Ever read an account in the Bible and for days and days after, one or two lines sort of stayed locked in your head.  They hang there trying desperately to tie into another story or example of life.   Then what sticks and how it sticks doesn’t seem to be what was conveyed in the account.  Had that happen to you?

I have.

I can’t shake those thoughts right now so it looks like I’ll get to share these with you!  Excited?  You should be.

The Account

The text I was reading was Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)

¹Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ²A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. ³He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

The thoughts I’ve had about this really go no further than verse 4.  There is so much more to this account and I only have the first few verses stick in my head.  I consider it just part of the fun I’m having listening to God when I read his words.

Zacchaeus

First let me list some of the characteristics of Zacchaeus that I get from those verses:

• Tax Collector by profession which means that to the world he was a sinner (vs7)!  A rich sinner at that apparently.
• He had heard of Jesus before
• He was a short dude
• I think he was excited about Jesus’ visit

Zacchaeus really really wanted to see Jesus.  Who was this man that he had heard so many good things about? Was it good things?  I think it was otherwise I don’t think he would have put forth so much effort just to get a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by.  Was he wanting more of a glimpse?

He knew the way Jesus was going.  I wonder if they had the streets blocked off?  Did they have the intersections closed down?  Was there a caravan of unmarked black camels and donkeys with riders, that ran ahead of Jesus to clear the way and make sure it was safe?  No, I don’t think so. But the crowd must have been huge.

Poor Zac.  I feel sorry for him.  He couldn’t see Jesus.  Not from where he was.  I picture him running behind the crowd of people.  Peering between shoulders, jumping up and down, straining his neck just to get a glimpse of Jesus.  But he couldn’t.  I like the reason that is given why he can’t see.

If you read verse 3, it was because of the crowd.  That is what is sticking in my mind anyway.  The reason he couldn’t see Jesus was not because of his stature but because of the crowd.  Now, I know his height has a lot to do with it so we don’t have to go there.

Then Zacchaeus did what he had to do.  He wanted to see Jesus bad enough that he ran ahead, climbed a tree, and waited for Him to pass by.  Can you see him up there in that tree waiting?  Do you think he was excited? 

I keep saying excited because of verse 8.  The tones that I put behind Zac’s words have a touch of excitement and relief to them.  Finally someone that he’s heard about that can take this “sin” away from him.

Us, others, and zac

After I read the account I wondered how many Zacchaeus’ are out there today running around behind us, the Christian crowd, wanting to see Jesus?  We’ve gotten them excited by spreading the news.  They know Jesus is coming back for a visit.  They know we worship with Him very often.  I hope we are telling of the wonderful things Jesus has done for us.  But do we ever get out of the way and let them have easy access to Jesus?

Maybe we don’t need to get out of the way.  Maybe we should make Zac climb a tree, work hard, to be able to get to Jesus.  I mean after all what did WE have to go through to get to Jesus?

I bet Zac wouldn’t even climb the tree today.  After some of the examples that I’ve been and some of the stuff that I’ve seen going on in the Christian crowd, I’m not so sure Zac would think it’s worth the risk of a splinter. 

I hope I’m wrong.

Because of HIM

SC

Another Roller Coaster

Like everything else in my life, I suppose it shouldn’t be a shocker that even the thoughts of something like prayer in worship is tied to a roller coaster track.  Suddenly whipped around a 90 degree turn headed toward another loop in the track. 

Oh well, it’s what makes this journey in life fun, exciting, and a challenge for me.  If the roller coaster of life was as straight as the roads in the plains of Texas, what fun would that be?  I’m just glad when God designed this coaster, he made sure that we had the capability to be secure in our ride.

Loosen some of the previous ends

In my previous post I suppose I went on a bit of a tirade about my opinions on what should and shouldn’t be prayed during a worship service.   Maybe to you it didn’t sound as bad as it sounds in my head as I have thought about it.  Either way, I’m going to take a bit of a step back, breathe, and see if I can make this make a bit more sense. 

Hey, I’m even open to your opinions on this as well.  I’m in no way perfect.  Worship, I think, is something personal and maybe what I want during a worship service is totally not what you want.  Granted, it’s not really about us anyway.  I understand that.

