How God Can Use Your Ordinary Life for His Purpose

James Pellitteri [introduction]: I realized I knew more about my job than I knew the fellow firefighters I served with. I knew all their names, obviously, but I didn’t know all their wives’ names. I didn’t know all their kids’ names.

So after that, I committed to knowing that. Man…every morning, I’d come to shift, especially when I was a battalion chief, and I would pray every morning for every firefighter I served with that day by name, their wife by name, their kids by name.

So I became a people person. I just became like, “I care deeply for people.” And the reason I did is because I think Jesus came. He came for the lost. You know what I mean? He came for me. He came for you.

And sometimes the only Jesus people are going to see is you.

Ellen Krause: So you had already become a firefighter, as you described. How did you use your relationship with Christ as a firefighter?

Whenever I hear sirens, I always immediately pray, and I can’t imagine some of the things that you’ve gone through and experienced. Tell us how God helped you in that career.

James Pellitteri: Okay, this is a good one. Yeah, I’m looking forward to this.

First of all, I want to give a lot of credit to the Lord because, with all the arrest records and stuff, when I became a Christian, it seemed impossible for me to become a firefighter. It just wasn’t going to happen.

I remember I became a Christian, but I knew I was supposed to come back up here. I gave all my belongings away to people. I didn’t sell them or anything. I had a couple thousand dollars in the bank, and I knew I was supposed to come up here.

And I knew I had to work. I went and saw my old boss. I said, “I just need a job.”

My first day back in town, I slept, and then I went right there.

He said, “Didn’t you want to be a firefighter?”

I said, “Yeah.”

He said, “Well, Gurnee… they’re taking on part-time firefighters.”

The long and short of it is, it was a miracle. I became a firefighter. So that was my first miracle I saw as a Christian. Like, I was obedient to come back, and then here I am.

As the journey began, I’m doing this job, and everything’s coming together, and I’m trying to grow as a Christian too. So I’m trying to figure it all out.

Now, the first thing that happened to me that made me think, “You know, where’s God in this?” was the first child I saw get killed.

I’ll say this to everyone. A lot of times we just get a perspective of life on social media or the news about bad things happening, but you would be shocked what happens in your own community. The light and darkness right around the corner—you just… it’s closer than you realize.

I was a young paramedic. The mom is drunk, walking across Route 120 in Park City at night. She trips, the child takes the blunt of the trauma.

Open head fracture, flail chest, legs are all messed up. She’s still alive. We work her, and she ends up becoming an organ donor.

And I come back to the station, and I’m just like… I’m kind of a baby Christian, and I’m trying to figure this out.

I encourage everyone: when life doesn’t make sense, don’t go anywhere else but go to God.

That’s what I did. I went to God.

And then, the way God talks to us—in spirit, you know—I’ve never heard Him audibly or anything, but He just gives your heart and your mind the answer.

Ellen Krause: Yes.

James Pellitteri: And He just said, “You know, Jim, everyone is going to die. And that’s in My hands.”

That… you know, like, in other words, just trust Me.

Psalm 139 really kind of paints a picture of that. Like, you know, in Jeremiah, “I know the plans…” Even before you were formed in your mother’s womb. So you just have to hang on to that.

And then He said, “But the thing that troubles Me the most is not everyone’s going to come home to heaven with Me.”

That really just spoke to me.

Everyone thinks, “Well, we live to our 80s, maybe 70s. With the grandparents, that’s when we pass.” But that’s not true. There’s just a lot of hardship in life.

Ellen Krause: Yeah.

James Pellitteri: I just became more of… you know, almost—I wasn’t a chaplain at the fire department—but people would come to me with all their problems.

And I started sharing in-house because that’s family. We live there with the same people every third day, 24 or 48 hours. So you get to really know each other.

To me, my mission field, or my calling, is to share the gospel wherever God puts me.

And I just started sharing my faith with my fellow firefighters.

I think what really marked me was one of my best friends got burned, and he was going to die. And he’s telling me what to tell his kids and all this stuff.

He didn’t die. It all worked out. He was a Christian. There were a lot of miracles. That’s another story.

