Too Late

While driving on a four-lane highway this week something happened that can best be described by the words, "That was close."

The car in front of me and I were slowly passing an SUV, and the semi in front of him. Situation normal. Nothing to see here, right?

Suddenly, from under the semi, came an entire shredded tire. The SUV next to me had no choice but to run over it. Which he did. Boom!

The SUV driver had no choice because he was following too close behind the semi. And traveling at 70 mph, he had no chance to step on the brakes either.

A few moments later we all saw a car parked on the right side of the road. The driver was jacking up his trailer, which was missing a tire.

This situation could have ended really badly. Thankfully it didn't. But it made me think. How quickly life can change.

A former youth group kid was living a good life. Suddenly, she learns one of her children has leukemia. Boom!

My brother in law wasn't feeling good last month so he went to the doctor. Boom! Open heart surgery has been scheduled.

We don't really think about stuff like this but it happens everyday to someone. Sometimes someone we love.

Do you know Jesus? Is He the Lord of your life? Have you submitted to His will and given up your own? I pray that, if you haven't surrendered your heart to Jesus, that you would do so today. Because one day....

Boom!

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." - John 3:36

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." - 1 John 5:12

In An Instant

Life can change in an instant. One minute everything is fine. The next it is chaotic and everyone is running around wondering what in the world they should do.

Are you ready for everything life has in its arsenal? You had better be because life can change suddenly and we can be left wondering what went wrong.

A friend of mine and his wife were heading home to their three kids on night a few months ago. Their motorcycle ride ended abruptly. REAL abruptly. My friend's wife wakes up in the ICU wondering what has happened. Her husband is dead. What about the kids? Who will care for them?

This past weekend at our family reunion everyone was laughing and talking with one another. The food was wonderful and so were the hugs. Then there was a noise in the garage and I turned to see my aunt lying in the floor. It happens just that fast. Life changes in an instant.

Jesus has promised to return just as suddenly, like when we trip and fall, or as quickly as an animal runs in front of our car or motorcycle on the highway.

When Jesus returns He is not going to ask any questions. He's not going to check to see if you've been vaccinated or whether or not you voted for Biden or Trump. He will simply remove all of His children from the earth and He will be gone again. And we believe will be with Him.

Many will be left wondering what happened. They will be wondering where their chidden are and what has become of them. Too late. Sorry that you missed the boat. Better luck next time, only there will BE no next time.

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

Things happen and they happen quickly. There will he no time to swerve or to reach for a falling friend. Are we ready? Are we prepared? Consider the options. Jesus offers hope for a future. Ignoring Him does not.

White Out

If you live in Wisconsin like I do, this picture probably looks pretty familiar to you. If you were foolish enough to venture out on the roads yesterday, this was most likely your view of the road - or worse. The picture is also a reminder of something else. Something even more scary.

I have had my fair share of lousy winter driving so when I retired last spring I was glad. No more driving in conditions like what we saw around here yesterday. Winter drive became an option for me. Still, there were people who ventured out in the storm. One of them is dead today. 71 others are severely injured. Why? Because they were not prepared for what was on the road in front of them.

Look at the picture. Can you see the car stopped on the road 1/4 mile ahead? Will you be able to stop in time on the icy roads? Maybe. It's also possible that, when you step on the brakes, your car begins to spin out of control. You very well could be watching the last few seconds of your life unfolding before you.

Most people don't think about God at a time like that. "Am I saved or not?" They're more concerned about saving themselves from the car accident that awaits them. And then it's too late.

There are plenty of people out there in the world who know Jesus already. They are much like anyone else in a white out like the one in the picture. They're probably thinking similar thoughts to any person when facing the unknown. But they have prepared themselves ahead of time.

The person that died yesterday in that accident. Were they a Christian? Were they saved? I don't know. I can't tell you if they were prepared to meet Jesus or not yesterday. But I can ask you. Are you ready to face death?

