Interruptions That Turn to Blessings Day 17

While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. When Jesus entered the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. —Matthew 9:18–26

Jesus was interrupted two times in a few minutes. While he was teaching, a ruler interrupted him, asking him to come to his home to heal his daughter who had just died. Jesus healed her. While he was on the way to the ruler’s home, a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years interrupted him when she touched his cloak and was instantly healed. Many would be upset with those two desperate people for interrupting Jesus in the middle of his important business. Not Jesus! He turned interruptions into opportunities for healing hurting people.

Several years ago, during my recuperation following knee surgery, I had set up a study in our home. Early one Sunday morning, while I was making final preparations for the morning worship service, I heard a gentle, quiet, little knock at my door. It was my little girl Janelle, who was seven years old. She had come in earlier to get a phone book from my desk, and Sandie had told her not to bother me because I was preparing my sermon for the morning service, but this time she came over close to me and said, “Daddy, I just came in to hug you and give you a kiss, and tell you I love you!” After she gave me a hug and a kiss, she stepped back, with a big, beautiful smile, and said proudly, “You know what? I’ll bet I’m more important than your sermon!” I pulled her up on my lap, gave her a big hug, and said, with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, “You sure are, honey! You’re more important than anything to me!”

As she walked out of the room with a proud That’s-my daddy-kind-of-smile on her face, I paused to reflect and thank God for the special gift he had given me in that little girl. Sometimes we get so tied up with the things we’re doing, the goals we’re trying to reach, that we forget the most important relationships we have: God, children, wives or husbands, friends. It’s important that we set our priorities in proper order. Then we need to be open and responsive to the spontaneous interruptions from God that are some of his finest blessings. It’s about Transforming Hearts…Transforming Lives!—investing love, prayer, listening, modeling the Christ-follower lifestyle, sharing the Word, and mostly, just being there, leading those we love on the path home to God. Today, Janelle is a godly Christ-follower, wife, mother, and teacher. As we’re open to God’s will and plan, we will be recipients of constant blessings and joys that no amount of planning or money can achieve.

Lord, thank you for those little interruptions that turn into huge blessings. Help me to always recognize and cultivate them, to recognize them as opportunities to renew and strengthen those precious relationships. Enable me to keep my priorities in order in my relationships with you and others who are especially important in my life. I love you, Lord, and I praise you again for another gentle reminder of how blessed I am to be surrounded by people I love and who genuinely love and respect me. Thank You! Amen.

Dr. Sam Bruce; President, Sam & Sandie Bruce Ministries; Pastor, Hope Point Church, Pearl, Mississippi; Online Instructor, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Are We Listening? Day 16

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” —Genesis 18:17

Often prayer is more about listening. Early in my ministry, a group of five persons visited the church I was pastoring. Three of the individuals were siblings of a lady whose immediate family was long-term members. A few days later, I was informed that one of the guests had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and was hospitalized for treatment. This family that had visited our church had spent their lives living on the edge. “You name it, and they had done it” was an apt description of their lifestyles.

After hearing of the lady’s diagnosis, I determined to visit her at the hospital. As I was about the leave the office for the visit, I heard what I sensed was the Lord saying, “Pray for Jane (not her real name), she will give her life to me today.” First, I asked “Lord is this really you?” Then, I thought of possible distractions from family members that may be present. Finally, I prayed that if this was really from God that he would clear the way and fulfill what he said.

As I entered the room, sure enough, some family members were present. They quickly excused themselves. As I approached Jane’s bed I said, “I have some good news for you.” She replied, “Good, I could certainly use some good news.” To which I responded, “Jane, God loves you and wants you to spend all eternity with him.” That brief conversation began one of the most beautiful transformations I have ever witnessed. The next eleven months she radiated with God’s love and was instrumental in leading those other family members to Christ. During the following months, transformation after transformation occurred throughout that family. I have often thought back on this incredible time. Here are some lessons I have learned from this experience.

God is at work in the world, even when it seems he is not. God had been preparing this family to receive his gracious love in Christ while the external evidence looked bleak.

We are never first in other persons lives; God is! God had already prepared Jane to receive him. He just told me what he was doing and sent me to tell Jane. She accepted his invitation and was forever transformed. Helen Keller, the famous American author and activist, contracted a disease at nineteen months of age that left her blind and deaf. It is said, when someone communicated Jesus Christ’s love to her, she exclaimed, “I have felt him for a long time, but I never knew his name.”

