Live Free with Josh Howerton - Taking a Closer Look | Ep. 3 | Wednesday February 8, 2023

Episode Date: February 8, 2023

Ask God what He sees in you. Take a fearless journey to the truth about yourself. Take a closer look to figure out what needs to be worked on. Today’s episode prompts you to dig deep into the reality of how your life is actually running. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to The Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a perfect way to point your day. Our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional and that you'll be equipped, empowered, and encouraged as a follower of Jesus to deepen your relationship with God. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit.church slash daily drive. And now let's dive into today's devotional with one of our teaching pastors, Mike Bro. Hey, thanks for joining us today. My name is Mike Bro, and we're just spending a few minutes every week, day, just talking about walking a new direction this year. Man, I'm so honored you would join us today.

You know, most of us know that AA's definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. You've heard that right? I mean, if you want to change, you just can't keep walking down the same street. You have to get on a different path, a better path, one that will lead you toward freedom and transformation. And as we talked about our first day together, the Bible's full of scriptures that talk about walking with God. and we're going to see a bunch of them this whole month. But each week we're just going to focus on one main verse, one that can become one of those life verses that keep us on track.

And here's the one that we've been walking in this week. This is kind of a GPS, Ways, Map Your Route kind of verse. It comes from the Old Testament of the Bible. Jeremiah 16, 616 says, this is what the Lord says. Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old godly way and walk in it. travel its path and you will find rest for your souls. Now we've just been breaking down this verse a little at a time so we can stick it in our heart

in our mind. This is what the Lord says, stop. Not just a rolling stop, not just a polite, you know, nod to God, not just to slow down a little bit, but actually stop. Stop at the crossroads. Recognize there might be a better road to travel this year, a different direction to point your soul so that your life and relationships can actually flourish this year. hear God's saying, come on, stop at the crossroads and look around.

Or maybe hear him saying, come on, pull over, shut off the engine and pop the hood. And let's take a closer look at how your life is actually running. There is a pop the hood kind of prayer that I regularly pray. I mean, I stole it right out of the Bible. A songwriter named David originally wrote it. I found it to be super helpful. It's found in Psalm 139. And David just says, search me, oh God.

know my heart test me know my anxious thoughts point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life lord what what's the one thing that you and i need to get after this year god pop the hood why am i running so rough why can't i seem to get firing on all cylinders what's under the hood of my life that keeps me from deep fulfillment what i mean what what is in there that makes me react the way i do what what do you see god what should be on my like start doing list am I stop doing list? Is there anything in me that just needs to get unplugged? You know, every retailer knows the importance of post-Christmas inventory, like what's left in the store, what's in the warehouse, how much overstock, what needs to go, what needs to stay? Every business has to take

inventory and ask what's in the bank, how's our cash flow situation, what's our employee morale, what's holding us back from being all we can be. I mean, companies that don't do that, well, you know, they don't last very long. My friends in recovery, uh, calls, uh, calls us, this taking a fearless moral inventory. It's a fearless journey to the center of the truth about yourself. And this is a regular practice that God wants every single one of us to do to take that fearless moral inventory. Well, my kids were in a junior high school. They had to memorize Shell Silverstein's classic Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out. If you guys ever heard this thing, it's a classic. Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Steelew.

would not take the garbage out. She scowl the pots and scraped the pans, candy the yams, and spice the hams, and though her dad would scream and shout, she simply would not take the garbage out. And so it piled up to the ceilings, coffee grounds, potato peelings, brown bananas, rotten peas, chunks of sour,

cottage cheese. It filled the can, it covered the floor. It cracked the window and blocked the door with bacon rinds and chicken bones, dripping ends of ice cream cones, prune pits, peach pits, orange peel, globby glumps of cold oatmeal, Pizza crust and withered greens, soggy beans and tangerines, crust of blackburned buttered toast, grisly bits of beefy roast.

The garbage rolled down the hall. It raised the roof. It broke the wall. Greasing napkins, cookie crumbs, globs of gooey bubble gum, cellophane from green bologna, rubbery, macaroni, peanut butter, caked and driedled milk and crust of pie, moldy melons, dried up mustard, eggshells mixed with lemon custard, cold French fries and rancid meat, old lumps of cream of wheat. At last the garbage reached so high that finally it touched the sky, and all the neighbors moved away, and none of her friends could come to play. And finally, Sarah, Cynthia, Sylvia Stout said, okay, I'll take the garbage out. But then, of course,

it was too late. The garbage reached across the state from New York to the Golden Gate, and there in the garbage she did hate, poor Sarah met an awful fate, that I cannot now relate because the hour is much too late, but children will remember Sarah Stout and always take the garbage out. So you say, search me, oh God, what needs to go to the curve? What's piling up inside of me? What do I need to really get after? I want to stop at the crossroads and I want to look around. Now, when we're done today, I'm going to pull over and pop the hood myself.

And I'm going to pray that prayer. and I'm praying that you would do the same today. Take some time and take inventory. I'm telling you, it could start you heading in the right direction this year. Hope you have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship,

join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. For more information, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive.