Years ago I heard Lon Solomon, Pastor of McLean Bible Church in Washington D.C., state that, other than the Bible itself, it is extremely important that Christians prioritize reading biographies of great historical men and women of God. Heeding this advice, I\u2019ve found this to be particularly encouraging to my own walk with the Lord, having been inspired and equipped by:<\/p>\n
– A Retrospect: The Story Behind My Zeal for Missions<\/em> by Hudson Taylor But heroes of the faith, whose lives, while imperfect, beacon \u201cFollow me, as I follow Christ,\u201d (1 Cor. 11:1) are not limited to the pages of Bible or centuries long ago, as exemplified by this statement from Francis Chan, an incredible man of God himself:<\/p>\n Recently I was asked, \u201cWho is the most Spirit-filled person you know?\u201d My response: Joni Eareckson Tada. A 1967 diving accident left then-seventeen-year-old Joni a quadriplegic. Lying in a hospital bed, she was filled with an overwhelming desire to end her life. The thought of spending the rest of her years paralyzed from the neck down and relying on others to care for her basic needs was staggering. But Joni did not end her life that day. Instead, she chose to surrender it to God. Little did she know that the Spirit of God would transform her into one of the godliest women ever to grace this earth. God gave her a humility and a love that enables her to look beyond her own pain and to see others\u2019 hurts. She is a person who consistently \u201cin humility count[s] others more significant\u201d than herself (an embodiment of Philippians 2:3).<\/p>\n I don\u2019t even know where to begin with all that she has done. While undergoing two years of rehabilitation after the accident, she spent many hours learning to paint with a brush held between her teeth. Her detailed paintings and prints are now highly sought after. Her international best-selling autobiography, Joni, was later made into a full-length feature film. She founded Joni and Friends in 1979 to increase Christian ministry to the disabled community throughout the world. The organization led to the establishment in 2007 of the Joni and Friends International Disability Center, which currently impacts thousands of families around the globe. Over the course of each week, more than a million people listen to her daily five-minute radio program, Joni and Friends. The organization she started serves hundreds of special-needs families through family retreats across the nation. Through Wheels for the World, wheelchairs are collected nationwide, refurbished by inmates in several correctional facilities, and then shipped and donated to developing nations where, whenever possible, physical therapists fit each chair to a disabled child or adult who is in need. As of 2008, Wheels for the World had cumulatively distributed 52,342 wheelchairs to 102 countries and trained hundreds of ministry and community leaders, including people with disabilities. In 2005, Joni Eareckson Tada was appointed to the Disability Advisory Committee of the U.S. State Department. She has worked with Dr. Condoleezza Rice on programs affecting disabled persons in the State Department and around the world. Joni has appeared twice on Larry King Live, sharing not only her Christian testimony but a biblical perspective on right-to-life issues that affect our nation\u2019s disabled population. And on top of all that, Joni has written more than thirty-five books.<\/p>\n Yet it is not because of these accomplishments that I consider her the most Spirit-filled person I know. Actually, it has nothing to do with all she\u2019s accomplished. It has to do with the fact that you can\u2019t spend ten minutes with Joni before she breaks out in song, quotes Scripture, or shares a touching and timely word of encouragement. I have never seen the fruit of the Spirit more obviously displayed in a person\u2019s life as when I am with Joni. I can\u2019t seem to have a conversation with Joni without shedding tears. It\u2019s because Joni is a person whose life, at every level, gives evidence of the Spirit\u2019s work in and through her. (From Forgotten God: Reversing Our Neglect of the Holy Spirit<\/em>)<\/p>\n Let me encourage you to first and foremost spend time daily in God\u2019s word, but also supplement that spiritual diet with:<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the books above or another of your choosing highlighting the historic heroes of the faith who \u201cserved God\u2019s purpose in their generation.\u201d (Acts 13:36)<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 A daily reading from a great website: wholesomewords.org https:\/\/www.wholesomewords.org\/missions\/bioindex.html<\/a><\/p>\n
\n– When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up<\/em> by Janice Janosz
\n– An Hour With George Muller<\/em> by Charles Parsons
\n– Found Faithful and Wounded Heroes<\/em> by Elizabeth Skoglund<\/p>\n