Category: stories

Lately, I’ve had some of the most enjoyable weeks with our son, Taylor. It started with an invitation: “Dad, would you be my partner in a fishing tournament?” I’m not nearly as good a fisherman as he is, but we have had great fun planning strategy and getting ready for the Saturday competition. Though I can’t report that we came close to winning, I have, once again, noticed God’s willingness to be involved in every aspect of our lives.

I could almost write a book about the many times God has revealed Himself to my children while fishing, and I am convinced it is because they simply ask. “Lord, will You help us?” The Father in Heaven relishes these invitations just as much as us earthly fathers do! And while He may not choose to let us catch the biggest fish every day, He has His ways of answering.

About ten years ago such an answer came as we reached the end of a grueling day of unsuccessful fishing. Eight-year-old Taylor finally determined the problem and stated, “We haven’t prayed!” I said, “You’re right, Taylor, why don’t you pray.” “Lord, will You help us catch a fish? We haven’t caught one all day.” Within a few minutes, this simple prayer was answered, but it was not the way Taylor had planned. His six-year-old sister, Kinsey, pulled in a good-sized catfish. To make matters worse, as her grandfather helped Kinsey bait her hook again, Taylor discovered, to his great dismay, that she had taken the last worm. Realizing sibling difficulty mounting, I quickly borrowed some of Solomon’s wisdom and cut the poor worm in two, giving half to Taylor and half to Kinsey. As Taylor walked to the pond, he asked with a pitiful voice, “Dad, why can’t I catch a fish?” For some reason, a Bible story came to mind. “Remember when Peter couldn’t catch anything one day? Jesus told him to fish out in the deep.” Immediately, Taylor replied, “You mean to tell me, if I cast out in the middle I will catch a fish?” I quickly wondered if I had given a wrong reply; we never caught fish in the middle of that pond! “Uh, Taylor, I’m not sure…” But it was too late. As half a worm flew out to the middle of the pond, a little voice yelled, “If Jesus said it… it has to be true!” I kid you not, within three seconds he was reeling in a big catfish.

After Taylor proudly carried the fish to us and pulled the hook out of its mouth, I noticed him retrieve a tiny piece of that half of a worm. As he took off running back to the pond, I yelled, “What are you doing? We’re ready to go!” Taylor shouted back, “But Peter didn’t catch just one!” Within a minute, the little fisherman was reeling in his second catch of the day.

As we thank the Lord for His great love, may our ears be open to His invitation. A long time ago, some fishermen heard these words and were never the same.

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matt 3:18-19

Dayalan Sanders, a native of Sri Lanka, made it a habit of rising at 4:00 in the morning to go to the beach to pray. He, his wife, and two other helpers take care of 28 children, most of whom have been orphaned by the civil war on that island. Early the morning of December 26th, the sea was calm and the weather was fair, but for some reason Dayalan had difficulty praying. As he tried to think through the things he wanted to teach in church that Sunday morning, there seemed to be an oppression that he could not explain. He went back to his bedroom, laid down, and fell asleep.

A short time later, Dayalan’s wife woke him in a panic. “Look outside! Something is wrong!” The sea was in an uproar. Husband and wife and their young daughter ran outside yelling for everyone to run to the boathouse. Incredibly all 28 orphans arrived at the boathouse within seconds. Usually the motor was stored in a different location, but on this morning the motor was on the boat ready to go. Thirty-three people hopped aboard the little craft built for ten or twelve adults. As they rode out into the lagoon, a huge wave was coming toward them. Faith welled up in Dayalan Sanders and he raised his hands and shouted, “Based on the Scripture that says, ‘When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him’, in the Name of Jesus, I command you to stop!” The wave subsided. The boat stayed afloat. All 33 people lived through the storm that destroyed their compound and ripped their village to shreds.

The CNN reporter didn’t know what to do with this man who claimed he commanded the waves by the same power that allowed Jesus to calm the waves when He was in a storm. Dayalan Sanders does not claim to be special. He has been a voice of comfort to the many Hindus in his village whose lives have been overturned. He has cried tears of sorrow as he has lost friends and neighbors. But he has a message to share… as do 28 orphans.

