Podcast: 365 Christian Men

November 14. Michael Franzese. Back when Michael was a notorious mob boss, he was earning about $5 to $8 million a week from businesses—legal and illegal. Who would have guessed that he would spend the best years of his life speaking to people all over, encouraging them, and telling them about Jesus Christ? Here’s how it happened. 

Your darkest night is no match for God’s light. In any prison, He can reach you. 

Michael wanted to go to medical school, but when he was just 22, his father—a notorious mobster—invited him to join the Mafia. 

Two years later, Michael and five others took a blood oath and heard: “Tonight you are born again into a new life.” 

By age 35, Michael was earning money on par with Al Capone and was the youngest person on Fortune magazine’s survey of “The 50 Biggest Mafia Bosses.” But his life took an unexpected turn when he fell in love with a young woman who was a follower of Jesus. 

Seeing the contrast between the two of them, Michael started making changes. He knew the only way to leave the mob was in a coffin. But more than anything, he wanted to start a new life with this beautiful girl. 

To clear his name, Michael made a deal with the Feds. He spent five years locked up, and for one of those years, he was transported from prison to prison in an attempt to break him down and make him a cooperating witness. Michael held his ground while his young bride and newborn child waited for his release. 

Finally, he got out on parole. He started to rebuild his life while literally dodging bullets; whenever the FBI informed him his life was in danger, he had to move his family. 

Thirteen months later, he made a mistake. A costly one. Failing to file an income tax return landed him back in prison. The Feds told him: “It’s over.” They were locking him up for life, indicting him on another racketeering case. He was 39. Without hope. “It was the worst night of my life,” he said. 

That night, a prison guard brought Michael a Bible. The angry prisoner slammed it against the wall but picked it up a moment later and asked God to help him. The book fell open to Proverbs, and Michael started reading. A proverb made everything clear to him: 

“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7 NASB). 

Michael kept reading, devouring the Word of God and other Christian books his wife sent him. When he was formally released on parole in 1997, he was not only a free man as far as the law was concerned, but he was also a free man in Christ, truly born again into a new life. 

Does your life seem hopeless? Your darkest night is no match for God’s light. In any prison, He can reach you. 

Dannen, Fredric. “The Born-Again Don.” Hive, Vanity Fair, April 5, 2012. https://​www.vanityfair.com/​news/​1991/​02/​john-gotti-joe-columbo-fbi-investigation-witness. 

St Clair, Josh. “Fear City’s Michael Franzese Was a Member of One of America’s Most Legendary Crime Families.” Men’s Health, July 22, 2020. https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a33391559/who-is-michael-franzese-fear-city-netflix/. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

November 13. Brian Luoma. Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry and has completed the University of Tennessee’s Executive Development Program. Since 2017, he has been the President and CEO of Westervelt Company, which provides high-quality products and services while striving to protect and preserve the natural resources.

On this date in 2010, Brian was baptized.

It’s not what life gives you; it’s what you do with the life you’ve been given that counts.

Like a million other days, Brian strolled into his office, but the more time went by, the more he wondered if he would be strolling in like this for much longer.

His muscles were weakening. He felt it. He had even adapted his house when he had built it as if it would need to be wheelchair accessible one day. He knew it was coming. But when?

For now, he focused on the business he had started in 1989 after quitting his job at Montgomery Wards—the last job he had ever worked for someone else.

After being his own boss for eight years, his business proved him a success. Didn’t matter what kind of physical ailments he had—it didn’t affect his smarts, his entrepreneurial spirit, or his relationship with Christ. Brian could accomplish anything as long as he trusted Christ to lead him. Without that, life had very little meaning.

Brian had been born with Muscular Dystrophy. Diagnosed when he was in the fourth grade, he never noticed any real physical symptoms until he was about eighteen years old. But now, an adult owning his own business, he could feel his muscles getting weaker. Sometimes his footing was unstable, and the reality that he could fall and seriously hurt himself was a great concern.

Finally, in 2001, the thing he had dreaded got real—in a hurry. In his office, he did fall. It didn’t injure him too much, but everything changed after that. He could no longer walk. The strength to do so was gone. And Brian became forever connected to his scooter. But the scooter gave him a sense of relief because he had no more fear of falling.

