The Chrome Horn - Racing With Jesus Ministries

   5/7/2009

WHO WILL BE SUCCESSFUL (PART TWO)
by Rev. Don Rivers

   Welcome back, have you examined the difference between having success and being successful? Remember being successful has more to do with character and less to do with performance. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
   Remember that guy that asked to use your hauler as a pulpit? He thanked you by giving you advice on how to set up your racecar. You were skeptical but followed his advice. As it turned out he knew what he was talking about. Therein lies one of the elements of being successful, following someone who knows.
   We spent some time last week looking into a passage from Luke's Gospel. Here's the passage again so that we can make reference to it.

   Luke5:1-11, One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret , with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

   In this passage we find the record of how Peter came to follow Jesus. Peter had a choice, he could have remained a fisherman or he could become a fisher of men. To demonstrate the difference to Peter, Jesus demonstrated His ability to catch fish. After seeing this demonstration the passage says Peter left his nets and boats and followed Jesus. That must have been one awesome catch of fish to impress a fisherman that he determined his life would be better if he followed Jesus instead of remaining a fisherman.
   I find it amazing that Peter walked away from everything he had accomplished, everything he had built, his entire business and followed Jesus. What would it take for you to leave everything at the track and follow Jesus? Can you even imagine what it would take to just leave everything and follow Jesus?
   Peter came to the realization that with Jesus failure was not an option. Look at the situation; Peter and his associates had been out fishing all night. They caught nothing. They went back out during the day and caught so many fish their boats were sinking. They had never seen so many fish. I can hear the question that ran through their minds, "Who is this man that knows where all these fish were?" Then Peter decided he was worth following and his associates, James and John, followed along.

   In addition to the three steps we discussed last week;
   1) The first step to being successful is including Jesus. He must be a part of our life.
   2) We must allow Jesus to have control of the direction and decisions in our life.
   3) Jesus will guide us to people, places and things that we wouldn't have met, gone or done if we didn't follow Him.

   Let's add these;
   4) Realize failure is not an option when we follow Jesus, Jesus will not fail.
   5) Expect Jesus to do great things. He will amaze us with His blessings.
   6) Accept the new direction in life. Follow Jesus with all you have.

   If being successful is more important to us than having success than we need to follow Jesus. These steps that guide us only serve as reminders that we do not have control over what happens in life. We need to follow someone's direction, someone's example. Who we follow determines if we will be successful.

   Phil 4:13, I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

   Luke 1:37, For nothing is impossible with God.


   When all is said and done by whose standard will you be judged, the standard of the world or the Biblical standard? With Jesus you cannot fail and nothing is too big to overcome. I encourage you to let Jesus into your life, give him control, follow him with everything you have. You cannot and will not fail. God bless, Rev. Don.


THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD

   MOTHER’S DAY
- This week we celebrate Mother’s Day. The fact is none of us would be here without our mother. Please take the time to let her know you appreciate her. Also, you Husbands out there don’t forget to remember the mother of your children.
   Speaking of moms, please keep “Boots” Tomaino in your thoughts and prayers as she is still suffering complications from her knee surgery. She is back in the hospital.

   MID-WEST UPDATE - Our Mid-West Coordinator sent this report along to fill us in on what is happening in Indiana.

   An update from Anderson Speedway, World’s Fastest Quarter Mile – Last week I met up with Rev Dennis Coppock of Families Forever Ministries. Dennis is a long time Anderson fixture having raced Corvettes there in the past and also hosting a weekly radio broadcast on the local station. Dennis wants to pursue expanding his ministry to include racing now and is coming alongside Racing with Jesus Ministries . He and I talked with several ‘old timers’ at the race including Darwin Blankenship, former figure 8 champion from the 70’s and 80’s. Darwin has health concerns, so remember him in your prayers.

   We also got an update from one of the Anderson PD’s finest. His wife went to Atlanta last year as part of a mission team, and has decided to pursue that again this year. Between Dennis and John, you can see the emphasis being placed on families – and how this is key to improving the outlook of our nation and our community.

   This Saturday night found us back for the USAC National Sprint tour. We met the series chaplains, Dave and Brenda Cochran who have decided full-time racing ministry is what God has for them. Dave showed us the new Ministry RV, a great deal that God found a way to make a fantastic deal – pray for Dave and Brenda as they minister to USAC National Sprints as well as serving as track chaplains at Kokomo Speedway and Gas City I-69 Speedway.

   Several long-haul teams tonight, including Bobby Santos III from all the way back to my old New England stomping ground. Bobby qualified well and earned the pole for the 100 lap feature. There was only a turn four incident at lap ‘zero’ and after that we went flag to flag in a record 19 minutes. What a race! Bobby held on to third place, with the top two spots going to Bobby East, from Brownsburg and Tracy Hines of Tony Stewart Racing. East lapped all but the second place car of Hines, and was only a few minutes from lapping the entire field. His spotter should tell him to ease it back when he has that kind of lead, but of course with 10-11 second laps, it still seems close. 15 cars started which is a good warm up for the big event – the Little 500, where 33 sprint cars will take to the quarter mile, three – wide, on the fourth Saturday in May. Look for another update from the 500 weekend.

   I’ll be joining Rev Dan in Iowa for the NCWES race in two weeks. God Bless, Chuck McNeil RWJM Midwest Coordinator.

