Most of the racers in the Northeast are preparing for the upcoming season. The time is fast approaching for us to begin racing again. For some the race has begun, trying to get things ready for opening day. As we prepare for the season ahead, what do we hope for? What are the dreams we have for the season and our race team? 

Preparation can be an inward focused idea or an outward focus. We can intentionally prepare to give someone else hope. That is called encouragement. I read this illustration and I thought it was interesting how we can choose to give hope to others even if we ourselves are facing difficulty. 

The Hospital Window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band – he could see it. In his mind’s eye, as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded, “Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.”

We can prepare to give others hope, despite our own situations. Joy when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy. As we move through life, we have many opportunities to give others hope. Will we prepare ourselves for them?

1 Peter 3:15b; NLT; And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.

Racer’s willingness to help one another makes it a special group of people to be around. I have seen it many times, teams helping teams so that they could race. We all understand the challenges of getting to the track and having your car ready. Then something breaks and you don’t have a spare. Racers know and care and are willing to give each other hope and encouragement. 

Luke 23:39-43; nlt, One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus found himself nailed to the cross, enduring the pain for you and me. He was there between two thieves, one on his right, and another on his left. He was there for us; they were there because they deserved it. Even on the cross we see that Jesus still had compassion for those who sought him out.

The thief on the right asked Jesus to remember Him when he came into his kingdom. Look closely, not if you come into your kingdom, when. He had done some terrible things in his life, terrible enough to be sentenced to death. He understood that that was unacceptable to God and he turned to the only one who could save him, Jesus.

Jesus wasn’t focused on his needs, he was focused on the needs of those around him. How easily are we distracted from our surroundings? How easily do we get lost in our own difficulties and challenges that we forget to be aware of others? How many times do we push someone away because we don’t have time? How often are we so wrapped up in ourselves that we cannot see the needs of those around us?

Jesus wasn’t too busy or distressed to hear the request of a lost soul. He has set an example for us to follow. We need to be prepared and listen to those around us. We need to be prepared to provide hope and encouragement. 

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.

This time of year is a time of preparation; preparing for a season of giving, getting, fun, frenzy and exhaustion. Just like preparing for a race, the Christmas season leaves us with much to do. In church at this time of year we hear about the Advent season. Advent is a time to prepare for Christmas. Each Sunday leads up to Christmas Day and we hear about the messages of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. But what are we really in preparation for?

When I am with Don at a race, I am amazed at the amount of time it takes to prepare for the race. Teams arrive hours ahead of the race and spend that time getting the car ready for the track along with time spent at driver’s meetings, time trials, practice and I had better not forget, chapel service. Obviously the winner did not get to Victory Lane by deciding to race that day and showing up at the track just a few minutes before the race began. Just showing up doesn’t guarantee a win. We can want to win but it can all fall apart by perhaps missing the driver’s meeting, not focusing on practice, not making the right adjustments or not having good communication between every crewmember.

So why does preparing for Christmas really matter? As we run around trying to find the perfect gifts, getting ourselves into debt and sometimes mumbling about how we can’t wait for this season to be over, aren’t we just trying to show those close to us how much we care about them? Is that what Christmas is supposed to be about? 

If we look back in history we will find that giving gifts for Christmas is actually a relatively new thing. It wasn’t until around two hundred years ago that gifts started to be exchanged (before that it was considered an insult to give gifts on Christ’s birthday) and if a gift was given then it was a simple handmade or inexpensive gift so as not to make someone feel ashamed about the worth of their gift. Commercialism just started to take over somewhere around 50 to 60 years ago. From there it has spiraled out of control. We have all fallen into the trap of buying bigger and better gifts than the year before. Let me ask you how many of us can really even remember what we received the year before?

Recently I looked into the meaning of Advent and getting ready for Christmas. I first must admit that I was well on my way to having a rather bad attitude towards Christmas that year. I couldn’t possibly see how I was going to find the time to shop or even think about what to buy. I anticipated feeling overwhelmed and tired and I was sure that Christmas was going to come and go before I was able to enjoy it. I found the meaning of Advent, it meant “to come to” or “an arrival” and that it refers to Christ’s coming into this world. 

Luke 2:8-20, And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

However, Advent has another meaning; it also refers to Christ’s second coming, as He has promised to come back again.

Revelation 21: 1-4, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

I have to admit that I tend to lean towards thinking about the birth of Christ at Christmas. As Christians though, we should be looking for the second coming of Christ. It should remind us that He is found within us every day, we are never alone and one day he will come back in glory so that we might share in God’s Kingdom with Him.

By bringing the true meaning of Christmas back in front of us we will be able to let go of the pressure of thinking that it is all about finding just the right gift or how much money to spend this year, which party to attend and do we go to the grandma’s house or just stay home this year? If we take the time to slow down and step back from all the frenzy we will find the moments that bring us the most joy. 

What would happen if we spent less time shopping this year? Perhaps we wouldn’t spend the next few months trying to pay it off or catch up with the bills? Often we don’t realize that we put pressure on those around us to keep up when they can’t really afford to. They end up depressed and often dread this time of year because they can’t “show off” about what they have. 

We have become very competitive about what we have in material things. It’s not that we have to eliminate gift giving or decorating but we need to get back to more of a balance. We often think that by doing less we are depriving ourselves from living the “good life”. What we don’t realize is that we actually will feel better about how we live if we have a more disciplined life. Having more things just means we have more to take care of or more to throw away or more things that we have to replace by buying the bigger or better model. By making things simpler and less stressed we can focus on what God’s plan has always been for us. 

Romans 5: 1-5, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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. Not only so, 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.

After spending time looking into what Christmas should be about I have changed my way of looking at it this year. I am feeling I have more control over how this season will go, by letting go of the control over it and just remembering to honor God for the gift He gave us with the birth of Christ and the promise that He will come again. 

When we look at the gifts that we can give, we should all realize that the best gift is our time. By helping those in need, visiting a lonely person, giving a friend a call or praying for a closer walk with God we will let go of the need to compete with those around us and the true reason we celebrate Christmas will follow us long into the New Year. May each of us have the blessed season that we were intended to have. God Bless! 

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.