Chapter One----part three

   Andy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pastor David couldn't possibly know about what was going on in James Andrew Cooper's life. Yet, to Andy, it felt like Pastor David was talking directly to him. It was like he was looking right into Andy's eyes when he looked at the youth section. Andy glanced at some of the others in the youth section, Pam in particular. They all seemed to be focused on Pastor David. They all seemed to be sitting there in stunned disbelief. It was only a few seconds before Pastor David began speaking again, but it seemed like it was an eternity to Andy. All sorts of thoughts flashed across his mind. The one thought that kept repeating was a question that he couldn't possibly answer. Was Pastor David preaching a message meant to answer Andy's questions? Was God using this sermon to speak to directly to him?

    Pastor David continued in his normal sermon voice now. "I am talking about change today because I now see that we must learn how to deal with the changes in our lives. We must learn how to face them directly instead of just avoiding or ignoring them. They aren't going away. Change is indeed a part of our daily lives, but unless we learn how to face up to and deal with the changes in our lives they can bury us under a burden we can't possibly carry." He pointed towards the youth section again, but he kept his eyes on the rest of the congregation. "These young people are not the only ones that must face change. Every day something changes for each of us. Most of the time the changes are small and don't really seem to matter that much. They do add up though. Day by day, the changes add up. Each little change adding to the last, and the next, until before we know it, our lives have been totally changed."

    "This nation was founded by people seeking a place to worship the Lord in freedom. The very laws that we live by were crafted by men who knew the importance of that freedom... and that worship." Pastor David pointed to the flag. "Stand with me as I recite the Pledge of Allegiance." Then he turned to face the flag, placing his hand on his heart he began. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all." When the pledge was finished he stepped back to the pulpit and motioned for everyone to be seated again. He looked out over the crowd for a moment before he spoke again.  "We just said the pledge as it was meant to be recited. They still say the pledge in some public schools today, but it isn't the one we just said. They leave out two words. They leave out 'under God'. That has come to be almost unnoticed by many people, maybe even most people today. It is only a small change, an almost unnoticeable change. Is it important? Does it really matter? After all, we are still pledging allegiance to the same nation, we are still a Republic and indivisible. Nothing has really changed has it?"

   Pastor David paused and looked around at the entire congregation again. He shook his head as he started to speak again. "It is just a small change, a small change that has altered the entire meaning behind that pledge. I hope, I pray, that each of you sitting here today will think about the meaning of that small change. As you think about that one small change maybe you will begin to think about all the other small changes that are going on in your lives every day. Are they actually small changes or are they also altering the very meaning, the true purpose, of your life? I want each of you to think about that small change in the pledge today. We are still one nation, but if we are no longer under God are we still a nation indivisible? Do we have still have liberty? Is there still justice for all?"

   Once more Pastor David paused for a long moment as he opened his Bible. As he was turning the pages of his Bible, Andy glanced over at Pam again. She had lowered her head and closed her eyes, but she was clearly not resting. There were tears on her cheeks and he could see her lips moving ever so slightly. She was clearly praying a silent prayer and was very troubled by something. Lowering his own head and briefly closing his eyes Andy prayed a short silent prayer of his own. "Father, help us to truly understand this message. I know in my heart that you are speaking to me and to others as well. Help us to hear your voice, to understand the meaning of your words. Please grant those who need you so desperately the understanding they must have. In Jesus name I pray." As he opened his eyes and looked up he saw Pastor David raise his head from the Bible.

    Pastor David took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he began to read from the Bible starting with the chapter and verse. "Jeremiah 7 verses 5-7, If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever." He turned a few pages in his Bible and began to read once more. "Jeremiah 13 verses 16-17, Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to utter darkness and change it to deep gloom. If you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the Lord's flock will be taken captive." Again he paused to turn pages in the Bible before he began to read once more. "James 4 verse 8, Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts you double minded."

    Pastor David closed the Bible and raised his face to look out upon his congregation once more. His voice which had been strong and certain as he was reading from the Bible almost seemed to tremble as he spoke now. "Brothers and sisters, hear my words. We must face the changes in our lives. We must no longer simply accept all of the small changes that seem to happen each day. We must indeed change our ways, but they must be changed in order to honor the Lord our God. If we don't face the changes that are happening and reject those that take us away from our Lord, we will find no light. There will be only darkness and gloom in our lives and in this land. God will weep for us as we also will weep for ourselves. Change can be good. It can be truly wonderful. If we change our ways and purify our hearts, if we truly seek the Lord we will be drawn near to Him. We will be returned to the light. Now don't think that I am just preaching doom and gloom to you."

