Good Afternoon!

I’d like to tell you about a man I know whom I admire. He is a godly man, one with deep passion about sharing the love of Jesus with anyone he meets. He is kind, considerate, generous, and full of love. He’s also my friend. Mike cares a great deal for his father, Jim, who is in the final days of his life

As you know, I was born again in 2007. June 13th, to be exact. It was a radical conversion. As such, I knew it was of utmost importance to find mature Christian men to associate with. I stumbled across Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) while searching the internet. It was a morning breakfast meeting at the Sartell Perkins that I met Mike and several other men whom I consider among my closest friends.

There was something far different with these guys. It was clear that they loved each other. There was no bragging or complaining. Everyone went to different churches, even different denominations. What made this work is that every one of them were completely new men who left a life behind to follow Jesus. Their mission was to share the gospel with others.

The thing that really clinched it for me is when we settled in to pray. They had prayer cards with all sorts of specific requests including salvation for loved ones. We each grabbed a stack and prayed out loud and in turn. It is the tradition to give the card to the person once that prayer is answered so they know that people pray for them regularly. It’s pretty cool. Some cards were new, but some were old, several years old.

Over time, I was drawn to Mike’s card for salvation for his father, Jim. That card was much different than the rest. They were all the same, yellow, heavy-stock paper. Mike’s was faded. Furthermore, the paper itself was worn thin, much thinner than the other cards. The edges were especially thin and the corners were rounded way down. It wasn’t wrinkled or anything like that. It was simply worn thin and was much smaller than the others from all the times it had been sorted through the stack.

We’re still praying for Jim, and I ask that you join us today. We know that salvation is in God’s hands. Some come to saving faith; some don’t. While we have breath in us, there is hope. This we know to be true:

James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Father, we ask that you grant our request that Jim may finally accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Your will be done, of course. Still, we persistently ask. Father, we thank you for the service of your humble servant, Mike. Amen.