All American Speedway Chapel
October 9, 2021
“How to be Blessed & Be a Blessing ”
Bob Butcher
MRO Pastor/Chaplain to NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series West
7085 Battle Creek Road SE, Salem, OR 97317
Email: BobNKathy.MRO@gmail.com Cell: 503-910-9310
Doesn’t it seem like this nation and the world is getting crazier every day? Well, God’s Word bears it out clearly. That is why I love the book of Proverbs, and normally I take a month or two that has 31 days to read and ponder it during the year. Proverbs is rich with practical wisdom, warnings of what to avoid and how to handle our crazy life with all its trials, tribulations, and thrills. Try it for yourself.
In these days consider this from Proverbs 21:2: “Every way of a man seems right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs his heart.” Today it seems the same as in Judges 17:6 “In the days of the Judges there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes… or as they saw fit.” I look around and see from my Bible based news source that Proverbs 26:12 seems about right when it says: “See that man who thinks he’s so smart? You can expect far more from a fool than from him.”
These days we all need to step up our responses and how we treat each other, even in the heat of competition that we operate within at the race track. How about looking into the advice the Apostle Paul wrote to the church people at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:11-28: 11 Because of this, encourage the hearts of your fellow believers and support one another, just as you have already been doing.
12 Dear brothers and sisters, make sure that you show your deep appreciation for those who cherish you and have been given responsibility as ministers among you. (and Kathy & I most surely do with great love) For they are your leaders who care for you, teach you, and stand before the Lord on your behalf. 13 They value you with great love. Because of their service to you, let peace reign among yourselves.
14 We appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to:
- Get along among yourselves despite the setting you are in.
- Make sure that you are doing your part.
- Gently encourage and instruct those who are struggling or straggling behind.
- Be faithfulto stand your ground.
- Reach out to the weak and exhausted to help them to stand again.
- Be quick todemonstrate patience with everyone and attentive to their individual needs.
- 15 Resist revenge, and make sure that no one pays back evil in place of evil but always pursue doing what is good to one another and to all the unbelievers.
- Be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other.
- Look for the best in each other and do your best to bring it out.
- 16 Be cheerful no matter what happens and let joy be your continual feast.
- 17 Make your life a prayer.
- 18 And in the midst of everything be always giving God thanks no matter what, for this is God’s perfect plan for you who are in Christ Jesus to live.
- 19 Never restrain orput out the fire of the Holy Spirit.
- 20 And don’t be one who scorns a word from the Lord or His Prophet,
- 21 but also do not be gullible and be faithful to examine everything by putting it to the test, and afterward hold tightly to what has proven to be right
- 22 and throw out anything tainted with evil or twisted. Avoid every appearance of evil.
- 23 Now, may the God of peace and harmony set you apart, making you completely holy. And may your entire being—spirit, soul, and body—be kept completely flawless in the appearing of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.
- 24 The Lord Jesus who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete His work in you. If He said it, He will do it!
- 25 Now, beloved ones, please do not forget to pray for us also.
- 26 Greet every brother and sister with a holy embrace.
- 27 I solemnly plead with you before the Lord to make sure that every holy believer among you has the opportunity to hear this letter read to them. Do not leave anyone out
- 28 May grace from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!
One last word from the Lord for you. He set an example from His blessing of a man named Jabez (and for a good reason by his mother) in 1 Chronicles 4: 9-10. “And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying: “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and You would keep me from evil that I may not cause pain.” So, God granted him what he requested.”
The prayer of Jabez is asking for God’s blessings in your life leaving the nature of the blessing to God. God is faithful to grant us our needs when we ask Him with a sincere heart. He will deliver us from all harm when we trust in His willingness and ability to do so. He also will help us from causing pain to others around us and I think that is especially important to God. You see Jabez ask for the right things and God was pleased with him and blessed him for it. Jabez also was wholehearted and faithful to acceptance of God’s will in every area of his life no matter what, good or bad. Verse 9 clearly tells that he already had to live with a lifelong negative tag by what he was named meant.
You can do some more research into Jabez’s prayer and how it can affect you own life by praying it at this website and also order John Piper’s tiny booklet at:
Lastly, if you lived your life through the entire Christian music scene from generation to generation and love it all or certain types and generations of it like me then this movie is for you. It is out in the theaters now. It is worth your time and $$$. Also, K-Love.com likely still has free passes in your area.
https://www.klove.com/news/faith/the-jesus-music-movie-trailer-is-out-24131
or try the link below:
Bob & Kathy – MRO