Fresh Start Devotionals

Eternal Destiny Larry worked long, hard hours as the manager of a feedlot, but tried to find time to grow in his personal relationship with the Lord. After taking a four—week witnessing class at his church, he began to take a personal interest in one of his employees. One afternoon he came straight from work to meet with Ed Rowell, his pastor. “Pastor,” he said, “you need to go over to see “Bubba” today. “Why’s that?” Ed asked. “He’s in some big trouble; the police stopped by the feedlot today and said they would arrest him tomorrow. Pastor, you’ve got to go see him, he really needs the Lord.” “I’ll be glad to go with you to back you up,” Ed said, “but you will need to do the talking.” Reluctantly, Larry agreed. Ed hopped in Larry’s pickup and off they went. It was a long drive to Bubba’s trailer—about 20 miles from the church—the last five miles were a terrible dirt road. When they arrived, Ed was shocked at the living conditions. One corner of the trailer was sagging. There were old washing machines, junk cars and debris scattered all over the yard. Reluctantly, Bubba invited them in. Old, broken—down furniture flanked the walls, a single 40-watt light bulb hung from the ceiling. Ed and Larry tried to cope with the foul smell as they sank into the couch. It was an uncomfortable situation. Obviously, Bubba was embarrassed for his boss to see how he lived. Larry had a hard time getting to the point. The air was thick. Instead of rescuing Larry, Pastor Ed sat patiently as the evening unfolded. Finally, Bubba asked, “Well Larry, why did you come out here for?” That was all the prompting Larry needed. “Bubba,” Larry said, “your life’s a mess and you need the Lord!” “Not exactly the approach I taught in class,” Pastor Ed thought. After a pause, Bubba said, “you’re right—I do.” Bubba prayed to receive Christ that night. Not because of the polished approach or snazzy presentation. Bubba responded to the love of his boss and the power of the simple gospel. The prayer Bubba prayed didn’t solve all his problems, the next day, the police came to the feedlot and took him away in handcuffs. But it did settle one thing—his eternal destiny. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).