Podcast: 365 Christian Men

July 12. Frederick Robertson. Frederick had a reputation for studying hard. He memorized the entire New Testament—in English and in Greek. And he was enthusiastically evangelical. On this date in 1840, he was ordained by the bishop of Winchester and began preaching at once. 

Do you sometimes wonder whether God answers prayer? Pray. 

When Frederick was a little boy, he often hunted with his father. Every time the dogs were sent out to scatter the birds into the air, little Frederick prayed that his father could shoot the bird and kill it, so they could take it home. Sometimes the prayers would work; his father would shoot his gun and kill the bird. But sometimes the prayers didn’t work, and the bird would fly away, and Frederick felt disappointed. 

Young Frederick got discouraged. Why did God listen to some of his prayers, but not others? Did God really care? 

When Frederick got old enough to go to school, he carried this secret doubt with him. But then one day the schoolmaster called Frederick and nine other boys to the office. They were all in trouble. Something had happened at the school. 

Frederick’s guts knotted. He hadn’t done anything wrong. 

He never would. Boys who caused trouble were flogged in front of the whole school. The shame. Being labeled a troublemaker. He felt overwhelmed. 

Waiting to see the schoolmaster was the worst. Frederick’s mind raced to figure out what to do. If he told the truth, would the schoolmaster believe him? What if the old schoolmaster ignored the truth, and Fredrick was flogged anyway? He felt sick. 

It was his word against the school’s and the schoolmaster’s. He wasn’t sure any grown-up would take his side. 

He sat and waited, wondering what else he could do. He thought of trying to pray … as unsure as he was that it would work. Would God listen to such a minor request? Would God even care about a school punishment, even if he wasn’t guilty? 

Frederick decided to try it. He prayed desperately that God would help him escape the punishment and shame of flogging, and Frederick hoped that God would hear him. 

The schoolmaster stepped out and brought the boys to be flogged. As the ten stood and waited, with Frederick at the head, he came face-to-face with the schoolmaster. But as the schoolmaster looked at him, a strange expression came upon his face, and he almost looked surprised that Frederick was there with the other troublemakers. 

“Little boy,” the schoolmaster said, “I excuse you; I have particular reasons for it.” 

Some adult stepped up and ushered Frederick away, and the other nine boys were flogged in front of the whole school. Frederick never did find out what reasons the schoolmaster had for sparing him. 

But Frederick did realize that God had heard his prayer—even though it was only about a minor incident. And for the three years he was at the school, he was never flogged. 

“That incident settled my mind for a long time,” Frederick said. But eventually, he became a man and thought as a man, and he realized that prayer wasn’t a good-luck charm or a carnival game—make a wish and win a prize. 

And it didn’t make Frederick immune to bad things happening. Somehow the fact that God heard Frederick’s prayers was about the fact that Frederick was connected to the Creator of the universe. “It did not make me better; it simply gave me security.” 

He felt confident that God was listening. No matter how scary things got, God would take care of him and give him strength to face any difficulty, big or small. 

The psalmist wrote: “But he listened! He heard my prayer! He paid attention to it!” (Psalm 66:19 TLB). 

Think of how prayer has affected your life. Has it made you more secure in your faith? Do you sometimes wonder whether God answers prayer? Pray. 

Robertson, Frederick W. Life and Letters of Frederick W. Robertson. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1865. 

ChristiansUnite. “Frederick W. Robertson.” Accessed June 5, 2020. http://articles.ochristian.com/preacher535-1.shtml. 

Story read by: Daniel 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. 

July 10. Adam Voss. Adam is a hard-working guy with a houseful of daughters and a love for God that shows up in everyday practical ways. Today’s story is about one of Adam’s days off from work. 

Your job may not make you famous, but in Kingdom currency, it’s pure gold. 

Adam is a Christian and a barber. But sometimes he doubts that his life makes a difference for the Kingdom of God. Seeing his gregarious, Scripture-memorizing wife lead events for women, Adam wonders why he can’t be more like the Matt Chandlers of the world. He doesn’t preach or lead worship service or write books. He thinks he isn’t anything special as a husband. Why had God left him out of the gift distribution? 

But here’s what happened on one of Adam’s days off. 

Daisy and Russ had been married now for sixty-one years. And up until the last couple years, for ten years, they had their special Taco Bell breakfast and then stopped in Adam’s barbershop for their haircuts. Adam was their guy. 