If we will listen, God will direct us and use us in his transforming work. God is going about his transforming work in this world. If we tune in, we can hear his voice and be directed by him in his work. I have discovered that is much more fruitful than me attempting to direct my own efforts.

Father, we are thankful that you are working your plan in this world. Forgive us for not listening as we should, and deliver us from our attempts to direct you in your work. Help us to maintain sensitive hearts and ears that we may hear clearly when you speak. Amen.

Dr. Charles Wright, Regional Pastor and Overseer for Kansas and Oklahoma Panhandle

Didn’t Our Hearts Burn? Day 15

“They said to each other, ‘Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’” —Luke 24:32 NLT

Sometimes you need a change of perspective to hear what God is saying. There were two guys who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. He walked with them, but they didn’t recognize him. He asked them a question, and they replied, “You must be the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know about these things”. That must have seemed ironic when they thought about it later. They thought they were going to enlighten the stranger, but they were in line for the surprise of their lives.

Jesus in resurrected form walked with them but was hidden to them. He explained the Scriptures from Moses through the prophets. They saw the events, but they didn’t understand what was going on. As they got into the Scriptures their hearts began to burn. It started to make sense. They began to put the pieces together, and the more they learned, the more they wanted to learn.

When they got to where they were going, Jesus was going to keep on walking, but they implored him to stay and eat so they could continue the conversation. In the process of breaking bread, Jesus revealed himself to them. They were so excited, they turned around and went back to Jerusalem that same night to tell the others Jesus was the risen Messiah! Can you imagine? They were some of the first to see the risen Savior!

How long has it been since your heart burned within you as you discussed the Scriptures? It started because they were willing to talk about their faith with a stranger. It is amazing what can happen when you give God a chance to show up in your conversations. Remember that when you bring the Word of God up in a conversation, it is a living Word. If you give God a chance to show up in a discussion, it is an opportunity to watch truth reveal itself. It can change the perspective of everyone in the conversation.

Why is it that we pray for opportunities to share Christ with others and then talk about things like the weather, traffic and everything but the Scriptures? The Bible promises that God’s Word never returns void, but it accomplishes God’s purpose. So why don’t we talk more about it? When we do it is powerful and life changing just like it was for these disciples.

Will you commit to study God’s Word, not just for yourself, but also for those with whom you will cross paths? When you get into conversations, will you bring up God’s Word? If you do, you might just feel your heart burning with new passion and insight. You might experience the Holy Spirit giving you new insight even as you talk. And you might find yourself breathless later as you tell your friends about how Jesus showed up in the conversation. Do you need a change in perspective? You don’t study the Scriptures for yourself but to share them with others. It’s about Transforming Hearts…Transforming Lives!

Lord, meet us today as we study the Scriptures. Make them come alive in us and give us the courage to share them with others. Show up in those conversations and make the truth burn with us. Thank you.

Rev. Gary Kendall, Lead Pastor, Indian Creek Community Church, Olathe, Kansas

We Just Need to Get Together and Pray! Day 14

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes! —Ephesians 3:20–21 MSG

When I was visiting in Madera, where I formerly pastored, I attended Ken’s wedding. After the ceremony, his mother, Ann, told me that she had not told me before we moved. Soon after Tom and Ann began attending our church, they learned that Ken had gotten in some trouble with the U.S. Army in Germany and was going to be court marshaled. Ann and Tom requested prayer for Ken repeatedly, in worship services and men’s Bible study. Ann and Tom went to Germany to help Ken through the crisis. He could be imprisoned for a long time. It was the night before court martial; the three of them were sharing a motel room.

In the wee hours of the morning—during a time of extreme turmoil and agitation—after Ann had fallen asleep, she said that my face appeared in a dream In the dream I said to her, “Ann, remember, I’ve told you that we just need to get together and pray about these things. Pray together.” She awakened from her sleep, woke Tom and Ken, and said, “Pastor Sam said we just have to get together and pray about these things!” So the three of them stood in a circle holding hands and prayed for guidance. God answered their prayers. Next day, in the court martial, things turned out in ways they could not have imagined. After just a few months of incarceration, Ken was back home in Madera. But the awesome good news is that during the ordeal, in the midst of intense intercessory prayer by the church family, Ken invited Jesus into his life! When he returned home, he began attending church and our men’s Bible study. He met and married a lovely Christian lady. Ken served on the church board for some terms, and he and Susan are involved in various ministries. But that’s only part of the story.

