Daily Ornament

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

“God’s Amazing (G)race”
"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." – Proverbs 2:6

How many times do we encounter difficulties in this life and as we attempt to overcome that difficulty have we heard ourselves say, “There must be a better way…?” And most of the time we were right – only to discover that it was too late to do anything about it.
My wife and I have become addicted to watching the reality television show, “The Amazing Race.”© It consists of ten “teams” of two individuals literally racing around the world for a chance to win a million dollars. The first team to arrive at the appointed destination is deemed the winner of the race. One of the keys to the race is to arrive at each “Pit Stop” before the other teams. If you are the last team to arrive, most of the time you will hear the dreaded words from Phil Keoghan, the show’s host and moderator, “I’m sorry to say that you have been eliminated from the race.”
It is fascinating to watch what lengths these people will do and what they have to do to win the money. But more than that, how often it comes down to one poor decision made and how that decision can determine whether or not a team will continue racing or be eliminated at the end of the episode.
During each episode the teams come up against what is called a “Road Block.” A decision between attempting one of two tasks that the team must complete before they receive their next clue and continue “racing.” As a member of the television audience we are given the opportunity to see the pros and cons of each task – an advantage the teams do not have. The team must often make a snap decision as to which task they choose to complete. On a number of occasions, when one task proves to be too difficult a team will abandon the one they started and attempt to complete the other. It is typically at this juncture where for many the race is won or lost.
In this thing called “life,” we often encounter a number of “Road Blocks.” The only difference is we are not racing against others, and too often the choices we make have nothing to do with winning a race – but with making decisions that will directly affect our lives! The Old Testament provides us with two great “choice” verses…a reminder that each day we have a choice to make:
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” – Deuteronomy 30:19, 20
,br /> “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:14, 15

Solomon is telling us that God has the answers and will give us understanding when faced with life’s “choices.” And the best part is He will never “eliminate” us from this race of life – unless of course we choose to quit on our own. Choose His wisdom. Choose His life. Choose His grace. You’ll always be the winner.
Pastor J. T. Carnell.