And it didn’t affect his ability to trust Jesus. Christ managed every aspect of Brian’s life like a shepherd manages his sheep.

Brian could have given up on his business, but he didn’t. He didn’t give in to despair; he kept talking to Christ, listening to him, trusting him. And Brian kept working hard to grow his business.

Even when things didn’t go the way Brian wanted, Jesus was in charge and looked after Brian’s best interests. His disability made him stronger. Not physically, but mentally and spiritually.

He started having pool therapy, and it was a great help to him. And then he thought: maybe I can have my own therapy pool in my house someday. And if I do, I want to be baptized in it.

Being baptized anywhere else would be difficult for him. He would have to be lifted in and out, and the thought of getting hurt was always on his mind. Plus he was self-conscious about it. Who wouldn’t be? But this didn’t stop him from wanting to be baptized. So his own pool in his house became his goal, and he talked with God about it.

He continued working hard and grew his business into even more of a success. It took about six years, and he was able to have an indoor pool built. It’s been used by Brian regularly and has also been used by other family members and friends—some who’ve needed it for recovery, and some who also cannot walk. Eventually, Brian was baptized in it.

“There is always something we can be thankful for,” Brian says. “Even during tough times.”

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 NIV).

What has life dealt you? Positive or negative, how can you adjust your attitude to make the most of it? It’s not what life gives you; it’s what you do with the life you’ve been given that counts.

Based on an interview with Brian Luoma, 2019.

Story read by: Nathan Walker

November 12. Reinhard Bonnke. On this date in 2017, 77-year-old evangelist Bonnke preached his last crusade. In his lifetime, he had led more than 78 million people to Christ. 

He preached across the African continent with week-long rallies, droves of people, big tents, effective PA systems, and local-language translators. Sometimes, at the end of a talk, he asked for anyone in the crowd who was hearing from God to come up and take the microphone. 

“His message of redemptive hope became important, particularly in African nations affected by drought, civil strife, and other tragedies.” 

“His pioneering, militant approach of open-air crusades was informed by our context. Like the biblical St Paul, he was aware that he was confronting strong evil forces,” says Mr. Mamboleo, a Kenyan pastor who organized Bonnke’s crusades in East Africa. 

And every time Bonnke preached, he told how God broke into his family. Here’s how it happened. 

God does impossible things in impossible situations with men who are willing to obey. 

Back in Germany in 1922, a retired American named Luis Graf was returning to his German roots. And this man had a fire in his belly for his people to encounter the power of God—the same power Graf had encountered at the Azusa Street Revival just a few years earlier. 

His Mercedes rolled through the winter landscape of the East Prussian forest. He spotted a bakery in a small village and stopped. 

The baker—shiny bald with a handle-bar mustache—emerged from the storefront. 

“Good day to you, sir,” the Mercedes-driving businessman said. “I am Luis Graf, a servant of God.… I was on my way to Konigsberg.… Can you tell me what village I have found?” 

With a suspicious smirk, the baker said, “This is Trunz.” 

“Trunz. I’m not sure I’ve heard of it.” He chuckled good-naturedly. “I’m more lost than I knew. But that’s not a problem. I am sure the Lord has led me here to preach the gospel. Hallelujah!” Graf was excited at the possibilities of what God had in mind, but the people were not ready to hear him preach yet. “Tell me, is anyone sick in your village?” 

A boy on a bicycle stopped to admire the car. “As a matter of fact, there is someone sick here, someone very sick,” the baker said. 

The baker and Graf talked about religion a bit, and Graf looked for a way in, a way to help this town be ready to hear the gospel. Just then, Graf heard a scream from a nearby house. “Who is that?” 

“That is August Bonnke, the owner of the town mill and this bakery,” the baker said. “He cries out in pain day and night.” 

“May I pray for him?” Graf pleaded. 

“Hermann,” the baker shouted to the 17-year-old boy admiring the car. “Tell your father that a preacher is here to pray for him.” 

Graf followed the boy and—as if he had a mandate from heaven—stepped into the Bonnke household 

Graf “announced that the Holy Spirit had been sent for a demonstration of the power of God that could make all things new. He took the sick man by the hand and commanded that he rise and be made whole in the name of Jesus. 

“August felt a jolt of heaven’s power surge through his body. He leapt from his sickbed and stood trembling like a criminal around whom the walls of a prison had just fallen.” August Bonnke gave his life to Jesus that day. 

