I was just out of high school and needed a better car.  Since my dad was the expert on mechanical things and negotiating, he agreed to go car shopping with me.  We visited a few car lots before I found the car of my wildest dreams, a blue 1970 Mach 1 Mustang, only three years old back then.

Of course it was priced several thousand dollars more than our predetermined spending limit.  So, we moved on and looked at several cheaper cars.  Unfortunately, nothing looked interesting to me after my heart had been stolen by the Mustang!

Though I hadn’t noticed this trait in my dad before, I realized that he empathized with my disappointment.  He suggested we go back and offer them our two thousand dollars in cash for the Mach 1.  I was excited; and embarrassed at the same time.  My dad wanted to try to help me get the car of my dreams!  But, I couldn’t imagine how ridiculous we were going to appear to the salesman.

However, my desires won over my pride and I allowed my dad to make our humble offer.  The salesman was both insulted and amused.  There was no way he could even consider such an offer for that a car.  My dad thanked him for his time and told me to head back to the car so we could continue our shopping.

I was not surprised, but I was heartbroken.  As we were preparing to drive off the salesman hurried over to our car.  He had decided he should at least take our offer to the sales manager.  What followed was a lengthy test of my dad’s resolve versus the negotiating skills of our salesman.

Eventually my dad told me to go back to the car.  I assumed we would drive off and continue shopping.  Instead, dad suggested we pray about what to do.  So right there in dad’s car, we prayed; out loud, asking God for wisdom.

I have to admit I was a bit embarrassed to pray while the salesman watched us.  After all, I didn’t know if God even cared about the process of buying cars, especially for a kid like me.  But my dad didn’t care about what people thought, he was only concerned about doing the right thing in God’s eyes.

When we finished praying, dad suggested we make our original offer one more time.  If the Lord wanted me to have this car, they would accept our offer.  If they didn’t, the Lord would have a better car for me somewhere else.  I was skeptical, but we had prayed and dad was confident.

Shortly thereafter, I drove that very same Mustang out of the car lot with our salesman shaking his head in amazement.  I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had done a miracle, just for me!

That miracle was just the first of many that I can still remember to this day!  Miracles that have convinced me that God cares about me, and the ordinary issues that concern me.  Since then I have learned much more about my gracious Heavenly Father.  He cares about you!

Alexander was born into a Puritan home in Scotland the end of May in 1701. Since his extracurricular activities were significantly limited by his strict father he often entertained himself by tracing words through the Bible.
Alexander left Scotland and moved to London. He became a recognized scholar and was said to be fluent in Greek and Latin. Accordingly, he found work as a tutor, printer, proofreader and bookseller. He also took upon himself the title, “Alexander the Corrector,” making it his life’s duty to protect his country from all vices; from misspelling and poor grammar, to all matters of morality. He often carried a sponge with him and whenever he encountered any inappropriate writing he would symbolically wipe it clean with his sponge!
While Alexander fell in love on a number of occasions, the objects of his affection inevitably rejected him, and so he never married. Consequently, his significant accomplishments were punctuated with romantic embarrassments that rivaled insanity and so led to most of his numerous stays in lunatic asylums. He would eventually come back to his senses and be released; until he would commit his next social blunder.
During his early days in London, Alexander began the laborious work of putting together a Bible reference book. After working long hours on his job, he would come home to read his Bible, recording on thousands of sheets of paper his tedious findings. He recorded every one of the 777,746 words in the King James Bible and noted every place each one occurred! All this by himself, and with no modern technology! The fruit of his painstaking work was the most comprehensive and useful work of its kind ever published! The first edition was presented to Queen Caroline in 1737, and Cruden’s Concordance eventually became a best seller and has remained in print ever since!
Charles Spurgeon was said to have written in the flyleaf of his copy of Cruden’s Concordance, “For ten years this has been at my left hand when the Word of God has been at my right.” After Cruden’s death, Spurgeon was quoted as saying, “This half-crazy Cruden did better service to the church than half the D.D’s and L.L.D.’s of his time.”
Towards the end of Cruden’s life he devoted himself to studying the Bible, helping the poor and downcast, and handing out gospel tracts. Though he was known to be very benevolent and pious, his contemporaries had little respect for him. He was found dead in 1770, on his knees, his head lying on the open Bible in front of him.
Though dead for hundreds of years, his work still lives on! And it continues to give life to all who avail themselves to it! Evidently it took a crazy man to undertake the monumental task of compiling a complete concordance of the Bible in his spare time and in his humble home!
Cruden’s life teaches us to not discard an unusual person’s value too quickly! One generation’s trash can become many generation’s treasure!