A Common Miracle - Be Still and Know That I Am God Part 2

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 3 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

There was a little beachfront town called Negril. Today, it’s a huge tourist area, but back then it was just for the locals and for the “in-the-know hippies” who came to Jamaica to do what I was doing. On the beach one night, something tremendous happened to me ... but more about that in just a bit. How did I get there, to Negril? Let me tell you the story.
“Bob, how would you like to work for the lieutenant governor of Florida, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat on the Republican ticket?” my friend said. Sandy and I were old friends from back in my high school years and someone I had run around with after coming home from Vietnam. He had moved into the area of state politics and was now working as the assistant for the lieutenant governor of Florida.
Sandy called and asked me to come down from White Plains and interview for the position of personal aide and traveling companion to the lieutenant governor. “What an opportunity,” I thought. “I’ll just take a break from my aviation career plans and do this for awhile. It can’t hurt me; and it will only help me,” I thought. I mean, how many people get a chance to do this kind of thing?
 With my mom’s blessing, I went down, interviewed and got the job. I moved to Tallahassee, Florida, shortly there- after. Here’s something interesting: I was using pot on weekends while in White Plains, like many use beer and alcohol... just a little bit, and only on certain days of the week. It was my little secret.

Here’s another secret that is kept hidden: Sin is sin, how- ever you may describe it or disguise it or live it.
 
Coming Monday, Chapter 3 Part 3

A Common Miracle - Be Still and Know That I Am God Part 1

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 3 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

Be still, and know that I am God...
PSALM 46:10 

SITTING IN THE WAITING AREA just in front of Air Jamaica’s ticket counter at Miami International Airport around the 5th of February, 1973, reading a small pocket testament containing the books of Proverbs, Psalms, and the New Testament, was this long-haired, bearded hippie with all his earthly possessions in a small backpack. It was me, and it was one day after the gun had been put to my head. I was on my way to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to finish the dope deal that had gone bad and to recover the money I owed my partner in crime, David M.
Traveling to Jamaica was something I did very often. The “Ganja,” as it was called (or marijuana, as quality and potency. Jamaica was also a place where many would-be, and “want-to-be big time dope dealers” would go to try to make the deal of a lifetime happen. Such was the case with me.

I knew my way around the island pretty well. I had Jamaican friends with farms up in the hills, where I would go and hang out and smoke the Ganja to my heart’s content.

 Coming tomorrow, Chapter 3 Part 2

A Common Miracle - Do You Want to Smoke a Joint? Part 5

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 2 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.
  
It was interesting that while in Vietnam, I had no interest in drugs or in smoking pot; but one day, I was in NYC for the day with a fellow line jockey from the airport. Someone pulled out a joint and said, “Hey, do you want to smoke a joint?” And I did, and did I ever like it! I wondered why I had not tried this years before. “This is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had,” I thought to myself, laughing and feeling great in the back seat of that Chevy Corvair, in the middle of New York City. This was great, I thought. And that began my use of drugs, from the weekend joint to everyday use later on.

Now, I can look back and see how temptation got the best of me. I wish Christ had been in my life, but He was not. He would have made the difference, as He does today in my life; but evil is something that destroys, and Satan is the master destroyer through temptation and sin. Sin is in each and every man, and Satan, who is the god of this world, loves nothing more than to help people sin more and more and more. He knows that it will ruin their lives, all the while thinking they are having a good time.

Well, that was me: having a good time. By the way, there’s something very interesting about sin. It’s pleasurable, but only for a season. Too bad it’s pleasurable: people wouldn’t sin as much as they do if it weren’t. It’s a lot of fun to sin; however, it’s only fun for awhile. I had not found that out yet, but I was going to find out soon. That’s common for people, isn’t it? To be going along, having a good time... only to be heading for disaster.
Looking back now, I can see where the Lord was being merciful to me. He kept me from dying in Vietnam, and at other times, as well. Perhaps God is doing that for you, right now, as you read this. Or perhaps you can also look back and say, “Hey, I have that in common with you, Bob. God has kept me, also.” I pray that He has, and I pray that He will. 

