Day 18

 

Jesus Asks a Question

 

When Jesus came to the region of Caeserea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

 

Matthew 16:13

 

 

I was a long haired college student and going home through the traffic and the construction that was always around the freeway. I, along with the cars in front of me and the cars behind me, turned out of the second lane under the freeway overpass. Shortly after that turn a policeman pulled me over and informed me I had made an illegal turn and asked for my driver's license.

 

I was immediately mad. I knew, that of all the cars that had made that same turn that I had, the policeman had singled me out because I was young and had long hair. I gave the policeman my license and he looked at it and asked, "How old are you son?"

 

I was mad before but then I became furious. How old I was didn't have anything to do with it. The policeman would never had asked my dad how old he was. I was obviously old enough to have a license since he had it in his hand. It was simply age discrimination.

 

I told the policeman, "My date of birth is on the license; figure it out if you can!"

 

Do you want to guess who got a ticket?

 

Now Jesus was in the car with me and he asked me, "Why did you get so mad at that policeman?"

 

I said, "Jesus, that wasn't fair. I just got a ticket because I have long hair!"

 

Jesus asked me again, "Why did you get so mad at that policeman?"

 

I stopped and thought and then said, "Because I have trouble with authority figures and I don't like people telling me what to do."

 

Jesus said, "Now we are getting somewhere."

 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus asks questions? Think about it. Jesus already knows the answer to the question and he knows what your answer will be. Since he already knows it all, why does he ask?

 

He asks for our benefit. It may be that Jesus wants to point out that we don't know as much as we think we do. Jesus also might want to teach us something about the real answer. Look at the questions Jesus asked in the Bible. All of his questions are used to teach his followers something they need to know.

 

When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people think I am?" and "Who do you think I am?" it wasn't for his own benefit. Jesus knew who he was. It was important that they knew who he was.

 

So what kind of question is Jesus asking you? The answer will be important.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Matthew 16:13-20

 

• What two questions does Jesus ask his disciples?
• What is it that Jesus wants his disciples to know when he asks these questions?
• Where did Jesus say that Peter's answer came from? 

 

Day 17

 

The Best Laid Plans

 

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

 

 

Proverbs 19:21

 

I had it all planned out. It would be a date she would remember. I was probably right in my optimistic  prediction. She would remember it, but for the wrong reasons.

 

The central part of my plan centered on my recent discovery of how to get on the roof of a shopping mall. There was a swimming pool on the roof of the mall and a jogging track around the glass dome part of the roof. Access to this was reserved for hotel guests in the hotel connected to the mall or for enterprising people who had discovered a way up to the roof for free.

 

So, after the movie ended, my date and I made our way to the mall roof. At first my plan seemed to be working. We walked hand in hand around the glass dome of the mall peering down on the people inside. We were the only ones up there on the roof. We settled in to some chairs by a table with an umbrella on the wooden deck next to the pool. We were sitting there in the dark having a nice conversation when things began to go wrong.

 

I saw something scurrying around my dates feet. I seldom wore my glasses back then and I couldn't tell what it was so I put on my glasses to discover that there were mice everywhere. I told her not to be alarmed but it was probably time to leave because there were mice running around her feet. She, of course, was ready to leave then and informed me she had to be home by midnight anyway so her dad wouldn't get mad. The mice were a small setback but I though I had still made a good impression.

 

As we went to get off the roof we found that the door we had entered by was locked. Evidently the hotel staff didn't realize there was anyone on the roof and had locked the door. We weren't really supposed to be on the roof anyway so they were not looking for us. The girl began to get nervous. "My dad is going to freak if I don't come home tonight." In my mind I could see the headlines in the newspaper: "Father Shoots Boy who Imprisoned 17 Year Old Daughter on Mall Roof for Entire Night."

