Hey!
Come on. Come on!
Hey! Hey!
What an idiot.
Jerk!
.
Don't.
Maybe we can go to counseling or something.
You just don't get it, do you?
I don't want to be your wife anymore.
I want to be me for a while.
I'm not stopping you from being you.
Yeah, as long as being me means being Mrs. Hank Miller.
Not anymore.
It'll be a fresh start for the both of us.
I don't want a fresh start.
(male voice) Pick her up.
Hey!
What are you doing? You're not picking her up.
Hey!
What's wrong with you people?
Should have picked her up.
Remember the day we first met
a day that I will never forget
(male voice) Pick her up.
Hey, get in.
Where are you going?
It doesn't matter. Just get in.
.
You're lucky I came along when I did.
This storm's getting crazy.
So how long have you been out there?
All day.
That's terrible. I'm sorry.
My name's Melissa.
I'm Kayla.
You're not from around here, are you?
Not really.
Running away?
So that either means yes or mind your own business.
Which is it?
I'm just passing through.
Well, there's a lot to pass through here.
I noticed.
Where are you headed?
Winnemucca.
Where's that?
Up north.
My boyfriend is a mining engineer.
I'm paying him a surprise visit.
Cool.
Where are you headed?
Winnemucca.
Good one, Kayla.
Huh, now there's a guy with a sense of humor.
What do you say we stop and get you a bite to eat?
Let's just keep going, if you don't mind.
Oh no.
No, you've got to be kidding me.
This is just great.
I'm afraid you're going to have to turn back, sir.
The road's out until further notice.
The detour told me to go this way.
It's not like we plan these things.
Any idea how long it'll be before they open the road?
Not until some bureaucrat in the state highway administration
gives it the all clear.
Okay.
What's the problem, officer?
Road's out, sir.
It's out?
We've got a flash flood warning.
It's dangerous at the moment.
Okay.
Thanks for bringing me out here.
It's not my fault.
What's going on?
That's the guy that almost ran me down.
Huh.
You know what this means?
I've got to go all the way back to the interstate,
all the way up to Silverton, back down again,
that's just 20 miles from here.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Hey, aren't you Crusher Cruchetti?
If I say yes, will you let me through?
Does anyone have a working cell?
No, mine broke when you almost ran me over.
That was an accident.
Sorry about not picking you up,
but my wife gets kind of nervous about picking up hitch hikers.
Oh, no problem.
I had hours before I would have died from exposure.
I think they have a phone back at that diner.
What diner?
That diner a couple miles back.
There hasn't been a building on this road
for the last 50 miles.
It was called Last Chance Diner.
Last Chance Diner. Now that's rich.
Do you remember seeing a diner?
Sorry to contradict, but I do believe that diner's closed.
It looked open to me.
So there is a diner.
There was a diner.
Hey, you guys can do whatever you want,
but I'm going to go back and check it out, okay?
Let's go.
Tell that guy at the diner Officer DeVille sent you.
Hello?
Anybody home?
Hello?
Hello.
Please, have a seat anywhere.
The state trooper down the road said you guys were closed.
Yeah, he's been trying to keep people
away from me for years.
It's a personal thing.
Would you like some water?
Yeah.
You got a phone?
Do you have any coffee?
I'm sorry.
All I serve here is water.
You have got to be kidding me.
This tastes great.
It's my own recipe.
Two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen.
Your phone's dead.
Yeah, the storm probably knocked down the phone lines.
It's a miracle the electricity's working.
Isn't it, Crusher?
Crusher Cruchetti.
I thought I recognized you.
Can't say I rooted for you though.
I'm a Rams fan.
But I can't lie. I do love your burgers.
Here, good for two Crusher burger meals.
Oh, thanks Mr. Cruchetti.
Can we get some menus?
Sure, but I'll tell you what.
Since you'll probably be my only customers tonight,
I'll just make whatever you want.
I prefer a menu.
Yes, Ma'am.
Jesus.
Most people pronounce it Jesus.
Nice name.
Religious.
Doesn't really have anything to do with religion.
It was my father's idea.
I don't know that I'd want to have the name Jesus.
I'd be expected to know everything.
Try me.
Ma'am.
Would you like a menu?
Hank?
Oh, sure. Thanks.
How did he know my name?
What?
He called me Hank.
Well, that's your name, isn't it?
Yeah, but how'd he know?
Just stop.
Ladies, what would you like?
What would you recommend?
Excellent question.
You know, I have a special knack
for knowing exactly what people want.
Of course, what they need is an entirely different matter.
Well, don't people want what they need?
Not necessarily.
In fact, most of the time people don't.
Your recommendation then, sir.
Okay.
I think you would like sirloin tips smothered in gravy
on a bed of mashed potatoes with a green salad on the side.
Thousand Island dressing.
That's what my mother always made me for my birthday.
Your mother loves you very much.
She did.
She died last year.
Doesn't mean she's stopped loving you.
What about me?
What do I want?
You want many things, young lady,
all of which you don't necessarily need.
