COLORADO NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAPEL MESSAGE
JULY 31, 2021
“One Nation Under God…”
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
Last Tuesday night Kathy and I attended our home church Elder’s meeting discussing our congregation, our ministries we operate as we seek to bring the Gospel (the good news of Jesus Christ sent from God) and the needs we see all around us today here in Salem, Oregon. It was quite emotional, stressful, exhausting, and yet rewarding as we have seen so much fruit in our labor. We all see how badly our America is divided, suffering, hungry for answers, full of questions and getting no answers one can trust from our government, news media, or in so many cases even the church!
At one point my friend Jimmy read the lyrics from an old Beatles song that rang true today but sadly also missed the truth to the correct answer for the problems within the band. A year later in 1970 the band was broken up. Here it is. Us older generation probably remember this.
“The Long And Winding Road”
(by Paul McCartney in January 1969)
The long and winding road, that leads, to your door
Will never disappear, I’ve seen that road before
It always leads me here, lead me to your door
The wild and windy night, that the rain, washed away
Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day
Why leave me standing here, let me know the way
Many times I’ve been alone, and many times I’ve cried
Any way you’ll never know, the many ways I’ve tried
And still they lead me back, to the long winding road
You left me standing here a long long time ago
Don’t leave me waiting here, lead me to your door
But still they lead me back to the long winding road
You left me standing here, a long long time ago
Don’t keep me waiting here (Don’t keep me waiting), lead me to your door
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
America is today in the same boat. Actually, most of the world is too. Between the government, the medical issues changing daily, masks, or no mask, vaccines or not, the news media, the states, the schools, and on and on, … there simply is no agreement or willingness to even try to work things out. Everyone is at each other’s throat. Marriages being walked out of, families split, crime rising. We have Cancel Culture, Critical Race Theory, all kinds of Progressive Thinking, Socialism, Marxism, Communism and the extremely funded radical groups behind them out to change America and re-write history their way. I see good people act and react and say things I would never expect to come out of them. We see it, work in it, even race in it, and feel pressured to go along with it. Even large businesses and corporations are being pressured to adapt to it. Lets’ face it, it seems hopeless. But, let me say its NOT. There is an answer being missed. Yep, you know me. The Pastor in me is showing already, isn’t it!
Jesus said it point blank “I AM THE Way, and THE Truth and THE Life. No one comes to Father God except through Me.” (John 14:6) Christians are most often criticized and called racist for claiming Jesus is the ONLY way to God. But, Jesus ALSO said that He WAS the TRUTH just as pointedly. Then He locks it all in place when He says that HE is THE SOURCE of LIFE. Then Jesus follow it all up in verse 7 by saying He IS GOD. “If you really know ME, you will know My Father as well. From now on you Do know Him and HAVE seen Him.”
You see this is exactly WHY I urge people, especially if they say that they are a Christian, to not listen to new media today or all the stuff flying around like that divisive stuff above. We ALL have to hold everything being said up to the test of God’s word, …Scripture. “but EXAMINE and TEST everything that is said. Hold tightly to what is GOOD. (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Simply said: IF what is said leads us to Jesus and point us to agreement with scripture and let me even say this: IF it stands by our US Constitution and Bill of Rights then okay, because they are Biblically based in the first place.
This is exactly WHY I constantly urge and tell people to skip the biased main stream media today and go to the strong Christian news programs like VICTORY NEWS (twice daily) and FLASH POINT (Tuesday & Thursday evenings) on GOVICTORY.COM. There are also 700 Club news, NTD News, and a few others. But Victory News and Flash Point, and 700 club are strong Christian based and have to stand before God on EVERYTHING they say.
I believe there is a great awakening coming soon. I believe God is moving things in place to turn our America back to Him as He originally planned it to be and lead people to doing things the right, honest, loving, kind way and with integrity setting an example for the world.