Racing is full of characters, that’s the nature of it. Each one trying to stand out, be an individual, get noticed. We remember the outlandish stories of some of our favorite characters and enjoy retelling them. That’s how many made a name for themselves. That is how we remember them. 

My mind thought of two such people with the recent passing of their children; Elvis and Evil Knievel. I think they had the same tailor, I guess a jumpsuit was the thing back then. Kind of reminds me of a driver’s suit. They were bigger than life and always going bigger and more elaborate to gain attention. They certainly were characters but not the type of character I want to talk about.

Moral character is something inside each of us. It is the foundation of who we are. We were created to have a certain understanding but we have corrupted that. We all have the potential to display good moral character if we choose. Therein lies the secret, if we choose.

Man tries to define what is good and what is right and it can sometimes be elusive. Different circumstances and situations may involve different ways of dealing with. What might be best in one situation could be counterproductive in another. That goes to say that there isn’t a hard fast solution in every situation, we must use discernment. That is where moral character is applied and needed.

What is the first sign we are developing moral character? When we consider the circumstances of others and their needs as it relates to life. Civilization begins when we take the time to care for and help someone heal. That is when we start to understand the world doesn’t revolve around us.

To be fair, developing the character of God isn’t easy. It is a challenging task mainly because it challenges us to put the needs of others ahead of our own. We live in a world that is increasingly self-centered. We are teaching the next generations to look out for number one, get yours first then consider what might be good for others.

Proof of that is in the age at which we settle down to build a home and family. We have transitioned from wanting to do that early in our lives, our 20’s, to not even considering it until we are into our 30’s if at all. Truth is when we get into our 30’s we have already developed a pattern that serves us and we are not sure we want to give it up. 

God established the family as the center of creation. He designed the family to be the foundation of our lives. As we have migrated away from that and developed a more self-centered existence we have seen some of the destruction it causes; isolation, depression, frustration, division, and envy. Those things have started to tear apart the world we live in.

How do we move things in a different direction? We look to God for the basic instructions he gives us on how to develop an inner moral compass.

We will spend some time looking at the contrast between the ways of the world and the ways of God. The hurdle is we live somewhere in the middle. We will never be all one and none of the other. We will have good days and bad. Sometimes at the end of the day we are able to sleep at night. Other days there is no peace. That is the internal battle between good and evil. One produces peace and the other turmoil.

This passage is one we may be familiar with. We will not focus on the ways of the world, but how we can learn to reflect the character traits that produce peace, a peace God’s Word says is beyond understanding.

Galatians 5:19-23; 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

We will focus on patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As with many things in God’s world there is an order to things and when we look closely we will find they build on each other. Many of our weakest character moments come about when we fail to display patience.

Before we can understand patience we need to grasp the first three, Love, Joy and Peace. We talked about them in our preparation for Christmas, but let’s take a quick look again and see how they are connected. One truth we need to understand is without the presence of God we cannot hope to display these types of behaviors on a consistent basis.

Love comes before all things, unconditional love, God’s love for us, his willingness to sacrifice for us so that our sins could be forgiven. When we receive that gift the Holy Spirit resides in our heart, God’s presence, without that Joy is not possible. God’s presence produces peace, an eternal security that we belong to Him and no matter the mistakes we make we know that they will not separate us from him. From there we jump into the journey that leads to developing the character we need to display for this life to be satisfying and fulfilling. 

We have embraced a way of living that is not beneficial to us. We have sacrificed peace for turmoil. We can decide to live differently. We can decide to follow God. I encourage you to come along for the ride as we develop a character that will lead to a rich and satisfying life.

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.

This past weekend the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour crowned their champion at Martinsville Speedway. Congratulations to Jon McKennedy on the driver’s championship and Tommy Baldwin on the owner’s championship. It was great to serve the Whelen Modified Tour this season.

One of the great things in racing is that we get to race. Not everyone gets a chance to do what they have a passion for. There are many that do not have the opportunities we have been blessed with. Have we ever stopped and thanked God for all he has provided?

One of the thoughts that comes to mind this time of the year is how thankful we need to be for what we have been blessed with. We need only to look around and see others who do not have what we have. 

There are times when it all seems so clear. I remember the time I was blessed to accompany the Alex Kennedy Racing Team to Dartmouth Hitchcock Children’s Hospital in New Hampshire. We were given a tour of their facility they set up to minister to the special needs of children and families that face the challenging times that come with sickness. We then met with some of the patients and had the chance to brighten their day. We always need to remember that no matter how difficult things seem for us there are others who are dealing with more challenging days.

One of the things that we cannot let escape our attention is that we are truly blessed to be able to go out and race. The freedom to do what we enjoy doing. Enjoy the opportunity, please do not take it for granted, give something back.