But as far as dinner is concerned,
I think you'd like a gigantic beef burrito with black beans
and rice and sour cream and pico de gallo on the side.
Hmm? Huh? I thought so.
Let me get you some bread.
Hey!
How much is it gonna cost?
Don't worry, I'll take care of it.
No
I don't want to be dependent on anyone anymore.
I pay my own way.
Okay. Okay.
But how's this?
All special orders are free.
My personal gift to you.
Well, if it's free, it must not be worth having.
I guarantee you, Nick, this is an offer
you don't want to pass up.
Well, I'd like to ask how you're able to do it,
one business man to another, but I see what you lose in food
you save else where, like this newspaper
It's 50 years old.
Yeah, it belonged to the previous owner
And you just left it sitting here.
It reminds me of the original owner.
Stan Kostic was his name.
Very sweet guy.
He was sitting in your very seat,
reading the newspaper after the morning rush.
Tell me, what's the most popular section of the newspaper?
Hank?
Sports?
The obituaries.
Right, the obituaries.
He was sitting here, reading the obituaries,
not knowing that the very next day he would be
in the obituaries himself.
If only he had known.
I don't get it.
Maybe he's telling us we're going to be
in the newspaper tomorrow.
Perhaps.
You're the one with the decision to make.
What will it be? Menu or special order?
Well, I think I'll take the special order,
if only to hear what you think that I want.
Well, I think you've had enough burgers
to last you a lifetime.
So what do you think about a thick porterhouse steak
and a baked potato and some summer squash?
And don't forget a nice slice of cherry pie,
fresh from the window sill.
It's a good choice, Jesus.
Only make the steak a little rare.
I am here to serve.
What would you like?
I'll have a chicken Caesar salad and a diet coke.
I'm sorry, all I serve here is water.
You don't have diet coke?
Fine.
I'll have water.
And I'll have a bacon cheese burger and diet coke.
All I serve here is water.
Okay, I'll have water.
Would you like fries with your cheese burger?
You know, there's something a little disconcerting about
a man named Jesus asking me if I want fries.
It's a simple question, sir.
No thanks.
Go ahead.
I don't care what you do anymore.
Yeah, I'll have French fries.
Excellent choice, Hank.
How did you know my name?
Well, it's Hank.
Isn't it, Catherine?
Hey, how did you know our names?
I'm Jesus.
I know everything.
I know all of you.
I've known you since before you were born
and I've got a plan for each of you.
A perfect plan.
All you have to do is believe in me.
Well folks, I don't know about the rest of you,
but I'm due back on planet Earth now.
So if you don't mind, we'll be leaving.
Hank?
Fine.
Catherine, wait.
Where are you going?
I got the keys to the car.
Catherine, wait.
You can go with me.
I've had enough of this freak show myself.
It's awfully good of you.
You can't leave with my wife.
It's obvious she doesn't want to stay with you.
Sorry, pal.
Enjoy the food.
Thanks a lot, Jesus.
My wife just left me.
She was going to leave you anyway, Hank.
Yeah, but..
Don't worry. She'll be back.
What a bunch of craziness.
You got that right.
Where am I taking you, by the way?
Away from here.
Seriously, if the road's closed,
I've got to go to Silverton.
Silverton's fine.
I can take a bus from there.
[engine not starting]
No. I cannot believe this.
We have just entered into the "Twilight Zone."
Who are you really?
Who do you say I am, Kayla?
Well, you could be Jesus and I could be Britney Spears.
Yeah, aren't you supposed to be in heaven or something?
What's it going to take to convince you?
How's this?
Funny.
You know, anyone can get a fake ID these days.
That's right, Kayla.
Even you.
How did you know that?
I'm Jesus.
I know everything
Melissa, for example, is heading up to Winnemucca for the weekend
to visit her boyfriend, Paul.
She thinks he's going to propose to her.
Is he?
Mm-hmm.
Yes!
I wouldn't be so excited if I were you.
Melissa, do you really want to marry a man who makes you drive
to propose to you?
You're a woman. You're precious.
I've got better for you than that.
What about me, Jesus?
What do you know about me besides my name?
I know your wife no longer wants to be Mrs. Hank Miller.
Is that true?
It is true.
Look, I don't know who you are,
but you have no right to interfere in my marriage.
I'm not interfering with your marriage, Hank.
I can save your marriage.
How can you save my marriage?
All you have to do is ask me.
Jesus.
Save my marriage.
Save my marriage. Please, Lord Jesus.
Jesus, save my marriage.
[engine not starting]
I can't believe it.
We've got to go back in there.
I will walk to Silverton before I go back in there.
He may be crazy, but he's probably harmless.
Probably?
Back so soon?
Car didn't start.
Aren't you worried about your meeting?
Your franchisee's meeting.
You've got what,
Be more like 3,000 by the end of next year.
It's impressive.
Nick, I can offer you greater riches.
Riches that can never be lost or stolen
or sunk by the stock market.
That's real good, Jesus.
Catherine.
Hank, please.
I meant what I said.
Is there somebody else?
Don't be ridiculous.