That was eighteen years before Reinhard Bonnke [son of Hermann] was born, but the Holy Spirit continues the work that began in that sickroom—that day in 1922. 

“I could not stand ablaze with the Holy Spirit today if this forgotten brother had not carried the flame to the Bonnke family so long ago. It is the debt … I owe to a man named Luis Graf.” 

“And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4 NASB). 

The smallest act of obedience is better than the greatest intention. Pray for an opportunity to be God’s spokesman and expect an opportunity. God does impossible things in impossible situations with men who are willing to obey. 

“Reinhold Bonnke: Biography.” Christ for All Nations. Accessed August 8, 2020. https://​cfan.org/​reinhard-bonnke. 

Bonne, Reinhold. Interview by Pat Robertson. “Reinhold Bonnke: A Life on Fire.” CNN. Accessed August 8, 2020. https://www1.cbn.com/700club/reinhard-bonnke-life-fire. 

Masai, Jesse. “Reinhard Bonnke: The man who changed the face of Christianity in Africa.” BBC News. Published December 18, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50781193. 

Story read by: Chuck Stecker 

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

November 11. Charles Stanley. Stanley is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries. His popular radio and television broadcast, “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley,” can literally be heard around the globe in every nation and in more than 50 languages. 

Twice, he has been president of the Southern Baptist Convention. His mission is “to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to strengthen the local church.” 

Stanley has written more than 100 books. On this date in 2014, Stanley released his book Every Day in His Presence. 

Now, Stanley’s television program airs on 204 channels and 7 satellite networks. His radio show is on 458 stations and shortwave radio. His church membership now numbers more than 15,000. 

In his biography, Stanley writes that he models his efforts after Paul and this passage from the letter to the Ephesians: “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God’s mighty kindness and love” (Acts 20:24 TLB). 

If God is for you, who can be against you? 

Stanley and his family were still adjusting to their move from Florida to Atlanta when the senior pastor of their new church got fed up with the people’s coldness to the Word of God. He threw his microphone to the floor and stomped out of the building, leaving the congregation stunned—and pastorless. 

By default, Stanley became the acting pastor of the church. Seemed like it was by default, but in reality, it was by God’s design. 

The seven men on the church’s executive committee invited Stanley to join them for their regular business meetings, and he began attending. In the middle of one meeting, a point of contention arose. Stanley suggested that everyone stop and pray about it. 

One of the leaders replied, “This is business; leave God out of this.” 

“Well, they drew the battle line right there,” Stanley said. 

The more Stanley talked about prayer, the more uncomfortable the executive committee became. “For 18 months, they did their best to get rid of me,” Stanley said. 

During those agonizing months, Stanley continued to pray over the state of the church, and God reassured him that he had been called to this troubled congregation. “Deep in my spirit I knew the Lord wanted His church back, and that’s why He’d brought me here,” Stanley said. 

One particular day, a series of personal attacks took a toll on Stanley, and he got discouraged. From slander to outright lies to printed materials about his incompetence, the divisive leaders stopped at nothing to discredit his ministry. But Stanley continued to ask the Lord how he should carry on. 

The Lord spoke to Stanley, “You want to win this battle; this is the way you win it. Just see everything as coming from me … Trust me, listen to me, and watch me work.” So, Stanley did exactly that, and he prayed for God to somehow remove this venomous group. 

Sitting at home on a Saturday night, Stanley had no idea what he was going to speak the next morning. He had nothing. “Not even a passage of Scripture to anchor the message to,” he said. On Sunday morning, he still had no message or word from the Lord. 

When he arrived at church, he jotted down some notes. But as the service time approached, he tossed his notes in the trash and told himself, “No, I’ve trusted God all these years, and I’m not going to start relying on myself now.” 

As he stood before the church that morning, his Bible fell open to Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” And he preached from this passage for the next forty-five minutes, from the heart, without a manuscript. When he finished, he gave an invitation. “It was like a bomb went off; God sent people sprinting in two distinct directions,” Stanley said. 

One group rushed to the exits, but they were met by an even larger group of people, who were making their way to the altar. “It was as if God had thrown down the gauntlet, and each person was making his or her allegiance known. I had not said the first word about the battle against me … All I did was pray and preach the Word. And God did the rest,” he said. 

