Pay Attention to Your Dash Lights!
We're excited to welcome Dave MacLean to KGF on Sunday February 21st to bring a message of "power"! Dave has been a friend and mentor of mine for several years, and I know you'll enjoy him. One of the things Dave has been doing these days is writing short email devotionals for men. You can find them all at www.wholeheartedmen.ca, but I've included one below on the importance of warning lights. Take a read! Pastor Mike Penninga
Any of us who drive a vehicle know what dash warning lights are - they are those little lights that come on to let us know that something is wrong. You know, "seat belt", "oil", "temp", "engine service", "high beams", "door open", etc. It can be annoying if your "engine service" light stays on and you have no idea what it means, but we need to realize that it represents something bigger that's going on under the hood. If we don't pay attention to our dash lights we can run into some pretty big issues.
Back in university I drove a 1964, 4-door Valiant - 225 straight six with a push button transmission. Great old car that served me very well. One day, going to work over the Second Narrows Bridge in Vancouver, my oil light came on. I didn't think too much about it at that moment. However, I was forced to think about it a little later on when my engine seized! Apparently a seal blew in the block and my oil was spewing out at a rate that required a very fast response from me to save my engine. I didn't pay attention to the warning light, so I paid the price and suffered the consequences.
Some of you are ignoring your dash warning lights too. "Anger", "sorrow", "hopelessness", "impatience", "despair", "loneliness", "fear", etc. can all be warning lights of the heart to let you know that something deeper is going on that needs to be addressed. Don't ignore them. Ask The Master Mechanic - Jesus - to show you what is going on under your hood and give Him permission to get out the spiritual socket set and do some work. Emotions are key dash lights to help us know what is going on in our engine - our heart. Don't get fixated on the dash light, recognize that it is simply an indication of something deeper that needs to be addressed. Some of the fixes are quick and easy - perhaps like a need for rest. Some are far more complicated and require a lot of time - perhaps like a need for counseling and inner healing. Accept the invitation of the Master Mechanic to do some work on your heart. We know that if our vehicle needs work done to it we would find the resources from somewhere to cover the cost of the repair to ensure it's running smoothly. However, when it comes to matters of the heart we tend to drive through life not firing on all cylinders and perhaps being unwilling to pay the price of the repair - surrendering to Master Mechanic.
Whatever the case, pay attention to your dash lights and let the Master Mechanic do His work.
I Thessalonians 5:6
"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled."