Invisible Chariots

By Michelle Lim –

As a teenager I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s house looking at pictures and talking about days gone by.

One day we were looking at pictures and discovered a photo of my dad that I will always remember. My grandmother loved pictures of Jesus and she had this wooden carving of Jesus with his hands stretched out mounted on her wall. In the photo it looked like Jesus was laying his hands on my dad as if he were protecting him.

That picture is still a favorite in my family today. It reminded each of us that God is with us and protects us even when we can’t see it.

This picture reminds me of a story in 2 Kings when Elisha’s life is threatened by the Syrians. They were coming to kill Elisha because his wisdom to the King of Israel thwarted the plans of the Syrians.

During the night the king of Syria sent forth spies to look for Elisha. When they found him they surrounded the city. When Elisha and his servants woke in the morning the chariots and horseman surrounded the city.

Elisha’s servant saw the chariots and the force of the Syrians and did what any of us might have done. He panicked. He came to Elisha and asked what they were going to do.
In that moment the servant couldn’t see the hand of God in their situation, but God was right there all along. Elisha asked God to open the servant’s eyes and let him see because those that were on their side were much greater than the Syrians who opposed them. When God opened the eyes of the servant, God’s chariots and army stood with them. They won a great victory that day.

Just like the picture of my dad with Jesus’ hand on his shoulder, Elisha and his servants had God’s hand on them even when they couldn’t see Him. God’s hand rests on our lives too, even when we can’t see it.

“‘Don’t be afraid,’ the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:16-17 NIV).

Your GPS is a Lamp to My Feet

By Peter Lundell –

Driving at night from Interstate 5 through the coastal mountains to San Jose. GPS says go this way. Really? But we need to go to the 101. Double lanes narrow to single. Road curves and turns. Seems to head the wrong direction.

“Pete, this can’t be right.”

I grumble.

“Turn around.” Wife is not happy.

But the GPS seems happy.

I consider tossing it on the road and running it over.

No lights anywhere but for other cars. Shuttered fruit stands the only structures in the dark.
How did this happen? Can’t trust a GPS. Maybe a glitch and it thinks the address is in another town.

“I’ll pull over and check the map.” But there’s no place to pull over. I say a bad word and keep driving.

She calls ahead. They have no idea. Not good. Let’s try anyway. What a dumb idea.

Wait. Huh? We’re on the 101. How did that happen?

Soon the GPS says, “Arriving at address . . .” And we’re in front of the house.

Returning the next day, the same dark windy road becomes a picturesque tour through hills and fruit fields. What a lovely drive.

And I think how often I’ve done this in life, and so have you. We encounter uncharted directions and field untested challenges. God’s GPS, a.k.a. the Bible, directs us but we don’t trust it. Our situation is different. God doesn’t understand. Or maybe He doesn’t care. So we’re on our own in the dark.

Until we find that we’re not. That we’re in His hands. And we arrive well. When we look back or revisit the situation, it seems fine. Because we know how it works out.

Blessed are we when we learn to trust even while it’s still dark and the road still twists.

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. I have suffered much; preserve my life, LORD, according to your word” (Psalm 119:105–7 NIV).

“Lord, too often I have not trusted you. Forgive me. I choose here and now to trust You the next time my life’s path gets twisted or dark. Your Word is my map, and I travel in Your hands.”

Driving Distractions

By Gillis Killam –

Recently province laws were put in place to prevent driving while distracted. A sign on the highway says, “Distracted Driving Law In Effect.” We are not to drive our cars while talking on a cell phone, texting, etc. However, we see people everyday talking on their cell phones, and even texting while driving. Surveys have been taken showing that these distractions are major causes of traffic accidents and often fatalities. In 2011 alone, over 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes.

There are many things that take our attention on our journey of life. Sometimes the results cause spiritual and even physical disasters. Solomon warned his son about being distracted by things that would ultimately destroy him. Over and over again he said, “pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words” (Proverbs 4:20 NIV).

“Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble” (Proverbs 4:10-12 NIV).

We can be distracted by the desire to be rich, by discontentment, inappropriate sexual desires, and pride; as well as people who would lure us to the wrong path of life leading to entrapment and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

King David was distracted by Bathsheba and committed adultery. The consequences for him were far reaching, affecting the lives of many, including the generations to come in a negative way.

The Apostle Paul said, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2 NIV).

And Proverbs says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV).

Prayer: Guide me O God, as I journey home; help me not to be distracted by things that will cause me to be side-tracked from Your will.

I’m too Busy!

By Gillis Killam –

Over and over I have heard the excuse, “I’m too busy!” In fact, I have used it myself at times when I didn’t want to attend to something. I think there is a tendency to say “I’m too busy” and feel justified using that as an excuse. It is like saying, “I have a right to be really busy” even when there is something or someone that needs attention; our family for instance. In have read about incidents where people were even too busy to help someone who was dying.

Some people are “too busy”; but this can be an excuse to not be involved with what God desires: helping a needy person, teaching a class, going to prayer meeting and Bible study. This is a very destructive pattern because there is an ulterior motive driving us to prove we are very important. We may feel insecure, and this becomes a way to prove our own significance.

I remember a very busy man who carried many responsibilities in his pastoral ministry as well as outside the pastorate; yet he never seemed to be in a hurry. He had time to stop and talk to a neighbor on the street, when others would have passed by; he had time for his family and the needs of his congregation. I worked closely with him and never once did I hear him say, “I’m too busy.” Yet he accomplished so much in his lifetime. I realized that he took time with the Lord and lived close to God, listening for His voice to guide him in all his decisions.

We don’t increase time by neglecting our time spent with the Lord in prayer & meditation. The Psalmist exclaimed this importance when he said:

“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies” (Psalms 119:97-98 NIV).

Prayer: Oh God, thank you for the Bible –the everlasting resource of Your Word.

Questions

By Cheri Cowell –

In the 1940’s, a popular parlor game became a wildly successful radio quiz program. If you’ve ever played 20 Questions, you know how much fun this word game can be. The “questioners” ask the “answerer” yes or no questions with the goal of discerning the subject the answerer has in mind. Although a fun game to play, asking questions is serious business; so serious, in fact, that it is one of the primary tools God uses in communicating with us. From the beginning, God set about asking questions, not because He needed answers, but because we need to ponder our answers.

Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, and were hiding from God in the garden. They’d clothed themselves in fig leaves, and were hiding in the bushes. God had walked with them in this garden and now they hid from Him there. But God knew where they were and what they’d done. He wasn’t asking because He needed to know, He was asking because they needed to own up to their sin. God is asking of you and me the same question so we might own up to the real state of our own souls. What fig leaves are you hiding behind? What bushes are you using to shield your true heart from the searching eyes of God? God isn’t asking the question because He doesn’t know; God is asking the question so we will ponder the answer.

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3: 8-9 NIV).

PRAYER: God, I hear your searching question. I invite You to remove the fig leaves and lift the branches from my hiding place. Help me to answer honestly the question You are asking so I might be honest about my own need for Your saving grace.

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