As Christians we have been blessed with a Lord and Savior. We are reminded of the love that God has for us and the provision he made for our salvation. Paul reminds us how we should live our lives.

Ephesians 5:1-2; Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We should live a life of love, but what does that mean? It means we need to extend grace to others. It means we should have compassion in our hearts for those who are less fortunate. We should be kind and forgiving. We should be willing to make some sacrifices to help others out. We need to be willing to serve.

Grace is an interesting endeavor; it isn’t something that just happens, grace is intentional. We have to choose to extend grace to someone. I wonder if people see us as gracious? Extending grace, unmerited favor, to someone is the first step in love. We decide to show someone value by extending to them grace.

Ephesians 2:8-10; NLT; God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

A proper response to the grace that God extended to us is to do the same. We need to acknowledge the grace we received and pass it along. If we are wondering how or to whom, look at that last verse. “So we can do the things he planned for us long ago.”

God has a plan for us and we receive it when we acknowledge what He has done for us. We need to turn to Him and ask for his guidance and direction. He will show us the most satisfying and fulfilling way to respond to His provision of grace.

So, we enjoy what God has provided. We show our appreciation by following God’s guidance. We then enjoy what God has planned for us. That enjoyment we receive from extending the grace of God is more fulfilling than a championship trophy. Trophies fade and collect dust, but the lives that we show value to, the lives we extend grace to, the lives that are changed by the presence of God are eternal. Enjoy!

Let me encourage us to take this time to reflect on all that we have been blessed with. If we need to be reminded, take some time and serve those who are less fortunate. Make a sacrifice this harvest season to extend grace to others and we will enjoy it more than we ever have before. We need to decide to show others the love that God showed to us. Enjoy the harvest! Remember; but for the grace of God there go I.

Psalm 118:24; This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

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.

Happy Fourth of July! Looking forward to the holiday weekend, but let’s remember to take some time to remember what it took for us to break away and become an independent nation. It took our willingness to work together, agree on one common purpose and sacrifice everything we had to make it work. Sound like a race team?

Racing, in many ways, reflects the same character it took our great nation to break free from England.  We first and foremost need to have a common goal. In most cases that is winning. When everyone is committed to making that happen the team starts to gel and become a cohesive unit. The chemistry is right. We all do our part for the good of the team.

What separates the best teams from the rest? The ability to work together, do what needs to be done and not pick apart the work of others on the team. Think of the teams that are always on the top. They are prepared to race; everyone has a job and does it. They can depend on each member to pull their weight. The end result can be a championship, or two. 

When we develop the trust in one another, learn what our task is and focus on doing that, we will succeed. When we are more concerned about nit picking and finger pointing, we do not succeed. Let me ask a question, are we dependable? Can people depend on us to do what we are supposed to do? Are we doing what we were created to do?

That last question may seem a little out of place on a race team. You may be asking the question, was I created to be a tire specialist? Yes, God created each one of us unique and equipped each one of us with special talents. What would happen if the tire guy wanted to drive or tune the engine? The members of the team would be out of place. If you are the tire guy, be the best tire guy possible. Let me explain.

Paul wrote about the topic, one body, many parts, let’s read what he says;

1 Corinthians 12:12-26: The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

    Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

   The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

God created us to be different and unique. He gave each of us a task to do and put in each of us the necessary abilities to accomplish those tasks. If we seek God out and ask Him to show us the tasks He wants us to accomplish, He will. This is called being in God’s will. Ephesians 2:10 confirms that for us.

Ephesians 2:10; NLT; For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

The blessing we receive from being in God’s will is tremendous. It includes inner peace, joy, satisfaction, fulfillment and hope. Take a look inside our heart. Do we have those blessings there?

God didn’t create us as Lone Rangers. We were created to depend on one another. We will never experience the fullness of God’s blessing if we live life alone. Yes, there are times to be alone, but God created life to be lived together, depending on each other and helping one another.

The United States of America exists today because we learned and practiced that. Race teams win championships because they practice that. You too can have that in your life. First, seek God out and ask for His presence in your life. He will come and show you the way. The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us;

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12; Two are better than one,

    because they have a good return for their work:

   If one falls down, his friend can help him up.

  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.

  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I encourage you to find your place in God’s Kingdom and seek His will for your life.   Find those who you can depend on, those who help make you the person you need to be.  Accept God’s will for your life and seek to please him. 

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.

He made the things we can and the things we can’t see- such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Christ is born, so what does that mean to us? First and foremost, God keeps his promises. The prophets foretold of a coming Savior and God did not disappoint, but more than that He fulfilled in us the security we need to have hope, be filled with Joy and be at peace. The love of God accomplished this in the birth of Christ.

Hope; What is Hope? A trust, a reliance; a desire with the expectation of or belief that it will happen. What is True Hope? True hope can only be found in something or someone who has the power and authority to    change things. Where do we find True Hope? True Hope is found in no one else but Jesus Christ!

