As we look to the close of 2008 it is time to prepare for what lies
ahead. How do you see the future? Are you ready for what God has in
store? Preparation for tomorrow starts today. Greetings in the name of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As the year winds down the preparation for the hope of tomorrow
begins. With December comes the Christian celebration of Advent. In
expectation of the fulfillment of Scripture we focus on being prepared
for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Ask yourself, am I prepared to
accept the gift that is given?
The main component of success in racing is being prepared.
Preparation for the track, the weather conditions and the competitors
you will face is essential. If you do not prepare properly your chances
for success are severely diminished. Try it and see how much preparation
plays in racing success. For your next race don't bother going to the
shop. Don't load the truck. Don't do anything ahead of time. Just go to
the garage and load the car and leave. How successful do you think you
will be? Not very.
The same happens when we don't give any thought to what God has in
store for us. If we don't take the time to read about the promise of a
Savior in God's word. If we ignore the guidance and direction God gives.
If we fail to anticipate the blessings that God has for us then what? We
are not prepared for the birth of Jesus.
This week begins Advent, the preparation time for us to reflect on
the significance of the birth of Christ. Christmas isn't about Santa
Claus and reindeer. For Christians it is the celebration of the best
gift of all, a Savior. If you have watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas"
you have heard the story. Linus reads it from the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 2:8-11; 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.
The angels proclaimed the birth of a Savior, but how did the
Shepard's know? How come they didn't just ignore them and reason it away
as too much wine. They were expecting this night. The prophets told them
that this day was coming. They had received hope from the prophet's
words about a coming savior. They rested in that hope and when the
proclamation came they knew it was true. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed;
Isaiah 7:14; Therefore the Lord himself will give you a
sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and
will call him Immanuel.
The entire Old Testament points to the coming of Christ. Isaiah
said we would call him Immanuel, which means God with us. The promise
from God was a Savior. Not only a Savior, but His very presence with us.
The one who would be born of a virgin. Our Hope and Salvation. Let us
prepare to welcome Him.
Let's look at it a different way. Have you ever wanted something
for Christmas that you couldn't live without? You dropped every hint you
could think of. You hoped that your parents heard and saw all your
hints. You waited anxiously, hoping that you would receive that gift on
Christmas morning.
Remember that movie "The Christmas Story"? Ralphy wanted a Red
Ryder BB gun. He couldn't live without it. He dropped every hint he
could and hoped it would be there on Christmas morning. His father made
sure he received what he asked for.
Allow me to substitute Jesus as that present. You can't live
without Him. You have asked your Father in Heaven for Him. You wait
hopeful that you will receive this gift. God being a good father
provides the gift we cannot live without; the gift of a Savior.
Prepare for his coming just as you would that gift you wanted as a
kid. You learned everything you could about it. You knew all the ins and
outs of it. There wasn't anything you didn't know.
How much do we know about Jesus? Do we know Him completely? Do we
know everything about Him? That's what the time of preparation is for.
Prepare to know Jesus. Prepare to receive God's gift. It is truly a gift
you cannot live without.
In the weeks to come we will cover the other steps in preparation,
Peace, Joy and Love. Don't let this time of year pass you by without
taking time to contemplate the blessed event of Christmas.
Isaiah 9:6; For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
RACE FANS MAKE A STATEMENT - The main lot was full and they
were bused in from the overflow lot at the airport. That soon filled up
and the local park was used for overflow parking. Even Bob Uker couldn’t
find a seat in the front row. The Stadium rocked and rolled in
anticipation of the return of racing on the Jersey Shore . The fans left
no doubt, WE WANT WALL BACK! I hope folks are listening.
JIM MORTON, THANK YOU - The fans and staff at Wall knew the
force behind the effort to return racing at Wall, Jim Morton. Putting
everything he had on the line Jim made sure everything was in place for
this event to take place. He showed those who will take note that the
racing community is alive and well. Jim, your efforts were not wasted on
us. In recognition of those efforts Jim was presented an award by the
staff and fans.
BORROWING A PAGE FROM JIMMY SPENCER - A long time ago Ben
Dodge coined the phrase “ Mr. Excitement” when speaking about the afore
mentioned Jimmy Spencer. It was said that he drove through the field and
didn’t miss a car on the way through. Jimmy Blewett drove through the
field to victory in the Open Mod portion of the Turkey Derby. After
pitting early for tires he needed to work his way back to the front and
work he did. He passed Matt Hirschman with a handful of laps left to
secure the victory. Matt Hirschman used a no pit strategy but didn’t
have enough to hold Jimmy off. Local standout Steven Reed came home
third.
