Amazed By How Good God is - Bob Reccord
by: Bob Reccord
This weekend I have been in a semi-rural church in the Salisbury and Winston/Salem area of North Carolina. Great folks! Salt of the earth! And the backbone of faith in America. This is what constitutes the foundation of our land.
One man has imprinted himself on my mind. His name is Larry, 61 years of age, who walks with a cane. But as he told me his story, I stood amazed…
When Larry was growing up his step-father was an alcoholic constantly beating Larry. Many were the days when Larry wore a jacket just to cover the blood that seeped from the wounds left by the attacks. But it was as a young teenager that, in a drunken rage, he placed a .22 caliber gun between Larry’s eyes. In fear Larry turned his head as the gun discharged, hitting him in the temple area. He would lay for hours before being discovered and rushed to the hospital. He showed me the entry wound.
For 32 days he would be in a coma. When he came around it was his faith in Christ, whom he had accepted at age 9, that got him through. BUT…he lost his right eyesight. As a result he never learned to read…until he had a daughter, who couldn’t read either. When asked by a teacher to help his daughter learn to read he had to embarrassingly admit he could not either. So…at 53 years of age Larry entered the battle to learn. After starting in 1999, four years later, he had won the battle. Not to coast, he began his GED, and in 2004, to the pride of his daughter—and Larry himself—he graduated. Now, at 61, Larry’s next goal is to go to college! At 61 years of age!!! You’ve got to love it!!
Now he speaks at schools and events telling his story and encouraging others that, with faith in our Lord Jesus, there is nothing that is impossible. And speaking of Jesus, Larry says the best part of everything is that he can now read the Bible for himself.
So, what do you know that God is calling you to do—but you’ve been telling yourself, “it’s too late,” or, “I’m too old… too young….too ill-equipped …to do? Maybe, like Larry, you just need to get started, and see what only God, through you, can do!
Thanks Lord, for the hope found in a story like this. I trust it has been a HOPE PACKAGE for you, today! How about it?
(For the complete story be sure and visit www.salisburypost.com and look in archives for article titled “What a Diploma Means”)
March 25th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Larry is in my prayers!
March 26th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Great post! I’ve been thinking a lot about this exact thing over that last few days. Granted I’m only 20 years old, but I keep thinking “What have I done that matters?” The answers that I come up with are merely superficial: a church camp here, a mission trip there, a disciple now once a year, I even taught a disciple now once. However, with at least 1/4 of my life gone that I will never be able to get back, I am finally starting to realize the things that really matter. I’ve been reading the book “I am not but I know I AM” by Louie Giglio and my eyes have been opened to several things. One, I’m small and to the world I don’t matter. I’m one in 6.5 billion people. There is nothing special about me other than the fact that God created me in His image. It’s time to learn some humility. Second, I wasn’t created to serve my own selfish earthly desires but I was created to serve God and his desires that he has for my life. And finally, knowing that 1/4 of my life has probably expired I know that it’s time for a radical change. It’s time to stand up and be the man that God created me to be. No more games and no more excuses. Larry’s story is encouraging to me just knowing that if he can start something at age 61 then I can definitely start something at age 20.
March 28th, 2007 at 9:49 am
A LIFE CHANGING WEEKEND
BY: Robert Tenery
Thanks Dr. Reccord for a CELEBRATE LIFE weekend that made a difference at Calvary Baptist Church! The changes for good that took place in our Church were very obvious: (1) I saw the attitude of an entire church change as they came to the real conviction that they can and must be the church in this area and in this era in which a correspondent of the New York Times and a Harvard Divinity School graduate has just written a book entitled “Americn Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America”. It is a cynical book that compares Evangelical Christians in America to the old Nazis in Germany. While us older Christians know better the young people do not remember the days of Hitler and the Nazis but we have a new determination to minister in a cynical world. (2) I saw Church Members wipng tears as you promoted the Annie Armstrong Easter Ofering for North American Missions and shared with the people in such a touching way some of he things that were done by the Annie Armstrong Offering. (3) I saw individuals come to Christ when they realized that the life with Christ is the only life worth living and the only jouney worth taking is the one we take with Him. (4) I saw a new warmth of fellowship within our church and a new caring for those outside our church. Our people developed a new comitment to “go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in”. I appreciate your spirit. I never heard you utter a word of bitterness but only uplifting words of encouragement and challenge to be all that God would have us to be and all that we can be through Him. You have made a difference in our church that will not soon be lost. Thank You!
March 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
What a weekend! You are one dynamic speaker–thanks for bringing a fresh word to us.