Joy; What is Joy? Joy is what we have inside us when our priorities are in line with God’s direction. Joy is not happiness. Joy is not circumstantial; It does not matter where we are, what is going on around us or who is with us. Joy is present; When we have God first in our lives; When we put others above ourselves; When we humble ourselves and serve others instead of serving ourselves.

John 14:27; Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Peace; Where can we find Peace? Lasting Peace is impossible without Christ, man knows no peace apart for Christ. Christ came so that we might have peace. Peace is the eternal security that comes from a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Love; One of the most difficult things to grasp is the love that God has for us. First off, we have done nothing to deserve it; that is difficult for us to understand because we live in a world that doesn’t provide love/value to each other unless we earn it. What we were powerless to do God did for us. Love initiated actions by God to atone for our shortcomings through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

God’s desire is for his creation to live with him, that is what he created us for, fellowship with Him. God does not desire that we are separated from him, but he does not force us to have a relationship with him. He made the sacrifice that was necessary to remove any obstacle that we put in place that separated us.

Only one thing that can separate us from God, free will. God does not desire that we are separated from him, but he does not force us to have a relationship with him. Christ made the sacrifice that was necessary to remove any obstacle that we put in place that separated us. We, however, can still choose to be estranged from God.

We must receive the gift that God offers out of love for us. We must put the corrupt desires of our old self to death and live through the guidance of the love of God, manifested in Jesus. Our lives become not our own, but a life lived for the benefit of others.

What then shall we do? How shall we respond?

Philippians 2:5-8; You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Let me encourage you to start the new year off right, seek God while He can be found, accept the gift He offers and live life in the Hope, Joy and Peace that only knowing Christ as our Savior can bring! Happy New Year!

Until next time, God Bless and Thank You.

You took the checkered flag, won the victory, and are headed to Victory Lane. You are pumped, your team is jumping up and down on pit road. They run to greet you, pounding on the roof, high fives everywhere, the fans are cheering for you, you climb from the car and let out a yell, everything you and the team worked for has come together in this victory. That is happiness.

Now let’s take a walk to the garage, there you find a driver who finished back in the pack, never contended for the victory but the team ran the race to the best of their ability. They roll into their stall and you see the smile of contentment on their face. The driver exits the car with a grin of satisfaction from ear to ear, the crew surrounds him. Thankful to be at the track and running the race is the order of the day. Contentment to be in the race at the track. Where they finished wasn’t the point, being there was. That is Joy.

Joy is what we have inside us when our priorities are inline. Joy is not happiness, but joy can make us happy. Joy is not circumstantial, it does not matter where we are, what is going on around us or who is with us. Joy is a condition of our heart when things are in line, and it starts in our mind.

Joy is a condition of priority. We cannot experience Joy if our lives are in turmoil. It can be fleeting if we are tossed about here and there by public opinion or what people think about us. Even in the midst of chaos joy can be in our lives. It is more about who we belong to than what is going on around us.

Joy has some requirements to be present in our lives. True joy can only exist if God is present. Why you might ask. Because God’s presence is essential for hope to exist. Hope is essential to have Joy. You see joy is when our mind tells our heart to be at peace even in the chaos of the world around us. They are building blocks that form a foundation allowing us to stand firm in spite of the craziness around us.

For example, let’s take our grandkids. They were at the house for cookie baking, tree decorating and holiday movie watching. If you understand anything about the dynamics of the young mind you know the chaos that ensued. NO, not bad chaos, wonderful chaos. My heart was filled with joy at the sights and sounds of laughter, arguing, mess making, and everything that goes with trying to herd cats. Now there were some things I wasn’t happy about but that didn’t change the joy I had in my heart to share these special moments with them. 

Now comparing grandkids to the chaos of the world might seem a bit odd. Truth be told the same thing happens each day around us, things happen out of our control that challenge us. They challenge us in a way that we lose hope, joy is fleeting and peace isn’t even on the radar. Truth is we don’t control the world and if we did, we’d probably mess that up. Let’s just stick with what’s going on inside of us for now.

When we have God first in our lives, when we put others above ourselves, when we humble ourselves and serve others instead of serving ourselves, we find we have things in the right place and joy exists.

Romans 5:1-11; 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

What is the condition of our heart? Is it filled with joy? Most times it is not. Do you know how I can tell? Because the scripture tells us to rejoice. RE means to do it again, do it over and over and over until you have it right. Then do it some more. Try it again. It is a reminder to reprioritize our lives.

We get things mixed up. We get things out of order. So, God’s word reminds us to RE joice!

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! 

