PERSEVERANCE 

I saw the dark clouds gathering and threatening as I drove past the tall office building on my left. Seeing no parking lot, I continued down the bust street, pulling into a small park and parking my car there. 

I leapt from the car, insulated bag in hand, and started the walk back to the building. It was a climb on the sidewalk, and then ... the sidewalk ended.  I looked doubtfully up the cliff that looked about 20-30 feet high, looked at the food again, shrugged, and started climbing. 

At the top, I straightened up, brushed myself off, and looked for a door. Nothing was going to stop me from finishing this delivery! (*When I found the door, I also learned there was a parking lot, down two other roads never mentioned on the Google Maps or hinted at by the address.) 

Sometimes life seems that way. One obstacle after another pile up trying to block us from accomplishing a goal, especially if it is a spiritual goal to enrich our Christian lives. Satan can be a storm, bad directions, and a cliff all at once. 

We must be like the US Postal Service Motto - "Neither rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Always ready to fight against evil and continue our journey through life - how can we lose if we have Jesus by our side? 

James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Honesty

 One thing I have learned working this job is that there are some people who have no qualms at all about lying. Customers lie: "Tip in cash."  DoorDash support agents lie: "I can not process any extra payment for this order." Dasher's lie: "This number is no longer connected once delivery is complete. Please call DoorDash with any problems with the order."  

One that can cause a lot of problems is when merchants lie.  And that happens fairly often. A merchant will say, "This order will take about ten more minutes."  Ten seems to be the standard time.  Then, twenty minutes later, you're still standing there waiting on it.  It can cause one to be quite annoyed.

What makes it even worse is, things would be so much better if they just told the truth.  It may sound awful to say, "It's going to be a half hour before we get this order out," but if they just were honest about it, the Dasher would unassign it.  This would be to everyone's benefit ... the Dasher is happy because he can move on to another order. The merchant now has the time to do the order well without a really annoyed Dasher standing around waiting. Another Dasher will be happy to get the order, and when they get there it will be much closer to being finished.   The customer may not be so happy about having to wait so long, but they are going to have to wait that long no matter who delivers the food. 

I had one place to deliver from, and it was my first place there.  This was pre-pandemic and the place was hopping!  It was a new place, and there was a party atmosphere. I came through the back door to get the delivery order.  A server told me it would be about 15 minutes.  Well ......  the next day, I had another order there, same server tells me 15 minutes.  I stopped her. "Yesterday you told me it was a 15 minute wait, and I didn't get out of here until 40.  SO, today do you really mean 15 minutes, or is it more like 40?" 

She blushed, and with a small guilty grin she said, "Welllll .... maybe more like 25....."   I thanked her and unassigned myself from the order.  No hard feelings at all, things happen. But be honest about it, don't lie! 

In Leviticus 19, when God is telling the people (through Moses) how to be holy, he says, "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another." One of the Ten Commandments is "You shall not bear false witness." In Revelation 21, lying is equal with murder, stealing, and idolatry! All through the Bible the gravity of lying is brought to mind again and again - probably because then it was just as big a problem and just as widespread as it is now. May we all resolve to be better people, and put lying far behind us.  

Blogging on Uber Driver Things

Recently, I spoke with the owners of the site Uber Driver Things and was asked to be a "DoorDash Guy" writing for the blog there. 

My first article there is a longer one.  If you have an interest in becoming a DoorDash driver, or you are one and you are looking for tips to maximize your potential, have a look at this guide.

https://uberdriverthings.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-driving-for-doordash-how-to-sign-up-requirements-and-tips-to-maximize-your-earnings

What we have here is a failure to communicate...

Today I had a nice size delivery from an Asian bistro. I had some trouble communicating with the workers there, because they don't speak English very well. Better than I speak their native language I am sure, but still difficult to understand one another easily.

Then I took the food to the customer. He was also of Asian descent, and as I stood at the door, chattering away while handing him the various bags and explaining what was in them, to a completely blank face, I suddenly realized – this man doesn't understand a word I am saying!

It certainly wipes out any chance of communicating, doesn't it?

