January 24, 1999 (#10): No one came until about 9:45 when a reluctant trucker stuck his head in the door to see if the television was on, but didn’t seem to have much of an interest. Arlo engaged him in a friendly conversation. I was interested in his comment about the strange weather around the country lately. The distress of our times is beginning to catch people’s attention, which means they would be more open to the preaching of the Gospel. Many people really do worry about divine retribution for the sins of the nation.

This encounter, which initially seemed to be brief, ended up as a 30-minute chat. Here was a man who understands there is a God and that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ, but is beset with doubts. It is one thing to know intellectually that there is a God and another altogether to know God’s presence and reality in one’s day to day life, and to know it down to the core of one’s being.

I told him that even John the Baptist doubted Jesus at one point, and as for whether the Bible is really just a book written by men (in other words, a giant hoax), people don’t die for what they know is a hoax. The apostles were martyred for their beliefs, as were many people who walked with Jesus. If what they wrote was not true, they surely would not have been willing to die for it.

January 31, 1999 (#11): This study consisted of a repeat customer, two helpful guests, and a man with some unusual beliefs.

A man arrived early to talk, whom Arlo recognized from a couple of weeks ago. He is new to the study of the scriptures (since October), although he has been a nominal Christian his entire life. He feels a call to the ministry and has decided to leave trucking and study towards the ministry. He is a single man and has few material wants and is willing to go wherever he is led. He appears very sincere and humble. I explained that the King James does a terrible job in translating the word for "minister", and what that job is really about is "service". Intuitively he knew this, as he seems to automatically use the words "ministering" and "serving" interchangeably.

We pointed out in Acts 8 how the people were scattered and spread the word wherever they found themselves, so his ministering does not need to be as an ordained minister. He can "minister" and preach the word wherever regardless of his circumstances. Paul, in fact, made tents and then went and preached on the Sabbath in the synagogues.

We were joined by a couple who are friends from the Church of God Seventh Day. They were able to share some insights in the sacrifice that a minister must make, given from the experiences of a relative.

We were then joined by a Pentecostal type who had some strange ideas about a number of things, including visions he claims to have had and how the scriptures take second place to his visions. We got into quite a discussion with this fellow, as you can well imagine. He had a spirit of condemnation about him going beyond a spirit of self-righteousness. Seemed to think he had the ability to bring curses on others and condemn them to eternal hellfire. He believes that some can be saved by the covenant of grace and others by the covenant of righteousness, which amounts to earning one’s salvation. In the minds of many people, his demeanor and attitude probably gives Christianity a bad name. It became evident that arguing was not going to get anywhere. My carnal nature enjoyed giving him things to think about, although I doubt that he will. He finally admitted that he rejects much of Paul’s writings and other parts of scripture because they do not agree with some of the communications he is getting from the "spirit".

The couple from COG Seventh Day had to leave, but before doing so, the gentleman got out of his chair and walked up to our Pentecostal friend and said something to this effect: "I have been a Christian for a long time, and there is one thing that I have come to see. I am responsible for my own salvation and not everyone else’s. Judgement is in God’s hands and not mine, and the only person’s salvation that I can do anything about is my own." He then shook the man’s hand, said it was nice to meet him, and left.

The meeting broke up at this point, and the Pentecostal left. Our other guest, who is new to Bible study said, "He finally revealed himself." It was a reference to the man putting the communication from this spirit ahead of scripture.

Several from our congregation and from the Church of God Seventh Day attended a seminar on evangelism, and I went to that in lieu of attending the Bible study. Arlo tells me he had a unique experience last week, as it was the first time that he had a trucker with whom he was in complete agreement.

The trucker had gotten there early and had picked up and read a booklet that we had left behind previously on the nature of the Holy Spirit, and the man asked for another copy that he could give to his brother. He told Arlo that a while back he told God, "I want to be led by Your spirit." He wanted to make sure that he learned what the Bible says, and not just what people say about the Bible.

He seemed to have some basic understanding of the second resurrection, and that there is a plan for those who never had a chance in this life. Arlo, of course, shared some information on the Sabbath with him.

It is heartening to know that God is sending people our way who are truly "searching the scriptures daily whether these things are so".

February 14, 1999 (#13): Nobody came. These are disappointments that we must accept and overcome.