      He smiled as he looked over at the youth. "I especially want you young people to know the future can be very bright indeed as you go out alone into the world for the first time. The choice is yours. You can go into a world filled with light or you can go into a world filled by darkness. God is the light of the world. If you go with Him, then you will have that light. If you leave him behind... you will begin a journey into the darkness. You are about to face more change than you have ever faced before. Many of you will be leaving the world you know behind to go out into a world filled with the unknown. It is a very exciting time. It can also be a very frightening time." Pastor David actually laughed out loud. Then he walked over and sat down on the steps that lead up to the raised area where the pulpit stood at the front of the church. He was seated directly in front of the youth section now.

   It seemed that he was no longer even aware of the rest of the church. All of his attention was focused on that group of youth seated directly in front of him. They were just as focused on him too. Smiling, he spoke again. Now his voice had that soft, soothing, fatherly tone he often used when talking with the smaller children. "I know this will be hard for you to believe, but once I was young like you." The youth all grinned and chuckled at that. "I was pastor here before many of you were born and probably have been for as long as most of you can remember. To you I have always been an old man." This time he laughed with the youth. It seemed like he was no longer preaching a sermon, it was more like he was talking to his family. He pointed his finger at them as he continued.

    "I really was your age and I can still remember it, like it was yesterday. There will be days in your lives that you will never forget and many of them will be happening soon." He stopped for just a moment and then continued. His voice was more serious, but still soft and soothing.  "I remember leaving home to start college. I was young and sure of myself, but I was scared to death too. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life yet. I figured I still had plenty of time to decide that. I was a pretty fair basketball player and I had a full ride athletic scholarship to a decent college. It wasn't a big college, but it was a nice size and well known in several nearby states. I still remember the first big pep rally they had for us. I was feeling pretty good about myself. I had won a starting guard spot as a freshman on the team. That was a big deal to me. I was scared and kind of lonely though. I had moved several hundred miles from home and couldn't afford to go home at all."

    Smiling he shook his head. "I was standing up there in front of hundreds of strangers when I saw this girl watching me. She was like a dream. One of those girls all of us guys imagine meeting. Tall, beautiful, with a figure to turn heads and she was looking right at me. Then she actually smiled back at me." The youth were all smiling now. "Well I was pretty full of myself, so I went over when the rally was done and introduced myself. We talked and the next day we went out on our first date. I was in love." With that last comment he had acted like he was swooning as he said the words. Even the rest of the congregation, who were watching and listening intently, laughed out loud at him now.

   Pastor David just smiled and continued on with his story. "We became a real item on campus. If you saw one of us you would usually see the other. We didn't have classes together, but if we weren't in class or I wasn't at practice or an away game, we were together. Then one day, a couple of months later, I had a professor cancel a class. I was free until ball practice that evening. We had just finished testing so things were slow. I had plenty of time and I knew my girl was free for the morning too. I headed over to spend the rest of the morning with her. As I got closer to her dorm I suddenly saw her. She was sitting in another guys lap and they were definitely involved. I just stood there in shock for a moment. I knew that guy. He was from a rich family and that was his hot sports car parked in front of her dorm. Finally, I just turned around and walked away. I was crushed. I had been thinking we were it. She was everything I had dreamed of and she just hung all over me when we were together. How could she be doing that with him? I walked across campus to a secluded area between the campus and a small lake at the edge of the campus. When I was sure I was alone, I started to talk to myself. I started to yell and curse at her and him. Then I started to curse God for letting me make such a fool of myself." He paused for a moment looking down with a frown on his face. He was clearly disturbed by this memory of his actions.

    Andy couldn't believe what he had just heard. The idea of Pastor David doing anything foolish or wrong was shocking enough. To hear him admit to cursing at God was almost unbelievable. It was clear to see that he wasn't alone in his reaction to Pastor David's story. Glancing around Andy saw others with clear looks of stunned disbelief. Even on the faces of some of the oldest members among the congregation it could be seen. Pastor David had always been one of the most devoted and humble men Andy had known. He seldom raised his voice and Andy wasn't sure he had ever seen him angry. He had seen Pastor David upset, but he had seemed more hurt and disappointed than angry at those few times. Usually it was due to the behavior of others in the community, often members in the church, that he became upset with. Even then, it took a great deal to disturb him enough for it to be seen. Pastor David continued after his brief pause.

   "I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice ask me to not curse God. I whirled around and looked all over for the source of that voice. It took me a second look to see her sitting against a large oak tree. She had her arms crossed and was looking at me like she was ready to fight. I started to stammer around and try to apologize, but she just shook her head at me. She stood up and walked over to where I was standing. When she stopped she was looking right at me and was close enough to slap me. I thought she was going to slap me. Instead she just started talking to me. I will never, ever, forget what she said. She said, 'You don't need to apologize to me. You need to apologize to God first. Then you should apologize to the two you were actually cursing.' He shook his head and laughed. "I think I must have looked like my jaw was going to fall off. She started to laugh and told me to shut my mouth before I swallowed a tree."

