Day 21

 

A Trip To The Dentist

 

"And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 

Matthew 25:30

 

I grew up at the dentist office. I'm sure I was his most regular customer. If it could go wrong with your teeth I had it. I had braces for 5 years, two dental surgeries, and I have got enough silver amalgam and a gold crown to provide me with a retirement nest egg.

 

Dentist are kinder and gentler these days. One big change is that they wear gloves that seem to cover more of their hands. When I was a kid my dentist had the hairiest hands. I guess all that saliva watered the hair on his hands so that it grew disturbingly long. Every time he stuck his hand in my mouth I felt like a cat with a fur ball stuck in my throat.

 

My dentist had quiet a setup. His office was in a strip mall and after your appointment he would give you a coupon good for a ice cream cone at the drug store in the mall. He insured my repeat business by keeping me addicted to the cavity producing ice cream.

 

The guy who did my braces was a graduate of the Marquis De Sade School of Orthodontics. Every month he would commit Nazi war crimes in my mouth. I endured this torture patiently at first but after he pulled a wire out of my gum that he had the surgeon insert, and pulled it out without any anesthetic causing massive bleeding and pain, I decided to fight (make that bite) back. His evil machinations eased up when he came to understand that I was not without recourse.

 

Once when I was a young adult I had gone to have my teeth cleaned. My gums bleed so profusely that afterwards I had to go get a transfusion. My hygienist informed me. "Your gums wouldn't bleed so much if you would gargle with salt water every day." Not willing to accept full responsibility for my bleeding gums I informed her, "My gums wouldn't bleed at all if you wouldn't poke them with that sharp stick."

 

On another occasion I became concerned that the hygienist was draped all over me. I appreciate the fact that they must get reasonably close to you if they are going to work on your teeth but this girl needed longer tools or longer arms. I finally informed her, "If you were Dolly Parton I would have suffocated by now."

 

The Bible tells about a time when there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth." I'm not a dentist but I'm pretty sure that gnashing your teeth can't be good for you. Hell is going to be bad for a lot of reasons; if bad teeth is one of them I'm glad I have got another destination.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Luke 16:19-31

 

• What was the destiny of the callous rich man?
• After death what did the rich man complain of?
• Could the rich man's fate be changed or altered in any way?

Day 20

 

His Voice

 

"When he has brought out all of his own, he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."

 

John 10:4

 

I worked in a shoe store when I was in Seminary. There was an unusual cast of characters that I worked with during my tenure there. I found that most everybody that worked at that shoe store had a story to tell.

 

There was a woman that worked there who was 30 something, married and attractive. She was having marital trouble: some of it having to do with her husband not adjusting to life after Vietnam and some of it because they had a handicapped child. I'm sure that if I had heard her husband's side of the story there would be more to it than what she told me.

 

I tried to help as much as I could. Being young and single I really had no clue when it came to marital advice. I tried to encourage her and I prayed for her. When the trouble finally led to seperation I invited her to come to church with me. I figured worshipping at church might perk her up.

 

I waited outside of church for her to show up and she arrived a little late so we sat in the back. After we sang a few hymns there was a responsive reading. I had never been a big fan of responsive readings until what happened that day. The reading was from John 10 about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. When, with the rest of us, she read the words out loud about the "sheep follow him because thery know his voice," I could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She was a hurting little lamb that had heard the Shepherd's voice.

 

I hope you hear the voice of the Shepherd when you read his word. I hope, that like Peter, you can say, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

 

Upon Further Review

 

Read John 10:1-21

 

• Where can sheep find safety? And how do they enter eternal safety?
• How can we know that Jesus is the "Good Shepherd?"
• Who are those "other sheep" that are "not of this sheeppen?"  

Day 19

 

Donnie's Roommate

 

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me."

 

Psalm 139:1

 

 

 

My first roommate in Seminary was perfect. Because he was so perfect, he was not the perfect roommate.

 

Donnie was 6 foot 4 inches tall. I am just 6 foot. Donnie was big muscular guy. I looked like the poster boy for "Feed The Children." Donnie played college football. I played college hooky and went to the zoo as often as I went to class. Donnie had money. I had a car payment. Donnie had his shirts sent to a laundromat and were starched and ironed. My polyester shirts would have melted into a puddle if an iron touched them. Donnie drove a Camaro. I drove an un-air conditioned Vega. Donnie played the guitar. I could identify a guitar in a line up of musical instruments. Donnie's grandfather was a lawyer and his father was a doctor. My grandfather once rescued a orphaned baby squirrel and raised it and my father won a hockey stick for us with a center ice slap shot at a promotion during a hockey game (chalk one up for team Jess). All the girls on campus knew Donnie. I had no name. I was called Donnie's roommate.

 

I could have been angry about that but did I mention that Donnie was a great guy? I couldn't be mad at him, it wasn't his fault that girls thought he was so wonderful and thought that I was so ... actually they didn't think of me at all. Still it would have been nice to have a name other than Donnie's roommate.

 

The good news is that God knew and knows my name. The 139 Psalm tells me that God knows everything about me. He knows my limitations. He knows my thoughts. He knows how I spend my time. And he thinks I am "fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14) So if everyone else knows me as Donnie's roommate, Ethan's dad or Jo's husband, I'm okay with it. God knows who I am and that is good enough for me.

 

Bonus Story

 

My boss told me that because of the snow the store would be closed on Saturday. I had been at Seminary for several months and had not made a trip home because I had to work on weekends because I was poor and I liked to eat. So despite the heavy snow I got in my Vega and headed for home.

 

I decided to take a short cut on a country highway to cut over to the interstate. The snow was really coming down so I figured I better get to the interstate in a hurry knowing if a road would be kept open that would be it. I was in the middle of nowhere when I got a flat tire. I got out my spare and jack and began to take the flat tire off. It was so cold I couldn't feel the lug nuts in my fingers. I got the flat tire off and was putting on the spare only to discover my spare was flat as well.

 

At this point I began to think of a short story we had to read in high school. It was a story by Jack London called To Start A Fire. The main character in the story is in the frozen wilds of Alaska and he has one match to start a fire or he will freeze to death. He manages to start the fire but as the warm smoke drifted upwards some snow in a tree melted and fell out of the tree and put out the fire. When you are cold and in the middle of nowhere with no one around you think of theses things.

 

I started to pray. I promised God if he would get me out of the mess I was in that I would go to Africa as a missionary if he wanted me to. I promised God if he wanted me to I would marry a fat girl. (Okay, I know that is really shallow but it was real cold and I wasn't thinking too clearly). Since I am not in a freezer now sitting next to Ted William's frozen head you can safely assume that God got me through the situation.

 

Psalm 139 not only tells me that God knows my name and all about me, he also knows where I am at all times and is with me. There is nowhere in his creation I can go without his presence with me. And that is very comforting if you are in a hospital room waiting for news, in a motel far from home or in a car with 2 flat tires in the middle of a snow storm.

 

Upon Further Review:

 

Read Psalm 139:1-24

 

• Can you ever escape the presence of God?
• Can there be a patch of your life so dark that God cannot see you?
• How long has God known you?

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?