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  The Chrome Horn - Racing With Jesus Ministries

   07/05/2013


I DEPEND ON YOU
by Rev. Don Rivers
 

   With the Forth of July reminding us of our independence, I wonder if we really are independent. Do we think we can make it on our own? Do we think the decisions we make only affect us? I wonder how many of us live our lives without realizing how the decisions we make affect others. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

  Are we truly independent? If we take look at history, what happened on Independence Day was a group of people banded together and relied on each other for the strength to declare their independence from British rule. Without the support of each other they would not have been able to achieve success. They were willing to lay down their lives to secure that freedom and today we still demonstrate that willingness.

  We sometimes confuse the meaning of the term independence. What does it take to be truly independent? You must divorce yourself from everyone and everything. In the society we have a term for that type of person, a loner. I am not sure that is how God created us to be.

  Look at our race teams. How many of us could race without a team? I don’t think there is one of us who could. We at least need a gopher. Take a look around the shop and the pit area and write a list of all the things that need to be done. There is no way anyone could go it alone.

  Look at our lives. How many of us spend our time completely alone? We don’t. We spend it with family and/or friends. If we don’t have any we go out and look for some. We spend a large part of our time searching for people to be with. We are people who enjoy being around other people.

  We surround ourselves with people. We enjoy their company. We cannot live without it. One of the secrets to life is our interdependence on each other. The Body of Christ, those who belong to Christ through the acceptance of His sacrifice, is made up of people who depend on each other. Paul writes;

1Corinthians 12:12-20; 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.

   Our lives are enhanced when we share them with others. When we come together we can build a life that reflects the love that God has for each of us. The question might be asked, how does this affect me? How does my life affect those around me? Am I a functioning part of the body or do I need some physical therapy to straighten things out?

  Let me suggest first looking around at the people you spend your time with. Do you add or subtract from the relationship. Are people better for knowing you or do they run the other way when they see you coming? Do people seek you out when they need help or support in their lives?

  Jesus lived a life as an example for us. People sought Him ought because they knew their life would be better if they listened to Him. If you examine Scripture no one who sought Jesus out was turned away. It didn’t matter what their social or economic situation was, Jesus made time for them. In Scripture we learn that when people came face to face with the living God they never left the same way they came. Jesus changed them both spiritually and physically.

  Let us ask ourselves, do people see Jesus in us? If they do they will seek us out when their lives are not what they should be. It is in this process where we become interdependent. Our lives depend on those around us and their lives depend on us. So much is riding on the way we live; we should live in a way that is right. Paul writes in Philippians 2:5 that our attitude should be the same as Jesus’.

  That is a great goal, but most of us fall short. We give in to our selfish desires and put the concerns of others secondary to what we want. To overcome this we need to be accountable to someone. Who are we accountable to? Find ourselves a faithful friend, one we can trust. One who cares enough about us to tell us the truth. With such a friend we can improve your walk tremendously. We will succeed more than we fail. And when we fail we will have someone there to stand beside us and help us get back on track.

  The writer of Ecclesiastes in 4:9-10,12 tells us

“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.

   It is good to be dependent on someone and have someone depend on you. It is the basis on which strong fulfilling lives are built. Build your life on the foundation that will not only help you, but will help those who depend on you. Our ability to live a life that brings Glory to God is dependent on those around us.


THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD

   WHAT DO YOU MEAN “WELL” - Well? I know it is a deep subject. Have you ever noticed that words have different meanings depending on where you are? Well that point became very clear on our recent trip to Riverhead. Well means something very different in NY than it does in CT. “Traffic moving well on 495” Translation, you may be able to take your foot off the brake once in a while.

   I guess the difficulty comes in my expectation. I expected well to mean traffic would be traveling at the speed limit or better. My expectations went unfulfilled. Well as it related to NYC traffic implies periodically taking your foot off the break. Now I understand.

   Imagine my concern when we left Riverhead, got on the LIE and were greeted with a sign; “traffic moving well”. Well, well, well, this time we moved along better than expected. I guess at different times is means different things. It is a deep subject.

   I WANT YOU TO BE PERFECT - We came close a few years ago to having the RWJM Pace Car tagged by a race car on the track at Riverhead. That prophecy was fulfilled last Saturday night, the Buzz Chew supplied Riverhead Pace Car received the love tap from TC. They had to call AAA to send a wrecker to remove the car from the infield.

   I couldn’t help but remember Days of Thunder, “I want you to go out there and hit the pace car! I want you to be perfect and you’ve hit everything else.”

   THREE FOR THREE - The hot streak continues and the next stop is NHMS and his debut in a Nationwide car. Ryan Preece won again on the WMT overcoming adversity bringing home the Flamingo Motorsports #16 in first place. After being driven over and destroying the left side of the car, he kept moving and didn’t lose track position. Then he suffered a right from flat, pitted and the crew did the impossible, changed the tire without losing a lap. The charge from the back of the pack began and ended in victory home.

   After a week off we head to the Magic Mile to see if the streak continues. We are looking forward to seeing you along the road.

   Until next time, be a witness for our Lord with the ministry decals and apparel. See them at the Show Your Faith Apparel Store at http://www.rwjm.com/store. Send us your prayer and counseling needs no matter what part of our racing family you are in, or give us a call. 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.

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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
 


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SourceRev Don Rivers / Racing With Jesus Ministries
Posted: July 5, 2013

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