Take a Risk!
A monthly publication from Risk Takers for Christ
Volume 10, Issue 12 December 2019
moving believers from the sidelines to the frontlines
Joseph, My Christmas Hero
by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
Of all the characters in the Christmas story, one is most definitely my favorite. Perhaps because he was not only a godly man but also a natural risk-taker. His name was Joseph, and the monumental mission that God tasked him with was to marry a pregnant young woman and to raise His Son as his own.
Risking gossip and endless ridicule, Joseph did exactly as God ordered Him. He took Mary as his wife but did not know her sexually until after Jesus’ birth. Then, visited by another angel two years later, he took a second risk and uprooted his family. Leaving for Egypt under the cover of night, Joseph left behind his livelihood and set out for parts unknown.
Once King Herod had died and it was safe to return to Israel, Joseph followed God’s instructions yet again. This third risk was soon followed by a fourth one, as God warned Joseph in a dream to bypass Judea and head to Nazareth in Galilee.
The shepherds, the host of angels, Mary and of course, the Christ Child are all integral parts of the Christmas story. But I most admire Joseph - the unsung hero - whose integrity, humility and quiet but strong leadership God prized so much that He entrusted His Only Son to his care.
Seeing What Others Cannot See
by Os Hillman, TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1
"And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." (2 Kings 6:17)
Several years ago, a movie was made called Field of Dreams. The story is about a man who had a vision to build a baseball field in the middle of a cornfield on his rural farm. He did not know why; he just knew he was to do it. To the chagrin of his neighbors, he built the baseball diamond in the farm community. One night some players showed up. The man realized these were no ordinary players but were actually the great players from the past. When the skeptical neighbors came to view this phenomenon, they were unable to see what the farm owner could see. This made it even worse for him. Now he was really a lunatic in their eyes.
This fictitious story has a spiritual application for us. First, if God tells us to "build a ball field," we should do it. It is not for us to determine the reason we are instructed to do it. Once we are obedient, God will allow us to see what others cannot see. It is the rite of passage for those who are willing to risk all for God's purposes. God increases the spiritual senses to levels we never knew before. Those around us will observe this.
Do you want to see what others cannot see? If so, it will require a level of obedience that will go beyond human reason. It may require risk and ridicule from others. But you will see what others cannot see.
Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org"//
Living Couch To Couch
by Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
“I’m living couch to couch.”
That was how Myrto, a recently released ex-offender, explained his housing situation when I asked. What he meant by that is yes, he has a temporary roof over his head, but it is a different roof virtually every night.
Myrto called me out of the blue because our Risk Takers basketball team had ministered several times at the institution where he was incarcerated. Impressed by the way we carried ourselves and by our caring attitudes, he saved the gospel literature we distributed during our visit and the follow-up material we mailed him shortly thereafter. When he got out, our number was one of the first ones he called.
“You are good, positive people,” Myrto told me on the phone. “Your team was also one of the few groups to actually come through the gates to see us.”
Myrto “lives” in Delray Beach, for the time being, having been dropped off at a fleabag motel after his release. The car he drives leaks oil, and he has to refill it every day.
Before being incarcerated on a weapons charge, Myrto ran his own commercial graphics company, but now he works irregularly as a day laborer.
At the age of 35 and with a criminal record, Myrto has to start over from scratch, which is why he reached out to us. I offered him some advice, based on my 33 years of experience working with ex-offenders, and promised to contact some Christian employers to see if they were hiring. I even posted Myrto’s name and job skills - which includes fencing and screen enclosures - on our ministry’s Facebook page but didn’t receive any offers.
Undeterred, I followed up with Myrto the following week, this time with some hopeful news. I had met with the leader of another prison ministry, based in Ormond Beach, and he thought he might have a few leads for Myrto. That’s the kind of break an ex-offender needs, let alone one like Myrto, whose absentee father had six children by four different women.
