Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“Do You Know Where You Are?”
"I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.” – Proverbs 8:12 (MSG)

Have you ever noticed those huge maps at Visitors’ Centers that are located on most freeways and toll-ways? I like the ones that have a well-marked spot on the map that reads, “You Are Here.” It’s always nice to know where “here” is. You can’t be expected to know where “there” is until you know where you are at that moment. I came across a clever quote by Steven Wright recently. He said,
“I have an existential map; it has ‘You Are Here’ written all over it.”

Question: Do you know where you are, spiritually speaking? Is it anywhere close to where God is? Do you know what your destination is? I want to share with you several interesting “You are Here” stories. I hope you enjoy them. Laurence and Florence Spungen decided to sell their family business. Located in Waukegan, Illinois, the Peer Bearing Company has been in business since 1941. When the company was sold, Laurence, Florence and their four children decided to cut bonus checks for each one of their 230 employees. The amount they decided to distribute totaled $6.6-million! Dave Tiderman wondered if the decimal point was in the wrong place when he opened the envelope that contained a $35,000 check. Valentin Dima didn’t trust his emotions. He drove home before he opened his envelope: $33,000. The bonus amounts varied according to the length of time the employees worked at Peer. But everyone was surprised. Wouldn’t you like to have been an employee the day the bonuses were distributed? Arthur Mkoyan was a 17-year-old valedictorian at his high school in Fresno, California. He had lost his chance to study chemistry at UC Davis because of immigration problems involving his father. Arthur wasn’t sure if he would be deported or ever be permitted to finish his education. Then a woman named Sherry Heacox saw a story about Arthur’s plight and decided to help him out. She offered to pay for his tuition to attend UC Davis for four years. The Mkoian family had not entered the country illegally. They entered on a tourist visa from Armenia in 1991 and applied for asylum, which was denied. A U.S. Senator has introduced a bill in the Senate to allow the family time to seek lawful permanent residence.
A couple of years ago a very anxious woman named Belinda Davis got through to Rush Limbaugh on his syndicated talk radio show. Rush told CNSNews, “She sounded so tired, distraught, and frightened about her and her husband’s business future” that “on a whim” Limbaugh decided to buy the Davises a new car. They selected a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe. With everything included, the deal added up to $58,000. The radio show host also paid the tax, title, and licensing fees. As it turned out, the gift couldn’t have come at a better time. The Davis’ car needed a new transmission. Regardless of how you feel about the person, how about that for a “You Are Here” story? Awesome.
One Sunday morning the pastor of a large urban church preached a sermon on baptism. At the close, he said that he couldn’t remember whether or not he had been baptized as a child. He asked his mother, and she couldn’t remember either. So, he announced that he had decided to be obedient to the scriptural admonition found in the Book of Acts. He had been a believer for years; now he wanted to be baptized. He invited others (in both morning worship services) to join him. The church had purchased sets of under-garments and robes for around 50 people. Spontaneously, responding to the pastor’s invitation, a total of 173 youth and adults stepped forward! Between services the staff hurried off to purchase more under-garments. They used the church dryer to dry the robes between (and later during) the services. What began as an obedient response by a pastor to be baptized resulted in more baptisms that one Sunday than the church had seen in any one year in its hundred-year history. You should have been there to see it yourself.
What’s the point? Maybe there is an existential “map” that includes churches like yours. Maybe it has “You Are Here!” written all over it. Maybe what God is waiting for is for one obedient pilgrim to step forward under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and say to the congregation, “Is there anybody out there who would like to join me?” The results could surprise you. Be sure you have plenty of dry robes handy.
Pastor J. T. Carnell