THE COSMIC PAWN SHOP

She had risen early to squeeze in a light devotion before preparing breakfast for her family. Her devotions usually consisted of reading a few Bible verses, some moments of quiet meditation, followed by a short prayer, usually asking God to bless her family. But for the last week she had been having an unusual desire to know God more fully, sensing an urgency to serve him.

After her husband left for his job and her teenager had been picked up for school by his friends, she drove the two younger ones to school. She kissed them and waved as they walked from the car to the school entrance. That’s when things started to get out of control, or at least, out of her control.

She was still in the school parking lot when the phrase shot through her mind – redeeming the time. She didn’t recall the phrase from her devotional readings, but having been raised in church, she knew the words were not new to her, or were they? She had heard them in sermons before, or had she? She had to admit the phrase was, at best, vaguely familiar.

There was a Christian bookstore nearby and she decided to drop by on her way home. There it was, in Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, for the days are evil.” She became a little uneasy after reading verses 14 and 15. She wondered aloud, “How many years have I been asleep, and is God revealing his light to me?” She left the store and started home, tears beginning to flow freely. A short distance from the bookstore, a severe thunderstorm hit.

The rain was blinding, prompting her to pull off the road. Now, she was sobbing uncontrollably. She wasn’t big in stature, but her hands seemed to have acquired an unknown strength, as she gripped the steering wheel. She wondered if this was some sort of epiphany, like when the “the just shall live by faith,” was revealed to Martin Luther, after he had read the same words hundreds of times before.

Was God calling her to be a modern day Martin Luther and lead a Reformation? Was He calling her to be a missionary to Africa, to stand outside the Supreme Court with a sign? Thoughts flooded her mind. She had children and a husband – what about her family obligations?

Then, on the side of a lonely road, in a blinding rainstorm, the voice of the God of the universe spoke to a little housewife: “I’m not calling you to some place, I’m calling you to someone—me.” Immediately she knew what was required of her. She would have to replace her complacency with commitment, exchange her interest for intimacy, her time for His time.

Maybe some day she would have to step out of her little piece of the world and into a bigger arena. But not today. As of this moment, she was willing to do and be whatever her Lord needed her to do or be. She was now screaming the word “YES” over and over at the top of her lungs, for the first time in her life experiencing total surrender.




Miles from nowhere, the stifling heat seemed to suck the very air from the atmosphere. The few people wandering the streets on that lazy summer day did so in a hauntingly lethargic stagger.

In a rocking chair on the front porch of the general store, an old timer tried, to no avail, to refresh himself with some lemonade. A rope swing hung limp from a giant tree limb down at the swimming hole — not a single ripple on the smooth surface of the warm water.

The old pawn shop, which sat on the corner of Destiny and Carpe, had not seen a customer in what seemed like weeks. The old-timers had always considered it a strange little business anyway. No one seemed to know much about the shop, other than they all agreed it had been sitting in the same spot since before dirt.

And if the locals knew little about the shop, they knew even less about the shop’s owner, not even his name. They all did agree, however, that he had been around longer than any of them. He never left the store, evidently sleeping in a back room. Some even said he never slept at all. Occasionally a brave soul, usually a visitor, would drop in for a quick browse and chat, only to find the shelves mostly empty and the proprietor strangely aloof for a businessman.

A few blocks away, the form of a stranger appeared in the street. As the visitor drew closer, it became apparent that the form was that of a small framed woman. She was shielding the blistering sun from her eyes with one hand, while the other was closed into a fist. Her steps were slow but steady.

On she walked, as though on a mission, not even glancing at the old-timers, as she made her way further downtown. Then suddenly she stopped, turned and walked straight through the front door of the pawn shop. Every eye in the town was now fixed on the little pawn shop at Destiny and Carpe.

It was as suffocating inside the shop as outside. No one appeared to be manning the store, as the stranger gazed upon the shelves and behind a glass cabinet. She was startled as the old man walked through a back door and stood, staring at her. His eyes were dark and beady, his skin wrinkled, and his hair, long and white as the driven snow.

