We all have them. They are moments that change our lives. They are encounters that define and transform us. Peter’s moment spanned a courtyard to a beach. After boasting greatly that he would never let Jesus get arrested or harmed, he denied that he even knew Jesus. Luke tells us that at the moment of the third denial, and the rooster crowing a third time, that Jesus looked across the courtyard at Peter, caught his eye, and Peter remembered Jesus words. It stabbed his heart like a dagger.

I listened to their story. Years of tears, prayers, patience, and pleading. Day after day they repeated their heart’s desire for wholeness and peace in the troubled mind (and soul) of their son. On the one hand, he was a sweet kid. But the other side, what felt like the Jekyll side, was rebellious, obstinate, and self-destructive. Yet they pushed on, day after day. And they relied on the only consistent resource they knew, the Word of God. They repeated it. They meditated on it. They prayed it.

There are many believers that think and act as if we have to be at war with all parts of our culture. Many missionaries realized that to effectively communicate the Gospel they had to be among the people and be like the people when being like the people did not mean they violated what God said. One of those missionaries was Amy Carmichael.

Each day as George walked the streets, he saw children everywhere who had no mom or dad. They lived on the streets or in state-run poorhouses, where they were treated badly. George felt God calling him to open an orphanage to take care of the children.

I had a friend who was fond of saying when he told me a story about something that happened to him, “Oh Pat, I just can’t help myself.” What he was indicating is that what he was telling me was so impactful, so exciting or so amazing that he could not do anything other than talk about it.

Several years ago, we were at a golf event and one of the players was about to make a putt that could put them in a tie for the lead. The crowd around the green was at least ten people deep. Even though I am above average height, I was not in a position to see what was happening. I heard the reaction of the crowd and knew he must have made it, but I did not see it happen. I could not describe it to you. I could not tell you anything personally about it. I was not in the right position.