Roll Me Away!

"Took a look down a west-bound road,
and right away I made my choice,
Headed out to my big two-wheeler, 
I was tired of my own voice,
took a bead on those Northern Plains 
and just rolled that power on." 

- Bob Seger, "Roll Me Away"

Okay, I admit it. Over the past two months, I have come to understand the fascination with motorcycles that so many of my friends and family members have... freedom! Maybe it's the amount of time I spend at work, maybe it's summer and I have a house full of kids, or maybe I just need a real vacation... whatever the reason, I have found myself in a never ending Southwest Airlines commercial... "Wanna get away?"

I have friends who have itinerant ministries... they travel from place to place, from church to church, holding revival meetings, VBS events, camps, etc. What a life, huh? Be able to travel the U.S., or even the world, working for the Lord and having one big adventure. (Truth be told, they'd probably tell you it's not all it's cracked up to be.)

Meanwhile, every scripture I read, every radio sermon I hear, every conversation I have, seems to remind me of one fundamental fact... God is not finished with me in Brownwood... I am to stay right here, and honor my commitment to Him, and allow Him to work through me and Grace Pointe to minister to the people of Brownwood... oh, look at how pretty that sun looks setting behind Bangs Hill... maybe I'll just take a drive...

Basically, I just need to get my mind back on my business.

Romans 14:23 says "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Anything you do that is in disobedience to God, or that even disregards God, is a sin.

In this case, my sin is not being thankful for the blessings God has given me, and not being thankful for the things that He has done in Brownwood. Further, my sin is not completely trusting Him to bring Grace Pointe to a point where she is self-supporting... not trusting Him with the results... not trusting Him to bless His own work. There have also been times I have failed to recognize His hand in Grace Pointe's successes. I could confess more, but my father once told me that inner-most thoughts are called that for a reason, and many times, it's best that they stay that way. (Not exactly canonized scripture, but Dad does have a point every now and then).

I share this to warn you. Temptation doesn't always come in the form of an enticement to commit an act of immorality... it's not always an enticement toward sexual sin, greed, anger, theft or even murder. Sometimes, Satan tempts us by luring us into disobeying what God has called us to do with our lives.

When Satan tempted Jesus, he tempted the Lord to do three things. (1) Make the stones into bread. (2) Jump off the pinnacle of the temple to see if the angels would catch Him, and (3) to bow down and worship Satan. Each of these three temptations would have derailed God's plan of Salvation through the Gospel. Nevertheless, in Christ was no sin, and the Lord stayed obedient to the plan.

In the same way, Satan often tempts us to stray from what God wants us to do. If we fall for that temptation, we can derail our lives and miss God's blessings. To fall for this temptation is just as much of a sin as if you had fallen into immorality. Remember, after you are saved, the most Satan can do is destroy your testimony and render you useless in this life. If he can't get you to fall into immorality, he'll get you to do something that will silence your voice for the Lord. Be on guard.