But they assigned me up to the burn unit in Milwaukee where he was for like two weeks.

And I remember I saw how everyone was connected. I saw how the orderlies would make sure his room was clean so he wouldn’t get an infection. I saw how the food was taken care of, how everyone cared for him. It was just amazing.

And I just thought, the very chair I was sitting in there, someone made.

You just had time to reflect.

God lets people provide for us in so many different ways.

Too often—and I was a young firefighter, and I was probably rude to some patients at times because I was having a bad day or whatever—I realized I knew more about my job, you know, what an engine could do, my skill set, paramedic protocol, than I knew the fellow firefighters I served with.

I knew all their names, obviously, but I didn’t know all their wives’ names. I didn’t know all their kids’ names.

So after that, I committed to knowing that.

Every morning, I’d come to shift, especially when I was a battalion chief. I was the leader of the… and I would pray every morning for every firefighter I served with that day by name, their wife by name, their kids by name.

So I became a people person. I just became like, “I care deeply for people.”

And the reason I did is because I think Jesus came. He came for the lost. You know what I mean? He didn’t come to judge the world. He came for me. He came for you.

Ellen Krause: Mm-hmm. Yes.

James Pellitteri: And sometimes the only Jesus people are going to see is you.

And it’s how you conduct yourself. It’s how you carry yourself. It’s about your character.

And you’re not going to get it perfect because no one’s perfect.

And I think the best thing I could tell any Christian is: when you mess up, fess up. Don’t let your pride get in the way.

Often, people will use us as the excuse not to follow Christ because they see one thing wrong with us.

I remember a friend of mine that I served with at the fire department. He said, “Yeah, but this person is a Christian, and they do this.”

And I told him, I said, “Look, the finest of people will let you down. They just will. I will let you down.

Don’t let man define God. Ask God to define Himself inside of you, and you will know who He really is.

And then you’ll see people for what we really are: just sinners who need a Savior.”

Too often, we try to be perfect, and we just can’t be. We’re not.

Jesus was the perfect One.

And just so you know, you just got to show up.

God doesn’t care—I heard someone say this once—He doesn’t care about your ability, but your availability.

Because think of the twelve disciples. They weren’t the educated Jewish leaders of the day. They were just common people like me, you, everyone.

Ellen Krause: Right! Yeah.

James Pellitteri: So don’t worry about what you’re not. Just focus on what God can be in you in the moment.

So everyone is like, “Hey Jim, why don’t you do a Bible study at the fire station?”

And I’m like, “All right.”

So I asked my chief. You know, we have a classroom. Anyone can use it.

And there was a little pushback from HR.

Usually I’m obedient. I pushed back.

I said, “No, we’re just studying the Bible. It’s not a church service. This is fine.”

So it happened.

The two firefighters who wanted to do this, that became Christians through what God was doing through me at the church—they never showed up.

So I’d go to this classroom all by myself. 

No one would show up. No one would show up.

And then one other firefighter showed up. John was his name, Ricky.

And then we started just meeting and talking.

Police officers started showing up. Some other firemen started showing up. Then firemen from other towns.

Then we started going to Caribou Coffee.

People would be sitting and listening.

Then people at Caribou Coffee would say, “Hey, can we join in?”

Then there wasn’t enough room at Caribou Coffee—that’s closed now.

Then we went to Borders Books, and there were times we had thirty people there, and we wouldn’t have enough seats.

Ellen Krause: Incredible.

James Pellitteri: We had people come to Christ in that coffee shop.

There was a guy battling homosexuality who would sit. He said, “Can I sit in?” Then he told us his story.

I said, “Man, we’re all sinners. Just keep showing up,” you know, that sort of thing.

And he just got baptized. He’s in North Carolina now. We’re friends on Facebook, and he just keeps in touch with me.

So it’s just incredible what you can do to share your faith.

And then I know one of your questions, and I’ll jump into it now, like, “How is it easy?”

I think, first of all, I have failed at sharing my faith more than I’ve been successful.

Because in my mind there are times where I’m sitting there thinking, I should say something. I should say something.

And then I feel guilty, and I feel like I lost and I’m letting God down.