“The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (Exodus 14:14 NASB). 

Is there a situation in your life that could best be resolved by quietly praying and letting God work? If God is for you, who can be against you? 

Stanley, Charles. Courageous Faith: My Story From a Life of Obedience. Brentwood TN: Howard Books, 2017, p. 9. 

Stanley, Charles. “Charles Stanley on the Greatest Lesson He’s Ever Learned.” YouTube. Filmed May 17, 2017. https://​www.youtube.com/​watch? v=0KG36LKW5TI. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

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

November 10. William “Dabo” Swinney. Since 2009, Dabo has coached Clemson University’s Fighting Tigers, the same school John Heisman coached in 1900. And Dabo is the first coach in program history to lead Clemson to multiple national championships. 

In 2018, the Tigers became the first major college football team since the Penn Quakers in 1897 to finish a season 15–0. 

Twice, Dabo has been ACC Coach of the Year. He won the Woody Hayes Award—national coach of the year, and a week later won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award. Dabo is the first three-time winner in that award’s history. Today’s story is a look at how he got started. 

Don’t ignore the little things; you never know when they may play a big role. 

Dabo was a college kid with a big dream—he wanted to play college football for Alabama. 

Only two guys made it through try-outs, and Dabo was one of them. His dream was about to arrive. 

When pre-season camp started, Dabo was all in. But when he went to get his class schedule, his Pell Grant and student loans were late and unavailable. 

He wouldn’t be allowed to enroll or to play football unless he paid $550 by the next day. Worse, he already owed his landlord $400 in back rent. 

Dabo felt devastated, and with no money, he turned to his mother for help. She applied for a loan but was rejected. Since his family couldn’t help, Dabo turned to the only one left who could: he turned to God. 

He got on his knees and prayed for God to help him. But deep down inside, he expected things wouldn’t change, and he came up with a plan that seemed like his only choice. 

He would have to go back home and work to save enough money for tuition for the winter semester. Once he had enough, he could come back. But his chance to play football could be gone. If he couldn’t go through camp, his spot on the team might be taken. 

Wondering how things were going to be fixed, he walked back to his apartment, and when he got in, he checked the mail. In the stack were plenty of pizza coupons and—hidden between them—an unusual envelope from Discover. Dabo opened it. 

Two blank checks. 

Was it a scam? He would call the company to find out. 

On the phone, a woman explained that the checks were connected to a credit card he had been given through a student program. 

But Dabo hadn’t gotten a credit card. After checking, the woman told him that the card had been mailed to the wrong address and sent back to Discover, but he didn’t have to worry; it wasn’t used at all and had all the credit still intact. 

“What’s my credit limit?” he asked her. 

“A thousand dollars.” 

Dabo felt numb for a second. That was $550 tuition plus $400 rent. 

In tears, Dabo called his mother and told her what God had done. Dabo thanked God for providing the money. 

He dashed to Coleman Coliseum to pay his tuition and used the other check to pay his rent. After a few weeks, his grant and loan came through, and he quickly paid off the credit-card debt and budgeted his money, so he would never be short on cash again. 

In the end, Dabo went on to play football, which eventually led to a career in coaching. He made a positive difference not only in his players’ lives, but in the lives of his fans and followers too. 

“That was a specific prayer answered,” Dabo said. He realized that the routine tasks we do daily—the habits we form—are important too. God can use them all. 

“You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light” (Psalm 18:28 NIV). 

Think about some little things in your life. How is God using them in a big way? Don’t ignore the little things; you never know when they may play a big role. 

Schlabach, Mark. “Dabo Swinney overcame pain and poverty to be on the cusp of history.” ESPN. Posted January 6, 2016. https://​www.espn.com/​college-football/​story/_/id/​14519758/​dabo-swinney-overcame-pain-poverty-reach-new-heights-clemson. 

Staples, Andy. “Two checks, one path altered: How a timely Discover card envelope forever changed Dabo Swinney’s life.” Sports Illustrated, January 5, 2016. https://​www.si.com/​college-football/​2016/​01/​05/​how-timely-discover-card-envelope-changed-clemson-coach-dabo-swinneys-path. 