We can save our marriage.
It's too late.
Jesus can save our marriage.
Oh, you mean your friend over there?
Yes, he knows we're headed for divorce.
Does he?
That puts him one up on you.
Hey, did you eat all the bread?
Oh, sorry, I was hungry.
Hey, can we get some more bread over here?
There's plenty of bread there.
No, there isn't. It's--empty.
How did you do that?
I'm Jesus.
Will you come with me please?
Sure.
Well, as long as you're going to perform miracles,
why don't you turn my water into wine?
Am I losing my mind?
That bread basket was empty, wasn't it?
I thought it was.
And then suddenly it wasn't empty.
Doesn't that freak you out?
You haven't been some of the places I've been.
Plus it was your idea to come here.
Suppose..
Suppose it really is him.
Jesus?
Yeah.
Please.
Well, how did he know that stuff about my boyfriend?
He probably just overheard us talking.
No.
We didn't talk about that in there.
Look, I don't know what the explanation is,
but I'm sure there is one.
It's not so bad here.
There's free food and a warm place, so you can leave,
but I'm staying.
You shall see the Son of Man seated at the right hand
of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.
Your good book forgot to mention
there'd be a chance of scattered showers.
I'm glad to see that you remember some of what you read
in the Bible, Nick.
Especially that part.
That's like one of my favorite parts.
You can thank Gideons for that.
There's no telling what a man will do at 3 a.m.
in a Days Inn outside of Fargo.
You were searching, Nick.
I was bored.
Bored people turn on the TV.
You opened the Bible.
What were you looking for?
You tell me!
You know everything.
It was after the death of your father.
You were wondering how your parents could be so content with
so little, how your father could be as proud of his fruit stand
as you are of your fame and your millions.
I loved your parents, real, authentic, hard-working people.
More people went to your father's fruit stand
for his smile than for his fruit.
And you know who was great?
Your grandmother, Sadie.
I never knew her.
She died when I was little.
Of course you remember her.
In fact, you could say that she's the reason
we're here like this tonight.
What do you mean?
Your grandmother was a delight to my heart,
a humble woman filled with love and zeal, a real prayer warrior.
In her last years, her most passionate prayers, Nick,
were for you.
She was praying that you would come to me as your Lord
and Savior, that you'd come to eternal life.
I'm honoring her faithfulness by coming to you
and making this personal appeal.
Well, there's no need to go to all the trouble, Jesus.
Because I'm doing just fine on my own.
If I hadn't intervened tonight, you'd be dead.
You'd all be dead.
What?
The flooding left the road unstable.
Nick would have hit the curve too hard and each of you
would have followed him.
No, no, no.
Wait, wait, wait a minute. Let me get this straight.
You're trying to take credit for saving our lives
by keeping us off the road.
But if you are indeed God, then you created the storm
that caused the damage on the road.
So if we kept driving, you'd be responsible for our deaths.
You live in a fractured creation.
That's what's responsible for the storm.
I stepped in and took advantage of the storm to bring you all
here tonight so that I could make this personal appeal.
Okay, Jesus.
If you really are the Christ, why don't you tell me something
amazing about myself, something that only I'd know?
You don't really want to leave your husband.
Wrong.
Our marriage is over.
No.
You're only looking for something he can't provide
and you're not going to find it on your own either.
I'll take that chance.
Catherine, don't be so hard on your husband.
You've got to expect him to believe in me.
He's been listening to my voice since he was 15.
In fact, he heard it earlier today.
I did?
Yes.
I was that still, small voice in your head that told you
to pick Kayla up.
But you didn't, did you?
I wanted to, but-
But Catherine wouldn't let you.
Am I right?
I'm not ashamed to admit it.
For all I know, she was gonna kill us.
Well, if that's the way you feel, I probably should have.
Do you see what I mean?
I can't fault you, Catherine.
But I can fault you, Hank.
Why?
She's here, isn't she?
Of course.
I knew you wouldn't pick her up, so I asked another one
of my servants to do it, didn't I?
Pick her up.
That was you?
That's not the first time you heard my voice,
nor will it be the last.
You just keep listening and I guarantee you'll find
what you seek.
Hank, do you really think that you're going to save,
let alone restore your marriage by putting your wife's wishes
above mine?
She wants to break up your marriage, Hank.
I want to save it.
You've got to be listening to me.
You know, maybe the two of you should get married
and just leave me out of it.
Catherine, you've been out of it for way too long.
It's time that you and I met.
Are you saying I'm not a Christian?
I'm sorry, you're not.
How dare you.
I go to church every Sunday.
I even teach Sunday school.
I know.
The sad part is that you would have peace in your heart today
if you had half the faith of some of those kids
in your class.
Catherine
She's only going to the ladies room, Hank.
So Jesus, if you're everywhere,
aren't you in the ladies room as well?
Nick, you've got quite a sense of humor,
but eventually you're going to find out that you can't make
a joke about everything.
Come on.
Come on.
Great.
[knocking on door]
Go away, Hank.
It's not Hank.
