Monday Morning Devotion-May 6, 2019

The GPS

Jesus told him: "I am the way, the truth and the life."  John 14: 6

            I'm not sure I could get to where I'm supposed to be going these days without a GPS.

Well, we could do it the old-fashioned way and use a map.  I think you can still get those from 

AAA.  But the problem with that is our country is growing so fast.  If you don't believe it you

 must not have been on a trip lately.  There is construction everywhere.  New roads are being built and old ones closed or diverted to a different direction. You could get lost even with a map.  Thank goodness for having a GPS in our car.

            Since we just entered the month of May, I was looking back through some past May-

Devotions and came across this devotion from May 16, 2011 called: "The GPS.'  Which means 

my GPS-dependence goes back at least eight years and probably longer.

            Anyway, the GPS Devotional idea originally came from a Children's Moment that Pastor Betsy shared with our kids in a Sunday Worship service at Good Samaritan UMC.  Here is that devotion:

            I listened to Pastor Betsy as she asked the little ones to begin the Children's Sermon: "How many of you know what a GPS is?"  They all raised their hands.  Kids are so smart these days.  It's scary.

            The Pastor asked them to explain and one girl ran with it.  She said it was a voice that told you when to turn left, when to turn right and when to go straight ahead.  Then the Pastor told her she was correct and simplified the whole thing by saying it is something that tells you which way to go.  Thus, she had neatly laid the foundation for her brief message, in a way that would stay with those children. She was able to explain to them that Jesus is the way we find directions in our life and that by following Him we will have a happy life.

           She did a better job of explaining all that than I just did, but it really is a good way to explain a simple truth.  It's one that has become even more important to me in recent days and one that is good for all Christians to review and think about often.

           The Lovely Susette and I have been doing a great deal of driving (that was then).  For some people it might not seem like much, but to us it was.  Twice, in a couple of weeks we took trips that involved a driving there-and-back in two days, kind of tiring.

           One thing these past trips made clear to us is that a GPS is an invaluable tool for the traveler.  OK let's get the fundamentals out of the way first, in case there are readers who haven't yet taken the plunge and gotten a GPS.

           GPS stands for "Global Positioning System" which is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites.  It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible by anyone with a GPS receiver." (from Wikipedia)

           Remember when we talked about things from outer space like they were some kind of fairy tale, concocted by folks with either a vivid imagination or too much idle time on their hands?  Stories about men from Mars or Space Invaders were just entertaining tales of fantasy.  Folks who said they had seen a flying saucer were greeted with skepticism and you just kinda wondered about them.   

           Those stories might still be fiction, but there is a lot of stuff floating around out there in space that didn't used to be there.  And these GPS satellites are up there circling the earth and providing valuable information.

            TLS and I have wondered how we ever traveled without a GPS and got to our destination.  Frankly, we did make a few wrong turns and ended up with some extended driving time in our pre-GPS days. 

            There is so much traffic on the highways these days.  There are many new roads that  used to  consequently, you run the risk of taking longer to get to your destination if you don't have GPS guidance.

           These days, even on trips that we have driven many times, we turn on the GPS, because even if we do know the route, the unit will keep us informed about such things as how many miles are left to travel, what the estimated arrival time is, and it helps you locate the nearest restaurants and gas stations.  

            If you are repeating a past trip you don't even have to re-enter the old information, it is still saved in the GPS and you just pull it up.  I'm sure there are fancy models that give even more information, but we got ours on sale and it just has the basics.  But, that works fine for us.

           The point that Pastor Betsy was making holds true for everyone.  You won't miss out if you  buy the basic model.  It is a universal GPS providing infallible directions, in all kinds of weather and not dissuaded or blocked by new construction, changing speed limits or anything.

           Our GPS is Jesus.  As He told his disciples and instructed them to spread the word He is "The way, the truth and the Light," and He added "No one can come to the Father except through me."

           That is timeless, irrefutable, take-it-to-the-heavenly-bank information.  Jesus shows us the way.  His way.  The best way.  The only way.

           If we think we are smarter than the GPS and decide to do it our way, disregarding the information we received, we will find out different.  Sure, sometimes we can dope out a little more convenient or expedient route than our GPS is trying to get us to take.

           But, with our Heavenly GPS, that is not the case. If after reading the Word, worshipping in church, praying and talking with other believers we still don't understand that, then it is very sad...even disastrous.

           Jesus said, "If you had known who I am, then you would have known who my Father is.  From now on you know Him and have seen Him!"

           Then, one of the disciples, Philip, asked Jesus "Lord show us the Father and we will be satisfied."

            Can't you picture Jesus sort of shaking his head a little before he answered Philip?  Like when we have gone into great detail to explain something to someone and then they ask a question that indicates they didn't get it or worse still they weren't paying attention.

           Jesus replies, "Philip, don't you yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with you.  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father "

           All Philip had to do was believe that Jesus was the way.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus is the way.  He's our GPS, only better.

Monday Prayer: Lord forgive us when we lose sight of the fact that you are the way and that, in the long run, is what really counts.  Amen!