    Pastor David laughed again before he continued. "When I could talk again, I asked her how she could expect me to apologize to them. She shook her head and sighed at me. Then she told me that she didn't expect it, but God did. Then she started to walk off. I just stood there and stared at her for a minute before I ran to catch her. When I got to her I started walking beside her and asked her how she could say those things to me. She gave me the strangest look and then just kept walking. Finally, she started to talk after I just kept walking with her, asking for an answer. She told me that she was sorry about what had happened to me. She told me that a lot of people had been laughing at me, but not everyone. She looked at me and smiled before she told me she could ask me to forgive them because she knew that was what God would want and that I knew that too. Those words made me stop dead in my tracks. I watched her walk the rest of the way across campus."

    Pastor David looked over at his wife and smiled. "That was the first time I ever really saw my wife. The next time I had the class that professor had canceled I walked into the room and saw her sitting just a few chairs down from where I sat every day. I had never even noticed her before. By the end of the week I was trying to get enough courage to ask her out. I finally did manage to ask her out, but she told me no. Then she told me she would go to breakfast with me Sunday morning before church... if I would go to church with her." He laughed and shook his head. "Now I know you are wondering why I am telling you about meeting my wife. I am telling you because you need to understand that everything that changes in your life is for a purpose. I believe that with all my heart. I have absolutely no doubt that the Lord used every single event up to that very moment to get me where He needed me to be. God can and will use the events in your life to take you where you need to be. The thing each of you must remember is that once you reach that place, the choice of what you will do is still yours alone to make."

    Andy suddenly knew that this message was for him. The Lord had brought him to this place. All of the little things had been leading up to this one big thing. Now he was standing at a crossroads in his life. He had a decision to make, a decision that would indeed change the rest of his life. The only unanswered question Andy still had left was how he could possibly know what the right decision was. He looked directly at Pastor David to see if he was going to tell him how to know. Instead Pastor David got up and slowly walked back over to the pulpit. He stood behind the pulpit silently looking out over the congregation. Finally, he turned to look at the youth one more time. He smiled at them and then looked down at his Bible once more. He began to turn the pages. After a moment he began to read scriptures. He never raised his head or eyes from the Bible as he read.

 Pastor David was reading from Psalms. "Psalms 3 verse 4, I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain." A few pages turned and Pastor David seemed to mark a place before turning more pages. "Psalms 120 verse 1, I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me." Now far more pages were turned. Once more he read from the Bible. "The Lord Jesus said in Luke 11 verses 9 and 10, so I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Pastor David looked up at the people for the first time since starting to read these last passages from his Bible. His spoke without a hint of emotion in his voice.

    "Brothers and sisters, the world is changing rapidly. We will all face many doors in our lives. Some will be open, waiting for us to step inside. Others will be closed. How are we to know if we should take the open door or try to open the closed door?" Without ever looking down he quoted one of those scriptures again. "I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me." Looking back to the youth he asked another question. "How are you to open doors that seem closed to you?" Once again he quoted scripture without looking down. So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find: knock and the door will be opened to you."

    Then he lowered his head. "I now ask you to listen to my prayer for all of you, taken directly from the Bible. Psalms 20, May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offers. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all of your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests. Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Lord, give victory to the king. Answer us when we call. In the name of the Lord I pray."

    Now Pastor David raised his head as many in the crowd gave a soft 'Amen' to his prayer. Looking once more at them all he spoke again. "The Lord will open those doors for you, but have you opened the door to him?  Once more Pastor David quoted scripture. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. The Lord will knock at the door to your heart. He will call out to you. Only you can open that door though. Open that door and invite him inside. Then you will have the answers to all of your questions. Then you will have victory and peace in your heart. Of all the decisions we must make. Of all the changes that may happen in our lives. This one change is, the only choice, the only change in us that will matter for all of eternity."

   Pastor David turned to look at the youth section one last time. "I know in my heart that many of you are facing major decisions in the coming weeks. The future is both exciting and frightening. I will hope and pray that each of you have opened the door and invited the Lord to come in. But if you have not yet opened that door, if you haven't made that change in your life, then I beg you to go find a quiet place to be alone. Be still and know that He is God. Open that door. There is no other decision that will change your life the way that one will. Before you go out into the world to face all of the changes ahead of you... face this one if you have not already. The Lord has the answers you need. Ask and you will receive. Go somewhere today and listen for His voice. Then you will have the answers you seek."