Of Churches and Truck Stops – Part 1
But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge [1 Timothy 5:11-12].
I recall one church where I pastored. It was situated near an Interstate truck stop. Most folks won’t be aware of this, so I’ll explain what happens in suchlike locales. Hitchhikers frequent them!
Now there are hitchhikers, and then there are hitchhikers. Some hitchhikers are fairly respectable, non-threatening and safe to give a ride to, but some not so much. Some have no particular scent, but others have a malodorous smell (and I’m being polite).
Many moons ago (and I do mean many) when I was a college student fresh out of high school, I hitchhiked on vacations from college to home and back. The journey required a couple of hours driving time, so I usually had to stick out the old thumb several different times on each trip.
My appearance was safe enough for motorists to stop and pick me up. And I wasn’t one of the malodorous varmints either! My apparel could have been better, but I certainly didn’t appear the tatterdemalion. I wasn’t the type of vagrant I am depicting in this study.
The type I want to note traveled without any particular destination. Such a one hitchhikes to wherever the driver drops him off, and there he seeks out freebies of whatever he can get. Most often a trucker picks him up, and he winds up at a truck stop, you see. This is why I am experienced with this situation. The church I pastored was near a truck stop.
So these poor unfortunates made it a regular practice to knock on the door of the parsonage I called home. The spiel I became familiar with went something along this line: “I haven’t eaten in four days. Can you give me $10 for some food?”
Well, you didn’t have to be a pastor of a church to feel sorry for such wretches. No one in their right mind would want to be caught up in the fate they indubitably were forced to endure, the cross they had to bear, their hapless estate.
But not so fast! Unbeknownst to most folks, these characters indeed do want to continue such an existence. The alternative for them would be to face themselves in the mirror, repent of their sins, and get a job! And I’m not joking either.
Some folks do fall on hard times and suffer beyond endurance, until they lose all hope and resign themselves to their fate. Yes, that’s true, but most of these folks don’t fit that bill. They like their scam—no responsibilities and plenty of suckers for the taking.
We must stop for today, but not to fret. We will invite the hobos back tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now, and I’ll see you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I recall one church where I pastored. It was situated near an Interstate truck stop. Most folks won’t be aware of this, so I’ll explain what happens in suchlike locales. Hitchhikers frequent them!
Now there are hitchhikers, and then there are hitchhikers. Some hitchhikers are fairly respectable, non-threatening and safe to give a ride to, but some not so much. Some have no particular scent, but others have a malodorous smell (and I’m being polite).
Many moons ago (and I do mean many) when I was a college student fresh out of high school, I hitchhiked on vacations from college to home and back. The journey required a couple of hours driving time, so I usually had to stick out the old thumb several different times on each trip.
My appearance was safe enough for motorists to stop and pick me up. And I wasn’t one of the malodorous varmints either! My apparel could have been better, but I certainly didn’t appear the tatterdemalion. I wasn’t the type of vagrant I am depicting in this study.
The type I want to note traveled without any particular destination. Such a one hitchhikes to wherever the driver drops him off, and there he seeks out freebies of whatever he can get. Most often a trucker picks him up, and he winds up at a truck stop, you see. This is why I am experienced with this situation. The church I pastored was near a truck stop.
So these poor unfortunates made it a regular practice to knock on the door of the parsonage I called home. The spiel I became familiar with went something along this line: “I haven’t eaten in four days. Can you give me $10 for some food?”
Well, you didn’t have to be a pastor of a church to feel sorry for such wretches. No one in their right mind would want to be caught up in the fate they indubitably were forced to endure, the cross they had to bear, their hapless estate.
But not so fast! Unbeknownst to most folks, these characters indeed do want to continue such an existence. The alternative for them would be to face themselves in the mirror, repent of their sins, and get a job! And I’m not joking either.
Some folks do fall on hard times and suffer beyond endurance, until they lose all hope and resign themselves to their fate. Yes, that’s true, but most of these folks don’t fit that bill. They like their scam—no responsibilities and plenty of suckers for the taking.
We must stop for today, but not to fret. We will invite the hobos back tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now, and I’ll see you then.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
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