THE ANGEL AND THE HITCHHIKER

When I was a young man, I had several strange experiences. I want to share a couple of them with you today. This one happened when I was nineteen or twenty years old. I was a young Christian and I was always looking for opportunities to help others. When I saw someone with car trouble on the side of the road, I would stop and try to help. When I saw someone walking, I would always stop and offer them a ride.

One day, I was driving West on Highway 72 just outside Walnut, Mississippi. I saw a man walking on the side of the road and figured he needed a ride so I pulled off the road just in front of him to see if he did. I didn’t even have time to ask if he needed a ride. As soon as I stopped, he hurried to my car and opened the passenger side door, and got in. I asked him where he was going and he said, “Just up the road.”

He started talking as soon as he sat down. He didn’t give me much opportunity to say anything. In the midst of all his talking, he said he was an angel. I was surprised, and a bit skeptical. His eyes looked like he had been drinking, and his clothes and hair were a mess, so I had my doubts. I don’t remember half of what he said because he was talking a mile a minute. He talked about all kinds of stuff including God and angels, and then he started saying something about Mexican people being demons; Diablos, he said. Right away I knew he wasn’t what he was claiming to be.

He might be an angel, but not an angel of God. I didn’t know how to respond to the crazy things he was saying. When he seemed to finally be out of things to say, I nervously said, “Are you really an angel?” As I asked the question, I glanced his way. I could see that he was very angry as he turned and stared at me with bloodshot eyes and an evil look on his face. With a loud voice, he said, “Man, I don’t lie. You don’t know what I can do. I could kill you and take your car, and leave you on the side of the road. I could destroy that bridge and pick this car up off the road and fly us right across.”

At that point, I didn’t hear or understand anything else he said. I just remember he was talking loud and cursing. I was so scared that all I could do was pray. I said, “God, please help me. Please get this guy out of my car.” Well, God answered my prayer. A traffic light was just ahead, and Thank God it was red. As soon as I stopped, the guy opened the door and stepped out of the car, and walked away without saying a word. As soon as that light changed to green, I got out of there as fast as I could. I was so glad and so thankful to God for answering my plea for help. I thanked him over and over for protecting me and getting me away from that guy unharmed. Thank you again, Father. Thank you.

Another time, before that incident, I was on the same road, headed in the same direction, but further east. I was driving with the windows down enjoying the fresh air. It was late spring or early summer. It was late afternoon and the weather was nice. The sun was shining but there was a nice cool breeze. I remember seeing the yellow sage grass on the lower side of the road softly moving back and forth.

I was leaving Corinth, headed west when I saw a man walking West on the shoulder of the highway. He was carrying a small bag on his shoulder so I figured he was traveling a good distance. I pulled off the road a few yards in front of him and waited for him to walk up to the car so I could offer him a ride. He walked up to the passenger door and bent down to look inside the car. I said, “Do you need a ride?” He looked at me with a smile and said, “No, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining. I think I’ll just walk, and enjoy it for a while.” I said, “Okay. You have a good day.” He said, “And you as well.”

I checked for traffic, then pulled out on the highway. As I drove away, I glanced at the rear-view mirror to take a last look at the guy, but I didn’t see him. I quickly turned and look out my back window but he just wasn’t there. Where was he? What had happened to him? I thought he may have stepped down the embankment on the side of the road, or maybe he had sat down. Back then, the road was only two lanes, so I quickly turned around and went back to where I had stopped and talked to him. He was nowhere in sight. I looked everywhere, but he was just gone. He disappeared too quickly for any other explanation. I’m sure I encountered an angel that day. When that thought occurred to me, I remembered the smile and the look of peace on his face and how calm and gentle his voice was when he spoke to me, and then I was sure. He must have been an angel, or Jesus himself. That was an amazing experience. It reminds me of two verses from the Bible. One is found in Hebrews 13:2.

Hebrews 13:2
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers because by doing so, some have unknowingly entertained angels.

I’ve had several amazing experiences, and some very strange ones when stopping to help people and giving people rides on the highway over the years, and I’m so thankful to God for protecting me when I’m trying to help others. In our world today, it can be dangerous to deal with strangers, but that shouldn’t deter us from helping others. I still stop and offer to help people, but I pray first and ask God if I should. Sometimes he says yes, and sometimes he says no. If I don’t stop I always pray for them. Sometimes that’s all you can do for people anyway, but if it were me out there, I would hope someone would at least offer to help.