The apostles of Jesus could have faced a similar problem trying to get the gospel message out to everyone in the first century. There is no evidence that any of them knew more than, at MOST, two languages (and most would have only known one). Jesus had told them they would stay in Jerusalem until power came upon them, and then they would preach in all Judea and Samaria, and eventually to the “uttermost parts of the Earth”. Did they ever wonder how they were going to do that without knowing the languages?

We are told in Acts 2 about the Day of Pentecost following Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension. This would have been 50 days after his crucifixion. Jesus had specifically mentioned a “baptism [or immersion- VE] of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5), saying it would happen very soon after his ascension, though not exactly saying when. So one week after Jesus had ascended, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples (now Apostles) with a sound like rushing wind and an appearance like flames of fire above the heads of those on whom it fell.

Peter began to preach. At the time there would have been many visitors to Jerusalem because they would come for Passover and stay through Pentecost. Josephus gives an estimate of over 2.5 Million for Passover during the time of Nero – so it is not out of line to suggest one million in Jerusalem at the time of this occurrence, and tens of thousands close enough to witness it first-hand. Of those, Acts 2 records over a dozen different cultures of different languages.

Without the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues, this would have sounded like a great cacophony to some – and indeed, for those who did not listen for their own language, it did! But many, listening, did pick up that one of the speakers was speaking in their own language, so that the Word of God was made known in every tongue.

This gift of tongues is not seen today. There are many reports of such, but it is often either in a language that nobody has ever heard, or if it really is a known language it is spoken without an interpreter, expressly forbidden in the New Testament because nobody benefits. The true gift of tongues was always for edification, always in a real language, and always for the benefit of someone who did not understand the language of the speaker. People in the first century were told that one day this gift of speaking in tongues would cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Thank the Lord that he wants us to understand his message of love and forgiveness. Unlike my friend at the door not understanding my message about his food delivery, every person will have the opportunity to understand God's message about eternal life.

Not Quite There...

One thing that is invaluable in this job is a GPS. Now, I am old enough that I have done a delivery job before when we did not have GPS - pizza delivery, when I was in college. However, with that we always had a static starting point (the shop), and a big map on the wall to refer to before we left the shop - two things that are not part of the job today.  We also had a smaller delivery area.

The only thing with the GPS is that it is not always precise on the specific address.  Hence, there are times when it has:

     * Taken me a half mile out of the way to make a U-turn that wasn't necessary anyway.
     * Taken me down an alley rather than the road I needed.
     * Not recognized new roads.
     * A few times,  it was at completely the wrong place.

Other drawbacks are that it does not recognize that sometimes a different route may be much faster because of traffic or construction or a car accident.

But by far what happens the most often is that it says, "You have arrived!" and you're actually a few houses away. You have to drive a couple hundred yards yet before you find the right house. If you were entirely dependent upon the GPS to get to the right house, you might be in trouble.

We understand that newer technology is not always perfect and can sometimes cause a little confusion.  But what about when people do the same thing? Should we be as understanding if a doctor were to give the wrong dosage of medication? Or a nurse misread our medical data? What if the paramedics were called, and they went to the wrong house?  Or even in my case - what if I did not correct the technological error and delivered the food to the wrong house every time?

And most importantly ... what about our religious leaders? Shall we entrust our souls' destinies to a teaching that is "not quite there"? Well, if you've ever been told that you are saved by grace ... and that means you don't have to do anything at all, you're not quite there.  If you've been told all you have to do is believe, you're not quite there.  If you've been led in a "Sinner's Prayer" and believe that makes you saved ... you're not quite there. Many of today's religious leaders are like that GPS ... they lead you most of the way there ... but then let you go a few doors short.

Fortunately, you have a road map. Always be wary of a preacher who tells you, "The Bible says...." and then doesn't tell you where the Bible says whatever it is he's put forth. So let's look at two examples.  The very first Christians, on the day of Pentecost sometime around A.D. 30, and Saul of Tarsus (later better known as Paul the Apostle) several years later.

In Acts 2, we find that the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on the Day of Pentecost - 1 week after Jesus ascended - and they began to speak in tongues.  This was a wonder (of course) to the Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Holy Day. Peter stood up among them and gave the "first gospel sermon", as it was, explaining what was happening, who Jesus was, and how all were guilty of killing the Messiah - but that he had been raised from the dead. The people, it tells us in verse 37, were "pricked in the heart" ... they were emotionally affected by this word, AND that moved them to action, for we are told they "cried out, 'Men and Brethren, what should we do?'" 

