays he preached very short sermons he’d prepared that morning.

It was 1813 in Kilmany—a small town in southern Scotland—and Thomas Chalmers had only one thing on his mind: mathematics. Chalmers loved mathematics.

But after publicly criticizing the full Professor, Chalmers lost his job as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Andrews University. And he began to scheme to get his professorship back.

Soon, he discovered the previous assistant professor had once been a minister. So, to win favor with the university, Chalmers got himself ordained as the minister of nearby Kilmany. He was willing to endure anything for his dream, and the job of minister provided an easy paycheck.

For the next seven years, Chalmers spent every weekday studying and teaching at St. Andrews, and he passed onto a neighbor the job of overseeing any urgent church business. Chalmers was desperate to preserve his own time, so he squeezed his annual visit to all the members of his congregation into a few weeks. He was efficient. But as a result of his Christ-less Christianity, the townspeople despised Chalmers, and his church was poorly attended.

Meanwhile, Chalmers sacrificed his body and soul to pursue his dream. Math was his food, his drink, his reason to be alive. Rest was unnecessary—until a severe illness casts its dark shadow over him.

For four months, death lurked by his bedside, waiting to snatch his soul. In fear and weakness, Chalmers cried out to God.

That’s when a terrible realization struck him. He had been living without God. All his earthly achievements were nothing compared to the priceless value of faith. In his lust for power and position, he had not once cared about his parishioners’ eternal destiny, whether they were bound for heaven or not.

The conviction that came was like a hot coal burning on his chest. He forced himself out of bed, washed, and dressed himself. Then he visited all the sick, the dying, and the bereaved in the town. He wept with parents who had lost a child. Held the hand of a boy dying from tuberculosis. Prayed passionately for a terminally ill, yet hardhearted gentleman, that his heart might open to the love of Jesus.

After this he decided to visit all 800 of Kilmany’s citizens. Chalmers gave every family as much time as he could. He listened to their needs, prayed, shared encouragement from the Bible, and implored them all to receive Jesus as their Savior. It took Chalmers a year to visit everyone.

He did all of this while still recovering from his own sickness. Sometimes the visits took a heavy toll on his body. But still he pressed on, trusting in God’s power alone. “O God, give me wisdom and truth. Direct me how to do good. May the power of Christ rest upon me,” he prayed

God worked powerfully through Chalmers, and each time he visited someone, even if just for a short time, it was as if light flooded their understanding and comfort poured into their souls.

The love of God had transformed Chalmers from an indifferent minister into a compassionate servant of the people. He would never be the same.

“If anyone is in Christ [joined to Him by faith], he is a new creature [reborn]; the old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come [a new life]” (2 Corinthians 5:17, AMP).

Who can you show compassion to today? The love of God can transform indifferent men into compassionate warriors.

“Thomas Chalmers, 1780-1847.” The History of Economic Thought. Accessed August 9, 2020.
https://www.hetwebsite.net/het/profiles/chalmers.htm

Hanna, William. Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Thomas Chalmers. Palala Press, 2015
https://archive.is/20130416004703/http://new.studylight.org/enc/bri/view.cgi?n=32532
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/40081/40081-h/40081-h.html

Story read by Daniel Carpenter

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May 17. Darren Billings. Darren is the senior pastor of Oasis Ministries, a group dedicated to “loving and lifting the hurting of our world.” Oasis, which began as a small group in 2011, now serves people in three cities and four areas in Oregon.

The ministry’s website declares, “We have two vital mandates we follow at the Oasis…

1. Love God fiercely
2. Love one another fiercely

You will not hear a political message wrapped in spiritual garb at the Oasis…” Here’s Darren’s story.

If you ever feel abandoned, remember God will never leave you.

Darren tried to be a good man—a good husband, a good father, a good employee, a good example. But he failed at all that and more. Eventually, he lost everything.

Misdiagnosed in 2001 with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a doctor prescribed Ritalin. But for Darren, the drug acted like gasoline on a fire and fueled the real problem.

Later diagnosed bipolar, Darren struggled to control his mood swings between periods of extraordinary productivity and creativity and the seemingly never-ending nightmare of depression filled with feeling worthless. Memories flooded the present. He remembered growing up homeless, living on the streets of Los Angeles with his mother.

Darren needed help to avoid the pit of despair. He went through treatment-facility programs, friends intervened, and his mentor visited to encourage him.

