Um Life audio. Hi from the Salvation Army and you're listening to Words of Life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. Welcome back to Words of Life.
We are now in the middle of a series of testimonies that we were able to record at a recent Salvation Army event. This event was the Salvation Army's commissioning, so, this was the graduation of new Salvation Army pastors coming out of seminary school. During this event we had a makeshift studio set up outside So at times you can hear people walking by and conversations. It's not too distracting. We just embrace the chaos because we wanted to offer a space for people to come and share a testimony about someone who's been a huge inspiration to them and their own walk with God.
In many of these cases, that person was able to be there, and so they were able to tell that person face to face what their guidance has meant in their life.
So, we just pray that these conversations are a huge blessing to you. It was such an honor to share their stories, and thank you to everyone who was involved. If you've missed any of these episodes, subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit wordsoflifepodcast.org. During the Salvation Army USA Southern Territories Commissioning 2025.
Soundcast offered a space for individuals to record testimonies about people who have been pillars of hope and guidance in their walk with God. These are their stories. My name is Robin Belair. I Grew up in actually quite a few different churches, but I feel like home was always the salvation army. I am from the Central Territory, and the core of Elkhart, Indiana, is the one I grew up in.
I am currently attending, however, the South Bend, Indiana Croc Center. I actually accepted Christ at a camp.
So, I don't know that he necessarily is the one who helped me make that decision. But the thing about my father is, even though he may not have had a lot of words that he shared. And I don't know that I ever remember him actually saying the words, I love you. Everything he did just screamed, I love you. My father would have done anything.
for any of those. And from all the times that he took off of work to take us to a Cor Cadet retreat and stay there, to the times that he took us to CBLI and It might be six hours there and six hours back home, and a 12-hour day for him. It didn't matter. That was his kids and he was going to do whatever to get us to where we wanted to be. I think it can be so easy to say the words, I love you, and they'd be absolutely empty.
And so, I think sometimes it's more important, what have we done? And what do those words, or what do our actions say more than? You know, what do we verbalize? Because, as I said, people can easily just say, I love you, I love you, I love you. And It just becomes, I love chocolate, I love, and it almost becomes an emptiness, so to speak.
To me, it's like: do your actions follow your words? You can say, I love you, but do those actions follow those words? And that's what's important to me is what do those actions say? And my father was the perfect embodiment of that. Hey, you're listening to the Salvation Army's Words of Life.
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That's miller-m-ot-t-e.edu. Growing up, my father had been in a really bad car accident when he was about 20. Had a piece of steel driven through his chest, had he not been ejected from the car, he would have been decapitated. Um He had some vein. In, like, his forehead, or something that was cut, that they never found the person, but somebody stopped.
and held that or he would have bled to death. and they believed that that was probably an angel. They wanted to amputate his arm. His parents said, Nope, you've got to wait for him to wake up. He's got to decide.
He said, No, he rehabilitated his arm himself. But what he will tell you is this, and this is the story I loved growing up hearing from him: is saying, I was in heaven and God gave me back my life. And that is the thing that turned him around and said I believe in God and I'm going to do it.
Now, yeah, he didn't do it right away. He was in his 20s. And sometimes, when we're in our 20s, we're a little lost, we're a little not sure where we fit in or what to do. But when God really did get a hold of his life, you could see it. As I said, his actions just screamed, I love you.
From the time that he drove a 66-passenger bus for the Alcart Corps. For more years than I can tell you, picking up kids. And sometimes these kids were a little rough. Didn't matter, that was his ministry. He was a very quiet man.
but I loved him for him. But here's the story I really wanna share with you. Because of him sharing his story with me growing up about. Him being in heaven and God giving him back his life. That was always special to me.
When my father was dying from ALS, my mother had prayed. I want each one of my girls to have a special moment with their father that they will always remember. And this is mine. If you know anything about ALS, the person becomes. Their mind becomes a prisoner of their body.