And then I would lose any confidence in doing it.

Like, in the early stages, I’d have this moment, I didn’t do it, and then again God whispers to me and says, “Jim, you know what? If you think salvation is on you and I’m just counting on you—no. I’m training you. You know what to do next time. You just keep going. I’ve got that covered.”

You know what I mean?

Ellen Krause: Yeah.

James Pellitteri: So too often we live in our failures, and we feel like we’re unworthy to do it.

But I became so close to God, I can’t help but share who He is.

In other words, if you want to know something about me, I can’t help but share what God has done in my life.

In fact, I teach now at a college in their fire science program. And on my résumé, at the end of my résumé, I put, “If God wants me here, I hope to be here.”

That’s how I put it.

And in my interview to be a faculty instructor at this college, they asked me a question, and I ended up sharing my testimony.

I mean, these are moments where you can just do that.

Ellen Krause: Yeah.

James Pellitteri: And then when I start my class at the college, I tell them that I’m a born-again Christian.

And I always say, “I just need you to know, do not be offended that I am, because I’m not offended you’re not.

But if you want to know the truth of me, I just need to express who I am and what God’s done in my life.”

Because God has done so much.

And to me, the reason I became a firefighter was because of a miracle of God.

Everything was against me. I tried before I became a Christian—all that stuff that happened to me. No, no, no.

God made it happen.

So in my world, I look at it like this: How can I not share with you the best thing that could happen to you?

I’ve had students, on my first day of class after I spoke, come up, hug me in tears, and say, “You just gave me purpose.”

I say this not to elevate myself. I say this like—I never saw that coming.

I’ve had students share the gospel in their presentations. I’ve had students… I mean, this is not a Christian college or anything. This is a fire academy-type college.

And they’re praying for each other.

Then people are starting to go to church.

They’re like, “Man, I haven’t gone to church forever.”

Doors are opening where people are sharing who they are and probably where they need to go.

I heard a pastor once say, “You can be right about Jesus and say, ‘Man, if you don’t accept Jesus, you’re going to hell. If you don’t turn, you’re going to burn. If you don’t get right, you’re going to be left.’”

That’s all right. But he said, “Is it effective?”

And then I think, at the end of the day, we have to speak the truth with love.

Jesus, to me, just spoke truth into people. He did it with the sense of, “Hey, this is what you need to hear.”

But it’s not your fault if their heart gets hard. God makes all that happen the way it’s supposed to.

I mean, things have to play out, and you have to trust the process.

And whatever you do, share your faith with truth, love, respect, and a little bit of grace—but don’t back down from it.

Ellen Krause: Yeah, yeah.

Imagine if every one of us who were believers were more intentional about doing that. What the spread of the gospel would be.

I just want to throw one thing out there, Jim.

So for someone who’s listening, and let’s say they’re like, “I really want to do that.” How would you start the conversation with someone?

James Pellitteri: Okay, I have an example. This is actually a true story.

You know, God has a way of making things inconvenient for us to get things done for Him, right?

My phone started acting up. It’s such an inconvenient thing. I’m trying to get it fixed locally at Best Buy. They can’t fix it.

They go, “You’ve got to go out to Lake Zurich… Deer Park or something like that.” So it’s quite a ways away.

I go there thinking they can fix it that day.

Nope.

They have to order a part.

So as I’m sitting there, a mom about my age with a teenage daughter are talking back and forth.

She’s talking about how much money this stuff costs and how she always loses things.

I said, “I know that story.”

Then she just engages me. She just starts talking. She just wants to be heard.

She had been married five times, this woman. She has stepkids and all this stuff. She’s just sharing all this stuff.

She goes, “I’m retiring in Florida.” She’s laying all this out. “I love my kids, but I don’t like them,” you know, that sort of thing.

You could tell…the daughter was smiling and laughing because she knows she’s challenging for her mom, you could tell there was legitimate love there.

She said, “What brought you up here?” Because I had said I was originally from Florida.

Like I was crazy, I said, “God did.”

She goes, “How did that happen?”

I kind of gave her the short story.

Then she started talking about God.