Constant communication with God is very important. 1 Thessalonians 5:1 says, “Pray without ceasing.” We need his guidance in every situation. We don’t need to wait until we’re in trouble before asking for his help. Many times, the messes we get ourselves in could have been avoided if we had just talked to him first. We can be good Christians. We can obey God and show love and kindness to others like we’re commanded and we can be safe from those who would harm us if we depend on him for help and guidance.

The second verse I was thinking of is found in Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus is talking about what will happen in the judgment when he returns and separates the sheep from the goats; the saved from the lost.

He basically said, whatever we do to others in need, we are doing it to him.
We can help him or ignore him, but there’s a price to pay for ignoring people in need. Compassion for others seems to be rare these days but it shouldn’t be, and it wouldn’t be if we would all follow the Golden Rule that Jesus laid out in Matthew 7:12.

Matthew 7:12
12 So treat others like you want them to treat you…

If everyone would just follow this simple rule, the world would be a much better place.

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THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Several years ago, I was working at a place called Parker, in Booneville, Mississippi. I worked there for ten years and drove to work down highway 45. I saw lots of things on that road in those ten years, and several not-so-good things happened to me on that road, but one of the strangest, most unsettling things happened one day while I was driving home after work.

As I came into the little town of Biggersville and went down the hill, there was a long flat stretch of highway. The road had four lanes; two northbound lanes, and two southbound ones separated by a grassy median. I was in the right northbound lane and there was, at least, one vehicle beside me in the left northbound lane. I like to be aware of what’s going on around me when I’m on the road, so I’m always checking my mirrors. The next I looked, I saw a car coming up behind me. It was moving pretty fast. I could tell he was speeding. I was sure he would slow down to the speed limit before he got to me, but as he came closer, I saw that he was not going to slow down. I was shocked at what he did next.

He couldn’t pass me in the left lane because someone else was there right beside me, so he passed me on my right side. He left the highway, and almost lost control as he went into the gravel. The car slid to the right, then back to the left. Rocks flew all over my car as the guy struggled to stay in control. To make matters worse, there was a bridge right there in front of us. Fortunately, just as we reached the guard rails he got the car back on the road just in time to cross the bridge without hitting it. Thank God for that. It could have ended badly. Wow! What an insane experience!

Another time, I was headed to work on the same road early in the morning, and it was snowing. I guess it had been snowing longer toward Booneville because the closer I got to work, the worse it was. I was going up that same hill in Biggersville when the tires on my van started spinning. Soon, I came to a complete stop. Thank God there wasn’t much traffic out. Since I couldn’t go forward, I started backing down the hill to get a fresh start and a little more speed. As I was backing down, I saw an eighteen-wheeler coming toward me. I was concerned, of course, but my heart almost jumped out of my chest when the truck started up the hill and started sliding. Fortunately, I had gotten over on the left side of the road and had the left wheels where the gravel was. After a few long minutes of holding my breath, the truck finally made it past me safely. Then I continued backing back down to the flat part of the highway as quickly as I possibly could in those conditions. Thankfully, I made it down before any other vehicles came. Then, I started back up the hill with a little more speed than I had before, and soon, I was over the hill and back on my way to work. Another situation where I'm thankful God was with me.

On the roads we go down every day, there are many things to cause us stress and aggravation. There are things that cause us to slow down, and sometimes even stop. Many times, there are things that make us take detours, but if we are headed to a certain place, we usually don’t allow any of those things to stop us from reaching our destination.

There’s a road that’s less traveled. It’s referred to by many names, but many call it “the road to heaven.” On the road to heaven, we should be even more determined to reach our destination. There are many things that get in our way, and slow us down. We can get distracted and even stop at times, but we have to keep going. There’s too much at stake to turn back now. Love for Jesus and the promise of eternal life with him are great motivators, but sometimes the cares of this life, and the things of this world make us lose sight of our destination.