Coming tomorrow, Chapter 3 Part 1

A Common Miracle - Do You Want to Smoke a Joint? Part 4

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 2 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

Then my sergeant told me that word had come that my father was dying of cancer, and that I was being sent home to see him before he died. And he did. He died in January of 1968. When I got home, the terrible problem of cancer had all but taken my dad’s life. How kind my mom was to care

for him in his dying days. I don’t know if he ever made his peace with God or not; I hope he did. We had never talked about God in all the years he was alive. The only thing he ever said about God was the “the family that prays together, stays together.” But we had never prayed together. By the way, that is true. Prayer, as I have found out, does wonders for a family, marriage, etc.
When my dad died, my mom and I moved to White Plains, NY, to try to start over in our lives. Prior to moving, the Marine Corps took a long time to resolve my case. I had asked if I could remain stateside, so as to be close to my dying father. The months seemed like decades to me, waiting for a response from USMC headquarters. Finally, the answer came. I could either go back to my parent unit (2nd Battalion First Marine Division) in South Vietnam, or take a discharge by reason of hardship. The Sgt. Major asked me to think it over through the weekend. There was nothing to think about, as far as I was concerned, but I got back to him on the following Monday. “I’ll take the discharge, Sir.” And the process started, which led to my discharge some months later. My mother and I were all that each other had. There was no money, no estate, only bills that my only and older brother, Bill, paid. He is one of those quiet people who has sacrificed his entire life and is always ready to help someone else. It was many years later before I found out all that he did to clear up bills that were left behind. He did this for the sake of the Grenier name, and because he is a man of character. Once in White Plains, we found a little room to rent; the bathroom was down the hall, as I remember. There was a hot plate to cook on, one bed to share, a table, a chair ... that’s about it. I got a job at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY, pumping gas with the hope of moving up into the world of Corporate Aviation. I had used my GI bill after my discharge from the Marine Corps to get my Commercial Aviation Certificate and my Multi-Engine Rating. Starting at the airport held all the promise of moving up the proverbial ladder. 

Coming tomorrow, Chapter 2 Part 5
 

A Common Miracle - Do You Want to Smoke a Joint? Part 3

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 2 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

I got in my car after receiving my high school diploma in June of 1966 and headed for Canada to spend my last few months before going into the Marine Corps. I left my mom and my dad and rushed off headlong into more and more sin than I could ever imagine. I figured if I was going into the Marine Corps, there would be a good chance I’d go to Vietnam; so why not “live it up,” I thought.

From June to September was a blur of sin and sensual delight, as they say. Boot camp at Paris Island, South Carolina, was a wake-up call; and so was landing at Danang Airbase in South Vietnam in March of 1967. I was sure I would be sent home in a body bag, so while in Vietnam, as much as I could, I continued living it up. Down deep, I knew the things I was doing were wrong.
I couldn’t wait for Sundays to roll around, because the Catholic priest would give what is called “general absolution” for our sins. That was the point in the Mass that I would wait for. When he said it each Sunday, I was so relieved. Everything was now OK, I thought. But then I would go right back out and live like the devil. The bad thing was that my life was on the line each and every day. Somehow, that was not enough to scare me into changing my ways.


Coming Monday, Chapter 2 Part 4

A Common Miracle - Do You Want to Smoke a Joint? Part 2

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 2 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.
 

Fourth grade was finished in Ft. Myers, Florida. We moved there from Winnipeg, Canada; then very quickly moved to Clearwater, Florida, where I spent my elementary, junior high and high school years. Wow! Little did I know that I was on a downward slide, like the prodigal son. Little did I know that I would meet Jesus face to face, and that Jesus would change my life.
“Do you want to get drunk?” “Sure, why not?” I said to my friends who posed that question to me. My dad got drunk almost every night. Why not? And so I did, a number of times. I’m not blaming anyone, because I have done the same thing myself ... that is, being an influence for bad on others. My, what trouble we can bring to others in our thirst for fun and excitement and our misguided youth ... our years of no parental watchfulness.
“Have you lost your virginity yet?” That was the big question in those years. “Not yet, but I’m sure trying and hoping to soon,” I said. Sure enough, it was not too long after that it happened. Through those years, the power of sin was casting its grip upon my life, even though I thought I was having a good time. Little did I know where I was headed. It’s pretty common, isn’t it? To not know what is happening to you and only find out later — in my case, just before it was too late. 

Coming Tomorrow, Chapter 2 Part 3

A Common Miracle - Do You Want to Smoke a Joint? Part 1

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 2 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

Let no one say when he is tempted,“I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. JAMES 1:13, 14

ST. BONIFACE, TO NEGRIL, JAMAICA... from 4th grade, to age 26... from a normal kid, to running from the cops in Montego Bay and all around the island.
Let me take you back to the first time I ever smoked a joint in New York City. No one had ever asked me that question before, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Sully was my friend, and he had a friend named Fox, who lived in NYC. Sully and I worked together at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, NY. We pumped gas into private and commercial airplanes. Little did I know what I was about to get into and where it would take me. Sin, by the way, is like that. It’s deceptive; it makes promises that it does not deliver. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Boy, did I find that out!

