God's Roadmap

Bobservations Column
By Pastor Bob Lawrenz

You have heard before that we have four seasons in upstate New York:  Fall, Winter, Spring and Construction.  Detours are mild inconveniences.  But if you are already unfamiliar with the region around a detour, one could easily think, "I can't get there from here."  Happily though, the detour signs will direct us if we follow them.  They might not give us the shortest route, but the route will be the easiest one to follow, and it will be on better roads.  Just follow the big orange arrows posted at the side of the road.

That's what God had in mind when He gave mankind His Word.  The Jews were a stiff-necked and stubborn people though.  We can see the difficulty already.  Some will think they have a better idea than God.  If God's directions are true, then all other directions are heresy.  After a long period of not following God's directions, mankind had become unfamiliar with His voice, and with His Word.

The human race was "lost" and like Moses was sent to lead the people out of Egypt, Jesus was sent to seek and to save those that were lost.  The directions God gave had been compromised so God sent His only begotten Son to lead us back to His heavenly home.

No longer are we lost, we are found.  

No longer do we follow orange arrows, we have Jesus to lead us!  

No longer do we have a series of signs to follow, God sent His only begotten Son to guide us onto the right path to eternal life.

Humanistic shortcuts are dead-ends, wrong turns, and most certainly, tours with an altered destination.  The dangers on the short cuts are unknown to us as we proceed carelessly, even to our own hurt.  Jesus alone give us the most direct and safest route.  Following Jesus, we know that we'll get there.  It is even easier than operating your car's GPS unit.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life:  

No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."  - John 14:6

Seventeen times in the  Gospels, Jesus is recorded to have given really easy directions:  "Follow Me."  Selah!

Idolatry's Results

Bobservations Column
By Pastor Bob Lawrenz

Jeremiah 13 - God instructs the Prophet to do something unusual, as a practical example of what God’s people have done, and its outcome. 

The application for us is simple, for it answers the question of “Why must I go through this, Lord?”: a question that many have asked at one time or another. God’s response to His people is just one of the judgments He can send our way for disobedience, but it is designed to get our attention, and to motivate us to righteousness, avoiding God’s judgments in the future. 

Christians are reminded that Halloween comes this week. And, just like the Jews of old, we will be tempted to celebrate falsehoods, idolatry, glorify evil, and honor Satan and his evil works on Thursday, October 31st. 

Pray Always And Pray About Everything

Bobservations Column
By Pastor Bob Lawrenz

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished" 2 Peter 2:9

Perhaps you have experienced the protection of the Lord when you have prayed for it, or maybe, when you weren't even looking for it.  We occasionally enter into circumstances that appear quite innocent outwardly, but once we enter in, we begin to get uncomfortable and look for ways to graciously extricate ourselves from them.  The innocence of being obedient to the Lord is frequently an offense to the unrighteous world around us.

When God says to "FLEE," doing so with grace and aplomb is usually impossible.  Things can get messy and unsavory at the drop of a hat.  Fleeing is the only obedient thing to do in such cases, whether gracious or not.