Like a puppy on the freeway

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “A fresh start in a new year”

Our Bible verse for today: “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Like a puppy on the freeway”

In addition to writing daily devotional messages, I also read devotionals written by others. Currently I have three that I read every day. One is by a fellow daily writer who has a blog on one of the websites that my devotional appears each day (WordPress). Another is a devotional for pastors called “Apples of Gold.” It was given to me as a gift from some friends and I’m being blessed by it. It is deep and rich; insightful and helpful.

The other devotional I’m using each day this year is called “Restoration Year” by John Eldredge. It’s for people who are trying to pick up the pieces and put their lives back together after some kind of a tragic loss (such as the death of a loved one). In one of those devotionals, John was writing about the importance of being thoughtful and intentional about how we approach life – especially about how we approach the subject of healing and restoration.

Eldredge refers to Jesus’ illustration in Matthew 10:16 about being like sheep among wolves. He notes that few of us in the modern world have ever spent time caring for sheep, and most of us have never encountered a wolf in the wild. Therefore, Jesus’ illustration about how dangerous our world is, isn’t easily transferable to the world we live in.

So, substitute the picture of sheep among wolves for puppies on a freeway. That’s how dangerous life is for those who are unprepared to deal with it. In Matthew 10:16 Jesus warned us that we are not to be uniformed and naïve about the challenges and dangers we will face each day as we live in this world. Instead, we are to be alert and wise; intentional and smart (as shrewd as serpents).

If you are just casually meandering through life, clueless and without direction, you will be like a sheep among wolves (you will get eaten up), or, like a puppy on a freeway (you will get runover by life). This is one of the reasons we are spending so much time here at the beginning of the new year thinking about purpose, plans, and resolutions.

Don’t be like a puppy on the freeway of life, because you will get run over. Another way of putting it is don’t just do life and don’t just let life happen to you. Be alert; be smart; and be intentional.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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