A Father’S List: Living a Life That Speaks

By Steve Allen Bruce

Compelling, sometimes-unbelievable life experiences lead to prayer, the Bible, and salvation. This captivating variety of the personal includes; accounts of his early years growing up in an area of toxic hexavalent chromium exposure made famous in the movie Erin Brochovich, experiences in missionary basketball, and finding true love while walking with his youngest daughter through her encounters with autism. The authors commentary reveals the earnest heart of a father who longs to share all the greater things of life with his grown children. Steve Bruces A Fathers List provides surprisingly honest snapshots of how Bruce has approached forgiveness, fear, spiritual war, and sinthrough restoration by grace, mercy, faith, humility, longsuffering, obedience, miracles, and love.
Have you ever
loved someone so much that you simply disappear and they are the only one in the room?
wished you could roll back the hands of time and get a do-over?
had something or someone teach you about humility?
had someone in your life who has hurt you deeply that you need to forgive?
sat bedside with a loved one who is suffering?
experienced a miracle, something that you know could have only come from God?
experienced grace and peace in your heart when you knew you should be falling apart?
experienced Gods mercy in your life, and are so grateful it takes you to your knees?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781449793494

Steve Allen Bruce

As chief executive officer of Quality Claims Solutions, Steve Bruce is associated with many insurance and automotive industry organizations. His daughter’s autism and the Erin Brochovich landmark legal case catapulted Bruce on a journey of forgiveness to restoration. A 1987 Point Loma Nazarene University graduate, the NAIA All-American’s team won successive National Christian College basketball championships. He currently lives in South Dakota with his wife and three grown children.

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Copyright © 2013 Steve Allen Bruce.

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright @ 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Copyright @ 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9350-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9351-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-9349-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013907748

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/29/2013

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Introduction Motive And Motivation

Chapter 1 Learning To Forgive: Forgiveness

Chapter 2 The Servant: Humility

Chapter 3 Going To Egypt: Long-Suffering

Chapter 4 It’s A God Thing: Miracles

Chapter 5 Fear Not: Faith And Fear

Chapter 6 Seeing Things More Clearly: Spiritual War

Chapter 7 Help Me Understand: Grace, Mercy, And Restoration

Chapter 8 No Greater Commandment: Love

Chapter 9 In God We Trust: Obedience

Chapter 10 Truth Or Consequences: Sin

Chapter 11 A Rescue Mission: Salvation

Chapter 12 The Master Link: Relationship

Epilogue

About The Author

Bibliography

Endorsements

"A Fathers List—Living a Life That Speaks," its contents and format of spiritual things, is an awesome book indeed! It reflects the heart-felt love for life and family. I love to read it again and again, to treasure the book in our Bible College library. Steve Bruce’s spiritual lifestyle is a model to me and the other missionaries here in India. He is so very special to us. The Bruce’s are purpose-driven, a God-anointed family, and very divine, and sensitive in understanding peoples’ needs and circumstances.

—Arthur Raj, IMF-India

(Missions and Cornerstone Bible College).

On rare occasions we get the privilege of meeting someone who will touch our lives in a powerful and life-changing way. These people are among those who have allowed God to shape them through the circumstances of their lives. They are life changers for God. Steve Bruce is one of those people. I knew Steve before I actually met him in person. His strength of character, integrity, and quiet strength of faith go before him in a way that speaks loudly of God’s love and grace. "A Fathers List—Living a Life That Speaks" is an amazing testimony of God’s work in Steve’s life that made him a man of God—A life changer for Christ.

—Bret Merkle, Esq. Author,

Speaker—Tragic Blessing

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

—Proverbs 3: 5-6

DEDICATION

To Jeff and Jana

I thank God that He has given each of you a spirit of humility and tenderness. I pray that you continue to apply the gift of forgiveness in your lives, as it provides great freedom to those who know its precious value. You have seen the face of long-suffering, experiencing it yourselves through our family’s tests and trials. Such perseverance is what keeps you close to God and produces fruit in your life. May the Lord continue to reveal how marvelous He is in all things and shower you with His miracles daily.

Walk in obedience to God, as this is what produces peace and joy in this life. Remember that His grace is always sufficient, and His mercy is a precious gift. During the times when this world shreds the fabric of your life, I pray that He will graft the pieces back together and restore you. As you search for love, never forget the ones who love you the most, and of course the one who loved you so much that He died for you on a cross.

Keep your shield of faith high and close since there is an enemy who wants to destroy you. Push fear far from you and allow the Lord to melt it like wax. Flee from sin, as the price to pay is always more than what you may expect, and it carries with it great pain. Remember there is a spiritual war that rages all around you whether you can see it or not and that your salvation, our God, is always near. Pray continually that you may know and hear the Lord’s voice when He calls. Read the Bible daily because His living Word will sustain and carry you through this life into the next.