It's Melissa.
You're awfully quiet down here.
I haven't had much to say.
I've given you a lot to think about, haven't I?
Yeah.
I'll be right back.
I'm sorry for being rude earlier.
Everything is such a mess.
Hank and I have been drifting apart for months now.
I don't even know who I am anymore.
Why am I telling you this?
Sometimes it's just easier to talk to a stranger
about these things, you know?
And that.. that man out there.
That man who thinks he's Jesus, he thinks he knows me?
Do you think he's Jesus?
Do you?
Well, is it true?
I mean, that you don't want to leave your husband?
I don't know what I want.
I just..I want things to be different.
Well, then does it matter if he really is Jesus?
I mean, he obviously knows a lot about you.
Why don't you just listen to what he has to say?
Like he can fix what's wrong with my marriage?
Like you can?
Thank you for picking up Kayla.
Yeah, it was no problem.
I feel terrible about that.
Hank, you seem to be really buying this whole Jesus thing.
I'm a believer, yes.
But do you believe in that guy?
He either is who he says he is or..
Or what?
Or he's a lunatic.
And I've seen no evidence of him being crazy.
Hank, you don't get out to the big city too much,
do you, pal?
So tell me, Hank, what do you do for a living?
I'm a head of accounts receivable
for a home improvement company.
What do you pull down there, 90?
Come on, you're among friends.
And besides, he already knows.
Less than that.
Doesn't seem like God's been
too particularly generous to you.
You know, there's more to life than money.
There's family too.
And he hasn't done you any favors
in that department either.
You know, that's not nice.
Am I lying?
Am I?
I mean, if that's your way of rewarding the faithful,
I'm glad I went out and got what I got on my own.
You wouldn't have anything if I hadn't put a stone
in your path.
July 4th, 1974, Eldorquin Quarry.
You and your buddies were racing up the hill to dive in.
You took a shortcut through the bushes and you hit your foot
on a stone just before you dove.
Yeah. Yeah.
It threw my footing off.
Ruined my dive.
Caused me to hit an underwater rock
that broke my hand in two places.
I could have been a receiver.
If you hadn't tripped over that stone, Nick,
you would have hit your head on that rock.
You would have died at 14 years old.
But your grandmother's prayers were ringing in my ear.
I put that stone in your path.
But if you really are God,
you could have figured out a way to save him
without breaking his hand.
True.
But Kayla, if nothing had happened,
he wouldn't have remembered it and he clearly does.
And if he believed in me, he would see it
for what it truly is.
My grace.
So you hurt him so he'd thank you later?
In a way.
Kayla, you've got to remember I'm not the one
that put him on that path.
I'm not the one who made him dive.
I'm the one who saved him.
Just like I saved you
before you left.
You remember, Kayla.
What? What happened?
Nothing.
I don't know what you did to that poor girl,
but if you really are God, the least you could do is take care
of my friend Hank here.
At least he believes in you.
Hank's going through a rough spot right now, Nick.
But the difference between you and him is that he knows
in the deep of his heart that all things work together
for the good of those who love God
and are called to his purposes.
So I guess when that drunk driver killed my father,
that was your way of patting him on the back.
Nick, your father enjoyed his life,
but he's enjoying his eternal life a whole lot more right now.
And I want you to see him.
Well, excuse me if I don't take you up on that offer.
But many do, don't they?
How many people are gonna blow themselves up in your name today
in the Middle East?
In my name? None.
What about the people that blow up abortion clinics?
I've never once asked anyone to blow up an abortion clinic.
But you do remember telling the Israelites to kill
the Canaanites before they entered the Promised Land.
Men, women, and children.
Even the livestock.
Today, we have a word for that.
Genocide.
For a non-believer, you know your Bible very well, Nick.
Answer the question.
Perfect timing.
No, no, no, no.
I'm not gonna let him off that easy.
I want an answer.
Yes, I asked the Israelites to kill the Canaanites.
Women and children included.
Yes.
Is that any way for a God of love to behave?
I am love.
But I'm also holy and I cannot allow sin to go unpunished
and that's not just for my sake.
It's for yours.
I don't want you to wallow in sin and rebellion and guilt.
I want you to thrive in unending peace and joy.
There isn't one human being on this planet that's an accident.
I hand formed you in your mother's womb
and I formed you for a purpose.
I put before you a path of love and worship.
And the degree with which you'll experience love and joy
and the good things of life is the degree to which
you'll bend to my will.
And if we don't seek your will,
you kill us like you did the Canaanites.
Everyone dies, Nick, but not everyone needs to fear death.
If you abide in me, you'll be stepping free from this
fallen world and into glory.
Is that what heaven's like?
Glory?
It's more than glory, Melissa.
It's peace and love and joy.
Can you imagine living in the fullness of the warmth
of God's light?
There are no words in the human vocabulary that can describe it.
It's a place where there is no suffering.
It's a place where every tear is wiped from your eyes.
There's no sadness. There's no pain.
And you know, Melissa, one day you and I will walk
on the streets of gold and we'll talk about this night together.
