Any Coincidences with God?

This is the Truth Network. This is the Truth Network. Yeah. Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk the truth news!

I can't hide it. I can hold it in the park. A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together.

Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host.

So, I got a big question for you today, and the question is: are there any. COINCIDENCES With God. Is there any chance? Or how about this word? This word is being used a lot.

By Believers Today, luck. Should Christians Ever say good luck. Or Wish me luck. Is that language compatible? With the faith, with what we believe, with what the Bible teaches.

Are there any coincidences with God?

Now, I ask that question five times, you'll get tongue twisted, but we're asking it today. All hour long on Truth Talk Live. I'm Stu Epperson, hosting today, glad to be in the hot seat. with a hot question. Where am I going with this?

I'm going right to you, because you have a story. What are the divine appointments that brought you to God? What are the stories where you just happen to be somewhere? The verse of the day, Ruth, chapter 2, verse 3. What's it say?

It says Ruth happened to go into the field of Boaz. Go look it up. What a statement.

So the question is. What's the consequence of that statement? Why is that profound? When we start to study the book of Ruth. Against the backdrop of Scripture.

And the great redemptive theme that runs from page to page, chapter to chapter, verse to verse of the Bible, you see, God is up to something.

So I ask you again: are there any coincidences with God?

Now, I want you to call in. and talk about how you just happened to meet someone who happened to become your husband. or who happened to lead you to Christ. or who happen to be a doctor that really helped you, or who happened to be someone you helped with a flat tire. And ended up filling their soul with the good news of Christ.

I want to hear those divine appointments. Are there any chance encounters? For believers, Yeah. Are they divine appointments? It's testimony time all hour long.

And I want to call. If you have to change your name, it's fine. But call, here's the phone-in number. We've got St. Nick standing by.

This guy's an amazing producer. He gets us through every day on this show, 86634 TRUTH. toll free eight six six three four eight seven eight eight four Is a call-in number to answer the question: Are there any coincidences with God? You just may want to call in. Answer that question.

I'd love for you to back it up with scripture. Tell me. Why? Tell me why not. What about Christians saying good luck?

What's a different thing to say besides that, by the way? Let's think of alternative language. that actually glorifies God. And accomplishes the wishing.

Now, I know, you know, you tell someone who's in performing arts, like my daughter, hey, break a leg. And that's accomplished. For those of you who don't know, that haven't been you know haven't had ballet uh people or Performing artists, opera singers, whatever. In your life, when you say break a leg to someone, it's a compliment. It's the highest compliment.

It's saying, hey, do a great job. It's just, I don't know. I'm going to find out before the hour's over. I'm going to have to hit Chat GPT on this. Maybe you can help me tell me where that phrase.

That cliché came from, but it's very popular. But the whole idea is what can we say in our language To to indicate to a world that's watching The God is in control. Or is he the god of coincidence? Is it all just kind of happenstance? He just happened to create the world, and he just things occur to him every day.

like the open theist belief. Which is completely false. But what about that view? What about Are you are we adhering to and embracing false paradigms about God? When we, in fact, are wishing people luck.

If we say, Well, I had good luck.

Well, I was lucky today.

Well, hold on a second. You're lucky? Who gave you the gas to put in the car? Who gave you the food to put in your stomach so you could have the energy to walk into that coffee shop, to bump into that person? Who Never heard about Jesus, who you just happened upon, and you were able to lead them to the Lord or invite them to church, and they came to church and got saved.

I mean, There are miracle stories out there. I want to hear those stories because who knows your story could be a blessing. to someone else. Are there any coincidences with God?

Every time I say it, it gets harder to say. I don't know why that is. 866-34-TRUTH. We will go to Brenda, listening to us in Ohio, on 106.5 FM. Brenda, you're on Truth Talk Live with Stu.

Are there any? coincidences or chance counters with God. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay, I hear conviction in your voice.

Tell me why you say no.

Well, last April My husband Came home. to take me on a to take me to the airport in Columbus For a trip I was taking. The morning he was supposed to take me Um, he called me downstairs and said I'm having something felt felt like it ripped in my chest.

So he called the emergency squad, which my husband never calls a squad. Um They took him to a hospital. And that was at five o'clock in the morning. Wow. Ready?