Dad (aka Daddy)

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FOREWORD

I observed Steve Bruce and his family deal with some very difficult situations and had the opportunity to experience their strong faith and character from close quarters. This is a very direct, author-to-reader book, not a book from a theologian to a believer about how to lead a better life. Steve Bruce does an excellent job of linking his religious beliefs to important incidents and themes in his family’s life, leading to meritorious and wise actions. He portrays who he is – not a religious principal but a real person. The book reminds me that religion is not just a body of beliefs but a way of living related to those beliefs, which Steve Bruce exemplifies.

-Dr. Lloyd A. Wells, M.D., Ph.D. (Mayo Clinic 1979-2013)

INTRODUCTION

MOTIVE AND MOTIVATION

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

—Colossians 1:10

I n today’s world, we have become increasingly skeptical toward people and are always attempting to discern the motives surrounding every situation and every person with whom we come into contact. It has become almost commonplace that a person’s words represent very little to the listener until tested against the backdrop of his or her actions. In other words, a person’s walk is the witness, because talk is cheap.

Looking at developments in the world around us over the past few years, the significance of the walk is very evident. Since actions speak louder than words, and if we truly want our lives to serve as an example to others, we need to examine our own motives and actions. Every life is an example to someone else. All of us need to consider what kind of living example we are going to be and why.

It was a cold South Dakota evening in March 2011 when I found myself sitting across from my twenty-one-year-old son, Jeff, and next to a warm fireplace, discussing the more important things in this life. It was one of those very rare occasions that a father and son may ever have. As we shared our experiences, a fire began to burn inside of me. I wanted Jeff to know more about our family’s trials and triumphs, more than what I could possibly share in a few moments of time. Rarely does corporate greed, corruption and malfeasance run so deep and yet strike a family so close. In this world where todays heroes are tomorrow’s scandals, whose life would he emulate? When my burning thoughts went a little deeper, I pondered what kind of living example I had been as his father.

The net result of my desire to share with my son is the written testimony that you now hold in your hands. As I was led to write A Father’s List, I cautioned myself about maintaining proper motivation, because it might be easy to stray to points less worthy. To be completely honest, there are many reasons—I mean excuses—not to pen a portion of my life’s experiences for all to see. How would those who are closest to me relate to what I have put in writing? Even as I have reached the point in my life where earnest attempts at pleasing God present the most relevant goal, I wonder if embarking upon a written testimony is something that will be pleasing to Him.

So many experiences have led to private meditations, prayers, and musings between my Creator and me, the instances that result in refinement. For every individual, the journey of his or her relationship with God is significantly unique. Every person’s journey serves a purpose—the intentions and goals that are willfully pursued over a lifetime. Because of the way God sees us, every life has the potential to become the greatest story ever told. Every individual’s journey of intentions and goals can be aligned with a glorious pursuit, a purposeful race toward wondrous endearment with God. Life’s marathon is intended to reveal how exponential the Creator’s desire is to love and to relate with what He has created.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.

—Revelation 12:11 (NIV)

I have encountered many incredible biblical teachings that have resulted in life-changing inspiration. Personal testimonies and the sharing of others’ pursuits have provided a significant and meaningful impact upon my life. These life stories, remembered from my childhood to this day, encourage and confirm my belief that there is a God, and He really does care about me and my relationship with Him.

My life experience supports the fact that when we allow God to step into our lives and create our stories, amazing things happen. Name it and claim it and sensationalism need not always apply in matters of faith. I have walked daily with an infinite, all-knowing, all-loving God who has produced great peace in the midst of many trials and triumphs. Such peace has transpired in both very grand and very modest experiences.

While my daily walk is predominantly in the world of business, A Father’s List is intended to be a wonderful expression of God’s love that transcends all walks and areas of life by revealing the greater business of spreading the message of love we experience in Christ.

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

—Colossians 4:5-6

I wrote A Father’s List as if to my son, daughter, or close friend, simply as if we were sitting together while I shared my testimony of life’s many struggles and how the Lord has brought me through them. For those of you who care to partake in this testimony, my hope is that there is something for you in these pages. Throughout my life experiences, I have always hoped to embark upon actions that speak louder than words. I now put my life’s actions into words. My prayer for those who read this is that each will experience God’s blessing and the incredible depth of God’s love for us as His children. Most of all, I pray that it blesses the heart of my heavenly Father and His Son—our Savior, the Lord Jesus.

A. W. Tozer, a pastor and one of the well-known spiritual mentors of the twentieth century, has written about spiritual callings and motivation in his book The Pursuit of God. He summed it up better than I ever could.

Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular; it is why he does it. The motive is everything.