But now, Daisy and Russ were both in a nursing home and in separate wings—no room available for the couple to be together. Adam still went to the nursing home and cut their hair. Regular barbering for Russ and a buzz cut for Daisy for under her wig. 

But this one time, Adam asked his wife Casey—who was a hairstylist—to go with him and make the haircut special for Daisy. 

When Adam and Casey checked in at the nursing home, the people at the front desk seemed annoyed. “We have a stylist on staff here; do they know that?” 

Adam said, “Yeah, but I’m Russ’s guy.” 

By the time Adam and Casey got into Daisy’s room, she was fumbling with her flip phone and afraid they had forgotten. Adam assured her they had arrived at nine like he had promised, but Security took longer than expected. 

Daisy was eager to lead them to the other wing where Russ lived. Though Adam helped with the wheelchair, Daisy shuffled her feet down the long halls, her wig tilted and little hairs sneaking out from under. 

When they finally got to Russ’s room, he was yelling into his flip phone (as he was hard of hearing), and when he saw Adam, his eyes sparkled. He hollered, “I gotta go. My Adam just got here.” 

Adam helped Russ into a more suitable chair, and they talked while Adam cut Russ’s hair. In a nearby alcove, Casey cut Daisy’s hair, too. But every few minutes Daisy shuffle-rolled into Russ’s tiny space to remind Adam not to forget to trim Russ’s beard, or she flirted with Russ, saying things like, “Now, that looks like my guy.” 

Russ and Daisy shared many stories with Casey and Adam that day, but they all seemed to be about the couple’s love for one another. 

As Adam and Casey were packing up to leave, Daisy rolled in with her checkbook. “How much do we owe you for coming here?” 

Adam shook his head. “Nothing.” 

“What?” came the screechy voice. “No, I gotta pay you. You came all the way out here.” 

Casey said, “The problem is, Daisy, we don’t take money on Wednesdays. We didn’t have anything to do today, so this was our pleasure.” 

Daisy wheeled back into Russ’s room and said, “They won’t let us pay them, Honey.” 

Russ said, “Well, pay the man!” 

Daisy’s voice rose. “No. They don’t want any money!” 

Russ reached for his wallet and yelled, “You don’t have any money?” 

She wheeled closer and waved her checkbook. “They don’t want any!” 

Now Russ was certain he understood. “OK. Write them a check.” 

Adam and Casey walked out quietly through the long halls, and Adam reached for Casey’s hand. When they finally made it to the front, Adam asked the woman at the front desk, “What do you have to do to ensure we can have a joint suite around here?” 

Casey grinned and told Adam, “I’m glad you’re my guy.” 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people” (Colossians 3:23 GNT). 

Your life can make a difference when you believe it can, make a decision, and act on it. Your job may not make you famous, but in Kingdom currency, it’s pure gold. 

Based on an interview with Adam Voss July 19, 2019. 

Story read by: Nathan Walker 

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. 

July 8. Setan Lee. Setan—the son of a wealthy businessperson and the “youngest student in his medical-school class”—was suddenly arrested for being intellectual. His escape was one miracle after another. 

On this date in 1995, Setan founded TransformAsia, which has planted thirty-six churches and built—among other things—a women’s center, Battambang Trade School, David Orphanage Center, Kambour Village Feeding Center, Joy Day Care Center, and multiple Medical Mobile Clinics. They also preach via mass media and distribute rice to many unreached villages in Cambodia. 

If your faith is all you have, you have all you need. 

Seventeen-year-old Setan was celebrating the Cambodian New Year with his friends. Music and laughter and horseplay filled the Buddhist Temple Square, and children played freely. Partiers sprinkled perfumed water on the temple statues, a Buddhist gesture which was supposed to bring “good luck, long life, and happiness.” 

Just then, trucks full of Communist Khmer Rouge soldiers barreled into the square. The black-uniformed soldiers jumped out, screamed, “Enemy” over and over, and fired into the crowd. People screamed and ran and fell and bled and died. 

Then the soldiers methodically hunted down the educated people and shot them wholesale. To keep from getting shot, Setan changed into rags. He was put into a youth prison camp and forced to work from four in the morning until midnight. 

One day, soldiers hauled Setan and four others out to an open field. They were to be executed. 

One at a time—Setan was the last of his friends in his line—soldiers blindfolded them, tied them up, and beat them with sharpened bamboo until they bled out and died. 

They screamed and at first begged for mercy, and then they begged for death. In an agonizing panic, Setan cried out, “Lord of the Universe, whoever you are please spare my life!” 