He recalls asking his mentor if he would die for Jesus.

The mentor said, “I’d die for you.”

Darren knew he needed to take care of himself, but he couldn’t understand why that meant he needed medication.

“I couldn’t hear them.” The noise around him garbled the truth. He wanted to do what he knew he should do, but he seemed unable to do what others said was necessary. “I didn’t take my meds, and I wasn’t truthful with my doctor.” Confusion continued to wrap his mind in darkness.

Living on his own again, Darren spent his time and energy doing whatever he could think of to provide for his family, but he didn’t take care of himself. He loved others, but he didn’t value his own life.

He returned to snorting cocaine. He worked harder than most employees, but his accomplishments didn’t seem to be enough. Darren wanted to make a difference, but he didn’t know how. “I drifted away from reality—from everything and everyone familiar.”

Time fled, months passed. His wife Lisa told him no more. She took their children and left.

“I lost everything,” he said. “I had nothing. No wife, no family, no job, no future. I knew the truth that God loved the world, but I didn’t believe he loved me.”

He also lost what little self-respect he’d clutched. He lost everything except one thing—God can’t lie. The fact that God promised he would never fail or forsake or forget Darren made no sense, but Darren clung to God’s promises anyway.

“I didn’t give up on God, but I gave up on myself.” Darren sat in the darkness and sobbed.

His own history warned him of a downward spiral beginning again, and Darren plunged down the rabbit hole into a hopeless world. Darren ran from reality.

Until he heard God whisper: “Are you done yet?”

The voice didn’t condemn him. The gentle words landed softly on Darren’s heart.

“You don’t have to live like this.” And Darren stopped running. He faced the real God.

Today—in the most dangerous parts of Portland, Oregon—Darren hands out socks and love to people no one else wants. He runs a refuge called The Oasis filler, where people who have nowhere else to go come to be refreshed. Darren’s been where they are. He shares what he’s learned—God is wherever we are.

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me,” (Psalm 139:7-10, NLT).

Do you ever think that God doesn’t care? If you ever feel abandoned, remember God will never leave you.

“Our Story.” Oasis Ministries Portland. Accessed August 9, 2020.
https://www.oasisministriesportland.com/story

This story is based on an interview with Darren Billings on August 21, 2019.

Story read by Nathan Walker

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May 16. Paul Holcroft. Paul is not a man to take the easy road. He quit a good job in the business world to study theology full time. Besides that, Paul and his wife Colleen are foster parents and have cared for children ranging in age from newborn to 8 years old.

Paul is quick to point out that God’s grace “gets us through day by day.” To help other foster families get through day by day, Paul and Colleen started a support group. Here’s his story.

Whatever it costs, investing in people yields eternal dividends.

“But why, Paul? These kids have a lot of issues… If you aren’t trying to adopt, why open yourself up to the problems?”

Paul didn’t know what to say to his friend Brian. He almost had a point. Just as well he couldn’t stay and talk.

Paul and his wife Colleen felt they had a full, satisfied life together. With large extended families, church friends, jobs they enjoyed, and a funny pet beagle, they weren’t interested in much else outside these circles.

But at a summer barbecue with friends, the conversation turned to the story of an orphan baby in need of a foster family. It was weeks before family services could find a family for her.

Hey, we could do that; we could take care of babies.

“And that was completely out of character for me,” Paul said later. “I knew it must be from God.”

Paul’s idea surprised Colleen, too, but she agreed.

Months later, they were officially licensed foster parents. “We’ll just take babies. We aren’t ready for older kids,” they told each other.

But a phone call came late one night; there was a six-year-old boy in a desperate situation. Would Paul and Colleen take him in? It would be temporary, until things settled down and family services could find a relative to take him.

Paul and Colleen said yes.

The more Paul learned about young Charlie’s life, the more Paul realized that this time in foster care was a unique opportunity to show Jesus to Charlie in practical ways.

He planned experiences for Charlie that he might never get otherwise. Paul took Charlie to church, where he participated in children’s activities. He and Charlie went on a special “father/son” fishing trip up north and played catch football.

Unplanned experiences cropped up, too. Paul and Colleen soon became aware that Charlie had no concept of what marriage meant. He only thought in terms of temporary boyfriend/girlfriend arrangements.

