Guidance

Which Way to Go?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

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

All the Way Home

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

True confession time this morning: I was a terrible teacher! Though had I studied hard and finished my teacher training nothing had prepared me for the reality of a classroom. The kids were way smarter than me and unimpressed with my grade point average; unmoved by my compassion and uninterested in my presentation. What I was lacking was patience and a strategy for moving them towards the goal of learning anything. In the end I walked away from teaching and went into business. I found that running crews of men was way easier than convincing tenth graders to love English poetry!

God on the other hand is a great teacher. He first delivered His people from slavery in Egypt and then parted the Red Sea so they could escape from Pharaoh’s army. In the desert He sent them honey flavored manna every morning and fresh water from a rock at noon. But instead of trusting and obeying Him; His class doubted His goodness, provoked him with idol worship and decided going back to Egypt was a better idea. Just about then if I were in God’s shoes the book of Exodus would have been much shorter and may have had the title of “They All Died in the Desert”!

But God is not like me at all. He is infinitely patient and kind. Yes there were consequences for the people; some of them very severe, but in spite of everything He stayed with them. He lovingly corrected, provided and then guided them through forty long years in the desert. The wonderful news for us is that in spite of our goof-ups, failures and sins; God won’t give up on us.  He has forgiven us from the cross and he has called us to follow Him all through our wilderness. He is a patient teacher and a Good shepherd. He won’t quit and go into some other business but rather He promises to walk with us and guide us all the way home!

 

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Row Harder!

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

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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