Last month I found myself suffering for Jesus in Southern California (thankfully it was before the mammoth rain storm). I rented a car (made sure it wasn’t a mini-van) and bee-lined it to my conference in Redondo Beach. Once off the freeway, I quickly became smothered in traffic, sandwiched among busy streets, building, and neighborhoods that all looked the same. I had no idea which way to go! I looked at the map and couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. I longed for a compass so I could at least know which way I was heading! 

 

A Compass is a lifesaver!  Especially in unfamiliar territory. A compass provides you with a bearing – a reference point to help navigate you from one place to another. In life, we need a compass! Maps work to a point, but the world we live in keeps changing -- rendering maps obsolete. A compass, however, will always direct you to true north. Now the extraordinary compass I was hinting at -- is Jesus.  Jesus is our compass on a very hectic planet. Though the world around us will certainly change, our Lord Jesus promises to be a sure foundation, a rock, a compass that will not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). The Bible says (Heb. 13:8) Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can trust we are on solid ground with Jesus. He is our ageless compass in an aging, changing world that will always lead us to life!  He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

 

I arrived an hour late to the conference that day. I was disoriented, tired and hungry. The map I received with the rental car was pathetic. I needed a compass!  Next time I rent a car, I want a compass -- a GPS! I won’t even mind if it’s a minivan! Got a compass? Make sure it’s the real thing.  It’s not too late! You can get yourself one – His name is Jesus! Set your GPS to Horace Lutheran Church. See you Sunday.