Podcast: 365 Christian Men

October 25. Francis Asbury. Although Asbury suffered much and was often ill, on this date in 1773, after nearly dying, he miraculously rebounded. 

Asbury spent 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States as a circuit-riding preacher, a minister, and a bishop. It is estimated that he ordained 2,000 ministers and rode more than 130,000 miles up and down the East Coast and as far west as Kentucky and Tennessee. 

When illness is a constant companion, God’s grace is needed. 

Asbury experienced so much sickness that anyone in his ministerial shoes would give up. 

When he was 26, Asbury answered John Wesley’s challenge to cross the Atlantic Ocean and preach the gospel in America. He was appointed a superintendent and given the ministry of a circuit-riding preacher. A circuit consisted of 25 to 30 villages and towns, and usually encompassed 200 to 600 miles, often in bitter cold and snow or the stifling heat of summer. 

Asbury kept a journal of his travels and his ministry: where he went, the people he met, responses to his preaching of the gospel of Christ. Throughout his journal he records that he was frequently ill: headaches, toothaches, horrible sore throats, swollen feet, and worst of all undiagnosed sicknesses that put him in bed, sometimes for days. 

One of his entries reveals his belief that he was near death. “My disorder has increased.” His friends were sure he was going to die. “But the Lord thought of both them and me to raise me up from the bonds of death,” he later wrote. 

He and his friends prayed and asked God to heal him of sickness because they knew the Scriptures. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1‒2 ESV). 

The call of God was upon his life, and Asbury refused to let life drag him down. Yet his days of illness were far from over. At the start of the next year he wrote, “My body has been indisposed for some days past, but the grace of God has rested on my soul, and I have been enabled to preach … with freedom and power, and great boldness, the Lord being my helper.” 

A little later on he noted: “I have been sick near 10 months … yet I have preached 300 times and rode near 2,000 miles.” 

His days of illness and fatigue were far from over, yet Asbury declared throughout his journal, “What a miracle of grace am I!” 

Asbury’s story is like that of the apostle Paul, who asked God to take away his thorn in the flesh, which was probably an illness of some sort. 

Paul wrote, “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:8–10 NLT). 

Is there an obstacle dragging you down? God’s strength is a prayer away. When illness is a constant companion, God’s grace is needed. 

Francis Asbury. The Journal of the Rev. Francis Asbury, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Vol. I. Bedford, MA: Applewood Books, 1821. October 25, 1773, p. 54. 

Christianity Today. “Francis Asbury Methodist on horseback.” Accessed July 7, 2020. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/francis-asbury.html. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

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 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 24. Bruce Olson. Bruce is a Scandinavian American Christian missionary best known for his work in bringing Christianity to the Motilone Indians of Colombia and Venezuela. But on his very first trip into the jungle, Bruce walked in circles for hours, and when he stopped for the night, he had no machete, not even a tool to open his can of sardines. 

He sat on the trail with his mule, and he when he realized that the mule wasn’t scared, Bruce figured he would be all right, too. Getting to all right had some hiccups, but welcoming this people to faith in Jesus was worth it. 

Then, after years serving here, on this date in 1988, Bruce was captured by a band of guerrilla terrorists who wanted to control this territory. And God rescued him again. Today’s story takes place in early days, when reaching out to the Motilone Indians. 

Many men run from danger, but a few run toward it and overcome. 

Bruce Olson ran toward. 

Weak and wounded, Bruce stumbled onward through the jungle, and every time he slowed his pace, a hostile native jabbed him with an arrow. They led him forward to a clearing and locked him in an Indian longhouse. 

For days he suffered there, and infection spread from an arrow that had been pulled out of his thigh. His stomach churned from hunger sometimes, but at other times, acrid smells of burning monkey fur and parrot feathers gagged him. The month dragged on as he prayed. 

Then one moonlit night Bruce made a daring escape—and survived! He could go back to America where he was safe …  

But he didn’t. 