Please pray for Myrto to make it on the outside and not to fall through society’s cracks like so many other ex-offenders. And please pray for God to supply the manpower and the financial resources for us to continue going into Putnam Correctional Institution, where Myrto was housed, and the other 64 state prisons throughout Florida. In the meantime, thank you for caring about Myrto and the other 100,000 inmates in the Florida Department of Corrections, 95% of whom will someday be released, Tragically, 75% of them will be rearrested within four years post-release unless they trust Christ and someone gives them a job.
Jesus offers second chances, but Myrto and others like him need society to do the same…
Upcoming Risk Takers Events:
- Jan. 6: RTC Board Meeting, Vero Beach FL
- Jan. 11: Basketball Games at Putnam CI, East Palatka FL & Tomoka CI, Daytona Beach FL
- Feb. 8: Basketball at Hardee CI, Bowling Green FL
- Feb. 15: JOY Group, King's Baptist Church, Vero Beach FL
Photos from our Living H2O Initiative
Richard Branson’s 10 Ten Favorite Quotes
The luckiest people and businesses are those that are prepared to take the greatest risks. We can all create our own luck by taking the necessary risks to open the door to change, progression and success.
To inspire you to take more risks, so that you can achieve your dreams, here are my top 10 quotes on risk, in descending order.
10. “The biggest risk is not taking any risk...In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” - Mark Zuckerberg
9. “If you don’t play you can’t win.”- Judith McNaught
8. “Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.”- Denis Waitley
7. Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is? - Frank Scully
6. “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” - William G.T. Shedd
5. “When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” - Ellen DeGeneres
4. “There is freedom waiting for you, on the breezes of the sky, and you ask 'What if I fall?' Oh but my darling, What if you fly?" - Erin Hanson
3. “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” - Pablo Picasso
2. “Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” - David Lloyd George
1. “Two roads diverged in a wood...I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost
Golden Ministry Opportunities
Risk Takers for Christ has immediate needs for playing and non-playing volunteers to serve on our touring basketball team. If you feel called to share your faith - and God’s love - with forgotten men behind bars, we would like to hear from you!
We also need volunteers to help out on Thursday evenings with our Living H2O Initiative at First Baptist Church of Vero Beach. Openings include manning the registration table, monitoring basketball games, and sharing your testimony and/or a gospel message.
To volunteer for any of the above ministry opportunities, email dale@risktakersforchrist.org.
Notable Quotables
“I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
- William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army,written circa 1895
Prisoner Prayer Requests from Avon Park CI
Christopher - To get closer to Christ.
Joenyl - For my family, especially my wife. She has cancer.
Charlie - That my release from prison comes soon after serving 38 straight years.
Thomas - I go up for parole on April 20, 2020.
Meliton - For my whole family to repent, believe in Jesus Christ, and be baptized.
William - I don’t have a close relationship with my daughter, and I pray that we will one day be closer.
Dwayne - That God will continue to strengthen my mother, who is now 80 years old.
Erik - My sister is struggling with addiction and divorce, and she doesn’t know Christ!
Joseph - For reconciliation with my ex-wife and daughter.
Bernard - I want to be closer to God.
Chris - Please pray for my family and that God will show me and lead me to the right path. I am about to go home after 9 years.
James - I go home in 18 months after 23 years. Please pray for a safe journey home.
Carlos - For revival at Avon Park Corr. Inst.
David - To never desire the wilderness again! Drugs, addiction, and the lifestyle of it.
Stephen - That the Lord sends revival to this prison. Devon - For forgiveness.
Book Now!
We are booking now for all of 2020. If your church is interested in scheduling a Risk Takers Revival Meeting or a Dare 2B Daring Men’s Conference, please Dale Glading at 772.539.1826 or dale@risktakersforchrist.org.
Our Staff & Board Members
Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
Rev. Larry “Chap” Lilly, Vice President
Christopher Glading, Director of Programs and Publicity
Rebekah Bailey, Director of Communications
Trustees: Rev. Thomas Griffin, Michael Kelley, Steve Navarro, Dr. Matt Parris, Rev. Greg Sempsrott Advisory Council: Robert Bartosz, Steve Schoch
Take a Risk! is a publication of Risk Takers for Christ, PO Box 651421, Vero Beach FL 32965-1421. Excerpts may be published or reproduced providing proper attribution is given.