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The “unsung” part of the title may not be accurate since Ashley Smith has written a book, and there’s been a movie, but maybe her story is new to you. The incident hit close to home for us because we were in Montgomery, Alabama, about two hours away from the action, and our son David was within 10 miles…

On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols shot his way out of an Atlanta courtroom. Here’s the short version:

Nichols was on trial for rape when he escaped from custody and murdered the judge presiding over his trial, a court reporter, a sheriff’s deputy and later a federal agent. Twenty-six hours after a large-scale manhunt was launched in the metropolitan Atlanta area, Nichols was taken into custody. The prosecution charged him with committing 54 crimes during the escape; and he was found guilty on all counts on November 7, 2008.

“Nichols was taken into custody.” How? It turns out that around 2 a.m. a young woman named Ashley Smith, single mother, very new believer, went out for a pack of cigarettes. When she returned to her apartment, Nichols followed her and forced his way in. It was a long night, but as morning came, Ashley said something like, “I’ll bet you’re hungry. May I fix you something to eat?” Over pancakes, she said, “You know, I’ve been starting my day with a chapter in the Bible and a chapter in this book Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. May I read to you?” They discussed the chapter on life purpose, and she said something like, “God has a purpose for you, and it’s most likely going to be in prison, but he does have a purpose.”

Around 9 a.m., she told him, “You know I have to pick up my daughter now. We have to be somewhere by 10.” He let her go, she called 9-1-1, and Brian Nichols surrendered to authorities.

When I was teaching seminary students in Haiti about helping people to progress from unbeliever to fruitful disciple, they asked me, “Teacher, how long does it take?” After thinking about it, I realized that the woman at the well in John 4, the demon-possessed guy in Mark 5, and Matthew the tax collector in Luke 5 all began fruitful mission work immediately.

Ashley Smith is in a long line of people that God has used that many of us would not consider qualified: new believer, cigarette smoker, former drug abuser, single mom… There are people who are lifelong believers who will be ready for mission work after they’ve had “one more course.” I believe God’s message is clear: “If I can use Ashley Smith, I can use you!”

He chose the lowly, the laughable in the world’s eyes—nobodies—so that he would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent, so that there would be no place for prideful boasting in God’s presence. (1 Corinthians 1.28, 29, Passion Translation)

All at once, the woman dropped her water jar and ran off to her village and told everyone, “Come and meet a man at the well who told me everything I’ve ever done! He could be the Anointed One we’ve been waiting for.” Hearing this, the people came streaming out of the village to go see Jesus. (John 4.28 – 30, Passion Translation)

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Yesterday’s unsung hero, Barbara, was impacted by Sam Hershey interacting with his mentally and physically handicapped son, Shad. When she feels alone, she remembers that young man who was profoundly disabled held tight by his father as he “sang,” and Barbara realizes that she is never alone. She is always held tight by her heavenly Father.

Let me tell you my most impactful memory of Sam Hershey. I’ve worked with and around Sam for nearly 20 years and been in many meetings with Sam, his wife, Shirley, and their son, Shad, in attendance. For the Hersheys, it’s always a logistical challenge. They travel by specially-equipped van and often have a private-duty nurse with them, but not always. You need to know that Sam and Shirley had two sons. The older, I’m told, was extraordinary: bright, loved Jesus, responsible, etc. Anything you could wish for in a son. Tragically, he was killed on a California freeway, changing a tire (while following all the right safety precautions). 

I heard Sam preach, and I’ve sat through many training sessions with him, but here’s what sticks with me the most. Back in the early 2000s, he prepared what he called a “life message:” lessons he’d learned through the various experiences (many difficult!) that he and Shirley had lived through. I remember nothing from that presentation except the last slide, containing nothing but a bible verse, Psalm 16.6. This is how I presented it soon after he shared, and I shared the verse with Barbara and others the other day. Remember, two sons, one killed on a California freeway, another profoundly disabled:

Continuing to report my recent interactions with real-life heroes of the faith, today I am writing about a new friend, Barbara, the behind-the-scenes prayer warrior. Here’s what impressed me about her story.

