Nine Everyday Questions

Welcome
It is common to believe that the outcome of our lives is largely determined by our race, gender, economic status, educational opportunities, geography, etc. It is true that these things influence our lives, but the life we have is really determined by our answers to nine religious questions we all face every day. Most of the time we answer without even thinking about them.
It does not matter whether you are young or old, rich or poor, male or female, Christian, atheist, agnostic, or other, we all answer these nine questions every day. The way we answered yesterday determined the character of our today. The way we answer today determines the character of our tomorrow. Faced with thousands of choices every day, our behaviors reveal how we answer.
In answering these questions, we all tend to use our own unique set of standards. Why do some people think living in the city is best and others the country? Why do people consider themselves liberal, conservative, or independent? Why do some people embrace religion and others deny it? Why do we choose the life we are living? Most of us are probably looking for some sort of “healthy, wealthy and wise.” But the reality of life is that each of us have a unique and limited set of options from which to choose the life we will live each day. But, we all do choose, and the life we have is the result of those choices.
There are nine questions that we all answer in the process of making our choices about the life we have. Answering these questions without serious thought is where I believe most of us make a very big mistake. We tend to not think about the criteria we use in making our moment by moment choices throughout our days. To seriously think about how we answer these fundamental questions is essential if we want to have the best life possible. This book explores those nine questions.
You will notice as you read this book that there are sometimes unusual capitalizations of various words. I try to capitalize things to prompt us to think about the real perfections in the issue at hand. So if you see something capitalized where you don’t think it should be, just stop and think about why the word might be emphasized.
Prologue
Around Halloween each Fall, in many places, there are mazes carved out of corn fields for people to have fun exploring. Perhaps one of the intriguing things about a maze is that it rather closely mimics life as we experience it. Life is full of twists and turns, stops and starts, questions and uncertainties, lost and found, indeed all the elements of a maze.
In the maze of life a person may be surrounded by all sorts of seemingly normal things. But in the process of living, doors are noticed and the puzzling discovery is made that some are locked. Other doors open to inviting hallways that turn out much different than expected. Maybe while walking with a crowd we get pushed somewhere we didn’t think we would go. No matter where we are, there are more hallways, more walls, more doors, more rooms, more places to explore for good or for ill.
Picture in your minds eye that your life’s maze is filled with signs. The signs offer all sorts of counsel about how to navigate the maze. But you soon realize that the signs contradict each other. Some point left and lead into a dead end wall. Some point right and after two or three turns you find yourself back at the same sign. And of course there are people throughout the maze who claim to have mastered the confusion and offer their wise advice about which directions will get you where you want to go.
We sometimes find peaceful, pleasant and prosperous places to stop for a while and enjoy the maze. But simply by the press of life, we move on to continue the maze with all the different challenges it presents. Life is a challenge, no matter the perspective. Could it be that there are familiar questions and corresponding answers written on signs that are designed to guide our thinking and choosing as we look for the right directions? What if our help is right before us, in the maze.

