HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY

Pastor Todd Christopherson
Mid American Stock Car Series
February 21, 2011

A MESSAGE FROM PASTOR TODD

Today is a day we remember those that have served in the highest office in America. It is a good day to look back through history and see what has happened and upon whose watch it occurred. The Bible says we are to honor our leaders. It does not preface that with, “if we agree or not”, which may seem strange. So today we think of where this nation is and where we have been and where we are going. Side note: To declare this nation “a Christian nation” would not be truth for “a Christian nation” does not put its young to death (abortion), but we are still fortunate to have the freedoms we do have. We can still assemble freely. We can still carry Bibles freely. We can still pray openly (in most cases).

Let me switch topics for a moment. Yesterday I was going down the highway with my family as the storm began and we saw one, two, three, and then four vehicles lose control and were not able to stop. One took a wild ride hitting a couple signs and jumping over crossovers. No one was hurt in any of the accidents that we saw and we were thankful and prayerful. After driving an hour we hit a stretch that looked dry and well plowed so I was increasing speed. You know what is coming, right?

We are listening to the 500 and hear of the big wreck and I am thinking about those that avoided it and what great drivers those guys, you guys that drive, are. And then it happened, started sideways, quickly started to pray, steered into it, back and forth, pretty confident we are going into the ditch and praying we will not flip. I did a bunch more steering into the slide sideways and of course it seems to last a long time and that you’re not losing speed and then after what seemed to be a half mile of this we got to 35 miles an hour and straight. Only the wife and one of the kids crying, the others thought “that was pretty fun, can we do it again?”

Here is what I thought about afterwards, giving the LORD much thanks for the ability and reaction to stay on the highway and for every other ordinary thing He may have done.

1) Psalm 16:1-2 1. "Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge." 2. I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." It is the Lord God who keeps us safe. We do not deserve this safety, nor can we keep ourselves safe. We can make choices to not put ourselves in to extra dangerous places and we can prepare.

2) Psalm 31:24 "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD." I could have easily placed my hope in myself and not in the Lord. We can have confidence only because of the work God has done in preparing us. We can be strong because we know who God is and what things He has done in the past.

3) Proverbs 4:25 "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." As I began to slide I needed to focus and look ahead. We have to do that in life. What is ahead, where is the attack coming from, where am I and where is it God wants me.

4) Psalm 27:11 "Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path." I could have turned away from the slide and we would have wrecked for sure, but I was trained and had been taught to turn into the spin and chase it until speed is reduced, don’t hit the break and wait until the vehicle is under control. We cannot ignore what God has taught us and we have to discern what is of the Lord and what is not.

5) Hebrews 12:1-3 1."Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Again the place we have to fix our eyes is of utmost importance. If I had my eyes fixed on the ditch or mirror we could have wrecked but I was fixed on the straight path.

There is much more I could add but instead I will stop and hope that this encourages you to see the hand of God’s protection and safety, His care for us and that we have to prepare in Him and remain faithful and focused. Oh, how good He is to us.

Have a great day racin’ in the SONshine and do be careful so we can see each other at a track soon,

Todd

Feel free to contact me at: torch_for_jesus@yahoo.com, 608-630-7301 or 512 Chippewa Court, DeForest, WI 53532