Being Driven By Jesus On the Highway of Life When the writer penned in I Kings 8:58: –“May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our father”, although the author is unknown, it is pretty clear that he really wants us to be sure that we have given God complete control of our lives.
King David gives a similar challenge when he said in Psalm 119:1-2 “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.”
As I compared the words of these two powerful passages of scripture, I couldn’t help but visualize the highway of life. When you think about it, both writers were not speaking of a short trip, they were speaking of long journey. It’s a journey that each and every one of us should understand, is filled with many potential dangers as well as many potential blessings.
So let me ask you today; are you just traveling along in a carefree state oblivious to the challenges you encounter on your journey? Are you perhaps frustrated because it seems like all you’re doing is hitting every pot-hole that exists? Does your journey seem to be filled with detours and roadways that are constantly narrowing? Are you struggling because it appears that others are holding you back and impeding your travel? Or, do you possibly feel like you’ve had so many issues on your journey that you’ve had to pull over and lament about the road you seem unable to make headway on? Maybe you’re like so many who recognize that you’ve faced your share of break-downs. You’ve had your fill of flats. You’re tired of the struggle to get around others who seem to be blocking your path and you just aren’t sure how to proceed. Some may have even tried to encourage you by saying, “Hey, Why not hook-up to the Savior and let Him tow you for a while?”
Friends, on this busy Tuesday, I have a better idea. Why not pull over and shut things off for a few moments and talk to the Heavenly Highway Master Engineer. He knows the road you’re traveling so much better than you do. The answer is simple. Just get out, and walk over to the passenger side and get in. Ask Him to slide over and take the wheel. Oh yes, it’s still your car. It’s still your life. BUT, you’re now asking Him to drive. Friends, I learned a long time ago, there’s no better way to travel than Being Driven By Jesus on the Highway of Life! When we are driven to the place where we ask Him to drive, that’s when we’ve really started the best part of our journey. There is no one who knows exactly where you are going and exactly how to get you there than the very one who has planned your trip. It’s a trip that is designed by Him for you to follow. It is His will. It is His plan. Now that’s a journey we can all be sure, will help us arrive safely at our destination. What’s our final destination? It’s Heaven!
How about just checking today to be sure that you’ve not tried to take the steering wheel away from Jesus? If you have, just be willing to admit it, let go of it and let Him drive. After all, He knows your road so much better than you do. He will be sure you reach your destination. Let’s face it, if we’re going to make this journey called life a success, there’s no better way to travel than Being Driven By Jesus On the Highway of Life.
Have a Great Tuesday and rest of the week.
Pastor Darryl
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Why Not Be A Titus To Someone Else Today?
WHY NOT BE A TITUS TO SOMEONE ELSE TODAY?2 Corinthians 7:5-7 (The Message) 5-7”When we arrived in Macedonia province, we couldn't settle down. The fights in the church and the fears in our hearts kept us on pins and needles. We couldn't relax because we didn't know how it would turn out. Then the God who lifts up the downcast lifted our heads and our hearts with the arrival of Titus. We were glad just to see him, but the true reassurance came in what he told us about you: how much you cared, how much you grieved, how concerned you were for me. I went from worry to tranquility in no time!”
As Christians, we know that all of us have faced those times of sheer discouragement, and when the challenges just seem to pile up. It’s at those moments that we could all easily shout out that we feel like we are the poster child for “Murphy’s Law”.
You know friends, the Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest missionary of all time, faced those same struggles that we face today. In our passage we see that Paul, after arriving in Macedonia, was writing to the church at Corinth. He was telling them that he was pretty discouraged. He knew they were upset with the first letter he had sent them chastising them and urging them to get their lives right. Things were going on in the church that had him totally dismayed and upset. Issues were creating divisions and he admits that they were all very nervous and quite concerned because they just didn’t really know how it would all turn out.
Then in the midst of the difficulties, enter Titus, the bearer of good news. Titus told Paul and his team that the church in Corinth had decided to get things right. They were coming together. The letter he had written that was used to bring challenge and a call to repentance was indeed heeded. That made Paul ecstatic. He went from discouraged to encouraged with one quick conversation with his friend Titus.
