.
We belong to God, we are His creation and He desires a relationship with us.
The challenges we face in life are much easier with God by our side. The
suddenness and finality of life’s end is extremely challenging. Don’t wait,
there is no guarantee that when it is our appointed time to leave this earth
that we will have time to make things right with God. Don’t think for a
moment that our relationship with God is something that can take a back
seat. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Recently we lost a good friend to many of us in the modified community,
Tinker. We were reminded that sometimes the lessons we learn when we are
young come with unforeseen and unwanted consequences. No matter how we
change our direction there are still some lingering effects from previous
choices.
We met Tinker on the backside of those years. He came to understand the
consequences addiction creates and made a choice to live life differently.
He sought out God and wanted to do his best to please Him. I can’t remember
ever seeing him without a smile. He always tried to be an encouragement. I
think it stemmed from his understanding that there is a lot of bad things in
this world and he didn’t want to be one of them. I can see him coming down
pit road at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a big smile, his hand raised up in
the air;
“Gimme a high Four!” he’d say
Somewhere along the line Tinker lost one of his fingers. I am not sure I
remember the story behind it. Maybe he never shared it with me? There were
some things he didn’t choose to talk about. He would touch on the days gone
by, but he wouldn’t dwell there. He was a forward thinker now. He looked
ahead with a smile and a high four. It was always an encouragement.
Tinker was sort of the class clown of the garage area. Some days he
seemed to do what he could to lighten the mood, get people to laugh or just
shake their head in amusement. Life was a challenging journey and he took it
upon himself to help people not take themselves too seriously.
Tinker didn’t want a lot made of his passing, he just would prefer to
fade into our memories. For someone who attracted the spotlight and soaked
up the attention it was a contrast from his track persona. Maybe his thought
was he just didn’t want people to fuss over him. He was that way, never
wanting anyone to serve him, but willing to help in any way he could.
As I thought about that I decided to put together something. No one’s
life should pass without taking the opportunity to acknowledge it. There
isn’t one life on this earth that doesn’t touch others in some way. We all
have the same value in God’s eyes and the life He gives us is worth
remembering. So, I apologize to Tink, but I am making a fuss.
As I said when I began, we are God’s creation and He desires a
relationship with us. God loves us and nothing can separate us from his
love.
Romans 8:31-39; NLT; 31 What shall we say about
such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against
us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all,
won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has
chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with
himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us
and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at
God’s right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no
longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or
hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the
Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being
slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming
victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for
today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can
separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth
below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from
the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This passage helps us understand that. If God is
for us nothing can stand against us. If God is for us no one can condemn us.
If God for us, no one can separate us from him. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God.
Therein lies the blessing of God. No matter what we have done, what we
are doing or what we might do tomorrow, we belong to God. Through Christ we
are forgiven and restored. And nothing can take that away. When we seek out
God and receive his gift of grace we become his and his alone.
I remember the last ride I took with Tinker. He was visiting relatives up
in Massachusetts and needed a ride to Stafford. I picked him up and we had a
great time talking about life. Where life leads us. How life molds and
shapes us. How we come to the realization of what is truly important. We
talked about the blessings of God and his desire to call us his children no
matter what road we walked in life. It was a good ride.
Tinker made a transformation in his life. He reached out to God and asked
for forgiveness. He asked God for help and guidance through the rest of his
days. God responded with an emphatic YES.
We don’t need to wait until the consequences of our choices affect the
quality and length of our life. We can turn to God today, right now and ask
him for forgiveness. He will hear us and accept us.
Funny thing about walking a difficult road through life, you are prepared
to meet people where they are. Tinker never wanted people to think he was
better than them. His efforts were made to help you know that there is some
value there, no matter how low you think you are. He lifted you up, High
Fours!
Thank you Tinker for the greatest lesson of all, helping others see the
real value they have before God.
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.
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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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