Why did Santa flick me off? –

“Jesus is real.

I know the Lord is real to me!”

To me, as a child growing up in church, I was exposed to a lot of music. One song that stood out—and is timeless to this very moment was a song by John P. Kee called “Jesus Is Real.” The lyrics say, “Jesus is real, I know the Lord is real to me.”

Three nights ago, I was driving, and I saw an old man in the middle of the street. I immediately questioned, Why is this man with this white, scraggly beard dancing in the middle of the street?

I was questioning why he was in the middle of the street with vehicles coming through. By grace, I didn’t hit him, because I saw that he was there. He had on a big winter jacket, a backpack, and what looked like a cart.

I’m not passing judgment—this is just an observation—but it seemed like this man may have been homeless. I don’t have any other comparison; that’s just what it looked like.

Dance Dance Dance

So I’m driving up this hill, and I see this old man walking in the street initially. Then it looks like he looks up, sees me, and starts dancing in the street as if it was a tease—more like a taunt. Not a tease of seduction, but a taunt.

I don’t know why I took it that way. I don’t know this man. I’ve never seen this man a day in my life, and I’ve been driving this same route for the past couple of weeks. I don’t recall ever seeing him before.

Am I Paranoid?

So I drive past him, making sure I don’t hit him, and I don’t think anything of it other than: it’s the middle of the night. It’s very dark outside. It’s well-lit, but still dark—so why are you in the middle of the street?

As I approached, you started dancing or taunting. I felt as if he knew it was me. It wasn’t anything else on my mind. I said, Why does it feel like he knows me or he’s doing this toward me?

Am I being too paranoid? Am I believing too many things are about me? I don’t know.

I make it past the man and continue driving.

10 minutes later, when I circle the area again, I’m looking at this white house, that have these giant plants in the window.

I see this house often, and I just wonder what type of plants those are. It’s a beautiful sight—how the black light hits the plants.

I only see it briefly because I have to stay focused on the road. I’m coming up on a curve, and I need to pay attention.

As I’m looking toward this house, I see the same old man again—white, scraggly beard. He looks like Santa Claus. Just imagine the depiction of Santa Claus. That’s what I saw.

He had on this big, over-fluffy, puffed-up jacket, a book bag, and a cart he was pushing around. He looked like he was in his mid-60s, maybe late 60s. I’m not sure.

As I’m approaching this house and this curve, I see him walking toward the house with the plants.

Now I’m thinking, Okay…maybe this is his house.

The Moment of Discernment

I start questioning: Why is he walking toward the house with the plants? What is going on?

As I’m approaching him, his left shoulder is facing me because he’s walking toward the door at night. I’m about 10 to 15 yards from him. Then he turns around, faces me, and gives me the middle finger.

I thought,

Why did he turn around to give me the middle finger?

Did Santa just flick me off?? lol

At this point, I’m laughing. I’m really laughing—because what are the coincidences? I’m driving and see this man for the first time in my life, but twice in the past 10 to 15 minutes.

As I’m driving, I’m listening to a contemporary Christian radio station to keep my mind at ease. When he flicks me off, I laugh and think,

I know what that is. That’s a demon.

My first words were, I rebuke you.

I didn’t roll down the window. I didn’t honk the horn. I didn’t stop the vehicle, but I corrected myself and said it right. I said,

I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.

I rebuke that demon out of you in the name of Jesus.

The reason I laughed was the irony of it—how things try to knock you off your square, knock you off your focus, your mentality, your peace.

I define that disruption as demonic.

When Doing Good, Resistance Appears

In the Bible, Paul says “So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.7.21.NIV

This fitness journey requires effort. It requires discipline. It requires focus.

I’ve noticed spirituality and connection with oneself becomes heightened in my fitness journey.

I begin to see better, think clearer, and feel better.

Salads become a staple in my refrigerator. They replace frozen pizzas.

Fresh-pressed fruits and vegetables replace Sprite and 2-liters of Pepsi. Fresh bananas, apples, and oranges replace chocolate chip cookies and brownies that used to cover my sweet tooth.

All these adjustments are being made, and you’re on a straight path. You think, I can do this.

And when I try to do good, evil is present.

Then that mentality creeps in:

Let’s go get some chocolate chip cookies.

Matter of fact, you don’t even need to buy them—you can make them yourself.

I must say, I do make some very good homemade chocolate chip cookies.

So what is this? It’s to get you off track.

Faith, Awareness, and the Power of the Name

As I’m approaching that house with the black light and the plants, I’m listening to worship music to keep my mind covered.

Driving is serious. So many crazy things happen on the road, and it’s by God’s grace that none have come upon me.

I used to take that for granted. Now I’m more aware. I thank God for covering me.

This life is trying, but it’s also a test—a test of faith and belief. Belief is faith.

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.13.1-2.NIV

When that man turned around, squared up, and stuck out his middle finger, I identified it as darkness.

I rebuked it in the name of Jesus and kept moving.

I handled my business, parked my car, sat for a moment, reflected, and laughed.

When I passed that same house again, I didn’t see that man for the rest of the night.

Jesus Is Real

What are the odds this happens? What are the odds it happens to me?

What if I had responded differently? What if I had gotten out of the car? That could’ve ended very badly.

Longevity comes from how we respond to negativity.

As long as I keep God first, I am undefeated.

That song keeps coming back to me: Jesus is real. I know The Lord is real to me.

I don’t know if it was the man or the demon. I’m not an expert. What I do know is demons are real—and so is Jesus.

The power of life and death is in the tongue.

I spoke the name of Jesus, and I didn’t see that man again.

Jesus is real. I’ve seen Him work in my life in many ways.

If you’ve experienced something similar, I’d love to hear your testimony too.