Twisty Roads

In the past, I have written about icy roads and Roman roads. This one is going to be about those roads that are not even close to straight and narrow. I recently had an assignment to work in the area of a state where many of the roads do not have the word “straight” in their description. They are narrow however. They twisted left and right and back again. The advisory speed limit signs were pretty accurate as to the speed you want to be doing as you make the turn, and 10 MPH was not unusual. On top of the twists, there were hills and when I’d get to the top, I never knew whether it would go straight, right or left or whether there was another car coming at me from the opposite direction. These were not the roads you would want to take for a relaxing Sunday drive in the country. There were times when I wished I still had my Porsche 944 instead of my Jeep. It would have been a lot more fun.

As Christians we are advised to follow the “straight and narrow” road to get to our destination. The advice really means don’t take any side trips that may lead to some other place instead of where we want to go. But straight? I don’t have a problem with narrow, but where is the challenge in a straight road? Life is not just an easy drive from beginning to end. There are all kinds of hazards and dangers and surprises and setbacks. Sometimes life is nice and straight and easy. All too often, however, life jumps up and tosses us a sharp curve when we least expect it or maybe that blind hill, not knowing what is on the other side. That is when you need to pay attention to the guideposts that direct you how to get through it safely. Where do you find the guideposts for life? Where you will find God’s words and guidance, of course. But how about those times you run into a curve too tight to navigate? How about the hills that are really mountains? There is an old Elvis Presley song, “You Gave Me A Mountain” (on YouTube, of course) that tells us of those possibilities. When we can’t make the turn or climb the mountain, then we have to reach out our hands for help … as in lifted in prayer. God is there to help, whether the road of life is straight and easy or a driver’s nightmare.

How about the way you are driving life’s road? Are you thinking that you can do this on your own, handling the curves and hills yourself? If you don’t pay attention to the guideposts, you may well crash. On the other hand, if you are willing to accept God’s help, his assistance, then you will arrive at that final destination we all seek, an eternity in God’s presence. Are YOU willing to let God be the faithful navigator, the one who will guide you to his home?

The Chapel By The Side Of The Road

I do a lot of traveling as part of my job and I get to see strange, wonderful and different things wherever I go. There is a rest area in Ohio that has a small chapel over on the far side away from the visitors’ center. It is a small white chapel and the sign out front says it is “The Healing Chapel – Ohio’s Smallest Church”. It is just a simple country church, seating for eight, and has a large painting of the crucified Christ at the front. There is no pastor, no services, no music. It is just a place for people to pause in their journey and spend a few quiet moments talking to God. If you search on the Internet, you can find the story of how it came to be as a result of the faith of a Christian couple.

What makes it unique is that it is just a plain white chapel, nothing fancy. We are so used to our large churches, with a priest or minister, rousing, motivational sermons, and good music, that the idea of something quiet and peaceful as a place to pray and talk to God seems very strange. It is also a welcome change from all of the normal. It is a chance to sit or kneel and just spend time praying or just being in God’s presence. Yes, I know you can take time out of your day and find a quiet corner of your house or drop into your church for a few minutes. The problem with that is there is the reality of all of the distractions in your house to interrupt you. As for finding your church or any church during the day when services are not being held, good luck. Most of the time the doors are locked and there is no way to get in to pray. Instead of spending a few minutes praying, you will most likely spend them checking each of the doors to see if they are all locked and then walking away in frustration.

Do you need to find a small white country chapel by the side of the road to get away from everything and have a simple few minutes with God? No, you don’t. Look for a small park or something similar where there is peace and quiet. Leave your cell phone in the car and walk or sit or kneel in the grass and just talk to God as you would a best friend. You do know that is exactly who he is, right? Take the time, make the time, and find a little peace in the middle of your day. May God’s peace be with you and follow you always.

