Will God flatten your tire? He did mine!
Wow! What an afternoon in Anniston, AL! I'm here on business, and having no more contacts to make this afternoon, I decided to get in a round of golf. I found a beautiful little course tucked away in the hills and enjoyed an afternoon of breathtaking scenery and good exercise (when you swing the club as many times as I did...it's especially good exercise!).
I finished up shortly before dark and headed past the clubhouse to unload my clubs at the minivan. I nodded at the "cart boy" as I went by, as if to let him know I'd be right back with the cart. However, as I drew near to my van, I could see there was a flat tire on the driver's side rear. I guess because I was so thankful for the lovely afternoon God had given me, I wasn't really upset about the tire...Not really happy...but not really upset either.
Since I had to get the jack from the area in which I planned to store my clubs, I left them on the cart and forgot about the young man waiting to collect the cart.
Shortly after I got started on the tire, the young man who later told me his name was Chris came over and asked if I needed any help. I thanked him but said I thought I could take care of it. He stood and chatted with me as I worked on the tire, and he handed me things as I needed them.
As we talked, I learned that he had moved there from another state to live with his mother, but it didn't work out for some reason, and at seventeen years of age, he found himself living in a 1987 Chevy Suburban - though he hoped to be in a residence very soon. He admitted things were tough, but said confidently, "It's gonna be okay, though - I've got Jesus on my side."
As I heard him say that, I thought to myself, "Okay Father, I get the hint."
After a little more friendly discussion, I told him that if he hung around until I got through, I'd show him a couple of illusions, then give him a chance to win $20. He said, "Okay."
I finished, then showed him the curved illusion tract, which amused him. Then I showed him how I could "make" a $2 bill out of two $1 bills...That blew his mind! Then I pulled out a $20, and told him that if he could prove that he was a "good" person, he'd win the $20. I said, "Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" He was pretty confident that he was.
Had he ever told a lie? You know that he had, and he pretty quickly realized that it made him a liar. He had also stolen, making him a thief, and he admitted lustful thoughts, making him an adulterer. He also admitted dishonoring his parents, as well as other Commandments.
He was a very humble young man by that time and even readily admitted that he would be guilty before a Holy God on the Day of Judgment, and that unless something happened to change his destiny, he was headed for an eternity in Hell.
He placed his hope in the "goodness" of God, though, saying he planned to ask God to forgive him. But he completely understood when I "reasoned" with him that God's "goodness" would compel Him to punish sinners just like a judge in a court of law could only be called "good" if he saw that justice was done in every case.
Once all the reasoning was over with, I said, "Chris - what are you gonna do?" And he hung his head and indicated that he did not know.
At that point, I had the unspeakable honor of sharing the Good News with him, that his "fine" had been paid for him by the suffering death of Christ, and explained the way of salvation to him completely - that he must confess his sins to God AND forsake those sins, and completely trust that the penalty paid by Jesus was enough.
I promised him that God is faithful and that if he cried out to God, He would give him a new heart, with new desires, and would count him as innocent based on the fact that his sentence had already been served by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I prayed with him and loaded him down with a copy of the Gospel of John, our "Are You a Good Person?" tract to remind him of our discussion, and other literature.
Oh yeah, as a real-life demonstration of what God's grace does, giving us Heaven when we deserve Hell, I gave him the $20, too.
Pray for Chris. He who began a good work in him tonight is faithful to complete it.
The next time you get a flat tire...look around!
Praise God.
I finished up shortly before dark and headed past the clubhouse to unload my clubs at the minivan. I nodded at the "cart boy" as I went by, as if to let him know I'd be right back with the cart. However, as I drew near to my van, I could see there was a flat tire on the driver's side rear. I guess because I was so thankful for the lovely afternoon God had given me, I wasn't really upset about the tire...Not really happy...but not really upset either.
Since I had to get the jack from the area in which I planned to store my clubs, I left them on the cart and forgot about the young man waiting to collect the cart.
Shortly after I got started on the tire, the young man who later told me his name was Chris came over and asked if I needed any help. I thanked him but said I thought I could take care of it. He stood and chatted with me as I worked on the tire, and he handed me things as I needed them.
As we talked, I learned that he had moved there from another state to live with his mother, but it didn't work out for some reason, and at seventeen years of age, he found himself living in a 1987 Chevy Suburban - though he hoped to be in a residence very soon. He admitted things were tough, but said confidently, "It's gonna be okay, though - I've got Jesus on my side."
As I heard him say that, I thought to myself, "Okay Father, I get the hint."
After a little more friendly discussion, I told him that if he hung around until I got through, I'd show him a couple of illusions, then give him a chance to win $20. He said, "Okay."
I finished, then showed him the curved illusion tract, which amused him. Then I showed him how I could "make" a $2 bill out of two $1 bills...That blew his mind! Then I pulled out a $20, and told him that if he could prove that he was a "good" person, he'd win the $20. I said, "Do you consider yourself to be a good person?" He was pretty confident that he was.
Had he ever told a lie? You know that he had, and he pretty quickly realized that it made him a liar. He had also stolen, making him a thief, and he admitted lustful thoughts, making him an adulterer. He also admitted dishonoring his parents, as well as other Commandments.
He was a very humble young man by that time and even readily admitted that he would be guilty before a Holy God on the Day of Judgment, and that unless something happened to change his destiny, he was headed for an eternity in Hell.
He placed his hope in the "goodness" of God, though, saying he planned to ask God to forgive him. But he completely understood when I "reasoned" with him that God's "goodness" would compel Him to punish sinners just like a judge in a court of law could only be called "good" if he saw that justice was done in every case.
Once all the reasoning was over with, I said, "Chris - what are you gonna do?" And he hung his head and indicated that he did not know.
At that point, I had the unspeakable honor of sharing the Good News with him, that his "fine" had been paid for him by the suffering death of Christ, and explained the way of salvation to him completely - that he must confess his sins to God AND forsake those sins, and completely trust that the penalty paid by Jesus was enough.
I promised him that God is faithful and that if he cried out to God, He would give him a new heart, with new desires, and would count him as innocent based on the fact that his sentence had already been served by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I prayed with him and loaded him down with a copy of the Gospel of John, our "Are You a Good Person?" tract to remind him of our discussion, and other literature.
Oh yeah, as a real-life demonstration of what God's grace does, giving us Heaven when we deserve Hell, I gave him the $20, too.
Pray for Chris. He who began a good work in him tonight is faithful to complete it.
The next time you get a flat tire...look around!
Praise God.
posted by Tommy Alderman at 7:51 PM
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