 

I searched for another exit of the roof. I pulled on every door I could find before I finally found one that would open. It opened into a hallway in which there was an elevator. We quickly got in the elevator and pushed the ground floor button. I didn't think it was a good idea for a couple of teenagers who weren't guests to be caught loitering around a hotel in the middle of the night. As the elevator went down it suddenly stopped and the doors opened. We were between floors and the door would not shut and the elevator would not move. We stood there for a while before the door finally shut and the elevator started moving again. As we reached the ground floor we hurried past a hotel employee and ran into the parking lot. She made it home before midnight.

 

Once again my plans had gone awry. It was not the first time and wouldn't be the last. I had a first date where I had to change a flat tire in a downtown parking garage. I had another first date where my car overheated in the traffic of a college football game. When I pulled into a gas station to put some water in the radiator I didn't wait long enough for the engine to cool down before removing the radiator cap. Fortunately for me I was young and quick or the radiator cap would have taken my head off and the hot water would have scalded my face when the cap exploded off and the water went up like a geyser. My plans for a date were always going wrong. Most of the girls I dated changed their identities and entered the witness protection program rather than be identified as a girl who had dated me.

 

Our plans often times fail but God's plans always succeed. God manages to accomplish what he wants to accomplish with or without our cooperation. It would be years before a girl survived enough dates with me that it would lead to marriage. I knew by then if I was ever to get married it would have to be God's plan.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Jeremiah 29:10-14

 

• What kind of plans did God have for the Israelites?
• What happens when we seek God with all our heart?
• Do God's plans sometimes take us through bad (captivity) times?

 

 

Day 16

 

Telemarketers

 

"...Yet because this widow keeps bothering me I will see that she  gets justice, so that she won't wear me out with her coming!"

 

Luke 18;5 

 

 

I get junk in my mail box. I get junk email or spam on my computer, and I used to get junk phone calls from telemarketers. I have asked for none of this but out of the goodness of their hearts companies shower me with these ads. I don't mind the junk mail and email as much as the telemarketing phone calls. The junk mail you can toss in the garbage unread and the company that sent it will not know that you did it or witness it (unless there is something more hi-tech and sinister going on than I know about). The junk email you can delete without opening it, and that too is impersonal. The telemarketer, though, is a person and it wastes my time and that makes it personal.

 

I say that it is a person though sometimes it's not. The new recordings are of such good quality that it sometimes takes a while before you realize it is a recording. I don't mind hanging up on a recording - it is a machine and doesn't deserve the same sort of respect and dignity a person does. That is my problem. I was brought up to treat people with dignity and respect so I don't want to rudely hang up on them. This is these people's job regardless of what I think of their job. I do know that cynical businesses prey upon the common decency of people to get their phone ads in. This makes me think less than kind thoughts about whatever they are selling.

 

What irritates me the most is when they don't take "no" and "good-bye" for an answer and keep on talking. That is when I consider it fair game to play whatever trick I can come up with on them.

 

On one occasion the telemarketer asked me if they could talk to "whoever was responsible for the phone." I told them that Alexander Graham Bell was responsible for the phone and did not live at my house and was in fact dead. That ended that conversation.

 

On another occasion a publishing company called wanting to sell me a copy of their new book, The Sea. The lady went on and on about how many wonderful color photographs were on each page and what the chapters in the book were. When she finally asked me if I wanted a copy I told her, "no" but she wasn't satisfied. She told me what her favorite chapter was and about the wonderful photographs and finally asked once again if I wanted to buy a copy. I said, No, thank you."

 

She would not give up. She said, "How can you not want a copy, there is a big color photo on every page!"

 

I told her, "That's the problem. I'm blind."

 

There was an audible gasp. She began to apologize, "I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

 

I asked her if they had copies of the book in Braille.

 

Jesus tells a story about prayer and a persistent widow. She goes to an unjust judge time after time seeking justice. The judge, at first, refuses but the widow stays after him. Finally, the judge relents and gives her the justice she deserves. God, of course, is a just judge but we must learn to be persistent in prayer. We could all learn a lesson in persistence from telemarketers and we can all praise the Lord for the "NO CALL" list.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Luke 18:1-8

 

• Is God suggesting we can wear him down?
• How does God respond to our cries for justice?
• What must we do until Jesus comes again?