When he was  a teenager, he had heard a rousing sermon on the need to reach unreached souls for Christ. This began an inner struggle. “Why can’t I be your servant here in Minneapolis?” he had asked the Lord. God didn’t answer, but slowly changed Bruce’s heart until the idea of serving in a foreign land became intriguing. South America had captured his interest, and two countries in particular: Colombia and Venezuela. He knew he had to go. 

Once Bruce surrendered to the idea of foreign service, he became unstoppable. At nineteen—with only seventy dollars in his pocket and no missionary backing to support him—he flew to South America. 

“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty’” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV). 

Bruce prepared by spending several months adjusting to jungle life with a less aggressive tribe called the Yukos. He convinced six of them to guide his way to Motilone territory. (This was the expedition that ended with Bruce’s unfortunate capture initially described.) The Yukos escaped back into the jungle. 

Later, Bruce went alone to try to reach the Motilones, and he left gifts on their trails and waited. When they appeared again, they cautiously received him as harmless—even a friend. God had granted Bruce acceptance with the tribe! Now the Motilones called him “Bruchko.” 

Incredibly, the Motilones  held an ancient belief that a tall prophet with yellow hair carrying banana stalks (Bruce was tall and blond) would one day appear to lead them to God. Knowledge of God would come out of the banana stalks. 

One time when Bruce and the Motilones were hunting, they talked about the legend, and the group came upon two Motilones—one looking for God in a hole, the other over the horizon. Someone sliced open a fallen stalk. The inner leaves fell open like the pages of a book. 

Bruce cried out, “This is it! I have it here! This is God’s banana stalk.” He took his Bible and held it up, then proceeded to share the gospel in ways the natives could comprehend. Eventually, nearly the entire Motilone tribe began to “walk on Jesus’ trail” through faith in Christ. 

No one would have suspected a near-sighted, unathletic, and unassuming teenage boy would leave the United States to reach a tribe so fierce and isolated.  He would be the first to contact them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet Bruce Olson believed he was called to be like Jesus wherever it would take him, and he went. 

Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV), but with Jesus we can do anything he asks. 

Is God asking you to reach out to someone? Take a step of faith toward that one today. Many men run from danger, but a few run toward it and overcome. 

Olson, Bruce. Bruchko: The Astonishing True Story of a 19-Year-Old American, His Capture by the Motilone Indians and His Adventures in Christianizing the Stone Age Tribe. Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2006. p. 26.  

Olson, Bruce and James Lund. Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle, How Bruce Olson Brought a Stone Age Tribe into the 21st Century. Lake Mary, Florida: Charisma House, 2006. 

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

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 23. Nate “The Great” Marquardt. Nate is a Mixed Martial Arts champion, and in Colorado, he founded a Martial Arts gym that produces champions. 

Among other things, Nate has held multiple MMA titles, including the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship. Nate has black belts in four different martial arts. 

He also appeared in the 2011 movie “Warrior.” 

About his faith, Nate said, “I learned about a false Christianity that says you can live however you want and call yourself a Christian and be accepted. The true Gospel is the Gospel that changes lives … It changed my life, our family life, changed my wife’s life and my kids’ lives.” 

If career prestige defines you, you’ll crash. There’s only room for one God. 

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Fighter Nate scanned the Canadian arena. It was packed—but the numbers were nothing compared to the more than one-million viewers predicted to watch live on-line. 

Nate expected to win. Needed to win. The year before, he had earned the Strikeforce World Title. Being a professional fighter brought prestige, and when you win, everybody loves you. But Nate became obsessed with winning. Being the best had become an idol to him. 

And he had lost his last fight. To contend for the UFC world title, two losses in a row would be impossible to overcome. Not that he needed to worry. He had never lost two in a row. 

Nate touched gloves with his opponent, Ellenberger. The bell dinged. 

Nate tuned into his body—his balance, his movement, his skill. Nate was better, faster, and more skilled. Every blow landed like a MiG 25. 

But Ellenberger caught Nate with a single punch. 

Stunned, Nate fell to his knees. He tried to grab Ellenberger’s knees for a takedown, but Nate couldn’t defend against his opponent’s repeated blows. The ref called the fight. 

In shock, Nate took one step, and then another on the walk of UFC shame. Out of the cage. Past the crowd. Out of the arena. 