In verse 38, Peter says what we in the New Testament church love to quote so often, "Repent and be baptized every one of you, for the forgiveness of sins."  Now, God has made that very simple, very concise. Repent - turn around from a sinful lifestyle and do what is right ... and be baptized - immersed in water as a symbol of Christ's blood that will wash away sins. We don't DESERVE or EARN salvation because we did this .... but we are told to do it.

With Saul's conversion, we go to him giving testimony about it in court, before Festus and Agrippa, recorded in Acts 20. Specifically, he was traveling  to Damascus to round up Christians and bring them "to justice", in his mind. On the way there, a light shone around him and a voice - the voice of Jesus - spoke to him, asking why he was persecuting Him. Paul called him Lord - that becomes important in a moment.  He is told where to go, and a man God has sent will meet him and instruct him further, and until then, he is blind. Ananias is sent by God ...  now I want you to notice that at this point, Paul has repented, Paul believes, but Ananias says to him in verse 16, "And now, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord!"  Paul, though believing and repenting, was still in his sins! He was not quite there.

If you're not quite there - it's just a few steps more. Why not complete that now?

Identification Required!

During the time I've been working with Doordash, I have met around 8-10 other dashers while working. I can usually tell within the first minute whether this person is going to be good (or has been at it awhile), or is never going to make it.  One man that I correctly identified as "never going to make it" told me he was making his last delivery right then. One lady came in the store without a smile, without her insulated bag, and dragging a toddler along by the hand behind her - she'll never make it. One young man merely GRUNTED at me when I said hello to him, and he did no better with the merchant.  He'll never make it.

One thing that has bothered me is that very few wear their shirts that were given to us.  I don't know why - they are nice shirts. Maybe they don't like red. I like the shirt, I'd wear a hat too if they gave us one, and I've asked several times for a magnet. I know if I can put a magnet on the car, I can park in questionable places, but people will know I am coming right back .... right now the only choice I have is to put my flashers on.  I've been told they don't have any at the Charlotte office - because dashers kept telling them they don't want one.

When I wear my Doordash shirt, I am immediately recognized the second I come through the door. If this is a merchant that has an agreement with Doordash, they can just hand me the food and I am on my way - no standing in line or anything. Other patrons who see me realize I am not some pushy customer; I am working. (Most) restaurants have an appreciation for us because without us, they would lose opportunities.

So I do not understand why some would not want to have that which would identify them with the job they are doing.

It applies to being a Christian as well.  There are those who want to say and act like Christians sometimes, but not at other times. They don't want to be identified as that by the world. I remember feeling hurt at one time when I was a child in public school - there were two others in the class I was in who said they were Christians, but I was the only one standing up for Christianity.  They remained silent.

In Revelation 7, there is a scene in which 144,000 virgin Jewish men have the mark of God placed on their foreheads. Likewise , in another chapter, the Beast has caused those who follow him to have an identifying mark placed on their hands or their forehead. Without getting too deeply into the symbolism, both chapters would have brought to mind for the readers Ezekiel 9, where in Ezekiel's vision, one priest is told to mark all those in Jerusalem who actually care about the idol worship with a mark on the forehead ... and then told divine executioners to follow along behind and slaughter without mercy all those who did not have the mark. The mark is a symbolic identification showing possession. Will we be owned by God, or the Beast?

I am reminded of the parable Jesus told as recorded in Matthew 22.  In Verses 1-14, he spoke of a wedding banquet.  The king had invited certain people, but when the good news reached them, they either just went off to their homes and businesses, while others seized the servants of the king and tortured and killed them. The king had their city destroyed and burned, and sent the invitation out to everyone else.  Of course this parable demonstrates what happened with Jerusalem - when the good news came to them through John, Jesus, and the followers of Jesus, they were tortured or ignored. As a result, Jerusalem was destroyed (AD 70) while the invitation had gone out to gather in all who would follow, Jew OR Gentile.

But in the last part of the parable, Jesus added this:  “11 But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”  The man did not have his clothes identifying him as part of the chosen. He had not "put on" Jesus. And as a result, he was cast out.