Ann wrote the following letter to me: “You know how many years we have been praying for our daughter and her family to come to know our Savior? Well this last year has brought the realization of our prayers. Our children, their spouses, and all six grandchildren call Fourth Street Church their house of worship! Maybe no one else can understand what that means to us, except you, having been alongside us through some of the worst times in our lives. Ken and Susan are very active in various programs, Tom has just started helping with the Truck Stop Ministries, we are both attending a Bethel class, AND Susan and Jeremy are teaching their second Sunday school class. I hope you understand that I am not trying to toot a horn, only to show you how much their love for the Lord has grown. I feel so peaceful even with all the anguish around us. I just really thought it was time that I took a moment to thank you for your advice to never give up!”

That’s the awesome power of God-fired intercessory prayer, Transforming Hearts …Transforming Lives! That is cause for rejoicing! Prayer can melt the hardest heart, remove the toughest obstacle, cleanse the worst motives, clear the hardest conscience, and mend the severest broken relationships, both with God and with other persons. Prayer can accomplish what we know humanly to be impossible.

Thanks, Lord, for the power of intercessory prayer and letting us partner with you in it. You can do anything, far more than we could ever imagine or guess or request in our wildest dreams!

Dr. Sam Bruce; President, Sam & Sandie Bruce Ministries; Pastor, Hope Point Church, Pearl, Mississippi; Online Instructor, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Joy Is Just a Way to Live and Die Day 13

“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.” —Matthew 5:7 MSG

There is a ballad by John Denver about his Uncle Matthew that tells the story of Matthew’s life, of joy and sorrow, having and losing, life and death. When I hear that song, I always think “That’s how I was raised.” Most of the time we do not recognize that life and death go hand in hand and the key to living is to live with joy. The way we as Christians experience life and respond to the death of a love one is a powerful witness to the world of the hope of eternal life that we possess. People facing death themselves or facing death with a loved one grasp for hope from those around them who have the hope and serenity of being in a right relationship with God.

When my father experienced his second stroke within a week’s time, he was in the intensive care unit in a deep coma, so deep he did not even respond to pain stimulus. The whole family—Mom, three children, four grandchildren and their spouses—gathered in his hospital room. The doctor, nurses, and we knew there was little hope of recovery. We asked permission to sing in his room since music and ministry was part of our lives. We sang his favorites, “The Old Rugged Cross,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, ‘Come unto Me and Rest.’” I was watching Dad’s vital signs and his heart rate was erratic, but as we sang his breathing became even and his heart rate smoothed out as though he relaxed and was at peace.

During this time of looking death square in the face, there was a knock at the door. A woman was standing outside the door wringing her hands. She said, “My husband is in the next room dying. I heard you singing. Does anyone in here know how to pray?” My husband and I were closest to the door, so we left with her and entered her husband’s room. She told us that she was not sure if he was a Christian or not. We held her hands and her husband’s hands and prayed for his salvation before meeting God. Whether he could hear, whether he could respond, whether he had already made his peace with God, we did not know. Hopefully, his wife received comfort and sought God for her own salvation after this experience. What we do know is that God, like the waiting father of the prodigal son, is eagerly waiting when his wandering created-ones to turn toward home; and like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, hearts and lives are transformed! And we wonder if, in God’s seeking grace, the man opened his heart to Jesus, and he and Dad walked through the gates together? We don’t know, but it does resemble the heart of the Waiting Father, doesn’t it?

The doctor told us to go home, go back to work and be prepared for days, weeks, months or years of Dad being in this kind of coma. We did, except two of the family remained overnight. The call came early the next morning that Dad died peacefully in his sleep. There was no doubt in our minds about the mercy of God, the love of God, and the joy in both living and dying. While each of us daily cared for congregations of people and carried their burdens, several hundred people came from all over the country to pay their respects to our family. Your faith, your witness, in fact, your whole theology is on display to others as you live and as you confront death. Transforming Hearts…Transforming Lives!

Lord, let our lives count, let our lives be “care-full”, so that when we need to be cared for, we rest in your arms.