On this busy Tuesday, perhaps you are discouraged. David said in Psalm 27:14; “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” He also said in Psalm 42:5-6; “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!"
Maybe you are working with someone that you know is definitely discouraged. It’s possible that someone very close to you has shared their struggles with you and now they are awaiting your thoughts. Why not decide right now to give them an encouraging word? Why not pause and ask the Lord to help you right now, to be a Titus to someone today? Just stop for a few moments today and let God give you the words you need to share with someone else. Let Him help you to be the listening ear they truly need right now.
The songwriter offered encouragement years ago with these words: “Got any rivers you think are un-crossable? Got any mountains, you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible; and He can do what no other power can do.” Let’s take a Hebrews 12:1 approach to discouragement. It says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, (and friends, discouragement will surely weigh us down)…and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” How about it friends? Let’s be a Titus to someone today. Let’s help them to get up and get on with the race God has set before us all.
Have a great Tuesday and rest of the week.
Serving by your side,
Pastor Darryl
As Christians, we know that all of us have faced those times of sheer discouragement, and when the challenges just seem to pile up. It’s at those moments that we could all easily shout out that we feel like we are the poster child for “Murphy’s Law”.
You know friends, the Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest missionary of all time, faced those same struggles that we face today. In our passage we see that Paul, after arriving in Macedonia, was writing to the church at Corinth. He was telling them that he was pretty discouraged. He knew they were upset with the first letter he had sent them chastising them and urging them to get their lives right. Things were going on in the church that had him totally dismayed and upset. Issues were creating divisions and he admits that they were all very nervous and quite concerned because they just didn’t really know how it would all turn out.
Then in the midst of the difficulties, enter Titus, the bearer of good news. Titus told Paul and his team that the church in Corinth had decided to get things right. They were coming together. The letter he had written that was used to bring challenge and a call to repentance was indeed heeded. That made Paul ecstatic. He went from discouraged to encouraged with one quick conversation with his friend Titus.
On this busy Tuesday, perhaps you are discouraged. David said in Psalm 27:14; “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” He also said in Psalm 42:5-6; “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!"
Maybe you are working with someone that you know is definitely discouraged. It’s possible that someone very close to you has shared their struggles with you and now they are awaiting your thoughts. Why not decide right now to give them an encouraging word? Why not pause and ask the Lord to help you right now, to be a Titus to someone today? Just stop for a few moments today and let God give you the words you need to share with someone else. Let Him help you to be the listening ear they truly need right now.
The songwriter offered encouragement years ago with these words: “Got any rivers you think are un-crossable? Got any mountains, you cannot tunnel through? God specializes in things thought impossible; and He can do what no other power can do.” Let’s take a Hebrews 12:1 approach to discouragement. It says: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, (and friends, discouragement will surely weigh us down)…and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” How about it friends? Let’s be a Titus to someone today. Let’s help them to get up and get on with the race God has set before us all.
Have a great Tuesday and rest of the week.
Serving by your side,
Pastor Darryl
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
HOPE, INHERITANCE AND POWER, A THREE-FOLD LOVE GIFT FROM GOD
HOPE, INHERITANCE AND POWER, A THREE-FOLD LOVE GIFT FROM GOD
Text: Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV)
“18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength…”One of my pastorates was on the east coast 13 miles from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Oh my, what an educational place to pastor. I still have many friends that live there, like Jeff McDowell and Don Hedman who are still working at the Kennedy Space Center, more commonly known as “The Rocket Ranch”. Whenever there was a Space Shuttle launch, all the surrounding towns swelled by the thousands. When there was a night time Shuttle launch, or when word slipped out about a “Delta” rocket night launch, the skies would light up, and the sounds that shook our windows and filled the air, to me still remain incomparable. Honestly, I can’t explain it well enough, you just had to be there.
I learned that the “Delta” rockets and the Space Shuttle Solid rocket boosters (the SRB’s), all burn a fuel mixture that creates such explosive power, that those massive birds can leave their earthly perches and be propelled into the vast skies and be totally out of sight in just minutes. Simply put, as the fuel burns, it then turns into a gas that causes a powerful pressure to build. Ultimately that pressure is pushing out in all directions. Naturally, the rocket is open at the bottom end so the gas burns and escapes because the pressure is building inside, and that in turn releases that power, causing the rocket to be propelled in the opposite direction.
