THE RIGHT MAP

[Jesus said to His disciples,] “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”  (John 14:1-5 NIV)

Maps are certainly important for giving direction. But, the only thing worse than having no map is having the wrong map. Stephen Covey writes about the importance of having the right map in his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”:

“Suppose you wanted to arrive at a specific location in central Chicago. A street map of the city would be a great help to you in reaching your destination. But suppose you were given the wrong map. Through a printing error, the map labeled ‘Chicago’ was actually a map of Detroit. Can you imagine the frustration, the ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination? You might work on your behavior – you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed. But your efforts would only succeed in getting you to the wrong place faster. You might work on your attitude – you could think more positively. You still wouldn’t get to the right place, but perhaps you wouldn’t care. Your attitude would be so positive, you’d be happy wherever you were. The point is, you’d still be lost. The fundamental problem has nothing to do with your behavior or your attitude. It has everything to do with having the wrong map.”

It seems that there are a great deal of people today trying to find their way with the wrong map. If I just put out the right effort… If I just have a positive attitude… If I just do enough good works… then I’ll get there. That’s why Jesus answered Thomas’ question by saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7 NIV)

Jesus is not only the right map, He is the way. The Son will take you to His Father’s house.

– Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5957

THE OBJECT OF OUR TRUST

"It is better to trust the LORD than to put confidence in people.  It is better to trust the LORD than to put confidence in princes." (Psalm 118:8-9)

Pilots put confidence in their planes.  Commuters place confidence in trains, cars, or buses.  Each day we must put our confidence in something or someone.  If you are willing to trust a plane or car to get you to your destination, are you willing to trust God to guide you here on earth and to your eternal destination?  Do you trust Him more than any other human being?  How futile it is to trust anything or anyone more than God.

-- From the “Life Application Bible” 

#5467

GROWING OLDER

I love growing older. But I don’t want to grow old. Growing older is a process. Growing old is a conclusion. Growing older means that you’re going somewhere, and that in God’s kindness and in your cooperating with God you are taking more of life’s conquests every day. Growing old means that you’ve reached somewhere and that’s it. Older is a journey. Old is a destination. Mind you, I believe in a destination, but my idea of a destination for life is heaven. I want everything prior to heaven to be part of my preparation for that destination. If I settle for old as my destination, I will rob myself of some of the best years of preparation for the big exit, the grand eternal journey. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “I Love Growing Older, But I'll Never Grow Old”

#5026

BILLY GRAHAM’S DESTINATION

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16 RSV)

Billy Graham was honored by leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina. After wonderful things were said bout him, Graham stepped to the rostrum:

"I'm reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist honored by Time magazine as the Man of the Century. Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn't find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It wasn't there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn't find it. Then he looked in the seat by him. He couldn't find it. The conductor said, 'Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I'm sure you bought a ticket. Don't worry about it.' Einstein nodded appreciatively.

"The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back. 'Dr. Einstein, don't worry,' he said. "I know who you are. No problem. You don't need a ticket. I'm sure you bought one.'

"Einstein said, 'Young man, I too know who I am. What I don't know is where I'm going.'"

Dr. Graham continued, "See the suit I'm wearing? I bought it for this luncheon and one more occasion. This is the suit in which I'll be buried. But when you hear I'm dead, I don't want you to immediately remember the suit I'm wearing. I want you to remember this: I not only know who I am, I also know where I'm going."

-- John Huffman, Preaching Conference 2002

#4281

MAKE THE CHOICE

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord… Choose this day whom you will serve,… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  (Joshua 24:14-15)

In St. Louis, Missouri, there is a railroad switchyard.  One particular switch there begins with just the thinnest piece of steel to direct a train away from one main track to another.  If you were to follow those two tracks, however, you would find that one ends in San Francisco and the other ends in New York, two very different destinations, all because of one tiny switch in a switchyard in the middle of the country!

Here is where God's Word comes in, it directs us to a very different destination than this world offers, but we can't stay on the right track unless we make the choice to switch the track from this world to eternity.  What's your destination?

-- Quoted by Dr. Anthony E. Loveless in And Who Will Follow


#3486