WHERE ARE YOU GOING, MR. BLACK BEAR?

The poor little guy looked lost. He wandered through my backyard even as I was preparing to send off this Blogpost. He searched through the wild blackberry patch to no avail, as I had beaten him to the ripe ones. Looking forlorn, he trudged through the woods. Besides looking for ripe berries, he probably was looking for his mama. He’s too young, too small to be out on his own. God bless the little bear.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES by Sally Bair

Road Maps

I get lost easily. When I'm riding in a vehicle, I don't pay much attention to landmarks and when I'm driving, I'm not much better. I’ve tried using a GPS, but find it cumbersome, sometimes inaccurate, and downright frustrating. Map reading works best for me.

The first time my husband Don and I drove to look at our East Texas property, I was glad we had a map to guide our way. Without it, we surely would have ended in someone’s pasture. Each turn brought us to a narrower road until the last one was barely wider than a logging trail. Our detailed map didn’t let us down, though our journey seemed to point to failure. Without the map, we would never have found the place—nor believed it even existed, being so far from paved roads.

Road maps are good—to a point. But maps don’t tell us where a road is closed due to accident or flood or bad weather. They don’t show us the potholes, or the road signs that have been turned around.

Studying the Word of God is like studying a map. To learn how to travel on our spiritual journey, we need to read the whole book, yet concentrate on an area at a time so we can understand exactly where we need to go. As we study each section, we can see how it fits into the whole picture. The Gospel of John, for instance, points to our starting point as recorded in Genesis, our eternal destination, and exactly how to get there. And when we ask, the Holy Spirit—our supernatural GPS—will give us revelation and guidance on each aspect of our life-journey. 

Many Scripture verses have something to say about God’s guidance. Psalm 48:14 is one of my favorites. "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end." In Matthew 18:10-14, the parable about the lost sheep brings to mind the personal care that Christ has for each of us – the joy He receives when even a lost one of us is lost.

We don’t have to lose our way. When we follow God’s roadmap—His Word—we can be assured to reach the destination He has in mind for us. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

Lord, through Your Word, show us when we’ve gone the wrong way morally and how we can get back on the right path with You. We thank You for being our Guide. In Jesus’ name, amen.