February 21, 1999 (#14): We had one trucker who wanted to talk mostly about coping with the death of friends and relatives. He had the age-old question of "why does God allow such things?" We reassured him that they did not die because God was punishing them, but that it is appointed unto all men to die once, and after that the resurrection. God doesn’t tell us why some things happen, but He does assure us that all shall live again, and that we are assured of a resurrection because Jesus Christ, our elder brother, conquered death through His own resurrection.

It was a good opportunity to plant a few seeds of the gospel, the Good News that all will have a chance, and that God will wipe away all tears and death will be destroyed. We referred to some of the classic scriptures in 1 Corinthians, 2 Thessalonians, and Revelation to give hope and comfort that indeed we will see our loved ones again, and all will have the opportunity for eternal life.

He took a couple of Bibles with him and some literature pertinent to the subject at hand. We were able to plant a few seeds and hopefully they will take root, but just as important, we were able to convey hope and encouragement. That is what it is all about, isn’t it?

March 7, 1999 (#15): What is true religion? That was a major part of our subject today.

The truck driver today just happened to be in the lounge watching the tube, and decided to stay to talk religion with us. He says he has no faith in religion, but he does believe in God. Says he has a lot of questions, but doesn’t have the answers.

Interesting talking to him because he seems to be like so many today. Many know there is a God, but see the hypocrisy and politics in various religious organizations, so they get their "religion" from reading the Bible and personal prayer, and then try to live it by helping others in need. It reminded me of a scripture (which we read to him) in James 1:26-27 that says in part that pure and undefiled religion is to visit orphans and widows and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. We also read James 2:14-17, which expounds on the principle even more. I believe we frame the question incorrectly when we talk in terms of grace and works. Instead, James talks about faith and works, which puts a whole new spin on the role of works in the Christian life.

He took a Bible with him (he only had a New Testament previously), as well as some literature and tapes. It was encouraging to hear him say that he usually drives only on the East Coast, and he couldn’t figure out why all of a sudden he got a route to the Midwest, except maybe it was because it was meant for him to meet with us.

March 21, 1999 (#15): I was not able to attend this study, but Arlo Gieselman said that it was "the best one ever". After you hear the story, you might be inclined to agree.

He had four truckers, two of whom were very serious Bible students. One had been studying for five years and had a well-marked Bible to show for it. Marked Bibles are somewhat of a rarity, by the way. He has a six-year-old who wanted to be baptized, and they allowed it because Jesus said "let the children come", and at worst the child would just be getting wet and could be rebaptized later.

Also, one of the workers at the truck stop (a teenager) came in to listen. A couple of months ago one of the women who works there approached me about getting a Bible for a "young fellow worker" who was seeking spiritual guidance. Some of his fellow workers wanted to help him along these paths. I gave the lady a Bible to pass along, and this was the young man who was the recipient.

But the thing that got Arlo excited relates to the other truck driver who is deep in the Word. Arlo has made it a habit to mention in passing the Sabbath in every study just to put it out there and see what happens. It so happens that this one trucker had been thinking about this very subject and wanted to know more. In fact he wanted to talk more than what Arlo had time for, and the man asked for a phone number and address where he could attend services in Kansas City if he happened to be in the area on the Sabbath. The man said that this was "the most fantastic" Bible study he had ever attended.

Our job is to plant seeds and not necessarily convince folks of the truth of what we know. We have planted a lot of seeds over the 18 months that we have done these studies. Yet we know that there is more to spreading the word than just planting seeds. Some plant, some water, and some harvest, but of course it is God who gives the increase. It was encouraging that yesterday God sent someone in whom the seed had already been planted and who was seeking to have that seed watered. I hope you can see why yesterday was an encouragement.

March 28, 1999 (#16): John Curry and I met with three truckers today, one of whom was a repeat customer from several months ago. You may recall from a previous post a man who claimed to have just learned about having a terminal illness. This was the man who joined us for a second time.

Today seemed like the right time to read the scripture that says, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us", and to relate how the lamb in Exodus 12 represented the Messiah and His sacrifice, and I related specific items showing how the Passover was a type of the death of Jesus Christ. This did not seem to strike much of a chord.

One of the gentlemen had a very good grasp of the millennium and the rule of Jesus Christ on this earth, which seems to be a doctrine that is becoming more popular in the evangelical community. He had an obvious knowledge of the Bible, which was good to see. The other truckers did not understand that Christ will reign on the earth.