The world

I suppose I’ve finally concluded this; what better time to pray for the world than when the body is assembled together?  What better time to pray for our government when the followers of the one true leader, God, is assembled together?  What better time to pray for economics than when the richest of us are gathered together? 

I think maybe my issue was if a subject could be tied to a prayer and that subject could be deduced to “the world” then that is where I start wondering if that’s the type of prayer that I want to be praying during worship.

After all,  it’s the world that we so need to reach don’t you think?

politics

I’m still not a big fan of bringing politics into prayer during worship.  I think you know what I mean when I say politics.  Each family is composed of Republicans, Democrats, and everything in between.  Sure, we don’t want it to be that way.  We would rather just be Christians or at the very least Americans and leave the rest of the labels out of the church, but it’s not going to happen, in my opinion.

So, it stands to reason that when I am called to lead a prayer and if I start praying for political issues then most likely half of those in the family are not going to be agreeing with what I’m praying for, start getting aggravated, smirking, and completely missing the point of what we are doing at that very moment…praying.  Make sense?

So, if I had my choice when it comes to politics and public prayer in worship, leave it very generic. 

the family

I still think when we are gathered together in worship, this is the time to be praying for us as a body of believers.  For those we know are struggling.  For those we don’t know are struggling.  For the shepherds as well as for the sheep of the flock.  This is the time for praying for the service that we have entered in and for those leading the service.

Conclusion

I’m expecting some lashing or what not.  Understand though that I do understand that this is still just a matter of opinion.  As long as our hearts are where they should be, maybe it shouldn’t matter what is prayed for, I don’t know.  Maybe I’m splitting hairs and need to quit worrying about something so minor as this. 

Have an opinion?

Because of HIM

SC

I’ve had some trouble getting this post together.  I’ve thought about this subject for several weeks.  I’ve had to think about how to present it because the terminology that I use can be taken and stretched or skewed and pointed back and put to me in the form of another question.  I’m going to try to head all of that off before I get into my main point.

Worship

Let me start by showing you that word “worship.”  When I use that word in this post I am using it to mean that special time that I set aside on Sundays to pay special honor to God and to my savior Jesus, for what they have done for me.  A time where I don’t have to worry about the world and can be surrounded by my brothers and sisters who are there to hopefully do the same thing that I am.  We meet together to lift one another up, to praise God, to focus on Him and to please him as a family.

Today when someone says I’m going to worship there are all kinds of questions such as “Is that a special time or a way of life? Is that something you do or how we live?” kind of questions thrown at us and I understand where you are coming from. So I have done some quick research prior to writing this and found that worship as it’s used in the Bible, was used in a “special moment” kind of situation.  Having said that, I do also think that it is a way of life.

Prayer

No gotchas there.  Prayer is what it is.  I define it in this post as a time to hold an in depth, serious, talk with God.  Where I am still and focused and intent on listening and speaking to him.

I do pray throughout the day, several times.  I will often talk to God but I may not necessarily stop what I’m doing to have a conversation with him.  The same as I may be talking to you while fishing.  I may not stop casting the line while I’m talking to you, but I’m still having this conversation with you.  Same with God.  I’m going about my daily routine at the same time praying, having conversation, with God.  It’s part of how I build my relationship with him.

The World

The world is everything outside of the doors where we are worshipping.  It’s the thing that I finally get a reprieve from while I am at worship.  It’s the thing that I have had to be conscience of that has been berating me and tempting me and beating me down the entire week until worship time.

The Loose Ends

Let me see if I can tie these together the way that I wanted to.

In our worship services we have set aside special times of prayer.  During each of those times there is one who stands before the family to lead the prayer to keep it in some form of order.  The church in attendance doesn’t have to pray the prayer that this leader is praying and it’s sometimes a great thing this is so.

I don’t want you to think that I have no concerns for the world when these next few lines scroll across your eyes.  I do think there is a time to pray for the world, for the politicians, for the economy for all the mess that is outside of our doors, the world.  When I am worshipping though, I really don’t think that is the time that I want to pray for the world.

I really am not a big fan of the political prayers because nine times out of 10, my politics and your politics aren’t in agreement so I’m going to counter your prayer with one of my own.  I heard someone call this a prayer block, similar to a shot block in basketball.

