.
Do we know what is going on around us? Sometimes we get tunnel vision. When
we focus so much in one direction we lose our sense of what is going on. We
need to be focused, but not so much so that we lose our sensitivity to what
is around us. What happens when we can’t see the forest through the trees?
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Have you ever went looking for something in your shop? You know where it
is supposed to be but when you look it’s not there. Now let’s be honest some
shops are more organized than others. For you guys with the not so organized
shops this is not a problem, you are used to not finding things where they
are supposed to be. For the guys who have everything in its place it can be
very frustrating when you cannot find something. The first response is to
“ask” who didn't put it back where it belonged. Then we find it very close
to where it belonged. We never saw it. We have condition called proximity
blindness.
Let me explain. This is what happens when we are looking for something
that we expect to be in a certain place and fail to see what is around it.
This doesn't only happen when we are looking for something but it also
happens when we expect things to happen a certain way. When things happen
differently we fail to figure out what is really happening. We don't always
look or see what is going on around us.
Spotters to help us know what is going on around us. We can't always see
everything. Wouldn't it be great to have spotters in life? Someone who is
watching what we are doing and guide us in the correct way. Many people try
to tell us where to go and what to do, but not everyone has our best
interest at heart. Isaiah the prophet explained to us who the Messiah would
be. In chapter 53 he explained what we needed to be looking for.
Isaiah 53;
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
When Jesus came not everyone recognized Him.
Many thought he was a good man. Others thought he was a prophet and still
others thought he was someone else. Jesus posed this question to his
disciples, “But what about you, who do you say that I am?”
What a great question. Who do we say Jesus is? You see that goes a long
way in how we respond to him. Most times we look to Jesus when we have
gotten ourselves into a difficult spot that we can no longer deal with. We
turn to Jesus when we have no other option. We turn to Him as a last resort
instead of a first option. Is it because he is not who we are looking for?
Maybe.
We may be looking for someone to set things right. Someone to right the
wrongs that others have committed toward us. In Isaiah 53 it says that even
though Jesus was falsely accused He did not open His mouth. Jesus took the
false accusations. Jesus didn't argue or retaliate. He let them say what
they wanted.
We may be looking for someone to overthrow the government. Jesus did not
come to change the government. Jesus came as a humble servant. In fact he
was asked if it was right to pay taxes to Cesar. He took a coin and asked
whose picture is on it. Cesar was the reply. Jesus said, give to Cesar what
is Cesar's and give to God what is God's.
If we are not looking for the right thing we will not see what God has
given us. Jesus endured the cross to atone for our sin. He suffered and died
so that we could be forgiven. At the hands of the Roman guards he was beaten
and abused. In the end as he hung on the cross one Roman guard found what he
was looking for. He put it this way,” Surely this was the Son of God.”
I find it amazing that in all of this the guards heart was touched by the
Holy Spirit and he came to understand what so many had missed. This was
God's one and only son who gave his life for me.
As we look ahead to Easter, Resurrection Sunday, I ask you to think of
the cross. Think of the savior God sent to save you and me. Think of the
cost. Think of what you are looking for in life. You will find it in Christ.
Christ is the answer to any question.
John 3:16-17; "For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
In this Easter season look to the savior, look
to Jesus, accept the sacrifice He made to set you free. Find Him, He is
waiting there ready to forgive.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
ALABAMA BOUND - Rev. Dan hits the road this week for the
second race of the K&N Pro Series East. He is looking forward to meeting the
new drivers and the returning ones. Please keep his travel and efforts in
your thoughts and prayers.
JUST A FEW SHORT WEEKS - The weather has started to warm, the
local tracks are finishing up their winter improvements. The announcement of
Spring has started waking me up in the morning and we turn the clocks
forward this weekend! Let the racing begin. I’m looking forward to heading
out to a few open practices coming up. I hope to see you there.
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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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
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