One mistake had cost it all. 

Nate went on home. The loss had stripped him of the prestige he craved, and he crashed. 

Over the next little time, the IRS called. Sponsors dropped him. His marriage teetered on the cliff of collapse. Nate had believed in God, but now he doubted. 

When he tucked his daughter into bed, as usual, he read to her from a Bible-story book and then prayed. But something nagged at him. When she nuzzled into her pillow on the third night, he realized what was bothering him. He was a hypocrite. Was he telling his little girl a bunch of fairytales? 

Nate watched his daughter slip into sleep. She was valuable. A miracle. Without a Creator, how could there be this precious child? 

Nate realized he did still believe in God. Problem was—Nate was mad at God. 

A few days later, Nate and his wife zoned on the couch. The TV blared. Suddenly, inside Nate’s mind, a story unfolded. In chronological order memories surfaced. Things he had never thought about. It was the story of his life, but he wasn’t the narrator. 

When it ended, Nate hopped off the couch. “God is real!” He jumped up and down. “God is with me. He’s been with me the whole time!” 

But that also meant God had been with Nate through all of it. When anger had ignited his nasty temper. When he had indulged himself in porn. During his indiscretions. 

Convicted, he confessed to his wife. She listened—and then she watched. And he knew she was watching—watching to see if he had really changed. 

Nate wanted to live the rest of his life for God, but in the past, he had failed, and he was afraid he would fail again. He couldn’t change himself. He prayed, “God, can you just change me?” 

The career idolatry, as well as the anger, lust, and materialism disappeared. As a kid, Nate had heard that Christians were born again. But it never made sense. He had thought that when people believed in Jesus, their sins were forgiven. Then when they died, they went to heaven. Until death, life was one long sin-struggle. 

But now there was real change. And change didn’t come in struggle, falls, and failures; it came as he stepped into a brand-new identity. The Bible called believers saints, not sinners. 

“But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:17 NLT). 

Now Nate wanted to behave like the person God had intended him to be. As Nate focused on his new identity, his need for prestige fell away. 

Nate’s career no longer fed him. He still fought to win, but now it was God’s praise he most desired. 

In your life, does career success—or failure—dethrone God? If career prestige defines you, you’ll crash. There’s only room for one God. 

Based on an interview with Nate Marquardt, October 31, 2019. 

Story read by: Nathan Walker 

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 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 22. Charles Finney. Finney was a lawyer turned preacher, and many people thought his preaching sounded more like legal arguments than sermons. 

He became a missionary in upstate New York. But when a man said he was pleased with Finney’s sermons, the preacher was distressed. He didn’t want to be pleasing; he wanted to be effective. So, at the end of a sermon, he challenged the entire congregation: “You who have made up your minds to become Christians, and will give your pledge to make your peace with God immediately, should rise up.” 

But the people had never heard an altar call; it wasn’t a thing. So, they all just sat there. 

“You have rejected Christ and his gospel,” Finney said. And the dismayed congregation left the church that night. 

By the third night—one guy was so mad he showed up with a gun—at the end of the sermon, when Finney called them to come forward and make peace with God, many, many people came. Afterward, Finney visited the new converts and found their lives had changed. 

So he rode from town-to-town preaching repentance and helping people come to the Lord. But some clergymen thought Finney was allowing too much show of emotion, and they criticized him for his bizarre practices, which came to be called New Measures—with a capital N and M. 

The unthinkable things Finney did included: allowing women to pray in public—even when both men and women were present, putting a pew at the front of the church for anyone who was worried about his salvation, and praying in common English, rather than the language of 200 years before. 

When a man determines to obey God, God promises to go with him. 

Finney led millions of people to Jesus, and his revival meetings changed entire cities. 

In September 1830, Finney received a desperate invitation from three troubled Presbyterian churches. They wanted him to come to minister for a time in Rochester, New York. 

Finney had no desire to accept the invitation due to the town’s immoral reputation and the infighting among the three churches. One of them was also without a pastor, and its members feared they would soon “be scattered, and perhaps annihilated as a church.” 