One evening, Jim, a church leader, came to visit. Charlie warmed up quickly to him asked, “So how many girlfriends do you have?”

Jim exchanged grins with Paul and Colleen, and then explained that he’d “had the same girlfriend for 30 years! And I don’t plan on getting another!”

This was a novel concept for Charlie.

Every night before bed, Paul gave Charlie the “bedtime story” experience. And Bible stories fascinated Charlie, especially the stories of Jesus. Paul even explained the gospel in simple terms.

During one of those bedtime Bible story times, Charlie told Paul he wanted to believe in Jesus and what He had done for him.

Almost a year after welcoming Charlie into their home, Paul got a call from Charlie’s caseworker.

“We have a close relative of Charlie who is ready to take him. I’ll come for him Wednesday.”

Wednesday came, and ended with tearful goodbyes and tight hugs. Paul’s heart was aching. But now he knew how to answer his friend Brian’s question: why volunteer to open yourself up to trouble?

This. This is why. God filled my life with blessing and love—to give it away.

Charlie had arrived a perfect stranger, but he was leaving a beloved son and brother in Christ. And it wasn’t just Charlie that Paul had come know; he was now connected to a world he never would been a part of before caseworkers, lawyers, and troubled parents.

I would have missed this.

It was all worth the chance to love. Nothing had been subtracted, no “piece of his heart” went missing. When he loved with God’s love and followed God’s lead, he had even more to give.

“Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12, NASB).

What blessings do you have in your life? Material, financial, education, family…think of one way you could use that blessing show love to someone. Whatever it costs, investing in people yields eternal dividends.

Caldwell, Blair. “The Need for Foster Families.” TV6. Upper Michigan’s Source.com. June 24, 2016.
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/The-need-for-foster-families-384329071.html

“Paul Holcroft.” Etsy. Accessed August 9, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/people/Holcroft

This story is based on an interview with Paul Holcroft.

Story read by Blake Mattocks

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May 15. Paul White. Paul is an internationally recognized author of Christian nonfiction. He has pastored and taught in several churches and conferences for almost thirty years.

He hosts the Deeper Daily Podcast and talks listeners through the Scriptures. Seeing believers awaken “to the goodness of God’s grace through Jesus is Paul’s greatest passion.” On this date in 1971, young Paul pitched his first Little League Baseball game.

My failures don’t define me; my Father does.

The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee heightened my senses, and I realized Dad must be eating breakfast. Still groggy from the restless night, I managed to dress and stumble into the kitchen. I had to make my plea before my dad’s schedule for the day was set.

Being one of twelve children meant I had a father who worked sixteen-hour days, six-to-seven days a week—just to make ends meet. And the infrequent days he didn’t have to work quickly filled with errands.

He looked up from the table, and I said, “Dad, guess what.” I didn’t wait for an answer. “I’m pitching my first game today.” Most of little-league season, I’ve spent warming up in the pitchers’ box. I’d nearly lost all hope of pitching in a game. But after repeatedly hassling my coach, he gave in.

“That’s great son.”

I hesitated hoping for something more.

Nope.

“Dad, you think you can come to the game?”

“Son, I’m expecting to be called back into work this evening. There’s just no way I can take time this morning to watch a ballgame.”

I said I understood, and I tried to understand, but my ten-year-old heart had just been stomped. I didn’t want my dad to watch a ballgame. I wanted him to watch me.

Besides, what difference did it make if I pitched a no hitter if my dad wasn’t there?

Later, I stepped onto the pitcher’s mound and tried to muster up some enthusiasm. After all, I’d worked all season to get to pitch. But it seemed pointless.

I threw a warm up pitch. And then—leaning up against the fence behind home plate— I saw him. My dad.

My heart raced like a thoroughbred, and beads of salty sweat trickled down the side of my face. I tried to concentrate. It’s the arsenal of throws that separates a good pitcher from a great one. I signaled to the coach I was ready. The batter stepped into the batter’s box. I glanced at my dad for a second and then tried to focus on the batter.

Standing on the mound, with 46 feet between me and my opponent, I pictured my four-finger fastball sizzling across the plate.

Strike one.

I’d mesmerize my opponent and my dad with my curve ball.

Strike two.

With only one strike left to go, I’d take the first batter out of the game with my unpredictable slow-moving knuckleball.

