When life as we know it heads in a different direction how do we adjust? Some of the changes are not as personal as others. Some affect a few and others affect everyone. Some are not as personal as others, but that doesn’t make them any less valuable. There are families and friends dealing with changes and trying to make sense of a difficult situations. My prayer is that there are people standing by them, holding them up, walking alongside, and helping them get through changing times.

I watched a video this week as a grandson took a final ride around the racetrack his grandfather built. The soon to be warehouse held so many memories not to mention the internment of his father’s ashes. This may just be some asphalt to some, but it is so much more to the family that built it. 

Generations of families enjoyed watching events, competing, winning, losing and everything in between. The highs and lows of weekly and tour racing. The new fans made, the old ones who hold on and the memories of what transpired there. Woven into the fabric of so many lives. Gone in a moment. It is just a racetrack after all, just some land with an oval in front of some seats. 

I contend it is so much more. It is the passion and life blood of so many families. It may soon be forgotten by many but for some the wound will be fresh as many times as the memories come to mind. Do you remember the time….

Life changes in a moment, people move on, nothing stays the same. That is why we need to cherish today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed and yesterday is but a memory. We do well to focus on the present, but how will we get through the challenges? Who will stand by us?

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah and let us know that no matter what, He is with us. We belong to Him and He will not let us falter. 

Isaiah 43:1-3a; But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.

    O Israel, the one who formed you says,

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

    I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters,

    I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty,

    you will not drown.

When you walk through the fire of oppression,

    you will not be burned up;

    the flames will not consume you.

For I am the LORD, your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

There are some important points to remember in this passage; one is, this was a promise that God made to the nation of Israel, and it also was meant for those who have accepted the sacrifice Christ made on the cross and received Him as our Lord and Savior. We have become children of God.

Remember these promises from Isaiah;

1.           I am the only Savior.

2.           I ransomed you.

3.           You are mine.

4.           I am with you.

5.           I will bring you through life’s challenges.

As we look at a changing landscape, the things that change in a moments notice, we can rest assured that God is with us. So many times in His Word he shared that he will never leave us or forsake us. 

Change is inevitable. I have come to realize that time marches on, no matter how I try to stop it. Each day reminds me that it is one more less day to live. We have been appointed a certain amount of time by our creator and all the planning, looking forward and anticipation of tomorrow will not guarantee its arrival. It only takes a moment to change.

Are you like me and plan ahead only to find out that things changed. Or maybe you’ve said, as I have, “That didn’t go the way I planned.” “I didn’t see that happening.” “That didn’t work out the way I thought it would.” We come to realize that we don’t have it figured out and predicting what tomorrow brings is not something we can pinpoint. 

It isn’t uncommon to receive a call on the day of an event stating the plan had changed. Even as the event is happening things change. I have come to realize that letting change frustrate me is not how I should respond. Change happens, in a moment. We need to handle that change in the right way, ask the question, “God, what do I need to see here?” or “God, what are you rearranging in my life to redirect me.”

I suggest these are not easy questions. We tend to try and get things back on the schedule we think they need to be on. In my attained wisdom from years of mishandling change there is a better way. Turn to God and ask for direction. Remember He is with us, He is walking alongside. 

Matthew 20:28b; NLT; “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

I encourage you to lean on the Lord and let His promise become a reality in your life. Let your life dwell in the house of the Lord and walk with Him through life.

Run the race in such a way as to win, throw off everything that hinders and focus on Jesus. Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.

I remember reading about a racing accident that caused severe injury to the driver. His intent was to build a safe racecar, safety was his top priority. The problem was the type of accident he had was rare. Even when the experts were consulted they had not seen this type of failure before.

Experience is a funny thing; we learn from things we have been through. We learn from what others have been through. We learn from experience, but no one has experienced everything. No one’s experience is exactly the same. We don’t all learn the same thing from the same experience.  

We all have seen a wreck. When we see it we immediately run through what we saw and try to put together what happened. Then we turn to someone sitting next to us and they describe a totally different scenario. We wonder, sometimes out loud, if they saw the same thing we did. It is not unusual to have several opinions of what happened. You know what they say about opinions.