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

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

November 8. Nicolaus Copernicus. After Copernicus earned a doctorate in church law, he became a church administrator and a medical doctor. For fun, he studied, and that included astronomy. 

By 1514, he was widely known as an expert in astronomy, and church leaders sought his help in reforming the Julian calendar. He was the first to propose that Earth revolved around the Sun. He also taught that the Earth rotated on its axis. Nowadays, middle-school kids know that, but in the 16^th century, the ideas were new and controversial. 

On this date in 1510, Copernicus was elected Chancellor in Frombork, Poland. This is today’s story. 

Challenge the thinking of the day, and make a better future. 

Copernicus wasn’t your typical astronomer. His job revolved around medical and priestly duties, and he was so busy managing church affairs that astronomy became little more than a hobby. But his hobby led him to discover knowledge. New knowledge that could lead to important advances for society and to being shunned or worse … to his death. 

And with the dangerous new knowledge, Copernicus discovered that, though people often resist new knowledge, a courageous few can make lasting change. 

Copernicus was meticulous in his studies. Everything he did, he did with care and as much precision as possible. 

At the time, the Earth was thought to be the center of the universe. Even the church supported this notion, using it as proof of God. But what Copernicus saw in the motions of the heavens didn’t match what he had previously learned, and so he proposed a new theory: the Earth wasn’t the center. He postulated that the sun was the center of the Universe, and the Earth revolved around it. So did the other planets. And his discoveries didn’t challenge his belief in God, but strengthened it. 

But would others come to believe as he did? The world was changing. Columbus had discovered a new land. Martin Luther had challenged the church. Explorers were expanding a world once thought small and confined. 

But not everyone was on board with such drastic changes. Anyone who dared to challenge the knowledge of the day risked the death penalty. Copernicus understood this, and it worried him. Stories about fellow intellectuals being burned at the stake echoed in his mind. He didn’t want to face such a fate. 

So Copernicus stayed silent. Fear, at first, had won. For more than thirty years, his discoveries remained hidden to all but a select few. 

But one day, as Copernicus got older, a German named Rheticus came across Copernicus’s work and deemed it revolutionary. Originally, Copernicus had resolved that his discoveries would only be subtle talk amongst the scientific community, but Rheticus disagreed. Copernicus needed to publish his work to everyone—and therefore change the world. 

Copernicus hesitated. He remembered what had happened to people who dared to challenge the knowledge of the day. He also wanted to make sure the work was done right. The mathematics had to be perfect, the science unmistakable. If he was to be challenged, he wanted to make sure the proof was unchallengeable. 

But Rheticus would not give up. He reminded Copernicus that despite the fear that kept him quiet, there were younger intellectuals who would crave his scientific knowledge. And if that knowledge got out, everyone would finally realize the truth. That truth wouldn’t challenge their faith or make the authority of the church crumble. It would make God’s creation understood. 

Rheticus’s persistence paid off, and after realizing that his friend was right, Copernicus agreed to publish. The man who had spent a lifetime serving the faith now had to put it to practice. The truth of how God had made the universe needed to get out to the public, and fear couldn’t stop him. 

The book with Copernicus’s discoveries was assembled and sent to Nuremberg, Germany, to be printed. But the controversy had only just begun. 

When word reached the people of the town that such a book was about to be released, accusations of heresy and threats of excommunication showed up. The university there even threatened to break the printing press. 

Friends had to get weapons and protect the printing press, and three times there was an attempted break-in, once with fire. For Copernicus, anxiety rose, but he didn’t back down. He would see the book finished and published. 

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3 NIV). 

It wasn’t long before Copernicus, in his old age and frail health, had a stroke. He became paralyzed on one side. But a notice came that the printed book would be ready in three days. Copernicus managed to stay alive just long enough. As he lay dying, the messenger arrived and put the book in his hand. The truth had been printed. Faith had overcome fear. 

In the end, his book De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium went on to change the scientific world as we know it. 

Does the status quo need to be challenged? Challenge the thinking of the day, and make a better future. 

Neil, Samuel. Epoch Men, and the Results of Their Lives. Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, 1871. 

Kesten, Hermann. Copernicus and His World. New York: Roy Publishers, 1945. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man? 

Galileo Learned from Copernicus 

On June 22, 1633, Galileo stood trial before the Catholic Church. While a devoted Catholic himself, he had made many enemies in the higher ranks of the church. 