But he was stunned. He had no idea how those words came out of his mouth—he had always been a devout Buddhist, who acknowledged no Lord of the Universe. 

The executioner untied Setan, pushed him to his knees, and readied the bamboo branch along his neck. 

But a loud voice from some unknown place shouted, “Stop.” 

The soldier dropped the branch. 

Setan had no idea who had spoken, but he was officially no longer a Buddhist. He would now follow the Lord of the Universe—whoever He was. He stood, and he moved. 

On battered, bare feet Setan escaped into the jungle. He hid among the leaves and trees, and for days he lived off the land. 

From out of nowhere, a poorly dressed man grabbed Setan. He leaned in and whispered, “Do you believe in the Lord of the Universe?” 

Setan didn’t know how to respond. The man asked the same question again. Setan remembered the moment before he was to be executed. He looked straight at the man, “I do believe in the Lord of the Universe.” 

“His name is Jesus Christ. Would you like to accept him as your Lord and Savior? He will give you eternal life,” the man said. “You and I may not have much time. Any minute now, either of us could step on a landmine and die!” 

Now Setan knew who had spared his life. It was Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Universe. The man disappeared, and Setan kept running. 

A month went by before he finally saw the white flag of the Red Cross, and a man with outstretched arms welcomed him safely into Thailand. Setan realized the man in the jungle had been a messenger from the Lord of the Universe. Crossing that border was Setan’s first step into the future. 

“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him” (Psalm 91:2 NLT). 

If your faith is all you have, you have all you need. How can you live it out boldly? 

Hoback, Jane. “The Healing Fields As seen in the Rocky Mountain News in 2004.” June 5, 2004. http://www.transformasia.us/all-about-us/meet-our-board-staff/setan-randa-lee/the-healing-fields-part-1/. 

Lee, Setan. Miracles In The Forgotten Land And Beyond. Xulon Press, 2010, pp. 42–51. 

TransformAsia. “Home page introduction.” http://www.transformasia.us. 

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. 

July 6. John Huss. Huss grew up poor and became a priest. But when he came face to face with Jesus Christ, Huss’s heart was changed. 

About 1401, Huss got a hold of some writings of John Wycliff, and from then on, he spoke out in favor of ordinary people being able to read the Scripture in their own language. For this and other things he said about the Church, he was condemned.  

His last recorded words were, “… in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.” Almost exactly 100 years later, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. On this date in 1415, Huss was burned at the stake for telling the truth. 

The enemy can kill us, but they can’t silence the Word of God. 

In 1414 Bohemia (in Central Europe), the authority of church and government was all entangled. The Catholic Church owned half of the property in the country, and they didn’t allow people to hear preaching in their own language. 

Then a priest named John Huss spoke up against the unfair church-government system. 

Naturally, church leaders decided Huss had to be stopped, but he refused to be silenced. He preached only as he was led by the Spirit of God. 

To trap him, church leaders sent Huss to a religious council in Germany, and Huss hoped it was going to be a chance to defend his beliefs. Instead, they arrested him and locked him in a filthy dungeon. They accused him of spreading false doctrines, being a heretic, and being disloyal to the Pope. 

The Council asked Huss if he had received formal forgiveness from the Pope. 

Huss explained he had tried, but it did not work, therefore he had appealed directly to Christ on his own behalf. He explained there was no judge more just and no appeal more effectual than a request made directly to Jesus Christ. 

The officials were appalled. They mocked Huss and made fun of him. 

And Huss prayed out loud. In today’s English it would be: O God and Lord, now the council condemns even your own action and your own law, and they call it heresy. I say this because you laid your own cause before your Father the just judge as an example for us to copy, whenever we are severely oppressed. 

The officials heaped on more contempt, and they condemned Huss as a heretic. 

But he fell to his knees and asked God to forgive his enemies in this room. 

Officials removed his priestly garments and put a paper miter on his head. It was tall like a bishop’s hat, but with pictures of devils and a label that meant Arch Heretic. Huss reminded them Jesus had worn a crown of thorns for sinners, so Huss would wear the crown of shame for Christ. 

Afterward, the bishop announced, “Now we commit thy soul unto the devil.” 

Huss lifted his eyes toward heaven and said, “But I do commend into Thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ my spirit which Thou hast redeemed.” 

They led Huss away past the churchyard, where clergy were burning books Huss had written. The smell of the ashes tinged the air. 

Outside the city, an executioner chained Huss to a stake and piled sticks and straw up to his neck. Again, he was urged to take back what he had said about the church. But he said, “I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood.” Above the noise of the crackling flames, Huss praised God. 

