Direction

Which Way to Go?

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But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:11 NIV

Don’t you wish that following God’s guidance could be like entering an address into your GPS? Then knowing the right direction would be as simple as listening to the calm pleasant voice alerting us to turn at the next intersection.

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But finding the right career path, soul-mate or next apartment is not about knowing which way to turn. God’s word is clear that what matters to Him is in how we treat the people around us. In fact He tells us that we are stumbling through life because we are mistreating, manipulating or using others for our own advantage in ways that God calls hate. When we treat anyone with hate then we walk straight out of the presence of God and down a dark path. It reminds me of when we were driving home from Northern Vermont. The GPS in our car kept saying, “Satellite transmission lost”. We kept going the wrong way and sometimes even in circles until we stopped at a gas station and asked directions.  In the same way finding the right spiritual direction means following directions from someone who can show us the way. That someone is Jesus Christ, who loved us even when we were his enemies and showed us the way to His Home.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11 KJV

Row Harder!

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For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future Jeremiah 29:11

“Row harder! More to the left! Don’t stand up! Just be careful!” Who hasn’t heard all these instructions as you began your first solo voyage in a kayak? You might have been feeling a little nervous, but then just as you launched out, barely ten feet from the shore it seems you were sinking under waves of advice.

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The Jewish people as they arrived in their new home in Babylon were in very much the same situation. Some people were so depressed they just literally wanted to hang up their harps and give up. There were also some “Prosperity prophets” around telling the people to cheer up because God was going to destroy Babylon any minute and they would soon be back in their own land (PS send a big offering to me) Last of all, there were folks with their hands just itching to pull out their swords because they hated the foreign rulers and wanted revenge. With so many voices pushing and pulling at them many ordinary people were plenty confused.

That was exactly when God sent Jeremiah with this word of encouragement and guidance. No matter the situation you are facing today, the first person to listen to is God! Only God knows the plan. He knows which way to go and how long it will take to get there. But the best part is that no matter how far we have to go, He does not just want to tell us the way.  His desire is to get right in the boat with us and help with the rowing. He already knows the way but we need to be willing to listen and if we ask he’ll pick up the oars and go with us to the other side!

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God’s Critical Updates

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Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day.           Psalm 25:4-5 NKJV

Have you ever turned on your computer and discovered that you need to download the most recent critical updates? I confess that sometimes I hurry on, and out of impatience begin work  hoping that nothing will go wrong. In the same way God offers each of us daily the guidance and protection we need to walk with Him. He is trying to protect me from my spiritual enemy in the same way as my software is alerting me to the dangers of malware, viruses or other electronic ne’er do wells.

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The Bible tells us to download God’s latest spiritual updates to help us navigate today’s pathway. Sometimes it is the malware of our own ways that pops up in the operating system of our minds. Sometimes it is the temptation to fit in with the world around that is shouting  for our attention. But no matter the source of the malware we have the opportunity to ask God to overwrite it with a download of His truth.

Our daily spiritual battles will no more disappear from our  lives than will spam from our e-mail accounts. But every day we can make a new determination that since God alone is our salvation then we will wait take the time to download His updates and call Him up on His customer support line called prayer. He is eager to hear from us and He wants to walk with us through every valley no matter how dark! imported from phone 157