Tommy Waltz – Raleigh, NC

I grew up in a family with no religious background. The leaders in my life were alcoholics and loved pornography, so this was my influence. I was born a twin. While I was in the womb, my position did not allow my right side to develop properly. I entered the world partially paralyzed and developed a speech impediment when I started talking. In the fourth grade I was diagnosed with a learning and reading disability. I was picked on a lot in school and was told that I was slow and dumb. During my late teenage years my father told me that I was not going to work on his farm because of my slow comprehension. I found work in Columbia, South Carolina as a personal trainer and my idol became my body. I also joined several rock bands. With my last band we produced a CD and toured the Southeast.

This life was from the pits of hell. The longer I lived, the more I hated my life. I had no purpose, no meaning, and no direction.

At the age of twenty-three, a lady invited me to a play on the life of Jesus. It explained His life from birth to His resurrection. This was the start of the whole transformation. I didn’t give my life to Christ that night. I continued running for a year. As I read God’s word, deeper conviction of sin grew. I was on the verge of taking my life, but through God’s grace He spared my life. The night I was going to take my life I found a card in my room from a person that reminded me of Jesus’ love for me. Turning to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, I repented and placed my faith in Jesus that night in my room. My view of life is simple – Jesus died and came out of the grave for me, so I have to live for Him.

My Jesus found me broken on my bedroom floor not wanting to live anymore. Oh, how can I not share His Glorious Name? He has taken a slow, crippled boy off a farm in South Carolina and given him new life. I type this with tears in my eyes. I am a man who is blessed beyond measure with an amazing wife who has believed in me from day one and three amazing girls.

May we all boast together in what Jesus Christ has done in all of our lives. We serve an amazing God. He saved us and now He deserves our entire lives.

I have had the opportunity to lead a ministry called Gospel of God Ministries since 2009. GGM preaches and teaches the Gospel until faith becomes action.

The faith has a twofold action. First, it is pulling the unbeliever into the kingdom through repentance and faith in Jesus. Second, it is pushing the believer out into the world to share their faith. Find out more at http://www.gospelgm.com

This will be my fifth SBO with New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, and San Francisco under my belt by God’s grace. I look forward to leading my team alongside the other leaders at next year’s SBO. Go and proclaim the Gospel to see a life transformed!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16

Daily Devotional 2-1-21

Noah Found Grace

Most people consider themselves to be fairly good, and when you mention sin, there is an uproar. After all, we shouldn’t be so negative. But what about being realistic? A doctor who refuses to tell his patient the truth, although it may be unpleasant, is not worth his salt. Similarly, some statements in the Bible are negative. But they are also realistic. For example, the Bible tells us about the people of old, saying, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Now, here is a negative statement, but it is also realistic. The thought life of these people was all fouled up. And the same is true today. There has been more than one case where an individual has taken a semi-automatic or automatic rifle into a school and shot and killed students and teachers. Why do people do such things? Why do they even think about doing such things? There may be some family problems. There may even be some problems in the individual’s background or education. But these things are not the root cause of rash acts of murder. The root problem is sin, and the effects of sin are pervasive. When we look at such a person, the diagnosis can be made that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Is this harsh? Yes. Is it too harsh? No. This is the diagnosis of the Great Physician, God himself. And the cure is God’s grace in forgiveness and cleansing. Remember all the people of old who lived in sin and perished in the flood? Only Noah and his family were spared. This is because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). Grace is the only cure for the problem of sin. But you must recognize the problem first.

To help you, please click here and listen to “Grace: God’s Remedy to Evil.”