She said, “Well, I have a Catholic background. I always go to God when I’m desperate, and I just feel His peace.”

I said, “Isn’t that amazing?”

There are people around us at this table. People are listening.

So we’re just having a conversation. I just said how Jesus really changed my life. The tech came, and the conversation ended.

But it’s just… she asked the question. And I think it’s so simple.

The more I spend time with God…the more any of us spend time with God…you can’t help but want to share Him.

You don’t have to be a preacher.

You don’t have to be a missionary.

You just have to be truly a committed follower of Christ and spend time with Him. You’ll want to share Him.

That’s the only answer I have.

Honestly, I’m dyslexic. I could barely read when I was younger. I couldn’t speak in front of people.

I’ve given my testimony. I teach.

Ellen Krause: Yes.

James Pellitteri: Only God does that stuff. And you know the best thing about being dyslexic?

I have to always go back and reread stuff. So I get to read the Word more often than most.

Ellen Krause: Right!

James Pellitteri: And it speaks to me more because it is living and active. The Scripture is beautiful if you just… inhale it, you know?

Ellen Krause: Right, I couldn’t agree with you more. When you’re saturated in God’s Word and you learn about His qualities and characteristics that are just mind-blowing and beyond your understanding, and you combine that with your own story, which no one can take away from you, right?

James Pellitteri: Mm-hmm. Yeah, right.

Ellen Krause: This is the story that God’s given each one of us. It does sort of lend itself if we allow the Holy Spirit to make us aware of those situations and sort of the breath prayer that goes along with it in the circumstance.

James Pellitteri: Yes, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, you know, as you say that, I just feel led to say to whoever’s listening, you know, whoever listens to this, you know, there’s things we would never want to have happen to us.

You know, like I look at my life and probably your life, you’re like, “I would never want that.”

But I hope, you know, you’re at a place wherever you are, that you can praise the Lord for it, because I wouldn’t change it now.

I mean, in it, I would change it. I didn’t want it. But it brought me to where I’m at today.

And the moments of despair and darkness made me just ache for the light, you know, and the light of Christ.

So I just want to encourage anyone who’s just struggling, you know, with past and demons.

Because when I’ve shared my testimony, I don’t know if it’s funny, I feel led to share this too.

I’ve had people come up to me and say, “How did you forgive your parents?”

Because that’s the part of the story I didn’t tell, and this is the best part.

My mom was dying, and my mom was evil. I mean, my mom was dark, and she just…

God used me to lead her to Christ before she died.

I forgave her. I forgave all of them.

I hung out with my mom for a long time, but she still hated everyone that I loved. She hated my brother. She hated whoever wasn’t in her life. She just hated. She just was mean.

I said, “Mom, I can’t hang out with you that much anymore.”

And she was sad.

I want you to know she almost died from her drugs and all this stuff when I wasn’t a Christian. And I was living in Florida.

My brother’s like, “We gotta go see her.”

I said, “I’m not going. There’s no way. I hate her.” I had so much hate. I’m like, “they ruined my life. There’s no way.”

And then we went up there, and I’m picturing myself like, “I wish she would just die. I don’t want to be here.”

I had so much hate for her.

And then I become a Christian. I forgive them both.

They laugh at me when I first forgave them. So I leave their house when I first came up.

And then years later, I grew in my faith, and I just started hanging out with them.

I’m like, “I’m not gonna share my faith and say I forgive them.” Just figure, what the heck. Just try to make a connection and be Christian-like.

And I’d pick her up, take her to lunch at least once a week.

And then I just realized I told her it was unhealthy for me to hang out with her, but if you need anything…Years go by.

She gets sick.

My stepdad calls me, and I’m there at the hospital.

And then she just cried because she could barely…

I said, “You want to go to heaven?”

She goes, “Yes.”

And I said, “You want Jesus in your heart?”

She said, “Yes.”

And she passed. This is so typical of my mom.

Everyone hated my mom, right? Everyone hated my stepdad.

But I had forgiven them. I was the only Christian in my family.

She died on my brother’s wedding anniversary, which my brother invited her to. She wouldn’t come.

My sister, Marissa, is going to get married on the 13th. She dies on May 5th. She’s getting married on the 13th.

