The Kreider Connection
Racers For Christ
April, 2010 Newsletter
Forgiveness is a word we often struggle with. Sometimes we struggle with forgiving others who mistreated us in various ways. There are times when we bury unforgiveness to the point that it’s hard to dig it back up and deal with it. Then there are times we need to apologize to the ones we ourselves have wronged. If we are fortunate, that can happen quickly. The difficulty comes when we have trouble asking for forgiveness or if forgiveness is refused. Unforgiving issues can drag us down like lugging a heavy weight on our shoulders.
This month is a good time to once again view the perfect example of forgiveness: Jesus himself. Jesus knew what the task at hand was. He struggled with it in the garden (Luke 22:39-46), but He was always willing to do what He had to so we could be forgiven of our sin and conquer death. When we think forgiveness is tough for us, all we need to do is look at the price Jesus paid for us.
If we think what we have done is too big for God to forgive or we have messed up too often, just look who Jesus reached out to: Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), the woman at the well (John 4:4-42), and the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11). These are just a few of the many examples Jesus set. Never underestimate the love God has for us! Sin and death were defeated when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after he died on the cross. We have the choice – joining Jesus in the victory by giving our sins to Him and by committing our lives to Him, or continue to carry our sin by refusing to follow Jesus making ourselves, in a way, dead men walking. Join me as we not only remember what Jesus did for us and pray to turn to Him or renew that commitment. Times are tough and Jesus is the only true answer! Turning our lives over to Jesus allows Him to embrace us fully and we all need that right now! Please let us know if we can assist you in any way,
God loves you and so do we!
Glenn and Linda
976 Coyote Ave., Greenville, IL 62246
Phone: 618-292-6048
kreiders@papadocs.com
Ministry update: You may wonder what we’ve been doing of late. In each of the past two years we have traveled close to 20,000 miles in the racing off season. Last year we used over 4000 phone minutes in 3 of the months. We are trying to streamline the management to better lead our staff here in this region of over 100 volunteers, and there are a lot of friends in the racing world needing encouragement. We have 20 weekends booked so far for this racing season – our first race is April 9-11. The volume of need on the RFC prayer chain is amazing. We ask for your prayers for guidance, wisdom, strength and provision to accomplish God’s plan! My shoulder has healed with few limitations. Hope to get the deductible paid for by July. Your prayer is always an essential part of this ministry!
Tickets available for Family Day weekend at ORP. Contact ORP chaplain John Bauer bauerconstruction@tds.net Please pray for God’s blessing on the weather and activities.
God is at the Window
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help. She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done – and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets – it is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved.
Always remember, GOD IS AT THE WINDOW.