But after he retired to his room, the Holy Spirit challenged Finney, saying, “Do you shun the field because there is so much that is wrong? If all was right, you would not be needed.” 

Convinced that the Lord was calling him to Rochester, Finney repented of his unbelief. “I felt ashamed to shrink from the work because of its difficulties; and it was strongly impressed upon me, that the Lord would be with me, and that was my field.” 

His team arrived in Rochester the next morning, and the first person they encountered was the wife of a prominent lawyer. A woman who was not pleased to see him. 

“She was a very proud woman, and she greatly feared that a revival would interfere with the pleasures and amusements that she had promised herself that winter.” 

In response, Finney “pressed her to renounce sin, the world, and self, and everything for Christ.” Their conversation continued for a considerable time until finally, under great conviction of sin, the lawyer’s wife knelt down to pray with Finney. 

But even then, Finney battled in prayer for her, “holding her up before God as needing to be converted—to become as a little child. I felt that the Lord was answering prayer. When I stopped praying and opened my eyes, her face was turned up toward heaven, tears streaming down; and she was praying. From that moment, she was zealous for the conversion of her friends.” 

This remarkable event confirmed that God had indeed sent Finney to Rochester, and it was only the beginning of a mighty move of the Holy Spirit: “The Lord was aiming at the conversion of the highest classes of society. My meetings soon became thronged with that class: lawyers, physicians, merchants, and indeed all the most intelligent people became more and more interested. They became very anxious and came freely to our meetings; and numbers of them came forward and publicly gave their hearts to God.” 

During his time in Rochester, the Lord led Finney and his team to continually labor in prayer for the work they were doing. “The spirit of prayer was poured out powerfully, so much so, that some persons stayed away from the public services to pray.” 

The results were undeniable, for as Finney preached from church to church, revival swept across the whole city. 

Charles P. Bush, a native of Rochester who came to Jesus during the revival, later remarked: “The whole community was stirred. Religion was the topic of conversation in the house, in the shop, in the office, and on the street … Grog shops were closed, the Sabbath was honored, the sanctuaries were thronged with happy worshippers … There was a wonderful falling off of crime. The courts had little to do, and the jail was nearly empty for years afterward.” 

“To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22 NIV). 

What would it be like to see God touch others powerfully through you? When a man determines to obey God, God promises to go with him. 

Finney, Charles G. The Autobiography of Charles Finney. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2006. 

Hyatt, Eddie. 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2002. 

Johnson, James E. “Charles Gradison Finney: Father of American revivalism.” Christianity Today. October 1, 1988. https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-20/charles-grandison-finney-father-of-american-revivalism.html. 

Story read by: Chuck Stecker 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 21. Jerry Dunn. Jerry was a recognized expert on alcoholism and alcoholics. Trouble is he earned that distinction the hard way–firsthand experience. 

He presented at special conferences for pastors, medical students, and doctors. Jerry was also the executive director of People’s City Mission Home in Nebraska and president of the International Union of Gospel Missions. He is author of Alcoholics Victorious and God is for the Alcoholic. 

Obeying God gives him an opportunity to provide for you. 

It was a cold February afternoon—the kind of cold that numbs the fingers and tests the will of winter-weary commuters scraping frost off icy windshields. 

When Jerry Dunn drove home and walked in the front door, he didn’t expect to see his family isolated in the kitchen. His wife Greta had turned the oven on high, but it wasn’t eliminating the damp chill. The home’s fuel tank had run out. 

Jerry’s income should have been enough to cover household expenses, but there were other expenses—restitution that needed to be paid on account of his drinking days. 

Thank God those drinking days were over. Jerry had discovered new life in Christ when he surrendered his old life to God and was converted in his jail cell. It happened after a two-year drunk and a stint in a Texas prison. 

There was nothing Jerry wanted more than to stay sober, and to honor God and to keep the steps in his AA recovery. The Eighth Step was to make a list of all the people he had harmed and to become willing to make amends to them all. 