She reached out her hand and introduced herself. He just grunted something and shuffled behind the counter. He noticed the ring on her finger and asked what a little housewife like her might be looking for, a nice set of cutlery, some antique china, maybe?

She said, “No, I am here to redeem something that you have of mine.”

“And just what might that be, young lady?”, he replied.

“Time”, she said.

The old man gasped and grabbed the counter top with both hands. “Whose time?” he asked sheepishly.

“My time,” she stated.

The old man replied emphatically that a person can’t just get time back, that it is forever lost. She looked him sternly in the eye, pulled the redemption ticket from the hand that had been clutching it, and slammed it on the counter top. The old man staggered backward.

“He told me you would be hard to deal with, but you don’t have a choice because I have a redemption ticket and I’m here to redeem my time” she proclaimed. He reluctantly agreed and went to the back room, returning with her item.

"You know, it's gonna cost you quite a bit, you sure you're willing to pay that kind of price?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm prepared to pay any price!" she exclaimed. She embraced her precious gift and started for the door, pausing for a moment to look back. She said, “You’re Old Man Time, aren’t you?”

He smiled and replied, “I don't get many folks in here looking for what you came for, least not many willing to pay the price. Go now little lady, and make your gift count.”

Upon exiting the shop, she noticed a refreshing breeze had begun blowing. The birds were chirping from trees whose branches were gently swaying. In the distance, she could hear splashing sounds coming from the swimming hole. As she entered the street she noticed that every eye was still ominously on her.

Her first steps were lively, not sluggish as they had been when she came into town. She began her return walk and much to her surprise, the old-timers all began standing. From sidewalks, store fronts and porches, the entire town was cheering her on as she passed by.



The rain storm and her sobbing was now subsiding, and her hands no longer grasped the steering wheel. She wondered what had just happened.

She started the car and began the drive home, though she wished she could have run.

A DREAM, A CALL

Last week I listened to a Lou Engle message regarding the history of The Call ministry, and specifically, The Call Nashville, to be held on July 7, 2007. He related how the church would be divorcing itself from the world and re-marrying the Lord on that historic day.

Well, I assume the message prompted the dream I had that same night. I was sitting toward the back of a church for a wedding ceremony.

The church was filled with people. Suddenly, at a distance in front of me, someone stood up in the crowd. He pulled a shotgun from under a cloak and shot the person next to him. I realized that I too, had a gun. I raised it and drew down on the assailant, who had his back to me. I had him in my sights and squeezed the trigger. The gun made a clicking sound but did not fire. I remember looking at the gun and noticing that it was new and an expensive model.

I quickly raised the gun and again had him in my sights, his back still to me. I squeezed the trigger once more and again, nothing but a click. This time he heard the click, wheeled around, stared at me and raised his weapon. I froze for a second, then started to run. Two shots barely missed me as I ran through the back door.

When I awoke, the dream's message was so very clear to me. The gun looked good, was in good shape, had all the parts, was bright and shiny. But it lacked the one thing that makes a gun a weapon - ammunition!

I immediately thought of Ephesians 6. In the past 33 years I have taught and preached on the full armor of God countless times. In verses 11 and 13, Paul admonishes us to put on the "whole" armor. Then, in verses 14 -17, the armor is listed; loins girded about with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. We think, man, if a person had all of those weapons, they could really show the devil how the cow eats the cabbage. Wrong!

The weapons in Ehpesians 6 are as useless as the gun in my dream, unless you have what makes them work. I encourage you to not stop at verse 17. Verse 18 is the key to victory in our warfare. Yes, prayer was the missing ammunition in my dream.

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perserverance and supplication for all saints;" (Eph. 6:18)

God is calling me (us) to a deeper life of prayer. I was in that church service for a purpose, a purpose that I could not fulfill. The enemy of our souls is present to disrupt the holy union. The saints in my dream and those in our midst today, represented by verse 18, need to know that someone has their back. Lives hinge on the prayers of those who know how to touch God.

I am returning to the church of my dream and the enemy won't be glad to see me. Next time I will be more than armed - I will be armed AND dangerous. Will you join me?