Drive-Thru Jesus

By Mark Miller

America loves the drive-thru. Roll down your window. Shout into the speaker. Pay at the next window. Take your order to go. It works for the budget and fits our busy lives. But what happens when we act that way toward God? What happens if we merely fit God into our schedule?

In Drive-Thru Jesus, author and pastor Mark Miller offers a collection of life experiencessome funny, some sadillustrating that Jesus is not a drive-thru Jesus. Miller delivers the message that each experience contains a life lesson and how these lessons are part of Gods greater plan working to transform us more and more into the image of Jesus. He discusses how to look at past experiences in order to live according to Gods will in the present.

Drive-Thru Jesus communicates that God calls each of us to a lifelong journey with the Savior. He is not a drive-thru Jesus. He isnt looking for you simply to pray a prayer so you can claim membership in His club. He wants to walk with you, and He wants you to walk with Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490897783

Mark Miller

Mark Miller (BA, Evangel University) is executive pastor at NewSong Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and he consults for other churches on reaching postmoderns, creativity, and leadership. He is the founder of The Jesus Journey, an experiential storytelling retreat that makes the story of the Bible accessible to postmoderns. He is married to Stacey and has two daughters.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Mark Miller.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9777-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9778-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015919334

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/21/2015

CONTENTS

Drive – Thru Jesus

Ordering

Cherokees, Colts and Chickens

Thanksgiving Days

Keeping It Between The Lines

Letters Of Remembrance

Big Mike

Physics 301

Texas Sunsets

Pizza & Beer

Little By Little

It’s Not Complicated

I Had A Dream

I Do and I Did

Are You Having Fun Yet?

Hold On!

Pain

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Endnotes

Connect with Mark

This book is

dedicated to my wife Carrie for allowing me the time to finish this work. Many of these stories we have experienced together and I thank the Lord for them all. A special thanks is given to my very good friend Keith. We set out together to each write a book and of course yours was completed two years earlier. I also want to say thanks to my friend Jimmy for constantly encouraging me to write and put my words in print. We all need someone to push us along and you served that role well.

DRIVE – THRU JESUS

24860.png

Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it…The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine (1 Samuel 17:34 - 37).

- David, Son of Jesse

God is always preparing you.

You may not realize it at first, but He’s working all of your life together for His good. Upon reflection, it may seem obvious. But that’s not always the case in the present.

David knew that. I’m not talking about King David, but teen David. Long before David became king of Israel, years before his slip-up with Bathsheba, even before he squared off against mighty Goliath, David was a shepherd. He watched his father’s sheep.

Now, you and I might not think that’s too great a job, but if your family’s livelihood depended on the raising of sheep, I’d say that’s quite a compliment to be given such responsibility.

Here son, take care of our sheep. Travel with them for months. Move them to green pastures. Lead them to still waters. Here’s a sword, a sling and your staff. Good luck.

My guess is that initially David had no idea of all God had in store for him. Who really does? I’m sure on occasion he got tired, lonely and even scared. But that’s where David grew up. God used these experiences to mature a young man, to prepare him for a life’s adventure.

One day, David left the flock to someone else’s care and under his father’s instructions, went to check on his older brothers. They were in the army, at war against the Philistines.

When teen David arrived on the scene he heard the enemy soldier Goliath, a huge intimidating man, belittling Israel and the Lord. He couldn’t believe his ears. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Why isn’t anyone doing something here? How can you let this guy go on? He’s a disgrace. Somebody do something!

That’s when it occurred to David. That guy looks like a lion. He reminds me of a bear I once met, you know, the one hanging on the wall of my tent back home. God has prepared me for such a time as this.

So with a sling and stone, he struck Goliath in the head; and then with the giant’s own sword, he cut off his head.

The soldiers rallied. The Philistines were routed and God received the glory.

24195.png

I have never been a shepherd.

We raised cows when I was a kid, but I don’t know a thing about sheep. As of this writing, I’ve never traveled to Israel. But I have had a lot of experiences growing up. And looking back now, I can see how God used many of those experiences to shape me; to prepare me for such a time as this.

Unlike David, I’m not a ruler of nations. But I am a shepherd of sorts. I’m a pastor and from what I remember in Greek class they come from the same root word. David pastored sheep and I pastor people.

None of which likely matters to you. But you have your own experiences, your own job, your own family. And that does matter. It matters because God is taking all your past experiences and working them together for His good in the present.

That’s what this book is about.

It’s a collection of experiences, some funny, some sad, and the life lessons we can find within. I’m convinced that God is teaching us every day in His ongoing attempt to shape us more and more into the image of His Son.

King David learned from his experiences and defeated an enemy that all others feared. He would later write, upon reflection, Psalm 23:

"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

That was David’s song. This is mine.

24198.png

My kids love fast food.

They are particularly fond of our local Whataburger. They love Whataburger.

When the boys were young, we made it our family ritual to buy whataburgers at the drive-thru on the way home from Sunday services. Sundays are busy days for us and this way, no one had to cook or clean following a meal.

But our ritual didn’t stop there. As soon as we got home the guys, led by their dad, would strip out of their Sunday clothes and eat burgers and fries in front of the television, where we would watch the NFL Game of the Week.

It didn’t get much better than that! That is, it didn’t get much better than that for us guys. I can’t say the same for my wife.

Guys love drive-thru burgers. They are practically a separate food group. But my wife is different. For some reason