Moving On Up
There are times in life when we need to step up, step up to the challenge we face and accept the greater responsibility. The time comes when it is necessary to own up to who we are and the decisions we make. Are you ready to move up? Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The opportunity comes for you to move up to a new division, faster cars, better competition, longer races, are you ready? Many times in our racing career we have decisions to make about stepping up to the next level. That comes with many questions, am I ready, can I compete; will I be able to win?
In the racing world today many of those decisions are being made at a younger age. Too young for many, drivers haven’t had the chance to mature. Many of those decisions are made for drivers by someone else; that adds the pressure to live up to someone else’s expectations. In a sport that is already full of challenging choices this is just another one to consider.
They say the first sign of maturity comes with the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left. That fact is lost on many who were born after the nineties because of the advent of digital radios and buttons for the volume. Suffice to say when we mature we realize that life doesn’t have to be lived at full volume, everything isn’t life or death, and there are some things that are better dealt with after we have had some time to think about it. The key to maturity is taking responsibility for your actions.
Maturity means stepping up and accepting the consequences for our actions. That isn’t the norm these days; too many times we want to place blame on something or someone else. When we refuse to accept the responsibility for our decision that affected someone else; we refuse to step up to the plate.
For our lives to be meaningful and satisfying it requires us to step up and take responsibility for ourselves. You and you alone can decide to meet God face to face. No one else can do it for you. Isaiah had such an encounter, let’s take a look at how it went.
Isaiah 6:1-8; In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
There are a few things we can learn from Isaiah that will help us understand who God is and help us prepare to step up.
First, Isaiah had an idea what God looked like. Would we recognize him if we were standing before God? Do you remember the movie Bruce Almighty? Do you remember the bum on the street corner? Do you remember that at the end of the movie you could see who he really was? Sometimes what we see isn’t what is really there. There is a difference between looking through God’s eyes vs. our eyes, feeling with God’s heart vs. our heart, and listening with God’s ears vs. our ears. Would we recognize God if we saw Him?
Second, Isaiah knew who he was, a sinner. He knew he was not worthy enough to be in God’s presence. We refuse to face that reality and are not honest with ourselves. We think we can be good enough, we cannot. When we come to the conclusion of who we are then taking responsibility for our choices is required. Have we taken responsibility for the decisions we make in life?
Third, Isaiah knew that sin has no place before God. We sometimes think that we can have sin in our lives and still serve God. God is just and sin is not something He allows in His presence. We need to live in a way that honors God.
Truth be told, living a sinless life is not possible. We all fall short. We can’t be good enough to remove our capacity to be bad. No matter how good we are there is still that nature in us to sin against God. Something outside of us is necessary to make us worthy to be in God’s presence.
Fourth, God made a provision to remove Isaiah’s sin. He cleansed him and made atonement for his sin. God also made a provision to forgive our sin, Jesus Christ. Jesus came and gave his life to atone for our sin. He submitted himself to death on the cross, a perfect sacrifice for our imperfection. Through Him we can be forgiven and have a personal relationship with God.
Fifth, Isaiah responded when God called. How many times do we come up with excuses when God calls? We tend to look for someone else to answer, surely he doesn’t mean me. Isaiah wasn’t perfect; he was willing, why? He was willing because of the forgiveness he received from God. God did not condemn him for his sin, he made atonement for it. The same is offered to us as a gift from God in Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus we are then ready to do the work God has prepared for us to do. Will we step up and accept the challenge? Other people’s lives depend on it.
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.
THOUGHTS FROM THE ROAD
BROKEN RECORD- I am sure you are just as frustrated with the weather as I am. It has proven to be a very challenging start to the racing season. There is racing going on in most of the country except the Northeast, we are still receiving more snow.
PRE-SEASON GATHERING- As we prepare for 2015 the Board of Directors for Racing with Jesus Ministries will gather and lift up the racing season and our efforts. Please share with us your thoughts about the upcoming season and how we can better serve you. We desire to be there for you and do our best to meet the needs of the racing community.
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. Check our weekly printed pages in “Area Auto Racing News,” the East Coast’s largest weekly racing paper” Check our home page www.rwjm.com for past articles. Drop us a note and share your input and thoughts. Please remember, we can only do what we do because of your prayerful support.
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, every day in every way. Rev. Don
Sources: RWJM