Jesus said the road that leads to life is narrow, and not everyone will find it (Matthew 7:14). So, if you’ve found that road, stay on it, and don’t let anything make you stop and turn back. If you haven’t found the road to heaven, then let me point you to the map that will show you the way. God’s Word, the Holy Bible, is that map. If you follow this map, it will lead you home, and Jesus, his Father, and the Holy Spirit will all be right there with you every step of the way. Have a happy journey. I’ll see you on the other side.

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STUCK - PART 2

Just over a year ago, I wrote a post called “Stuck - Part 1.” I talked about several times I was stuck when I was growing up. Today I want to tell you about a few other times I got stuck.

I don’t remember exactly how old I was when this first one happened, but I know I was between three and six years old. We were at our parent’s house, and they had a wooden kitchen chair in the living room. I don’t think we had any chairs like that at home. I believe my grandmother’s kitchen chairs had metal frames with no rounds.

My sisters and I were playing on the floor and for some reason, I put my head under the bottom of the chair between the seat and the round. When I went to pull it out I was stuck. I couldn’t get free. I panicked and started yelling and screaming. My mom and dad ran to see what was wrong. I was young, but I remember even then feeling so stupid when they told me I had to turn my head sideways to get my it out. I didn’t remember turning my head sideways to get it in there, but sure enough, that’s all it took to get free. I can see my dad now just laughing his head off. It’s funny to me now, but it sure wasn’t then.

When I was about nine years old, I had a plastic toy car with big wheels, about as big around as a baseball. Of course, they were only about an inch wide. They had a metal axle made into the wheels which just snapped onto two plastic braces on the bottom of the car. I guess I was pretty rough with it because, as I played with the car outside the wheel and axle assembly kept coming off.

When writing about the crazy things I did when I was younger, I always say “for SOME reason” because I don’t know why, and I can’t even begin to imagine why I did most of the dumb things I did. Well for some reason, I put one of those wheels in my mouth. The next thing I knew, it was stuck.

The axle and the other wheel were sticking straight out. I pulled and tugged on it, but I couldn’t get it out. It was stuck behind my top and bottom teeth. I was opening my mouth as wide as I could, but it wasn’t wide enough to get the wheel out. In fact, my mouth was opened wider than it had ever been before, and it hurt really bad. When I saw I wasn’t going to get it out, I panicked.

I was closer to my aunt’s house than ours so I ran screaming as loud as I could with a foreign object prying my mouth open. Finally, I found her, and once again, I felt so stupid when she just took hold of the wheel that was sticking out, tilted it upward, and pulled it right out. What an ordeal. I was so happy and thankful, and embarrassed. All I could do was hug her and cry. Wow! What a memory.

Another time, which I plan on writing about in more detail later, I went to my uncle’s house to stay for a few days. It was winter and there was snow on the ground. While I was there it got worse and I was stuck there for more than a week, but it was warm and I was safe. One day the sun came out and the snow started to melt. That afternoon I went with him to the store about a mile from his house.

It had gotten cloudy again and the melted snow was freezing again when we headed back to his house, which was at the top of a steep hill. We were almost to the top when the tires started spinning, and we were stuck. The good thing was the snow had melted quite a bit and most of it ran down the hill. It was only a few inches thick there close to the top. So, he kept spinning in one spot until the ice crumbled, and the tires touched the road, allowing it to gain a few feet. He did this several times until finally, the car was over the top of the hill. Soon, we were back at his house. After a few days of sunshine, the snow was gone, and I was able to go back home. Another wild adventure came to an end.

What a crazy childhood I had. What a bunch of dumb stuff I did, but God always provided for me and protected me. I’ve done many things in my life that I shouldn’t have, and some have caused me pain, stress, and all kinds of other troubles, but God has always provided a way out. I’ve learned many lessons from my bad decisions, and hopefully, I won’t do those things again. Hopefully, we all learn from our mistakes, but I think if we just trust God and stay in constant communication with him, he will tell us when we are about to do something we shouldn’t. That’s what Paul meant when he said, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). We need to stay in constant contact with our creator. We need to listen when he speaks to us, and we need to obey. Life will be better for us, and we will spend a lot less time being stuck in bad situations.

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STUCK - PART 1

When I was really young I remember an incident where I was playing with several of my cousins. The adults were all gathered on the porch of my grandparents’ house. While the other kids were running back and forth jumping in and out of the road ditch, I looked into the culvert that went under the road and saw the light coming from the other end. Believe me, I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I crawled in and headed for the other side.

