.
One of the most challenging things in life is keeping it in balance. It is
very easy to get things leaning one way or the other. It reminds me of the
game we used to play in the 70-80’s called Tip It? Let’s take a look this
week at putting things right, getting our lives back into balance. Greetings
in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Have you ever driven a car with the tires out of balance? You know it,
the thing is bouncing down the road. The steering wheel vibrates in your
hand. It feels like the whole car is going to fall apart at the seams.
When setting up a racecar we look for balance, keeping the car stable and
drivable while at the same time going fast. You can drive a car that is out
of balance, but not very fast. Achieving balance gives us the best
opportunity to win.
How do we get there? We practice, take measurements, make changes and try
them out. We then repeat the steps again until the desired balance is
achieved. Sometimes it is hard to attain so we build some adjustability into
the car so that changes can be made during the race to keep it as balanced
as possible.
We can apply the same thought process to life. You see many of us live
our lives out of balance. We try things that lead us to places that are not
good for us. The circumstances and results of our actions create
difficulties for us. We struggle to put things right. Sometimes we just
choose to live in the chaos that has become life. That is not the way God
wants it to be, He didn’t create us to live our lives out of balance. He
provided a way for us to put things right; Jesus Christ.
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” He challenged us
to search Him out and find out who He truly is. We need to recognize Him and
understand what he has to offer to us.
Sometimes we recognize who Christ is but we think we’ll be alright
without him. We can make it on our own. We’ll try it and see how we do. The
only certainty is that at some point in our life we will need Him.
One part of the Easter Story is about Peter and his denial of knowing
Christ. Peter claimed he would defend Christ even if it meant death, but
when asked if he was with Christ he said “NO”. He soon found himself broken;
shattered, knowing he had given up something he couldn’t live without, his
relationship with Christ. Why is it that this relationship is so critical to
our lives?
Without a relationship with Jesus our lives are out of balance. No matter
how much we try. No matter what we do. No matter how successful we are. No
matter how much we own. Nothing matters if we sacrifice our relationship
with Jesus to get it.
One of the falsehoods of life is thinking that we can do enough good
things to get to Heaven. That is not true. A relationship with Jesus is the
only way. Our life will never be right until we have that. When we recognize
who Jesus is and what He did on the cross for us it is time for us to
reconcile and put things right.
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.
We need to go before God, acknowledge Him as
God and request forgiveness for the sins in our life. Then and only then
will things be right. That is the way God created us and that is the way God
intended it to be. No other way will work.
Peter thought he had it all figured out. He did until someone asked him
if he was really committed to follow Christ. That’s when he lost it. He
broke down and learned life’s most critical lesson, it is Christ and Christ
alone.
He confirmed he needed Christ the night he went out fishing. After he
denied Christ he went back to doing all he knew how to do, fish. Guess what
happened? He didn’t catch any fish. Surprised? We shouldn’t be, when he
agreed to follow Jesus, Jesus told him, “Follow me and I will make you
fishers of men.” Peter didn’t get it yet, but he would. John’s Gospel tells
it to us this way.
John
21; Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea
of Tiberias.
It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael
from Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going
out to fish," Simon Peter told them,
and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the
boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did
not realize that it was Jesus.
He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.
He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find
some."
When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large
number of fish.
Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."
Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of
large fish, 153,
but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come
and have breakfast."
None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the
Lord. Jesus came,
took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was
raised from the dead.
After breakfast, Jesus restored Peter and
forgave him. Peter’s life was now right. His sins were paid for by the death
and resurrection of Christ. He would no longer be a fisherman, but a fisher
of men.
Let me ask this, is our life right with God? Are we justified by Christ’s
death and resurrection? Jesus came so we could have life and have it
abundantly, John 10:10. He is the way the truth and the life, no one comes
to the Father except through Him, John 14:6. Put things right, put your life
into balance; reconcile your life with the one payment that matters, the
blood of Jesus Christ.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
GREENVILLE/PICKENS - Race number three is in the books for the K&N
Pro Series East as the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 took place Saturday
night. 16 year old Justin Haley waited until 7 to go to make his move,
passed pole winner Kyle Benjamin on the outside and brought home the
victory.
Racing wasn’t the only event on the schedule. Rev. Dan was joined by our
West Coast Coordinator, Gary Dionne for the event and earlier in the day
they performed a wedding for a couple in a local park. The couple had worked
with the series for many years. The connection was made when they attended a
chapel service led by Rev. Dan. It is a great honor to be involved in the
milestone of people’s lives. Thank you for including us.
PRAYERS NEEDED - As we do from time to time we would like to share
some needs from the racing community.
We heard from Glenn Reen this week, their team Mom, Bev Gouvin, fell and
suffered life threatening injuries as a result. She passed away earlier this
week. Please lift her family and the team up in your prayers.
I also heard from Wall Stadium Chaplain, Bob Menschner and he shared a
couple of requests with me.
Rich Mongeau is in need of prayer after a fall that injured his back. He
is a competitor at Wall and part of the Mongeau racing family.
Tom Andreasen, a crew member on Mike Tillet’s #60x, passed away over the
weekend. Please keep his family and the crew in your prayers.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Until next time, remember God
loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your
prayerful support helps us continue this ministry. Thank You
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
www.rwjm.com. 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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News",
the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper.
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articles.
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Please remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful
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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.
SEND THEM TO:
RACING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES
PO Box 586
Tolland, CT, 06084
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