From: http://dennyprutow.com/daily-devotions/

Joshua Tubbs – Helena, AL

My name is Joshua Tubbs and I live in Helena, Alabama just minutes south of Birmingham. I am married to a loving and faithful wife for almost fifteen years and have been blessed with four daughters. I was in the media and advertising business for close to twenty years before I left to start my own business. The Lord saved me around eleven years of age but I didn’t get serious about sharing the gospel until some years back. I was tired of being on the sidelines and even in the stands watching from a distance as the battle waged on the field of evangelism. I am grateful and thankful beyond words at the grace of our mighty God and His patience with me. I hope that the Lord can use me to share the gospel to a lost and dying world and that I can be an encourager to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Daily Devotional 1-29-21

Look Forward

In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for hope, for joy, for consolation, or for the inspiring of our love, the future must, after all, be the grand object of the eye of faith.

Looking into the future we see sin cast out, the body of sin and death destroyed, the soul made perfect and fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Looking further yet, the believer’s enlightened eye can see death’s river passed, the gloomy stream forded, and the hills of light attained on which stands the celestial city. He sees himself enter within the pearly gates, hailed as more than conqueror, crowned by the hand of Christ, embraced in the arms of Jesus, glorified with Him, and made to sit together with Him on His throne, even as He has overcome and has sat down with the Father on His throne. The thought of this future may well relieve the darkness of the past and the gloom of the present. The joys of heaven will surely compensate for the sorrows of earth.

Hush, hush, my doubts! Death is but a narrow stream, and you shall soon have forded it. Time, how short–eternity, how long! Death, how brief–immortality, how endless! The road is so, so short! I shall soon be there.

When the world my heart is rending

With its heaviest storm of care,

My glad thoughts to heaven ascending,

Find a refuge from despair.

Faith’s bright vision shall sustain me

Till life’s pilgrimage is past;

Fears may vex and troubles pain me,

I shall reach my home at last.

From: https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/daily-devotionals/latest/?gclid=CjwKCAjwnK36BRBVEiwAsMT8WCR8UteIwaWlAyP4o9ZIuAWio8l7qmAM1nDcB3pFiYr-jOUNkgMsShoC68IQAvD_BwE

Joseph R. Toy, Jr. – Folcroft, PA

Joe grew up in Shillington, PA and attended First EC Church of Reading. He is a 1978 graduate of Governor Mifflin High School. In 1982, he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Millersville University. In the spring of 1982 as a senior in college, Joe committed his life to Jesus Christ. Upon graduation, Joe began his career as an accountant in Trenton, NJ. During this time, he attended Newtown Community Church in Newtown, PA. While attending this church, Joe felt the call to full time ministry. He left his job to attend Moody Bible Institute for a 3-week seminar on Urban Evangelism with plans to attend Evangelical Seminary in the fall of 1984. When Joe returned from Moody, he began a street ministry in the city of Reading called Inner City Campaigners. From this street ministry, an outreach to children and teens began at First EC of Reading called The Source. This ministry continued from 1984 to 1988 when Joe moved to Philadelphia, PA. Joe began his theological studies at Evangelical in 1984 and ended in 1987. During this time, Joe became a commissioned missionary and a licensed preacher in the Evangelical Congregational Church in May of 1985.

In 1985, Joe and Wendy met at Evangelical Seminary while working on his Masters of Divinity studies. They were married at the chapel at Evangelical on March 22, 1986. Joe and Wendy have five sons. Jared(1987), Seth(1989), Ethan(1989), Aaron(1991) and Adam(1984). The boys were primarily home schooled from 1991 to 2013. Both Jared and Seth serve in The U.S. Coast Guard. Ethan is a career firefighter/paramedic in Currituck County, North Carolina. Aaron is employed at Wellesley Assisted care Facility as a food services manager. Adam serves in the U.S. Air Force. Joe and Wendy have been blessed with six grandchildren named: Forest, Joseph Conner, Morgan, Savannah and Jackson.