Do we have the mark?  Are we wearing the clothes? Food for thought.  

Instructions (not) Included

I read the order off the screen of my phone word for word for the girl behind the counter.

"Two shakes, and two sundaes ... oh, and let's see - there's a note here that says, 'Make sure to put napkins in the cups so nothing gets in them'."

I stopped, confused, and read the line several times again to myself.  Yes, that was what it said.  But what did it MEAN? I looked up at the food service worker.  "Soooo .... like, you want me to put napkins in the cups and then pour the shake over them.....??"

As tempted as I was to default back to my usual, "I'm just the deliverer!" I knew it wouldn't work this time. This time I was also the person receiving instructions and making the entire order. Which was why I was getting paid more.

"Um ..... you know what?  I have no idea what this customer is saying here.  Just forget the napkins thing." It must have been okay, because this customer seemed happy with his delivery. I thought it was odd - he lives a couple blocks away.  I would just walk. It would be faster and cheaper. But, it gives me a job, so...

Sometimes, I feel the same way with God's Word.  "I'm just the deliverer!"  And I am - but as with the food delivery job, I have to get it right. With my food delivery, if I get it wrong, the customer will be upset, I'll lose my tip, and with the current situation being that there are companies offering competition to us, we could lose that customer altogether.  But if I get God's Word delivery wrong, the stakes are so much higher!

James 3:1 (ESV) "Not many of you should become teachers ["deliverers"?], for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." One who is a teacher is always held to a higher standard. While I may not be the one who made God's laws, and am only the one "delivering" the word to others, I need to be constantly aware of the importance of getting it right, especially when souls are at stake.

When I first started delivering, it took me awhile to get used to the GPS on my phone. I hadn't used it much before then, but I also was not familiar with the area I was delivering to. I had one situation where the restaurant was in the same parking lot I was in, but hidden behind another building - and the Google maps based GPS devices are worthless once you get in a parking lot.

Since then, I've gone from "never heard of it," to "I know where that is," to "....Why are you taking me that way ... I want to go THIS way!" With time and repetition, when one puts effort into it, things become easier.

It's that way living the Christian life as well. When one first starts, there are pitfalls that are harder to avoid. Mistakes will be made. They need time to become mature Christians, and that doesn't happen overnight.

In the same way that no one could fault me for not knowing where places were when I first began, we should be careful not to come down too hard on a new Christian who stumbles in the Way.  Better to pick them up, than to stomp on them when they are down there. James 5:16 tells us to "Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." We are to confess the sins SO THAT we can pray for one another - not so that we can use that to throw in someone's face later, to be suspicious of them, or belittle them.

Now, I still make mistakes sometimes in directions, and likewise, a mature Christian will still make mistakes as well.  The same principle applies - there is no expiration date by which we must have made all mistakes, and can no longer make any after that time.

John said he wrote what we call his first epistle to Christians, "So that you may not sin". But, even so, he knew folks would, so he added, "But if anyone does sin, we (interesting he chooses "we" ... John includes himself as part of this) have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1)  Note that John says we have an advocate .... not a prosecutor, not a foe, not an accuser - that position is already taken by our adversary, Satan.  Let's not be Satan's legal aides, shall we?  Let's work with the Advocate.  

Searching

Time was passing by as I drove up and down Providence Rd., through side streets, and around in circles in parking lots, futilely seeking the restaurant I was supposed to pick up from. GPS had brought me into a parking lot, in front of a market, and then declared, "You have arrived at your destination!"

This prompted an, "I've arrived?  Where??" from me, since I was not supposed to be at a Whole Foods market. For the next 20 minutes - probably longer - I drove, searched every building, looked at a directory in a parking lot, questioned people in the parking lot, and finally even called the customer ... she didn't answer.  In a final bid, I got out of the car and asked at what must have been a very high end diamond store - one that was locked when I first walked up to it.

They knew where this restaurant was, and it turned out to be in an inner area, no view to the street, no signage, and didn't even have their name on the directory.  I questioned them on this as I picked up the order (late), commenting that nobody knew where they were. The food service worker simply pointed at the order and said, "Somebody know!" Well - can't argue with logic like that.