I hesitate to relate some observations about the trucker who attended for the second time, but perhaps my impressions will be helpful. For various reasons I am not sure that he was being totally straight with us about his terminal illness. The story he told in the autumn didn’t quite match up with the story he told me today. (One does not go in for triple bypass surgery if he has a terminal illness). And when there is a not so subtle hint for money, suspicions become aroused.

So today’s study was not so exciting, but having some weeks better than others is to be expected.

April 11, 1999 (#17): We had record attendance today: six truckers, two employees of the truck stop, Arlo and me.

General impressions:

1. Three of the truckers are serious Bible students, and the other three would like to be. One truck driver, an African-American lady, has a deep comprehension of Biblical truth and a gift for explaining it. She took the approach early in her spiritual journey that she would study the Bible for what it said rather than what churches tell her, and it was evident that she has been true to this.

2. Another driver, a young man whose grandfather was a preacher, no longer attends church. His reason for no longer attending? Churches are too much into tradition and sugar-coating the Bible rather than in preaching the truth. I was of the impression that he meant that many churches these days do not condemn sin as they should.

3. I was impressed today that those who open the Bible and study it for what it says all tend to have an understanding that Jesus will return and that there will be a millennium on the earth. Understanding of whether there will be a rapture and of other end time issues may differ, but many more than what we might think understand the basics. We were able to discuss the fullness of the Gospel as discussed in Isaiah 61, which not only speaks to salvation, but also to the Good News of the second coming and the peace that Jesus Christ will bring to the earth.

4. Speaking of tradition vs. Biblical truth, Arlo used that opportunity to state that Sunday-keeping is a tradition, and if one takes the Bible and the Bible alone as one’s authority, one would have to conclude that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week.

5. Evidently, many are troubled (or have doubts about) the traditional notions of hellfire, and this led to a discussion of Revelation 20-21, Matthew 11:20-24 and Ezekiel 37. Some are willing to consider this, and some are not. Interesting again how the two individuals mentioned in paragraphs 1 & 2 (above) had enough understanding from just reading the Bible that they could see the possibility.

The study went two hours today, and I couldn’t possibly relate everything to you in this short summary. I do think it is important to listen to people and not try to "evangelize" those who are already convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and that the Bible is God’s written word. In such cases it is better to walk alongside them and study the Bible together as fellow students.

The lady mentioned in paragraph #1 wants God to lead her wherever His will directs. She hopes to leave trucking and enter the ministry. Perhaps His will is something else, but I must tell you that her meekness before God, her faith to follow God’s leading, and her intelligence, insight, and ability to explain the scriptures could lead her in a direction she can’t imagine right now. Please pray for her and any others God might call.

April 25, 1999 (#18): What is happening to this nation?

We had two truckers today. I read to them a story of one girl in Littleton, Colorado. The gunman had demanded of her whether she believed in Jesus. She, with a rifle barrel pointed at her chest, hesitated, then said yes, whereupon the gunman pulled the trigger.

I wondered aloud what would I do if faced with such a question. Would I be willing to die for my witness? This led naturally to a discussion on prophecy and also to a discussion on the power of the Holy Spirit. (God will give us the strength we need when we need it.) It is certainly an open question on where the events of the past few weeks will lead (i.e., the war and the school shootings), but there is an awareness that there is something terribly wrong. Perhaps America will finally wake up.

People of faith, including today’s drivers, are looking forward to the return of Christ as much as we are. They know that ultimately it is God who must bring the solutions to this world’s evils. There may be disagreement on whether Jesus returns to rapture His people away or whether His people must go through a tribulation (or, in our tradition, whether there is a place of safety), but the looking forward to Jesus’ return is something we share with more people than what we might think.

One of the fellows today said that his preacher believes in the rapture, but that he isn’t sure and prefers to study into it himself.

It is in times such as these that people need both a warning and a message of hope. The prophets are filled with both, and after discussing the need for more of God’s spirit in the church today (to be manifested in the willingness and cour age to stand for what we know is right), we looked at Isaiah 61, which summarizes the gospel and the good news of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

For some reason the discussion in these studies always seems to swing toward Revelation 20 and the resurrections. Today was no exception. While I don’t think they accept just yet the truth of Revelation 20, they now have something to think about.

All in all, a good day, and one where we were able to walk together in the study of the Word.

—Lenny Cacchio

705 Ne Bryant Dr; Lees Summit, Mo 64068

lenny_cacchio@hotmail.com

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