 

Day 15

 

Keeping Up Appearances

 

"Abstain from all appearances of evil."

 

1 Thessalonians 5:22

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was Christmas break and I was a poor college student. I was working to get enough  money for the spring semester and it was going to be a close call. One Sunday night after church there was a man in the church that had a construction business or owned rental property, I'm not sure which, that offered me a chance to make some money. He would pay me $75.00 for one night of work. I suspect he was trying to help me out because back then I would have to work about 4 days to make $75.00, so I took the job.

 

The job was simple. I had to sleep in my car at a construction site. A house was being rebuilt after a fire and there was a lot of lumber at the site. The lumber had been disappearing bit by bit every night. The location wasn't the hood but it wasn't exactly a nice neighborhood either. To get my $75.00 I had to park my car next to the lumber and sleep there that Sunday night until the sun came up on Monday.

 

 

 

I was young and stupid so I wasn't afraid. I threw a pillow and blanket in the back of my Chevy and drove to the site and parked next to the lumber. I didn't sleep much that night, not because I was frightened, but because I was cold. I had underestimated how cold it could get in the back seat of a car in the winter time. It was in the mid-thirties and drizzling rain all night.

 

 

When the sun came up and the workmen started to arrive I climbed into the front seat and headed for the warmth of home. As I was approaching the interstate I saw a young lady on the roadside hitchhiking. She was wrapped in a rain soaked blanket and had to be freezing. Having just spent the being cold the whole time I felt that I just had to stop and offer her a ride.

 

I pulled over and she opened the passenger door and I said, "You need a ride?"

 

She said, "Yes," and began to climb in the front seat. Then she looked in the back seat and there was my pillow and blanket all made out like a bed. She immediately got out of the car and said, "No, thanks." I looked into the back seat and realized what she was thinking.

 

"It's okay," I said, "I can explain." She didn't want to hear the explanation, so I drove off.

 

I was trying to do the right thing but the appearance of evil intent had prevented it. I certainly had no way of knowing that would happen or that something so innocent could be seen in the wrong light. I had not done anything wrong but the appearance that I might had caused a problem. It didn't hurt me but that poor girl had to suffer some in the cold and wet. And often times just the appearance of wrong doing can cause you harm through lost opportunities or reputation. We can't control what others think but as much as we can we should not place ourselves where we might be seen in a bad light and damage the reputation of the Christ we serve.

 

 

 Upon Further Review:

 

 

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22

• In these 11 verses Paul gives a list of things we should do. What are they?
• In these 11 verses Paul tells us some things we should avoid doing. What are they?
• What 3 things is it God's will for us to do?

Day 14

 

The UFO

 

The King said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said, "I see a spirit coming up out of the ground."

 

1 Samuel 28:13

 

 

We stared up into the night sky and there it was , a UFO. I say it was a UFO because it was an object, it was flying and we couldn't identify it. It wasn't swamp gas, we weren't in a swamp but camping near a river. It wasn't a weather balloon because it was shaped like a saucer. It wasn't lights on an airplane or a blimp because it didn't have any lights. It was a saucer shaped thing that hovered above our heads and there was a whistling sound emanating from it.

 

It was actually the sound that first attracted us. There were four of us guys on a canoe trip out gathering some firewood after dark. We were walking along, our way lit by an old flashlight that only worked if you shook it and held it just right, when we heard the whistling sound above us. We looked up and there a saucer was hovering overhead. We weren't sure how big it was or high it was above us because the flash light only worked a few seconds at a time and there was nothing to give us perspective. We stared at it for the longest time but it never moved so eventually we went back to collecting firewood. We went to sleep that night wondering what it could possibly be.