Usually every “Delta” rocket or every Space Shuttle that launches has a very valuable “Payload” that it takes into outer space, for some very specific science related purpose. Of course the astronauts are the most valuable payload any rocket, or solid rocket booster and external tank could ever propel into space.
It’s that process that got me thinking. When we read the Word of God, we see that God provides to us His wonderful payload. He has all the power we need to accomplish any mission He gives us in our Christian walk. The key to the success of our ventures is our faith. Our faith is the key ingredient in the power of God. The more we grow in His love and the more we mature in our Christian walk, the more power He provides to us daily.
As we daily read the Bible it becomes clearer all the time that the greatest power that God gives to us is the power of His wonderful love. His love is a force like none other. His love is what led Him to the cross to die for our sins. His love gives us our hope. His love is what gives us a promise of a heavenly inheritance, and His love is what gives us the power we need to do whatever He needs for us to do, as we follow His will. As God guides our life’s ship, He also provides for every mission. That is our three-fold love gift from God; Hope, Inheritance and Power.
On this busy Tuesday be sure your launch pad is pristine. Let nothing block the power of God in your life. Make yourself available to whatever mission God has for you. Be sure that your faith is always at the ready. You never know when God will call you to launch out into a new area of service.
Your mission today is to have a great day and do all you can to stay on course in your mission the rest of the week.
Ready? Three…Two…One… Blast off!
Pastor Darryl
Text: Ephesians 1:18-19 (NIV)
“18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength…”One of my pastorates was on the east coast 13 miles from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Oh my, what an educational place to pastor. I still have many friends that live there, like Jeff McDowell and Don Hedman who are still working at the Kennedy Space Center, more commonly known as “The Rocket Ranch”. Whenever there was a Space Shuttle launch, all the surrounding towns swelled by the thousands. When there was a night time Shuttle launch, or when word slipped out about a “Delta” rocket night launch, the skies would light up, and the sounds that shook our windows and filled the air, to me still remain incomparable. Honestly, I can’t explain it well enough, you just had to be there.
I learned that the “Delta” rockets and the Space Shuttle Solid rocket boosters (the SRB’s), all burn a fuel mixture that creates such explosive power, that those massive birds can leave their earthly perches and be propelled into the vast skies and be totally out of sight in just minutes. Simply put, as the fuel burns, it then turns into a gas that causes a powerful pressure to build. Ultimately that pressure is pushing out in all directions. Naturally, the rocket is open at the bottom end so the gas burns and escapes because the pressure is building inside, and that in turn releases that power, causing the rocket to be propelled in the opposite direction.
Usually every “Delta” rocket or every Space Shuttle that launches has a very valuable “Payload” that it takes into outer space, for some very specific science related purpose. Of course the astronauts are the most valuable payload any rocket, or solid rocket booster and external tank could ever propel into space.
It’s that process that got me thinking. When we read the Word of God, we see that God provides to us His wonderful payload. He has all the power we need to accomplish any mission He gives us in our Christian walk. The key to the success of our ventures is our faith. Our faith is the key ingredient in the power of God. The more we grow in His love and the more we mature in our Christian walk, the more power He provides to us daily.
As we daily read the Bible it becomes clearer all the time that the greatest power that God gives to us is the power of His wonderful love. His love is a force like none other. His love is what led Him to the cross to die for our sins. His love gives us our hope. His love is what gives us a promise of a heavenly inheritance, and His love is what gives us the power we need to do whatever He needs for us to do, as we follow His will. As God guides our life’s ship, He also provides for every mission. That is our three-fold love gift from God; Hope, Inheritance and Power.
On this busy Tuesday be sure your launch pad is pristine. Let nothing block the power of God in your life. Make yourself available to whatever mission God has for you. Be sure that your faith is always at the ready. You never know when God will call you to launch out into a new area of service.
Your mission today is to have a great day and do all you can to stay on course in your mission the rest of the week.
Ready? Three…Two…One… Blast off!
Pastor Darryl
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