Listening to this man tell his story (find the Jan 10 and 11 broadcasts at www.focusonthefamily.org), one cannot help but realize an obvious truth: This brother had prepared for the storm long before it came. In the heat of the moment, there is no time for preparation. This man did not sit at his desk after his wife’s warning and think, “Now what would be an appropriate Scripture for this pending doom?” The Word was within him. Though he was just a man, he knew God. Whether he lived or died, he knew God. Though the storm of the century was threatening to destroy everything in its path, he knew God. The oil was burning… a wise virgin had heeded the Master’s instruction… a simple servant trusted an all-powerful God. He can’t answer all the questions that have been asked. He does not think he is better than anyone else. But He knows God.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came, ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said, ‘Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13

Five men from India were easily noticed as we stood in line at Incheon airport in South Korea. Each wore an orange robe and had a red dot painted on his forehead. We spent the night in a hotel inside the airport, but with sleep patterns still on Atlanta time, I woke up at 4:00 in the morning and decided to get up and walk around. On my walk I saw the Hindu men in a lobby area. They were sitting cross-legged on the floor with heads bowed in prayer or meditation. “These guys are dedicated”, I thought to myself.

Our first day in China, we visited a Buddhist temple where faithful monks with shaven heads chanted, burned incense, and tended the compound. At the end of the week, we traveled north of the city of QingDao and saw a Taoist temple strategically built to give spectacular views of the mountains and the sea. Just before leaving on our trip, I overheard a Muslim decline food and drink, saying he was in the middle of a forty day fast in observance of Ramadan.

Witnessing other religions being practiced brings a few thoughts to mind. First, I praise God for His brilliant plan to save the world. Man will never be saved by what he does… we can only be saved by what God has done. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Other religions in this world are based on the works of the religious, but God knows we can never reach Him by our own effort. ‘You must come to Me by faith. Trust My Son and I will give you life. Salvation will be a gift of grace that prevents you from boasting.’

I dare not arrogantly look down on the Hindu priests, who are simply practicing what they have been taught. Instead, I praise the Author of salvation, realizing that even my faith is a gift. He now tells me to love others the same way He loves me. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 14:16-17)

Do you think He would give us souls? Do we love enough to ask?

God’s truth exposes the deception of other religions, but probing questions easily come to mind. Do the Hindu priests love their false gods more that I love the True and Living God? Do the Buddhist offerings to an idol outshine what I offer Jehovah? Do the Muslim fasts and prayers to a false prophet exceed my dedication to the true Messiah?

What if I admit I don’t even follow Jesus’ greatest commands? What if I cannot honestly say I love the Lord with all my heart? What if I do not love my neighbor as I should? The true God simply tells us to be honest and humbly go to the Source. “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) What other God invites so lovingly and supplies so abundantly? Dare we go anywhere else?

If your love is lacking, ask and believe. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” If your prayer life is weak, ask for grace. “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” If your offering to the Father is little, step out in faith and give Him what is most precious. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

Because He first loved us, we can love Him. Shall we?

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3

God should receive all glory for our health, our successes, and any other good thing, but the Holy Spirit also encourages us to give proper honor to people. Three doctors in Gwinnett County have spent quite a bit of time with me over the past four years. All three of these men are strong believers in our Lord Jesus and I have been blessed by their expertise, their encouragement, and their prayers. Doctor Rene Latoni and his wife, Barbara, came to our home to share the diagnosis of cancer. But they did not simply deliver bad news and leave. They shared hope of a Great Physician and we all sat down on the floor and prayed to this One that knows all. Hoyt Gazaway, a surgeon, was the next doctor we visited. As often as doctors deal with bad news, I imagine they have learned to contain emotions. On more than one occasion, I saw tears in Doctor Gazaway’s eyes as he discussed my situation. Every time I was on his operating table, he prayed with me before surgery. Alexander Saker is my oncologist in Gwinnett County. Dr. Saker is a kind man who loves God and encourages me in faith. He is also a splendid doctor who accepts a humble role in helping patients fight horrible diseases.