It no longer works. They can't function. They can't move their arms. They can't move their legs. They can't do anything.
They can barely speak. They can barely breathe. They usually suffocate to death, unfortunately. And there is no cure for it. As they were adapting, my parents were adapting to My father Going to be dying.
My mom had created a little picture thing, and he would point to stuff so that she would know: I need a drink, I need this, I need whatever.
Well, my mom had called us over on a Sunday night thinking he was going to be gone. And we all came together and we were there. And I think that kind of gave him the will to I don't want to leave because he didn't want to leave any of us. He didn't want to leave my mom. He didn't want to leave us because he's seen himself as a protector of us.
So he continued to live, but then he kind of went into a comatose state. I walk into the house, and they're all around him, and they're trying to figure out what it is that he wants. as they're all kind of getting frustrated and moving back across the room away from him. for whatever reason, and I had never stood in this spot in mi in the entire time that my father was dying. I had went to the back side of the bed, which meant I was facing out, looking towards everybody else.
And I looked at my father. And I didn't really know what I seen, but God just gave me this quote. Quick flash. And for whatever reason, it made me think of Palm Sunday and branches waving and praising. And I looked at him and I said, Are you trying to say that there are angels all around and they're praising God?
Because that was what I was left with. Even though the image was Palm Sunday, it was praise and about God. And so in that moment when I looked at him, I've always loved the story of Moses coming down off the mountain and the glory of God being seen in his face and him having to hide it. because it kind of scared the people. But in that moment, I would tell you that I seen the glory of God on my dad's face as he shook his head.
Yes, that's what I'm trying to say to you. And then it was like, He was doing this and I was like. How you're trying to see, say you're seeing the stairway into heaven, and it was just all the few questions he could ask, and he was just shaking his head. And all these people that were sitting out in the room-from his brother to his cousins to my sister and her family to my mother. And just to be able to witness that was just absolutely amazing.
But again, that was. him sharing But God, and in the last little bit of moment, because it wasn't long after that, that he slipped back into a coma. And then the next day was in fact gone at like three in the morning. But again, just wanting to declare God, the person he loved, the person he's seen, wanting everybody to go with him. And really not wanting us to leave us but at the same time just knowing you know what This is what awaits me and it also awaits you.
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And it always makes me cry. when people unfortunately did not have an earthly father that They can go. I understand what a father's love is because I had an earthly father who loved me. But I did have an earthly father who loved me, who would have died to save me, just like Christ died. For our sins.
And I love. The Reflection of Christ. that he shared. And he definitely was.
Someone who believed in his own quiet strength. And just reflected that love. And I thank him for doing that. Because you know what?
Sometimes it doesn't take preaching and yelling at people and just verbally just you know, putting everything out there.
Sometimes it's that quiet. that people just see and go, you know what? There's something in this person. And it's different and I want that different. Amen.
I love that today is the the day we always do the outreach part of commissioning. And in so doing, I love that we're just like we're just here for the community. We're just meeting you where you are and just want to love on you. And um I think If all Christ followers could just start with that instead of trying to fix everybody first. Yeah.
That's that's really uh I think us living out a Christ-like faith. And it sounds like he was the perfect embodiment of that. See? Thank you for that. What was your dad's name?
Max. Max. Thank you. And thank you for sharing Max's story. But then I also think of my mom because she's the one that prayed.
Give my daughters each one special moment with their father. And that was. That was mine. Not that God, I don't think God, I mean. Not that I'm saying that I don't think God could have done that without that prayer, but prayer also is an important part because sometimes it's when we go to God and say, I need this.
that then he pulls out.
Something significant as well.
So Come on. Thank you so much.
Sorry, I tend to cry every time I think of my father. And honestly, yesterday I was thinking about my dad. Yeah. I appreciate this point. The Salvation Army's mission, doing the most good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs.
You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Army. Visit SalvationArmyUSA.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit SalvationArmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life.
These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words, these are the words, these are the words of life. These are the words of life. These are the words of life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life.
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