What about me, Jesus?
Will I walk the streets of gold?
Nick, that's completely up to you.
Melissa made her decision on the 232nd day of her 17th year.
That was her birthday into my kingdom.
Why don't you tell Nick all about it?
Tell him why you sought me.
I'd like to hear it.
So would I.
Well, I was depressed.
The guy that I had been dating broke up with me,
so I..it was all I could do.
So I would come home and just sleep and cry
and sleep and cry and eat.
It got so bad that I was thinking
about taking my own life.
I stole a bottle of pain killers from my mom's house
and was planning on taking them that night and going to bed
and never waking up.
And the phone rang.
For whatever reason, I picked it up.
And it was a friend from work and she was a Christian.
And she would always talk about God and the Bible.
And she said she was going to come pick me up
and take me to a movie.
And I thought, "Why not?"
So half an hour later, I was sitting in a movie theatre
and it was packed.
It turned out it was like a Christian film festival.
And this movie was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
It was as if the message was directed at me.
And I remember tearing up.
Yeah, I couldn't help myself.
At the and of the movie, a man went up to the front and began
to speak and it felt like he was talking to me.
You know, personally.
He talked about God's forgiveness, eternal life,
and how this place we called planet Earth was only temporary.
And that how our real home was in the kingdom of heaven.
And that I would live there eternally if I would surrender
my life to him.
You know, I can't quite explain it,
but something was happening to me right then,
right there in the theatre.
He then said who ever would like to commit their lives to Christ
to get out of their seats and go to the front.
And the most important decision you ever make
in your whole life stands before you right now.
So I did.
I felt like a whole new person that very second.
Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened
and I will give you rest.
Did you find that rest?
Yes.
Looking back, I can't believe I was, you know,
going to take my life over some guy that had broken up with me.
Melissa, I have so much more in store for you, too,
if you trust me.
Could be times when I ask you to do things
you may not want to do.
I don't understand.
You can't marry Paul.
But I love him.
Well, I shouldn't say you can't because you can,
but you shouldn't.
It's just not my desire for you, Melissa.
But I love him.
Melissa, you have a very tender heart.
How many guys have you fallen in love with since you were 16?
But he loves me too.
Melissa, it's just not my will for a couple
to be unequally matched.
Paul doesn't believe in me.
What if we got married and I made it my mission to save him?
I could do that.
Melissa, do you love him? Do you really love him?
Yes, I do.
Who do you think loves him more, you or me?
You do, obviously, but..
Melissa, Paul doesn't feel about you the same way
you feel about him.
He hates his assignment up in Winnemucca.
He's lonely.
And right now, he thinks that you're exactly what he needs.
But two years from now, when you're back in L.A.,
he's gonna want something more, something you can't give him.
He's gonna grow to resent you.
And you know what he's going to resent most about you?
Your faith in me.
That will still be the biggest difference
between the two of you.
So instead of being the instrument that draws him to me,
you'll actually cause him to turn the other way.
Aw Melissa, isn't it more important that he loves me
than loves you?
Will he believe in you?
In time, yeah, he will.
Well, then maybe then we could..
Melissa, I promise you by then you won't
even want to entertain the possibility.
Remember, I have many wonderful things in store for you.
This is beginning to sound like "Deal or No Deal."
And if I were you, I'd say no deal.
You know, Nick, your cynicism is beginning to wear
on all of us.
That's awfully presumptuous of you to speak for everyone.
Starting to get on my nerves as well.
I was against you the minute you tried to run me over.
Well, hey, I tried to leave, remember?
It's not my fault the car wouldn't start.
Nick, you're here for one reason.
Because it's not my will that anyone should perish,
but that everyone would turn around and come to me.
The word you remember from your Bible is repent.
I don't have anything to repent of.
As I said, Nick, I'm here honoring the prayers
of your grandmother.
I wish I had known her.
You still have that chance.
But only on your terms.
Sounds like blackmail to me.
It's not blackmail, Nick.
I want you to be where your grandmother is.
It's a place of everlasting love.
And suppose I don't want that.
I'm a gentleman, Nick.
I'll never force myself on you or anyone.
Ha!
That's the worst kind of blackmail.
Do things my way or face fire and brimstone forever.
Nick, you don't want to follow me, do you?
Not particularly.
And you certainly don't want to obey me.
Correct again.
Nick, what would be more unjust and unfair?
For me to steal you at the moment of your death and force
you to live in my presence and in my will for all eternity?
Hell, on the other hand, is a place, Nick,
where you'll be completely free from all of my
"thou shalt nots" forever.
Hell never sounded so appealing to me
You know, everyday I get millions of complains
about this world
all the greed and selfishness
poverty, starvation,
the wars, the murders,
the abuse of children
I hardly recognize this place anymore
It bear so literal resemblance to the garden
that I created for you
But it's not hell, Nick.
Even now, there's sunshine on a spring day
there's starry night and desert sky
there's a gentle breeze on a summer afternoon
and the smell of flowers, the song of birds
Not to mention the horrible storms and floods
There's even people who are willing
to lend a helping hand to the helpless
and there's love
Nick, there's still love.
