DEXTER WAS A WORLDLY young man who did not take life very seriously. One evening he and his friends sat at a bar talking, laughing, and telling smutty jokes. Someone mentioned God.
The conversation then turned to the Bible, and Dexter became interested. He listened as several of the men told what they knew about God. But the bartender broke in, saying, “Knock it off, guys! If all of you get religious, you’ll quit coming here and I’ll lose my business. Change the subject! If you want to know about God, go see John Jones who lives out in the country.”
When the drinking party broke up, Dexter went to the bartender and asked where John Jones lived. The bartender gave him some very vague instructions on how to wind through the countryside to find John.
Dexter left and eventually found John’s house, which was dark and silent. Looking at his watch, he saw it was 2:00 a.m. I can’t knock on the door at this hour, he thought.
Then he saw a light come on in the house, but it went off immediately. John had turned on the light momentarily to see the time and then turned it off again. But that let Dexter know that someone was awake, so he knocked on the door.
DIVINE APPOINTMENT
That very day John had finished studying the Bible with someone who gave his life to Jesus. So when he woke up in the night, he got up and prayed that God would send someone else he could study with—and here came Dexter.
When Dexter knocked on John’s door, a sleepy-looking man in pajamas answered the knock. Dexter told him he wanted to learn about God.
John invited Dexter inside, and their conversation lasted until after dawn. Amazingly, Dexter’s mind was clear and he “drank in” every word, for the Holy Spirit was moving on his heart. He returned to John’s house regularly to study the Bible, and after a time he was immersed in the waters of baptism.
Still passionate for God, he felt impressed to become a minister, so he enrolled in an Adventist college and graduated with a degree in theology. He served the Lord in ministry for the rest of his life. What an amazing God who can arrange divine appointments like this!