The court accused him of heresy. His crime was to believe and teach something that most of his society did not believe—the idea that the Sun lay at the center of the Solar System, and the Earth orbited around the Sun. 

While we now know that the Sun lies at the center of our solar system, and not the entire universe, the idea that everything in our solar system revolved around the Sun was still a great leap in scientific thought at the time. And Galileo faced the wrath of the Church authorities for teaching his ideas. 

It had been a long time since he had first heard and believed Copernicus’s theory that the Earth revolved around the sun. On January 7, 1610, Galileo used his homemade telescope to look at the stars and see the evidence that the heavenly bodies orbited around the sun, and not the Earth. 

Galileo knew that the right thing to do was to make this knowledge public. In trying to share the truth with the scientific community, he spent many years fighting the authorities of his society. 

This long and weary scientific battle had finally ended for Galileo, and he had seemingly lost it. His enemies in power would no longer allow him to teach the idea that the Earth revolved around the sun, even going so far as to ban his book on the subject. 

Galileo listened as the speaker for the court continued his long-winded monologue and finally arrived at Galileo’s punishment. He was forced to declare that he was wrong, and he spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. 

This was not the end of the cause he fought for, however. The truth of the solar system’s structure was eventually revealed to the wider scientific community, and the Catholic Church had little choice but to update their view of the world. 

November 7. John Jay. In the colonies, Jay was a successful lawyer. Three years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, he served as president of the Continental Congress, which coordinated the American colonies’ resistance to Britain during the first years of the Revolutionary War.  

The young government sent Jay to Spain to get their government to recognize the newborn nation and to fund their war against Great Britain. Jay knew he would need God’s wisdom and help, but he never imagined it would be the voyage itself that would put his trust in God on display. 

On this date in 1779, Jay survived the storm-damaged ship named Confederacy. 

Even when we are in danger, we can trust God with our lives. 

In late October, Jay and his wife Sarah and several others—including French diplomat Conrad Gerard—boarded the ship Confederacy and set sail for Europe. 

Despite some choppy seas and seasickness, there was nothing out of the ordinary. But early on the morning of November 7, 1779, while most of the passengers still slept, timber groaned and strained and cracked. Men cried out in alarm. 

The men hurried onto the deck and found the mast broken and multiple sails hanging limp ^⁠ and the whole ship tossing wildly in the wind-whipped sea. 

Sarah Jay later told her mother, “We had been deprived of nothing less than our bowsprit, foremast, main-mast, and mizen-mast, so that we were in an awkward situation.” ^⁠ 

Seems Mrs. Jay had a knack for understatement. 

After a long and frightening day and with the ship somewhat under control, the passengers again retired to their beds. 

But the following morning, they found the rudder damaged. Now there was serious doubt they would ever reach their destination—or escape with their lives. 

As the crew devised a makeshift rudder, Jay refused to become alarmed. In fact, Jay’s wife credited his “amiable example” of trusting God to remind her who was in control of their lives. ^⁠ 

Jay proceeded to meet with the Captain and the French Minister to decide their next steps. French Minister Gerard wanted to continue to their original destination, but the Captain feared it would not be safe to sail that route. Instead, he suggested the British West Indies, where Jay and Gerard and the other passengers could secure a different ship to Europe. 

As the conflict between the men raged, Jay stood quiet in the middle, certain that he knew the One who could command the wind and the waves. 

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’” (Mark 4:39–41 NIV). 

So Jay used his lawyer skills to question the officers about routes and weather and sailing a damaged ship. After listening to their reasoning, he had them explain all of it again in writing. He presented their arguments for heading to the West Indies to Gerard without comment. ^⁠ 

But Gerard turned sulky and refused to respond, so Jay yielded to the Captain’s decision. The Confederacy headed to Martinique. As a reward for Jay’s efforts to make a wise and informed decision, he endured the displeasure of the French Minister, who “ceased to observe that cordiality and frankness, which had before attended his conduct to me.”^⁠ The Jays, however, responded to Gerard with kindness and organized a birthday party for Madame Gerard. 

In speaking of Jay’s faith, when they didn’t know what the outcome of the situation would be, Sarah Jay wrote: “It is the property of a diamond to appear most brilliant in the dark, and surely a good man never shines to greater advantage than in the gloomy hour of adversity.”^⁠ 

In confidence, the thoughtful man speaks up. Challenge yourself. Even when we are in danger, we can trust God with our lives. 