Are you still there? I'm here. What happened?

Well Took them to the ER and around 8.30, 9 o'clock, they kept saying, we can't find anything wrong with you. Um we're going to send you home.

So they gave him a little bit of calcium and some other things. They put him on a little drip. And then he came the nurse came in and she said, I can't see out of one of my eyes.

So they ran him down and did a CT scan and found out he had, and I've never heard of this. A dissected aorta. Oh wow. The surgeon came in and he said, you've got fifteen minutes to get your kids in here. And basically, he was telling me to say goodbye because he didn't think they were going to save him.

Um He went into surgery at like 10 o'clock that morning, didn't get out till 9:30 that night. He's still with us. He was in ICU for two weeks. I stepped down unit for two weeks. Every time we go to the cardiologist or the surgeon, or his primary care doctor, they just always look at him and say, They couldn't believe he lived.

In fact, when he was in the ICD recovering, the people in the ER that day and in the um Operating room. Came up periodically through that next two weeks because they just couldn't believe he made it through this. Wow. I mean what a witness to the medical community what a witness to the medical community. That you guys have been, I imagine, through this, Brenda.

I can't even imagine. That is something.

So we don't understand what God's got going for us next. We're kind of He's still in rehab and There's some tha he still has a few restrictions, but The way things timed out and all the coincidences that you want to call a coincidence happen. Um, it's just it still kind of messes with me. But I can imagine there are a lot of stories and testimonies subsequent to that event. Not to mention the fact that he could have dropped you at the airport.

You would have been wheels up, flying up in the air, and he could have had a side of the road. Horrible experience on the way back, right? But God intervened. And God, no doubt, has used him and you. And I bet you there's a trail of miracle stories.

In the last 12 months at God's Us, including calling a national radio show and sharing with all of us. Oh okay. Yes. What a blast. Yeah, and I was supposed to fly out at like Um, four o'clock that e afternoon, so it's just It's still trying to just sit there and go, why?

And what do you have for us to do now? That's right.

Well, the one who kept him here, the great physician, is the one that you talked to. And I know he's going to show that to you. And what a blessing. No coincidence with God. Brenda has come out of the gate.

Swinging with a great message, a great testimony. Brittany, God bless you. Thanks for sharing that. That is tremendous. Thank you for having me.

Yes, ma'am. You're going to have a great day. Thank you. You never know how God's going to take what we seem like just some chance medical, weird thing and turn it into a divine miracle story. Are there any coincidences with God?

We'll talk to Joel next. Upstate of South Carolina, listen to us on 96.9 FM in Greenville. Joel, you're on Truth Talk Live. There's a line open at 866-34 Truth. You want to take a shot at our question of the day?

Maybe you have a testimony like Brenda. Joel, jump on in here. Yes, I've got a.

Well, it wasn't a, I do not believe in coincidence.

Okay, now I want you to follow that up and tell us why when we come back. And what about this language of, hey, good luck. Hey, I had a good stroke of fortune. Should Christians even use that language? Maybe you think they should.

Let's talk about it. When we come back, Joel, hang on. I want to hear your story. We'll take a quick break. 866-34TRUTH.

866-348-7884. Right back here on Truth Talk Live. Truth Talk Live. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. What a testimony!

Here she thinks, hey, I'm just going to run my husband to the airport, maybe tool around a little bit, or he's going to run me to the airport, and then he's going to come home. He's not feeling well. They go to the doctor, and he's got this massive aorta issue. You don't mess with the heart stuff, friends. And.

Bryn is like, God had a reason. God did something. This isn't a chance encounter. This is just a stroke of good fortune. A lot of Christians are saying things like, good luck.

Well, is that the language we should be using? And this isn't a shame zone. And sometimes we'll say it just to say it, and that's what everyone's saying. But what else could we say besides that in the question of the day? Is there any?

Coincidence with God. And I did a little truth on the streets today. I asked some people that very that question right there, I'm asking you. I got in some people's faces. I said, hey, What say you about this?

You know, what do you think about this? Do you think there's any coincidence with God? And I got some interesting feedback. I ran into these two young men in a pretzel shop. Listen to what they said.

Listen, listen, listen. Are there any Okay. Let me see. Trying to get my audio to work here. This is all me guys.