None of us can read what's in another person's heart just like none of us can see what's on the road ahead of us in a white out. Are we ready for what's on the road ahead of us in OUR lives?

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into." - Matthew 24:42-43

White Out Accident From Behind The Wheel

I Died This Week

On my way home from work Thursday night I had an opportunity to relive the head-on, roll-over car accident I had in May. I was nearly home when a small red car drifted into my lane as it was coming towards me. Four or five FEET into my lane. I swerved onto the shoulder and avoided that accident. That was good. Then something interesting happened.

I didn't talk much at home that night - reflecting on what could have been. That near crash effected me more than I thought it would have. My wife was concerned. So was I. Then yesterday morning on my way to work I turned on the radio and was listening to a message by Chuck Swindoll. It was entitled, "What If You Were To Die Tonight?" Can you sense an underlying theme taking shape here?

Pastor Swindoll related the story that Jesus told his disciples about Lazarus and the rich man. You can read it here:

The Rich Man and Lazarus

I found it interesting that in verse 31 Jesus said, "they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead". And that is exactly what Jesus did . . . and He was right - many did not listen to Him.

What this near-accident event did was it got me thinking. Is God trying to tell me something? Or is Satan trying to stop me from doing something? I don't know the answers to those questions. I know that I am more appreciative of life after this recent reminder. I told my wife and friends at work that I love them. But I think there is more to it than that.

If this second "vehicular encounter" WAS a message of some sort, what am I supposed to be hearing? What am I to glean from this reminder? Well, this is what I got out of it.

1. Life is precious. Treat it that way. Don't spend your life pursuing unworthy things. Life is a gift!
2. Life is fleeting. Don't waste a minute of it. If you have something to do, get after it. Time is short.
3. Life is for living. Don't spend your time wasting the very thing God has given you. Live it for Him! Return to God the same thing He gave you. Life! Give yours to Him today.
4. Life is for loving. The world needs gallons and gallons of love and each of us is a drop in that bucket. Love someone today! "Not as the world loves but as Christ loved us." - Ephesians 5

Yesterday at work I hugged as many people as I dared too. I also told them that I loved them. They may have thought I was weird or looked at me strangely but they also knew that I loved them. And maybe that's it. Maybe that's the whole point of this story. To spread the love of Jesus Christ in ALL situations and in all places. We sure could use it with all of the tragic events happening lately.

Here's a question for you. When each of us dies one day, how will we be described at our funerals?

"He was a good man. He loved his wife and was a good father to his children." Will that be it? I hope not. Let us be known as people who loved the Lord . . . with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Let it be said of us that we loved our neighbor, looked after the widow and the orphan.

We can best live by dying. Sound confusing? It's not. My sinful nature died a little this week as I was reminded of life's fragile nature. May the part of us die that keeps us from closely following Jesus and let the part of us that loves others grow and flourish.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives." - John 12:24

The Blessing - John Waller

Call A Tow Truck!

Yesterday morning I took my truck to work. Four inches of snow had dropped on our area overnight and the roads were going to be slippery. I was glad I stopped at Walmart the day before and got a tow rope too. Now that I had a big truck with four-wheel drive I could actually pull someone out of the ditch if I wanted to! How prophetic of me. And sad at the same time.

Guess what? Half way into town I saw a car in the ditch - a little Subaru. I slowed down and looked more closely at it. The car looked like one a friend of mine owned! I began looking for a place to turn around. Then I saw the lights - a tow truck perhaps - heading for the accident scene. "They've got this," I thought. Then I noticed the flashing lights belonged to an ambulance, not a tow truck.

Uh-oh. I began to pray.

As I continued on my way to work I began to think about my reaction and my emotions about what I had just seen. The sequence.

My first thought was about something I could do. I had a tow rope. I could help someone! How interesting, I thought, that I had purchased the tow rope just the day before I could have actually used it.