Born and raised in England, she met the Lord at the age of 18 and went to Lebanon as a Navigator missionary in 1968. While there, she met her husband-to-be, “an interruption,” she thought(!), and they were married in 1970. Five years later they moved to Egypt. After serving a total of 15 years in Egypt, the Egyptian government asked Nabeel, her husband, to leave the country in ten days. During the ten days they got a job offer to work with an Egyptian church in Toronto Canada. So they moved to Colorado Springs for six months on their way to Canada. The Navigators’ leadership then asked them to stay in Colorado Springs and have a global ministry.  

Unlike most of us, for whom Colorado Springs is a dream location, Barbara was not feeling at home. Like many, moving to the U.S. from almost anywhere else, she felt out of place. That her home was too big and too luxurious. (I was in Turkey for only a year back in 1970-1971, and I remember that feeling well, walking into an upscale U.S. shopping mall and thinking, “There is nothing in here that anyone actually needs.”) In the midst of her struggles, God gave Barbara verses from Jeremiah 29, a message to the Jewish people in exile:

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce…Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jeremiah 29.5, 7)

She took it as her mission to pray for Colorado Springs. “That’s my calling. To sit at his feet, in ‘the heavenlies’ [see Ephesians 1.3] and pray.”

God planted her in the United States. She describes herself as “81 and still growing.”

While sharing this story with a small group of us, she told of a profound experience that happened at the Navigator staff conference in 2007. She was sitting behind people she didn’t know, and they had a profoundly mentally and physically impaired adult son who would have been in his 20s, I think, at that time. She said it was clear he wanted to sing, but the time for singing hadn’t come, and his father worked hard to keep him quiet. (I’ve seen this in action: they literally have to put their hand over his mouth.) Anyway, Barbara said that when the time for singing came, the father lifted the son out of his wheelchair and held him as he stood behind him while the young man “sang” with the rest of us. She described it as guttural sounds. Afterward, she had two thoughts: one was that God must really be pleased that the young man wanted so desperately to praise him in that way. The other thought was, “That’s what my prayers must sound like. But God is still pleased.” (Tomorrow, I will tell you more about the family with the handicapped son.) 

In addition to praying for Colorado Springs, when her husband teaches a course on Islam and the Geopolitics of the Middle East, Barbara prays most of the day, for the students, for the people they will be reaching, for her husband and, of course, for the Muslim world. It’s behind-the-scenes work: difficult, and she takes it seriously.

At a later time, Barbara wondered about the loneliness of her ministry as she prays alone. Then she remembered that young man who was profoundly disabled held tight by his father as he “sang” and Barbara realized that she is never alone. She is always held tight by her heavenly Father.

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. (Colossians 4.12, NIV)

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8.26, NASB)

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I’m going to write some short vignettes over the next few days on “unsung heroes” or people with extraordinary faith lived out in the crucible of real life.

The first is long-time Navigator friend Jo. Jo and Ed Newell (no relation!) serve in the Austin, Texas, area. They’re about our age and have seven children, one of whom was killed in an accident a few years ago. Very recently she has been diagnosed with “triple negative breast cancer,” a “poorly defined invasive ductal cancer,” very aggressive. The prescribed treatment is chemo to shrink the tumor and a lumpectomy in a few months. 

We’re following her via Caring Bridge and nearly daily journal entries. I could pick any sentence at random, but here are portions of a couple entries. I find them very encouraging, the fruit of a lifetime of following Jesus and a close relationship with him through daily time in the Word.

I woke up this morning from a dream about…chemo! What a surprise! I know that I was being offered a choice—either I could go into this process with tension, anxiety, and fear OR I could choose openness to and gratitude for the gifts I am being given. I can imagine the possible negative outcomes (and the doctors rightly let you know them all!) OR I can give thanks for the drugs that can save my life and for each person who cares for me along the way. Moment by moment, I choose to do the latter! A friend sent me a “Blessing for the Flow of Chemotherapy or Radiation” that I offered up as I started my treatment today:

Later she wrote: The first two days after my chemo I am not supposed to exercise, so I couldn’t do the Zumba I do most mornings. Instead, I walked for a few minutes in my neighborhood. I was reminded of one of my favorite verses:

The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army. He makes me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! (Habakkuk 3.19)

I am in a “high place” right now and may not be moving fast, but by God’s grace I am still moving forward!