This is all me. Let's see.

So, and then if you want to call in, by the way, the number is 866-34TRU. 866-348-7884. Are there any coincidences with God?

Any chance encounters? Any. Luck coincidences we got. What's your thought? There's no coincidences with God.

Everything that happens is as He's foreordained in His greater tapestry of. His plans with life.

Okay, well, let's see what this guy says. Any coincidence with God? What say you? No, there are no coincidences with God. Everything works out according to His plan for our good and for His glory.

Okay, what about that? I mean, these two young men just like stepped right up. Little shout out to the Patriot Pretzel Company in. Kernersville, North Carolina. Good pretzel, too.

But I said, guys, can I put you on the spot? You know, I bought a pretzel from you. Christian owned company. You know, not knowing what they say. And they just jump right into it and kind of Set me back like these guys are solid.

But what about you? Maybe you think that I don't know, this bad stuff happened to me. It can't be part of the plan. I got to say good luck to people. I just happened there.

Well, Ruth just happened upon the field of Boaz in Ruth chapter 2, verse 3. We're going to talk about what came out of that. Stay tuned as we get later in the show. I'm going to share with you some cool things. But effectively, the whole messianic line.

Like, we're not here today if she hadn't happened upon the field of Boaz because God brought them together. And through them The seed of the woman, Genesis 3:15, came through them, ultimately through Mary, to crush the head of the serpent.

So.

Some brilliant things that God's doing. He's working all things together for the good.

Now, it doesn't mean you feel it in the moment, but. Help me with this question today. Does God operate in the world of coincidence, happenstance, luck? 86634 Truth, 866348-7884. Joel called in.

Greenville, South Carolina, 96.9 FM, really growing area. For great Christian Radio there, wonderful affiliate. Jump on in here, Joe.

Now, tell us what happened.

Well First of all, I agree with the pretzel guys. All right. And at the time, this is close to a decade ago or so, I was living in Tacoma, Washington. And There was a one of the one of our people that I went to church with had Parkinson's. And he couldn't drive.

And so I would go drive over to his place and load him in his wheelchair in the car, and I would give him a ride to church, and then I would give him a ride home.

Well, it just so happened that this one Sunday that We uh I went and picked him up. And we were getting on the freeway. And it was a double left turn lane, and I was in the outside lane, and we come around the corner, and the guy on the inside lane decided he wanted my lane. Oh boy.

So he moved over.

So the Right front corner of his car connected with the left rear corner of my car. Mm-hmm. It didn't disable either car.

So we pulled off the side of the road. And we, you know, started to exchange information and la-di-da and all that kind of stuff, and got to talking. And so he. questioned me he says well where were you headed this morning I says, well, I picked Steve up and I was headed to church. And I said, would you like to go to church with us?

And he kinda hear him hardened so he he says, Well, I'm a I'm Hindu, he said. And he said, what church do you go to? And I said, well, it's a Christian church. And I says, you're welcome to come. I says, no, no big deal.

You're welcome to come. He followed me to church. Come on. Wow. And he followed me to church, and he was there that day, and he came back again.

The next I think it was the next week. And he he he talked with the pastor. You know, off away from church, I guess. But then we never heard from him again. But the seed was planted.

Whether it ever sprouted and whether it ever grew and whether it ever gave fruit is not on me or Steve or anybody but the Lord.

Well, and see, you're giving the glory to God. You know, someone could say, you know, well, you know, he just, you know, Joel just happened to pop out of bed at this time that morning. He just happened to be on his way somewhere. He just happened to get sideswiped by some rogue driver making the wrong turn, misreading the signals. He just happened to bump into this guy who just happened to go maybe here the first time he's ever clearly heard the gospel, Joel.

And you might see that guy in heaven.

So God's working, man. I love it. You know, that's that, you know, a car accident. You know, got him to church. Wow.

How about that? And his insurance covered the. Repairs to my cars. Insurance covered it, and maybe he found assurance in Christ. And by the way, Joel, tell all your friends in Greenville about the new 96.9 FM because you just happened to call today.

We're glad you did. God bless you, man. What a blessing. Yes, sir. Good to hear from Joel.

What about what happened to Joel? You got a story like that? I got a story like that for you.