Rowan Pennink brought home the victory in the SKmod feature
followed by Woody Pitkat. This was a hard fought victory and it is good
to see the strides that Rowan has taken this year. Watch out in 2009 I
think you just might see him in victory lane on the tour.
THANKFUL FOR A WONDERFUL TIME - Once again the officials,
drivers and teams at Wall rolled out the red carpet for RWJM and we are
thankful for the support. They may have only had one event in 2008, but
they didn’t let us go unnoticed. I was joined by Ricky Maddox and we
both want to say thank you for the hospitality. I have a feeling we will
be back at Wall in 2009 after all this is the season of hope.
BACK IN THE PULPIT - As you know Rev. Rick Satkowski went
home to be with the Lord last week. He left a void in the pulpit at
Emmanuel Baptist Church in West Springfield , MA . As some of you may
remember I served Emmanuel as their Pastor before I came on board at
RWJM. I was honored to stand in Rick’s place in the pulpit this past
Sunday. I will be preaching there during the off season as my schedule
permits. Please keep them in your prayers as the search for a new
pastor.
If you are in the area stop in and join us for worship on Sunday
mornings at 10:00am. For those who need a geography reference, it is 10
minutes from Riverside Park and 5 minutes from Racearama. I know both
are no longer in operation but we will always remember them.
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***
December 4
CHRIS & LISA ERM - This New Jersey NASCAR Mod Series officiating
couple; he in the tech. area and she is the WMT Chief Scorer, have their
8th anniversary.
December 7
ANDY & SUE SANTERRE - From Cherryfield, ME, now in Mooresville, NC,
the 1998 CWES Rookie of the Year and 4-time CWES champion and lovely
wife share their 11th anniversary.
RICHIE & MELISSA RESNER - Riverhead Raceway LM Team owner and wife
share their anniversary.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***
December 3
BOBBY ALLISON - Hueytown,AL former Winston Cup great.
WALKER EVANS - Riverside, CA CTS Team owner, retired driver.
KEITH KRODEL - This long-time friend of Rev. Pat and former Jan
Leaty NASCAR WMT crewman now lives in Pensacola, FL.
December 4
RAUL BOESEL - Curtiba, Brazil born, Key Biscayne, FL IRL driver.
JOE SUKUP - Retired Midget team owner from Shodack Landing, NY
AGNES KICHURY- Mother-In-Law of Mod tour photographer Michael
Pares.
December 5
JAMIE TOMAINO, JR - Modified driver and CTS crewman from Howell, NJ.
BOB BERRY, SR. - River Vale, NJ,Former modified and TQ midget
owner and driver, past president of the ATQMRA and current TQ owner for
Bob, Jr.
December 6
JOHN BROUWER, JR. - New London, CT Thompson, CT Speedway WAAS
Modified driver.
PERCY HALE - Batavia, NY Crew Chief.
KATHERINE ANNE HALEY - Daughter of McFalls, ME LM/NASCAR CWES
driver Bruce and wife Sandy.
PATTI MUDGE - Wife of Easton, MA former Pro 4 Modified owner
Steve.
AARON PETFIELD - Son of Thornwood, NY RWJM CWES Pastorand
Vice-president Dan and wife Deb.
AMANDA UDES - The daughter of Morris Plains, NJ asphalt Mod
driver John and wife Laurie.
December 7
BRETT BENDER - Son of Colden, NY NASCAR CWES/LM driver Tim, now in
NC.
CHAD WARNER - Member of the Beers Motorsports team.
December 8
CHRIS MOORE - Vermont based Lebanon Valley Modified driver.
KEVIN HARVICK - NNS/NSC driver and team owner.
KERRY EARNHARDT - Dale's oldest son; former CTS driver.
FRANK MUOIO - Westerly, RI fan.
RUSS SMITH - Former Riverside Park Speedway scorer.
TODD PARK - Another son of Bob and Dottie and Steve's brother.
December 9
BRAD TEAGUE - Johnson City, TN NSC/NNS driver.
MICHAEL PARES - NASCAR Modified Series "Area Auto Racing News"
photographer.
SHARON HEWITT - Wife of former NY Mod driver, now NSC Crew Chief,
Doug.
BRIAN TAGG - Son of Webster, MA Thompson/Stafford Modified driver
Tom and wife Linda.
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY.
SEND THEM TO:
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES
PO BOX 586, Tolland, CT, 06084
TheChromeHorn RWJM Archives
Racing With Jesus Ministries Website