I think when we are gathered together as a family in worship that our prayers need to be for our family and family related.  For our hearts, our souls, our strength, our minds.  For our relationships.

For this one hour in worship, let the world take care of it’s own.

Just my opinion

Because of HIM

SC

Prayer in Worship – Update

The Setup

^{A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight}

³⁵As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. ³⁶When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. ³⁷They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

³⁸He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

³⁹Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁰Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?"
      "Lord, I want to see," he replied.

⁴²Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." ⁴³Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. – Luke 18:35-43

Luke 17 and 18 were the chapters that was my reading plan for Wednesday night.  Prior to reading the reading plan was a day of worry, yes I said worry, about today’s mediation appointment.  Something about me, a dad, trying to get custody of my kids makes me worry just a bit.

Let’s Get Side Tracked

Sure, I posted a really cool quote the other night from Francis Chan on my Facebook status which went something like:

"Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big, powerful, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives"

I got that from his book/audio book Crazy Love which so far I’m really enjoying. 

Having said all that it brings up something totally not at all related to where I was going and that is, I’m not sure where I stand on that quote.  Sure there is some a lot of substance to it but, because I worried does not mean that I don’t think that God is big, God is powerful, or that God doesn’t love me enough.

Being human, as I think most of us are, is there anything wrong with worrying or wondering if what we want is not what God wants for us?  Prime example in my situation is custody of my kids.  What if it’s not God’s will that the children are in my custody?  Is it not OK to worry or wonder until that final decision has been made, which will be when the process is over?

Back To The Initial Point

So, as I think I may have stated, I had been worrying a bit about Thursday and then I read this at the  end of the night and there was a verse in that final section of the final section of my reading that grabbed me, picked my up by my shirt collar, smacked me around a bit, a set me back down to read it again.  It’s more of half a verse.  Did you happen to catch it?

Re-read that up there with this in mind.  It seemed that my prayers to God on Wednesday were always me asking God to do this or that or to help me with this or that.  Maybe just ease my mind because I knew he has control of this.

The point  came to where just thinking about Thursday brought knots in my stomach and tears to my eyes I was so stressed about the whole mess.  Then, when I had just about had enough I read verse 41 and just 3 words prior Jesus asked him, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?"

The second time, after being set down, Jesus was no longer talking to the blind man.  Who was he talking to anyway?  I felt as though those words were meant just for me and they could not have came at a better time.  I stopped what I was doing, closed my eyes and told Jesus what I wanted him to do for me, since he asked. 

The concern, the worry pretty much left.  Especially after some of the things that happened this morning that can only be described as Jesus doing exactly what I asked.  The wish-washy daughter was no longer wish-washy.  I can’t give too much detail, not as much as I want to share, but let me just say, I give all the glory to God because of his love for me and you.   There was a tad bit of worry, but that was mostly worry that my ducks weren’t in a row. 

Conclusion

How did the mediation go?  No change in current circumstances.  BUT, after my talk with Jesus and God, things should be a little better in the future. 

Because of HIM

SC

The question or rather the answer to the question is so obvious that most of you will be bored reading this.  If that’s the case, well, that’s the case.

Did you know that in the NIV translation of the Bible, the word good, not a form of the word good, jut the word good, is mentioned in 168 verses for a total of 174 times?  It’s not as much as I thought it would be.

It’s mentioned in 88 verses of the New Testament for a total of 92 times. I need not tell you why this was a bit surprising to me.  (Hint: THE Good News abounds throughout the NT)

I guess those numbers don’t really have a lot to do with this post other than just letting you know that the word, specifically a verse I’m fixing to throw out, has been heavy on my thoughts for about a week now.  So heavy that I pulled out my concordance and counted all those up.

Here is a few more that are a little closer to my main thought.

In the New Testament from here on out:
Good is used to describe God (God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit) – 8 times w/ one of those in sort of a negative side of the scale, as in..not good.  Seriously.

Good is used to describe man – 8 times as well, some being used multiple times in different gospels.

Now, those are subject to scrutiny. I’m no Bible scholar.  So, sure, I’m sure we can dig and pick and prod and pull some more out, but I didn’t get into that much digging.

