Happy Monday!
I have a great deal of respect for the young man who wrote this. He was pastor of the church my mom and dad went to for many years. They loved him and loved his children like their own grandchildren.
Not many pastors affected my dad but Brother Jason did. He loved him and he really “heard” him. Brother Jason spoke at both mom and dad’s funerals. My family was honored and pleased, knowing how happy he made our parents.
How many opportunities have we had to see a sermon on the side of the road? Or maybe the coffee shop or even the gas station. We certainly need one there these days!
This reminds me to look around. Be aware of all the opportunities, whether it is to help someone or, maybe, see a sermon.
Pray Unceasingly!!
Lois
Sermon on the Side of the Road
Psalm 46:1-3
Faith Chapel Free Will Baptist Church
Pastor Jason Roberts
I recently saw a sermon. I didn’t hear the sermon, but I saw it…
I was driving North on Jan Howard Expressway, it was pouring rain, and there was a man walking on the side of the road. At this point, you are probably thinking that the next thing you’ll read is how I generously stopped and picked the man up. Well, that would be very nice of you to think that, but that’s not what happened.
Actually, the man had an umbrella. But what caught my eye was that the man wasn’t using the umbrella. It was fully opened, forming a nice little dome that could have been protecting him from the rain, but rather than holding it over his head, he was holding it at his side. I thought that strange, and long after I had passed, I looked back in my rear-view mirror and still, he was carrying the umbrella at his side. It was pouring rain and the umbrella was at his side.
And there it was… a sermon on the side of the road. I thought how ridiculous it was that the man had the very thing he needed to protect him and rather than using it, he carried it at his side. But then, my thoughts turned inward. I thought of how ridiculous it is that we sometimes do the same thing, facing the obstacles and storms of life with the resources that God has given us carried at our side rather than utilizing them.
I’m confident that everyone reading this has a BIBLE in their home. In fact, most of us now have a Bible app on our phone. So, literally, we have God’s Word at our side, or at least close by. Yet, we often try to find the answers elsewhere and attempt to face life’s challenges without it. It’s as if we are standing in the pouring rain with our King James umbrella ignored at our side.
And how about PRAYER? We have the privilege and invite to call upon God at anytime from anywhere. I promise you, there is power in prayer, and yet, we carry it silently at our side when we should be crying out to a God that is able to help us!
And the HOLY SPIRIT. As Jesus was going away, he promised to leave us a helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s role in our lives is to give peace, comfort, joy, strength, guidance, etc. I know that every believer has the Holy Spirit within them, but I think we sometimes take the Holy Spirit out of our heart and place it in our pocket. “If I get to the place that I can’t handle it on my own, I’ll pull the ol’ Comforter out of my pocket.” Why? Why wait? We need this Helper every day, every hour. It’s okay to use the umbrella.
GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Ps. 46:1). He is near. Please hear this… tragedy doesn’t mean the absence of God. That’s not to say He caused it, but it certainly doesn’t mean He is gone! If it is raining on you now, look in your hand. See that? It’s the umbrella God has given you for such a time as this. Open it up. Lift it up. Use it up. That’s why it is there.
Thank you ridiculous man on the side of the road. I needed the reminder.