So whose opinion counts, whose opinion is the one that matters? The officials. They are the ones that are there to make the determination of what actually happened and who was at fault. We all know how popular those decisions can be. Who has one of those official dolls that you can tear the arms and legs off when you disagree with them?

In the event that what we experience doesn’t yield a consensus we are left to let others determine the outcome. Who do we trust to do this? Whose life do we put our hands in?

Psalm 139:1-6;

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

4 You know what I am going to say

even before I say it, Lord.

5 You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

When we are faced with understanding the why, how, and what of life we have one source that knows us better than we know ourselves, the creator of life itself, God. He is the one who knows our innermost thoughts and desires. He is the one to guide our path.

Another source we turn to is our knowledge; what we know. Now I am sure there are those out there that know it all, have experienced it all and are not shy about sharing it with us. One of the most beneficial things we can learn in life is what we do not know. When we come to the realization that we don’t know it all we begin directing our life in the way it needs to go.

I think we all realize that we don’t know everything, but grasping that in such a way that we seek out the one that does is the first step toward really living life. We need to be honest with ourselves. We need to allow the one with knowledge and understanding to guide us.

Our traditions, the way we have always done it, our experience, that’s not what I saw, and our understanding, how can that be true; fall short when we seek to have a fulfilling and satisfying life. Who knows more about how to live the best life than the creator of life Himself?

Look at that passage; He knows everything, what we think, what we do, what we say, before we do it. If He knows that much about us then maybe we should consult Him beforehand? The Scripture gives us this advice.

Proverbs 3:5-6; NLT; Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

    do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek his will in all you do,

    and he will show you which path to take.

When we make that decision we are introduced to God in his three persons; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Each member of the trinity has a role in our life and is committed to making our life the absolute best life it can be, to develop our character into the absolute best it can be and they are committed to help us become the person God created us to be.

Next week we will start exploring these three; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Reflect on this question this week, how can I know that God exists? Ask Him to show you, He will help you find your way to Him.

Let me leave you with this. Things just don’t happen. Your racecar just didn’t build itself. Where there is order there is someone who determines that order. Your shop isn’t organized unless you organize it. The same is true for us, we are created by the Creator. We are put together in such a way as we have life. What an awesome and wonderful gift.

Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.

Championship races are coming down to the wire. How do we perform under the microscope? Will people see our true character? Does that reflect the love of Jesus? Many times in life and racing we find ourselves in pressure packed situations. There are many opportunities at this time of the season to forget about everything and focus on our on-track performance. 

Many times when we put pressure on ourselves we do not represent God well. We lose sight of what we have been called to become in Christ and we revert back to self-focused and self-serving. We lose sight of what is going on around us. We lose focus on what really matters. 

That is not the way we should live. We should be looking around for the opportunities that God has for us. When we turn our focus internally we do not see or hear the voice of God. Jesus encourages us to remember who we are called to be.

Matthew 5:13-16; “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 

Jesus uses two analogies, salt and light. Let’s take a look at salt first. Do you use salt? Salt is like many things in life, a double-edged sword. Salt can be used for good or it can be used to tear things apart.

When we use salt as a seasoning we enhance the flavor. Salt also preserves, making food last longer. Take a look around and see if we are enhancing those around us. Are we making things better or worse? Are we preserving something for another time?

We also use salt to change things. When we put salt on ice it melts and destroys it. Salt can be corrosive; it can tear things apart. We are encouraged by Jesus to use the love of Christ that is in our hearts to improve the situation. Jesus cautions that if we lose our focus and our “salt” is no longer effective we become useless. 

We have the opportunity each moment we live to affect those around us, either for good or bad. We decide how we will use our influence. When we choose to be destructive our ability to claim the love of Christ and help others is gone. Our witness is no longer respected. 

When we find ourselves under pressure we need to be aware of how we are demonstrating our faith. We need to remember who is in control. We need to avoid losing our saltiness, our credibility, our witness. 

Think of it this way. You can be an egg or a carrot or coffee beans. Let me explain, when we place each one of these in the heat of the moment, boiling water, they react differently. An egg becomes hard-boiled. It’s insides change from liquid to solid. Our heart gets hard and uncaring. Carrots on the other hand get soft and mushy. They start off rigid and strong but end up all mushy, no backbone, no firm foundation to stand on. Now coffee beans on the other hand do not change, they remain the same. They do however change the water. The water becomes aromatic and tasty. The water becomes desirable. The coffee beans do not change but they improve the water. 

