As many of you know the roads we travel take us to many different places.
Last December I traveled with my wife to Haiti . What I saw and experienced
changed my life. Last week we headed back. Racing is taking a back seat in
the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Racing is a priority in my life. I spend many hours and travel many miles
to serve the racing community. I know it is also special to many of you,
given a choice, racing is the place you would rather be. It is not often
that I am moved to think differently. This is one of those times.
Many of you have met GoGo, our friend from Haiti . He survived the
Earthquake in 2010 by jumping out a second story window, many didn’t. The
effects are still being felt four years later. Many do not have even the
basics of life and struggle each day to survive. When you see what they deal
with everyday your heart breaks. It is impossible to view the things we have
in this country the same way. It is a life-changing experience.
Some might say, why go there, there is plenty of work to do here. There
is but God has put Haiti on my heart and if God put it there I do not have
the right to say no. Too many times we think someone else will take care of
it. Too many times we leave the work up to someone else to do. That is not
the way God wants us to respond.
Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT), The Final Judgment
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the
people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the
sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by
my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the
world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a
drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and
you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and
you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you
hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a
stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did
we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the
least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you
cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give
me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was
naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you
didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or
a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the
least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go
into eternal life.”
The great thing about the racing community is that for the most part they
take care of each other. Many times I see teams and individuals reach out to
others in need. That is very encouraging for me, I see hope in that.
This passage tells us that there will be a decision made when we stand
before God; did we reach out when we saw the needs of others or did we
ignore them? What it indicates is the condition of your heart. There are
really only two heart conditions, one is inclined to see other’s needs above
your own and the other is to put yourself and your wants first. We are
either a sheep or a goat.
Now we are not 100% one or the other, we switch back and forth. Sometimes
we help others and sometimes we help ourselves. The key is to grow as we
walk with God and develop a heart that puts the needs of others above our
needs.
As I follow the leading God has put on my heart I am thankful for
faithful servants the Lord has called to be with you. Rev’s Dan, Ray and
Scott along with Bobby Somers will be at NHMS to cover the K&N and WMT
races. Other chaplains will be at other tracks also helping to serve. Thanks
you all for allowing me to follow God’s leading.
As God shows us the needs of the community around us, whether it is food,
clothing, medicine or companionship, my prayer would be that we respond in a
way that honors God. If we do not, we cannot hope to see the grace of God
expressed toward us.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
STAFFORD
FORCED TO RESCHEDULE SK 5K - Hurricane Arthur, the earliest hurricane to
strike New England forced Stafford Motor Speedway to postpone their long
awaited SK 5K, $5,000.00 to win SKMod race until Friday July 25. I am
thankful that I will be in town to watch this historic event. Hope you will
be there also.
MISSING THE RACES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE - Speaking of being stretched,
God also stretched Racing with Jesus Ministries this past weekend. For the
first time since I have been with RWJM I was not present when both series
came together to race at NHMS. If you know me at all you know how difficult
that decision was for me to make. I do however have to follow the leading of
God through His Holy Spirit. Haiti was where I needed to be and God provided
the necessary servants to be at NHMS to minister to the racing community. In
fact God continues to stretch us as we reach out across America .
This week we will traveling to five different tracks across the Northeast
from Ohio to New Hampshire . God is stretching us out as we depend on Him
for our provision. Please keep our travels in your prayers. Also, if God
moves you to partner with us financially that would be a tremendous help.
NEWMAN, SANTOS , LITTLE - As I missed the racing in New Hampshire
, I want to share these reports from Rev. Ray and Bobby Somers. Thanks guys
for serving.
Congratulations to Ryan Newman, Jessie Little, and Bobby Santos on their
wins in the Whelen All-Star Shootout, K&N Pro Series East, and Whelen
Modified Tour. Three races in two days provided many thrills and some
disappointments at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. One thing
is sure; some major body work will need to be done by more than a few teams.
Thrilling finishes resulted in bent sheet metal.
Aside from the thrill of racing, we were able to minister to many
individuals and team members. It's always a blessing to be able to provide
spiritual help to those who have and are going through some difficult trials
in their personal lives. As our Victory Chapel message pointed out to us,
trials come into every life. God often uses these trials as an avenue of His
blessings as we trust Him to see us through them.
We take this opportunity to thank you the readers of this column, and
faithful supporters of RWJM which allow us to travel with these Series' to
minister God's hope, help, and healing.
Bobby added these thoughts;
Well this weekend was an opportunity to spend some time with the Whelen
Modified Tour teams. If you weren't an open wheel fan I think you left NHMS
searching the upcoming schedules for the Valenti Modified Series and Whelen
Modified Tour.
I did the NHMS and Lee USA shuffle on Friday and by Saturday afternoon I
could have used the helicopter for a ride home. It was great to spend time
with Ray, Dan and Scott for two days and be able to share stories and
provide ministry to the many we were surrounded by.
The crowd cheered loud for the Nationwide race when Ryan Preece was
introduced and I know Eddie MacDonald certainly got the same for the Sprint
Cup Driver introduction. Preece posted a 14th place finish on Saturday and
MacDonald came home 35th on Sunday.
On Friday night I met up with Vinetta to be with the Lee USA racing
family and there was a great crowd on hand. At the end of the evening of
racing, Lee USA lit up the sky with an incredible Fireworks display
postponed from the 4th JULY. This week ends with the Valenti Modified Racing
Series at Stafford and Lee USA "Friday Night Under the Lights" and the
Whelen Tour on Saturday at "MADDOG" Monadnock Speedway.
As we travel the race circuit it is the families that touch our hearts.
Many families experienced blessings this past weekend. One family on the
Valenti side was the Fifield #01 team. It was great to see Melissa be
blessed and live a dream to race at NHMS in the Whelen Modified Tour race.
Another family blessed as well was the MacDonald family; walking into the
Sprint garage it wasn't hard to find Red Macdonald and the big smile on his
face in the #32 Garage. This weekend this family has been blessed with the
opportunity to run their first Cup race. Eddie and Red were just enjoying
the moment calm as could be.
PRAYER NEEDS - Please continue to keep Lori Boniface and family in
your prayers as they continue to grieve for their loss of a father and
husband.
Also in prayer Vinetta will be overseeing 400 kids/staff this week as the
Camp nurse for "Crosswalk" at Gordon College , Wenham , MA .
Please pray with us as we keep the family of Norm Case, a member of our
racing community, who passed after a hard fought battle with cancer last
week.
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
SHARE YOUR SPECIAL OCCASIONS WITH YOUR RACING FAMILY.
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RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES
PO Box 586
Tolland, CT, 06084
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