Directions

Recently, my son's car died. The 1996 Dodge Intrepid suffered long Wisconsin winters, and the snow took it's toll on the underbelly. The brake lines were rusted through. We determined the cost to put into repairing the car could be neverending as auto mechanics told us it might never be completely fixed. So we made the decision to donate our teal baby to the high school's vocational technical program.

Before handing it over, however, we had to clean it out. We removed the jugs of mixed antifreeze, empty plastic drink bottles, insurance papers, CDs and took off the license plate. While digging through the center storage unit, I came across tons of papers all folded up of various sizes. When I started going through them I discovered one was directions to my children's youth group leader's home. One had directions to the mall. Another had directions to the college tech school where my daughter attended and so on. My daughter had driven this car for more than a year before she passed it onto her brother. Everytime she needed to know where to go, I had written, typed or copied directions down for her. What was so comical is that every single one I'd ever given her, she had saved.

Perhaps she just never got around to throwing them out. Perhaps she kept them just incase she forgot how to get where she was going.

I have a GPS device that does the same thing those papers did for Ayla. It tells me "turn right" and I do. It tells me "stay left" and I do. It's designed to get me to my destination the quickest and shortest way. By listening to that GPS, my trips are typically smooth and direct.

On the Sunday School wall of the 6-8th grade at our church in Wisconsin, a slogan on the wall reads: "BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." It's funny and clever ... and true. Our Bible is chock full of directions, from commands to love, to how to tithe, forgive, worship, pray and ultimately spend eternity with God our Father. It's not just basic instructions before leaving Earth, but also directions on how to get to Paradise. John 3:16 tells me that if I just believe in Jesus, I will have everlasting life with God. Hallelujah! I do believe in my Savior who died to pay the price for my sins. So you know what that means? I am going to Heaven! I will get to see the Lord God Almighty sitting on the rainbow throne and worship Him with songs at the top of my lungs about how much I love Him. I will get to run into the arms of Jesus, weep at His shoulder to beg for forgiveness and thank Him over and over again for His amazing sacrifice, not to mention for sending the Holy Spirit to guide and teach. I am going to Heaven. HEAVEN! Yahoo!

Just like Ayla saved the directions to all those places she needed to find, I plan on holding on tight to the Word. It's directions will not only get me to that final destination of my dreams, but will hopefully mold me into the person God is trying desperately for me to grow into.

I'll bet He's hoping I follow the Bible's commands as completely as I do the GPS device. It would sure make the journey a lot smoother.

Sure Foundation

You can still see the evidence of it. Just driving through my neighborhood, you see where the tornado tore through this city a year and a half ago, leaving empty lots in it's wake. On one road, three lots are bare, with little to show a house once stood there ... not even a foundation.

One of those lots is in the process of getting a new house built on it. I've watched every day the changes to the new home. First the concrete slab (no basements here in Alabama), then the wood frame, then the roof, etc. It's been exciting to watch the progress. But I just can't help but think if another tornado comes by, it just doesn't stand a chance. It would be reduced to toothpicks and pebbles in no time.

We face those same crazy storms in life. Some with the metaphorical gale force winds, hail and lightning attempting to destroy everything in its path. Spiritually, these storms can do a lot of damage. But unlike the tornado, if your faith in Christ is secure, you will not lose that foundation ... ever. He is that sure foundation. He promises to be there. Isaiah 28:16 says: "See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation." Hallelujah for Jesus Christ, that sure foundation. I know I can face any storm.