Roman Roads

A couple of thousand years ago, the Roman Empire controlled much of Europe, including Britain, the Middle East and part of North Africa. In order to facilitate the control of this far-flung empire, the Romans built a network of roads that connected the conquored lands. They were a powerful force throughout the land under their control and believed themselves to be unconquorable. That attitude is easily summed up in the words of Julius Caesar in his book on the Gallic wars, "Veni, vidi, vici". As any Latin student can tell you, this translates to, "I came, I saw, I conquored." If you don't know, Gaul was the name of country which is France today.

That wonderful engineering feat, the Roman road network, was built by hand. They did not have any of the equipment we have today. Yet, despite that, or maybe because of it, many of those ancient roads still exist today. In its heyday, the saying was that all roads lead to Rome, not just in terms of geography, but as an expression of the awesome power the Romans wielded.

Today, in this country, we have the interstate highway system, properly known as the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, for the president who had the vision and drive to have the legislation passed and funded. They do not all lead to one place like the old Roman roads, but they do allow us to drive from coast to coast and border to border with a minimum of delay...other than a few speed limit signs.

When it comes to our approach to God, we also have a path. Some people say we have to keep to the "straight and narrow" to get where we want to go, namely Heaven and an eternity with God. No highway, no matter how well constructed and maintained is truly straight and without its delays. Just as we can drive from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, Florida on Interstate 10, so too can we get to God. That highway, I-10, has its turns and curves and delays. There are times when we have to stop for fuel, both for the body and for the car. We can't just drive the 3,000 miles non-stop on our own; we need help to get there.

So it is with our journey to God. We don’t just get born and follow a marked path, all smooth and straight, to get there. That path is just like any highway you have ever driven. There are curves and hills and valleys, detours and rough spots. There are distractors, just like the billboards along the highway, that tempt you to take off in a different direction. While the detours along the highway usually lead to someplace that has a touristic interest, which often will cost some money, the detours along the road to God may have more serious consequences.

Before the advent of the GPS, we had to study road maps and written directions in order to get from one place to another place we had never been before. For our journey to God, we do have written directions, the Bible. The directions are there, just waiting for you to read and study them. Just like the old Roman roads are still there today, still leading back to Rome, so is the Bible still leading us to God. Pick it up or download it onto your smartphone or tablet. Follow what it says and you will get where you, and God, want you to go. Ignore what it says and you will not like the destination of that detour you will be tempted to take. What is your choice of destination?

The Pulse

A pulse is the sign of life in all of us. Sometimes it is slow, sometimes rapid, or irregular, or
thready. It is something that is checked by medical personnel, EMT’s, and mom’s. It’s strength
and regularity, or the lack of, is a measurement of our health. You can’t go through a day
without seeing someone on a television program grabbing a wrist or touching the side of a
neck to measure it, or find that it has stopped. As long as your heart beats, you have a pulse.

Writers often talk about the pulse of a nation, a group of people, of the feelings of life around
us. It may be a feeling of pleasure of your surroundings, of excitement during a sporting event,
or of the rising tide of anger of a mob of people.

It has been said that when two people hold hands, their hearts will soon synchronize and beat
the same rhythm. This mysterious merging of the hearts’ rhythms is a sign of the feelings the
two people share with each other, even when unspoken.

If our pulse is a sign of our life, and often with other people, then there should be a pulse that
shows our relationship with God. Where would we find it? On the knees when we kneel to
pray, or, our hands when they are joined together? Perhaps it is in the heart where we have
the love God gives to us and we to him. Wherever it is, or isn’t, we know there has to be a
pulse that shows us the strength of our relationship with him. Is it a strong, steady beat that
tells us that is the nature of our relationship? Or, is it rapid and irregular when we are having
problems in our connection to him. Perhaps it is very weak and almost undetectable when we
have turned our backs to him and followed a wrong path. The one thing it will never be in this
life is totally gone. Regardless of how bad a connection we have, it will never not be there.
God is always there to give us his own version of CPR to bring us back to life with him. Of
course, our pulse with him will be strongest when we leave this mortal life behind and spend
eternity with him in his home.