I didn’t get far at all until I couldn’t go any further. I tried to back up, but no luck there either. I was stuck. I got scared and started screaming. Thank God someone heard me. My mother came and somehow managed to pull me to safety.

Well, you would think I would have learned my lesson, but no. A few short years later I found myself in almost the same situation again. We were on a school field trip, at the city park in the next town over. There was a real jet airplane there for children to play in. For some reason, I decided to crawl inside one of the wings. Once again, I came to the point where I couldn’t go forward, nor backward. I was stuck again. All I could do was cry for help. The teacher came and got me unstuck.

A few years later, I was messing around with a survival knife my grandmother had bought for me. I was so proud of it. It was awesome. The handle was a green camouflage color. It had a compass on top, which screwed off, revealing a hollow inside where all kinds of survival things were stored. Again, for some reason I can only venture to guess at now, I stuck my finger into the hole in the handle.

Once again, I was stuck. I began to panic. What could I do?! This time, out of the blue, it came to me. I had an idea. Just relax, and pull your finger out, slowly. It worked! I was so relieved. I was so happy. Did I learn my lesson? No, but I did learn something very important. Looking back at these, and other incidents, I see how God has watched over me. How he has always provided help for me, and when no one was around to help, he told me what to do to get out of the situation I was in.

Many times we think we had an idea when it was actually the Holy Spirit talking to us. We don’t always realize it, but he speaks to us all the time. That quiet voice we hear that tells us we shouldn’t do certain things, or sometimes it’s just a feeling. That’s the Holy Spirit. That’s how he speaks to us. The closer we get to him, the easier it is to recognize his voice. Don’t wait until you need help to talk to God. He has more to tell us than just how to get out of a jam. He’s the ultimate Father, and the best friend you’ll ever have. He always has time for us, so make time for him. You’ll be glad you did.

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© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

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I'M GONNA DO WHAT I WANNA DO

“I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do!” Ever heard anyone say that? I have. Many times. I’ve probably said it myself. I remember saying something similar to that several times as a teenager. When I wasn’t allowed to do something I wanted to, I would say, “I’ll be glad when I’m 18 so I can do what I want to.” I left home when I was 16 and after a few years of “doing what I wanted to,” I realized what a big mess I had gotten myself into. There are always rules and guidelines we have to follow, no matter where we are and no matter what age we are. There are man’s laws, and there are God’s laws, and there are consequences for breaking any of them.

I recently told someone that if we don’t obey God, we won’t make it to heaven. They basically said, “I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do.”

That’s so sad, and it breaks my heart to see someone have that attitude because I know where it took me and what a terrible condition I was in when I finally woke up. It’s an even worse situation these days, knowing how close we are to the end of this world. Instead of doing what WE want to, we need to obey God. Peter and the other Apostles said, “We should obey God rather than People” (Acts 5:29). That would include anything we tell ourselves. Anything we want to do.

We all need to have the attitude that Jesus had in the garden of Gethsemane when he was contemplating the horrible death and mistreatment he was about to endure for us. Talking to the Father, he said, “Not my will, but you will be done” (Luke 22:42). Not what I want, but what you want, Father.

God only wants what’s good for us, so if we would all do what he wants us to do, and not whatever WE want, we would be much better off. We need to submit our will to the will of God and instead of saying, “I’m Gonna Do What I Wanna Do,” we should ask God, “What Do YOU Want Me To Do, Lord?”

In today’s world, everybody wants to feel good about their life and the choices they make. They don’t want to be told what they are doing is WRONG. Sadly, many preachers are giving them what they want by only preaching the positive side of God. He is a loving God and he does want what’s best for us, and there are so many blessings that come with following him. But here’s something many people are not telling others today. He is also a just God who cannot and will not tolerate sin. Disobeying God and doing “What We Want To Do” instead is sin.

If we reject God’s way and refuse to follow him and obey him, then we have a much worse fate to look forward to; Judgment and condemnation, and ultimately, death in hell fire. If we allow God to lead us, though, we are promised eternal life, and we will be filled with purpose and happiness here on earth. That’s what I want in my life. How about you?

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© 2015 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6