Now, look, I was, if no one calls in today, I have a list, a litany of. issue it issue issue stump stuff before I was even born. Of this whole idea that nothing happens by coincidence with God. But I'm asking the question. Not like that.

I'm not making a statement. I'm inviting you to have a conversation with me today. Maybe you don't even believe in God. Come on in here. We'll talk about it.

Not going to yell you down. Just want to talk. 866-34. Truth. 866348.

7884. We're going to go to Toledo, Ohio, talk to Bianca. Hanging on there, listening to 106.5 FM. Bianca, great to hear from you today on Truth Talk Live. Hi, how you doing?

Fantastic. Are there any coincidences with God?

No.

Okay. Because I believe that God is good all the time. Oh, wow. And I wanted to tie that in. With the good luck stuff that you were saying.

Whether people say it's good luck or good this, good that, It It's good. Because that's who God is. I like that. Yeah, yeah. When is luck good?

I mean, you want to really depend on that? You want to really bank your eternal life on. A slot machine. Or The stock market, well, there's, you know, that's a calculated risk, or anything that has to do with. The winds of circumstance and chance.

When we have a God that we serve, and Bianca, I really like how you're connecting this whole concept, this idea. of God's sovereignty, God being in control with the goodness of God. I don't think we talk enough about the goodness of God. in our gratitude as opposed to Oh, well, I just got to, you know, I was at the right place at the right time. I'm the lucky winner, you know?

Well, even when, even with bad things, I believe that. Maybe it's just misalignment with God.

Well, I don't know. I don't know if Joseph, I don't know, hey, I don't know if Joseph liked being in the dungeon. I don't know if he liked being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife. I don't know if he liked just being thrown into a ditch by his brothers for having a nice jacket and for being daddy's favorite boy. You know, I don't know that any of that's good, but what did he say in, I believe it's chapter 50, verse 20, or somewhere in there, you know, to his brothers who thought he was going to let him have it after his dad died?

He said, Hey, what you meant for evil. God intended for good.

So Bianca. I think you're spot on. Yeah. I really do. Thank you for calling.

What a blessing. Having me, yes, ma'am. 866-34-Truth. We got a line open on this talk show. We're asking that question all hour long: Are there any coincidences with God?

And we got Will on the line listening to us in Virginia Beach, 100.1 FM. Will. Yes or no? Are there any coincidence with God? What say you?

Yeah, I've had a blessing that I'd like to share real quick. Share it with us. We got to take a break. That music's playing, but it'll be a quick one, and we're coming back. You're going to be front and center.

And also, I wanna ask someone to take a shot of this. Should Christians say good luck? Should that even be in our language? 866-348-7884. Hang on.

Why? You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. So, are there any coincidences with God? None. None whatsoever.

All right, sir. What about you? No, there's no coincidences with God because God is omniscient. He knows all.

So th it can't surprise God.

Okay, what about you, young lady? Any coincidences we got? Nothing can shock him.

Okay, and I got a lot of positive. I mean, I did not, not very, very few people out there in my truth on the streets. I'm Stu Hovers and this is Truth Talk Live, disagreed or. challenge that idea That You know, God is in full control. I mean, they all, they all, it's like the amen corner was out there for me.

But what do you think? 86634 truth, call and weigh in right now. Tell me your answer to that question. Are there coincidences? Is there happenstance?

Is there luck? Luck of the draw with God? Christians use it, we use it in our language sometimes. We say, good luck. My nephew interned here all summer.

God bless him. I love my nephew. Interview, he interned here a whole summer and just put in the group text: hey, I'm taking an important test. Wish me luck. And I texted him back and said, I texted him a prayer emoji.

Because I'm not going to wish him luck. Unless you think that this is all about luck and we just kind of happen to be here and it's all a big coincidences. I want to hear a coincidence, I want to hear from you. 86634 TRUTH. 866348-7884 WILL.

We just had to go into that break, but you wanted to share a story. Go ahead, sir. Thanks for calling in. Yeah, I'll just share a blessing here real quick. Years and years ago, I hurt my back.

I could barely walk. And it was time that time of year to cut the grass and aerate and overseed my yard, both front and back. And there was no way I was going to be able to do it myself. Uh And uh But I went ahead and went to the garden center and I went to the uh counter and was renting a aerator. You know, the aerators are pretty Uh heavy.

