Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Guide

Since writing this more than seven years ago, I have succumbed and now am the happy owner of a GARMIN! This is from July 16, 2009.

On Sunday night, I accompanied Scott and Karen to their small group worship at a home of their friends with Scott arriving in his pickup truck, coming from a deacons' meeting. Riding home with Karen, I became intrigued with their Magellan GPS system. Karen explained that you type in your destination address and the Magellan leads the driver along the path with voice commands. It dings before you are supposed to turn and if you miss your street, it reprograms your route from that spot. It's powered by a series of satellites and a mathematical concept called trilateration, which calculates the position of any activated receiver on earth. The system is also affordable, coming in at about $100. If you know me, you understand that one of my endearing qualities is the ability to become lost between any potential points A and B. I've graduated from the old folding state-by-state maps and road atlases to the much more specific mapblast and mapquest. The problem with printed step-by-step Internet directions is that you have to read them when driving, which is complicated further with the onset of darkness. Technology is not my strength but even I could probably handle the instructions for using a GPS system. There's only one obstacle delaying my venture into the satellite directional universe- $100 plus tax.

Do you ever wonder where you are going in life? I woke up at 4:00 this morning (I am sleeping at Dave and Sally's) and pondered where my life is heading. I'm positive that I'm not the only searcher in that phase of existence. Fortunately, we are not left without a sense of spiritual direction as we navigate life's highway. David writes in Psalm 23:3 that,
"He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
In Psalm 119:105, the value of God's teachings is extolled:
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." 
Jesus assures his apostles, and us, with the wonderful promise of the Holy Spirit. At the end of His ministry, the Savior comforts his inner circle in John 16:13 with this thought:
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."
I need that sense of direction in my life. Getting lost in my Toyota is one thing. Getting lost on the path that determines my eternal destination is quite another. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, taught the importance of having the correct course plotted for our lives. The Master preached, in Matthew 7:14, that, 
"small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." 
Like I said, I get lost easily but that's one turn I can't afford to miss. I need the spiritual ding ding dings!

Applicable quote of the day:
"Most versed in nautical charts, he (Magellan) knew better than any other the true art of navigation, of which it is certain proof that he by his genius, and his intrepidity, without anyone having given him the example, how to attempt the circuit of the globe which he had almost completed... The glory of Magellan will survive him."

Antonio Pigafetta

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com

1 comment:

Sherry Ann said...

GPS = God's Perfect Satellite. :))))) great post once again Coach. Way to go!