Jesus spoke of searching as well. He told a parable about the Kingdom, in which a merchant searched all his career for a perfect pearl (Matt. 13:45-46). He found one, and was willing to give up everything else he had to buy that one perfect pearl, because nothing else would be better. He could stop searching.

There are many out there searching for meaning in their lives. In the Old Testament, wise Solomon also searched for meaning, and had the means to try everything the world offers.  He found that wine, sex, money, power, fame, knowledge, and strength were not the key - and in the end he said, "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: fear God, and keep his commands, for this is the whole of man." (Ecc. 12:13)  Man can not be whole until he follows God.  When this "pearl" - symbolizing God's Kingdom - is shown to man, if he truly understands he will be willing to give all he has to gain it. 

"You're 'Emily'?? .....Okay"

It was my first day on the job, my very first "Dash". I was instructed by the app to get 4 Starbucks coffees, and take them to Value City, delivering to an "Emily". I received a very cursory training (we watched a video) and no riding with anyone else to get the idea first, so I was on my own on just what to do.

This turned out to be a more in-depth order than usual. Not only was I still getting used to how the app worked, and still getting used to using the route-finder, but I had to stand in line and order the coffees, rather than just pick up the order.  This involved reading the order closely for the choices, and just winging it on some things that were not marked.

The route finder proved to be interesting during delivery, leading me in by some back way with alleys and one-way streets. When I found it, and went in with the coffees, a large guard by the front door said to me, "Are they already paid for?  Yeah - that's me."

I looked at him and said, "You're 'Emily'??"   The only thing *I* had instructions to do at that point was "deliver" them, so I shrugged and said, "Okay..."  and started to set them on his desk.  Fortunately, he laughed at that point and told me where the customer service desk was at - where I could find the real Emily.

Sometimes, we are too ready to accept an impostor. We see a satirical news story or a hoax, and it sounds so good that we forward it without doing due diligence to check the facts first. We hear someone is sick or hurt, and we jump right to praying for them - or more - before we find out the whole story is faked or outdated.

But the worst thing we can end up accepting is a false gospel. Paul stated in Galatians 1:8, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul expressed concern that the Corinthian Christians could be so easily led astray ... that when someone brought them a teaching that was different from that which they received, they easily went along with it (vs. 4). I fear that many go away from "crusades for Christ" and tent meetings and modern day churches with an idea that they have the truth, when what they are actually clinging to is a complete falsehood.

I never want people to believe what I say simply because I am the preacher.  I want them to be like the Bereans of Acts 17 ... Luke said they were "more noble" than those in Thessalonica, because they searched the scriptures daily to see if what Paul was telling them was really the truth (Acts 17:11).  Don't believe something is true just because it sounds good .... look into the scriptures for yourself, and see if their teaching really is true. 

Introduction

From the title, you might think this blog would be about sermon delivery or some such thing. If you assumed that, you would be incorrect. I suggest if you spend some time reading, you will get enjoyment and knowledge from what I write here.

My name is Vincent Eagan. I am a Christian preacher and have been thus for over 20 years. My lifestyle and way of doing things has led to me having the opportunity to guest speak in over 100 churches across 30 states, do foreign mission work in Lima, Peru, and be the local preacher for congregations in 6 states. It has also however led to me seeing more than my fair share of unusual circumstances - and it has been the case that I have, at times, had to take up secular work to support myself.

This leads to the subject of this blog.  Most recently I landed in a contracting position I rather enjoy. I contract with a company called "Doordash", which will allow a person, through an app, to choose food from a wide variety of different merchants. The order is then sent to a Dasher - that's me - who will pick it up and deliver it to the customer. All those involved benefit from such an arrangement ... the customer gets food delivered from virtually anywhere in the city, the merchant gets an order they would not have had if they have no delivery service, and the business and Dasher earn a fee.

It works well for me because I have always enjoyed driving, I have complete control over my schedule (allowing me to travel for preaching engagements), and I don't have anyone watching me work over my shoulder - I never have worked well in that position.

From the beginning I have had interesting adventures. Someone once told me she loved when I came back from traveling because adventures always happened to me that didn't happen to other folks.  Frankly, I believe adventure can happen to anyone - it's just in how you perceive and tell about what happened, and whether you pick up on opportunities that become known.

Many of my adventures - an addition to being entertaining - have spiritual application. That is what you will read about here.