We’ve All Been To The Grove
The young couple stood holding hands on the hill just above the grove of lush green trees around the showroom. We don’t know just how young they were, but in relation to the many years they had before them they were very young. They were full of youthful curiosity, and ready for adventure. Their life was what most people would call wonderful. They lived in a place of spectacular beauty; they ate the finest food; they were perfectly healthy; they could go anywhere they wanted; everything they did seemed to prosper. Their dad had given them a life we all would envy. They didn’t earn it themselves, but they didn’t take it for granted either. They enjoyed hard work and made their dad proud of the way they managed their inheritance.
The young lovers had walked by the grove before but not really stopped to look. Dad had warned them to stay away, and they had, until today. It didn’t really look any different from all the things with which they were becoming so happily familiar. So they decided to go down and investigate. It was sort of like walking past other showrooms. “We’ll just go take a look”, they said. Dad’s instruction to “don’t go, and certainly don’t buy one” faded in the intrigue of the moment. Dad was the one who had always given them whatever they needed or wanted so they were a little surprised when they were greeted by a handsome welcoming salesman. “Good day folks, are you out enjoying this beautiful day? Interested in a new car are you?” Something indistinct but real tugged at their subconscious as the friendly voice pointed out the delightful features of the new model. The memories of dad’s instruction and warning surfaced, they looked at each other, then told the salesman what dad had said about new cars at the grove. With a slight tilt of his head and a hint of scorn in his voice the salesman said: “But your old dad hasn’t seen this new model and all the fun you can have in it.” They answered: “Dad says it will only get us in trouble and we will likely wreck it and ourselves.” “Oh no, in fact it is the safest model yet, and it will take you to places you haven’t even dreamed of”, the voice answered. “In fact I bet ole dad is just trying to hide some real adventures from you.” “You know how overprotective old folks can be.”
“Would you like to take it for a little test drive? It won’t cost you anything. Just open the door and look at all the buttons, the lights and the plush leather seats.” The salesman slid past them into the drivers seat and started the motor that purred like a lion. The couple had to admit that it was tempting. The new car looked, sounded and even smelled so inviting. The beautiful wife turned to her husband and whispered “let’s just take a short drive.” And so they did.
They drove around the park, over the hill, even out on the freeway. They put the top down and let the sun warm their faces and the wind blow their hair. But in the excitement of the test drive it dawned on them that this was just a car, not really better than any other. At the same time they remembered dad’s instructions and turned around to return the car to the grove where it belonged. In their haste to get back, only two blocks from the showroom they took a corner too fast and landed hard against a tree. In that moment they realized that their real disappointment was not in the empty allure of the new car, not even in the wreck they had made of it. Their heartache was the fact that they had disobeyed their dad. They had never done that before and the pain was real to the point of despair.
They stood looking at the crumpled car, they examined the scrapes and bruises all over their once unmarred bodies. Then they did something else they had never done before. Realizing that when they didn’t come home for dinner, dad would come looking for them. They knew they couldn’t face him in their guilt and shame so they did the only thing that seemed reasonable, they ran to hide. They covered themselves, as best they could, to hide their body bruises, but even more to hide the deadness they felt in their hearts.
They were right, it didn’t take long for dad to come looking for them. Like most dads, he knew just where to look. Somehow he knew it would be near the forbidden grove, the new car, and the silver tongued salesman. Soon they heard dad’s voice. “Where are you?” his deep voice called. The young couple knew that hiding wouldn’t work; they knew dad knew exactly where they were. What they didn’t know, was what he would do. Would he punish them severely, or maybe let them off with a warning. As quickly as they merely thought the questions they knew the answer. Dad would always be the same, but they had changed. They cowered in fear before him because they knew they must. Dad’s question “where are you” lingered in their mind. It was neither asked nor heard as a geographical question. It was a life question. Some people would rephrase it as “how is this working out for you?” Or, “where are you on your search for life?”
We are all familiar with this story. Just like our parents we have all been to the grove, listened to the lying salesman, and driven away in a disappointing car. We are all somewhere on the path of life looking for what we lost in the grove. This story was first experienced by Adam and Eve in the Bible’s Garden of Eden. All of us experience the story with our own life. The dad has never changed. He still comes looking for us and asking the question “where are you?” We all answer every day, by our attitudes and behaviors. In this story we see the nine questions we all answer every day as we live our lives. Could it be that by the answers we give, we are settling for a “life” infinitely less than the “LIFE” God offers us?

Ponder and Talk It Over With Friends
Decisions have consequences. We tend to think of the word “consequences” as negative, but they can be bad or good, mild or severe, temporary or permanent.
As we see, hear or read anything, we decide what we are going to do with the information. These nine questions are the foundation of our lives and so it is very important to think and talk them over with friends. At the end of each chapter are some questions that might help you think and talk about each chapter.
Remember, too, that God is present with you as you think about and discuss these questions. As you discuss, include God in your discussions. Audibly ask Him to guide and enlighten your conversation. Ask God questions, praise Him for answers. Ask God to lead you to specific scriptures and how to understand them accurately. You don’t need to close your eyes, or bow your head. Prayer is simply, yet profoundly, talking and listening with God!!!
Questions to ponder:
1. How do I describe each of the individuals in the story?
2. Is there anything in this story that is not the result of a choice or decision by someone?
3. How is my life a result of the decisions I make?
4. What different kinds of consequences do I see in the story?
5. What are some ways I see myself in the story?
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Chapter Titles....
1. What Is My Best Life?
2. What Are My Hopes and Dreams?
3. What Rules Do I Live By?
4. What Are My Truth Sources?
5. Who Is My Church?
6. What Are My Answers For Evil?
7. What Am I?
8. What Are My Gods?
9. Who Are My Saviors?
We Can Have LIFE Today!
Epilogue
Explanation of The Cover Picture

Email Neil: [email protected]