Monday, April 30, 2007
One of our team members is quite the woodsman and the hiker, you know. And one foggy Saturday morning, he volunteered to lead a group of men who wanted to go hike to this distinctive rock formation called Hawksbill Crag. He had the book on the trails in that area; a book written by the man considered the expert. My friend kept consulting the book as they went along, pretty confident that they would soon end up at Hawksbill Crag. They ended up lost in a poison ivy patch, and the fog wasn't helping much. As they tried to retrace their steps, they passed a house set back in the woods and they happened to see its owner outside. My friend called to him and asked him if he would help them get "un-lost." That man went above and beyond. He actually came to where they were, helped them make sense of the map that they had, and pointed them right to the trail that got them to their goal. Of course, it turns out he was the man who wrote the book.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Can't Find the Trail."
Those men finally found the trail they needed to be on from the person who knew the trail best. There's not one of us who doesn't need that same kind of direction for our life! Most of us have lived long enough to have already tried several trails that looked good to us, that we were sure would lead us to the meaning we were looking for, and to the love we were looking for, and to the inner freedom and peace we've always wanted. But so far, no trail has led us there. We're lost. In fact, some of us have found ourselves standing in poison ivy rather than looking at the beautiful view we had hoped for.
But all the dead-end trails you've tried, all the fog, all the disappointments have been preparing you to meet the person who knows the trail better than anyone else. And He has our word for today from the Word of God. It's Jesus, of course, and we're reading His words in John 8:12. "Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" Jesus is offering here a relationship with Him that opens up that awesome possibility of being led by the very person who designed us in the first place.
So you don't have to "walk in darkness" any more. The problem is that we've all, as the Bible says, "...gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way" ( Isaiah 53:6). We're lost. We're wondering which way is the right way because we've consistently chosen to go our own way instead of going God's way. That's what the Bible calls sin. And we were never meant to blaze our own trail. There's a trail you were made for. But following our own trail has left behind us a trail of brokenness, guilt, restlessness, and scars. And ultimately our trail leads right over a cliff into an eternity without God and without hope.
But Jesus left His home in heaven to come where we are to actually give His life to pay for every wrong thing we have ever done. And today He is saying to you, "Will you follow Me from this point on? I'll forgive your sin, I'll come into your life, and I'll lead you on the trail that you were created for." You'll have to resign from being your own guide; from depending on your religion to get you to heaven, and tell Jesus, "I'm Yours, Lord. You died for me. You've got me."
It may be that you're tired of wandering and feeling lost - off the right trail, and you're ready for the life you were made for. This is the day you can reach out to Jesus Christ, who will bring you into that very life that has your name on it. It begins when you say to Him, "I'm Yours." If you want to do that today, I would love to help you do that if you'll just go to our website. We've actually set up our website to really be there for you at a time like this to kind of point the trail to get started in a relationship with Jesus. That website is yoursforlife.net. Or you can call for the little booklet Yours For Life if you'll just call us toll free at 877-741-1200.
Don't walk any further down a trail that ultimately goes nowhere. You don't have to be lost one more day. With Jesus out in front from now on, you'll finally be able to find what you've been looking for for so long.