Pause and pray.
New habits create change. I'm Stu Epperson. My voice is almost gone, but I'm standing next to a woman of God who has put out an amazing devotional.
Her name is Bobbi Cox, and she is with me in Dallas, Texas. It's loud. It's clamorous. I'm about to get a signed copy, and I'm going to take this to my wife.
She's going to love this, but I might have to sneak a peek in there too. Bobbi, why did you write this thing, and why is there going to be a long line behind me to get a copy of this? Well, when I got my watch, it was 111, and the Lord said, send out a notification every day at 111 to your home church to pause and pray at 111 for each other in our country.
Well, it grew organically to hundreds of people. And then, so as the Lord would have it, we, he arranged for us to have an app so you can go to the app store and the Google store at Branch to Hope and get the app. And we sent the notification out across the time zones at 111 to pause and pray together. But it's become a discipleship tool because what Jesus started doing is he said, Bobbi, choose a scripture of the day based on the date. So let's just say March the 20th would be Ephesians 3, 20.
So when we see the date throughout the day, how can we engrave it in our heart and weave it in our conversation? And then, Stuart, he began writing a message about the scripture. Listen, I wasn't a good English student, and he's, I am just Jesus' ghostwriter. I just- What you're calling a scripture whisperer? Scripture whisperer because Jesus whispers the scripture, and he will weave it into our conversation.
The power of God's word. Absolutely. So literally, I have a friend, Joe Battaglia is getting a big award at the gala tonight. He's the movie man.
Oh yeah. And Joe said, you know what, Bobbi, send me 10 samples because he knew I'd been writing these for Jesus for four and a half years, every day, nonstop. He says, send me 10 samples with a backstory. I'm sending it to Broad Street Publishing, which he did.
Within weeks, I had a contract, and that's where you see the book. But now we've got more going on, Stuart. We've got the color of the day challenge. We have these bracelets and all these products you can see that are focused on the color of the day based on the fruit of the Spirit. I've got a joy, is my daughter. I've got a hope, a faith, and a grace. Those are my four daughters.
So I might have to dial for dollars here. What a blessing. Bobbi Cox, this new devotion. Pause and pray. I love it. You can hold it in your hand.
It's real easy. Pretty beautiful casing presentation. I love this. What is it you want people that get a hold of this? This line is going to form behind me, and I'm going to get out of the way so you can sign these books and bless some people. But what is it you want people to encounter here in this little daily devotional? In the daily devotion, it's unique because we're based on the fruit of the Spirit is aligned with the color.
Fruit of the Spirit is in Galatians 5, 22 through 23, and it's the character of Jesus. So we have these bracelets to give out, and it reminds me, like today is pink day, so you see I'm wearing pink, and tomorrow will be kindness day, so it will be yellow. So every time I see pink today, how can I be more patient?
Every time I see yellow tomorrow, how can I be more kind? There's nine through the Spirit. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit.
21 times nine is six months. If people would start doing this in the idle moments of their day, waiting at a red light, standing in line like my friend Zig Ziglar said, we have a university in our mind. So think, should I have said that a little bit more gently, or could I be a little bit more faithful to my friend? It grooves in your mind a new lifestyle. And after the pandemic, people are just accustomed to being chaotic and rude, but they're looking for a way. So we wear different colored bracelets every day, and we find, uh-oh, I better not say it that way, because you know what? Today is a day of goodness, because that's brown day. So every time I see brown, how am I going to weave goodness in my heart? Wow.
From bearing fruit to wearing fruit, she is Bobby Cox. Pause and praise her book. It's a wonderful little devotion. You can hold it in your hand, get it, pass it along to people. Now, is there a website you're kind of sending people to, Bobby, so they can get a hold of this thing?
Well, you can go to our app on the App Store, or we have a website, branch2hope.app. Now leave us with a scripture, 2 Corinthians 1-11. Share with our listeners that scripture, and it's right on the back. Read it to us, and bless us.
I love this book. 2 Corinthians is one of my favorite books. 2 Corinthians 1-11 says, please help us by praying for us, then many people will give thanks for the blessings we receive in answer to all these prayers. Well, praise the Lord. Well, thank you for providing this devotional, which is going to be an answer to prayer to a lot of people. Bobby Cox, and tell us real quick your journey to faith. They didn't put you on the spot, but your elevator, just a quick message on how the Lord pursued you, how he got you to pause and pray to receive him at one time in your life when you came to Christ. Can you give us your testimony real quick?
I can. I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church, followed Jesus all my life, but until I got older, did he become a relationship? So I'm a widow twice, and when it all started happening is when I was lonely eating dinner. I was lonely riding in the car after I lost my husband. So I started putting a place setting at the table and talked to Jesus, just chatted with him like I did my husband, or in the car I would put my Bible in the passenger seat.
So what he did is show me how to pause and weave new characters. And so this ministry was birthed by a lot of pain, but we can rise above and become better and not bitter. And I just praise the Lord that he is my counselor, my hubby, my best friend.
He's my everything. You're sharing this with everyone to pause and pray. I love that.
New habits create change. Just getting in the Word and getting the Word of God in you. And I love how it's connected with the dates. I'm going to introduce you to someone on the Truth Network who has a ministry called Date the Word. He's going to want to know your birthday. What's your birthday?
8-22. Oh my soul. I'm thinking Hebrews or maybe Romans 8-22, but let's let Dr. Carson. I'm going to bring you one of his calendars. I'm going to give him one of these.
He's going to go crazy because I love how he is. It's all these connection points from the bracelet to the dates to a little devotional to connect people to God's Word to the app. Yes, absolutely. And how do they download the app?
Just go to the Google Store or Apple Store. It's Branch to Hope. That's T-O. And we're right there. I love it. God bless you, Bobbi. Thanks for blessing us here at National religious broadcasters, NRB.
The line is going to form. I'm going to get out of the way so you can sign more of these books and be a blessing to others. But I am going to look at your bracelets to see if there's one for one of my four daughters. That'd be awesome.
And connected to those fruits. What a blessing. Let me tell you one more thing. On the back of each bracelet, we have a QR code and it tells you what I've just told you.
It takes 21 days to make a habit. So, yes, I just spread the awareness. It's just Jesus and me and we need ambassadors to spread the awareness.
This is going to start a wave across America. And then you introduce other people to Christ. Like a speaker in a session said today, he said, we're seed spreaders, right?
Absolutely. And you know what? We've learned it wasn't by design ours.
It was by God's design. Our app has become a discipleship tool. What we do is we invite people to know the Lord and accept them in their heart. But we can't walk around and be their disciple 24-7.
But our app is. Because what do you do? We tell people, go pray, read your Bible and act like a Christian. Well, you pray at 111 every day on our app. Where do you start reading the Bible? One scripture a day based on the date.
And how do you act like a Christian? One character to Jesus a day. And the fruit of the Spirit.
Right. So, praise the Lord. Get close to Jesus.
That fruit will be budding all over you. God bless you. Thank you, Bobby Cox. Thanks for blessing us with this wonderful devotional. Pause and pray. Thank you, Stuart. You're a blessing. I appreciate you coming.