We subscribed to Jo’s Caring Bridge site so that we could pray for her and write occasional notes of encouragement. Instead, we find ourselves uplifted by her contagious joy.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me. (Psalm 23.4, NKJV)

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One of my grandson’s teachers taught him, “Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice,” leading him to download an app to help him with daily scripture meditation.

I like the concept, and I had already been thinking about it (not in those words) because of changes to my behavior since Father’s Day. Suddenly I find myself moving my arms more when I walk the dog–no more shuffling along with hands in pockets if it’s cold. When I ride my exercise bicycle, my heart rate is 10 – 15 beats higher than it used to be. I vacuumed the house using my left hand!

Why? Because I got an Apple Watch for Father’s Day, and it tracks all those things! June has had a Fitbit since Mother’s Day, and she’s counting steps. I was so inspired, we decided to spring for the Apple Watch for me. And because it knows you’re walking only if your arm is moving, no more walking with hands in pockets! And now, for the first time, my heart rate is accessible. We bought a heart-rate monitor several years ago after reading Younger Next Year (highly recommend), but the monitor just sat in a drawer most of the time–too hard to use. But now that the watch reports my heart rate, I’m encouraged to pedal harder and make other exercise goals. “Make the healthy choice the easy choice.”

Here a non-technical example: I keep my safety glasses in plain sight on my garage workbench. If I need to drive a nail, for example, the safety glasses are as easy to pick up as my hammer.

So what can we do to make our spiritual disciplines “the easy choice”? Here are some suggestions. Please add yours in the comments!

• Arrange your time with God space the night before. A friend keeps his Bible and journal beside his favorite chair, for example.
• Carry scripture memory cards with you or use a phone app. (I like BibleMemory (formerly called ScriptureTyper.)
• Use a Bible reading schedule or other plan. Here’s the 5x5x5 New Testament Plan. If you want to read the Bible through in a year (or several years, I recommend the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan.
• Measure what you want to do. Apple Watch and Fitbit work because they make measuring exercise elements easy. This Time with God template encourages consistency as you get started. Just print one copy for each week, fold and leave in your Bible.

…choose this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24.15, ESV)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11.28 – 30, NKJV)

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Father’s Day I spoke on “Blessed People” from Psalm 1.1-3, and one main takeaway was putting Psalm 1.2 into practice by meditating daily on the Word.

They delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night. (Psalm 1.2, paraphrase)

Here I am showing a plan for meditation (exactly what I teach for daily time with God, which includes meditation) and holding a copy of the handout I gave them: Blessed People Meditate on God’s Word: 7-day Startup Guide. You can listen to the 28-minute sermon here.

The exciting news is that my 25-year-old grandson was there, and he said afterward something like, “Great message, GrandBob.” To which I replied something like, “It will be great when you do it!”

One week later he sent me this text:

Your outstanding motivation last week inspired me. 15 minutes > 0 minutes so I got a bible app and it has a plethora of devotionals so I’ve got it set to once a day “Warrior of God” message. An app on my Phone is easy and my old teacher would always say “Make the healthy choice the easy choice.” You said last week your motivation was only good if it inspired change so here’s proof it did.

The proof was a screen shot of his app. (And since he is a Marine, the “Warrior of God” devotional is appropriate!)

I’m glad that our grandson (and a few others I’ve heard from) are beginning the daily time with God habit, and I love his teacher’s quote: “Make the healthy choice the easy choice.” I’ll have more to say about that tomorrow.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up. (Psalm 5.3, NKJV)

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, (Proverbs 8.34, 35, ESV)

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I’ve been trying to teach math to a young man I met at the Soifer Math Olympiad back in 2018. He didn’t do well this year despite staying for the whole four hours. Until Saturday, we’ve been exchanging emails, and the results haven’t been that great. Even when he would finally stumble into an answer or insight I was looking for, I had a sense that he didn’t really understand.

So we met by phone, and what a difference! I could see what he didn’t understand and explain as many times as necessary until he did understand. Proving once again that telling is not teaching and listening is not learning.