 

The next morning it was still there. It was still hovering, making that sound. Actually it wasn't hovering, it was hanging. It was a saucer shaped metal reflector hanging from a power line. The sound came from the wind passing through holes in the rim of the saucer. I guess it was  hung from the power line so that any small airplane that might try to fly low over the river could more easily see the power line.

 

Your eyes can deceive you. None of us thought aliens had come to earth just to observe our canoe trip but that night we had no idea what it was. At night it looked eerie and creepy but in the light of day it was harmless.

 

In 1 Samuel 28 King Saul goes to consult a medium known as the witch of Endor. Being involved in the occult was strictly forbidden in Jewish law but Saul ignored that because he was afraid of a Philistine army he was facing. He tried to get direction from God but received no help. He could have repented of his sins and pleaded with God for direction but instead he turned to this witch  and asked that she bring up the ghost of the prophet Samuel for him to talk to.

 

So the witch of Endor does her thing and she sees a spirit rising up out of the ground. Saul asks her, "What does he look like?"

 

She tells him, "An old man wearing a robe."

 

Saul knows (or perhaps just believes) it is Samuel and asks the apparition what he should do.

 

What is going on here? Was it really Samuel and could this witch actually be in contact with the dead? I believe the answer to that is not good for either Saul or the witch.

 

First of all she see "an old man wearing a robe." That could be a description of some old dude in a nursing home, not necessarily Samuel. Secondly, I don't care if this lady was the witch of Endor or the Wicked Witch of the West, she doesn't have the authority to summon up one of God's saints from the dead. Of course God could have sent Samuel to deliver a message and the witch, being a complete phony, would have been as shocked and scared as Saul.

 

So, if she is not a complete fraud, what can this witchy woman do? She can be in touch with Satan and be his willing or unwitting accomplice. And Satan can provide her with a demon that looks enough like Samuel to terrify an already scared Saul. As for the prediction of the future the apparition makes it is something that any astute observer of the times could have come up with. The prediction was that Saul would lose his kingdom to someone else, which a lot of people (particularly those who followed David) already knew. Also it was predicted Saul would lose his battle with the Philistines. That didn't require any great insight because Saul, the Israelite commander, was going to start the battle terrified. He was bound to lose.

 

Sometimes what we see, or think we see, is not what is really there. You might see the ghost of your granny, the Blair Witch, Harvey the giant rabbit or a UFO, but that doesn't mean that is what is really there.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read 1 Samuel 28:3-25

 

• What had Saul done with the mediums and spiritists?
• Did Saul's actions show that he knew consulting a medium was wrong?
• What kind of emotional shape was Saul in before he saw the medium? (v.5)
• What kind of emotional shape was Saul in after he saw the medium? (v. 20)
• Did Saul gain anything by talking to the medium? 

The Christmas Etiquette Test

 

This is a little break from The Random Driven Life in favor of a Christmas Etiquette Test that I wrote years ago when I was a youth minister for the kids at Rice Temple Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.

1. Your cousins give you underwear for the 4th year in a row. You should say:
 a.) Just how many people know my underwear size?
 b.) I'm sure they will go well with everything I wear.
 c.) Is this a hint or what?
 d.) What a kind and thoughtful gift.

2. Your grandfather says, "Back in the Depression we were given fresh fruit as a Christmas gift and we were grateful." You should say:
 a.) Then I guess you want complain about the banana I gave you.
 b.) Tell me Grandpa, do you wrap grapes by the bunch or individually?
 c.) If you want fruit, you can have the Fruit of the Looms my cousins gave me.
 d.) What a kind and thoughtful gift.

3. Your Great Aunt makes you some Christmas Fig Fudge Ripple Cookies. She insists that you try them while she is there. You should say:
 a.) Has there been a FDA ruling on these cookies?
 b.) You know this and that underwear my cousins gave me is what Christmas is all about.
 c.) Looks like I'll be putting that new underwear to the test.
 d.) What a kind and thoughtful gift.

4. Your Great Aunt says, "My you have grown." You should say:
 a.) No, I believe you've shrunk.
 b.) That's because I've avoided eating those cookies you give me.
 c.) I sure have! It's a good thing my cousins gave me some new underwear.
 d.) What a kind and thoughtful thing to say.

