“The kind that can eat breakfast at any hour.”
Jason smiles, “Oh yeah, my wife and I sometimes have breakfast for dinner.”
Steven makes a sour face, then chuckles. “Me and breakfast don’t always get along. I have to keep it simple. If I get too frilly it just doesn’t go over well” he says between sips of cool ice water. “Of course, I haven’t been eating a lot lately. I’ve been so caught up in studying, praying, and debating.” He pictures himself lodged at his home computer franticly debating all weekend while his family is in Texas. “I haven’t needed much sleep either.”
“What’ve you been studying?”Jason asks casually.
“All kinds of different stuff, in the bible and throughout history. Then out of the blue I find myself on this trip and weird things have been happening.”
Jason sips his coffee and regards Steven more seriously. “What kinds of things?”
Steven tries to summarize the last few days “Well I feel like God is showing me things he wants me to do. One is a website to help skeptics on the road to faith, another is writing a fiction book series about God and the devil, plus a nonfiction book of philosophy. Then I met a messenger in the airport. It was while I was delayed. He told me lots of interesting things; things about the Bible and about my future. Now, I don’t know what to think. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
For a minute, Jason doesn’t reply. He looks back at Steven eye to eye; the air heavy between them. Then he asks gravely. “Before all this started did you ask God to reveal himself to you?”
Steven replays memories of himself kneeling in his hallway; tears in his eyes, open bible in hand begging God to show him the truth, to allow him to see clearly, and for the eyes of his heart to be enlightened. “Yes, I did.”
Jason’s eyes dart down and back up. “I have had some experiences myself.” He says leaning closer and speaking in a more confidential tone, “My wife and I, before we were Christians, were into lots of new age stuff; trying different things to tap into spiritual energy. After I got saved, one night I woke up and my wife was possessed. Someone else was speaking through her, saying terrible things. I was really freaked out. It wasn’t even her voice coming out. That happened several different times. Man, I prayed and prayed. A few nights later I woke up again, only this time instead of a demon, an angel spoke through her and told me that the demon was gone and that my wife would be ok. I asked the angel about the crystals and things we had been using. He said that those things had some use, but God wanted me to put them aside and follow him.”
Steven stares back awed, “And your wife. She wasn’t saved then?”
Jason shakes his head, “no, she came to Christ later that year.”
Clank! Steven jumps with surprise as the waitress sets down the thick plates.
“Can I get you anything else?” the young almond skinned waitress inquires.
“No thank you” Steven says, smiling back.
“Mind if I bless the food?” asks Jason as the waitress leaves.
“Not at all” replies Steven shutting his eyes, bowing his head and clearing his mind.
Jason’s prayer is short and to the point, thanking God for the food and fellowship, asking God to bless it to the nourishment of their bodies in Jesus name, Amen. Steven has never been a big fan of long prayers at meal time. Sometimes people drag it out into a long all encompassing prayer while Steven is distracted more and more by the inviting smell of the food.
Taking a tiny metal pitcher, Jason drizzles syrup over his fluffy buttered pancakes. “I’m curious what your messenger said about the Bible?”
“Well he said a lot of things. He encouraged me to read it again. Start to finish. He said that’s how it’s supposed to be read. Like you read other books…”
“So that you get the context” Jason says, completing Steven’s sentence.
“Exactly. You are supposed to let it unfold and not try and read between the lines. Men love to put their own ideas in there. It’s supposed to be God’s word to us, but some Bibles have more commentary in them than they do scripture.”
“Oh man” says Jason dropping his hand to the table with a clink.
“What?”
“I just ordered 500 Bibles.” says Jason with a look of concern. “I’ve really been praying to pick the right one. I help out at a Christian camp for underprivileged kids. I ended up picking the NIV kids study bible. They have lots of questions and answers in them. I put the order in yesterday.” I just wanted the kids to get it as much as possible.” Jason says looking out the window into the dark parking lot. Did he mention anything about translations?”
“Well he asked to see mine and said it was a pretty good one. He said every time we change the words we get farther from what was written.”
“What kind of bible do you have?”
“The NASB. He said that it was better before 1960 though.”
Nodding Jason interjects, “I remember looking at that one. The NASB tries to go more word for word translation. The NIV goes more thought for thought, but they get farther from the original when they do that, because they try to interpret it for you.” He brings his fist down on the table causing the plates to clink. ”Man, why didn’t I see that?”
“Well those are still good Bibles” Steven says pulling the white napkin from his lap and wiping the corners of his mouth.
“But more watered down” replies Jason, before taking a thoughtful sip of coffee.
Steven nods conceding the point.
July 4, 2009 at 12:14 am |
Hi Steve and Lynette!
I’m so glad you’re posting chapters again…. I was checking for the longest time, and when there wasn’t any updtaes for a while, I got a little concerned. I actually had it in my mind to email you to see if things were still OK if I didn’t see any new posts soon… and lo and behold…. new posts!
Things are about the same at Roxbury…. except we seem to have been getting more violent people than usual over the past couple of months. One guy even sucker punched me in the face as I was walking along side him… made a hole from my inner lip to the outside from one of my teeth… I’ve always wondered what a lip piercing would feel like, but I didn’t want to find out that way! It’s all healed now…I have a scar on my upper lip that kinda makes me look like a gangster now, so a lot of the patients don’t give me as much trouble. I guess they think I’m a bar fighter…. although if they knew the truth it would probably give them the wrong idea…. like it’s OK to punch the staff. Steve, you kept me hopping a few nights, but I can honestly say you were never verbally or physically violent, and so that makes you OK in my book.
Gotta get back to work. Hope the kids and you both are doing well…. must be really hot down there?
God bless,
Kindly,
Karl
July 14, 2009 at 11:34 pm |
hey Karl, good to hear from you. yeah, i’ve really been moving at a snails pace lately on the book. i miss the synergy of lynnette’s chapters, but right now i’m writting of the long night while she was asleep. so it’s all me for a little while. later it will be more of her. she has several later chapters started. sorry to hear about your violent people at roxbury. not cool getting punched in the face. i don’t remember how much i divulged to you during my sleepless nights there. i know we talked. i know you told lynnette about it. you were the one telling her that i would come out of it. thanks for giving her hope.
it is hot here. we just got back from vacation in the rocky mountain national park. we had alot of fun. two words. alpine slide. very fun.
anyhow i have the next chapter mostly done i just have to sit down and fill it out a little more. not tonight though. thanks for the nudge. that’s one reason i set up the blog, so that i would feel more urgency to get chapters done.
,steven