When we face challenges in life we need to remember that we don’t travel
that road alone. Each one of us has to deal with challenges that push us
beyond what we think we can take. At those times we need to remember that
God is with us and will help us through. Greetings in the name of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This past week Lynda and I were stretched by God as we traveled to Haiti
. Before we left Lynda’s family had the challenge of mixed emotions as I did
the funeral for her Aunt and then the wedding for her cousin. They got
through the challenges because God walked beside them.
As we traveled we met obstacles that could have prevented us from
completing our journey; if we let them. First the approval I received from
Jet Blue to travel with extra bags of cloths and school supplies wasn’t
honored by the supervisor at JFK. We adjusted and repacked and the Lord got
all the supplies to Haiti .
On our 200 mile journey from Port Au Prince to Duchity, Pestel we faced a
burned out clutch as we climbed the mountain in our rental van. Stranded by
the side of the road for four hours in the Haiti countryside is not the
safest place to be. God protected us and blessed us with a brand new van
delivered on the back of a flat bed to continue our journey.
God desires to stretch us, challenge us, test our faith. Are we ready to
let God guide us as we persevere through the challenges of life?
Hebrews 12:1; Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so
easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Do you remember your parents using the line “this is for your own good”? It
was usually used to motivate us to do something we really didn’t want to do.
There were many things we had to do growing up that we really didn’t want to
do.
I remember once as a kid I took something that didn’t belong to me and
when my mom found out about it she not only made me give it back but she
also made me stand before the person I took it from and apologize. Couldn’t
I just give it back and forget the rest? No, this is for your own good.
We attempt to help the drivers we minister to through the same things.
When there is an incident on the track and it is necessary for the parties
involved to get together and work it out, we encourage them to do it.
Sometimes we actually get them together and encourage them through the
process. It isn’t comfortable but it is necessary to move forward and grow.
We have the final say on whether we do the wise thing or the foolish
thing. Jesus tells us of two different responses to His teaching.
Wise and Foolish builders, Matthew 7:24-27;
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine
and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because
it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into
practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great
crash."
Look at the similarities of the two men, there were three things. One, they
knew the words of Jesus. Two, they both wanted to build a life that would
last. Three, they both experienced storms.
Where do the storms in life come from? I read this note; “this thing is
from me”, God. Don’t think for a moment that God is not in the storms of
life. He is not only in them but he uses them to help us grow and mature. It
is in these times that we learn to depend on him and him alone.
Most time we live a shallow life. The outside looks great but when you
dig a little deeper there isn’t much there. It reminds me of a man that
built a sailboat.
There was a man who wanted to build a fantastic sailing ship. He used the
best of materials and bought the finest sails. When he was finished, the
boat looked awesome. It sparkled and shone in the sunlight. There was not
another ship its equal. However, below the waterline he wasn’t as diligent.
He skimped; when it came time for the ballast, he didn’t have much of
anything in the hold.
Do you know what happens when your sailboat doesn’t have any ballast?
When the boat met its first big wind, it toppled over. The shiny new part of
the boat was now underwater and what the man thought no one would see was
exposed for all to see. When you build a sailboat it is what you have below
the waterline that determines the magnitude of the storm you can endure.
Life is much the same way. It matters how firm and stable our foundation
is. We cannot endure the challenges of life without the right foundation. We
cannot survive the storm without being anchored in Christ.
Difficulties and challenges will come in life. There are three ways we
can respond to those difficulties and challenges.
Despise; we can hate God and be angry with him. Like throwing a
temper tantrum when we were children and our parents corrected us or made us
do something we didn’t want to do.
Discouraged; we can be depressed and think that no one loves us.
We have no self worth and doubt if God even knows we are alive.
Learn; we can choose to be proactive and teachable. We know that
God is in this, he is in control and he knows what is best for us. Through
this situation we need to learn and mature. We open up our hearts and heads
to the teaching of God and strive to figure out everything there is to learn
from the situation, knowing all the while God walks alongside to guide us if
we stray.
Which builder are we? Are we wise and build on the solid foundation of
Christ? When the storms of life come will we have what it takes on the
inside to get through? Or will everything we have built in life come
crashing down around us because we didn’t trust God. We have the choice to
make. Choose the solid foundation and learn from God.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
DOUBLEHEADER
OF EXCITEMENT - The Mods were in action at two classic Modified tracks
this past weekend, Stafford Motor Speedway and Monadnock Speedway. Both
tracks have their own personality and produce very different types of
racing. They both produced classic races this past weekend.
The gem at Stafford wasn’t the VMRS but the SK Mod feature. It was a
classic as Ryan Preece and Keith Rocco battled side by side, lap after lap.
The surprise was neither would get the victory. Ronnie Williams waited
patiently in third and proved to be in the right place at the right time
taking home his first win in the division. Look for more from this young,
talented driver.
Monadnock gave us something we won’t soon forget; a 200 lap race, green
to checker without a caution. I am not sure if this is the first time but I
know I haven’t seen it. It wasn’t a bad race either. We watched two
different race strategies play out. Ryan Preece took the lead early and
built a 5.5 second lead, a half lap, while he lapped all but six cars.
Justin Bonsignore won the pole and ran in second for most of the race. He
led early but settled in second and turned laps. With about fifty to go
Bonsignore made his move. Over the next 30 laps he cut into Preece’s lead
until he was on his rear bumper. He made the pass for the lead and took it
all the way to victory lane. Preece came home second followed by Eric
Goodale.
Bonsignore had a great weekend in his Spafco prepared race cars finishing
third Friday night at Stafford in the VMRS race and winning the WMT race on
Saturday. Congratulations to Art and Ken Barry, longtime Modified racing
competitors.
PICKERING FAMILY CONTINUES TO BE IN OUR PRAYERS - I talked with Ed
Pickering, an official at Monadnock Speedway, this weekend and he asked if
we could continue to keep them in prayer. Ed’s wife Mary endured surgery
associated with breast cancer and she is facing further treatments and a
difficult prognosis. Please pray for her and Ed. I am sure a card to let
them know they are still in our prayers would be an encouragement. You can
send them to her at: 31 Knight Street , Keene , NH 03431 .
Looking forward to taking in some local action over the next few weeks, I
hope you will join me. Stafford has their big NAPA Auto Parts SK5K race
coming up on Friday, July 25. Thompson gets back into action with a 20/20
Sunoco Mod Beach Party event on Wednesday, July 30.
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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