Honoring an Incredible Legacy

DEAR FIREBRANDS,
“MORE, LORD!” A sudden hand landed on my forehead, obscuring all peripheral vision except for a hilarious grin lighting up David Ruleman’s shining face. His other hand landed on my heart. 

If there was one thing David Ruleman relentlessly contended for, in the lives of his friends, in Washington DC and later in his beloved Vero Beach, it was the presence of God. Same with his beautiful wife, life-companion and fellow Holy Spirit igniter Tracy Ruleman. Jolene and I are so grateful to have been partakers, a recipient of their holy demand. We soon became adopted as spiritual sons and daughters. And like all their other kids—there were many—we changed immeasurably as a result. 

So has Washington DC. 

A pioneer in Christian radio nationwide, during the day David Ruleman was all suits and handshakes, dedicating his life to saturating the airwaves with the word of God. But on Saturday nights especially, suits gave way to Hawaiian shirts. The doors of the Gate DC opened. And along with his firebrand wife, Clark Kent transformed into Superman. 

David and Tracy were among a precious few leaders who genuinely welcomed God’s move into Washington DC with no constraints. They pioneered apostolic and prophetic Christianity in the nation’s Capitol, with Holy Spirit flowing like a river and sweeping all into its currents. At a time when many leaders were distancing themselves from the manifestations of the Spirit, David and Tracy encouraged all in their care to simply be themselves and respond intuitively to His surges of power. 

To the untrained eye it sometimes looked like chaos. But it was glorious. And the prophetic words from the Lord were so easily gained in that atmosphere. 

MORE, LORD! For more than a decade, David exerted supernatural faith in conquering attacks of cancer against his body, over and over again. It was no surprise he prevailed. Or I should say, so surprise he and his amazing bride prevailed together. Because no matter what came their way, their bond of love conquered.

But what was incredible to Jolene and me is how David’s faith, his hope and his relentless love grew only greater through the years. Same with his hunger for more of Jesus. 

In honesty I cannot say the same for David’s taste in jokes. Only that it remained steadily quirky throughout. This was showcased especially through his Facebook collection. 

“Every morning I walk my cow through a vineyard. Yes, I herd it through the grapevine.”

“I went to a silent auction. I picked up a dog whistle and two mimes.” 

“What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a bicycle and a nicely dressed man on a tricycle? A tire.” 

“My dentist had a special restoring teeth for a dollar. Sounded great but now I have buck teeth.” 

“Someone has stolen my ID. My new name is DAV.”

In case the last punchline is straining your brain too much, DAV + ID + DAVID. I picked up on this almost immediately, give or take a few hours. 

MORE LORD. I guess Jesus decided it was finally time to give David the fullness of what he longed for. David took flight. In a recent vision I saw him with Jesus’ own hand on his forehead, his hands lifted and set to receiving mode. David went down again and again in the power of the Spirit. Then he would get back up, trembling, and with his hilarious oversized grin ask for more. Something tells me he’s getting the double portion. 

Beloved we should really follow his example. Even down to his jokes. Lets honor his legacy and ask for MORE!