Direction

Getting Through the Fog

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

About an hour south of us along the highway there is a stretch of road often covered by a dense fog. It could be a nice sunny morning everywhere else as you drive along then suddenly you find yourself unable to see more than a few feet in front of your car. Stopping is not an option because another car from behind could run right into your car. I have found the best option is to get behind a tractor trailer and follow it through. Powerful headlights enable the truck driver to see far better than I.

Sometimes in our spiritual lives we can also get lost in a fog. When our goal is to be known for someone we are not by taking possession of things that are not ours we are living in a spiritual fog. We lose perspective of what and who really matter in our lives. Little desires appear important and great horizons disappear. But instead of putting on the brakes in fear we need to look to the light of the Lord Jesus ahead. He sees clearly what lies in front of us. We can rest content with our position because He will bring us safely out into the sunshine. If you feel like you are passing through the deepest fog remind yourself that there is no better place to be than just behind Jesus because He is the light of life!

God is working Zone

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“Road construction next 10 miles” is a sign few of us like to see. Construction slows down traffic and forces us to concentrate on changes to our normal pattern in order to navigate our way safely. God also has construction zones in our lives. He is at work all the time and has a wonderful way of throwing us off our schedule and our plans in order to get us on His. Are we grumbling when our street is filled with pot holes and then complaining when they close the road to fix them? It can be much the same on our spiritual roads. Sometimes God closes things down and redirects our route because He has a better destination in store than the one on the way we were headed. So why not follow God’s detour and find out what amazing things lie ahead on the other side of His heavenly road construction?

What would Jesus think?

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Some years ago it became popular to have the letters WWJD on a bracelet. That acronym asked “What would Jesus do?”

The answer often seems clear i.e. would Jesus rob the convenient mart? Would Jesus buy cocaine? Would Jesus swindle the car insurance company? What is not always obvious are questions like, “Would Jesus marry Jody? What does He think about a 5 year car loan vs a lease? Can my teenage daughter go on dates? That is when we need to ask, “What would Jesus Think? What is His opinion of my friends, my career choice or my activities at church?

James gives us some great guidelines to help us pick out of the crowd of ideas, the guidance that comes from God.

I always remember the saying of Pastor Rick Warren, “God loves you and everybody else has a wonderful plan for your life!” Just like the Nike swoosh tells us which clothing is theirs so God’s plan has some trademarks.

First comes purity. There can be no hidden selfish motive in the direction God leads. Using friendship for profit or manipulating our family for personal advancement cannot be an acceptable way of thinking before Jesus.

Next our choices that line up with His will carry with them a sense of His peace. No matter what people say no what happens we find a supernatural trust rises in our hearts in the face of conflict.

Last of all is the quiet loving gentle strength we receive as we stay with God’s way of thinking. His thoughts in our hearts are like good seed. The longer they stay and the deeper they are planted the bigger the fruit and greater the harvest will be!