.
There are times in life when we need to step up, step up to the challenge
we face and accept the greater responsibility. The time comes when it is
necessary to own up to who we are and the decisions we make. Are you ready
to move up? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The opportunity comes for you to move up to a new division, faster cars,
better competition, longer races, are you ready? Many times in our racing
career we have decisions to make about stepping up to the next level. That
comes with many questions, am I ready, can I compete, will I be able to win?
In the racing world today many of those decisions are being made at a
younger age. Too young for many, drivers haven’t had the chance to mature.
Many of those decisions are made for drivers by someone else; that adds the
pressure to live up to someone else’s expectations. In a sport that is
already full of challenging choices this is just another one to consider.
They say the first sign of maturity comes with the discovery that the
volume knob also turns to the left. That fact is lost on many who were born
after the nineties because of the advent of digital radios and buttons for
the volume. Suffice to say when we mature we realize that life doesn’t have
to be lived at full volume, everything isn’t life or death and there are
some things that are better dealt with after we have had some time to think
about it. The key to maturity is taking responsibility for your actions.
Maturity means stepping up and accepting the consequences for our
actions. That isn’t the norm these days; too many times we want to place
blame on something or someone else. When we refuse to accept the
responsibility for our decision that affected someone else; we refuse to
step up to the plate.
For our lives to be meaningful and satisfying it requires us to step up
and take responsibility for ourselves. You and you alone can decide to meet
God face to face. No one else can do it for you. Isaiah had such an
encounter, let’s take a look at how it went.
Isaiah
6:1-8; In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a
throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above
him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their
faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And
they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the
temple was filled with smoke.
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I
live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the
LORD Almighty."
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he
had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said,
"See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin
atoned for."
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will
go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
There are a few things we can learn from Isaiah that will help us
understand who God is and help us prepare to step up.
First, Isaiah had an idea what God looked like. Would we recognize him if
we were standing before God? Do you remember the movie Bruce Almighty? Do
you remember the bum on the street corner? Do you remember that at the end
of the movie you could see who he really was? Sometimes what we see isn’t
what is really there. There is a difference between looking through God’s
eyes vs our eyes, feeling with God’s heart vs our heart and listening with
God’s ears vs our ears. Would we recognize God if we saw Him?
Second, Isaiah knew who he was, a sinner. He knew he was not worthy
enough to be in God’s presence. We refuse to face that reality and are not
honest with ourselves. We think we can be good enough, we cannot. When we
come to the conclusion of who we are then taking responsibility for our
choices is required. Have we taken responsibility for the decisions we make
in life?
Third, Isaiah knew that sin has no place before God. We sometimes think
that we can have sin in our lives and still serve God. God is just and sin
is not something He allows in His presence. We need to live in a way that
honors God.
Truth be told, living a sinless life is not possible. We all fall short.
We can’t be good enough to remove our capacity to be bad. No matter how good
we are there is still that nature in us to sin against God. Something
outside of us is necessary to make us worthy to be in God’s presence.
Fourth, God made a provision to remove Isaiah’s sin. He cleansed him and
made atonement for his sin. God also made a provision to forgive our sin,
Jesus Christ. Jesus came and gave his life to atone for our sin. He
submitted himself to death on the cross, a perfect sacrifice for our
imperfection. Through Him we can be forgiven and have a personal
relationship with God.
Fifth, Isaiah responded when God called. How many times do we come up
with excuses when God calls? We tend to look for someone else to answer,
surely he doesn’t mean me. Isaiah wasn’t perfect; he was willing, why? He
was willing because of the forgiveness he received from God. God did not
condemn him for his sin, he made atonement for it. The same is offered to us
as a gift from God in Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus we are then ready
to do the work God has prepared for us to do. Will we step up and accept the
challenge? Other people’s lives depend on it.
Ephesians 2:8-10; For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift
of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.I
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
BROKEN RECORD - I am sure you are just
as frustrated with the weather as I am. It has proven to be a very
challenging start to the racing season. There is racing going on in most of
the country except the Northeast, we are still receiving more snow.
PRE-SEASON GATHERING - As we prepare for 2015 the Board of
Directors for Racing with Jesus Ministries will gather and lift up the
racing season and our efforts. Please share with us your thoughts about the
upcoming season and how we can better serve you. We desire to be there for
you and do our best to meet the needs of the racing community.
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.
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
http://www.rwjm.com 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
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
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