Woke up at 3:00 AM the other day. Couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned, as a powerful message came to my heart. The next day, I put it on paper, preached it at church, and the response was overwhelming.
When I lived in Alaska, I went hunting with a native man who had lived there all of his life. Before going, I went to the store in our village to buy a few things. Ralph showed up at the church, we jumped in my rig, and headed out to the pristine wilderness of the Great North. It was early winter, quite cold, and the day was about half over.
We drove several miles into the bush, parked, grabbed our rifles and climbed out of my truck to prepare for our hike. Before leaving, I pulled from my pocket a small compass I had just purchased for a couple of bucks. I took a "bearing", and we set out to find some game. After a few hours of toiling in the woods, we both realized it was getting late.
We also noticed, cloud cover had fallen on us, and the light of the sun was virtually gone. The mountains had been sucked away by this omionus presence, stillness and solitude taking hold of our breath. I looked at Ralph, this man of experience, and he said "that way". As we trudged further and further into this "no mans land", I pulled out my compass. I told Ralph after he seemed confused, "This way". He looked at me and said, "No, this way".
After a few minutes of dispute, I convinced him to trust my "reading". After much time had passed, I could tell Ralph was worried, and so was I. Then, as the misty ghost of my rig appeared in the clearing ahead, the sigh of relief hammered both of us. Without that compass, we would have been lost, on an island in the cold north.
The key to our rescue was the bearing, not the compass. A compass is useless without a magnetic north.
God placed in all of us a "Compass". There is a hunger, a desire, a will to find Him. The key is, we need "Magnetic North". Without it, we will be lost, drifting in world that is cold and dark.
As I prayed about this, the Lord impressed upon me something profound. God's Word has a "Magetic North". If we don't realize this, the outcome will be horrific. We will contaminate, pollute and create a religion that will lead people to total doom and defeat. Joy will be lost to LAW, RULES, and every other foul premenition known to false religion. Love will turn to dictatorship. Our tongues will run wild with hate. We will carry on, digging ourselves further into the pit of "works" and the "penance" of no return, all because we failed to take a reading. The crazy thing is, we can almost feel like we need to die on that tree because our heart is fixed on our own ability!
Looking at the Scripture as a whole, the main theme, without question, is Calvary. The entire Bible revolves around this event. It is the central, prominent focus that must never be lost.
The Cross is where healings take place, graves are opened, thieves are forgiven, soilders are converted, sins are covered, veils are rent in two, where LAWS of old are confounded, and where the Lord said himself, "It is Finished". The compass of our heart must take this bearing before we are able to do anything further for His Kingdom. If the Cross is no longer our focul point, we will corrupt the very foundation of all we believe.
I told the Church, the price has been paid! You are white as snow! Quit trying to earn your way to Heaven, because He has already done it for you! You could do every good deed known to man, but without the Cross, you are done for! When we go before this place of ultimate sacrafice, we will see God's love in all it's glory. This is why Paul kept trying to get the Churches to see his burden!
He said in I Corinthians: For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
If you are reading this and you are confused, I want you to take a deep breath, grab your Bible, and go to Calvary. Friend, He's done it all! He's paid the price! He will be your Advocate, and He will pardon your sin! As far as the east is from the west, God will remember them no more! His mercy is waiting, just for you!
When this "Bearing" is taken, and Faith gets ahold of your heart, He will do the Work you could never do!
God Bless, NFS
Oh yeah, Ralph did go buy a compass. Told me he would never hunt without it!
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