   PLUMSTEAD CHRISTIAN SCHOOL - I headed down to Rev. Pat’s old stomping grounds last Saturday. I figured at the very least some folks would be encouraged to know that the ministry was going strong. I want to thank Rob Grimm, owner and sponsor of Eddie MacDonald’s Camping World East entry, for sending down a car and a couple of crew members to help out.
   We had a visit from a Grandview regular that went way back with Rev. Pat. He shared how Pat prayed with him and his wife as they went through a challenging sickness. He invited me down the street to take in the nights racing action, but I had to get back to Connecticut .
   Sometimes you wonder why you need to go someplace, but you have that feeling in your heart that you need to do it. That feeling is the leading of the Holy Spirit. True to God’s promise in Scripture we met someone who may be able to help us take the next step with Racing with Jesus Ministries . I was reminded of the passage we are studying and the promise it contains. Again it proved that God knows better than we do and being there was a benefit to RWJM.
   We are looking forward to a long relationship and a return visit to Plumstead.

   WEATHER - Stafford faced weather issues Friday night and postponed the season opener to this Friday night. The Late Model 100 is on the schedule for this week. This is one of the best late-model races of the year, make plans to get out there and take it in.

   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***

May 7
DAVE & KIM DORNBLASER - Both are 270cc Micro-Sprint drivers at Borger's Speedway and Kutztown Fairgrounds celebrate lap 4 together.

May 8
CHARLES & KAREN TURBUSH
- From Long Island, this Rusty Wallace and Hut Stricklin fans have their 15th anniversary.
DR. CHRIS & CHERIE WIBBLESMAN - The eldest son of RWJM advisor Dick and wife Judy and wife celebrate their 14th.

May 9
ELI & CLAUDETTE GOLD
- The popular race announcer and wife share their 31st anniversary.
RUSS & LISA WOOD - The NH based ISMA SuperModified driver and wife share their 20th anniversary.

May 12
HAROLD & BARBARA DAUNCEY
- This Wall Township Speedway NASCAR Modified driver and wife share their 24th anniversary.

***HAPPY BIRTHDAYS***

May 6

TODD SZEGEDY
- NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver and former Champion.
MIKE COPE - Pinellas Park , FL Slim Jim NNS driver.
TAMMY JO KIRK - Dalton , GA NASCAR All-Pro Series/ CWTS driver.
MIKE CLAYTON - Crewman with Dave Michel No. 60 Wall township team and proprietor of McGraphics Graphics.
RENE DUGAS - Taftville, CT photographer.
STACEY KOHLER - Wife of Fleetwood, PA Micro Sprint driver Jason.

May 7
BENJI ROWE
- Turner, ME NASCAR CWES driver.
DARLA SETZER - The wife of NASCAR CWTS/NNS driver Dennis.
DIANE BENNETT - Wife of Stamford , CT NASCAR CWES/CWTS driver Brad.
BILLY ROE - Indianapolis, IN born, now Gilbert, AZ IRL driver.
STEPHEN GRIMES - Burlington , NC LMSC driver.
JERRY LILLQUIST - From Canterbury, CT, this former Late Model driver is now residing on the beach just south of Myrtle Beach , SC.
JOHN ROSATI - Retired Modified/ProStock driver from Agawam , MA .
PAT BEEBE - Wife of Star Speedway NASCAR flagman Jim.
CRAIG HIETALLA - Brother of Enfield , CT NASCAR Modified driver Brad.
HENRIETTA KOSZELLA - Wife of Koszella Speed's Sonny and mom of Julie Stefanik, wife of NASCAR WMT/NASCAR CWES champ Mike.
MISSY LEDFORD - The daughter of LM driver Dave and AARN salesman at Lakeville Speedway , PA.

May 8
BOBBY LABONTE
- Corpus Christi , TX NNC driver.
NATHAN BUTTKE - Randleman, NC NNS/LMSC driver.
BRAD CADDICK - North Kingston , RI NASCAR WMT crewman.
BARBARA KUHLMAN - The Ass't Scorer at Bridgeport Speedway and wife of AARN columnist Ken.
LOUIS OBERTO - Another son of Mahoning Valley Speedway area famous news writer and announcer.
RAY MILLER - Retired Modified driver and father of Sk driver Jay.

May 9
ED BRUNNHOELZL, JR.
- NJ asphalt Modified driver.
TIM FEDEWA - Holt, MI Former NNS/CWTS driver.
GARY LLOYD - Efland, NC LMSC driver.
MIKE PORTER - Princeton, WV veteran LMSC driver.
MELISSA STUART - The daughter of Preston , CT proprietor of JDM Chassis/ LM driver Jay and wife Angelina is 12.

May 10
REV. DAN PETFIELD
- From Thornwood , NY , CWES Pastor for Racing with Jesus Ministries and Vice President.
JOHN WALL, JR. - Brother of NASCAR CWES driver Bryan.
RON THIEL, JR. - Long Island NASCAR CWES driver turned Nextel Cup team fabricator.
LINDA HIETALA - Wife of Enfield , CT Reliable Welding Modified driver Brad.
TRAVIS PERRY - Son of Seekonk Speedway Sportsman driver Bill and Stacy is 15.

May 11
BUGS STEVENS
- Rehoboth , MA retired NASCAR National Modified champion and proud dad of NASCAR Modified/ProStock driver Dave Berghman.
JIM BEEBE - Star Speedway NASCAR flagman.
BEVERLY WEIDMAN - The owner of the NASCAR dirt Modified team driven by husband Gene at Big Diamond.
MICHAEL WIBBELSMAN - The youngest son of RWJM Advisor Dick and wife Judy in Gainesville, FL.

May 12
JIM SPENCER, JR.
- NSC commentator Jim and wife Pat's oldest.

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

 

SourceRev Don Rivers / Racing With Jesus Ministries
Posted: May 7, 2009

Schedule/Results
Drivers
Points
Schedule/Results
Drivers
Points
Schedule/Results
Drivers
Points
Schedule/Results
Drivers
Points
Schedule/Results
Drivers
Points

©2009 GeeLaw Motorsports/Wolf Pack Ventures, Inc.