How could we forget love?
Nick, there's one thing for sure
There's no love in hell
There's no beauty, no hope
there's just torment
the kind of torment that comes from within
But surely no one would choose that
if they really believe you existed
Not so
Nobody goes into hell blind-folded
In one way or another I've reveiled myself to everyone
But if they could just see you
Not even that would be enough
Look at satan
He stood before me in the very throne room of God
but he thought the beauty and the power bestowed was
somehow earned
Gave himself over to pride
scratch any sin and just below the surface you'll find pride
People steal because they think they deserved what
other people worked hard for the
they hop from bed to bed because they feel entitled
to just satisfy themselves, no matter who it hurts,
no matter what pain that it costs
Here we go
Can I get you anything else?
No, all great, thanks.
Enjoy your meals.
It's the best burger I've ever tasted
guess I should take my coupons back
I have to give you credit
This is the best salad I've ever tasted
I'll give you a bite of my salad
if you let me have a bite of your burger
This is the first salad I've ever wanted to taste
Here we go
sirloin tips, smothered in gravy on a bed of mashed potatoes
with a green salad on the side
and Thousand Island dressing
Thank you
Aren't you going to eat?
No, my food is to serve my Father
It tastes just like my mom's
Kayla, would you like to join us
or do you want me to serve you over there
I promise not to mention that LA thing again
unless you want to talk about it
Okay
Wow, this is great.
Is it?
It's not too hard or mild
It's
Perfect?
Ya
Thanks, I get that a lot
On second thought, I'm not hungry
Nick, I guarantee you this is the best deal you'll ever get
And it's absolutely free
You don't have to do anything but accept it
Thanks but no thanks
I'm liable to end up brain-washed like the rest of these people
You wasted your time
No, it's not wasted
The meal he rejected will become food for others
Well, if he doesn't want it, can I have it?
Absolutely.
Kayla, I am willing to give you many good things
all you have to do is ask
I have asked
Have I answered?
Do you have any idea how we lived?
One week we'd be at my grandmother's
and then the next we'd be in the shelter
and the week after, we'd be in child services
or foster home
And then my mom would get us back
Promising us that it'd be different this time
But it never was
She's a junky
Junkies never change
Your mother loves you.
Yeah, when she was drunk and crying
but how she could've been this or that
she could have been?
What about me?
What chance did I ever have what the mother like her?
Do you think she cared if I brushed my teeth
or if I combed my hair
or if I was hungry
or even if I went to school?
She'd never even let me leave her side
when I was little, and cute
She gets twice the handouts
When I got just as dirty as her
people looked away
The way you did.
I've never turned away
So you were watching when I have to flag down a police officer
after my mom oded
Or how about the time the guy robbed us and he cut me instead
I'm glad you were watching
Hope you put on a pretty good show for you
I used to pray when I was little
Pastor Jim down at the mission taught me how
He's a good man.
Yeah
At least he cared.
What did you do for us?
I took all of these hard things Kayla
and I used them to turn you into the wonderful young lady that you are
so strong, and enduring, such a wonderful role model
for your little sister
But right now she's with him
Him?
My stepfather, Jake.
The funny thing is, at first I thought
he was answer to my prayer
He had a house, and a job, and it finally looked like
we're gonna have a normal home life
But when he got to drinking
my mother and him got to fighting
It was worse than the streets
and then she locked him out in the bedroom
and he looked for a new place to sleep
and not just to sleep
Where were you then?
I was shouting into his mind and consciousness
to stop, stop.
I was there in the bathroom
Oh God, please.
And I heard you
Kayla, your prayer before you pulled that trigger
It wasn't for death
It was to go to a better place
Kayla, if you had died that night
you wouldn't have gone to a better place
So the night before, I caused your stepfather to stumble that made him
reconsider the prospects of keeping
the loaded gun in his pocket
so he removed the clamp and unknowingly saved your life
It's not the first time I saved your life
nor will it be the last either
Kayla, what do you want?
I just want to stop hurting
I can't promise you that all your problems
will disappear overnight
you have a hard road ahead of you
But I can tell you that you'll have a peace and have purpose
that will not only survive but it will thrive and grow
If you trust me.
Would you follow me?
Yes
Will you forgive all those people who hurt you?
even as I forgive you?
Yes
Even Jake?
How can you ask me to do that?
You saw what he did to me
Yeah
But Kayla, look what he's done to me
I paid heavy price for your stepfather's sins
It's the same price I paid for your sins
Now Kayla, I want you to go back to Los Angeles
and I want you to tell the police what your stepfather did
I want him to go to jail
He needs to understand that there's a price
that has to be paid for sin, even in this fallen world
But Kayla I don't want him to go to hell
I want him to come to me, so I can forgive him
so I can give him a new life
And you know there's another reason
that I want you to forgive him
If you don't, all the anger and resentment will just
poison every relationship you have
even ours.