Which one are we? When pressure comes do we harden our heart, lose our foundation or do we contribute to the situation in a way that improves it? Don’t lose your saltiness, our ability to change the situation for the better.

John 1:1-5; NIV; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is the light that shines in each one of us. Jesus’ presence in our lives should dispel the darkness. We should add light to every situation. We should shed some light on the subject of life and how to live it in a way that honors God. Don’t hide your light, let it shine. 

Have you ever been in a place and the lights went out. You cannot see your hand in front of your face. Then you find a light, a little flame, that lights up the darkness. It is amazing how much light it provides. 

We have the same kind of light. We, as Christians, have the same opportunity to light the darkness others are experiencing. When all hope is gone the light of one who knows Jesus can bring hope to the world. 

We have all stumbled around in the dark. Even in your own home, you think you know where things are, but you still stub your toe and stumble. When we hide our light we cause others to stumble around in darkness. When we keep the love of God to ourselves and do not share it we leave others to find their own way in the darkness. Let your light shine! Put it on a lampstand and help others find their way. 

Jesus used these two analogies to demonstrate two important functions we have as Christians. We need to season the lives around us in a way that makes them better. We also need to shine our light to help them find their way. 

Have we improved the lives of those around us or have we been corrosive? We have a responsibility to lead others to what is good. Whether we realize it or not we are leading. Make every effort to be sure we are leading people to what is right.

Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.

For the past few races, you have struggled to find the right setup for your car. You have tried everything you can think of but the car just does not respond. What do you do? You start asking questions. But who do you ask? You ask people who have experience dealing with the chassis you run. Maybe you start at the manufacturer or you go to the car builder. You may seek out a crew chief who has had success in the past making a similar car go fast. You hire him and give him control of the team. You let him use his experience and make the necessary changes.

Why then, when we get to the point in our lives that we decide to give our life to Christ, do we hold something back; we are not willing to give him full control. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus asks the question;

Luke 6:46; “Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 

Imagine how long a crew chief or driver would stick around if you didn’t let them have the authority to make changes? I am sure we have all experienced the frustration of having the responsibility to work something out but we don’t have the authority to make changes. A crew chief or driver who doesn’t have the authority to make changes will soon get frustrated and move on. I am thankful that Jesus has more patience with us when we fail to follow His guidance and direction.

Having a relationship with God is similar, we need to allow God to make the necessary changes in our lives, that will lead to an abundant life. We have to actively listen, that means make the changes God directs us to. Then and only then will we be on the path God has for us. Here’s an illustration that might help.

Once there was this very wealthy young man. He lived in a great, elaborate house with dozens of rooms. There were paintings and sculptures; crystal chandeliers and golden ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty than many had ever seen.

One day he invited the Lord to come into his life and live with him. When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. “This room is yours, Jesus! Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember Jesus, it’s all yours.” 

That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made his way downstairs. When he opened the door, he found that the devil had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in. Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.

”Can you believe that”, “the man thought. “Jesus is upstairs in my very best room sleeping while I am down here battling demons. Oh, well, maybe he just didn’t hear.” He slept fitfully that night.

The next day things went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the young man retired early that evening. Along about midnight, there came such a terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door to find that were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful home.

For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from hell and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against their attack. All energy seemed to fail him. He really didn’t understand this at all. “Why won’t the Lord come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone”. Troubled, he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless sleep.

The next morning, he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus. 

“Jesus,” he called as he tapped at the door. “Lord, I don’t understand what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door while you laid up here sleeping. Don’t you care about me? Did I not give you the very best room in the house?”

“My precious child,” Jesus spoke so softly. “I do love and care for you. I protect all that you have released into my care. But when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door to the rest of your house. I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house. I have protected this room and no demon may enter here.”

“Oh Lord, please forgive me. Take my entire house; it is yours. I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to have control of everything.” With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at Jesus’ feet. “Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish.”

Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would take care of things from now on. That night as the young man prepared for bed he thought, “I wonder if those demons will return, I am so tired of fighting them each and every night.” But he knew that Jesus said that he would take care of things from now on.

Along about midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be afraid.