In 1988, Joe and Wendy moved to Philadelphia to begin an association With Open Air Campaigners. During this time, they worked in an internship status with this mission board. The ministry of Open Air Campaigners is to do the work of Evangelism and to train others in Evangelism in an urban setting. This association lasted until 1992 when Joe resigned because of doctrinal issues that conflicted with the EC Church. Upon resolution of the proposed doctrinal changes within OAC, Joe served as an associate evangelist with them until 2000. Joe now serves on the board of directors of OAC, Inc. At this point Joe became one of the few Evangelical Congregational Church Denominational missionaries, which is a status that continued until 2008. In 1993, Joe established a ministry called Open Air Ministries-Philadelphia. Now Joe has formed his own 501c non-profit corporation called Open Air Ministries, Inc from 2009 until the present day.

Joe’s ministry is primarily evangelistic by nature. Outreach is conducted at bus stops, subways, college campuses, Center City, parades, events, neighborhoods, parks and other areas in and around the Metro Philadelphia Area. Joe does weekly outreach in Camden, NJ and in the summer conducts outreach at the New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware beach resorts. Through the years, Joe has been involved in the Philadelphia Port Ministry from 1988 to 2001. Also, much outreach has been done in inner city neighborhoods with children. Joe was a co-pastor for Metro Kids an outdoor kid’s church in various locations in Philadelphia from 2007 to 2011. Many times a year Joe travels to national events such as Mardi Gras, Indy 500, Spring Break Florida, Senior Week in Ocean City, MD and others to share the gospel. Another large part of Joe’s work is training others in evangelism. Joe spends a number of weeks each year training youth groups, college students, missionary candidates and others in evangelism. Some of these groups spend time with in Philly for a day or a week. The summer is especially busy with hosting these teams, including a number of EC Church youth groups. Joe and Wendy and Aaron live in Folcroft, which is in Delaware County, PA. Folcroft is located very close to the Philadelphia Airport. They attend Crossroads Community Church, which is in Upper Darby.

Daily Devotional 1-28-21

Why Does Our God Have Many Names?

There is a lot of time, attention, and consideration given to the naming of a child. Why? Because names are important to us. Before my wife and I named our children, there were a whole host of names in the running for us to consider. There were male names, female names, family names, names suggested by friends. It was all a bit overwhelming. But we got through it somehow and have been blessed with three children in our family.

When our youngest was born, we named him Benjamin Joseph after the two youngest sons of Jacob and Rachel in the book of Genesis. Like most people, he’s had a number of nicknames over the years that define and describe him, who he is, what he does, what he is all about. His friends and close family members often use these names, but most people simply know him as Ben.

Names are important to us and to God. There are a lot of names for God in the Bible. It may seem a bit overkill at first, but all of these names in Scripture are significant because they define and describe who God is, what he does, and what he is all about. They give us insight into his nature, person, and character.

Elohim is the first and most basic name used for God in the Old Testament. It’s merely the Hebrew word for “god,” but the way it is used in Scripture is typically in terms of Creator God or Almighty God. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1). Elohim is the One who was there at the beginning and who brought all things into existence. It’s interesting to note that Elohim is a plural noun that operates in a singular way. How can this Elohim God exist in plurality and operate in singularity? Could it be one God in three persons, perhaps?

It’s interesting to note that Elohim is a plural noun that operates in a singular way.

Yahweh is God’s name, and the name for God used most often in the Bible. It first shows up in Genesis 2 when it comes time to talk about the crown of God’s creation, man and woman, Adam and Eve. The name Yahweh always shows up at important times in salvation history and in the story of God’s people. When God appears to Moses through the burning bush, he says of himself, “I AM WHO I AM … Tell them I AM has sent me to you” (Ex 3:14). Yahweh always has been, is now, and always will be. He is always in the present to deliver and to save his people.

