8/14/08
ROADWORK, PART 2
This week finds us heading to Thompson on Thursday and Lime Rock Park for the weekend. The road continues through Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina. How is your trip going? Are you on the right road? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let us take a step back and review where we went last week. We visited with Paul and he shared with us the prize that awaits those who run the right race, the race that honors God.
Acts 20:24, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.
Paul reveals that the only prize worth anything is doing God’s will. Where is the road we are on leading us? Is it leading to His house? Remember we need to focus on where we are headed and that will keep us on the right road. Thomas had a question about directions that he posed to Jesus.
John 14:5-6, Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Have you ever been lost? How about finding the right setup for the racecar, have you ever had trouble dialing it in? We start with our experience, then we adapt it for the conditions, we try it in practice, but none of that guarantees we will have it right. It doesn’t matter how many times you have been to the same track that doesn’t guarantee you will know the right setup. Look no further than the last race at Stafford. Some of the go home cars had plenty of experience but it didn’t yield a place in the feature.
The disciples followed Jesus for three years. It was time for Christ to leave. He let them know he was going to prepare a place for them. Thomas wanted to know how to get there. Jesus said follow me.
Follow Jesus and he will lead you to life. He will lead you to the truth. He will guide us along the right path. Some of us still are not sure we are on the right road. How do you know which road you should be on? In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus gives us a way to identify those who are on the right road. It’s not the crowd. It is only those who follow Jesus.
Matthew 7:13-20, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Wide is the road and it is crowded with people but where does it lead? We all know that it is a difficult choice to stand out from the crowd. Jesus lets us know that when we choose to stand out for the right reasons we will produce a good byproduct. Jesus tells us to look at the results of a person’s life. Do we produce good things? Are people better off for knowing us? When people are having difficulty in their lives or their lives are in turmoil do they search us out for guidance, direction, healing, grace and mercy? Look at how people responded to Jesus. People flocked to Him. They sought Him out because they knew that Jesus cared for them. They knew that through Jesus they could find the things that were missing in their lives.
When we are on the right road people will seek us out. They will come to us for guidance direction, grace and mercy. They will see the effects of our guidance. The question becomes, how good are we at giving directions? Turn around and look, is anyone following you? I would encourage you to look at the road you are on and ask yourself; am I running the race on a way that will win the prize? Turn to Jesus and He will guide you to the right road.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
BLEWETT CONTINUES HIS HOT STREAK WITH A LITTLE BUMP- Jimmy Blewett made it two in a row at Stafford Motor Speedway last Friday night. He crossed the line in second but when a penalty was handed down to Ryan Preece he moved up to the winners spot. Jimmy was thankful, his first words in victory lane “Thanks NASCAR” Being in the position to win paid off this time.
Friday night proved to be a big night for Doug Coby. He made his return to the Whelen Modified Tour in the 28 car for Don King. He brought that ride home third. That was right after he posted his first SKMod Feature win at Stafford. Doug brought hope back to the King Racing Team who have had a difficult season. The smiles on their faces even with Post-Race Tech ahead told the whole story.
Let the record show for the third race in a row the rain has skirted the track and with a minor impact on the event each race was run. We will try again this week at Thompson and see what the weather has in store for us. This summer has been one of the wettest on record and too many programs have fallen victim to rain. I am sure some of the promoters are frustrated with the way this season has gone. Thompson lost another show this past Thursday. Let’s hope the Whelen Modified Tour can break the weather.
RIVERHEAD REPORT- Pastor Scott made his first visit to Riverhead as their Chaplain. We were able to put things in place this week and he is at the track. He sent in this report.
First night and it went great. We got there at 4:00pm. We met many people and were well received. Contacted Bob Finan through a pit persons radio and told him I would be around if he needed me for anything. I prayed for a couple drivers, gave out a card to one. Introduced myself to about 10 people. One fellow who lost a race after I prayed for him said ( hey next time pray for the car) I said - hey your still alive ! he laughed. I met Billy who does the decals. Very nice young man. He measured up our car for decals and said to pick them up Tuesday. I will bring the hot rod next week and can’t wait to see if it makes our presence there more profound. I believe it will since our car is always a head turner and very rare.
We are blessed to have Scott out there working for the Lord. If you are out at Riverhead track him down and let him know you are happy he is there. We will have some photos of his Hot Rod coming so watch for them.
NOVEMBER NOT TOO FAR AWAY- Qualifying for the 6th Annual John Blewett III Memorial North-South Shootout (TM) is underway. This year’s race will be contested in November on the 7 & 8. It is not too early to make your plans to attend what has become the meeting place for the modified community after the season is over. Once again Concord Motorsports park in Concord, NC will play host to the event. Rev. Dan and I will be there and we are looking forward to seeing you there.
MORRIS LAYS CLAIM TO THE LEAD- Phillip Morris who races at Motor Mile in Radford, VA finally got his 18 races in and it moved him to the top of the list. Keith Rocco fell to second place after a tough week. The race is on.