Paying restitution was a necessary part of making those amends, and Jerry was more than happy to do it because now he belonged to Jesus. He wouldn’t let a hardship like running out of fuel destroy his peace or drive him to the bottle like he had in the old days. Instead, with Greta, he bowed his head and prayed that God would fill the oil tank. 

Wishful thinking? Jerry didn’t think so. 

That same afternoon Jerry felt like he was supposed to go over to the print shop, where he had done business before and had made friendships. After some small-talk with a guy in the front office, Jerry wondered why he had come. Was it really God prompting him to be there or just desperation? 

Jerry asked God to let him know why he was there. Then he decided to just leave and head over to the Open Door Mission, where he worked serving broken men, who needed a warm bed and a hot meal. 

Jerry was wrapping up the conversation in the printing shop, when the man he had been speaking with stopped him. “ … Jerry … wait … can you take a gift?” 

Jerry assumed he meant a gift for the rescue mission. 

But that’s not what the man meant. He wanted to give Jerry a gift—even though Jerry had said nothing about his financial troubles or the lack of fuel at home. 

The generous man proceeded to write out a check to Jerry in the exact amount needed to fill the oil tank. When Jerry looked at the amount written on the check, he was overwhelmed at the magnitude of God’s provision. 

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14–15 NIV). 

Jerry was learning what it meant to live by faith and trust in God alone. 

Has God taught you how to trust Him in everything? Obeying God gives him an opportunity to provide for you. 

Dunn, Jerry. God is for the Alcoholic, Revised and Expanded. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1965 

“City Mission: An Oasis of God’s.” Daily Nebraskan. October 21, 1974. https://​nebnewspapers.unl.edu/​lccn/​sn96080312/​1974–10–21/​ed-1/​seq-6. pdf. 

Story read by: Joel Carpenter 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 20. Karl Howg. Karl worked hard and accomplished many big things. 

But one day, he missed out on an ice cream cone and gained a large dose of wisdom. Here’s how it happened. 

Your time is a gift; manage it well or lose it to lesser things.  

Karl knew how to work hard. For him, a 60-hour work week was typical, and a 40-hour work week would be a vacation. 

And the man was efficient. Karl would use his only day off well: this Sunday afternoon, he would mow the lawn and take his lovely wife out for ice cream. 

But while he was mowing, a bee stung him. 

Nothing happened right away, and he finished mowing the lawn. But something wasn’t right, and his tongue began to swell. 

He needed help. Now. 

His lovely wife rushed him to the ER, and within seconds, a slew of medical types surrounded him. 

And that’s all Karl remembers. 

They inserted a breathing tube and transferred Karl to the Intensive Care Unit. When he woke the next day, he had lost a day and a night of his life. 

Karl was all set to grab his lovely wife and go out for ice cream, but that wasn’t going happen. Time had passed without his knowledge, just slipped away. Gone. He had no memory of the last eighteen hours. 

Now time took on a new meaning for Karl. 

It was a Monday when he woke, and Karl was stunned to find he wasn’t at work. This was extremely out of the ordinary. Even uncomfortable. But the longer he lay in the ICU, the more he realized that time was a gift, and it was limited, and it came without a guarantee. 

Karl had been giving his life to work, and work didn’t appreciate his time in a way that meant anything. Not like his family did. 

Three days later, Karl left the hospital with a new goal: he would give his time to his family and make that his priority. 

One week later, he drove two hours to visit his parents, his son, his daughter, and his grandkids. A couple days after that, he and his wife took the sixteen-hour drive to Colorado to visit his other son and daughter-in-law. They spent two days there. 

It’s not like he had lost his work ethic; he would always be faithful to his job. But now he was willing to step back and see things more clearly—to take time away from work. Now, he would give his time to something much more worthwhile. 

“Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17 NRSV). 

What are you giving your time to? Your time is a gift; manage it well or lose it to lesser things. 

Based on an interview with Karl Howg, September 2019. 

Story read by: Joel Carpenter 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Story written by: Toni M Babcock, https://www.facebook.com/toni.babcock.1 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 19. William R. Bright. Until eighth grade, Bill went to school in a one-room schoolhouse. And once he got started in life, he never slowed down. In 1951 he founded Campus Crusade for Christ—a ministry for university students. 