If you want love, you have to abandon hate
Don't let anger steal your joy
I forgive him
And I forgive you
You had to be ashamed of yourself
Taking advantage of an emotionally destruct little girl
Nick, why are you fighting me?
What have I done to make you hate me?
Hate you?
You think I've given you enough thought to hate you?
I hate federal regulators
I hate taxes
I hate sitting in couch
You don't warn hate
You warn exactly what I've given you all this time
Indifference
I don't want you
I don't need you
I'm not like these losers
You don't need anything else in your life, Nick?
I'm living in the American dream
Eleven years in the NFL?
Nine PRO BOWLS?
Two Super Bowl rings?
A sack record that no one's come close to touching yet
A restaurant chain that'll all take public in a couple of years
for hundreds of millions of dollars
I've got everything I want
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and lose his soul
It's not the love of money
that keeps him away from me, Melissa.
Thank you
It's pride
Here we go with pride again
Give pride a break
You show me someone without pride, and I'll show you a bum
Someone who's taking more from society than what he's giving
So that's what motivates you?
Giving?
No, but when I succeed, other people do too
When I set the quarterback, I'll help my whole team
Look at my restaurants
Each one of them employs 25 to 40 people
that doesn't include my vendors
doesn't include corporates
doesn't include my suppliers
Everyone of those families are doing better than mine did
When I was growing up.
Funny when it always comes back
to your dad's fruit stand, Nick.
Did you not feel loved as a child?
Of course I felt loved
Did you feel secured?
I felt secured
Then why do you have so much distain for your youth, Nick?
Why were you so embarrassed?
I wasn't embarrassed.
Nick, Nick, I'm gonna call you on that one
As a child, you were happy
You spent all your summers working with your father
at the fruit stand, listening to his stories
marveling and the way people came just to talk to him
Everybody liked your father
You have to admit you got your work ethic from him, Nick
I got a lot of things from him
But not what he wanted you to have the most
When you were a child, everybody was pretty much the same
Working class, lower middle class
Nobody was rich or unduly privileged
But when you got into high school
Suddenly you were with the sons of doctors and lawyers
and business man, people that the rest of the world
thought were very successful
It all comes down at the summer before your sophomore year
You'll work in the food stand like you always did
Cliff, Bobby came, they saw you in your white apron
and they thought that was the funniest thing in the world
And your dad's accent
You used to have an accent, Nick.
You got rid of it didn't you?
You think you're so smart
But you had football
Coach didn't care if you were rich or poor
all he cares about is your performance on the field
and you excelled
Sports was your ticket
And suddenly you were no longer little Nicky Cruchetti
in the white apron, the son of the fruit vendor
You're Crusher Cruchetti.
God helped the man who would laugh at you
You really wanna mess with me?
Relax, Nick
Have a piece of pie
It's your grandmother's recipe
I give you this,
she was a great cook
That's because she sprinkled the generous helping of love
on everything, didn't she, Nick?
I don't remember her
Memory is a funny thing Nick
It can remain perfectly hidden for years even decades
and then come flooding back because of a picture
or hearing a song, smelling a scent or even a taste
Grandma, is my pie ready?
Now what do we say?
Thank you, God?
Would you like to pray?
Okay, grandma.
My boy.
Dear Jesus, thank you for this food
Thank you Lord, for my family, thank you for my grandma
In Jesus name, Amen.
She never graduated from high school
She was never rich
She never even learned to drive a car
But your grandmother Nick, is a very special lady.
You remember her, don't you?
Your grandmother had true faith in my ability to intervene
and fulfill my promises
And I promised her that I would move heaven and earth
to reach you.
So here I am, Nick.
You put this ancient memory in my head, and you expect me
to throw away the life that I built for myself
What kind of weak will man do you think I am?
The kind of man that hasn't opened himself up
to unconditional love, since he was a child
You put up a wall
You turned your back on the old fashioned blue-collar values
Blast it off to your future
But with Sadie, ah, there was never a wall
between you and Sadie.
She died before you could shut down completely
So there's still just a fragment, Nick, of unconditional love that remains
in your heart.
Nick, when is the last time that you told your parents
that you love them?
I took care of them
I bought them a house
I bought them cars
This is ridiculous
I'm not gonna sit here and let you make me feel guilty
for something that I didn't do
Nick, some people feel guilty for things that they did
and others feel guilty for what they didn't do
The question is, what are you gonna do about it?
I don't need to do anything about it.
Oh yes you do, Nick.
This is your time.
All the seemingly random moments and incidents of your life
they've all come together to bring you here and now to this point
of making a decision for your life for all eternity
Kayla stepped out of dead and into life
I want you to join her
I want you to join your mom and dad
I want you to join Sadie
Sadie awaits you in heaven.
Nick, what are you afraid of?
You think I'm gonna ask you to give all your money
away to the poor and become a missionary in Africa?
Or are you more afraid that I'm gonna ask you to proclaim My Name
to your friends and colleagues
Is that what it is, Nick?
You're afraid your business partners
and your former team mates would laugh at you because of this?
They'll say you're weak?