Salvation, faith in Christ for he has delivered us! But what about all the problems we face? But we also rejoice in our sufferings

…because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Remember we talked about Hope last week. Hope comes from God; it is not found in man. Without God, man is hopeless. We cannot save ourselves. Rejoice! God has provided the answer in His son Jesus Christ.

We need to Re do some things. Remember to reorder our lives. Remember to praise God for what he has done; for the fulfillment of his promise for his great love for us, for the provision of a Savior. Praise be to God. 

Praising God returns our mind, heart and soul to the right focus. Instead of complaining or even asking God to fix the situation around us we should first praise Him for all he has done for us. When we get that right everything else falls into place!

Scripture reminds us in many places to recharge the Joy bank. We need to be reminded of the joy we have in the Lord. As we prepare to rejoice in the birth of Christ remember that the joy he brings is not just for this time, it is for eternity.

Joy produces peace, a peace that transcends understanding. We can only be effective witnesses for God if we get our priorities right. That is why we find so many encouragements in God’s word to rejoice.

Joy comes not from what is around us, but it comes from what is in us. The Holy Spirit! Let the Holy Spirit reign in your life. Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you, O Israel!

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 some of us the world around us has come to a screeching halt. For others, like health care workers, the days are moving by with more pain and suffering than they can sometimes stand. And in between lie many of us, not sure what we can do or should do to make a difference.

Like a race day each team has their own objective. There are some teams scrambling to get the car together to make the show. Some are tweaking their car to find that little extra to move them up the ladder. Other sit on top of the speed chart knowing the work they put in was worth the effort. Some are content to take it all in and let the chips fall where they may. There are as many agendas on race day as there are teams in the pits. Who comes out on the mountaintop is a matter of perspective.

I am encouraged by the sounds I hear out my window. I hear the birds singing, I see the sun rising and I welcome the hope of a new day. Spring is a special time of the year. Hope comes with every sunrise. The mountain of doubt can be overcome with faith. I am reminded of the words to a song by Matt Maher and Elle Limebear that reminds me of where my faith comes from

Joy still comes in the morning
Hope still walks with the hurting
If you’re still alive and breathing
Praise the Lord
Don’t stop dancing and dreaming
There’s still Good News worth repeating
So lift your head and keep singing
Praise the Lord

This past weekend we celebrated Palm Sunday. Jesus entered Jerusalem to take the throne, to usher in the kingdom of David. He was thought to be a conquering king and he was, but not the way the people expected. You see we think we know what we need when in fact what is truly important escapes us at times. Jesus knew why he had come. He knew what was in store. He understood the pain and suffering he would endure. He also know the salvation he would bring. The hope he would provide. The forgiveness, restoration and renewal His sacrifice would accomplish. He knew the valley He would walk through to attain the mountaintop.

Philippians 2:6-11: NLT; Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
   he humbled himself in obedience to God
   and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

We are in the midst of Holy Week, a remembrance of the events that led to the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. What began as a triumphant entry into Jerusalem by Jesus was followed by events fueled by jealousy and hate and ended with an empty tomb shows us that in the space of a week we can go from high to low and back to high again. We need to have the faith that God is able to overcome even death.

I encourage you to read the passages in the Gospels that tell the story. From His entrance, to the clearing of the temple, to the plot to betray him. The Last Supper and His prayer in the garden. His arrest and trial. Pilate washing his hands of the decision and turning him over to the Jewish leaders to convict him. To the cross and the darkest five hours that Friday. Only to be set aside on Sunday morning when the tomb was empty, Jesus wasn’t there, He lives!

As we reflect on this I wonder where our circumstances find us, can we see the mountaintop through the oppression of isolation and quarantine? Will we reach out to God for strength to endure the suffering that is being faced by those infected and those serving them? Some of us have the easier road to walk than others but I am reminded of a battle the Israelites fought long ago. To be victorious Moses had to keep his arms raised. He soon got tired and let his arms down. When he did the tide turned and the Israelites would lose ground. Those close to Moses recognized this and lifted his arms up. With his arms raised the battle was won.

We stand in a similar place. The front line workers need our support and encouragement. I ask that we lift them up to God in prayer asking for the strength, courage and wisdom to make it through. I ask that we lift them up and ask for comfort and mercy to keep on doing what only they can do. I ask that we pray for their protection and safety. We can be their prayer warriors during this time. Let us not sit idly by and wonder how the battle is going. Instead let us pray each day, each time their efforts cross our heart, and each moment the battle rages. Most of us are not on the front line but we can all lift them up, hold them up, walk alongside and support them.

This is a time when we remember what was done for us, for the forgiveness of our sin, for the restoration of our relationship with God. Let us not grow weary of doing what is good, what is right, what honors God. I encourage you to speak to God on the behalf of those on the front lines. Let Him know their wellbeing is important to you. Through our prayers they will receive the strength to continue the battle until the victory is won.

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