I had a certain level of concern for the driver of the car but when I thought that the driver could have actually been a friend - someone I actually knew - my thoughts changed. My concern deepened. And I guess that bothered me a little. Shouldn't I feel the same concern for ALL people?

That's a tough one. I think the concern I felt was the same, but perhaps it was the sense of friend in trouble that made my concern deepen.

We humans are a strange species. Some of us don't care at all. Others care enough to stop. Would I really have been in the way? Should I have stopped? I think I did the right thing by not stopping. I think what matters in God's eyes is our desire.

I contacted my friend later in the day. It turned out the driver of the car in the ditch was not her. We were both grateful for that. But I wonder it isn't me who needs a tow truck in my spiritual life.

God is interested in the condition of our heart. When I first saw that car in the ditch my first thoughts were about me and what I could do. My first thought should have been about the person in the car and what God could do. "He must become greater, I must become less" (John 3:30)

When God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to find a king, we learn an interesting thing about God and what He looks for in each of us..

^"6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:6-7

God Looks At The Heart - Love City TV

The Parable of The Runaway Trailer

We were having such a good day. My wife and I were helping our daughter and her husband move into their new house. First we took some bags of leaves to the recycling center. I had my truck and an old trailer. Things were going good until my daughter exclaimed on the way home, "Dad! The trailer's gone!"

Well, that sure got my attention but I had to check my mirrors anyway, like my daughter surely had not seen . . . a 45 square foot trailer. Yep. It was gone. LONG gone!

As I turned the truck around we all began scanning the ditches for our missing trailer. The kids finally spotted it in the ditch next to a busy intersection. It must have become detached when I had stepped on the brakes there a few minutes earlier.

Miraculously the trailer was undamaged. Again, miraculously, the trailer turned to the right after coming loose and simply went into the ditch. Instead of turning left and into oncoming traffic at a MAJOR intersection. Some would say we were lucky. Not me. God was definietly watching over the whole situation as things ended with the best outcome possible.

Our faith can become "detached" sometimes. We can easily lose our way, living in the world in which we do. So many dangers. So many temptations. We need to watch the warning signs in our walk with Jesus or we too can end up in the ditch.

In the case of our trailer, several small things led up to what could have been a big accident. The emergency chains on the trailer were too short to attach to the truck. I recognized that when I hooked the trailer up that morning. I knew I would have to replace them but surely things would be okay today. Then, when I emptied the trailer at the recycling center I detached it because the trailers tipping mechanism was rusted shut. I "placed" the trailer back on the hitch after dumping the leaves but I never locked it in place. I got distracted. I was clearly my fault for not being doubly sure about these very small but important things.

In our faith we need to make sure we are reading His Word, attending church, serving others and participating in a small accountability group. Otherwise it is easy to veer off the narrow road and onto the broad one.

"Maybe just one more drink," we say. "Just one more hit."

"No one will ever know," we tell ourselves, and then we find out we're pregnant.

"I don't believe in God anymore. How could He let my father die like that?"

Many things can distract us from the truth. In my case, I was careless in making sure the trailer was safely hooked up to my truck. I could have injured someone. Or worse. That was a wake-up call for me.

Are you in need of a wake-up call spiritually? Most people don't think so until it's too late. That's why we need to examine ourselves daily to see if we come up lacking. BEFORE we get out onto life's highway.

Have you given your life to Jesus yet? Is He LORD of your life. Is He your master? Are YOU His slave? I hope so. Tomorrow could be the day someone's trailer comes loose in front of YOU. And maybe that's the day it veers to the left instead of the right and suddenly everything goes dark. Eternally dark. Too late.

This stuff happens everyday my friends. It happened to me this past Saturday. Are you ready? Be prepared. Be ready.

"3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" - 2 Corinthians 13:3-5

I AM STILL ON THE ROAD OUT THERE PEOPLE!! :O

Examine Yourself - John MacArthur
Examine Yourselves - Charles Spurgeon
SUV Caravan Challenge - Top Gear