The same is true in disciple-making. I strongly believe in the power of a good sermon, and when I speak, I want to do the best job of communicating that I can. However, until I sit down one-to-one with someone, I don’t know what they’re picking up. And I certainly don’t know what they’re putting into practice until they tell me. And the good news is that anyone can teach this way: you don’t have to be a public speaker!

Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8.14 – 21, ESV)

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, [the apostles] did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5.42, ESV, emphasis mine)

[Paul] withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus…for two years. (Acts 19.9, 10, ESV)

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I wrote yesterday that Matthew Kelly’s observation on why people don’t read the Bible is that they believe that the Bible will transform them, but they don’t want transformation. It occurred to me while reading The Passion Translation of Psalm 23 that we often think of transformation as negative when it’s really positive.

He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. (Psalm 23.2, 3)

Isn’t restoring and reviving a form of transformation? And who wouldn’t want that? It’s to our advantage to be transformed!

O that my people would once and for all listen to me and walk faithfully in my footsteps, following my ways. Then and only then will I conquer your every foe and tell every one of them, ‘You must go!’…But I will feed you with my spiritual bread. You will feast and be satisfied with me, feeding on my revelation-truth like honey dripping from the cliffs of the high place.” (Psalm 81.13 – 16, Passion Translation)

And God’s primary method of positive transformation is his Word!

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. (Psalm 19.7, 8, ESV)

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I frequently teach (and write about!) how to have daily time with God, and although the method is easy, it’s always been a puzzle why more believers don’t take up the habit. I’ve tried various means to motivate people but without widespread success. I even came up with a list of reasons that people might not develop this most important discipline:

• We don’t start small enough: God would rather we spend 15 minutes than NOT spend one hour. As we get into the habit, the time might grow.
• We don’t see far enough: growth and love for the Word occur over time. (Please see Mark 4.26 – 28)
• We don’t want to: we won’t want to do something until we’ve first done it when we didn’t want to! (Please see Hebrews 12.11)
• We just don’t!

Now I’ve learned a possible rationale for the last one, and it’s disturbing. It’s from my new favorite book The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity by Matthew Kelly (where the Holy Moments concept I wrote about recently came from). After discussing the typical reasons why people might not read their Bibles, he writes:

But in a deeply subconscious way, the main explanation for why we don’t read the Bible more is diabolically profound: We know and believe that the Word of God has the power to transform our lives. That’s right. You didn’t misread. It’s not that we don’t believe; it’s that we do believe. We know the Word of God has the power to transform our lives, and the uncomfortable, unspoken, and often-avoided truth is that we don’t want our lives transformed. (Chapter 14)

And neither I nor Matthew Kelly knows a cure for that other than repentance.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (Romans 12.2)

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3.18, ESV)

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I met recently with a young man who had a final interview that day with a large Christian organization in this area. He was very excited at the possibility of working for an organization where the first requirement of candidates was “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” I hope he gets the job.

At the same time, I hope his expectations aren’t too high. For example, he told me he wasn’t as disciplined in his daily time with God as he wanted to be, and he hoped that would change if he was hired. I don’t know why it would unless he asks his supervisor to make time with God consistency part of his job!

As one who has been on both the secular and sacred sides of what Mark Greene calls The Great Divide, I offer these simple observations, especially for those believers who dream of working for a Christian organization:

• If all believers worked for Christian organizations, there would be no one to fund them! It takes at least 10 tithing believers just to pay the salary of one paid Christian worker and that doesn’t count buildings and other overhead.
• Most people who work for Christian organizations are doing whatever they would be doing if they were working for a secular organization: bookkeeping, computers (my friend’s field), building management, etc. Not even everything pastors do is “ministry.”
• Working for a Christian organization is very much like working anywhere else. Some are well run; others not. Some colleagues are competent and pleasant to be around; some not. The difference is that one goes into a Christian organization with higher expectations!
• If all Christians worked for Christian organizations, there would be no one to reach unbelievers at their workplace. One pastor in our area rightly analyzed that when a large Christian organization moved to town and hired 1300 people, in the short term, Christian influence in the city would go down.

I write a bit more about this in my book The Disciple’s Work, which is designed to encourage believers in “regular” work–not “paid Christian employment.”

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3.23, 24, NIV)

But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. (Daniel 6.3, MSG)