"And Jesus said unto them, I am the Bread of Life:
he that cometh to Me shall never hunger;
and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." - John 6:35

I've been going through some hard times at this point, but I've learned a lot about living as a Christian.  By this time I have started attending church regularly, I was baptized and I was trying to do the best that I knew.  And even though I had regular teaching and was active in Sunday School, God wasn't finishing teaching me Himself.

Plague #5 came into my life.

The next plague was the 1984 Dodge Daytona that I managed to save enough money to buy.  Have you ever heard of the movie "Christine" about a possessed car?  My car was Christine's father!  This car was possessed.  Legion didn't hold a candle to this thing. ;-)

In all honesty, I NEVER knew if I was going to get to where I was headed.  That car died so many times and was left along the road I thought they were going to erect a tombstone in its memory.  This car was terrible, an absolute mechanical failure.

Now, I could tell you many stories about this misfit, but I'm just going to share two.

One night about 8:30 p.m., I was driving up an inclining road and got about halfway up the hill when my car stalled.  It just stalled.  It would not continue up the hill.  I tried and tried to coax it along... 

...then, it died. 

Then, the battery went dead from me trying to restart it. 

Then, the lights went out. 

Then, the emergency lights went out.  

Then, the night classes at the local college dismissed. 

You've got to realize what's happening here.  I was halfway up a hill with no lights or warnings to let approaching traffic know that I was there.  It was very dark and numerous cars were speeding up behind me from the college class that had dismissed.  I could see the headlights in my rearview mirror approaching at a fast pace.  They would make it almost to me, then they would swerve, then honk, then curse. 

I knew that if I did not get that car off the road then there was going to be a major pileup.  But, there was a problem.  There was a barrier on the right side of the road, so I couldn't push it to the side.  This was a busy road, so I couldn't push it off to the side.  There was no way that in my strength I could push it up the hill.  There was only one option.  I had to go backwards down that hill, with no lights or warnings in the middle of heavy traffic.  IT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY backing down that hill.  But, by God's grace, I finally made it.

Then, there was the time that my car caught on fire.  I was driving along and stopped at a redlight.  As I waited for the light to change, smoke began to fill my car.  I was thinking, "someone around here needs some help."  Then, I realized it was my car.  The smoke became thicker.  I couldn't see a thing.  It was like a solar eclipse.  Ever heard of the movie "Backdraft?"  Several scenes were filmed in my car that day! ;-)

I thought about pulling over, but was close to my friend's house, so I continued.  When I arrived at my friend's house I got out an opened the hood of my car.  What I saw just shocked me.  It was like I was looking into the flames of hell!  Fire shot out right at my face and nearly knocked me off of my feet.  My car engine was engulfed in flames.  IT SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY as I battled to put the fire out.  Again, by God's grace, I was able to put the fire out.

As I look back on my adventures with that car, I realize that my car is a picture of the Christian life.  You may be thinking, "How?  How can your car possibly be a picture of the Christian life?"  Here's how. 

Sometimes, as Christians, we are stalled on the side of a hill in our relationship with the Lord.  We're stalled.  We're not moving forward.  You know what I'm talking about...things are kind of at a stand still.  We're content to be where we are, even though it's where we were yesterday and the day before.  We get too comfortable, and we stall in our walk with Christ.  And guess what?  If you stay stalled long enough, sooner or later, you'll go backwards down that hill.

While sometimes we are stalled in our relationship with the Lord, at other times, you've probably guessed it by now, WE'RE ON FIRE FOR THE LORD!  Amen?!  Sometimes we are burning with enthusiasm for Him.  Sometimes we hunger and thirst after righteousness and just can't get enough of the things of God.  Prayer time is powerful and sweet.  The Bible is alive and clear as we read it.  We sense God's presence in our lives and we are excited about serving Him.  He has our whole heart and there is peace, joy and contentment.

The question is, "Why does the fire burn low?  Why do we get stalled?"  The answer?  We run out of fuel.  The reason the fire went out in my car that day is because I cut off its fuel source.  The reason our fire dwindles for Christ is we call off the fuel source.  We stop spending the time in prayer and focus on the things of the world.  Entertainment and comfort compete for our time in the Word of God and in His house.  We cut back a little here and there and soon we are malnourished spiritually and headed for starvation.

God taught me this through plague #5:  If you want to stay on fire, then you need to eat a healthy diet of the things of God.  Jesus said it this way, "I am the Bread of Life:  he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."

Are you well-fed or starving, this morning?  Are you healthy or malnourished spiritually?

Before you head into your day, why not stop and refuel?!

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!