Bill was a physically imposing mechanic at 6’ 6”. But Lou Gehrig’s disease, the illness that physicist Stephen Hawkins endured, soon wilted him into a shadow of the man he had been. But he had Christ. He was able to live four more years—far beyond the doctor’s expectation. What amazing Christ-filled years those were.

My brother pastored an unconverted man on the rolls of the church. When it was discovered, some of the men in the church began to share Christ with him and soon he became a true believer in Christ. His name was Bill Beery, a direct relative of the famous deceased actor Wallace Beery.

Bill was a physically imposing mechanic at 6’ 6”. But Lou Gehrig’s disease, the illness that physicist Stephen Hawkins endured, soon wilted him into a shadow of the man he had been. But he had Christ. He was able to live four more years—far beyond the doctor’s expectation. What amazing Christ-filled years those were.

The disease itself acted on his body like a slow-release implosion of a skyscraper. It was so debilitating that most who have it remain depressed until death. But, again, Bill had Christ.

He also had a Bible and the pleasure of talking with God, the Creator of the universe and the ruler of everything. He took prayer and his Bible reading seriously. Prayer and Bible reading became his life. He was genuinely delighted in God and saw him as his treasure. So, praying was not hard and reading words from God were strengthening in ways that most of us who are believers understand, at least on some level.

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