One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Psalm 27:5 (NIV)
In
our lives we all go through seasons of stagnation and growth, of pain and
peace, of sorrow and happiness, of frustration and contentment. It is what happens as we live our lives. No one can avoid it, though we all pray we
do. But these up and down seasons of
life are brought into our lives for a purpose.
Yet, too often we find ourselves consumed by the good and bad, and we
miss the true point of living. (More)
I was going to write something like that . . . but I sneezed and all the inspiration left me.
May your new year be blessed as you live for Jesus Christ.
Rob
But blessed is
the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
Jeremiah 17:7 (NIV)
One thing that I learned quickly about
traveling along the back roads is that they often didn’t go all the way through
to my intended destination. Often the
roads would dead end and offer me a choice of directions to continue toward my
destination. Several times the road I
chose would end in another dead end or make a very large square that brought me
back to the place where I started. Other
times a promising road would lead me in a direction away from my intended
destination. But, I suppose that those
things – uncertainty and adventure – were some of the attractions that drew me
often to the back roads. (More)
I wonder how many are like me. Impatient.
Always having to get there in a hurry.
It seems that there are a lot of things that we rush to get done. It’s like driving 80 on the highway. Much of what is on the side is a blur, and we’re
too busy driving to pay attention to anything else. So much is missed because we just don’t take
the time to see what is there. So much
is missed because we don’t slow down to see what God has done and is doing in
our lives and around us. But, getting
out on the back roads where there’s little traffic is a welcome break from the
hectic pace of life. Here on the back
road of life we can slow down and see the things that we miss. Here on the back road we can get a refreshed
and renewed perspective on life, on us, on God. (More)
But
He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Job 23:10
One of the things that draws me to the back road is the fact that I really don’t know where I am. I know where I started, and I know where I need to finish; but in the middle of it all I really don’t know where I am. If you were to get through on the cell phone and ask me where I was my response to you would be, “I don’t know. I’m between point A and point B.”
There are only two things which I trust
on the back roads – a state map (even though I take the roads that aren’t on
the map, it’s still handy) and a compass.
The map helps me keep a frame of reference as I’m winding through and up
and down the dirt roads and helps me keep an awareness of the main roads in the
event that I need to get out of the back roads.
In essence the map tells me the boundaries of wherever it is that I am
at that moment. The compass helps me
keep going in the right direction.
Without the compass I would have been in big trouble – many times. Because the back roads are uncertain as to
where they will dump out (unless you know them) the compass gives me the
certainty I need to pick the right direction when one road ends and the other
gives me a choice of only two directions.
These two items give me the confidence and peace to enjoy the journey
along the back road. (More)
I
love back roads, especially the dirt ones.
Day after day I drive the same familiar city streets for my job. So when I have the chance to drive up into
less familiar territory I get the job done and dive down a quiet country back
road to get back to the office. Most of
the time, I have no idea where the road will take me. The back road usually turns into a series of
back roads which I hope will lead me back to the office without taking me too
far out of the way. Getting too far out
of the way usually takes the fun out of driving along roads where I usually
have no idea where I am. I just have the
destination in mind, my compass on my leg, and my sense of adventure. (More)
If you find something here in what I have written that has blessed you and you wish to share it with someone else or you feel that it will be useful in your church please feel free to use whatever you can. All I ask is that you give me credit for what I’ve written. I usually include my initials at the bottom of the writing. In case you missed them they are “m.r.c.”
Thanks for reading. I hope that you find something here that blesses your heart and leads you closer to our great God.
Rob
Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.
2 Chronicles 33:9
The story of Manasseh is an interesting story. He, as a king of Judah, is described as the
most evil king in Judah’s history. The
record of what he did to earn that title is found in 2 Chronicles 33 and 2
Kings 21. (More)
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
Job 1:6-8
The Great Lakes has a rich maritime history. Freighters have crossed countless times
through the waters of Lake Superior and down through Lake Michigan, Lake Huron,
Lake Ontario, and Lake Erie to deliver their cargo. Occasionally ships have wrecked during their
journey. Some of the wrecks were caused
by violent storms in the Great Lakes and others are mysterious. Even when a ship is wrecked in a storm the
exact cause is never really known. What
failed? Was it equipment, or was it the
captain? For many of these wrecks the
cause will never be known.
(More)
