May 14, 2020January 5, 2024

Towards

by in From The Desk of Pastor Gene
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Towards 

I was recently driving in the Omaha area and needed to know what direction I was going. At first, I looked around for landmarks, the position of the sun and even signs but didn’t see anything that made me feel sure about my direction. I was in an area where I was unfamiliar so it was particularly difficult to determine my direction in this circumstance. And then I remembered that I had a directional gage in my dash display. It revealed that I was moving toward the South. Once I knew that I was moving toward the South, I knew I was going in the right direction. But I needed more specificity. And then it dawned on me, I also have an electronic mapping program on my center dash area. For that matter, I have mapping apps on my phone but I had it parked while I was driving for safety. In any case, I now had specificity that I was moving in the right direction and I was on the right road. As in life, it is important to know what or who you’re moving towards. You might be wondering, am I moving in the right direction? With that, am I even moving? Even more, how can I tell? All in all, you might be asking, what are the spiritual directional map and gage for my life so I know what or who I’m moving toward?

To answer the question about what or who you’re moving toward, take a look at 5 things.

  1. We need to start with looking at our spiritual directional map. That’s right. The Bible. Why? It helps us know the right direction and how to move toward it.
    2 TI 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
    HE 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
  1. And then we need to look at our spiritual directional gage. That can be none other than our heart. This tells the direction we are moving toward. In fact, this is what Jesus looks at:
    JER 12:3 But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you.
  1. It is also a good indication of the direction you are moving toward by where your eyes are fixed.
    PS 141:8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
    PS 25:15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
  1. It also helps you to continue to move in the right direction by setting spiritual goals to move towards. As Paul states in his letter to the church in Philippi, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
    PHP 3:12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
  1. And, let’s not forget, that there is danger if we are moving away, instead of toward where God wants us to be. Of course, we are to be “rich toward God” otherwise we are moving toward danger.
    LK 12:16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

So then, if you’re driving a vehicle, you can look at your gage panel in your dashboard to determine the direction you’re moving toward. But, if you’re trying to navigate life to determine the direction you’re progressing toward, first you need to look at the Bible, and then your heart, the focus of your eyes, your spiritual goals and lastly, test yourself to see whether you are “rich toward God.”

A Work in Progress,

Pastor Gene