Coming Tomorrow, Chapter 2 Part 2

A Common Miracle - A Gun to My Head Part 4

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 1 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

What brings a person to ruin? It’s simple. It’s a one-word concept given to us in the Bible. It’s called “sin.” You see, one thing that people have in common is the problem of sin. The Bible says that all have sinned — Romans 3:23 — “... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin came into this perfect world that God had created and brought ruin and destruction to man. Man created his own problems, but it’s God who will solve them, if you let Him. You see, the answer to sin is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins. Here’s what the Bible says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And John 3:17 tells us, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
I want to tell you my story of how God took a young man who had made a mess of his own life, miraculously changed it, and is changing it and will change it more and more. It’s simply a common miracle, and I pray that you might find that miracle to happen in your life.

Coming Tomorrow, Chapter 2 Part 1

A Common Miracle - A Gun to My Head Part 3

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 1 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you that there was another boy named David who used to sleep next to me in that dormitory; and one night I felt him pulling back the covers of my bed and getting into bed with me. I was not sure what was happening and not sure what to do. I just lay there frozen as David did what he did. No one ever knew about it ... not the nuns, the priests, or my parents. Only David and I. Not an uncommon thing to have happen to boys and girls.

What I’m about to tell you is, in fact, not uncommon; and what happened to me is indeed a miracle. Perhaps if you need to, you also can “come to yourself” as the boy in the story did in Luke Chapter 15. I was “coming to myself” looking up over the barrel of that gun. You see, the boy in the story — known to us today as the prodigal son; “prodigal” means “wasteful” — he had it pretty good, also; and he went out, leaving his father and home to live it up, only to find himself at the bottom of the barrel of life. But, he “came to himself,” realizing that what he had been doing had only ruined his life. That’s what happened to me; it’s not uncommon. In fact, it’s quite common and normal for many people.

Coming Tomorrow, Chapter 1 Part 4

A Common Miracle - A Gun to My Head Part 2

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 1 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.
 

Happy childhood memories are in my memory bank, like most kids: lots of friends down the block, spending the night at your friend’s house, and playing all day long, or so it seemed; summers that would never end; and childish, naughty things that your parents did not know about. You see, I could never have imagined, as a young boy, that my life would come to where it had come.
My parents put me in an all-boys’ Catholic boarding school called St. Boniface in a suburb of Winnipeg, Canada, where I had been born in 1947. Even then (and even though I only saw my parents once a month for about an hour), life was fun. Recess was my favorite. Playing in the sandbox every day, swinging on the monkey bars, and learning to play baseball filled my days.
The dorm was huge, as all things are for young children. There must have been dozens and dozens and dozens of single-spring, mattress-type beds lined in row after row after row. The nuns taught the classes; the priests conducted the Masses every morning and heard our confessions every week. I had lots of fun and very little trouble or sadness in my life.

Speaking French, thinking in French, and hearing the church services in Latin and in French was normal and common for me. Staring at Jesus upon the cross up behind the altar was an everyday thing for me. Little did I know that calling out to Jesus was what would happen the night when that gun was pointed at my head. “Jesus Christ” was something my dad seemed to say often (along with other words that I knew were not right to say) and meant that he was very mad about something.
In all those Masses and other religious services, I had no idea that Jesus was even alive, that He was someone I could know, who truly died for my sins and then had been raised from the dead; no idea that heaven was truly a place where a person can go once they leave this world; and most of all, I had no idea of the events that would lead up to that gun being placed right between my eyes.

Coming Monday, Chapter 1 Part 3

A Common Miracle - A Gun to My Head Part 1

Below is an excerpt of Chapter 1 from "A Common Miracle" by Pastor Bob Grenier.
But when he came to himself,... 

LUKE 15:17

I LOOKED UP JUST OVER THE BARREL OF THE .25 caliber pistol that was pointed right between my eyes and saw David M.’s eyes looking back at me. He then moved the pistol to the right side of my head and fired off a round. He moved the pistol back to the middle of my eyes and said, “If you don’t get me the money you owe me (the money was from a drug deal gone bad ... more about that later), you’re in big trouble with me; and I’m going to hurt you.” Off to the left, my friend, Russ B., was laughing as if all this was really funny. It was not funny to me. It was terribly frightening.

At that moment, I wondered a number of things. How could my friend, Russ, be so cruel as to laugh when I was so scared, and this was no idle threat? And then, more than anything else, I wondered to myself, “How did I get to this spot in my life? What had happened to me that I had wound up in this situation?” It was one of those “your life flashes through your mind” moments. I thought to myself, “How did I go from being a normal, everyday kind of kid from a pretty decent and normal family, to getting myself into this kind of a fix?” Little did I know that I was “coming to myself,” much like another young man had done many years ago.

Coming Tomorrow, Chapter 1 Part 2