Just as we can put our fingers on our wrist or neck to check our physical pulse, so too can we
take our spiritual pulse. It is merely connecting with God and sensing the strength of that
connection. Does it feel strong and alive and full? Is it mediocre and dull, kind of just “there”?
Or is it weak, distant, almost undetectable? God is constant. He never changes. He can fill
our lives with almost more than we can hold or stand. So, if God is a constant, then it must be
us who creates the different pulses, be they strong, or medium or weak.

What is your Godly pulse? Which is it, the strong, the medium, or the weak? How do you
want it to be? YOU have the control. How close or distant you are is all up to you. You know
what to do, what it takes to either maintain the level you have now or change it. Do you want
the closest relationship, where the pulse is the strongest? Then you must be doing all of the
things he has asked of you, and will continue to ask. Is your pulse less than full? Then you
know what you need to do, don’t you? If you need help to focus, to get there, then there is
help, in the form of a minister, priest, or other spiritual leader. If you aren’t where you want to
be, it is only because you have chosen to be where you are today. Make a new choice. You
have that control.

Time, Oh, God's Good Time!

Back in the late 1960's, there was a folk music group called the Pozo Seco Singers. They started out in Corpus Christi, Texas, and their first hit song was called "Time". They later signed with Capital Records, made three albums, and then disappeared from the scene. One of the members later gained fame in the country music field and you know him as Don Williams. The last line of the chorus was, "Time, oh good, good time, where have you gone?" If you would like to hear it, both the song and the group are out on YouTube. That song was later recorded by other artists, but never made it to the million seller list.

Is that theme, though, not one we have all mentioned or moaned at one time or another? Then there is the good old saying about not having enough time to do it right the first time, but having time to make the corrections. Time is either our friend or enemy, depending on how we are captured in it at the moment. It is ours to use or to waste. The catch, of course, is that it never comes around again. There are no instant replays or do-overs in the real thing.

Most of us who are adults do our eight hours a day, or more, at work. Then we parcel out time with spouses, kids, friends, that hobby or other entertainment. Sometimes we even remember to take a few minutes for ourselves. How about God in that mix? Does he get priority or just the leftovers?
When we were growing up, most of us had family rituals we went through. There was grace before meals, bedtime prayers, maybe family prayer time. Now, in this rush-rush world, we tend to drop some of those. Do you still pray before meals? I see people taking that few seconds in restaurants and cafeterias sometimes. Do you tell God "Good morning" when you first open your eyes and ask him for his blessings on your day? When day is over and you finally stretch out on that mattress, do you thank him whatever you experienced that day?

Those are all small snippets of time, just a few minutes or even seconds. How about the longer view? How about the times we want to do something or want something in our lives and it just seems to take forever? We know God is all-powerful and he answers our requests. So, why doesn't he just give us what we want when we ask for it? Again an answer we have all heard before: because he knows we aren't ready for what we ask. Sometimes he knows that what we want is not in our best interest. Have you not asked for something, didn't get it, assumed God didn't hear you or was ignoring you, and did it or got it anyway? Blew up in your face, didn't it?

In this high-speed world, we want what we want and want it now. Instant gratification is the order of the day. Waiting is no longer the virtue it once was. So, we expect the same from God just for the asking. God hasn't changed and he isn't up on the modern ways. He still does things in his time, not ours. He does it, not in our time, but in God's Good Time.

P.S. How much of God's time did you give back to him today?

Icy Roads

It doesn’t seem to matter where you lived last winter, whether it is up north in New England, the Midwest, or the Deep South, ice and snow have been recurring guests, and not welcome ones when we have to go out and drive. Some areas of the country are well equipped to plow the roads and sprinkle salt to make the roads safe to drive. Other areas aren’t quite as ready and take longer to make the road passable.

As part of my work, I end up driving quite a bit, and those winter roads are tricky when there is ice and snow on them. The Interstates and major highways get cleared quickly, but the county roads and residential streets are another story. It takes a high level of concentration to navigate those roads and ice can be there when I least expect it. There is nothing like the excitement of feeling the wheels slip just a little when they hit a slick spot. It doesn’t take much to start sliding and there is no telling whether I will get control back or end up sliding someplace I don’t want to be.