Adonai is the name for God that means “Lord.” Psalm 97 says that “God is the Lord over all the earth.” God is not only Elohim the creator, but also Adonai, the lord and ruler of all things. Adonai became the standard name for God used among the Jews, who considered God’s personal name of Yahweh too holy to be written or uttered.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angel Gabriel told Joseph what his name would be. “You are to give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 2). In Hebrew, Jesus’ name is Y’shua, or Joshua, which means “Yahweh saves.” Jesus is Yahweh incarnate, Yahweh in the flesh, sent from heaven to earth to save his people from their sins. From the womb to the tomb, from the cradle to the grave, Jesus’ name defines and describes who he is and what he is all about.

At the end of his earthly ministry, before his ascension, Jesus finally reveals God’s true nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28). The God of the Bible is the creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all things. Three in one and one in three, the holy and blessed Trinity.

Names are important to us and to God. By the time this article is published, my son Ben and his wife Laura will be welcoming their first child into the world, a son. He will be given a name and will surely have plenty of nicknames along the way. But the most important name he will have is the one placed on him in the sanctuary and at the font, where through water and the word, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he will be named a child of God.

From: https://www.1517.org/articles/why-does-our-god-have-many-names

Brad Tower – Fairfax, IA

My name is Brad Tower. I’ve been married to my wife Cara for 5 and a half years. We have three children. Brady, who is three and a half, Kyler is one and a half and Emberlee, who is 4 months old. I grew up in the church but wasn’t soundly saved until I was 24. I immediately had a desire to share the gospel but didn’t actually do so on a regular basis until I was 30 years old.

Since that time, I’ve been sharing my faith on a regular basis at many different venues. My main place of ministry is on campus at the University of Iowa. I try and hit the campus to open air preach, pass out tracts and do one on one evangelism once a week during the school year. I’ve been doing that since 2010.

I’ve also attended two Living Waters Ambassadors Academies as a participant in 2010 and 2011. I went back to the Ambassadors Academy in 2018 as a team leader and was supposed to again this past summer before the shutdowns happened.

Lord willing this will be my fourth Super Bowl Outreach. I’ve attended the Super Bowls in Phoenix, San Francisco and Houston. I’m excited to participate once again, this year in Tampa. God has blessed me with a very supportive church that has blessed me through prayer and financial support to help make this trip possible. It will be exciting to see how God works through this outreach with the preaching of the gospel in Tampa, but as always, what I look forward to the most is the fellowship with like-minded evangelists from around the country!

Daily Devotional 1-27-21

The Power of Words…

Words, words, words. We are constantly bombarded by them — from Social Media, email and text messages, our phones, TV and movies. And now you’re reading words from me!

Have you ever wondered why words are so powerful? Words on the tongue of the comedian can make us laugh; but words on the lips of the cynic can cut down and demolish. The words, ‘I love you,’ bring the thrill of joy and hope to couples in love. But the words, ‘We’ve done all we can,’ from the medical specialist in times of sickness, grip us with fear and a sense of impending loss.

Emily Dickinson wrote this of words: A word is dead / When it is said / Some say; I say it just / Begins to live / That day.

Authority. Come with me to Mark 1, verses 21and 22: They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus (he) entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Jesus regularly attended the church of his day – the Jerusalem temple or the local synagogue in towns and villages. Mark tells us that Jesus began his public ministry in the town of Capernaum, on the northern shore of Lake Galilee.

We can begin to picture the scene. Jesus was the guest speaker that day in the local synagogue. As he spoke everyone sat up and listened, for he taught with authority.

People could see that he wasn’t like their usual speakers – the scribes. The scribes, so dependent on the authority of others, were diffident and cautious, ambiguous and lacking clarity.

But Jesus was different. He spoke as one who knew first-hand what he was talking about. He spoke with a personal command of his subject. He spoke with clarity as he talked of God and humanity, of righteousness and hope. His hearers were stunned. They’d never heard anything like it before. And not surprisingly he caused a stir.

But there was another facet to Jesus’ words. In verse 23 we read: Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?’

