Today’s Podcast

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1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
2. I’ve always liked logic puzzles. Like this one, for instance. There are three boxes. One is labeled “APPLES” another is labeled “ORANGES”. The last one is labeled “APPLES AND ORANGES”. You know that each is labeled incorrectly. You may ask me to pick one fruit from one box which you choose. How can you label the boxes correctly?
3. Scripture
   1. John 7:33-34
   2. Jesus:  I am going to be with you for a little while longer; then I will return to the One who sent Me.  You will look for Me, but you will not be able to find Me. Where I am, you are unable to come.
4. Devotional
   1. If you’re like me, you haven’t heard anything since I gave you the puzzle because you’ve been thinking about how to label those boxes. The answer isn’t too difficult since you know all the labels are wrong.
      1. Pick a fruit from the box labelled Apples and Oranges. The box will be full of only one kind of fruit since the label is incorrect. So if you pick an orange, label the box, Oranges.
      2. Then you know that the box labelled Apples and Oranges must contain only apples since that label is also wrong. So label that box Apples.
      3. Finally, the only box left with the wrong label must have the apples in it, so change the box labelled Oranges to Apples and Oranges.
      4. And there’s the answer.
   2. Why give you a logic puzzle to start the podcast and associate it with Jesus’ words today? Because I’m sure those who heard His words were just as puzzled as we can get when we hear those logic puzzles
      1. I’ll be with you
      2. But only for a little while
      3. Then I’ll return to the One who sent Me
      4. You’ll look for Me, like hide-and-seek
      5. You won’t find Me
      6. You can’t go where I’m going
   3. What does all this mean?
      1. The disciples were confused
      2. First part was easy
      3. Second part not too hard, maybe He was going on a trip by Himself
      4. Third got a little more difficult, but not unlike returning to the country that issued His diplomatic credentials
      5. Fourth, if they knew where He was going or that He was returning to a specific place, why would they spend time looking for Him
      6. Why wouldn’t they be able to find Him, this didn’t make sense
      7. Why couldn’t they go to the same place He went, what special pass did He have that they didn’t have? Did they need some special password and how could they get it?
   4. We stand on this side of the cross and the answer is easy
      1. Like the puzzle at the beginning. If you didn’t think of the answer right away, you probably slapped your forehead and said, “Duh! Why didn’t I think of that!”
      2. Looking back, it’s so simple.
      3. Looking back in time, Jesus’ words are so simple, too.
      4. So are His words, “Follow Me.” So why do we have so much trouble understanding and doing those?
5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

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