Prior to Wanda’s going Home to Heaven we traveled to 93 countries and all USA states, usually with pleasure and God glorifying purpose. Wanda’s heart was focused on people’s eternal destiny and one of the Vice Presidents of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) nicknamed her the “little evangelist”.

Wanda shared the Good News of Jesus Christ everywhere that we were. Usually on airplanes, she would sit in the middle seat with me on one side or someone that was getting ready to hear about Jesus on the other. Wanda was a gentle, kind, non-aggressive, and soft-spoken woman who offended no one in her evangelistic approach.

The Lord has allowed me to have many adventures in my walk with HIM.

One that is still so sharp in my mind was my going with Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, to Moscow Russia when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Power in Eastern Europe collapsed and access to Russia opened up.

God is asking us to step out in faith and to include Him where it is certain that unless He joins us in our goal that it will certainly be a failure. Would we allow Him the opportunity to use us through His power to do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything that I could ask or imagine?

God wants to challenge us to allow Him to use us in supernatural ways. He wants us to get out of the boat and be stretched in our faith to do something supernatural with God. In our giving that may even mean ADDING A ZERO.  ''With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'' ~ Matthew 19:26 With this “Add a Zero” faith challenge you have to involve God.

Recently I attended the Celebration of Life memorial service for Anet Jackson. She and her husband, Jerry Jackson, founded the worldwide ministry, Faith Comes By Hearing, for which my family has been involved for years. Anet has been used in travels around the world to record the dramatized Word of God in over 2400 languages. In fact, Anet was named Annette throughout her life until God put it on her heart to describe her ministry by changing her name to “A Net” (A fisherman catching fish for the Lord).

Prior to her going Home to Heaven she recorded a video which was shown at the service. It was a God Story that happened in their early years of marriage with 4 kids, prior to the founding of FCBH.

I was raised on a farm near Enid, Oklahoma with my parents and two younger brothers.  On the farm we primarily raised beef cattle, milk cows, poultry, and harvested hay and wheat.  This setting provided a very rich and fulfilling youth.  My mother is a strong religious person who attended a Christian denominational church and made us kids attend church on a regular basis.

During my junior year at Oklahoma State University, I had come to the conclusion that I did not see any purpose for living. I prayed to God that if He were real then I would like to know Him.

Looking back after many years but not realizing at the time, I see God's personal relationship with me as an adopted son (Romans 8:15 “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him, we cry, Abba, Father”). His loving Fatherly hands were all over my life (Jeremiah 29:11” For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”). I will highlight a few of the God Stories in my life.

The Church Age began in Acts 2 around 30-33 AD when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. Empowered by the Spirit, Peter preached the gospel and 3,000 people were saved that day (Acts 2:41). This marked the beginning of the Christian Church as a spiritual body distinct from Judaism. The early church experienced rapid growth as the apostles continued preaching, performing signs and wonders, and writing Scripture (Acts 2:47). The expansion of the church is fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission that the gospel be spread to and beyond Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)

In John 14:16-17 Jesus tells his followers prior to his death “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, alongside God the Father and Jesus Christ. He is God present in the lives of believers, and He works in various ways.

After the resurrection, Jesus did not immediately return to the Father. Instead, for forty sacred days, He remained with His disciples—teaching, restoring, strengthening, and preparing them for the mission that would soon be placed in their hands. These were holy days filled with divine purpose. Jesus unfolded the truths of the kingdom of God, helping His disciples understand what His death and resurrection had accomplished and what their calling would now require.

Before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus gave His followers a commission that still echoes across history: “You will be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8). He promised them the power of the Holy Spirit—the same Spirit who had filled His own earthly ministry—so that their words, their lives, and even their suffering would testify to the reality of the risen King. In Matthew 28, Jesus grounded this mission in His own authority: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Every command that followed flowed from that divine authority: go, make disciples, baptize, teach.

From the very beginning, Satan has opposed God’s redemptive plan. His final and fiercest attempt came at the cross, where he stirred both Jewish and Roman leaders to crucify Jesus—believing, perhaps, that death would silence the Son of God. But what looked like defeat was, in truth, the very path God had ordained to redeem humanity.

Jesus endured unimaginable suffering: scourging, beatings, a crown of thorns, and ultimately death by crucifixion—reserved for the worst of criminals. Yet, even in agony, His words from the cross—echoing Psalm 22—reminded all who heard that this was no ordinary execution. He was fulfilling prophecy, not succumbing to defeat.

Jesus’ earthly ministry—though brief in time—forever altered the course of history. Lasting just over three years, His public work began around the age of 30, marked by His baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. As He emerged from the water, the heavens opened and the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It was a divine affirmation that echoed through the ages.