Life it just like those roads I travel. We all know the cliché about following the “straight and narrow.” Life isn’t made of the straight and narrow, however, and there are all sorts of bends and curves, hills and dips, and don’t forget the potholes. This, however, is about the ice and snow and the slipping and sliding that goes with it. It can sneak up on you, just starting with a slight slip, maybe just one or two wheels, and if you recover properly, then you are okay. What happens if you don’t do it right? You can take one heck of a ride. If you lose all of the traction at the same time, and can’t get to an area when you can regain it, then you know what is going to happen next. What you know is you don’t know what is going to happen next. Are you going to slide off of the side of the road or are you going to be playing “bumper cars” with another vehicle? Whatever it is, you don’t have any control. That is when you start blaming yourself for getting into the situation in the first place.

Driving on ice and snow is just one example of how life can surprise you. How about your spiritual life? It is easy to slip just a little bit, and recover and go on. The source of the slip may not be ice; it may just be the Enemy up to his old tricks. It may be just a little temptation, something that causes just a little slip, one from which you can recognize and recover from easily. The Devil is a tricky guy, however, and once he figures out the kind of ice to put on your road, he can keep adding to it. So, you get better at either recognizing his temptations and avoiding them, or maybe you slip a little more the next time, and then more the next. What is going to happen next? Are you going to lose control completely and fall victim to the devil’s ice on life’s road, or are you going to see it in time and either avoid it completely or recover from the slide and get back on the good road surface? It depends on you, doesn’t it? Remember, little slides graduate to larger slides, and those end up in a total loss of control.

Now there is one recovery technique that works every time. You may just need someone to direct you to the good road. That someone has published a great book that has all of the directions you need, a verbal road map of sorts. The book is the Bible and the author and publisher is God. Regardless of how far or how badly you have slipped, He can direct you to the good ground. Will you read those directions?

The Bouncing Ball

Have you ever been to a sing-along where the words are projected on the screen and there is a bouncing ball that moves from word to word so you can sing along with the music? Maybe you are more modern and you have seen that on a karaoke machine. Many years ago, there was a program on television called Mitch Miller's Sing Along and as the orchestra and singers performed, the words were on the bottom of the screen along with the bouncing ball so you could join in with them in the comfort of your own living room. There were even some records put out with the music and words. I am talking about the vinyl LP records, not CD's, in case you were wondering.

It was always interesting to see how quickly we were trained to follow a ball that bounced from word to word, just leading us from one point or word to the next. The people who programmed that assumed we couldn't figure it out for ourselves which word to sing or say next. I guess if someone didn't know the music or words, had never heard it before, then it would be handy. Still, it was an easy habit to learn and since it brought fun and enjoyment, we all did it.

There are bouncing balls in our everyday lives as well. They lead us in different directions to different things. Sometimes the balls are people we know or meet. Sometimes they are things and sights that attract our attention. That ball has to start someplace and catch us, draw us to whatever is the real attraction. Our eyes and brains are attracted by motion and what moves will turn us to it. So, what was it that first caught your attention and brought you to God? Maybe you have always had him in your life because your parents made him a part of it from the very beginning. On the other hand, if you came to God as an adult, what attracted you? Who or what was it that brought you here? That event, that person, was your bouncing ball. It lead you one step at a time to where you are today. It wasn't luck or random chance; it was God calling you by catching your attention first.

Balls are meant to be thrown or rolled or bounced. Have you ever lead someone to God, to his Son, Jesus Christ? You were their bouncing ball. How have you been doing lately? Do you still bouce or are you just sitting on the ground. Balls are meant to be thrown, so have you told God to throw you back into the game so you can lead someone else to him? He will! So, get out there and start bouncing and see how many more people who can lead to his choir, to sing to his music, to follow the words in his book.