I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Psalm 32:5

 

Last week we had a reprieve from rain and I decided to go for a short ride. Before leaving my wife informed me that her weather radar ap said rain in 30 minutes. I looked outside to see sun and blue skies, so I headed out anyhow. About 30 minutes into my ride, clouds formed and a lite mist of rain hit me for just a few minutes (nothing I wasn’t use to), then the sun returned and quickly dried my bike. When I got home, I surveyed my bike and it was covered with water spots and some mud that splashed up on the chrome muffler. UGH! Back to washing the bike again, and afterwards it shined. It’s a continual process to keep my bike looking good, but worth the effort.

 

Life is like that for God’s children. We start our day with good intentions, but not too far into it, Satan begins throwing stumbling blocks our way and the temptation oftentimes lures us into the muck of sin and our relationship with the Lord gets tarnished. Left unchecked, the grime continues to build and our spiritual life loses its luster. Confession of sin is the best way to put a shine back on your walk with the Lord. By acknowledging your transgression, you agree with God that you messed up and He begins to help clean those sin spots so your relationship with Him will continue to shine.

 

Like the weather ap, we have a spiritual guide, The Holy Spirit, that alerts us to danger and whispers an exit plan to the temptation process so we can avoid the shame of sin. Are you listening? Do you heed His voice? I have to say, His voice always alerts us to danger, its up to us to make the decision to halt and get back in good graces with the Lord.

 

Keeping your relationship in good standing in this fallen world can be a challenge, no doubt. But with the help of His Spirit and our desire to shine for Him, will keep us living the life He has called  us live in a world that needs to see the light of Christ. Acknowledge your transgressions today so you can keep it shiny side up! God bless!  

 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool lays open his folly. Proverbs 13:16

 

A few days ago I took a break from riding my motorcycle at a state park’s overlook. As I sat there, a few mothers and their children walked up. One of the boys ran ahead of the group and climbed a tree to the first large branch. He was about 10 feet off the ground and called to his group to show off his accomplishment. When it came time to come down, he was scared and had no clue how he was going to drop down from that limb. His mother tried to reach her arm up, but she was no help. This ordeal went on for 5 minutes and the boy became more worried. I was going to help, but I didn’t for two reasons….I was glad to see a kid of this generation climbing a tree and secondly, this was going to be a life lesson for him and he needed to learn what goes up, must come down with consequences.

 

After time had passed, the boy finally mustered up the courage to drop down and to his surprise, he survived with no injuries and was relieved. I thought this is certainly the makings of a blog, so here it goes…..

 

As humans, we want to achieve much in life. Oftentimes our pride pushes us beyond the boundaries that God sets. The harsh reality is when we run ahead of God, we find ourselves isolated and left to go at it with our own strength. I can personally tell you, your strength will only take you so far, then you become overwhelmed and spiritually/physically drained. God never intended for His children to rely completely on their own strength to achieve a successful life.

 

Maybe you are running ahead of others and you feel as if there is nothing you can’t accomplish. I encourage you to check in with God to make sure He is keeping up with your stride and directing your ever step. Otherwise, you’ll be like that boy, stuck high up with no where to go but down….and it’s a long way back to solid ground. Every step of success should be stamped with God’s approval, be sure you got it as you go through life! God bless!

 Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because, narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

 

When riding a motorcycle, its important to keep your focus on the road ahead. A general rule of thumb, where you look is where you go. Some of the most scenic roads I’ve traveled have been very narrow with drop offs on either side. Slowing down and keeping my focus is key for safe passage. And if I want to get a view of my surroundings, I stop riding so I can take in what God has created. And trust me, there are so many beautiful sights out there, but you’ve got to keep your focus while driving to your destination.

 

A recent trip to the mountains brought these two verses to mind. As a Christian, the path God leads us is narrow and there are dangers on either side if we swerve off His path of safety. So many worldly things to distract us from the spiritual journey. That’s why its so important to slow down and keep our eyes focused on Jesus. How do we keep our eyes focused on Him? There are a few ways that help me stay on the narrow path:

 

1.    Prayer. Communication with the Father is important. When we lift up our concerns to Him, we are specific in where we are in our life’s journey and He prepares us for the road ahead. He oftentimes speaks wisdom into my mind when I totally block out the external noise.

2.    Bible. God’s word is truly the roadmap for life. It may seem overwhelming at times, but when I pray for scripture on a certain matter, He always leads me to the words of wisdom needed for the moment.

3.    Holy Spirit. This is the best navigator on the planet! God gifted Christians with His Holy Spirit, who will tell you when you are headed for disaster, lifts you up when your tired and the best thing ever…He goes where you go…so He’s with you every step of the journey.

 

When you focus on Him and do what He says, the journey will be less complicated and safer as you discover God’s blessings along the path of life! God bless!