Um and I w I was praying to God the whole time. Even before I got to the Garden Center, I said, please, Lord, I need some help. I need to get this done. And so I was at the counter getting the aerator And this gentleman pulled up or was behind me and said, Sir, I really need this aerator now. And I go, Well, I do too.

So Uh He said, Well, what I what I'll do for you is Uh I'm my crew and I will How peace. Come over to your house. and we'll aerate your yard, front and back, so overseed it. for free if you just let us Rent this aeriator for the day because we need it for our business. And I said, you know what?

Uh You guys need it more than I do, so just take it.

Okay. So he said, Okay, give me your address.

So I gave it to him, I left. thinking that I would never see him again. And so about a half hour later, Here comes this crew. pulls up in front of my house. And I p They had three or four of these aerators.

Uh, overseeders, all kinds of they did my whole front and back yard for me within a half hour and left. And that's I said, thank God. I said, uh, You know, never underestimate the power of prayer. Isn't that something? I just love it.

I mean, I just absolutely love it. I mean, how many of us are. Answers to prayer ourselves. How many things like that? Even in the details, you know, everyone says the devil's in the details.

Hogwash. Let me tell you, God is in the details. God is in control. God was working will in that situation before he even walked into that store. He knew what was going on, he knew how he wanted to bless you.

But isn't it awful as believers when you just kind of chalk it up to, oh, good luck. Oh, my, oh, what's your sign? Oh, my, my lucky stars, you know, the clouds were, the stars were shining on me today, but. When we have a God Who loves us and has done so much for us. Will, how can we even talk all this nonsense?

I know. You're absolutely right. And thank Thank goodness that we have you on the radio station. Mm-hmm. You know, talking to talk and walking the walk.

Wow, you're so kind. Bless you. And hey, tell all your friends about the truth there in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Roads. God bless you, Will. We just added 104.9 FM, by the way, up in the Hampton Roads area.

So if you're cruising up that way, Kind of the peninsula, check it out, okay? And tell all your friends, all right? All right, very good, sir. God bless you. Yes, sir.

We're going to go to. Another Ohio caller. Coincidence that people from Ohio are calling. Rick's on the line, 106.5 FM, which, by the way, is in Toledo and in Dayton, Ohio, where Rick's calling. Rick, are there any coincidences with Almighty God?

What say you, sir? Heck no. He's proved too many times throughout my life and my family. That. There are no coincidences.

He is large and in charge, man. I love it. Yeah, Rick didn't hesitate. He just jumped right on that. You want to share a quick testimony or anything?

I mean, it sounds like you had a lot you could really resonate with this. Oh, tons of stuff. I could spend a half hour on my son alone. But I'll I'll tell you um how how it started when he was uh Two years old, he started having a lot of medical problems, and the doctor kind of poo-pooed us as being. you know, overworried parents and um we were we were sure that there was problems.

And And the one day his we had to take his twin sister. to the hospital for a checkup. And she refused when we were in the doctor's office, she refused to be examined. Huh.

So my wife said, Christopher, pop up on the table and show her how easy it is.

So they started acting like they were examining him And found a softball-sized tumor in his stomach. Oh, my soul. Wow. So they told us it was a Wilms tumor, which Because they thought it was attached to the kidney. When they operated on it, Uh They found out it was neuroblastoma, which for children is has a very low survival rate.

During the surgery for six hours, They were able to remove every bit of that tumor And he has been cancer-free ever since. How about that? How about that? And the rest of his life He's going to be reminded that God could even work through. Through your sister.

How about that? Amen. What a blessing. He now runs a nonprofit organization in Alabama helping. Helping youth who are in need, who don't have fathers and so on.

What a story. What a story. His whole life, God's got great plans for him, and he sure has. That's so cool. God bless you, Rick.

Thanks for sharing that. Man, I'm getting chills in here from these testimonies: 866-34TRUTH. What's your story? What's your answer to this question? Is there any coincidence with God?

We got a godly young man running a nonprofit, changing lives every day, simply because God. Moved through a little medical situation, an awkward situation. Sister didn't want to be examined by the doctor, so they said, Hey, big brother, you jump on the table and You do it just to show her how brave you are and how easy it is. And next thing you know, they find a tumor and save his life. Wow.