And then no one wants to do this service.

And then…I had to speak at her service, and they were all so impressed with, like, “Can’t believe you did all that.”

But it was God in me.

And the thing about it was, I always feel like when you don’t forgive someone, Jesus doesn’t have that part of your heart.

My mom had died, and years later, they all still talked about her. They still had a hold of her.

Ellen Krause: Mm.

James Pellitteri: You know what I mean?

Because they never forgave.

She’d been dead for years when she still owned the room, so to speak. And same with my stepdad, and he died after her.

So, I don’t know, I felt like I had to say that for someone.

So just forgive.

Ellen Krause: Yes.

James Pellitteri: And what helped me forgive them, though, was God removed their titles of mom and dad. He just had me see them as Pam, Doug, and my real dad, Tony. That’s a whole other story.

I just saw them as children of God who did not know how to love like Jesus did, and that just made it okay for me.

It didn’t make it necessarily better right away because, as a man now, I wish I had normal loving parents at this stage in my life to share the things God has given me and stuff.

I long for that.

But that’s not my story, and I have to trust God with that, just like His Son.

His Son, He was only gonna be here, and He had to go to the cross.

We all have a cross to bear for His glory.

As I say that, it speaks to me right now. I needed to remind myself of that, so.

Ellen Krause: Yes, that’s such a wonderful perspective to put it in because, like you said, we have our cross to bear.

We’ve all been through something or another, but God has used that tremendously in our lives in order to connect with other people that we can help and help make Him known through that connection.

James Pellitteri: Mm-hmm.

Ellen Krause: That’s just so, so encouraging, Jim.

And what I heard there really truly was people want to be seen, right? Known, loved, and just you listening and entering into a conversation with someone and asking good questions.

Then God can use that conversation for us to make Him known. So.

James Pellitteri: Yeah.

Yeah, say, I don’t know everyone’s life. Even when I would talk to my men or the fellow firefighters I served with, I would always just say, “Man, God made you special if you know it or not,” stuff like that.

I mean, “you have these gifts, and they’re amazing. And I thank God for who you are.”

Just see God in everything. And when you do that, it’s easy to talk about Him a little bit.

Ellen Krause: Yes, absolutely.

Well, is there any specific Scripture that you would like to leave with our listeners today?

James Pellitteri: Yeah, yes, I would. I would love that.

I’ll just share the one. I’ll read the one that really probably echoes in my heart.

Right, Jeremiah 29:11 through 13.

“I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

And I love that part: “Then you will call on me.”

God wants us to call on Him.

“Pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Just think of that.

God will listen to everything you have to say.

He’s not too busy.

He doesn’t say, “Well, schedule me in on Thursday.”

He’s like, it’s open-ended.

And too often we just go over this because this is such a famous Christian one.

I always feel, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

I used to just stop at 11.

Ellen Krause: Right.

James Pellitteri: And then when I got to 12 and 13, that’s when I realized I became bold and shared my faith.

It’s when I decided to seek Him with all of my heart, not part of my heart.

I needed to forgive people.

I needed to ask for forgiveness.

And I needed to be free.

The whole Bible from afar seems like a fairy tale.

But when you become a Christian, you are blown away what God can do.

And then when you start looking at your own life and you see all the miracles He’s done in your life, you’re just like…

And as a firefighter, I’ve seen a lot of people die. I mean, more than I can count. More kids than I can count.

And I’ve seen God do a lot of miracles when people live. Like, how did that happen?

So when it’s your time, God’s not surprised when someone’s born into this world, because we’re all His, if we know it or not.

And He’s not surprised when we leave this world. I am convinced of that. It just shocks all of us.

Ellen Krause: Yes.

James Pellitteri: And I know you asked about my Bibles, okay?

There’s three of them. I have more, okay. All right, the simplest, okay.

Ellen Krause: They’re looking pretty worn, there, Jim.

James Pellitteri: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, Pastor Todd used to say, “Your Bible’s falling apart, chances are your life isn’t.”

And I wish I could say that’s true because sometimes my Bible’s falling apart, but I haven’t opened it in a while either.

