June 12, 2012
| From Pastor Roger - My Way or the highway? It is hard to imagine what our lives would be like without the Interstate freeway system. Well, maybe during rush hour traffic, it wouldn't seem like such a bad idea to go back to a time before freeways. But, for the most part, the US freeway system allows us to have a quality of life that surpasses most others. Pretty much everything we eat, drink, wear, watch, listen to — every aspect of our lives, comes to us through a freeway. As of 2010, the total length of the US Interstate system is 47,182 miles, built over 35 years, at an estimated cost of $425 billion. Richard Weingroff, in "The Genie in the Bottle: The Interstate Syste and Urban Problems," calls it the the "largest public works program since the Pyramids." Some people have to drive a long ways to reach an interstate. We have it pretty easy here. Our church sits about 2 miles from an entrance to either Interstate 5 or 205. About 6 miles away, we can jump onto Interstate 84 and, with a merge here and there, drive all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Or, we can stay on Interstate 5 and go south to Mexico or north to Canada. If you have any question about how to get where you want to go, you could fall back on the trusty Rand McNally Atlas, or program your GPS or smart phone. With all of these highways, easy access, GPS, maps and SIRI, why are we so lost? Could it be that we're reading the wrong maps? Listening to the wrong voices? There's a road in the old city of Jerusalem called the Via Dolorosa. The translation from Latin means "Way of Grief" or "Way of Suffering." You probably know it as the title of a song. Christian pilgrims come from the world over to walk this famous road. The current route has been pretty much the same since the 18th century. Is it really the road Jesus traveled on the way to Calvary? Who knows. And really, does it matter? We like these roads we can see. We can get our minds around something tangible, like the Via Dolorosa. Like the Interstate system. In one of the favorite texts of Adventists, John 14:1-3, Jesus says He is going to prepare a place for us. It's a beautiful promise, but it's not the first time He talked about preparing a place for His people. Way back in the time of Moses, God said, "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared." Ex. 23:20 NIV (italics supplied) How do we find the way? We have our answer in John 14:6 "… I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Are you on His Way or the highway? | What's happening >June 23, 7:30pm, King's Heralds
Future events: THIS WEEK
Wednesday, June 13 Friday, June 15
NEXT WEEK Monday, June 18
Wednesday, June 20 6:30pm CHIP Alumni 7:00pm CAA Board Friday, June 22 What difference can forty days make? A lot, if you are praying, says Dennis Smith, author of the "40 Days" books. The Oregon Conference invites you to join us on a forty day spiritual journey that will change your life leading up to the first evening of Gladstone Camp Meeting. Here is what to do: |