Satan stood at the door this time demanding to be let in. “What do you want, Satan?” the Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord, “So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address.” And with that, he and the demons left.

Jesus wants all of us, not just a part. He will receive whatever we give Him but nothing more. How much of our life have we given to the Lord? Are we keeping a portion of it away from Him? Why do you call me Lord and not listen to what I say? Are you ready to let Jesus have authority over our whole life? Are we actively listening, surrendering the power and authority of our lives unto the one who can provide the best life possible?

John 10:10; The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.

We know that change is the only thing that we can count on. We don’t know the changes we need to make or even the extent of the changes, but we do know that we have to make changes. One of the things that will help us through this life is to grasp that concept and not let change be a bigger disruption than it already is.

I am remembering the familiar refrain you hear at the track; “we came off the truck good, but had to make a few changes, we think we are where we need to be”. As many times as we return to the same track the conditions are never the same. Be it weather, car, setup or some other factor we all understand that when we get to the track, we will need to make changes. How do I know that is true? We bring tools.

Sometimes the changes that need to be made elude us. We try everything, throw the book at it and still need more changes. “We took a big swing at it and hope we have what we need.” Sometimes figuring out the right changes isn’t easy. We can have all the information we need and still struggle to find the right combination.

The race has to be run and the cutoff for making big changes ends when the green flag falls. 

“How’s your car today?” 

“We have something we can adjust. We hope we have enough adjustment to get it right.”

Change, constant change, there isn’t a racer I know who doesn’t understand that. They would be looked at as foolish if they came to the track and didn’t expect to make some sort of adjustment. Leave the tools home, we are going to run what we have. That would make being at the track simpler, but we don’t come to run the race, we come to win.

Those who do not change set themselves up for failure. If we are standing still, we are going backwards. Don’t get too comfortable where you are because if you stay there the world will pass you by. Oh, we all find a place where we are comfortable and try to stay there in that comfort and security, but the world around us is still moving. Things are becoming obsolete, change is constant. The best we can do is embrace it and roll with it.

A few weeks back we had a decision to make about our Sunday Service, because of some reconstruction being done where we usually meet. We could find a new place to meet for one week or we could cancel. The decision hinged on how we handle change. If we choose to stand firm and say it is here or nowhere then canceling is the only option.

The other option was to determine where God had prepared a place for us? We couldn’t move everything so we would have to adapt and adjust. Okay let’s go, where has God prepared a place for us? Funny thing was it was right across the street. Yes, the fact that the entrance to the hall was through the Bar area might have deterred us, but that proved to be not an issue at all. We made the necessary adjustments to the service that the absence of the technology would necessitate and had a throwback service that was a welcome change. We met together in worship and lifted God up. What a blessing.

How do we handle the changes we face in our lives? In Acts 4 Peter and John had a challenge to deal with, let’s take a look.

Acts 4:1-3; NLT; While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning.

I’m pretty sure jail wasn’t the place they planned to spend the night. Sometimes following God and serving Him puts us in positions that are not comfortable or secure. Should that stop us from doing what God has directed us to do? As we talked last week Peter had the experience of refusing to follow and he knew where that led to, an empty life. He recommitted to follow Christ no matter where the road led. Well tonight that led to prison.

In the morning they were given an opportunity to make changes that would please their jailers. They could have just agreed to follow their direction and not follow the guidance they had received from the Holy Spirit. 

Acts 4:5; NLT; The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 

Acts 4:16-18; NLT; “What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

What do you suppose went through Peter’s mind? Do you think he remembered the change he made that didn’t work out so well; denying Christ? Do you think he now understood the right way to choose? 

Acts 4:19-20; NLT; But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”

We are not able to continue living the way we choose and serve God at the same time. Change is a requirement of serving God through Christ. As we change, the new creation we become in Christ, influences the people around us. They should see a difference. That difference reflects the very nature of Christ. As we change there is a struggle that takes place. Our old self struggles as it gets replaced by the new nature we have in Christ.

We need to remember that no matter where we are, no matter what we are up to, Jesus wants to be a part of it. Not only a part, but involved so much that His presence would change us and that change would cause others to take notice.

We have a decision to make, who will we serve?

Joshua 24:15; NLT; 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support and donations helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.