We’ve all heard the conversation at some point in our life from a non-believer or maybe even a believer that goes something like, “Well, what about such and such.  She/He was such a good person.  If she/he ain’t going to heaven then I don’t see how anyone can.” 

This she/he person was probably not a Christian but as far as good goes, there wasn’t anyone better, in our eyes.  That’s where those conversations usually get started.

Heaven isn’t attainable just by being good.  In fact, if it were, Heaven would be a very empty place.  You’re not good.  I’m not good.  There isn’t a person on the face of the planet that is good enough to get into Heaven. 

Here is the verse I ran across and I hope someone can clear it up for me.  It’s that one verse that Jesus used to describe himself as being “not good.”  I may just be reading it wrong, but it sure has struck me in an odd way.

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good – except God alone…” Luke 18:18-19

Maybe he was saying that to prove a point completely off base from what I’m seeing. But, if Jesus is not good, per Jesus, then there is no way any of us can claim to be good enough to get into Heaven.  It’s why I thank God for his grace every day. 

Because of HIM
SC

For a reason that I will tell you about shortly, my thoughts went back to my younger days of being, well, younger.  Back to my early driving days. I must have been 16 or 17…..

I had just left the church building after a night of worship.  The speed limit from the church building all the way to my house, which was about 2 miles maybe 3, was 25MPH.  Much, much to slow for a 16 or 17 y/o who already knew all there was to know about driving.  If you are laughing, I know it’s not at me, it’s with me. I’m sure we’ve all been there.

I must have traveled 500 yards from the church building when in my rear-view mirror I saw these blue flashes of light.  As there was no one in front of me, and no one between me and the blue lights, I assumed that those pretty lights were meant for me, and I just about threw up.  Nerves are a funny thing.

My assumptions were correct.  One of those times I wish my assumptions were off, way off.  To make a long story short, I was going 35 (best I can recall) in a 25 and the officer told me I had a date.  No, not with his pretty daughter or his ugly daughter for that matter. A date with the judge. 

This judge wasn’t just a judge, it was Judge Chamberlain.  Judge Chamberlain was/is one of the elders of the church.  Yeah. I know.  Talk about throwing up. I was nervous for a very long time until that date came.

I don’t remember much about my day in court.  I do remember being scared to death.  It was my first ticket.  It was my first (and only) appearance in court and it was the first time I would get to see what Judge Chamblerlain did for a living, first hand.

Judge Chamberlain announced at the very beginning of court that those who were there for there first ticket would probably not have to pay anything and get off…this time.  It would be decided on a case by case basis though.

Great!  He couldn’t just let me run out of the court room with my tail between my legs.  I would have to “appear” before him first.  I would have to give him my account  of what happened.  I think I did that.  The whole thing becomes a blur.   When I walked in, I was ready to run.  When he called out “MR. CARVER!”, I could hardly stand, my knees were shaking so bad.  I don’t remember what he said.  I only remember the gavel falling and then I ran out the door with my tail between my legs.

My mother worked on the opposite end of the square and I told her about my venture and she asked if I had to pay anything and I seem to recall saying, “I don’t think so.”  Yeah, she had to call back over to the courthouse to make sure I didn’t have any fees to pay.  How horrible that day was.

Today I’ve been reading Romans.  I am “teaching” the book in my Sunday morning class.  In my reading today, I came across the following verses, Romans 14:10-12:

  “10 You, then, why do you judge your brother?  Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 
   11 It is written:
      ‘As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’
  12 So, then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”

I had that same nervous feeling for some reason.  To think that I will still have my final day in court. I will stand before the final Judge and will, with my own mouth, give an account for myself to God. Those aren’t just words, that’s a reality.  That is going to be as real as the day I appeared before Judge Chamberlain. 

I won’t be able to run.  When the gavel falls, I will know right away what the results are.  There will be no question about it.  Oh, and all of this is something that not just I will experience.  We will all be standing in the same court room.  We will all hear our name called to stand before Him.  I’m ready.  I’m excited.  I’m nervous.  You?

Because of HIM
SC

I should be asleep right now.  I really should.  For those not in the know, I’ve been taking Lyrica for the past month.  I don’t recommend you try it.  I’ve really been beat down as of late and I’m not sure if it’s from the pain or from the Lyrica or from both.  I will soon know if it’s the medicine.