Then Bill spent the next 50 years growing Campus Crusade until it became the largest international Christian ministry in the world and serves not only students, but also inner cities, the military, athletes, political and business leaders, the entertainment industries, and families. By 2003, the organization had a staff of 26,000 and 225,000 volunteers in 191 countries. 

In 1952 he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws, which a whole generation of believers have used, and more than 2.5 billion booklets have been distributed. 

In 1972, he held a rally in Dallas the press called “Religious Woodstock,” and 85,000 young people came. In 1974, he did it again, this time in Korea, and every night 1.5 million people attended. In 1980 he held another event in Korea and 2-to-almost-3 million people attended. 

On this date in 1979, Bill released The Jesus Film, which has been viewed by 5.1 billion people in 234 countries. The most translated film in history, it appears in 1,400 languages. 

Sometimes the thing you don’t want to do, is the thing you must do. Do the hard thing. 

The morning didn’t start well. 

During Sunday school, Bill disappeared. He had been asked to counsel someone in crisis, but no one had told his wife Vonette. So, when he finally did join her—almost five hours later—Vonette let him have it. If the tables were turned, what would Bill have expected? 

During the drive home and throughout a tense (and very late) lunch, they hashed things out. 

Eventually Bill asked Vonette to forgive him, not only for the disappearance-incident, but for being insensitive in general as he juggled a too-busy schedule. Then they prayed together at the dining-room table. And they discussed their hopes for their marriage. Bill suggested they go to separate rooms, write out their expectations, and then come together to compare and ask God what He wanted. 

Vonette listed the practical: children, a suitable home where she could minister to people from all walks of life, a car, and God’s blessing. 

In the other room Bill pondered. Paul’s description of himself came to mind. “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1 NKJV). 

Bill, too, was a bondservant to Jesus. On his paper Bill renounced “every single thing” in his life to “the control of the Lord Jesus Christ.” With God’s help, Bill would do whatever his Master asked. 

Late that afternoon Bill and Vonette came together again in the living room. They acknowledged each other’s goals were valid. They didn’t try to reconcile them. In faith they signed both papers. Peace returned as they declared the papers their “Contract with God.” God could do “anything He wanted” in and through them for His glory. Together they put aside their dreams, aspirations, and “little puny plans” to “embrace His magnificent” ones. They were God’s bondservants. For the first time, Bill felt truly free. 

Later that week Bill studied for his Hebrew class at Fuller Seminary. About midnight a warm sense of God’s presence enveloped Bill. He didn’t see a physical form or hear an audible voice, but God showed Bill a panoramic view of fulfilling the Great Commission. A vast spiritual movement emanated from Australia and spread across the globe. 

As Bill sensed the partnership of the Holy Spirit, he was astonished by his absolute conviction that reaching the whole world with the story of Jesus could actually happen. He didn’t know how, but God did. 

Bill was to begin by reaching leaders on college campuses. The slogan would be “Reach the campus for Christ today—reach the world for Christ tomorrow.” 

Bill hardly slept. As soon as Vonette awoke, he told her everything, and she celebrated with him. Bill floated through his classes and then rushed to tell his mentor, Doctor Wilbur Smith. As Professor Smith listened, he began to pace. “This is of God! This is of God! This is of God!” he said. 

The next morning Professor Smith called Bill out of class. He handed him a small paper with “CCC” written on it. Beneath the acronym was “Campus Crusade for Christ.” 

Years later, Bill looked back on the day he and Vonette became bondservants of Christ. It had been  the “beginning of a whole … new lifestyle.” God had used Campus Crusade to tell billions of people all over the world about Jesus. But Bill was convinced it wouldn’t have happened without that day of surrender. 

Is there a relationship in your life where each of you do your own thing? What would happen if you “did God’s thing” together? Sometimes the thing you don’t want to do, is the thing you must do. Do the hard thing. 

Richardson, Michael. “Chapter 8: The Contract.” Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2000.  

Richardson, Michael. “Chapter 9: The Vision.” Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2000.  