Come on. How about that, Jamal? When you hear that, what say you, my friend, about this whole idea and this question about God and circumstances or God and coincidences and luck? I mean, is that not. completely contradictory to what to how the world looks at things.

Well, first off, Stu, thank you for taking my call and another good topic as usual.

Well, I will just go with what the topic says for today. There are no coincidences. So that what happened to the last caller, That was God ordained for him to go on that table and get checked out himself. Uh, so yeah, there there are no coincidences and the guy got healed for the glory of God.

So, yeah. Um Right right on point with t today's topic.

Now, I'm going to geek out on you for a little bit, and I'll try to keep it short. But. What Shakespeare said is: all the world is a stage.

So I say, all the world, all existence points back to God. And this is dealing with my one of my favorite realms, apologetics.

So to get into that real quick, Uh We are on planet Earth. Planet Earth. is made specifically for life. we have that tilt that gives us the seasons. And the seasons give us crop grains and all that.

But that tilt that we have is kept by the moon. Which happens to be the right size or the right spot, right distance to keep us at that tilt permanently. And where we are in the solar system is the Goldilocks zone to keep us to have liquid water so where we don't. have the water burn, we don't have the water freeze. But that's not just it.

Um the magnetosphere.

Sorry, the magnetic sphere, magnetic sphere. I took my chance to try. That's a tough word. Try saying that in coincidence five times in a row, and you'll have trouble, man. Yeah, but keep going.

You're doing great. All right, thanks.

So that veal, that sphere protects us from the cosmic rays. And that is generated by our molten core, which spins to give us to give us to give us that field. Even on top of that, the way we have our biology, men and women. Which is not evolution. how does two different species come together to reproduce?

So that in itself, just on planet Earth and our solar system, all of that by chance, by coincidence? And even to go back to the Big Bang. How in the world do you have a cosmic explosion that gives us so much Precision and so much mechanics to where we have life.

So, all of that is not a coincidence. I love it, man. You're geeking us all out, but I love it. I mean, you look at creation, you look at anatomy, you look at biology, you look at the order of the universe. And if it's all luck, we're all in big trouble because we go one inch closer or farther away from the sun and we're toast.

Wow, Jamal, thanks for calling in. What a blessing. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right, bring a little science to bear on the question: are there any coincidences with God?

We'll go to Steve. North Carolina caller Steve, you're on Truth Talk Live with Stu. Jump on in here. Hey, Suze, you're Wednesday in the word cameraman. Hey, buddy, you are hey, man, you're the man.

Hey, we talked about this on Wednesday. What say you, man? I love this verse, Ruth chapter 2, verse 3. Ruth happened to go into the field of Boaz. Yeah.

What do you think, man? What's your word on all this? There are no accents to the kingdom of God. And uh My wife and I were going on a s a senior choir trip last year. And she and we stopped in Charleston and she at one o'clock in the night at night, she started having severe pain.

in her intestinal area.

So it kept it didn't it didn't go away finally the the emts came and we called the hospital and the emts came And they took her, I didn't know where we were going, had any idea, in Charleston. We went to Mount Pleasant, five minutes, it was five minutes away. Yes. Roper. St.

Francis.

Okay, now we want to hear this. It is a wonderful cliffhanger. Don't go anywhere, Steve. We're going to take a quick break. We'll come back and hear the rest of the story.

Is there any luck or coincidence with the Almighty? A66. 3-4-Truth. Wait to hear some more powerful stories as we wrap up. Coming up, hang on.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. So are there any coincidences with God? No, because I believe that everything that happens is within God's will. What about Christians that say good luck? Is that a is that a good thing for believers to say?

That's a good question. I never thought about it before. Um maybe a Christian should say, I'm praying for you or may God's will be done. Yeah. Yeah, what's an alternative to that?

You know, by the way, I'm going to come back and do a whole show on luck. Good luck. Because that phrase, there's got to be a really good, maybe we'll take. whatever you guys come up with and throw it on a t-shirt or something. Just to, what a chance to witness.

I mean, we could sit there and say, oh, good luck. There's no luck. Quit this stuff about the zodiac and all that. And you know what? If you're a believer, I hope you agree with that.