They'll say you've lost your energy and gone soft
Is that it, Nick?
You think I care what they think?
You think I care what anybody thinks?
I'm my own man
You think you're a self-made man
But you're not
I made you, Nick.
You existed in my heart before the creation of the world
I have plans for your life
Think of what you're gonna accomplish with me in your corner
Nick, please, open your heart.
I'm doing just fine on my own
Well well well..
You are still in business
After all these years
nobody been interested in what you're selling
I don't sell anything
Oh that's right
You give it all away
Any takers?
Not me.
He couldn't give me a bite
That's a smart man
I've come very good news
The road is finally clear and you're all free to leave
Well, halleluyah
That's the best news I've heard all day
It isn't true
The road isn't clear
Like you would know?
This man's been out there
He obviously knows
Does he?
Apparently I do
You coming?
Don't, Nick.
Nick, I don't think you should go.
Can I get an escort?
Absolutely, just follow me.
It's you and me baby
That's one for me
Four set free
.
Don't worry, Jesus.
We'll meet again.
That was his last chance.
If there's a down side of being God
is knowing
I've reached out to him with everything I am but I know
I just know.
I am the good shepherd
The good shepherd would lay down his life for the sheep
Thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
I am the good shepherd
And I know my own
and my own know me
My sheep hear my voice and I know them
And they follow me
No one shall snatch them from my hand
Melissa?
Yes?
Would you do me a favour?
Drive Kayla back to Los Angeles
Bring her child protection services for me
Yes, of course
Kayla, you're gonna have some hard times ahead of you
and you have some doubts
This would ultimately be the first step towards saving your family
Really?
Yeah
And you have such a wonderful life ahead of you
Will I ever see you again?
Ya, ya but not like this.
I mean not for a long while anyway
Can I talk to you?
Yeah, all the time.
I'll be listening
Will I hear you?
Mm-Hmm, Ya
In my word, mostly
That's the bible
That book has all the wisdom you need for your life
And sometimes, just in the quiet of your spirit
you'll hear me say
"this is the way you should go"
"this is the way you shouldn't go"
Melissa, Paul's gonna be very upset
You're gonna have to be very strong, okay?
Okay.
What about us, Lord?
Hank, I want you to love you wife.
I want you to pray for her
Pray like never stop praying
You have followed, you will now lead.
Many would be blessed because of your faith.
I think I understand.
Catherine, won't you join us?
I don't mean just here and now
I mean, forever.
If you really were who you say you are
You know I'd already answered the call
Yeah, I remembered when you walked up the aisle but
Catherine, there's a lot more to it
than just walking up an aisle or saying a few words
You have to really truly repent, change of heart
If you don't believe me, believe your handsome husband there.
He's a good man, he loves you very much.
Of course, not as much as I do.
I love you.
And I love you
I love you.
Hank ..
Thank you
Sorry for the inconvenience folks
Is the road still closed?
No, sir. The road's open
but there's been a terrible accident
An accident?
Yes, sir. The driver was caught in the fog
and smashed into the guard rail around the curve
What kind of car was it?
Was it a BMW?
Yes, sir. As a matter of fact it was.
And the driver, did he make it?
No, ma'am. I'm sorry
he was killed instantly.
Did you know him?
No, not really.
We were all having dinner back together at the diner
Which one? The one in Thompsonville?
No, the one a couple of miles back
I'm sorry to contradict you ma'am but
there's no diner at a couple of miles back
No, there was.
We were just there.
I've been patroling this for more than ten years
and I can assure you there's no diner on this road
But what about officer DeVille?
He walked in the diner himself
Officer who?
Deville
D-e-v-i-l-l-e.
I haven't heard of anybody working around here
named DeVille
If you folks would excuse me
I'm not going crazy, right?
There was a diner.
This has been quite a day
You've got that right
Yeah
I guess we better get going
Be careful
We'll be just fine.
We're in good hands
Come on
Please forgive me.
I'm not a bad person
I'm just confused
It's okay
We're all like that sometimes
So?
Now?
Yeah, but first, let's go back
Go back?
Where?
Are you sure this is it?
This is it.
This is a cut of the parking lot
Over there was the foundation
No
No, this is the wrong place
It must be further back
No, this is right.
This is it.
You have to really truly repent, change of heart
Come to me all you who are weary and burdened
and I will give you rest
This is it.
It was true
It was all true, and it really was Him
You knew it was Him.
How did you know?
How can you save my marriage?
All you have to do is ask me
Save my marriage
Save my marriage, Lord Jesus
Jesus, save my marriage
I think at first..there's something in my heart
that tell me it was.
Nothing in my heart told me.
Not until he said he loved me.
I love you.
Then I felt something
We've all sinned and fall short of his glory
But you know, it's all about his grace
His sacrifice on the cross
I don't now what to say
Just imagine he's right there, because he is.
Talk to Him.
Tell Him what you feel,
tell Him what's in your heart.
Catherine, won't you join us?
I don't mean just here and now
I mean forever.
Good afternoon, sir.
What would it be today?
Menu? Or special orders?