The Crossroads Connection

The CrossRoads Connection: Getting it right!

Last Sunday was Groundhog Day. The first official Groundhog Day celebration took place on February 2, 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The men traveled to a site called Gobbler’s Knob, where the inaugural groundhog became the bearer of bad news when he saw his shadow. I am ready for Spring, so I was hoping that little rodent didn’t see his shadow, and he didn’t!!

Have you seen the movie, Groundhog Day? Well it’s a movie about a news reporter, Phil Connors, who gets trapped in a time warp and lives the same day again and again while retaining the memory of each day that he has lived before.

Is there ever a day you wish you could go back and repeat? I mean a great day where everything went great or maybe a day where nothing went right, you made some bad decisions that day which lasted for a very long time?

If you could only go back and start again! But it seems life doesn’t give us many do overs, not many restarts! So, we continue going down the same road, making the same mistakes, making the same excuses until we finally die!

What if we could have a do over, and relive a day in our life and get it right this time? What if God gave you another chance to find out what you need to do and what you need to know!

Problem is some people get on a yoyo cycle and never get off! They get another chance and get better and then go back. Off drugs, on drugs, off drugs, off alcohol, on alcohol, off alcohol, married, divorced, married, happy, sad, happy, calm, angry, calm, on a keto diet, eating carbs, on a keto diet! Coming to church, not coming to church, coming to church, witnessing for Jesus, cussing somebody out, witnessing for Jesus, reading Bible, not reading Bible, reading Bible, well you get the idea. What if we started doing and kept doing what we should do!

1. Not doing what you should be doing will cost you!

In the movie, Phil Connors appeared to be a happy go lucky guy. But something down deep inside was missing, and he was running away from what he needed!

Jonah 1:1-3 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah saying, Arise, go to Nineveh and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship, he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

So, Jonah had obviously heard from God before. He knew what God’s voice was like and what God’s direction sounded like. Jonah is a man who followed God and had been in tune with God! But this time he chose not to do what God said do! The scripture says he went DOWN! Down to Joppa, down to the dock, down to the boat, down in the boat, to get away from the presence of The Lord!

Listen you can run and hide and do all you want but you cannot get away from the presence of the Lord!!

Phil Connors kept going back to the same day because he kept running to who he had been! We must break the cycle! Say Break The Cycle!

2. Trying To Do It your Way will Only Make Things Worse

Phil kept trying to do it his way and kept making his life worse!

Read Jonah 1:4-12 So, The Lord sent a strong wind to gets Jonah’s attention. But notice Jonah wasn’t the only one effected by his bad choices. He was asleep and everyone else was fearing for their lives. You don’t realize how many people are watching your life every day and when you are not doing what you should be, they are feeling the effects!

Verse 9 Jonah says, I’m a Hebrew and I fear the Lord. Well he wasn’t fearing him much in Joppa! He wasn’t fearing Him when He ran off from the plan! Now the men on the ship were exceedingly afraid because THEY KNEW HE WAS RUNNING FROM GOD because he had told them!

When you tell people that you are going to church and you are serving God, they see the glow on you, and they know God is doing something in your life! You tell them! But then they see you not following God, they get confused! These guys were like, what are you doing? In the movie, Phil Connors was hurting people, some of the very closest to him, because he couldn’t get it right!

3. Discovering What You Really Want and need to do will take time and patience, but it will produce something wonderful!

So, Jonah goes down into the sea, down into the great fish, for 3 days cries out to The Lord. The Lord speaks to the fish and the fish spits him up on shore!

Jonah 3:1-3 And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So, Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.

Jonah got a second chance! Wow, he got a do over! Jonah got it right! He preaches to the great city and the king calls a fast and prayer! Thousands of people get redeemed and the Lord spares the city!

When we do the right thing, the right way, for the right reason, we will get the right result!

Phil Connors got the woman of his dreams!

What will your life look like when you get it right? You can have a do over today, a second chance to get it right! Ask Jesus to help you, He is waiting!

Till next week, Pastor Danny Neal