I went back to the pain management Dr. today.  We discussed how horrible I’ve been feeling and we are working on getting this mess out of my system.  I’m going to be taking something else in 10 days, Zonegran.  From what I can tell, it’s side effects are the same but we are hoping the crummy feelings I have throughout the day will be gone.

I am currently waiting on a referral to come through so that I can get in to see a neurosurgeon.  I’m hoping for a few more tests and hopefully open up some more options to fix and not band aid my pain.

A thought occured to me as I was trying to sleep.  It’s why I’m up at this time of night.  As I lay still in my bed, I think God gave me a pat on the back as if to say everything is OK, or maybe he wrapped his comforting arms around me.  Even though there is pain right now, I’ve suddenly become in awe of how all of this has worked out and you better believe God is in complete control.

I started looking back over the last year and a half or so and I realize how much I have grown, spiritually.  My love for God has exploded, my faith in him has exploded, my desire to spread the great news has exploded.  Taking all of that into consideration, I would say that up to this point, life after rehab has been awesome.

I’ve been going to the spiritual gym and working out my faith.  I’ve talked to God, the same God that saved me from a life destined for destruction, more than and in a different way than I ever have in the past.  I know what a relationship with God is.  No, not perfect.  Still got some wonders and mistakes, but I feel the relationship, and it is good and it is growing.

It’s a great thing too.  Had I not been establishing such a great relationship with God and My Saviour, I shutter to think what position I would be in now as I deal with the pain, the depression, the mess. 

I haven’t felt this bad, physically, in about a year and a half. 

I have never felt this great spritually, ever!  I’m just in awe at how God has planned this out and is working it out.

“I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first” – Revelation 2:19 

Because of HIM
SC
 

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Have you ever felt a huge need for something and prayed for it?

Have you ever had a pain that hurt constantly and prayed for it?

Have you ever had a sick family member and prayed for them to get well. Let’s make it a little more specific, maybe it wasn’t JUST a family member, let’s say it was a child or a parent. That might make you pray a little harder huh?

During these times, a large portion of  your time spent with God was probably telling God how much you needed, wanted relief, or really wanted your family member to get well.  Right?

There might be a hint of  guilt, feeling selfish, or lack of hope as we humbly, with all our might, pray for this situation to work out in our favor.  We ask our family members to pray.  Our friends to pray.  Our ministers to pray.  We do all that we can so that this issue gets “fixed”, but we want it in our favor.

That need that you were thinking of, after all the hard work you put into praying for it, did you get it?  If you didn’t, how did you feel?

How’s the pain?  If you’re still hurting, are you upset or maybe thinking you didn’t do something right?

This is the one that hurts; did the family member get well?  If that child or parent didn’t recover after all of your hard work trying to let God know your hopes, who did you get mad at or upset with?  Still hurts doesn’t it?  Some might still be questioning God and his decision to let this one pass.  You’re not alone.

In my opinion, if your heart was right, you did exactly as you should have.

A phrase struck me like a ton of bricks during my devotion with God this week.  It came from a man after God’s own heart.  I can’t get enough of reading about David.  All of his trials, his failures, his blatant sins and I still admire David.  I think even more so now.

A little bit of build up.  After David had committed his sin with Bathsheba, had her husband Uriah killed, and Nathan brought some sense back into David, it was time for him to receive his punishment. His punishment was not his death, but the death of the child that was born to him by Bathsheba.

After the child became ill, “David pleaded with God for the child.“  Here are some other things he did. Fasted, slept on the ground, and when the members of his house asked him to get up or to eat, David would have nothing to do with it.  For seven days he didn’t eat, slept on the ground, and he didn’t bathe.

Seventh day the child dies. We then see David moping around, wondering why this happened to him and Bathsheba.  He was more depressed and hurt than he was before, right?

NOPE!

