DAILY VIDEO DEVOTIONAL
In recent decades, God has allowed me the privilege of seeing Him mightily at work in the nation of Brazil. I’ve seen stadiums filled, churches revived, and thousands come to Christ. But the most extraordinary thing I’ve seen is the Christlike character in some of His choicest servants.
Let me tell you about two of them. Both of the women were missionaries. I was preaching in Belem, a major coastal city on a tributary that runs into the Amazon River. One day I had some free time and went outside the city to visit with a missionary couple. The wife was dying of cancer and was expected to live only a couple of days. She was frail, weak, and extremely thin, but a radiance shone in her face. In the midst of her suffering and pain, she talked about the great things God had done. Not long afterward, she died. She remained faithful to the end of her life. That faithfulness touched my life.
The second person to impact me was Sherry Akins, the wife of one of my dearest friends, Wade Akins. Wade and Sherry had gone to Brazil with hearts on fire for God. Wade was a great evangelist, and Sherry was a tremendous disciple-maker. They were a great team together. One day Sherry was diagnosed with a terminal disease, scleroderma .
Wade insisted that Sherry return to the United States, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said, “Wade, God has called us to Brazil, and we must remain faithful and obedient to that call He’s placed upon us.” They stayed in Brazil. One day, Wade came home from preaching out in the country. When he walked in the house, his son said, “Dad, something’s happened to Mom.”
They ran into the bathroom and found her lying on the floor. She was dead. Wade came back to the United States for the funeral, and I had the privilege of being there. Jesus was honored, and one thing stuck in my mind about Sherry Akins. It was the same thing I had seen with the lady in Belem. They were both faithful. They both suffered, but there was joy in their lives in the midst of the suffering. Both women continued to witness and to serve the Lord Jesus Christ until the very end of their lives.
As I thought about those godly ladies, I said, “O God, make me your servant and keep me obedient all the way until death.”
Jesus Christ has called you to follow Him, no matter how difficult and how hard the way. Determine that you will be obedient to Him — until death.
Matthew : Chapter 7
24) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26) But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28) When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29) because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Book of the Month
Sammy Tippit told his fiancée, “I can’t promise we’ll be rich, but life won’t be boring.”
Sammy had no idea what an understatement that would become. Beginning in the bars of Baton Rouge and the nightclubs of Chicago, Tippit has shared the news of life-changing faith in Christ all over the world – including in the middle of a revolution in Romania, the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda, and war in Burundi and the Congo.
Sammy’s lifelong adventure has come at a great price. He’s been cursed, threatened, arrested, deported, and blacklisted. He’s also been personally broken, ravaged with illness, and devastated by grief.
Yet he continues to preach to in stadiums, in open fields, and via satellite technology to hundreds of thousands around the globe. For all other books…
About Sammy Tippit Ministries
STM has been providing inspiration and help around the world for nearly 50 years. Sammy Tippit, founder and president, is a world renowned counselor, teacher and evangelist with experience serving and helping people in over 80 countries. Sammy provides materials that help people tackle a broad array of social, societal, psychological and spiritual issues. He is particularly passionate about making materials accessible to other countries around the world. Sammy is married to Debara “Tex” Tippit, and they have two children and five grandchildren.
Sammy Tippit Ministries is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization.
Contact: info@sammytippit.org
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