But I wore it out some.

But I’ve used the NLT as the simplest, the New Living Translation. For a dyslexic guy like me, it’s awesome.

Ellen Krause:  I love that.

James Pellitteri: And then the NIV was probably the first one that I really…I have another one that’s fallen apart more, but this was the one we used at the church in the news.

We really just went to the ESV, so I tried to use that. And so those are the three I use.

So if that helps, I know we’re probably running out of time and I probably talk too much, but I apologize for that.

Ellen Krause: Oh, no, don’t, please don’t, please don’t.

Just, I’m so thankful for you being here, for being willing to share your story so openly.

James Pellitteri: Yeah.

I know it has been an encouragement for those that are listening just to hear how much God loves each one of us, the hoops that He will go through…

James Pellitteri: Hmm.

Ellen Krause: …to bring us to Himself.

And I’m just really encouraged for those that are listening to this that they can be encouraged too. They will be. So thank you so much.

James Pellitteri:  Can I say one more thing?

Ellen Krause: Absolutely!

James Pellitteri: I know I answered it, but if you’re nervous or what have you about sharing your faith, what would I say to you?

This is what I would say.

I just heard this pastor down in Alabama, Chris Hodges is his name.

And he said, “I want to share you what God’s heart’s like.” And then he uses this as an example.

Have you ever lost anything of value to you?

Like, have you ever lost your phone, car keys, your wallet? You know, things that are essential, like before you leave the house or whatever.

And he said, you’re just so focused on that, that nothing else matters in that moment. 

Like, you know, if you’re looking for your phone, well, there’s my couch. You don’t care about your couch. You’re just trying to find what’s lost.

And then he shares a personal story. I won’t share the details, but he has a son with special needs.

When he was younger, he got lost in Colorado, and how that just panicked him.

He has four other kids. He has a total of five. And he goes, “Well, I have four others. I’m good if I lose that one. You know, 80% is good.”

You don’t think like that.

He said, no matter what my other kids said, I would just focus on—Jonathan, was his name.

“Gotta find Jonathan. I gotta find Jonathan.”

He goes, “I was distracted. Nothing else mattered.”

And he says, “That’s how God is for everyone that’s lost.”

Our prayers are important to Him.

But I’m telling you, He is distracted by who is lost.

I listened to that message. It’s so good. Forty times at least, because it just made me remember that’s really what we’re here to do.

Because someone once said, “Why don’t you just ascend up to heaven?” You know, when you become a Christian, why are you left here? Where you’re going to sin some more?

But really, you’re left here to share who He is. And that’s why you’re here.

Because we all became Christians basically because someone shared the gospel with us. God uses people to share who He is.

So pray for courage, pray for strength, pray for purpose, and I’m telling you, no matter where you’re at, look at where you work as a mission field.

Ellen Krause: Yes.

James Pellitteri: That’s how I saw the firehouse. It was a mission field.

And when I teach at the college, it’s a mission field.

You know, when you walk into the grocery store, it’s a mission field.

And that’s all I got.

So, sorry. I just wanted to finish with that. I don’t know why. So you made me comfortable enough to do that.

Ellen Krause: Absolutely, and that’s so important for us to think about.

It is something that, when you’re so fully immersed in God’s love and all that you know about Him, it’s the greatest thing that you have to look forward to in a day, for sure.

James Pellitteri: Yeah.

Ellen Krause: So, so…

James Pellitteri: Amen, sister. Yeah.

Ellen, you’re awesome, by the way. I mean it.

I just love what you do with your daughters. It’s cool, man.

Ellen Krause: Thank you.

James Pellitteri: I pray God blesses your ministry, and God just keeps using you and getting people here.

And I mean it, just bring the light in the darkness, and sister, just keep moving forward and just sharing who He is.

Ellen Krause: Yeah.

James Pellitteri: And I am grateful to be here with you. And thanks for using me today. I mean it.

And to God the glory, I know, but He’s awesome.

Ellen Krause: Absolutely. Yes, He sure is.

Well, thank you all for listening to this podcast, and we’ll see you the next time here at Coffee and Bible Time.

Have a blessed day.