But why don't we have a. A positive way of saying I've got a friend who says, Good Lord, and he doesn't say it in a like a Exclamatory kind of way. He says it like, I'm trusting the Lord, like this lady said, I'm going to pray. I'm going to shoot someone a prayer emoji as opposed to saying, good luck on your test, like I did with my nephew. What about coincidences and God?

Are there any? Chance encounters. Coincidences We've got my friend Parker, who I've now known for 15 years, who I met in Charlotte on an elevator. And I just turned to kind of share a little bit about the Lord with him. I'm going to stand there and watch the floors change and just do nothing.

He's a sharp young man. I'll speak a word into his life, maybe lead him to Christ, give him a Christian radio card. He's there in Charlotte as part of a church plant. We've been friends for 15 years and have done all kinds of ministry together. We're about to do some big things in India.

Was that a chance encounter or a divine appointment? 866-34-TRUTH. We got a little bit of time left. Want to take your calls. Want to hear your testimonies, man.

I got some hardships. Heart-wrenching, wonderful, rich testimonies from science. to medical situations. The guy who was in a crazy kind of ding and dent deal with his car. I got one of those.

If there's time, I'll share it.

So, call and weigh in and help me answer the question today: Are there any coincidences with God? Ruth 2, verse 3. I love that verse. I'll quote it toward the end again for those that just joined us. I'm Stu Epperson.

This is Truth Talk Live. This whole show will be made a podcast in about an hour after the show is ended, so you can listen to the whole thing and maybe share it with someone. Maybe it'll encourage them to look. Yeah. To the God who is in full control.

The Romans 8:28 God, the Romans, the Philippians 2:13 God, who's working all things. In and through you. Steve, you and your wife are on a great trip, a choir trip, kind of going to serving the Lord. But somewhere On the road, she had some intestinal pain, and you're calling to answer the question to interact on this whole idea of: are there chance encounters or any luck with God? Tell us what happened.

Finish that story. Here's what happens, Stu. We were it was the middle of the night. And we were at the motel the very first night, and they took us to a small Motel in Mount Pleasant, excuse me, a small hospital in Mount Pleasant. And I had no idea where we were going because Charleston is so big.

And anyway, when we went, they found that my wife had a twisted intestine. And the doctor said, No, you can't take her home. She's got one hour. You can make a decision.

Now, you need to make a decision about whether you want that surgery or not.

So we said, okay, go ahead. Middle of the night, it was about four o'clock. He pulled together a surgical team. This was a gastrointestinal hospital. We didn't know that.

But it it specialized in what she had. just so happen to. And he pulled together a team in two hours, did a surgery, everything went well, she got great care. But that wasn't an accident. There are no.

Nothing happens by accident. Nothing happens that's not in God's plan. And it's God's grace. Isn't that something? And you know, there's the key.

Yes, sir. Amen. And hey, you know, God. He's working out those little conversations in the corridor. You're sitting in a waiting room now with people you've never seen before.

I know. People who, by the way, need Jesus. This is an opportunity to talk to a lot of people.

Well, I'm telling you, Steve, I shared with some of the guys. I haven't been too loud about this. It's a bit embarrassing, but. I had a big old block of ice come right through my windshield last week. Did you?

Yes, sir. And, you know, I could spend hours telling you all the divine appointments, the people I got to pray with. The people I got to talk to about Christ, the people that had no idea about the Christian Radio, the Truth Network station in that area. Just because that happened. That was a setback.

And thank God. That my daughter, this isn't a chance encounter here, friends. My daughter was sitting in the passenger seat. in the direct path of that massive block of ice, that flew off a service truck. She was sitting in the passenger seat just not too long before that.

I had just dropped her off an hour before at her school because it was too icy for her to drive there. And here I'm coming back in whammo.

So, you know, I was frustrated. In the moment, like, why is this happening? I've got so much going on. I do not have time. I can't be derailed.

But, God. But God. How about those two words, Steve? But God. In your wife's case, he had the right medical team.

Absolutely. And thank you for being a faithful witness in that trial. And who knows who you'll see in heaven from that? What seemed like a medical mishap or coincidence, but was really a divine encounter. God bless you, Steve.

Thanks for calling in, man. What a blessing. Yes, sir. Okay, bye-bye. 86634Truth.