Immediately following this moment, Jesus was led into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days and resisted every temptation Satan hurled at Him. In doing so, He not only demonstrated His sinless nature but modeled spiritual resilience for all who would follow Him.

Before Jesus stepped into public ministry around the age of 30, His early life quietly fulfilled promise after promise spoken long before His birth. Though His early years are covered in only a few Gospel chapters, they are rich with meaning, divine orchestration, and prophetic fulfillment.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary, a young virgin engaged to Joseph. This miraculous birth fulfilled Isaiah’s ancient words: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son…” (Isaiah 7:14). His arrival was first announced to humble shepherds and later honored by Magi who traveled far, recognizing in Him the long-awaited “King of the Jews.”

When the final Old Testament prophet, Malachi, put down his pen, a remarkable thing happened. For the first time in centuries, the voice of prophecy—the voice that had guided, warned, and comforted God’s people—went quiet.

From the days of Elijah and Isaiah through Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets, God had spoken through chosen messengers—His navi, or “mouthpieces.” These men and women carried the weight of divine truth, calling Israel and Judah to repentance, justice, and faithfulness to their covenant with God. They were His covenant enforcers, reminding the people that blessing came through obedience and that rebellion led to ruin (Deuteronomy 28).

The Bible doesn’t just tell us how it all began—it tells us how it all ends.

From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals not only God’s work in the past and present, but also His plans for the future. Biblical prophecies about the end times offer a powerful, sometimes sobering, but ultimately hopeful picture of what lies ahead: a world shaken, a Savior returning, and a new creation emerging under God’s eternal reign.

From the very beginning, the story of Scripture has been leading somewhere. Woven into the history, poetry, and prophecy of the Old Testament is a golden thread of promise—a Redeemer was coming. Long before Jesus walked the earth, God was preparing His people, hinting at what was to come through prophecies scattered across the pages of Scripture.

It’s easy to read the Old Testament as a collection of ancient stories, but when seen through the lens of Jesus Christ, it becomes one unified testimony to God’s plan of redemption. From Genesis to Malachi, the Messiah is promised—not in vague hope, but in remarkable detail.

As Israel’s story unfolded—from triumphs in the Promised Land to spiritual drift during the Divided Kingdom—God did not remain silent. From 931 to 586 BC, the Lord raised up prophets: men and women called to speak His truth to a people losing their way.

The Hebrew word for prophet, navi, means “mouthpiece”—and that’s exactly what these faithful servants were. Whether speaking aloud, writing, acting out God’s message, or receiving visions, they served as living conduits of His heart, His warnings, and His promises.

After forty years of wandering, the people of Israel stood on the edge of the Promised Land. What had begun as a journey out of slavery was now entering a new chapter: a home they had never seen, but had been promised generations before. God’s covenant with Abraham—that his descendants would inherit a land “flowing with milk and honey”—was now coming to pass (Genesis 12:7; Exodus 3:8).

Under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites crossed the Jordan River—again miraculously, as the waters parted at flood stage—and stepped into their inheritance. Their first battle came at Jericho, where God brought down walls with nothing but their obedience and a shout. Along the way, redemption stories emerged too—none more beautiful than Rahab, a Canaanite woman of questionable past, who protected Israel’s spies and was folded into God’s story, even becoming part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

After walking through walls of water on dry ground, the Israelites found themselves free—delivered by the hand of God from the grip of Pharaoh. What lay ahead was not just a path through the desert, but a journey of transformation, as God began shaping His people for the land He had promised.

About 50 days after the exodus, the people arrived at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1), where they would remain for almost a year. Here, God gave Moses the Law—the covenant that would define their identity and relationship with Him. He also gave detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle, a visible reminder that God would dwell among them.

The story of Moses is one of rescue, obedience, and covenant. Born around 1526 BC during a time of great oppression in Egypt, Moses was miraculously preserved when Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed. Found in a basket among the reeds of the Nile, he was raised in Pharaoh’s household but never forgot his Hebrew identity. After killing an Egyptian taskmaster, Moses fled to the wilderness of Midian where he lived for forty years tending sheep and raising a family.

Abraham, originally named Abram, was born around 1951 BC in Ur of the Chaldeans, a descendant of Shem, son of Noah. His journey of faith began when God called him to leave his homeland and promised three blessings: land (Canaan), seed (a great nation through his descendants), and blessing (Abraham and his lineage would bless all nations). This promise, recorded in Genesis 12:1–3, is foundational in both Old and New Testament theology.

Despite his and his wife Sarah's old age, God assured them they would have a child. This miraculous promise was fulfilled 25 years later with the birth of Isaac, through whom the covenant would continue. Abraham’s faith in God's promise was counted to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), establishing the pattern of salvation by faith.