Rev. Mary Bruce Fuller, Minister & Attorney, Florence, Mississippi

Fasting as a Way of Bearing One Another’s Burdens Day 12

“Bear one another’s burdens.” —Galatians 6:2 NRSV

Dan is a believer in his early fifties. He has a wonderful supportive wife in every aspect. His two children are grown and living very productive lives. However, Dan was called upon to face what he had never faced. He had grown up in a poor economic environment. He had therefore determined he would rise above this level. He spent the important years preparing himself through education, training, and experience to always be able to provide for himself and family.

Suddenly, at the age when he thought he would have reached his professional apex, he found himself without employment for the first time in his life. The first few months he took it as a challenge and set about spending time becoming credentialed in areas of his field that he thought would bring more opportunity. Yet after months of such advanced training there were still no job opportunities. As most men would he threw himself into sending out more resumes hoping that the law of percentages would be on his side. Still the months moved on without a concrete job offer. Then the phase began when the few offers that came called for him to enter new fields or relocate jeopardizing his wife’s career.

All the time he was serving his local church and going through an elder-in-training program. During one of his meetings with the Board of Elders and me (his pastor), I suggested we as an elder board and spiritual brothers of Dan join together. Let us designate a specific day for fasting and prayer on behalf of Dan’s employment issue. A few days later Dan e-mailed me with a thank you stating how encouraging it was to have a group of men in his life willing to fast and pray for him. This very effort brought him closer to each of us as we fasted and prayed every Wednesday for Dan. Each man was weekly in contact with Dan. They were naturally drawn to seek Dan out each Sunday to speak a word of encouragement or pray with him.

This time of committed fasting continued for the next four months. During those four months, Dan reported to the board of elders various possibilities, with all the highs and lows of expectations rising and falling.

On September 1, 2011, I opened an email from Dan that read; “Hello All, The prayer and fasting has been answered. I start my new job on September 12.” The new job was in his field and was just twenty minutes from his home. Dan would later share with the elder board that although he was unemployed for over a year, his checkbook balance ended $400.00 above the day he lost his job.

The bearing of one another’s burdens will produce “perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us” (Rom 5:3–5).

Dear Father, may I not waste the use of spiritual disciplines just on myself. Help me to see that in engaging in these spiritual disciplines I can benefit another. May I come to experience that your discipline in my life will produce a blessing in another’s life. I yield myself to you, O Lord, this day for your spiritual formation in my life. Amen.

Rev. Claude Robold, Pastor, New Covenant Church, Middletown / Franklin, Ohio

God-Flavors and God-Colors Day 11

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” —Matthew 5:13–16 MSG

In 1982, I became an ordained minister in the Church of God and served side-by-side with my husband in pastoral ministry. We co-pastored churches with Tom preaching in the morning worship services and me preaching in the evening worship services. My preaching always seemed to turn into teaching. At times I looked back and wondered why my messages were not evangelistic. However, two occasions stand out in my mind when God validated my style of ministry. And two phrases come to mind: Life-style evangelism and marketplace evangelism.

On one occasion at our daughter’s wedding, her friend from high school came into the bride’s dressing room and said she wanted to tell me something. She thanked me for letting her stay in our home on many occasions throughout high school. She said my example as a mother and a Christian woman influenced her life and was the reason she is a Christian today and raising her children in a Christian home. (Not my preaching.)

The second occasion was this past summer while visiting with friends of nearly thirty years. As we all sat around the table with mutual friends from the same time period and same pastorate, my friend said, “Mary is the reason I became a Christian. (We worked with our desks pushed together so that day in day out we faced each other.) Mary never pushed her faith on me. She was just my friend through a very difficult time in my life.”

Wow! People were watching my life, not particularly hearing me preach. So, in our homes, in our churches, at our jobs, where we shop and do business, people are reading our lives and making decisions to follow Christ because they see something in our lives that they want. The old hymn “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” says it best: “Drop Thy still dews of quietness, till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of Thy peace.” My mother, Lois Bruce, had this gift. Once she entered the intensive care newborn nursery where she was the head nurse and one of the doctors declared, “Here comes the stabilizing presence of calm.”

Lord, let us be salt wherever we are placed, so people can experience all the flavor of God. Help us be light in a dark world so people can see all the colors and beauty of God and sense his stabilizing presence of calm. Amen.

Mary Bruce Fuller, Minister and Attorney; Florence, Mississippi