5. You are unwrapping Christmas gifts and your Grandmother says, "Save the paper." You should say:
 a.) Think of the naked presents in Ethiopia.
 b.) Save the paper, save the whales, it's so hard to keep your priorities straight.
 c.) You know, I think this is the same paper my underwear was wrapped in last year.
 d.) What a kind and thoughtful thing to do.

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you and your family have a kind and thoughtful Christmas! 

Day 13

 

Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Worse

 

 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

 

 

Hebrews 13:8

 

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go wrong? You have plans and you envision certain things happening and somehow you are sent down some alternative path that takes bizarre twists and turns you could never imagine.

 

It was Saturday  and I needed to get my car inspected. It was already past due and I didn't want to risk being caught with an expired inspection sticker. Normally the odds of being pulled over in a big city for a late inspection sticker are pretty slim, but I had a date that night which meant I had to drive through a little incorporated village that the city of Houston had surrounded. That little village had a police force that was known for pulling over young men with long hair, which was exactly what I was.

 

The place I usually got my car inspected was closed, so I went to the local mall where there was a Montgomery Ward with an automotive department. My plan was to get my car inspected in the morning, come home for an afternoon off and then go to my girlfriend's for our date. That was the plan but that was not what happened.

 

I got to Montgomery Ward not long after it opened and asked to get my car inspected and they informed me that there was a few cars ahead of me so it would be about an hour. Hanging around the mall for an hour was not problem, so I went window shopping for an hour and came back.

 

I was told that they hadn't got to my car yet, so I settled down in their waiting room and began to watch a Marx Brothers movie on TV. I checked on the car periodically and they kept saying, "a little longer."

 

I was young and had long hair and it wasn't the first time I thought I was being treated unfairly because of my appearance. I waited patiently, watched the whole Marx Brothers movie, had lunch and waited some more.

 

After 6 hours they finally got to my car. I watched them inspect it and though everything was fine. However, I was told my car hadn't passed inspection because a rear tail light did not come on. They offered to fix it for me and charge me for it and then my car would pass inspection. I opened my trunk and found that the light had somehow come unplugged (perhaps their doing, I don't know). I plugged it in and said, "Now it works. Can I get my inspection sticker?"

 

"No," the guy said. I didn't work when I inspected it, so you don't pass. That will be $6.00"

 

I went ballistic. You mean to tell me you are going to charge me $6.00 when I waited here 6 hours to get my car inspected and you flunked it even though there is nothing wrong?"

 

"Yes," he said. "That will be $6.00."

 

"No way," I told him. "There is no way I am ever going to pay you a penny." I grabbed my keys, jumped in the car and left. I never shopped at Montgomery Ward again, and it is probably the loss of my business that made them go bankrupt.

 

When I got home I was boiling over mad and had just enough time to get cleaned up and head for my girlfriend's. I walked in the door and my mom asked, "Where have you been all day?"

 

It was an innocent enough question, but it was the wrong question. I slammed the kitchen counter so hard with my fist that a glass jumped off and shattered on the floor. I lost the feeling in a couple of my fingers for a few days. I took a shower, got dressed and cautiously headed for my girlfriend's. I thought at least the day would end all right.

 

I got to my girlfriend's house and rang the doorbell. She opened the door and started crying. "My parents wont let me see my best friend anymore. They say she is a bad influence. My parents hate her!"

 

I was being tortured as she cried on my shoulder. I had my own reasons for not liking the girl. Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, it had.

 

We all have days like that. There are times when it is hard to believe that things could go so wrong. The good news is that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." He is our constant companion through the good and the bad and for all eternity. He will always be the same loving, caring Savior that you came to know that first day you were saved. When all else fails he will be constant and true.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Hebrews 13:5-8

 

• Why can we be content?
• How can we not be afraid?
• Who are we to imitate and take courage from?