He got up, washed, put on lotions, changed his clothes and then went to worship God.  Afterward he finally got him a bite to eat.  I gather from my reading that he totally confused the folks around him.  They were afraid to tell David that the boy had died because they were afraid “He may do something desperate.” As if.  Then they questioned him about why in the world was he acting the way he was now, and I want you to see David’s response:

²² He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”-2 Samuel 12:22-23

David thought, “Who knows?” Almost see David rolling his eyes as he says “Who knows?”  He didn’t know, but he had hope, and though the hope was dashed he didn’t let that lead him away.

Don’t stop praying for whatever you want.  Don’t stop praying for the pain to go away.  Don’t stop praying when a family member is sick. Why?

Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to you and give you what you are asking.

If he don’t, then don’t let that cause you to lose your faith.  God still loves you and will do great things through you.

Because of HIM

SC

This medicine thing is beating me up.  I’m tired all of the time.  I’m in very somber moods.  Cheer is not a word in my current vocabulary.  Wait, I just used it.  So maybe it is

I’ve so many thoughts and ideas come to me to blog about.  By the time I sit to write them out, the desire and the words often leave me.  So, I haven’t been writing as often.  Sorry.  I’m not writing the ideas down as they come to me, so I’m sure most will just fall away into the void.

I sit here and I blame it all on the medication.  It’s convenient.  It’s easy to do that.  I also think it’s the truth.

I’m not worried about taking the pills.  I’m not worried (well maybe a little) about getting addicted to them.  I’m under God’s care and the doctor’s care (I’ve told several of you guys/gals that) and everything will be OK as far as the addiction goes.  Not to mention, the way they make feel, yuck.  I can hardly wait until I can stop them completely.

Life has dealt me a blow that I was not expecting.  If it’s a test, I will pass.  Wasn’t long ago that I couldn’t, wouldn’t, say that.  I would fail miserably and drown away my feelings with an ice cold bud light.  I thank God daily, that doesn’t come to me as an option.

I will always come back to HIM.  Without HIM I’m nothing.

I’m here.  I’m reading you guys’ and gals’ blogs.  I’m just being quiet.  I’m not the me I was not so long ago.  I’m not really liking me.  This me.  Hopefully, sometime this month I can get back to some kind of normalcy.  I go to the pain management Dr.  Maybe he can do something to get me off this mess for a while.

Until then, you are welcome to hang around.  Not sure for what.  Just, take this post as an apology for Scott not being here

Because of HIM

SC

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. – Mathew 5:16

As my son and I traveled back from Talladega on Sunday, there wasn’t a lot to do except just notice things.  Somethingin particular caught my eye and I had an A-HA moment.

I’m guessing it’s a state law in Alabama to have your headlights on while driving if it is raining outside, regardless of the time of day.  No, it didn’t rain on us unless you count the huge bugs that covered my windshield.  It might as well have been raining, but I digress.  The reason I say it must be a law is because of one particular road sign that I saw:

“Lights On When Raining”

I guess to some that should seem fairly obvious.  It is a bit safer to have the lights on so that others in front and behind can see your vehicle better when it’s raining.  Some/most vehicles any more even have daytime running lights that are always on.  I say always, I think they may go off when it gets dark, but are replaced with the normal headlights.

So, this sign got me thinking.  It wasn’t long until I had come up with my own sign that I am supposed to have visible at all times:

“Lights On When Reigning”

As a Christian as I drive through this world, make that ride through this world, I’m responsible for letting my light shine.  I’m always wanting God to be reigning over me so I’m given the responsibility to have my light on all the time, for safety. This light is not the daytime running light, this light is the same light all the time.

It helps you when my lights are on to see me better during your time of darkness.  Just like we sometimes judge our travels by the taillights of the vehicle in front of us, if my Christian light is on, you can follow me and be assured of a safe travel through this life, on to the final destination.

Here is my issue.  I have a light switch for my Christian light.  I sometimes turn this light off and do whatever I was wanting to do.  When I’m finished, I just turn the light back on. I don’t know who is following me, who is behind me, but I know someone is.  Someone is counting on me, my example, to follow and get them through this world and on to Heaven.  When I suddenly turn that light off, those following are in danger of a serious accident.

It’s a tough lesson to learn. I’m still trying to learn it.  God is always reigning. I always need to have my light on, for your convienence.

Because of HIM

SC

UPDATE: When I use the term “Follow me” I mean it as Paul meant it in 1 Cor 11:1:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.