By Greg Miller © 2017

Pastor Samuel had gained quite a reputation as a minister who was determined to fulfill God’s call to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.

Having begun preaching when he was 30 years old, Pastor Samuel soon began receiving requests to conduct crusades in cities around America. Baltimore, New York City, Atlanta, Nashville, Los Angeles, Detroit and Miami were among the cities to which he traveled.

As he continued to honor the Lord Jesus, Pastor Samuel’s popularity soared. At the beginning of each crusade service, his powerful voice thundered, “Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, and He is your hope!”

Pastor Samuel’s wife, Sarah, accompanied him for most of his crusades. “It’s my privilege to support my husband and his God-given ministry,” she said.

Pastor Samuel appreciated the support of his wife, who also conducted a special rally for women during each crusade. The women loved Sarah’s warm personality and humble spirit. Stacie, an attendee at one rally, told Sarah, “You made me feel as if Jesus loves me as much as He loves anyone!”

Sarah responded, “Of course, He does. Even if you were the only person in the world, Jesus would have willingly died on the Cross to save you from sin.”

After several years of preaching in U.S. cities, Pastor Samuel began receiving invitations to conduct crusades around the world, especially in Europe, Africa and India. As the invitations poured in, he continually thought of the Scripture in Matthew 28:18-20, ‘”And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’”

Pastor Samuel thoroughly enjoyed traveling internationally. He constantly prayed, “Lord, thank you for calling me and placing me into the preaching ministry.”

“I knew you would faithfully obey my call and lift my name to the nations of the world,” God whispered. “You have honored me and my call on your life. Thank you for your faithfulness.”

Pastor Samuel praised God for the support of his wife. “Thank you that Sarah is truly a Proverbs 31 woman,” he prayed. The pastor’s favorite verse from that chapter was verse 30, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”

“Sarah really does praise me,” God said. “That’s why I chose her to be your mate.”

“You made a good choice,” Pastor Samuel complimented the Lord. “A really great choice … And she’s a wonderful cook, too!”

To contact the writer of this column about speaking engagements, including Christian Comedy Fundraising Outreaches, Christian Creativity Seminars and/or puppet ministry, please email [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

By Greg Miller  2018

 Greg is retired from the Elizabethton STAR Newspaper, after working there for almost 23 years. He now freelances for the paper. Contact email address is [email protected], also facebook.com/kidcool4jesus. Available for speaking engagements/other ministries. Jesus is Lord