Seven Minutes

As a new Christian in my mid-20’s, I was invited to attend a Men’s Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. The speaker that week was a businessman from Colorado. He was also a mountain of a man. Large in physical stature but more importantly, large in his walk with God. His name was Bob Foster and he was speaking on the book of Proverbs. A book that holds value for all but especially for the businessman.

Foster spoke several times that weekend in addition to the many workshops that were held on various topics pertinent to a man’s walk with God. In one of his messages, he related one story about his encounter with some men before he became a Christian. At that time, Bob ran a plumbing business in southern California. His wife, Marion, had recently become a Christian and her life was changing in significant ways. She was attending a Bible study with some Christian women. These women were married and their husbands had been seeking to connect with Bob, but Bob wasn’t really interested. This new faith was fine for his wife, Marion, but he didn’t really think it was for him. Well, these Christian men were persistent. They had a plumbing job that needed to be done, so they asked Bob for an estimate. Bob really didn’t want to engage with these guys, so he put the price so high he knew they would reject it. They did not. They said “Great, Bob. When can you get it done?” God had a bigger plan. Bob realized these men had a bigger vision for life than he did. That attracted him and that was another significant step in his journey into God’s Kingdom.

During the weekend, Foster spent time on the importance of spending time with God if a man was going to have a “walk with God.” In other words, how can a man know God as well as know how to live for God without spending time alone with God? He believed it was one of the first priorities for any man who wanted to be somebody for God. So he wrote a short pamphlet to explain how a man can spend “7 minutes each day with God.” Surely, no one is so busy that they cannot dedicate 7 minutes of their day to the Creator of the Universe. To the One who made them.

The Men’s Conference took place at a transformational time in my life. As a new Christian, I was just discovering what this new life was all about. One of those new discoveries was spending time alone with God. A practice my mentor was seeking to help me establish. Foster’s encouragement, as well as his challenge to the importance of this discipline, were a boost to keep me going in building this habit into my life.

These pamphlets are still in print and you can find them in the shop.

One final note about Foster that I was not aware of when I first met him.

During the early days of her walk with Christ, my wife’s mother spent time with Bob’s wife, Marion. Joyce so appreciated Marion’s spiritual encouragement and example, she named her second daughter Marian.

That daughter became my future wife. Amazing how God works!

KIRK THOMSEN

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19