We’ll be at Thompson on Thursday with the Whelen Modified Tour. This race comes with heavy hearts as we remember those who we have lost in this event. Please keep the Baldwin and Blewett families in your thoughts and prayers this week. We then head from the eastern most part of Connecticut to the westernmost point, Lime Rock Park. There is no easy way to get there from here. In fact I can get to NHMS quicker than from Thompson to Lime Rock. Stafford is on the way so maybe we’ll take in the weekly show on our way. Do me a favor this week, get out there and watch some live racing, the tracks need our support. See you at the track soon.
Be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and apparel. See them at the Online Apparel Store at www.RWJM.org. Call us with your prayer and counseling needs and list all your prayer needs, no matter what part of our racing family you are in, with the Racing Family Prayer Request Page www.rwjm.org/page/prayers.php also send your prayer request by mail. Until next time, remember that God loves you, we love you and
Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing. GOD BLESS.
Mail reaches us at Racing with Jesus Ministries, PO Box 586, Tolland, CT 06084. Check our weekly printed pages in "Area Auto Racing News", the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper" See our on-line Apparel Store for subscription information. Check our home page www.rwjm.org for past articles. We invite you to input your thoughts as you sign our Guest Book. Please remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful financial support.
Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."
May God always Bless you, everyday in everyway. Rev. Don
CHECKERED CHEERS
***WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES***
Augyst 14
BOB & DEBBIE YURKO- This couple can be seen recording the action at Seekonk and Thompson weekly have their special day. As I heard one anouncer put it "she must be a saint"
August 15
JOHN & DENISE DURLING- This Grandview Speedway Late Model driver and wife from Reading. PA share their 6th anniversary.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
August 14
RUSTY WALLACE- St. Louis, MO retired NSC driver now ABC commentator.
LAURA DENNIS- Ocean, NJ long-time Jamie Tomaino NASCAR WMT fan.
MERL BREHM- Mechanicsburg, PA Sr. Champ Kart driver.
August 15
JOHN DURLING- Reading, PA championship Grandview Speedway Late Model driver.
A.J. ROMANO- Johnstown, NY dirt Modified driver.
SAM SCHMIDT- Las Vegas, NV part-time IRL driver.
MARIO FIORE- The famous Agawam, MA NASCAR Modified Team owner.
DICK CLARK- Long Island occasional NASCAR WMT driver.
MARCEL DUSSEAULT- Somerswoth, NH former NASCAR CWES Marc Motorsports team owner.
GEORGE FOSSETT- Gray, ME fan.
KENNY HOLLIS- No. Easton, MA AARN race fan.
ADAM LEE O'BRIEN- Kyle Petty's biggest fan and son of Tammy from Boyertown, PA is 6.
August 16
DR. JERRY PUNCH- Cornelius, NC much loved ESPN/ABC racing announcer, but most importantly, Joni's husband.
ERIC BEERS- Northampton, PA WMT Modified driver.
LOU PRIOR- CT former ProStock driver.
BILL KISER- Concord, NC NNS writer.
MARK BOURCIER- CT based veteran racing writer.
DAWN SANSEVERINO- A daughter of Hillsborough, NC photographer Ed and wife Linda.
MICHAEL JIVANELLI- A son of Hampton Bays, NY Riverhead Raceway driver Dan is 17.
August 17
PHIL RONDEAU- Baltic, CT Hooters Cup/LM driver.
JIM MAVLOUGANES- CT based ProStock driver.
JIM ROSENFIELD- MA ProStock driver.
JIM TERWILLIGER- Bloomingburg, NY 1956 Sprint URC Rookie of the Year, now retired.
CHRIS ROMANO- AARN's "Midget Magic" columnist, now down south.
SHERIL PERRY- She writes about Seekonk Speedway from Rehoboth, MA.
ARLENE HARD- Wife of Vill, race car fan since 1958 from Clifton, NJ.
RON HANNA- Amsterdam, NY Fonda Speedway fan.
August 18
DAVEY JOHNSON- Imperial, PA S.T.A.R.S. Late Model driver.
DOUG DIDERO- Oswego Speedway/ISMA SuperModified driver.
SAM STERN- MA ProStock driver.
BETH SEMINARA- Originally from Brewster, NY now Mt. Holly, NC, wife of "Area Auto RAcing News" Nextel Cup photographer Ted.
AMANDA VECCHIO- The daughter of Syracuse, NY former NASCAR CWES team owners Tony and Debbie is 10.
August 19
MIKE ROWE- One of Maine's legendary NASCAR CWES/LM drivers and very proud dad of Turner, Maine CWES/LM driver Benji.
PAUL SPENCER- Berwick, PA brother of NSC driver JIm.
TIM BENDER- Colden, NY NASCAR CWES driver.
FRAN COLSON- Leominster, MA ProStock driver.
JIM KEEKER- USAC Midget driver.
LINDA SANSEVERINO- Wife of Hillsborough, NC photographer Ed.
JULIE POTTER- Preston, CT Modified fan
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY. SEND THEM TO RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES AT PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084
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