But my first pitch sizzled right into the leg of the batter. I felt a churning in the pit of my stomach as the umpire shouted, “Take your base!”

I tried to play it off as an intentional walk and hoped my dad would think it was a strategic pitch. And I did manage to strike out a batter here and there, but things continued to spiral downward.

By the end of the 4th inning, I had no command of the ball. My arm was at the point of blowing out. To keep me from suffering a severe injury, my coach took me out of the game at the bottom of the 5th.

I sat in the dugout and sulked until the game was over. My team never did regain the lead. I had lost us the game and humiliated myself—in front of my father.

While the other team hooped and hollered, “We’re number one!” I shuffled over to my dad doing all I could to avoid eye contact. The word “failure” like a neon light flashed in my mind. As I fought back the tears, I felt the warm embrace of my father’s arm around my shoulder. “You’ll get ’em next time, Son.”

Looking back on that experience, I realize the importance of seeing myself as the Father sees me.

“He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:5-6 NASB).

Have you ever failed at something important? Is that your whole identity now? My failures don’t define me; my Father does.

This story is based on an interview with Paul White, 2020.

Story read by Nathan Walker

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May 14. Francis Collins. Collins is a physician and geneticist who spearheaded the Human Genome Project, which studied DNA and completed finished sequence of the human DNA instruction book. Collins also discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases. Since 2009, he has been director of the National Institutes of Health and the largest quantity of biomedical research in the world.

He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2007, and the National Medal of Science in 2009. Today’s story takes place before Collins was famous.

Believing a lie can blind a man, but accepting the truth can open his eyes.

In the mind of young Dr. Francis Collins, anything that could not be scientifically proven wasn’t worth exploring.

At lunch, Collins listened to some fellow medical students discussing their faith in Jesus.

He shook his head. Nice people, he thought. They’re nice, but crazy.

Normally, he’d have avoided them entirely, but the cafeteria was full that day, and he was lucky to find a seat. He’d have to stick his nose in a book and try to stay out of what he viewed as their silly discussion about church and the Bible.

But when he was working, his patients talked about Jesus, too. And he couldn’t avoid them. Collins believed they were just as crazy as the students in the cafeteria, but he couldn’t deny that these patients had something every sick person desperately wants and needs: hope.

Collins gave one elderly patient a warm smile. She smiled back and squeezed his hand. Studying the woman’s chart, it was clear she didn’t have much time left. Despite all the best treatments, the patient’s age was working against her. But she didn’t appear the least bit bothered by it.

And this wasn’t new. Several of his patients displayed great calm—even when they got news that would have sent others into an emotional tailspin.

There was the cancer patient given only months to live who simply nodded, smiled, and said he was praying for a miracle. There was the cardiac patient—his second heart attack—who confidently told Collins he wasn’t worried, because God was in control.

Collins convinced himself that his patients were kidding themselves. They were delusional; wracked with grief. It was easier to turn to an invisible God than it was to face the truth, he told himself. What he couldn’t understand was why they weren’t angry at God.

But then Collins considered DNA and other aspects of the human body, and there was so much intrinsic design that science alone couldn’t explain.

“It was the fact that there is something instead of nothing. … The fact that the universe seems to be fine-tuned to make complexity possible and therefore life possible. That actually, nature follows these elegant mathematical rules of second-order differential equations that I had solved. Why should that be? Why should nature be like this?

“It seems like there should be a mathematician and a physicist behind all this. Oh my gosh, that sounds like God.”

“Basically, science is the way to uncover valid, trustworthy information about how nature works, about things about the natural world. But if you limit yourself to the kinds of questions that science can ask, you’re leaving out some other things that I think are also pretty important, like why are we here, and what’s the meaning of life, and is there a God? Those are not scientific questions.”

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NIV).

Right now, is God telling you something true you could really embrace? Believing a lie can blind a man, but accepting the truth can open his eyes.

Smith, Samuel. “NIH Director Francis Collins Details His Path to Christ after Living as an Atheist.” The Christian Post, The Christian Post, 31 Mar. 2019 www.christianpost.com/news/nih-director-francis-collins-details-his-path-to-christ-after-living-as-an-atheist.html.

Begley, Sharon. “Francis Collins Talks About Science and Faith.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 1 Aug. 2011,
www.newsweek.com/francis-collins-talks-about-science-and-faith-68851

Story read by Chuck Stecker

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