By the way, if you watch my Facebook page. at stew dot epperson It's my fan page. I would follow me there than rather my personal page. Facebook's all confusing, but I do a Bible study every week. And Steve holds the camera.

So he's a what a Just a faithful guy.

So I'm glad he called in. But if anything goes weird and you're watching that broadcast, you can blame him.

Now, now you know who to blame, right? But he has a sweet spirit. And that's just it. But this past week we taught through Ruth and Ruth chapter 2. And I just that hinge point of Ruth 2, verse 3, where it says, and Ruth happened.

to go into the field that belonged to Boaz, In how God in His divine Providence is guiding, he's orchestrating. He's the famine that came into Israel to send them back to Egypt to reunite with Joseph. The census that we read about in Luke 2, that all the world was to be taxed, that sent them to the holy city to fulfill the prophecy. of Christ being born in Bethlehem. All these prophecies.

Everything in your life. What are those divine appointments? You're listening to my voice today. And you're calling upon the Lord today because He put someone in your path that you weren't looking for. And you thought, oh, they just happened to happen.

No, God was in control.

So we've been asking that question all along. We'll take a couple more calls, real quick, at 866-34TRUTH. We're going to go to Ron, another Ohio caller listening to us on 106.5 FM, this time in Toledo. But Ron, you're on Truth Talk Live. Are there any coincidences with God?

None whatsoever. Psalm 139 reminds us that he knows everything that comes Out of our lips from the day we were born till the end of our time.

So he knows everything about us. From the womb to the tomb. Man. we're definitely not a surprise to him or anything else being a surprise to him. And I'd like to share a testimony.

Yes, sir, please do. And go kind of quick with it because we're getting up against the clock, but I want to hear this. Go ahead. All right. My wife and I were on our way home from attending a birthday party for a grandson.

We got a call that one of my friends was admitted to ICU. And it was late in the evening, like around nine o'clock, and And I thought, oh gee, I'm not sure if we're going to be able to get in to see him. Um Because it's after hours.

So we just had a prayer about it. We drove right to the hospital. We did manage to get in. And um Spent some time with my friend, prayed with him, and so on, and then. We were Headed back to the parking lot.

And there was a point in the in the uh hallway that crossed And at the point where it crossed, we ran into a young man And he stopped me. He says to you, I was wearing my cross outside of my shirt.

So he says, you look like you're a religious man, he says Would you pray for my grandson? And I said, Well, what's the problem? He says, Well, he was just born. He has a hole in his heart. And they're just putting him on life flight to take him to Ann Arbor for some surgery.

And um And then the more we talked about it, I said, let's pray about it right now.

So we've prayed about it. And he says, you know, he says, I've been running away from God all my life, not wanting to make this commitment. My wife has been always praying about having me. Receive the Lord. And I said, Well, tonight's the night you stop running.

Let's invite the Lord into your life. And And he he did accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And uh the big coincidence was We join up. the next month joining his church. Where he went to church and he said, Hey, there is the guy.

And then he said, The Lord. Hallelujah. Yeah. And he prayed for his son, and God used that prayer, no doubt. Yeah.

Praise the Lord. Yeah. What a blessing. Ron, thank you for sharing that, man. That's just such a blessing.

My pleasure. Yes, sir. Well, Ron, we missed Carla from Jacksonville. We don't have time for her call. Other folks that are calling in, I love it when the lines are loaded at the end of the show.

But let me just share this with you, friends. Ruth just happened in the field of Boaz, who just happened to marry her, who just happened to have a son named Obed. They just happened to, Obed just happened to marry and have a son named Jesse, who just happened to marry and have a son named David, who became the king. And in the kingly line of David came the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will reign, who was born in the city of David, who will reign, by the way. The sea of David with Bethlehem, which is where Ruth met Boaz, and the son of David, Jesus Christ, will reign on the throne of David forever and ever and ever because God's not in the God is not in the business of chance.

There are no chances or chance encounters with God. Why? Because He's the God of second chances. And hey, He's pursuing you right now.

Someone's praying for you right now. Will you call upon the Lord? He's one prayer away. Repent of your sin. Trust Him as your Savior.

Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Because with God, there is no coincidences. He loves you. God bless you. Mm.

Yeah.