Stahr, Walter. John Jay: Founding Father. New York: Hambledon and London, 2005, pp 117–119. 

Jay, Sarah. “MRS JAY TO HER MOTHER.” In Vol 1 (1763–1781), edited by Henry P Johnston, 3,887–3,916. The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay. New York: GP Putman’s Sons, 1890. 

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

November 6. Chuck Colson. On this date in 1969, Colson was appointed Special Counsel to President Nixon, and some people referred to him as Nixon’s “hatchet man.” After the Watergate scandal, after coming to know Jesus the Christ, Colson founded Prison Fellowship. 

It has since become the United States’s largest Christian nonprofit that serves prisoners, former prisoners, and their families and is a leading advocate for criminal-justice reform. 

From the ashes of broken lives, God can raise changed men. 

Wealthy. Powerful. Proud. Three words that summed up Colson’s life at the height of his career as President Richard Nixon’s right-hand man. A man who “drank and smoked heavily, who partied with the rich, famous, and powerful.” 

Never in a million years would he have imagined that God would one day destroy this powerful, sinful life. 

In 1973, after government organizations and reporters revealed Nixon’s involvement in the illegal wiretapping of phones in the Democratic National Committee, the Nixon government came under intense public scrutiny. Colson, who had masterminded many of Nixon’s political schemes—including spying on political opponents—began to buckle under the pressure, especially when the Supreme Court demanded all of Nixon’s tape recordings of White House meetings. 

Colson said, “My world was collapsing. I had an overwhelming sense that I was unclean.” 

Before serving as Nixon’s Special Counsel, Colson’s law firm had represented the Raytheon Company, a major US defense contractor, and on a hot, humid night in August 1973, Colson decided to visit Raytheon’s president, Tom Phillips. 

“Tom had become a Christian, and he seemed so different. I wanted to ask him what happened. He read to me from Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, particularly about the great sin that is pride. A proud man walks through life looking down on other people. He cannot see something above himself immeasurably superior—God. That night, Tom told me about encountering Christ in his own life.” 

And Tom even offered to pray with Colson, who politely refused, promising that he would visit again after he had read the book for himself. 

But escape from Tom didn’t go as planned. Colson said, “When I went to drive away, I couldn’t. I was crying too hard—and I was not one to ever cry. I spent an hour calling out to God. I did not even know the right words. I simply knew that I wanted him. God heard my cry. Jesus came into my life.” 

Less than a year later, on March 1, 1974, Colson was named as one of Nixon’s 7 co-conspirators in the Watergate scandal. He initially pled the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying against himself, but after much prayer, he pled guilty to a related crime: defaming Daniel Ellsberg, who had compiled damning evidence against the Nixon administration. Colson was indeed a changed man. 

Colson was sentenced to seven months in prison, and although he had received Christ and was genuine in his conversion, his life appeared to be in ruins. 

The Lord, however, chose this dark time to reveal His plans. Colson said, “I found myself drawn to the idea that God had put me in prison for a purpose. I felt God’s hand on my shoulder. ‘Submit yourself to Me, and I will guide you,’ were the words implanted in my mind.” 

Colson emerged from prison with a new mission: to mobilize the Church to minister to prisoners. Prison Fellowship was founded in 1976, and as of 2020, God is still using the ministry to serve prisoners, former prisoners, and their families. Hundreds of thousands of men and women have encountered Christ through Prison Fellowship. 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8 NIV). 

Have you surrendered your life to Christ, so He can make you a new man? From the ashes of broken lives, God can raise changed men. 

Colson, Chuck. “Thirty-Five Years in the Light: Reflections on My Conversion.” Drell’s Descants. Published August 25, 2008. https://descant.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/chuck-colson-reflects-on-his-conversion/. 

Colson, Chuck. “Breakpoint: Remembering Chuck Colson’s New Life in Christ.” Breakpoint. Published by Eric Metaxis, April 21, 2017. https://www.breakpoint.org/breakpoint-remembering-chuck-colson-new-life/.  

Colson, Charles. Born Again. Ada, MI: Chosen, 2004. 

Story read by: Chuck Stecker