1 Corinthians 12:14 – 20 (NIV) 14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12:24 – 28 (NIV) 24. . .But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
“Our goal is to field for our sponsors and fans competitive race cars on a consistent basis with the goal of winning races and championships. Our expectation is that we will be able to see in our growth and success, things that would have never been accomplished except by the direct intervention of God.” — Joe Gibbs Racing Mission Statement
Some time ago when I was living in Montana one of my friends, who owned a vintage Covette, fulfilled a lifelong dream of his one winter when he left town to spend a week in Daytona during their annual Speed Week. At that time he was the only person I knew who had an interest in Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip or others who are now gods in the pantheon of stock car racing.
And then I moved South.
In this ‘nother world, when I got to know all the people I was related to by marriage, I began to realize that most of them had a favorite stock car driver whose exploits on the track they followed passionately. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what they could possibly see in watching a bunch of guys bump into one another at 150 miles per hour while they were going around and around and around in circles! And I sure couldn’t understand why anyone would fly from Montana to Daytona in the midst of winter (even if there was a significant difference in climate) to watch this exercise in futility.
And then one fall afternoon I skipped work and went to Memphis Motorsports Park, paid my $5.00 to watch some of these guys practice for their race the next day. To me that was a safe investment, a lot cheaper than the $50 it cost to see the actual race.
I heard the roar. I smelled the fumes. I felt the shockwaves. I tasted the Pronto Pup. And I saw the multi-colored blur as they roared around and around. And that day I became a fan. Like everything else, it was more than I could take in from the TV. It had to be experienced to be appreciated. At the next family gathering I announced that I, too, had a favorite driver (Tony Stewart, in case you’re wondering)! The more I saw, the more I liked it.
In the seven years since my first experience at the racetrack, I have begun to think about why an otherwise sane person would experience this strange attraction to NASCAR-type racing and I have come up with some sort of explanation which is this — NASCAR is a picture of how life is lived!
Allow me to explain.
- As in life, in NASCAR everyone starts out with the same equipment. Even though the cars have different brand names on them, they must conform to a similar design. Before each race, each car goes through an inspection where every detail of the car’s design is measured against a standard set by the governing body.
- It takes a team to make that basic set of equipment to operate at peak efficiency. And so there are experts in aerodynamics, car suspension systms, and motors. There are similar systems in real life — pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists and apostles. All exercise their gifts so that I can accelerate toward the finish line.
- When a car breaks down or begins to wear out because of the stress on the track, another team comes around it quickly to replace and refuel what is spent, and to repair what can be repaired. Life tends to wear us out. We need a “pit crew” who can come alongside us at a moment’s notice who are concerned about keeping us going. My pit crew is those who know me at my church.
- In racing, you can take others out of the race by the way in which you bump into them. Or in some cases, your performance can be enhanced momentarily when someone bumps into you. It is seldom that someone wins a race in an immaculate car. You cannot live life without bumping into people. Some are out to hurt you. Some are there to motivate you. Forgive the former, heed the latter.
- The actual winner of the race, however, is determined by one person — the one at the controls of the car, the representative of all the team members who make it possible for that car to compete. To put that car and that driver on the racetrack is an incredibly expensive proposition. My Bible tells me that I have been bought with a price. It tells me that that there are clouds of witnesses watching me compete. And it tells me that how I finish my race reflects less on my ability and more on the skills of those who brought me to the racetrack.
- And in racing as well as in life there is an enemy of sorts who seeks to profit from the exploits and mistakes of those on the track. That one is the owner of the track. My Bible tells me that there is a god of this world who continues to exert a great amount of influence on the conditions of the race in which I must compete. The good news is that his influence is diminishing daily even though his mission remains to steal, kill and destroy.
This week Dover Motorsports Inc., the owner of Memphis Motorsports Park, announced that it was closing the facility, due to the economics of the times. I will miss the convenience of watching others compete for the prize in my backyard. But there are other places, more distant, where the competition takes place at a higher, more intense level. Perhaps that is where I need to go to learn more about how to excel in life.
Meanwhile I have my own race to run. Boogity, boogity, boogity, let’s go racin’ boys!
Posted by saltnlight4memphis
bought space on billboards drawing attention to God’s love for them. Some of us thought those billboards should be torn down. What we did not realize, however, was the dangerous precedent that such a move would set. The Constitutional provision that allows the church to function in our culture is the same protection given to all of those, regardless of whether they are in or out of God’s perfect will. God’s love for us is not diminished nor embellished by our spiritual condition!
Posted by saltnlight4memphis 

Posted by saltnlight4memphis 



Prayers went up to God for justice on the eighth anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington, DC, as intercessors gathered on the lawn of the Shelby County Courthouse. The time of intercession was part of Cry Out America, a program organized to call every county in America to pray for spiritual awakening.
Three world religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — all trace their theological doctine to the Old Testament account of the pre-existence of God, the Creator of the universe. That sliver of commonality would lead some to confidently say that they have full assurance of their eternal destiny because they believe in God. However James reminds us that nearly everyone who has ever pondered who they are and why they are here, has come to the same conclusion about the reality of God. James 2:19 (NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.