>after three hundred yards, turn right

>

When I worked for the Baptist Union of Great Britain I used my Sat Nav frequently to help me find my way to churches and venues around the country. It was invaluable. Because I know that you can sometimes inadvertently drive faster than the speed limit,especially on unfamiliar roads,  (I do try to keep within the limits, honestly) I subscribed to a website that enables you to install speed camera locations and types onto the Sat Nav and warn you that you are approaching them.


At this point I could talk about the Holy Spirit being like a Sat Nav for our lives:

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” 

(Isaiah 30:21)

But there’s more. The website has a scheme whereby those who subscribe to the camera location data report changes to the camera locations and new camera locations. This is a GOOD IDEA because it means that the database is constantly updated by people who are driving on the roads where the cameras are located. As an incentive, above altruism, if you are the first person to submit a verified change or new location you receive a lifetime subscription free of charge.


I have done this several times, but as I am now in a local church I have not travelled as widely and so have not submitted much recently. I was surprised (and a bit suspicious) when out of the blue I had an email confirming that I have been awarded a lifetime subscription because of a previous submission now being verified.


I am also a bit worried about what they know about me because the lifetime subscription expires in 2030. Do I only have 20 years left?!

“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” 

(Psalms 39:4-5)

Nothing like a lifetime subscription expiry date to give you a sense of your mortality! But each of the days is a gift from God and we need to make the most of what we have been given.

No jokes here today, but go here for some amazing stories of the consequences of people blindly following Sat Nav instructions.