A group of old-timers spent Friday morning socializing and remembering the past on a picnic table at James Park in Russellville. Then, around 9 a.m., a yellow school bus from Danville picked them up to drive them to Morrilton – just like it used to be in the 1950s. Read more

Yes, it is late July, but it has been anything but typical as we have seen one of the coolest springs on record, followed by some intense heat… Read more

1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

I had a very interesting experience I feel compelled to share. I ride a Harley Davidson motorcycle and have had oil for a change in my shop for some time. Finally yesterday the decision was made to change the crankcase and transmission oil.

I gathered up the tools needed for the job and rode the bike around the block to warm the oil to begin the operation. Before the first drain plug was loosened, I remembered, I needed an oil filter.

So, I go into the house, put on my finest dress t-shirt and tell Margie, “I’m going to Ron’s Cycle Shop in Dunnellon to get an oil filter for the Harley.”

Most visitors to Florida have no idea how many back roads are here and back roads mean short-cuts. To go to Dunnellon from home is mostly that type of road, and a short ride of about three miles on U.S. 41 completes the trip.

When I pulled onto the highway I noticed a vibration I had not felt before. Many Florida roads haven’t been re-paved in many years because we have no winter weather to destroy them. Instead, the roads may develop ripples and other irregularities. I assumed the vibration was the road and not the bike, so I mostly ignored it.

After riding on into town to run a few other errands, through several stop lights and heavier than usual traffic, I stopped by the cycle shop on the way out of town to pick up the oil filter. Riding another fifteen miles to get home, I began the process of changing the oils.

Once the oils and filter were removed and replaced, I had to ride to be sure all the dash lights went out and the bikes systems were functioning properly.

After backing the bike out of the garage onto the concrete I noticed the bracket on the bottom of the front right fork was loose: that bracket secures the front axle. Instantly, I knew what the vibration was I had felt while riding on Highway 41. Upon examination of the loosened nut (the other completely gone), it became apparent the bracket was ready to fall off. The stud on the bottom of the fork was a standard 5/16” x 18 TPI (threads per inch). I had another nut in my junk box to fit it.

Had the axle failed on the highway, my head could have very easily ended up in the grill of a Mack truck. When I came to fully realize what could have happened, I was very thankful for my belief in Christ Jesus crucified and resurrected. There is great comfort in knowing another life awaits (Acts 4: 12).

The question I have asked many times and am asking again, “Why is God protecting me?” Possibly, someone reading this may ask the same question about themselves.

Several of the Youtube videos I have posted have focused on “God’s plan coming together.” We’ve seen throughout Jewish history, He has protected as well as punished the Jews. We know God has a plan and a purpose. He has His reason for everything that happens to us and the world.

In the study of Genesis and Exodus we see His purpose for the many unexplained events as the story evolved over a five-hundred year period of time. From Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to the exodus from Egypt by the Hebrew people, we’ve seen a progression or evolving of incidents, some lasting hundreds of years.

Many of us may think, “There’s nothing special about me so why is God protecting me? Why does my life’s direction seem at times to be out of my control? Am I not in charge of my life?”

I have come to believe, God is in complete control of everything that happens. Why did the axle not fall out of the Harley? Why am I alive today? Does God have a plan that I’m not aware of and may never know?

If one believes we were created by God (Genesis 1: 27), who was, and is actually Jesus Christ (John 1: 3, Colossians 1: 16), why would anyone doubt that our Creator has a design for our lives?

You are special beyond your own imagination. As a child of King Jesus, you have a place in His world and His work you may not yet realize or understand. Even in my old age, I find every day to be special and start out with a prayer question; “Okay, God, what are we going to do today?”

Proverbs 16: 3, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy plans shall be established.” This scripture written by Solomon nearly three-thousand years ago is just as much in effect today as it was then.

Another prayer that seems appropriate is “Thank you God for using me and allowing me to serve you and thank you for what you’re going to do in my life today.” He will use us for His amazing work and will guide our actions.

I have also come to believe God will, at times, let us fall in order to lift us up. He demonstrates His awesome power in many ways and one of those is to recover the fallen and disheartened. I have gone through ordeals in life when I simply had to pray and say, “Okay God, this is yours to handle for me. I cannot.”

I find Exodus 4: 10-11, some of the most thought provoking words in the Bible. “And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”

God wants our availability and not necessarily our ability. As He gave Moses the words to say to Pharaoh, He will give you and me the words to say as well. Luke 12: 12 “For the holy spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”

If you are a believer-follower of Christ Jesus, you have a design and a purpose. If you’ve ever wondered why God is taking such good care of you, now you know!

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