June 14, 2022
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My children love roller coasters. They didn't get that from me. No, when my dad took me on the big "thrills and chills" coaster at our city amusement park, I needed counseling for years to come!
Of course, you don't have to buy a ticket these days to get a wild ride. No, just invest in the stock market for example. You know, plenty of ups and downs! And Wall Street's wild rides over the past few years. And they have only been a mirror of a world that seems to be off-the-charts financially. There's a lot of questions about credit rating and currencies, and interest rates, and housing bubbles. And, oh man! And, you know, sometimes they talk about like our future credit rating as a country may depend on how budget negotiations go in Washington. Well, in that case, hang on tight.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Get Off Life's Roller Coaster."
They even without all the mayhem in the economy, life still gets crazy. Sudden drops can come from a change in your family, or your job, or your health. We're always one email, one text, one call, one doctor visit, one conversation away from the bottom dropping out. I've been there when the "Code Blue" was someone close to me, when the baby with "problems" was one of ours, when the income suddenly went away, when the phone call came that changed everything.
But when the roller coaster was twisting and dropping violently, one thing kept me safe. The coaster was attached to the track. And the track wasn't moving.
Years ago, I chose to go out of the business of running my own life, which the Bible has a simple word for - "sin." See, I've been trying to let Jesus drive ever since. After all, the Bible says I was "created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16). So why would I not let Him run the life that He gave me to live for Him? See, He's the "track" that my crazy roller-coaster car is attached to.
Or, in the reassuring words of God's Book, the Bible, and our word for today from the Word of God, Hebrews 6:19 (I love this!) we have in Jesus "an anchor for the soul, firm and secure" Don't you want that? I mean, I know that my "daily bread" comes from a God whose stock never drops and whose resources are always infinite. I live in total security...hand-to-mouth - His hand to my mouth. I know that in the words of the Bible, "my times are in His hands" (Psalm 31:15) - not in the hands of a doctor or a disease. I don't need to fear for the people I love because, again the Bible says, "I know Whom I have believed and I am convinced He is able to guard what (or who) I have committed to Him" (2 Timothy 1:12).
See, you can survive the ride if your soul is anchored. And Jesus is that anchor, because He is, in the Bible's words, "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He loves you today as much as He did the day He bled for your sins on a cross. He's as powerful today as He was the day He blew away death at His now-empty tomb. And "nothing," the Bible says, "will ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).
Listen, if life for you has been a lot of drops and a lot of crazy twists and turns, and you're ready for the anchor you were made for, well then let this be the day you open up to Jesus. Take your life out of your hands. Put it into His. You'll notice there's nail prints in those hands. That's how much He loves you, to die for every wrong thing you've ever done against Him.
Because He's alive and walked out of His grave, He can walk into your life today. Tell Him, "Jesus, I'm Yours beginning today." I'd suggest you check out our website and get some more information on how this relationship works. Go to ANewStory.com.
See, you can't slow down a roller coaster, but you can make sure that you're attached to the track.