Mark doesn’t hesitate to record this voice of protest. Jesus’ words didn’t necessarily bring harmony and peace. Opposition came from a demon-possessed man who, up until that moment, had been happy to be in the congregation! But that day was different. This demon-possessed man was confronted with a greater power and he knew it: ‘I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’

While some will dismiss Mark’s assessment as myth, saying it doesn’t fit with modern psychiatry, we can note that medical science today suggests that some psychotic behaviour occurs for organic reasons – brain tumors, drug addiction, or even genetic factors.

Indeed, in the same way that we bring prayer and medicine to bear on cancer, we can bring prayer and psychiatry together when a person is mentally ill.

What is clear however, is that there are some mentally and emotionally sick people today who are, like this man, in the grip of alien forces. And whether we regard these forces as real or imaginary, they are irresistible – as irresistible as the impulse that drove that man to call out that day.

Sometimes mentally disturbed people are aware of supernatural realities in a way that most people are not. This man recognized Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Not even the disciples had woken up to this.

Power. Consider Jesus’ response in verse 25: But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’

Be silent is literally, be muzzled or, colloquially, ‘Shut up!’ Jesus wouldn’t accept the compulsory testimony to his divinity given by evil powers. Rather, he wants our voluntary recognition that he is both God and man. And so, he ordered the spirit to be quiet and to come out of the man.

And notice what happened: And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. The spirit obeyed.

There’s only one word for that: power. Power of the kind we have never seen – not even in churches today that claim they have the power to heal. Mark’s focused report here powerfully conveys God’s authority, energy and vitality evident in Jesus’ word.

Amazement. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee (Mark 1:27f).

Jesus’ words and actions were unprecedented. They confirmed what the crowds had begun to suspect – that he was invested with a unique authority.

Jesus was not only a powerful speaker. He commanded extraordinary authority with his words. Indeed, as Mark’s Gospel unfolds, we are invited to see that into our world of darkness and despair a light of hope has come.

It awakens us to the reality that Jesus can’t be ignored. The voices around us may try to shut him up, but he will have the final say. Everyone needs to treat him seriously.

Why is it then that we are so often silent about our faith? Isn’t it true that often we are afraid – afraid of what others will think of us? Afraid of what it might mean for our job? Afraid that the word of the gospel will not work?

We need to remember the power of words in God’s hands. He has used words to reveal himself to us. It is the combination of words and the work of His Spirit that changes and transforms lives.

From: https://anglicanconnection.com/the-power-of-words/

Jacob Stafford – Texas

There was a time when I was wandering through life and got my sense of identity from playing hockey. I was a goalie who had even skated with pros, but my career ended when I quit playing in college. Then I went  crazy studying philosophy trying to find myself, meaning, and peace.

Then I went to church on Easter of 2015. I heard about Jesus, and started believing and following Him.

And now I have been ridiculously changed by Him.  I have forgiveness and eternal life with God. Do you have a story like that?

Daily Devotional 1-26-21

Conforming to God’s Holiness

God is called holy not only because of what He does, but also because of who He is. Originally the term referred more to God’s being than His action or behavior.

For us to be called saints (“holy ones”), we must have a catharsis. We must be made clean. No unclean thing can stand before the presence of a holy God. That which is unclean is profane in His eyes. For us to be holy to God, our unclean, unholy moral imperfection must be purged and our sin removed from us. That is why the absolutely necessary condition for redemption is atonement. Without atonement we would remain always and forever unclean and unholy before His penetrating gaze.

No human is holy in himself. Holiness is foreign to us. It is alien. That is why we require the righteousness of another to cover our moral nakedness. The Holy One has given us the holiness we need in the cloak of Christ’s righteousness. Therefore we pray: “God is great, God is good. And we thank Him for the food … that has come down from heaven for us.”

Coram Deo

Pray this prayer: “Cleanse me Lord. Purge my sin and remove it from me. Cover my moral nakedness.”

Passages for Further Study

Psalm 145:17

Romans 12:1

Psalm 22:3

From: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/conforming-gods-holiness/