I’ve also had many fine doctors at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. My favorite doctor there recently moved to Chicago. Dr. Redei is from Hungary and looks a bit like Bono of U2 fame. Under a rough exterior is a kind man who genuinely loved me. An unselfish reason I desired God to heal me miraculously was that I wanted to be a sign to Dr. Redei that there was a Father in Heaven who had power to do all things. His wife, also a doctor, is a Christian, but I often detected a bit a skepticism in Dr. Redei. But there is no doubt God used this man to help me. He not only was knowledgeable about my disease, but he knew how to motivate me to keep fighting. I’ll never forget his words as I was lying in a hospital bed, shortly after my stem cell transplant, thinking things would never get better. With his thick accent he chided, “What’s wrong with you? I’ve got an eighty year old patient down the hall who’s tougher than you are!” As weak as I was, I think I still had enough competitiveness to at least try to keep up with a patient forty years my elder…

Just recently, my wife had a conversation with the doctor that helped deliver our three children. Somehow, the subject of “amniotic fluid embolism” came up – a condition where the amniotic fluid enters the bloodstream of a mother who has just given birth. The doctor said this was fatal 100% of the time, but Susan corrected her. “When I was born, my mom had an ‘amniotic fluid embolism’ and she is still alive today!” Doctors used every bit of her type blood in all of Chattanooga and had blood flown in from New Orleans to keep her alive. Susan’s mom was in the hospital four months, but today you’ll not find a healthier eighty-one year old than Lou Taylor. We have a newspaper clipping from August of 1959 with a picture of the mother and daughter who survived quite an ordeal. After Susan told this story, her doctor replied, “Well, that was an act of God!”

Don’t you love ‘acts of God’?

“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness… Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 150

My bother, Brian, first spotted the thief as we followed a blue car to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of South Africa. He was sitting on the side of the road eating a sandwich as we drove by. After parking in a spot by the ocean, three of the four members of a French-speaking family climbed out of the blue car, leaving a young lady in the back seat. We parked beside them and my daughter, Kinsey, and our friend, Sherill, hopped out of our car, leaving the back door open. In an instant there was chaos. The thief appeared between the two cars, just a few feet from Kinsey and Sherill. I’ve never seen such quickness as the two girls dove into our car. All the doors of the blue car were closed, but the thief was not deterred. He opened the front door and hopped in. The lady in the back seat screamed as she found herself alone in the car with a baboon! As quickly as the ape jumped in the back seat, the woman climbed out the back door. The father approached the car to confront the imposter, but when the baboon bared his teeth and growled, he quickly retreated.

The monkey grabbed a leather purse out of the back seat and leapt out of the car. Realizing her purse was being stolen, the mother and her son yelled some words I did not understand (and probably should not repeat) and ran after the baboon. The humans had no chance catching the thief as he headed for his familiar hills, but it was good they gave chase. As the monkey ran, he unzipped the purse and started tossing things out. Finding no food, he finally dropped the purse and ran away. We applauded the two chasers as they walked back to their car with the recovered goods.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

So what would have happened if the mean baboon jumped into the back seat of my brother’s car? There would have been no retreat! My brother, all 5’6” 150 pounds of him, would have made that monkey wish he had never been born! I am not bragging about the strength of my little brother… I’m describing the heart of a father. His four-year-old son, Noah, was in the back seat… something far more precious than any leather purse. My brother would have fought that enemy to the death in order to rescue his little boy… and Uncle Dana would have helped!

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away…”

‘Know that I still fight for those that follow Me. I live to intercede for you! Yes, you live in an evil world, but take hope, I have overcome the world! Yes, the devil roams around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, but you belong to the Good Shepherd who never sleeps and never runs away. Listen to My words and believe what I say.’

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30