Sometimes, you just gotta laugh!
I was a guest preacher at the church where I grew up. How would friends and family respond to the new me? These people had only known me as a wisecracking teenager, a used-car salesman and finally as general manager of an automobile dealership. Now I’m a preacher? What a change!
There was no need to worry. After the service, people gathered around to offer congratulations and praise. All except for one older gentleman who has known me since childhood. He slowly walked up and stared into my eyes for several seconds. (It seemed like hours!) Then with a smile beginning to crack his stony face, he uttered the words that would shatter any sense of false pride I might have claimed.
“Larry.... if the Lord can save you? He can save anybody!”
There Must Be A God!!
But this book is not about used-car salesmen. I was one and claim the honor with pride. It is not about preachers. I am now a retired preacher and still happily serving God. “When A Used Car Salesman Becomes A Preacher…” is about God's wonderful, lifesaving grace being available to anyone… anyone including you and me.
Whatever terrible deeds you may have committed? Whatever life you’ve lived in the past? God offers forgiving and loving grace. No matter how often you may fall short in life. There is another opportunity for redemption and another chance to succeed.
Do you need proof?
At one of our Bible studies, we looked at the opening paragraphs in each of Paul's letters. Most of them emphasized the same message. Look for yourself:
· This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God's great kindness to sinners. (Colossians 1:6)
You are among those who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ… God loves you dearly, and he has called you to be his very own people. (Romans 1:6)
You who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did all Christians everywhere—whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. (2 Corinthians 1:3)
He died for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. (Galatians 1:4)
He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
Isn't God's Grace Amazing??!!
Are you still striving to improve your relationship with God and falling short? Really short? Look at these verses again and spend a few minutes thinking about how very much God loves you. Share this story with someone who may need an encouraging word.
Remember… “When a used car salesman becomes a preacher…. there must be a God!”
If you are looking for a book on how to buy a used car? This is not it! If you are looking for juicy tidbits of trash-talk about salespeople or preachers? Forget about it. But… if you are looking for spiritual food about regular folks struggling with their faith in the real world then you will enjoy reading the stories in this book.
This is about the daily struggles of living out our faith. There is humor and sadness, celebration and grief, spiritual discipline and sinful mistakes. In other words, it is about you and me and the God who loves us.
You can read the stories in any order, once a day or once a week and answer the questions as part of your devotional time or you can simply read the book through. My prayer is that you will find spiritual growth, comfort and joy in these pages.