Shibley, David. “Chapter 2: Christ’s Slave.” Great for God. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Publishing Group Inc., 2012. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Story written by: Paula Moldenhauer, http://paulamoldenhauer.com/ 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved. 

October 18. Remi Adeleke. Remi’s dad was an architect, an executive, and a Nigerian Chief, which made Remi a prince. But after his father passed away, Remi, his mom, and his brother moved to the Bronx. Remi said, “We went from having it all to not having much of anything.” Young and adrift, Remi turned to scamming, stealing, and selling drugs. But he did have one treat. 

Once a month, he got to go to the movies. In 1995, when Remi saw Bad Boys, starring Will Smith, he realized he could be more than a thug. He said, “They were everyday guys trying to go out and save people.” Another movie introduced him to the Navy SEALs. When Remi was nineteen, a street-deal gone bad was the final nudge he needed. He said, “I gave up that street life for six months, and then I joined the military.” 

At first, he scored low on the Navy’s vocational-assessment tests, and he didn’t know how to swim. Still he worked at it, retested, and qualified for SEAL training. “When I want something, I will run through walls to get it,” he said. 

Remi was a Navy SEAL for seven years, and then went on to act in movies and advertising. Remi explains, “We live in a time when so many people are afraid to show their true colors.” He said his job was to “show them perseverance. Show them hope. Show them resilience.” 

A man can fail and fail, but it’s failure only if he fails to learn from it. 

All eyes were on the Senior Chief. “Prepare to enter the water!” 

Remi stood there on the edge of the pool with sixty pounds of diving tanks strapped to his back, plus a twenty-pound weight belt around his waist. He wore fins. It had all come down to this moment. Pass the test he had already failed twice or his dream to become a Navy SEAL was over. 

“You will tread water with your full dive load for five minutes. At no time during the five minutes will your hands touch the water. If they do, you will fail! After we call time, you will swim twenty-five meters to the north end on your stomach, touch the wall, then swim twenty-five meters back to the south end on your back. It is the only time when you can use your arms and hands.” 

Looking down at the water Remi’s seven-year journey flashed through his mind. It had all started with the dream of a street kid from the Bronx who couldn’t swim. 

For Remi, failure was only a failure if he failed to learn from it. Each time the Navy tried to shatter his dream, Remi gathered himself back up, learned, and fought his way back. He had done all he could to prepare for this moment. 

“Enter the water!” 

“ … last time I could barely keep my head out of the water; it was a fight just to breathe. Then I started swallowing water. It was like I was drowning.” That was not going to happen this time. 

Remi thought about all the pool workouts he had done—when it was cold, when it was raining, when the pool area was packed, and when it was empty. He did it when he didn’t want to, putting all his failures behind him. 

He did it for the next five minutes. 

The second he hit the water, he resurfaced, kept his eyes closed, and centered himself. “I was one with the water.… The five-minute tread felt like two minutes. When I touched the starting wall, I peacefully climbed out of the pool as if nothing had happened.” 

“Adeleke! Pass! It’s about time!” 

Remi knew nothing was going to stop him now. Victory over his past failures was his. He was going to graduate! 

Leaving the pool, he walked past a sign he had read countless times during his long journey. A sign that had become his goal, “Be Someone Special!” 

“The LORD said to me, “Tell them, ‘The LORD says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?’” (Jeremiah 8:4 NET). 

What past failure is holding you back? What lesson is the Lord trying teach you to turn that failure into victory? A man can fail and fail, but it’s failure only if he fails to learn from it. 

Adeleke, Remi. Transformed. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2019. 

Stalnecker, Jeremy. “An Amazing Story of Faith and Transformation.” Accessed July 16, 2020. https://​www.youtube.com/​watch? v=Nl8x_​smtVmw&fbclid=IwAR0UCA8l8aYup4TwiZ4zZHwDtUNtwuOZ2aWFj8ILwsEyqsEmQTC8o0hEugs 

Story read by: Blake Mattocks 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Story written by: Paula Moldenhauer, http://paulamoldenhauer.com/ 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

© 2020, 365 Christian Men, LLC. All rights reserved.