Strive to Do All Things Jesus Wants Us to Do

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13

The whole-day safety driving training that Jewel and I attended together with our workmates on 23 May, courtesy of the company we work with, is called “Drive to Survive.”

On the practical side of the training, we were asked to drive at different speeds (50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 Kph).

Upon reaching a point where the trainer stood, he blew a whistle that signalled us to step on the break and navigate the car to avoid hitting a row of barriers (yellow plastic buckets).

Many of us might have experienced this when somebody suddenly crosses the road, and you must break suddenly. The one-day “Drive to Survive” training built up our confidence in what cars (with ABS technology) can do to avoid hitting a barrier, which could mean saving lives, property, and pockets.

Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do everything through Christ, who strengthens us.

The first Sunday of June marks one year since I started the pastoral ministry at Oamaru Baptist Church (OBC), and it feels like we have been here for many years.

Perhaps the many beautiful things that have occurred in the past 12 months at OBC, specifically, and Oamaru in general, make us all wonder how they all happened in such a short time.

I recalled 27 June 2022 as the Sunday we had a guest speaker, and only six people turned up. Two were visitors, and the three persons were the speaker, his wife, and their child. This means only two OBC members came that Sunday. The two guests were church-hopping as they moved newly into town.

After almost a year, attendance at Oamaru Baptist Church has grown. We have all 60 seats taken on the last two Sundays of May.

Again, Philippians 4:13 reminds us that we can do everything through Christ, who strengthens us.

The reality is that Sunday attendance is not everything in the church’s life. There is a need to herd the believers into discipleship groups and nurture faith and application.

Returning to our “Drive to Survive” illustration, we were only on Level 1 of the training. The next level is “Drive Forever“, which would probably subject the trainees to drive at higher speeds (80 to 100 Kph), the standard rate on State Highways.

No one buys a car and drives it to a minimum speed because one is afraid to venture onto the highway.

Going slow, perhaps at 70 Kph maximum, is safe, but the places you can go would be limited, perhaps within city boundaries.

You might try driving to the next town or city, but with your slow speed, you would become an obstruction and annoyance to the faster traffic.

Worst, a police patrol would pull you over and issue a ticket (NZ context). The police might encourage you to drive up to State Highway’s speed of 100 Kph or else stay put.

Reflecting on our Christian faith, while keeping the Sunday attendance up is good, living the Christian life is not all about attending church.

We need to elevate our Christian faith and service from Sunday attendee to “Serve Forever and do all things for Christ” level.

We are not in church to be a benchwarmer. We are supposed to be benchmarkers. Remember the parable of the talents?

The challenge for all of us is this: Like our cars, we can’t discover what they can do until we test them. We need to launch our ministry ventures further to learn and experience the vastness of “doing all things” through Christ, who strengthens us.

Let us strive to serve forever and glorify! Amen.