“When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19–20 ESV). 

In a world gone wrong, would you be a voice for Christ? Jesus is calling for witnesses. The enemy can kill us, but they can’t silence the Word of God. 

Cairns, Earle E. Christianity through the Centuries. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1954. 

Hus, John. Greatsite.com. “John Hus.” Accessed 2019. https://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/john-hus.html. 

Bible Study Tools. Salem Web Network. “Persecution of John Huss.” Accessed 2019. https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/foxs-book-of-martyrs/persecution-of-john-huss.html. 

“Therefore, faithful Christian, seek the truth, listen to the truth, learn the truth, love the truth, tell the truth, learn the truth, defend the truth even to death.” 

~John Huss 

“Rejoice, that the immortal God is born, so that mortal men may live in eternity.” 

~John Huss 

Story read by: Chuck Stecker 

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. 

July 4. Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is known to be one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Few people know that he spent only two years in school. And later, he spent two years in a colonial prison for opposing the revolution. 

At 12, Franklin became an indentured apprentice at his brother’s print shop, where he worked hard and was beaten often. At 16, he took the pen name Mrs. Silence Dogood and published essays for women. 

When he started his own print shop, he published Poor Richard’s Almanac, which with some land deals enabled him to retire, and he remained so-called retired for half his life. 

While retired, he invented the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and a more efficient heating stove. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, ambassador to France and Sweden, the first postmaster general, and the president of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania. On this date in history, Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence. 

Finish strong; a future harvest depends on it. 

Hugging her slate to her chest, a little girl peeked into the dark bedroom where Franklin slept. “Grandfather?” 

His eyes fluttered open. 

But the woman standing next to his bed hushed the child and walked quickly to meet the little one at the doorway. 

“I need Grandfather to hear my lesson!” Nancy whispered loudly. 

“Not now! Grandfather needs to rest. He is very weak.” The woman tried to usher Nancy out. 

But 84-year-old Franklin rasped, “Let her in! It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man. I refuse to be idle, even on my deathbed! Let the child in so I can hear her lesson.” 

Nancy darted over to her grandpa, recited her lesson, and then turned to the papers on the table next to the bed. “What are you writing, Grandfather?” 

“Ahh, just a letter to an old friend. I am telling him about my one regret.” 

Nancy asked him about regret. 

“I was born too soon, Nancy!” he said. “I will miss all improvements and inventions I feel are coming. I regret that I will not see the further spread of liberty in this country and the world. I am so curious to see how it will all turn out! But this old body just won’t hold out!” 

Franklin had spent his life constantly working on ideas to improve life for society. He had organized the first police and fire services and even created sidewalks. He had improved fireplaces and chimneys, discovered ways to heat public buildings, harnessed electricity, and developed salt mines. 

But his greatest passion was liberty. He had fought for the freedom from oppression for his fellow Americans, including groups of people who were often overlooked. He advocated for the protection of Native Americans and initiated the humane treatment of prisoners. All this besides his work to help form the government of the United States. 

“A dying man can do nothing easy!” Franklin moved slowly in the bed, trying to get comfortable. He was still sore from the long carriage ride he had made a few weeks previous. 

When he had undertaken the journey, he had known he didn’t have much longer in this world, and he was determined to do one last act for liberty. He would go to Congress to present the first “Petition and Remonstrance Against Slavery in America.” 

Part of that petition read: “… that you will be pleased to countenance the restoration of liberty to those unhappy men who, alone in a land of freedom, are degraded into perpetual bondage.…” Franklin never got to see that liberty granted—that would take another seventy-five years—but it did come. 

“Nancy, do you see that picture up there?” asked Franklin. “Who is it?” His voice was barely above a whisper now. 

Nancy looked up at the framed painting on the wall. “It is Christ,” she said. 

“Yes, Nancy. He is the one who came into this world to teach men how to love one another.” 

Franklin took his last breath as he confidently fixed his eyes on the picture. He had sown many seeds, and he had been allowed to see only hints of the harvest to come. But a harvest was coming, and Christ would finish the work He had begun. 

“And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world” (1 John 4:17 NLT). 

Are you busy sowing seeds? Think through how you spend your days. How can you use the passion God has given you to sow seeds that will grow and produce a harvest? Finish strong; a future harvest depends on it. 

Brooks, Elbridge S. The True Story of Benjamin Franklin. Boston: Lothrop Publishing Company, 1898. 

The Franklin Institute. “Benjamin Franklin FAQ.” Accessed June 1, 2020. https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin-faq.  

Would You Like to Learn More About This Man? 

What Franklin earned, he spent on books, and he learned to write by reading published articles and rewriting them from memory.  

In his will, Franklin left almost $2500 to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia with the provision that for its first 100 years, the money must be placed in a trust and only used for loans to local trades people. 

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. 

July 3. Army Ranger Sergeant Jeff Struecker. Struecker was the real-life hero behind the 2001 Oscar-winning movie: Black Hawk Down. 

It’s the story of 160 crack soldiers dropping into Somalia to take down 2 top lieutenants of the renegade warlord. 

In today’s story, Struecker’s prime directive drives a key decision. What he does is motivated by his love for God and his love for his men. 

Once you’ve committed never to leave a man behind, you’re ready to make the tough decisions. 

For the sixth time that hot October afternoon, Struecker and his ten-man squad roared back to base in their Humvee. They had rescued another wounded Ranger from the heart of a battle-torn city in Somalia. Their Ranger Creed was: “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of an enemy.…” 

Through narrow streets lined with two- and three-story buildings, they sped. Insurgents hid in those upper rooms, and they controlled the city and everyone in it. As the Humvee zipped through, from every direction, bullets flew. 

Rounding a corner, Struecker yelled directions to his driver. But just that instant, the machine gunner in the turret was hit and killed. For a second, Struecker panicked. He’d just lost a good soldier, a man he was responsible for, and a good friend. 

Everything was going haywire. Struecker struggled to detach himself and jump back into tactical mode. The team raced through the hail of bullets, and Struecker ordered himself to get it together. 

Back at the base, doctors cared for the wounded Ranger the team had rescued. But Struecker stood alone with his thoughts and the body of his friend. “God, like, so what’s the deal here? How come this all fell apart on me? What am I supposed to do next?” 

The officer in charge walked up and addressed Struecker. “You need to get the guys ready to go back out there again. We don’t have everybody. In fact, it sounds like half the assault force is stuck at the crash site … Black Hawk down.” 

Struecker had to go tell his men they were going back into that deadly city for the seventh time. Their job was to support the rescue effort and escort them back. As they geared up, he stood in silence. 

“I’m going to die tonight. And what’s just as bad, I’m going to get every one of my men killed. I just know it. There’s no way we can survive another run back into that city. Tomorrow this squad is going to have ten dead Rangers instead of just one. God, I’m in deep trouble, as you can see. I need help. I’m not saying you should get me out of this. I just need your help.” 

It was 11:30 at night as Struecker led a rescue convoy back into the city. In the lead Humvee, he picked their way through the narrow streets to the site of the downed Black Hawk helicopter, where a bunch of Rangers were pinned down by enemy fire. 

Struecker’s team stopped just short of the downed Black Hawk, and his squad provided cover while waiting for the last group of survivors to be rescued. The whole time he kept thinking … we’re the easiest target in town; we’re every rifleman’s dream sitting here, and there’s nothing I can do about it but keep fighting and praying. 

When the order to leave the city came, the sun was rising. Struecker’s squad was in the last two vehicles to leave, and they guarded against insurgents following them. 

All of a sudden, the top machine gunner yelled, “We’ve got bodies chasing after us from down the street.” 

Struecker gave the command to open fire, but the gunner didn’t shoot. 

“Why aren’t you shooting?” Struecker yelled. 

“Sergeant, I think they’re our guys.” 

That didn’t make sense. The entire convoy had sped off, leaving Struecker’s team isolated in the street with Somali gunfire increasing all around them. But his primary directive was never to leave a man behind. 

Immediately, Struecker gave the command to stop and back up. Wide-eyed and exhausted, Rangers and special-ops soldiers returned fire in all directions as they piled onto the last two Humvees. 

“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine others safe at home! Just so, it is not my Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:12–14 TLB). 

If you were to write out a prime directive for your life, what would it be? If you’ve already committed never to leave a man behind, you’ll be ready when you make the tough decisions. 

CBN. “Captain Jeff Struecker, Fearless?” Accessed June 1, 2020. https://www1.cbn.com/700club/captain-jeff-struecker-fearless. 

Struecker, Jeff. The Road to Unafraid: How the Army’s Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. 

Story read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter 

Audio production: Joel Carpenter 

Story written by: Thomas Mitchell, http://www.walkwithgod.org/ 

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

Project manager: Blake Mattocks 

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