—A. W. Tozer 1897-1963

CHAPTER 1

LEARNING TO FORGIVE:

FORGIVENESS

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

—Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

H ave you ever known that you had to forgive someone, but you really did not want to? I am not talking about forgiving someone for taking your parking space, for cutting you off in traffic, or for eating the last cookie in the jar. Although those types of things can drive us crazy at times, I am talking about forgiving someone for something that shakes your inner core. We each have had to deal with either needing forgiveness ourselves or needing to forgive someone else.

You probably do not have to think or search very hard to find someone or something that has caused you great pain in this world. If you have lived on this planet long enough, it is inevitable that you are going to encounter trials that require forgiveness. Many of those trials will involve a father, mother, husband, wife, sibling, friend, coworker, or boss. The list can be long and seemingly never-ending.

Forgiveness is one of those words that I think fits into the category of Christianese, the words that a lot of people use with such frequency that they take them for granted so that those words lose their intended meaning. These are words with meanings that are huge, but we have somehow cheapened them by misuse or abuse. Words like love, hope, faith, grace, mercy, and forgiveness are just a few examples of words that carry with them God-sized meanings.

By definition, the word forgiveness implies someone has been wronged and therefore holds the key to another person’s pardon. So how or why do we need to apply forgiveness in our lives? Do we apply or seek forgiveness when the offender or the offended is not seeking it? What does God expect of us and why?

1PictureBruceBabies.jpg

Bruce Brothers Christmas 1966—

Left to right: Todd (four years), Mark (three years), Steve (two years).

Hinkley

My mother describes the early years of our family life as the best of times and the worst of times. We moved to Hinkley, California, a small ranching community in the Mojave Desert, in early 1971. We were such a young family—what I have heard others describe as kids raising kids. My parents, Leroy and Kathy, were married at a young age and wasted little time settling into family life with three young boys. In 1971, Todd was eight, Mark was seven, and I was six years old. It was the best of times because we had just found our faith in Jesus, and everything was so new and exciting. It was the worst of times because it seemed there was always someone in the family experiencing one kind of serious illness or another. My parents found themselves in the middle of a firestorm when it came to health issues.

Hinkley is a rural desert community consisting primarily of farmers, ranchers, and some who commute to the nearby town of Barstow. Most of the commuters worked at freight docks, the marine base, or the railway yard, like my father who was a railway clerk for over thirty years. My mother was a brave stay-at-home warrior. I say brave warrior because you never knew what the three of us boys were capable of, including bringing home about every species of the animal kingdom available to us.

Life looked very much like what I have seen and experienced throughout much of small-town America. The post office and general store shared a common building, with the elementary school less than a stone’s throw to the east, and the local community church a stone’s throw to the west. This was the hub of the community activity in bringing everyone together. Community life for our family centered on the church because our newfound faith was what carried us daily. If the church doors were open, I seem to remember being there. Boy Scouts and Little League were the other two things that seemed to balance out life and our family time. My dad was a huge baseball fan. Being a great player himself, and having tried out for the Dodgers, he had to be hoping for one of us boys to follow in his footsteps. Various games with baseball bats and gloves were as common as dinner around our house.

Set against Hinkley’s desert landscape of creosote bushes and desert brush sat a small cluster of homes, alfalfa fields, and a handful of dairies. We lived on Summerset Road a few miles from Hinkley Elementary School and Hinkley Bible Church. The homes were laid out in five-acre plots on one side of the street, with the alfalfa fields on the other. Our home was on the end of the row of houses and was surrounded by alfalfa fields, making our exploring expeditions all the more accessible and enticing. The wide-open spaces that were available for us boys to run is what drew my parents, and I am sure other young parents, to Hinkley.

Alfalfa fields require irrigation, which in our community’s case meant there were wells, pumps, and reservoirs all around us. Many times over the summer it was so hot that the desert sands would burn the bottoms of our feet, but that still did not deter us from running around barefoot much of the time. The three of us boys were always looking for a field that had a sprinkler running, a pump that was spewing water, or a reservoir—anything that would cool us down. Not all the reservoirs had trees for climbing, swinging, or jumping, but they had water for swimming and cooling off. I think we enjoyed our swims in the reservoirs the most because we had to walk the farthest to get to them. By the time we arrived at any reservoir, we were assured that we would be ready to jump in! My brother Mark was the most adventurous and usually the first one in the water.

I remember our neighbor to the north, Old Man Sheppard, had a well two hundred feet from our home. It was the same well that irrigated the fields that were right next to our home. When I say irrigated, I mean irrigation on steroids. Old Man Sheppard would open the water valves, which were openings in a six- to eight-inch pipe that lay at ground level. The water would at first bubble out of these valves and then increase until a literal wall of water ran through the entire field. We would then run up and down the field, racing the wall of water. We spent entire summers running through these alfalfa fields as kids.

Old Man Sheppard really took a liking to us young boys. Once we were old enough to throw a hay bale, he had us atop his old